Dungeons and Dalliances Ch. 001-016

1.01 - Unlocking

Natalie would never admit it, but she was so nervous she might be sick.

Unlocking ceremonies were a big deal. Not only did they mark a person's coming of adulthood, occurring on the midnight after their eighteenth birthday, but they were the day a person decided their class... the path they would walk for the rest of their life.

So, there was plenty for Natalie to be nervous about.

Then again, not really. Everyone knew what class Natalie would be getting, even Natalie herself. Or, roughly what. The gods only provided three options to deliberate over, but a person's offered classes were shaped by the life they had led up to their unlocking. And Natalie? Natalie's life didn't leave much to interpretation.

Some unlocking ceremonies had an air of excitement about them—an air of mystery. Natalie's, on the other hand, was still cheerful, upbeat, in the vein of most big events, but there was no latent intrigue hanging in the air, around the mingling party-goers. There was nothing to wonder over, little to be excited for besides the fact it was Natalie's big day. Because Natalie would be receiving a brawler-type adventuring class, and that was as given as the sky being blue.

Sure, they didn't know the specifics, but then, they never would. The specifics to a person's class were private, shared with family and friends. Rarely, with a person's adventuring party. So there was nothing for the party-goers to discover, today.

Yet even with nothing to be worried over, Natalie was nervous.

She didn't have a habit of being nervous, and she triply didn't have a habit for seeming nervous. Which was why she was pissed off, too. Why the hell was she being such a baby?

"Worried what you'll get?"

Natalie jumped. She'd been stewing, alone, off to the side of the festivities, finally having extricated herself from the crowd, and so she hadn't seen or heard Jordan arrive. That'd probably been intentional. Natalie's best friend had always had a penchant for sneakiness. Her unlocking ceremony had been as decided as Natalie's: she'd gotten a rogue-type class, and in a few weeks, would be shipping off to Tenet Delving Academy. The same fate that awaited Natalie.

Or, that was the plan. It depended on whether she got an adventuring class. If Natalie got a worker-type or crafter class, or anything else, then her promising future went up in smoke.

"Worried?" Natalie scoffed. "About what?"

Jordan gave Natalie an amused look, one that said she saw through her. "Doesn't have to be rational. I was worried, too. It's a big deal."

"I guess." A short pause as Natalie looked around at all of the people that had showed up. All unlocking ceremonies saw good turnout, regardless of popularity. It was tradition, and in a town as small as Tinford, tradition held weight. "I just want it to be here, already," she added.

"Twenty minutes. They'll be shuffling you off to the church in no time." Another amused look. "You know, if you weren't brooding in the corner, it wouldn't feel like the clock's ticking so slow."

"Brooding?" Natalie eyed her. "I'm not brooding."

"Stoically awaiting your fate," Jordan corrected with a roll of her eyes. "The Architect forbid, someone ever think you on edge."

Natalie sniffed.

"Anyway," Jordan said. "I can't believe Sofia showed up."

Natalie's nose wrinkled. Even hearing Sofia's name put Natalie in a bad mood, and no, it wasn't because she was the only person for two towns over that could match Natalie in the sparring ring. It was... how smug about it she was.

Sure, she never taunted Natalie outright, but Natalie could read the expression on her face, every time she scraped out her victory. Natalie didn't understand how consistently the white-haired girl could beat her, and by such thin margins. Natalie was always a hair breadth away from winning, but it always ended the same. A loss, and Sofia's smug self-satisfaction.

Ugh.

"If you're trying to cheer me up, you're doing a poor job."

Why did Sofia show up? The reason was obvious—the aforementioned tradition, and Tinford's tiny size—but Natalie couldn't help but take it as a slight. She knew that was irrational, but she couldn't help herself. Something about Sofia infuriated her. It was those... those... those stupid cheekbones.

Cheekbones?

"Cheer you up?" Jordan asked. "I thought you didn't need cheering up."

Natalie seized the distraction. Clearly, she was even more out of it than she'd thought, if she was thinking about how Sofia had gorgeous cheekbones. Seriously, where had the thought even come from?

The only thing Natalie wanted to do to Sofia's face was punch it, not... anything else. Which, with how often they sparred together, was something she got to do with fair frequency. And yes, every time she landed a clean left hook square on Miss Stuck-Up's nose was as amazing as the first.

