A Demon's Core

After the party eventually dies down, everyone goes back to doing their own things. Some of the imps electing to just find a comfortable place on the floor to take a nap. But Violet has other things on her mind as she approaches my core.

“Are we going to open the boxes now?” She asks, looking at the two black boxes still sitting by my chair.

I would like to, yes.

I probably could have opened them myself before now, but that likely would have drawn everyone’s attention. Apart from interrupting their party, there is also the chance that what is inside could be dangerous. I let Rose know that we are about to open the boxes and she makes her way over.

I ask Violet to open the small box first. It takes her a moment to figure out how. It has two clips on the front, but she is quick to open it once she notices them. The top half of the box folds back to reveal a well padded interior and nothing else. The box is empty save for the foam padding.

“Why would they bring an empty box?” Violet asks. She pulls out the foam to see if there is anything hidden underneath it, but finds nothing.

I suspect this is how they were planning to transport my core. She drops the box with a look of scorn

“As if they even would’ve found it. They probably would’ve been tricked by the decoy.” She states smugly. “Do you want to open the big one?” She asks Rose.

The larger box is similarly secured as the small one was and when Rose opens it I am utterly shocked by its contents. Those crazy humans brought a rocket launcher… What were they even planning to do with something like this? Probably not much since it only has one shot.

“What is it?” Violet asks.

“Some kind of weapon I assume.” Rose replies.

A very dangerous weapon used to create an explosion.

“If they had something like this, why didn’t they bring it with them?” Violet queries.

“Because causing an explosion inside the building they were currently in would have been dangerous for them as well.” Rose answers. Violet reaches forward to poke the RPG but Rose grabs her wrist. “Please don’t touch the explosive device.” She chides.

“Sorry.” Violet apologises sheepishly, pulling her hand back. She looks to my core. “What should we do with it?”

Store it with the guns for now. I will figure something out later.

The simplest use would be as something else to trade, but maybe we will keep this one. Having something that our enemies would not expect could be useful one day. Not that we could use it inside any more than the humans could. It is something to think about though.

Rose closes the box and together they drag it to the storage room, accidentally bumping into Aster, who is splayed out in front of the door. He helps them in dragging it the rest of the way then heads to his room.

William shows up in the meeting room the next day. It has been two days since I sent the message. I am glad he showed up before anything else happened. He is sitting at the table in the middle of the room to wait. Cassandra is here again as well, but no one else. Did they not bring anyone else this time or are the extras just waiting outside?

“It seems they’ve got the whole room now.” Cassandra says as she walks the perimeter of the room. She opens one of the bedroom doors and steps one foot in, then steps back. “Not the bedrooms though.”

“They probably didn’t feel the bedrooms were needed since this is just a meeting room.” William responds.

That is correct. I inform him. The sudden contact causing him to jump in his seat. It would be an unnecessary expenditure of mana.

“Magentam? Cassandra asks with a smirk.

“Yeah, really sneaks up on you with that telepathy.” He replies.

Just the two of you today?

“The other guys are waiting downstairs. They didn’t want to climb that winding path up the steps, which I notice has gotten longer since the last time we were here. How far down are you planning on going with that?” He inquires.

All the way. William’s face makes a sour expression.

“Not to be rude or anything, but would you mind letting me in on this conversation? I’m feeling a little left out.” Cassandra interjects, taking a seat beside William.

Very well. But you should know, it consumes mana for me to be able to communicate like this, so two will be my limit.

“Oh, well I appreciate the consideration.”

“Magentam says they are planning to go all the way down with that winding bullshit in the stairs.” William remarks. Cassandra’s expression sours, similar to William’s.

“Is that really necessary? It makes it a lot harder to get up here.” Cassandra pleads.

That is entirely the point.

“Well yeah, I’m sure you want to slow down potential enemies, but it also makes it harder for people with peaceful intentions, like us.” William adds.

I will consider making a meeting room on a lower floor later. In exchange, I want you to make a sign to warn people not go any higher. Having the meeting room on a lower floor would give me more lead time to identify and prepare for enemies so it would be useful to me as well.

“Why do you need us to make a sign? Surely you could do that yourself.”

I could. But I think people would be more likely to take it seriously if it is an official warning from the Dungeon Management Office.

