The rest of the preparations for the day didn't take long. Todd and Song wanted to check out the Guild Hall, but May felt she may be safer at home... besides it being no place for a newborn child. Abbey led them through the door, made the mistake of blinking, and immediately lost sight of them as they ran to explore the area.
They're adults, and probably a lot more capable than I am of handling themselves. Todd and Song should be fine. Right?
She decided, perhaps unwisely, not to worry about that while she had a list of things to do. The regulation book she had acquired last time she was here was frustratingly vague on the topic of starting up a business. Just that such things existed, State and Federal law had to be followed, and that certain ones had to be back away from the main areas. Probably so the kids didn't get their hands on weapons accidentally. It was time to go searching.
Thing is, Sundays were a much, much busier time at Camp than during the week. Tourists came to get souvenirs or Dungeoneer crafts. Locals came to see friends or look up their Races and Classes. Crafters came to hawk their wares, Delvers came to buy them. People of almost literally all shapes and sizes moved in confusing paths. Half of them seemed to be taking steps in a dance they knew as well as their own name. The other half were randomly flitting to and fro, occasionally crossing paths with those who knew what they were trying to actually do. People cheering at dueling circles and demonstrations, carrying food and water and items which might have been art and might have been horrifying weaponry.
It had been a while, but she couldn't help it. Her own old classes came flooding back to her, planning and charting in her head. Breaking down what she saw and finding root causes, goals, and ways forward. Kind of reminded her of her senior thesis, really. Abbey just had way less ability to make direct change.
Wait. Maybe I actually do.
Her feet took off and her body followed, directly to the left from where she was standing, heading towards the largest permanent structure in the area. One she had gone to before, seemingly half a lifetime ago. It only made sense, really. She needed to ask some questions for Justin anyway, so why not ask to see what the job application looked like? After all, the worst thing that could happen was someone saying "no," including herself after seeing the terms. A man in a blue-trimmed black robe had to jump to the side to avoid her sudden motion. She passed another of those cheering crowds, surrounding a table where a black-winged woman and an Ogre were arm wrestling.
There was certainly activity around the main administrative hall, for much the same reason that she had come there before. That is where press releases came from, where outreach programs ran through, where people could go to feel like they were next to the action. Nobody came out to greet her this time... but then again, Abbey was six feet tall instead of twelve, so she could just go on in. Workers at the front did a brisk business handing out materials and directions to those who needed it, the task of making sure the public kept a high opinion of the Delvers here a crucial undertaking.
One of them, a smiling man in business casual despite the increasing heat, recognized her. This would have been surprising if she didn't stand out among the mostly-Human people being served. "Abigail! Bit busy at the moment, is this official business?"
"Not for the bank this time. Is the job offer still open?"
"If I say yes, will you help me get this bunch to the Artisan's group?"
"Toss in a bit of QnA when I get back and you have a deal." At his thumbs-up, the blue woman turned to corral what looked like two families of mostly Humans, turning and gawking at the strangeness about them, checked her map, and got them going in roughly the right direction. Perhaps it was like herding cats, though she found that the younger kids were eager to get to their destination. Something about their parents promising to get something for their rooms. Abbey was again struck by an odd sense of duality. If this was the coming future for Justin and herself, how would she handle it? Could she even do so? It all seemed impossibly complex, especially when added to what looked to be a fairly serious career of one stripe or another.
There was a lot of chatter around the camp as they went by knots of other people. Apparently a Delver had gone viral over the past day or two while Abbey and Justin were distracted by other matters. Something about leading a small Guild on a foot chase halfway across Seattle to chase down an escaped Dungeon Demon. Cameras all along the route, ranging from traffic cams to people with phones and more curiosity than sense, had managed to capture almost the whole thing. Someone had reconstructed it online into one continuous chase scene within twelve hours. It ended in an ambush at a footbridge near the hospital, closing out the massive threat without a single civilian casualty though the Delver collapsed from exhaustion afterwards.
Wait, that one sounds familiar. I should look up that video later.