"I don't," Natalie huffed. "And I can't believe we're stuck with her for another four years. I swear, she's following us just to be annoying."

"Tenet's the only delving academy this side of the Jagged," Jordan said amusedly. "And if we qualified, of course she did."

Natalie made a noise of irritation. "Do you ever get tired of being reasonable? Just let me be annoyed. How aren't you?"

"I mean, Sofia's not that bad."

Natalie gave her an incredulous look.

"She's a little uppity," Jordan amended. "But there's worse a person can be."

"Sofia is the devil," Natalie said firmly, "and today is my unlocking day, so you have to agree with me."

"Fine. Sofia is the devil."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. There was a lack of honesty in Jordan's amused tone... but it would do.

For a few moments, they stood next to each other, not-so-subtly watching Sofia. Natalie was surprised she didn't feel their eyes crawling on her back.

"A devil with a great ass," Jordan said. "Architect. How's she get it all in there? Pulleys?"

"Jordan!"

"Oh, don't sound scandalized. You were staring too. Look at it."

Natalie opened and closed her mouth at her best friend, who, for the fortieth time in the past two minutes, rolled her eyes, as if Natalie were being ridiculous.

Then a second later, she glanced over Natalie's shoulder, and the amusement faded.

"Ah," Jordan said. "Here he comes. Looks like it's time."

1.02 - Trance

While an unlocking could happen anywhere, it was tradition to be in the church when it arrived. The lectern on the elevated platform in front of the pews had been moved aside, and a single cushion sat, awaiting Natalie.

"It shouldn't last more than a few minutes," Elder Britt said. "It'll feel longer, but only in your head. When you come back, take as long as you need to compose yourself. We'll all be waiting."

Oddly enough, Natalie's nervousness had disappeared the moment the old, bespectacled priest had arrived to drag Natalie away. The festivities were, obviously, not happening with the church itself, but rather, outside. Exactly as he had said, when Natalie swung open the big church doors to leave—her unlocking complete—everyone would be lined up, ready to congratulate Natalie.

She'd attended a number of unlockings on the other side of this event. Some people walked out elated after their unlocking, some relieved, and once—Daisy Spruill—sheet-white, which Natalie still didn't have an explanation for. She'd gotten exactly the class people had expected, some variation of Baker, so what had that been about?

"Natalie?"

Natalie startled. She realized she hadn't replied. "Yes, Elder Britt. Thank you."

An encouraging squeeze on her shoulder, then Elder Britt departed. The empty church echoed with silence. It was odd, being here, alone, in the dark. Moonlight trickled through the big glass windows, providing just enough illumination to not bump into the pews as she walked down the aisle.

She stepped onto the platform, then stared down at the cushion. She was supposed to sit, and wait. Unlockings arrived at midnight, which would be a few minutes from now, and not a second later; if Natalie were standing, she'd fall. If she were seated, her body would keep itself supported through the fugue.

Feeling a bit odd—and the empty, moonlit church making the experience surreal—she sat down and gazed around at the empty pews. Like most churches, Tinford's construction was the finest of any building nearby. Tinford wasn't impoverished, but if a person went by the elegance of the ancient church, they'd assume a level of affluence that was incorrect for the middle-of-nowhere town.

She'd been sitting and staring just long enough for her thoughts to wander, when—

***

Her eyes shot open.

She'd known to expect the sleek metal face, the automaton, but the abrupt transition from real-world to dream-world sent a shiver down her spine.

Natalie studied her visitor.

The automaton's form was androgynous, like all of theirs were. This one leaned a hint more feminine than masculine. Cobalt blue accents traced her body like artfully placed veins, and two of the same stark lines streaked from her upper cheeks and down, to her chin, imitating thick trails of tears.

There was a stark inhumanity in her form, despite the similarity—the facade of being a human. She wore an expression of complete detachment, her cobalt irises—the same color as her accents—seeming to gaze through Natalie rather than at her.

Despite her nakedness, her body was smooth and lacking faithfulness to human form. Her breasts were rounded, smoothed down, small humps without the expected tips. Even still, it was a more feminine form than most: enough to suggest 'woman' rather than 'man'.