“Huh, that’s a fair point.” William says, tapping his chin in thought. He looks at Cassandra for her thoughts, but she just shrugs. “I think we can agree to that.”

Good. So how about we get to the reason you are actually here. I am sure you did not come all this way just to complain about my stairs. Did you get my letter?

“Right, of course.” He says, perking up. “I did get your letter. Interesting colour choice.” He reaches into a pocket and pulls out the letter, unfolding it on the table.

I work with what I have got.

“We were a little confused. Was there supposed to be something else with the letter? It mentions an insignia, but I don’t see one.”

Yes, there was a piece of armour worn by one of the attackers. Did you not receive it as well? They both frown.

“No. All we got was the letter.” William says.

“Just to be clear, did you actually see someone from the checkpoint take it inside? There’s no chance that they missed it?” Cassandra asks.

Rose and Violet reported that they definitely saw a man come out, pick up the item along with the letter and take them both inside.

“It’s possible he tried to steal it for himself.” She reasoned. She looks to William, who is glaring straight ahead. His hands on the table clenched into fists.

“Lets hope that’s all that’s going on.” He fumes. Taking a slow, deep breath, he appears to relax a little. He turns to Cassandra. “When we get back there, someone is in for a serious ass kicking. Possibly more.”

“Do you have any other examples of this insignia we could examine.” Cassandra asks calmly.

We have several.

I ask Rose to bring down another of the shoulder pads with the furred animal logo. When she arrives, she climbs up on a chair and slides it across the table, then just glares at the two humans. I translate the conversation for Rose going forward so she can keep up.

“Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” William groans when he sees it, leaning back in his chair and running his hands down the sides of his face. Cassandra lets out an exasperated sigh.

Should I take that to mean you recognize it?

“Fucking Honey Badgers.” William exclaims. When he does not continue Cassandra elaborates.

“That is the logo of an infamous mercenary organization known as Honey Badgers.” She explains.

Why are they infamous?

“Because they are generally pretty good at what they do, but they have absolutely no moral compass. They’ll do basically anything for money.” She continues.

“They’re the type of people who would kick a puppy to death without batting an eye as long as someone was paying them to do it.” William adds.

“Some of their members have been linked to crimes serious enough to be considered war criminals.” Cassandra says.

If they are so bad, why have they been allowed to continue to operate?

“Because, like any well established criminal organization, they have excellent lawyers.” William exclaims with a dry laugh. “God, I hate lawyers. Fucking parasites. A scourge on our society.”

“William, let’s stay focused please.” Cassandra scolds him. “How many were there?” She asks.

Six, including their driver.

“How many casualties on your side?”

We lost two. They both go silent and stare at Rose with a look of wide eyed shock. She hisses at them in return.

“Only two?” William asks tentatively.

Yes, is that so surprising?

“Well, Honey Badgers have a reputation for being reliable and effective. So the fact that they accomplished so little is a bit of a shock.” Cassandra explains.

“What kind of gear did they bring?” William asks.

I explain everything we took from their bodies and William nods. I refrain from mentioning the RPG we found in the car.

“Probably rookies then.” He says.

What makes you say that?

“Well, they only brought guns. They were probably thinking they could just come in, guns blazing and easily clear the place out. Honey Badgers may have high standards for acceptance into their organization, but rookies are still gonna be rookies. Inexperienced, cocky and overconfident.” William chuckles and Cassandra nods in agreement with a slight grin.

What would you have done in their place? He pauses to contemplate for a moment.

“For fighting indoors like this. Tear gas and flash bangs at the very least. Disabling your enemies, or at least impairing their senses and THEN charging in guns blazing would have been a much better strategy.” He explains.

“Experienced mercenaries would have known better. But they also would have charged more for their services.” Cassandra adds.

“Will more come?” Rose asks and I relay the question.

“If someone is paying them, maybe. But if you’re wondering if they will come to avenge their friends or whatever, you’ve got nothing to worry about there. They don’t care about each other any more than they care about anyone else.” William says.

Is there anything you can do to stop them if someone tries to hire more of them to attack us?

“Maybe. Their main organization usually tries to stay away from things they know are being actively investigated, but that doesn’t stop individual members from accepting contracts if approached directly.” William states.

“There may be something else...” Cassandra starts, but trails off. The two humans share an uncertain look between them.

What is it? They both seem reluctant to continue, but eventually William speaks again.

