Lohne was adamantly opposed to our interference in what was in truth Duke A"Daoine"s responsibilities. The dungeon and the Knockers were located within his territories. The Kelpie herd were granted their lands based on treaties they had signed with him. She argued, effectively, that interfering in the management and responsibilities of a Ranked Duke could be seen as an affront to his prerogatives, even a declaration of war if he chooses to construe our actions as trespa.s.s.Uron and Cedric were both adamant that we had both an opportunity and responsibility to act. And as a Ranked Prince, I not only outranked Duke A"Daoine, but was System supported since my efforts to return Blayney and his family, and see that justice was served was part of a quest.
I myself was more curious than anything. I wanted to know what a dungeon was like on Talahm, and if it remotely resembled what was detailed in novels and games on Earth.
"That"s c.r.a.p and you know it," Lohne argued, gaining my attention.
"Just because System generates a quest, doesn"t absolve an individual from Seelie law. Otherwise, every criminal action could use System quests as justification and defense. "I had to kill this family and steal their wealth; the System gave me a quest." is not an excuse.
"You are simply engaging in sophistry. There is no way to prove System generated and gave you a quest. They can"t be shared, and they can"t be displayed. Quests are unique to each person and are generated in response to that person"s specific circ.u.mstances."
"There are no ways to share quests or standard quests that everyone can do for experience?" I asked Caraid.
[Not really. There are quests that are generated and offered to many people. A battle, for instance, may generate a quest to defend a location or rescue someone.]
[As for standard quests, I"m not sure I understand what you mean?]
"How to explain.
"For example, a blacksmith apprentice is tasked to make a dagger from his Master. He crafts the dagger and turns it in. Isn"t that a repeatable quest?"
[No. Of course not. That"s his job. He may gain skill progression in crafting or blacksmithing, but there is no quest a.s.sociated with that.]
"So, no quests to seek out 10 herbs, or go kill 10 rats for Farmer Brown?"
The sound of Caraid"s laughter was interesting. I don"t think I"d experienced this before. It was very similar to the rush you get when you drink that first cup of coffee in the morning or smoke a cigarette after a good meal. Our souls were linked, so his emotions actually had physiological repercussions on my body. It was interesting to discover, and I made a mental note to experiment with the parameters of this link.
I was reminded that there would be a time he must serve the Hunt, and I wondered if his actions and emotions when he was fighting would bleed through and transfer through this "emotional" connection.
[No. There are no NPC"s standing in the same spot offering quests to anyone that opens a dialogue box.]
[Not a game. Remember?] Caraid said laughter evident.
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"Wait," I said as the arguing around me began to intensify allowing me to ignore Caraid"s, which was helpful because his laughter was at my expense, "There is an easy solution to this."
Activating the communication crystal on my watch, I connected to Brianne, my a.s.sistant. She and Basil had traveled ahead with Jennie to set up our next staging area. I was worried about bringing too many people to the Kelpie settlement, unsure if we would need to fight. By splitting those I considered staff and individuals with no combat ability and sending them ahead, I thought if the worse happened and we had to fight our way out, there would be fewer people that were more dead weight than helpful.
"Your Highness?" Brianne said once our crystals had connected and a magical holo projection of each of our forms was created.
"Brianne, we"ve hit a snag here. It seems there is an undeclared dungeon that the former Kelpie Lord hid from Duke A"Daoine and his people. To make matters worse, there is a Knocker community and d.u.c.h.ess that has been trapped within and exploited. I"m unsure what condition they may be in, or how long they have been trapped in this dungeon.
"Contact Duke A"Daoine"s people for me. Give them my contact information, and explain I need to speak with someone, preferably the Duke," I said explaining.
It was at least an hour before my communication crystal beeped. Connecting, I was a bit surprised to find Brianne contacting me, and not Duke A"Daoine or his staff.
"Sir. I"ve explained the situation to Duke A"Daoine"s staff. They reminded me, that courtesy forbids Duke A"Daoine or his people from contacting you until after he had paid his respects in person.
"They have been apprised of the situation. Lord Blayney"s people were in talks with Duke A"Daoine"s staff at the same time as I was. They have decided they would send people to audit the Herd, examine the mine, and try to categorize the dungeon.
"In the meantime, Duke A"Daoine has given permission for you to contact the Knocker d.u.c.h.ess. But asks that you refrain from exploiting, mining, farming, or claiming the dungeon," Brianna informed me.
It seemed prudent; I wasn"t really interested in a dungeon dive. I did want to satisfy my curiosity and find out what dungeons were like, but I could do that without exploiting the dungeon. The conditions were acceptable because they allowed me to do what I wanted, while secretly acknowledging I would have paid a visit to this dungeon even if the Duke had refused permission.
I readily agreed to the Duke"s limitations and began making plans to move out as soon as possible. I spoke to Blayney about a guide to the dungeon and proctored an invitation to him to join me. I didn"t think he or Una would wish to join the group, they would have their hands full with Herd re-structuring, but it would be rude to not offer them the choice.
They thought it best if they were there to receive Duke A"Daoine"s people and trusted Irvin to update them after our return. They were able to locate a suitable guide. A young runner that often-ferried gear and supplies to the mining camp.
A quick meal. A restock of provisions. And a communication crystal conversation with Brianna and Jennie to inform them of our plans, directing them to head to Duke A"Daoine"s Fief instead of awaiting our arrival. And we were ready to set out.