She exuded a sense of cool detachment. The automaton waited patiently for Natalie to come to terms with what she was seeing. It took a second. Natalie had only seen drawings of automatons, before, and never one in person. They were startlingly rare and only found in cities near dungeon entrances. Even then, Aradon, the capital, only had a smattering.

Nobody knew what the automatons were, or how they'd come into existence, much less The Bestower, the assistant who guided all men and women through their unlocking. Some said this automaton—not seemingly a kin to the others, for all her appearance—was a god or goddess taken a familiar form. Not a real automaton at all.

Valhaurian teachings had little to say about The Bestower. That, honestly, was one of the eeriest parts. Official Valhaurian teachings had plenty to say about everything. Too much. Plenty contradicting. But The Bestower? Silence. As if it would be blasphemous to theorize.

"Hello, Natalie."

The automaton's voice was devoid of emotion. That, also, wasn't normal. The automatons who managed the Exchange, for example, were supposedly amiable people... if they could be called people.

"Uh," Natalie finally replied. "Hi."

Natalie was standing. She'd never stood up from the pillow placed down for her in the church, but she was standing anyway. It had been an instant, unsettling transition. She turned in a circle, taking in her surroundings. There was little to remark on. Unlocking ceremonies were hardly new, and they varied little between person to person, besides what classes were offered. Natalie had a fair enough idea what to expect.

A black void sprawled around her. She stood on a surface that resembled a black pond. Tiny ripples radiated out with each shifting of her weight. While the material looked like water... there was something off about it. And, obviously, water shouldn't support her.

She didn't spend long marveling over the oddity of her environment. She had more important things to focus on.

"Do you know why you're here?" the automaton asked, coolly. Her voice was as impassive as her expression, and only slightly less unsettling.

Natalie had always been irreverent, by nature. Frequently, she failed to find solemness fitting to situations that deserved it. Here, though, she didn't need to bite down on a sarcastic reply—it didn't even rise up. Having a conversation with a maybe-god, and the determiner of the rest of her life, pulled a grave demeanor out of anyone, she guessed.

"Yeah," she said. "You, uh, hand out classes."

The Bestower's lips quirked, and another shiver went down Natalie's spine at seeing amusement curl—the barest hint—on the automaton's face. People didn't talk about The Bestower much, and when they did, it was with more or less what Natalie herself was feeling: distinct unease.

"Hand out classes," she—they?—echoed. "Mm. More or less." She seemed amused by how Natalie had put it.

The Bestower approached Natalie. An arm's length away, she tilted her head and inspected her. Natalie had no idea what judgments she made. Could this creature read Natalie's thoughts? Nothing indicated that she could, but the paranoid idea stuck.

"Well," The Bestower finally said. "Are you ready?"

Natalie nodded, the creature's scrutinizing inspection of her having left her wordless.

The Bestower stepped to Natalie's side, then raised a hand in a slow, assured motion. It reminded Natalie of the way Elder Britt might gesture for a congregation to rise.

A pillar sprouted from the glassy black water, in pace with The Bestower's hand, sending ripples shooting across the plane. They bounced harmlessly off Natalie's shoes. Natalie watched the pillar rise, fascinated.

"I'm afraid I have little variance for you today," The Bestower said. "You gave me little leeway."

Gave? It was an interesting way to phrase it, but Natalie didn't think a question-and-answer was on the table.

"First. The Berserker." The pillar finished taking shape, resolving to a plinth with a finely carved great-axe hovering a few inches above it. The plinth, and the axe itself, was the same smooth gray, hewn from the same stone. It rotated in a slow circle, showcasing the entirety of the carving. "A warrior who channels their fury into powerful, relentless attacks. A berserker has incredible offensive potential, but at the cost of defensiveness, and clear-sightedness."

The Bestower spoke the words in a blank tone. Not bored, but removed, as if she were avoiding inflecting her voice in any particular way, as to keep from influencing Natalie's decision.

As for Natalie's thoughts on the offered class... it was, as she'd known it would be—as everyone had known it would be—a melee-type fighter class.

There was a lot to think about when it came to deciding which of the three choices she would pick. This was, without exaggeration, one of the most important decisions she'd ever make. But she would rather know all of her choices before she got into the weeds. She would avoid puzzling over each as they came. She wanted the whole picture, first.

The Bestower must've sensed this through Natalie's nod, so she moved on.