“Well, I could send a report up the chain requesting that one of the much higher ups try putting some additional pressure on the Honey Badger leadership, but...”

But what? Their hesitancy is starting to get on my nerves.

“They’re going to want something in return.” He finally finishes.

“They’re trying to extort us! They’ve not even provided anything of value yet and they think they have the right to ask for anything from us?” Rose accuses. They both look down in shame as I translate her words.

“I can’t really refute that. I’m sorry, this really isn’t how I would prefer to do things, but I’m not exactly the one in charge, not even close.” William says.

Why should we give you anything? You’ve hardly done anything to deserve it.

“You’re right, but some of the higher ups don’t really care much about earning your favour. There are already some who think we’re wasting our time trying to be diplomatic and that we should just come in and take the core by force.” He laments.

“If we had something to show them to prove that we aren’t just wasting our time and resources in pursuing a peaceful relationship, it may help convince them into putting a little more effort into protecting you.” Cassandra explains.

“We can’t trust them. If we give them anything they will just keep asking for more while always coming up with excuses for why they can’t actually do anything for us in return.” Rose growls, digging her claws into the table. Her mana is starting to flare out and judging from how the humans have suddenly tensed up, I am sure they noticed it as well.

I do not repeat her words this time as I find myself agreeing with her and considering calling an end to this meeting. But Cassandra is able to understand enough of what she said to get the basic gist of it and explain it to William.

“I promise we’re not trying to take advantage of you. We really are doing our best to help you, but there’s only so much we can do on our own. We just need something to help motivate the people who have the power to do more. To convince them that it’s actually worth the effort.” He implores.

I can hear the desperation in his tone. I think he actually believes what he is saying, either that or he is an excellent actor. But even if he is being genuine, he already admitted he does not hold a particularly high position within the DMO. He can not make promises on their behalf so his words do not hold much weight, no matter how much he might mean them.

What exactly do you expect from us?

He looks at Rose hopefully, but she is still staring daggers at him. He can see the hate in her eyes so he looks back down at the table and sighs.

“What we need most is mana stones.” He says.

Like the blue crystal you gave us before?

“Yes, exactly like that one.”

I though you humans referred to them as ‘dungeon crystals’.

He cocks his head slightly. Looking towards Cassandra. She raises an eyebrow.

“You’re not human are you Magentam?” He asks. I really should have been more careful with my phrasing there.

No. Does that matter? Not much point in lying about it now. He shrugs.

“I suppose not, we already suspected as much anyway. We might leave it out of the report for now though. It might make things harder if it was confirmed that you’re a demon.”

I am not a demon either. They both look taken aback and they look at each other, confused.

“Can you tell us what you actually are then?” Cassandra asks tentatively.

No. William sighs.

“Maybe in the future, after we’ve earned your trust. As for your question about dungeon crystals. That is the term for them in their natural state. But when they are cut or, preferably, grown into a specific size and shape, they’re referred to as mana stones. It’s mostly pedantics though.” He states.

So you want one the same as the one you gave me?

“That is the standardized shape so that would be ideal.” He confirms.

I could just give you yours back.

“A fresh one would be better.” He flinches when Rose growls again.

“You see, they are making more demands.”

I know. But I want to hear what they have to say before I make any decisions.

“Fine, but I think it’s a waste of time.” She concedes.

What do mean by ‘a fresh one’?

“Have you examined the stone we gave you?” William asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Briefly.

“Did you notice anything unusual about it?”

It did not hold as much mana as I expected.

“Have you taken any mana stones outside the dungeon?”

No. I have not had any reason to.

“So you probably wouldn’t have realized that outside of high mana environments, mana stones degrade with use. Eventually they become inert and crumble to dust. That’s why we always need more.” He explains, crestfallen.

And you expect me to provide them.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, but the thing is, things are not going well for us. We’re kinda desperate.” He pleads.

“Whatever problems they’re facing aren’t our concern. We have no obligation to help them.” Rose states coldly.

I agree, but if we can help them, they may be able to help us. Also I fear if we do not help them, they may try to take what they want by force.

I form a mana crystal on the table. I try to make it approximately the same size and shape as the blue one, though it is hard to be sure without a side by side comparison. The amount of mana required is enough to fill my core and then a little bit more on top of that. They had better make it worth it.

