NOVEL FROG Chapter 118 - A Quest
“That was so cool!” Replica exclaims excitedly as she approaches them from the spot near the entrance where she has been waiting the entire time. “I've watched some other delvers go toe to toe with Siegfried but that combination was something else!”
She practically bounces as she showers the party with her compliments, to their amusement.
“I'm glad you think so but it's weird hearing such positivity from that face.” Kallion responds with a lopsided grin, earning himself a glare from Allea and a chuckle from the rest. They take some time to joke around and make small talk as they maintain their gear and recover from the strain combat has put on their flesh and blood bodies, before the conversation peters out.
“So…” Simon interrupts the silence that has fallen over the gathering. “You mentioned that the inquisition has a “Quest” for us Ellie. What do you mean by that?”
“Right. The reason I told you at all that I was with the inquisition is because it was always the plan to tell you, but you proved even sharper than expected. So, here is the long and short of it: My bosses are worried about the cultist activity in the region, and specifically in this dungeon. The dungeon wasn't mapped when the cultist raiders showed up, and its Illusion affinity should have made it exceptionally difficult to divine its location. The cultists must have been informed of the dungeon's location by someone.
Based on this premise, agents deployed here in force and we have confirmed several details. There is not one devil cult active in this area, but rather two that seem to be working closely together. We are unsure of which devil specifically the second cult serves, but we can guess at their infernal boons based on their activities, and it seems to be related to lying or impersonating. I'm telling you all this so you can make an informed decision about whether or not you accept the task we would present you with.
We want you to lure the cultist informant into this dungeon and assist a local inquisition agent in extracting information from and eliminating her.”
Silence falls over the gathered adventurers once again as Ellie finishes her explanation.
“Okay, I have several questions about that.” Allea speaks up. “First of all, what would we get out of this? You cannot expect us to just risk our lives tangling with cultists for some goodwill.”
“Of course. It is a quest, after all, so there are appropriate rewards. Our supervisors are prepared to offer you a sizable amount of gold in addition to a second tier craftsman’s services for a custom order magic item of your choice.” Nathan speaks up.
Nodding, Allea continues. “Secondly, then. Why us? Wouldn’t higher tier teams be a better choice for this? And why this dungeon? Since we are currently delving this dungeon, we will have to wait a month before we can go again without arousing too much suspicion.”
“Fair concerns.” Ellie answers. “The answer to your first question is that higher tier teams may arouse suspicion when the informant in question is not an overly high tier. Additionally, you already have a fair amount of familiarity with her and it would not be unusual for you, once you have crossed over into the second tier, to invite a fellow tier two along - especially after you have concluded that the second floor of the dungeon is too dangerous for your party as it stands.”, she continues with a wink. “To answer the question of why this dungeon: Convenience, mostly. The inquisition has a strong presence here now, a good idea of the dungeon’s layout and challenges, and in addition, its Illusion Affinity will make it impossible for outside forces to determine the status of their operative on the inside, even with their Soul Bond. The only other dungeon in the region with an Illusion Affinity is the Mirror Mansion further north and that is a third tier.”
“That brings me to my final question then - who is this informant that we are supposedly familiar with?” Allea inquires.
Ellie smiles a humorless smile in response. “I figured you would be able to tell with the hints given so far, but if I must spell it out for you: It is Mirai, your wolf-kin appraiser.”