The second pillar sprouted. "The Juggernaut." The pillar was the same as the previous, but the symbol was different: this time, a one-handed hammer, and behind it, a tower shield. Like the axe, it rotated in the air, slowly. "A heavily armored fighter, able to endure immense punishment. The cornerstone of a party, and a master of arms."

The Bestower waited for Natalie to take in her words, then nod. She raised her hand one last time, summoning the last of Natalie's choices.

"Finally," she said. "The Adept." A carving of a fist floated above the plinth. "A student of martial prowess, with power and agility in equal measure. Weave through attacks while delivering your own. Independent, graceful, and deadly."

Graceful? Natalie thought. That wasn't a word she'd use for herself. But not all classes were a one-for-one. Some deviated from what 'fit' with a person... sometimes by a significant amount.

Natalie looked at the three options provided to her. They were, more or less, what she'd expected. Even the adept didn't stray from her current fighting style to a meaningful degree.

Bizarrely, she was disappointed. The choices were underwhelming. Which didn't make sense; classes were what you made of them. And none of the options seemed bad to begin with. Stock-standard options. The kind found in adventuring parties across the world.

"Or," The Bestower said. "I could offer you something else."

1.03 - Debate

Natalie stared at The Bestower, at the sleek automaton of silver streaked with cobalt-blue accents. While unlockings weren't often talked about, as most sacred events weren't, there was little mystery behind them. Everyone experienced an unlocking, and Natalie's parents, and Jordan, had told her what to expect.

'Something else'?

A fourth class choice? There was no such thing. Three options. That was set in stone. Natalie'd never heard of anything different.

"This is an unusual opportunity," The Bestower said. "And it comes with benefits as well as detriments. Would you like to hear more?"

Natalie glanced at the three pillars—at the three class choices which had been exactly what she'd wanted, expected, but were somehow, regardless, a disappointment.

"More?" Natalie asked carefully. She was still adjusting to the news, bewildered.

"You won't be committing to anything."

"Then... I don't see why I wouldn't," Natalie said, her brow furrowed. "What do you mean, unusual?"

"As I said, it is an opportunity afforded to few."

"Okay?" The half-answer was unhelpful. Natalie thought it'd been intentionally so. "What is it? The class name."

"Mm," the automaton said. "There lies the detriment. You must accept before knowing."

Natalie stared. A class whose details were revealed after accepting? That was... besides being unheard-of... risky. For obvious reasons.

"And the benefits are?"

"Potency." The Bestower paused. "Uniqueness."

"Potency?"

"More powerful skills than typical."

For the second time, Natalie reeled at the announcement. Most classes were on the same footing. They were what you made of them. While skills varied, the instances where one's abilities were much weaker or stronger than any other's was... well, very, very unusual.

As all of this was.

"But I couldn't know what it is, beforehand," Natalie repeated.

She didn't even know where to start with that. It was... insanely dangerous. Accepting a class, without knowing what it was? It was like jumping into a dark chasm, hoping there was water, and a big pile of treasure, at the bottom.

Except, in a roundabout way, she'd been promised there was treasure—the class would be strong. The question was how hard the fall would hurt. Would it be a class wholly unfitting her? Something she wouldn't be able to make use of, by her nature? Natalie was a brawler; she would make a horrible [Spellweaver], or something of the sorts. Even a [Ranger] she'd be a poor fit for—Jordan had always been ten times the shot she was.

Natalie was good with her hands. In being up-close and personal. Rolling around in a sweaty pile of limbs, in the chaos of a brawl. Honestly, that was almost all she was good at. Most classes wouldn't fit well on her.

"I don't even get a hint?"

"You do not."

"And... that's it? No more? Accept, and it'll be strong, but I can't know what?"

"Even I don't know," The Bestower said.

Which had Natalie blinking. Well... if that was the truth, then she guessed this creature wasn't the omnipotent Architect, or the Maker. Not that many people believed that in the first place. Just one of many fantastical theories.

"Where did this come from?" Natalie asked. "Why me?"

The Bestower shrugged, which was an oddly human reaction on the thus-far impassive being. "That's not for me to know, either."

"Right," Natalie said. "Okay. Sure." It was probably too sarcastic of a tone, considering who or what she was speaking to, but her filter was falling away from shock.