Take it and leave. I expect results soon. If you continue to allow people to attack like this, one way or another, that will be the last thing you ever receive from us.

Dejected, William reaches out and plucks the crystal from the table. Cassandra grabs the shoulder pad as they get up to leave. William pauses by the door and turns to Rose. She just glowers at him but does not respond

“We’ll deal with this. You have my word.” He promises.

Your word has not been worth much so far. William sighs and leaves the room without saying anything more, looking down at the ground with his shoulders slumped.

“That was a mistake. You shouldn’t have given them anything.” Rose says after they are gone.

Maybe. We shall see. For now, we need to make an evacuation plan.

“Oh, are we going to leave this place?” She perks up.

Not yet. I would rather not if we do not have to. But I think we need to be ready in case it does become necessary.

“What will happen if your core goes outside?” She asks, concerned.

I do not know, but we should probably find out.

William knocked on the Director’s door and waited to be called in.

“Come in.” The Director invited after a moment. “What’s the status on the dungeon?” He asked as William entered, not looking away from the report he was writing.

“Things aren’t looking good Sir.” William replied. The Director stopped writing and looked up. Seeing William’s solemn expression, he put his pen down and sighed.

“What happened?” He asked, bracing himself for bad news.

“Honey Badgers happened.” William responded. He placed the shoulder pad with the Honey Badger logo on the Director’s desk.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” He said quietly to himself while pinching the bridge of his nose. “How bad was it?” He asked out loud.

“They suffered two casualties while taking out a squad of six Honey Badgers.” William reported. The Director sat up straight in his seat, taken aback.

“Only two?” He asked in surprise. “That’s impressive.”

“Yes Sir. I believe we may have underestimated the dungeon in our judgement of its approximate strength.”

“So have the people attacking it, by the sounds of things.” The Director smirked.

“Yes Sir. But the attacks are escalating. If we can’t put a stop to it, it may only be a matter of time before the core is taken.”

“We’re still investigating the issue. That’s going to take time.”

“Magentam offered us this to ‘encourage’ us to speed things up. But I fear they may be losing what limited trust they might have had in our ability to actually do anything.” William said, placing the pink mana stone on the desk. The Director’s eyes went wide as he picked it up to examine it.

“I’ve never seen a pink one before. It would probably be easier if we just took the core for ourselves. Then it wouldn't be a problem anymore.” The Director remarked. William narrowed his eyes.

“Sir, if you did that, you’d see my resignation on your desk the very same day.” The Director looked up at him gobsmacked.

“Come on William. I think you’re overreacting a little.”

“No Sir. I don’t believe I am and I think Cass would agree with me.” William retorted.

“Are you seriously willing to throw your career away over a simple dungeon?” The Director asked with a stern expression.

“These aren’t just mindless beasts we’re dealing with. They’re intelligent creatures and they’re asking for our help.”

“You need to get your priorities straight. We need the mana stones. We can’t afford to let some unknown party take the core before us. We’re fighting for our survival here.” The Director said, banging a fist down on his desk.

“So are they! Except they’re being attacked by humans. Completely unprovoked, might I add. They’ve already shown us more trust than I think we deserve. They literally gave us a mana stone.” William leaned forward, placing on hand on the desk and gesturing to the crystal still in the Director’s hand. “And we’ve given them nothing in return.”

“Watch yourself, William.” The Director warned.

“The fact that you and some of the other higher ups are talking about attacking the dungeon ourselves even as I’m out there trying to negotiate peace is utterly appalling.” William said with a raised voice.

“ENOUGH!” The Director shouted, rising from his seat. William went silent but continued to stare daggers at him. “I like you William. I value your skills, insight and intuition. But don’t forget that I’m your superior officer. I will NOT tolerate insubordination.”

William continued to glare, but did not say anything more in response. The Director sank back into his chair and sighed.

“Do you really think they’ll give us more mana stones if we can stop these attacks?” He asked calmly.

“Sir, I believe they will be willing to trade mana stones as long as we can offer them something of value in return, but we shouldn’t expect anymore freebies.” William replied, also relaxing a little.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do about speeding up the investigation and dealing with the Honey Badgers. I can’t make any promises though. Please submit a report detailing your meeting with the dungeon controller and include any suggestions you have for how we should proceed. You are dismissed.” The Director ordered.

“Yes Sir.”