No Need for a Core?

Mordecai enjoyed watching the two men stumble through trying to figure out what they were supposed to do before the director ordered the curtains dropped, shuffling everyone back into position, and starting again. On the second try, Nainvil had it figured out and stumbled forward, clutching at a non-existent wound in his side. “My lord! Our positions have been overrun, we…” then dramatically crashing forward in a death scene.

This was more than enough for Brongrim to figure it out, and he strode towards The Hero. “My Prince! Our forces are victorious, and approach the castle as we speak!”

The rabbit actors took their cues quickly, ‘extras’ shuffling on armbands to represent their sides before most of them charged onto the stage from the prince’s side, and the rest staggering in on the king’s side, looking exhausted.

“Lo, Villain, thy reign is at an end!” cried the prince, raising his sword; but of course, the princess moved between them.

“Wait, my love,” the little rabbit said, “Please do not kill my father!” So the drama went for a few more minutes before the king was dragged away in chains and the lovers finished the scene in a dramatic kiss, followed by the curtain falling.

But while Mordecai was watching the stage production unfold, part of his mind was busy examining all the materials claimed from the bandits earlier. He’d been occupied monitoring these two while creating an illusion before this, but he no longer needed to split his focus to keep track of them.

This was going to prove a useful windfall. The pistol was readily reproducible, and these two mercenaries were well kitted out with cold iron and silver-infused ammo or secondary weapons. The rest of the bandits had been less prepared for troublesome encounters; except for the Oni, Akuma.

Akuma's great sword was also cold iron and unlike the other weapons, it carried two enchantments. One was designed to instill fear into those struck by it, and the other to make any wounds bleed continually. The armor was well-matched, carrying an enchantment to keep foes frightened instead of allowing them to recover. He couldn’t reproduce any of those enchantments yet, but the sword at least could be useful. It wasn't his preferred style of blade, but the enchantments were powerful enough to make up for it. The armor would not suit him well, but it could at least be traded.

In addition, Akuma had left behind a small sword made of silvered steel, and several throwing knives. Overall, he'd been oddly well-armed for even the leader of a bandit group. Combine that with a scrap of paper carrying a description of a lithe, dark-haired half-elf with almond-shaped eyes, about five and a half feet tall, and this became more than a little disturbing. He wasn’t going to bring that up to Moriko just yet.

The balcony had an exit leading to the next one, and Kazue had made sure this end of the theater was on the inside of the curve, so it was easy for the trio to set themselves into place for the next production. This stage was very brightly colored, and the play turned out to be a heavily stylized comedy designed around the overacting of buffoon characters wearing masks with almost grotesquely exaggerated expressions. The use of dramatically sharp instruments, often used when a warrior was posing to declare his greatness, was a perfect contrast to the comedic action. Most of the side characters were fawning over the ‘great’ warriors of course. Both of the new actors were assigned roles of ‘clumsy servant’, with the main task of pointing toward props not-so-subtly lit up to draw the audience’s eye at the proper time. Shenanigans ensued when said objects were ‘accidentally’ knocked over to start a chain of ridiculous events.

The third stage was a light-hearted romance of blushing youth, taking place during a summer festival. The dwarf and half-orc were given bit roles, one running a booth game to scoop up goldfish, the other selling sweet treats. Not difficult, but very humble roles.

For the fourth stage, Kazue had set up for a tragedy, with a narrator role done by a chorus dressed as messenger spirits, and a chain of greed and hubris that led to divine curses, eventually ending with the death of almost all of the characters, leaving just a few to dramatically weep over graves. Brongrim and Nainvil had more leading roles in this one; villains who sought to steal from a temple and killed a priest to do so. The pair looked pained when assigned their roles, but soldiered on admirably.

The final stage was… entertaining. The core of it was an old story about an infant princess falling to the lower world from the moon, who was found and raised by a mortal couple (played by Brongrim and Nainvil). When word of her beauty spread, nobles and great warriors arrived to compete for her hand in marriage, impossible feats were demanded, and then Kazue put her own twist on it. Some of the more spectacular moments during the quests of the suitors were performed, complete with combat done by attaching steel wires to the actors so they could soar through the air dramatically. Mordecai did his best to keep a straight face as he leaned out of the way of Moriko’s narrow-eyed look at the kitsune. Kazue was very careful to not notice the glare.

The ending was also different from the classic version, with a more humble warrior who had not even been seeking the princess’s favor winning her love, and the old couple begging for leniency on the young lovers’ behalf when the princess’s family finally found her and descended to take her home. This led to a happy ending with the princess discarding her immortality to remain with her warrior.

Overall he was rather satisfied with the results. It wasn’t a complicated or terribly hard test really, but their day was long and it left them exhausted. It was the sort of pressure that would cause the mask to crack on more prideful or short-tempered people; but even weary as they were the pair had thrown themselves into the task with suitable enthusiasm. They had heart and were given a reminder of life outside of fighting for money. Their own greed had been what had led them to accept a job that trapped them with bandits.

