Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

What did it mean to settle a human into Sanctuary?

The answer to that question was a bit unclear. Such an act could have various consequences for example and that might be the answer one was looking for. But the answer could also be what would you need to provide the human.

On that note they'd need food, lodging, and also a sense of security. Human beings valued security. Once this feeling was lost, most human beings would abandon the place they were situated in.

The security could be something as simple as knowing that your boss at work will have your back. If the situation ever came that he didn't and you were somehow fired, chances were you wouldn't return.

The same sort of applied to the human girl in Sanctuary. If A was negligent and allowed the girl to feel threatened or insecure, she would never move past her prejudice that this was a city of monsters instead of a city of living creatures.

In such a situation, she would obviously never wish to set foot on Sanctuary soil.

Of course, even if she didn't want to work for A and Ed, she had no choice. But a person working against their will or out of necessity was less likely to give it their all than someone that was genuinely happy to be there.

While A was not stupid to the point of believing the human girl would reach that point, he hoped she would at least see the benefits of working together.

'I think the biggest barrier will be making her see that by joining hands with us, she is not joining hands with the enemy' For a human, it was very easy to see joining hands with monsters as betraying the whole race.

One could say that another word for security, was trust. Could you trust the surrounding entities?

"Before I tell you about Sanctuary, I want to preface something…" A said through Yerghog. A couldn't say for sure she'd come to trust them but he could try laying some groundwork.

"You don't lose out by working with us. We don't plan on harming any of the humans outside the dungeon, we plan on helping them" A told the adventurer girl in human tongue. Her expression suggested that she didn't believe A's words, however.

"We will give you both power and knowledge. With it, you'll gain even more power, fame, and wealth. What more could you want?" A told the girl in an enticing tone.

"I- I don't want any of that!" The girl rebutted feeling as though A intended to scam her.

A would raise a brow if lizardmen had any towards her rebuke. That was because he knew she was lying. W and Ed both knew of her circumstances and they versed A well on what said circumstances were.

"But you need it, right?" A said not missing a beat.

"And if you don't, the humans need it... no?" The humans could use someone with power and fame, and even if wealth was not at the top of their list of necessities it couldn't hurt to have.

"The knowledge and power you'll have can be shared" A said adding to his previous words.

Dungeons around the world would always appear and from them increasingly frightening monsters would spawn. If the rate at which the humans grew did not match that of the dungeons… It didn't take a genius to foresee the end result.

"That… That's also… not true…" The girl said with vehement denial. She could still feel the blood clots writhing in her blood. She'd be a fool to trust the monsters of the floor! Even a mushroom was a frightening demon.

Surprisingly, A did not say anything this time. 

Kimani was not ready to accept the reality of the human world. Ed was someone who was confined to a dungeon yet from just a few books he was able to foresee that the humans would not farewell in the future.

A was able to conclude that the human girl before him was not educated.

She was poor in both wealth and skill, she couldn't afford an education.No one would endorse her education either considering her inability. A knew this, but seeing her denial of reality affirmed this.

That was why A simply moved past it.

"Now I'll tell you the rules of Sanctuary and show you around the place. After that, I'll allow you to roam freely" A told Kimani who became surprised.

"...Roam free?" Was that the truth?

A nodded confidently. Unexpectedly, Kimani was frightened.

The notion of going out petrified her… the notion of doing it by herself… it sounded like suicide!

***

In the deathly still desert, W was admitted underground by the elven mage. The first sight was a dark crevice full of other elven mages monitoring the surface. There were also small team of elven warriors like the one that attacked W standing by.

They all showed W hostile or wary glances but they were soon out of sight as he was led down a tunnel.

The elven woman, whose name W learned was Riniya through some simple charades, treated him rather amicably as they walked towards what W presumed would be an underground village. 

Considering that he was a bone creature, Ed had come clean earlier.

'I am only able to send thoughts but not receive them, I can not speak your language' He said that referring to his linguistic capabilities. He didn't try to deceive them like Ed had done to the lizardmen previously.

"He can't understand us…" The earthen mage seemed dejected by this news as it meant that she wouldn't be able to discuss with W.

After that they attempted some simple communication through some charades. The most they got out of it was W learning names, however. That was as simple as pointing at oneself and saying their name after all.

Anything else they wished to communicate was lost on W.

'But…' The elves weren't out of luck just yet, while W could not communicate with them that wasn't true for Ed.

'My umm… Master is an elf and he resides in a somewhat distant abandoned city, you can talk to him' W said his streak of honesty rashly ending. 

Master? W was making it seem as if Ed was some sort of high-rank necromancer capable of creating powerful undead- Wait was that actually wrong?

Despite the fact that W's statement was not wrong, the elves who heard the transmission all frowned, disbelief was plainly written on their faces. This news sounded unbelievable.

How did an elf become the master of a creature they could only assume came from the blood haven? Plus, to live in an abandoned city? If it was abandoned it was for a reason!

Reading the room, or rather tunnel, W could tell that his words did not land positively.

'Do you all think this is a trap?' W asked with a hint of disappointment. He was telling the honest truth. His lvl 0 transmission was not letting the full extent of his intention come through, however.

Yes, they could all feel W's sincerity but how many were willing to bet on it? Earlier only the woman mage spoke out on his behalf. Yet, she seemed to be hesitating now despite the fact that his intent was being transmitted just the same.

The issue was that letting a creature that had already discovered them into their abode, was very different from willingly walking into what might be a trap.

In their own territory they could eliminate the creature at the first sign of danger. Going to this so-called abandoned city might mean getting ambushed from all directions or just being killed by the unknown.

'Don't worry, my master can come here instead' W said hoping to quell the elves' unease.

It was shortly after this transmission that the long winding tunnel opened up into a vast open space.

W paused and took in the sight. The tunnel was much higher up than the buildings and housing allowing him to get a full scope of the place.

Of course, everything was incredibly dark considering they were underground. Nonetheless, there were dim lights that could be seen here and there. It didn't make a difference for W as an undead but it did help the atmosphere.

'Wow…' There were rows of houses stacked wantonly atop one another. Elves could be seeing traveling amidst this chaos as if it were normal somehow. 

The atmosphere… it was a bit poor now, wasn't it?

No matter the angle, all W saw was an underground favela. The houses were made of earth and stone but they still looked as weak as cardboard. This implied the engineering was surprisingly poor.

Such a degree of carelessness was not something W expected of elves.

Usually, the elves would offer an explanation such as that they are constantly on the move but that wasn't possible since W wouldn't understand.

They instead started walking down a winding stairwell. The stairs came to an end atop the sea of houses. After walking for a while on the roofs of these dingy buildings, the small group finally came to a stop.

'This is near where Idrisi is…' W thought to himself silently. He was likely going to be kicked out after retrieving his skeleton. Or… was he going to be held hostage instead?

W's senses heightened as the elves motioned for him to go down a dark hatch.