Now it was time for Mordecai to don the role of priest and hold up his side of the bargain. While the exhausted duo took a moment to catch their breath and enjoy the congratulations from the actors, Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai made their way to the main room and set themselves up to greet their visitors properly. Moriko took a moment to consider how she wanted to present herself, and for a moment entertained the idea of lounging sultrily by the thrones so she could be a bit lazy while teasing her spouses, but in the end decided to play the part of a guard, taking up a straight-backed pose behind them.

The table was left bare for the moment. They could conjure food later, assuming there was cause for celebration. They only had to wait a little while before Brongrim and Nainvil arrived, looking somber but somewhat at peace. The pair took in the room, shared a glance that carried their thoughts, and then moved in tandem around each side of the long table to kneel before the thrones, and Brongrim spoke for them. “We have come to beg atonement by your hand and Ozuran’s will, ah-” Here the dwarf paused, realizing he wasn’t certain of a title.

Mordecai smiled. “Just call me Mordecai. While my devotion is recognized by Ozuran, I am not a part of the church and carry no official title. Now, as for your atonement, you have my approval. I believe I have seen a glimpse of your hearts and that experiencing Kazue’s games has helped remind you how to appreciate life again, both yours and others. So I will intercede with Ozuran on your behalf.” He looked over to Kazue who nodded, looking resolute.

He rose from his throne and approached the kneeling men to lay his hands on each of their heads, and began. “Ozuran, Lord of Shadows, Dreams, Mirrors, and all that reflects reality, I beseech you on behalf of these penitent mortals to grant them a blessing of atonement. They have strayed from their own morals and laws, but the strength of honor still lies in their hearts, ready to be rekindled by your grace.”

There was a moment of deep silence, then a presence was felt that briefly dimmed the light in the chamber while the men’s shadows moved of their own accord. Tthe image of a mirror swirling with shadows appeared over their heads for a few moments before fading. The mark was still there, but could only be seen by a priest of Ozuran or an allied faith.

“Congratulations,” he said as relief washed over everyone. “Go and eat, we’ll join you in a moment, and discuss your next task later.”

Kazue bounced out from her throne, happily announcing “A feast for everyone!” as a spread of her favorite foods was conjured across the table; at least, those she had some idea how to make. The two grateful men rose and bowed briefly before moving to the table, pausing as they noted the amount of sweets involved.

Mordecai discretely added a few meat and other savory dishes to the collection as he turned to face the women, and ask over their link, “Moriko, are you willing to speak in their favor? And Kazue, are you willing to invite them in as inhabitants should they choose to do so later?”

Moriko answered first, having less to consider about the consequences. “Yes. I won’t lie, but I will back that I believe them to be redeemable.” He nodded, then looked to Kazue, who was still thinking as she swished her tails.

“Mmm, alright, I’ll trust your judgment on this.” She finally replied, then stood on her toes to give him a kiss. Mordecai smiled and then turned towards Moriko, but she’d already started moving around them to get to the food. Ah well.

The feast went well enough, with little talking at first, but soon enough curiosity overtook their visitors, and Nainvil asked. “So, ah, would you be willing to tell us more about what is going on here? And, um, I couldn’t help but notice the identical rings you are all wearing.”

Moriko and Kazue both turned to smile at Mordecai, handing all responsibility for explaining to him. Well, fair enough, it was his idea. “The full story is a little complicated, but in short: Because of various challenges we were experiencing in rather quick succession, we decided that our best option was to enter into a marriage of convenience to take advantage of the marriage ritual's magic. It’s worked out pretty well, given how little time we had to pull this off. Kazue and I now have a shared Core, and have some increased capacity because of it.”

The men looked at him for a moment but they picked up on no one offering more details. “Well, congratulations to the three of you then.” Brongrim offered, then moved on to another subject. “Have you decided what our task will be?”

“Yes. It’s simple enough; in the morning I will return your stuff, and you will escort Moriko to her hometown, where you will turn yourselves in and Moriko will speak on your behalf. From there, I give you an invitation: Assuming that after investigation you are given the freedom to do so, you may retreat back to here if you would care to be inhabitants. Normally, I prefer not to add sapients from outside the dungeon as inhabitants as the magic involved works to ensure their loyalty. I do not like changing a person's free will like that. However, I offer this in part so you have the option of requesting this as your sentence, should the authorities not want to just let you go free, but the invitation remains open either way. I don’t know how much recent events will affect your personal lives, so I want to make sure you have a lifeline if you need it.” Mordecai paused thoughtfully for a moment before he continued, "Technically, we could also offer you a place as contractors, but that is a much more limited capacity, and I am not certain I want to do that with you. I very specifically want this to be a fallback for you, not something that you might preferentially select."

Both of them looked startled, then murmured their thanks. Talk turned to more idle things after that, and when the men had eaten their fill, Mordecai showed them the way to a side room he’d made for them and pointed out the amenities, plus a basket of food that would be good through the morning, should they be hungry before then. The implication that they were to remain in the room was not lost on either of them, but given their quick exchange of smiles Mordecai suspected they would enjoy having some private time anyway.

Once they were settled, Mordecai returned to Moriko and Kazue, who were lounging in Kazue’s room since Moriko hadn’t had a chance to see it yet. There wasn’t much to be done with dungeon building until tomorrow anyway, and they had plenty of time to talk this evening. The day may have been long, but it also started rather early. And Moriko was worried about her parents, given yet another day of delay on her journey.