No time to give that too much thought for now. The Artisan group was a bit of a cul-de-sac relatively close to the main entry to the Camp. Some kind of feline Beastfolk, half pink and half gold, waved at the group like she was expecting them. "The Smythe family? Hi, I'm Neppy, and I'm glad you chose us to create these pieces for your home!" A striped chipmunk-looking woman worked in the nearby stall to wrap up several small canvases, a plain white cat (animal this time, not a person) was batting at some yarn hanging down from their awning.
The family's joy was infectious. They had driven hours to come here, to see what this life was like and see if they could find some of their children's favorites. A lot like going to a movie set to see a favorite actor, or a theme park to re-live a favorite show. It was real to them, but not in the kind of way those who really lived it might think. Who knows, one of them might join this life later, but the world needed more than Delvers in it. Perhaps they'd sign up to go Below. Perhaps they'd just leave the Status behind, like so many others did. Perhaps they'd use their abilities in their life as they wanted to lead it.
Like, for example, the tall and rather skeletal-looking gentleman in rich purple robes working nearby the path on the way back. Intricate gold braids and amulets secured and decorated them, and his eye sockets glowed with a golden power. The man was cheerily issuing directions to several pallid minions, themselves dressed in working clothes, who in turn were pulling rocks and weeds out of an area. Looked like a Lich, but... different. There was none of the dark air about him, none of the struggle. Heck, he was out in broad daylight. Almost against her better judgment she walked over, the man turning to face her as she approached. On his robe was a badge, showing a windmill and lance. He started rattling off something that sounded Spanish, but caught himself. "Sorry, sometimes I lose track. How are you, and how can I help you?" His accent was a bit odd. Sounded halfway between Spain and France. Whatever caused that, Abbey figured she'd best not bring it up.
"Oh, uh, I'm doing well, and.... not too sure. Just got curious and walked over. I'm Abbey, and your name?" She held out one blue hand, which he reached out to grasp with one skeletal one.
"Vyrlokar. Necromancer with the
Caballeros
. Luis, Will, and Aldo," he nodded at the well-preserved but corpse-pale bodies, "agreed to keep helping me when they eventually stopped using their bodies. Which happened a couple of years ago, it took some fixing. They're cool, even if the jokes are a bit slower these days." He turned to give a few more directions to them in Spanish, the golden glow of his eyes getting a tinge of green as he did.
"What are you even doing back here?" Abbey's own curiosity was nearly insatiable.
Vyrlokar shrugged. "Neither my friends nor I get bored or tired easily. Or ever. There's a big convention happening here in a few weeks, so we're setting up space for extra stalls and supplies. Marshal Shapiro pays subcontractors well, or we wouldn't be doing manual labor."
"Oh!" She looked around, considering their task for the first time. It made a kind of sense, though not one she had really considered. If the abilities existed to be used, and rest assured that they existed in abundance here at Camp, a nearly infinitely complex set of solutions existed for any given problem. It all just came down to picking the best one for the job and convincing them to apply them. "I see. Um, I hope you'll excuse the curiosity, but..."
"But you're not used to seeing a Lich or a Necromancer in broad daylight, let alone both? Used to seeing us in shadowy corners at midnight?" The words might have been scary, but something about the tilt of his head and green-gold glow of his eyes that made him still sound cheerful.
"Not to be rude, but yes."
"Being undead has its drawbacks, Abbey. Thing is, not really feeling emotion isn't exactly a drawback to someone like me. Back in my day, this was kind of what the medicine tried to do anyway. Can't exactly tan, but I can't sunburn either. Works for me. Now, I do need to get back to work. Been nice chatting, and maybe we can talk again sometime." He turned to give a few more instructions, and Abbey took it as her cue to get back to what she was doing.
One set of questions answered, several remained, and many more got added to the list. Such was life. Or undeath, as the case may be.
She briefly considered stopping for food, but it was a bit early and there were a decent number of gawkers watching as a familiar-looking gray and winged man talked to a couple of squid-looking guys, his guildmates to his sides. It would be easier to get back to the admin building and knock out what she was here for. Eyes on the target, gotta go for it. Finishing a job application, and finding out if her boyfriend's ideas could work.
Should I even be calling him my "boyfriend" anymore? He has Wished upon my soul for a place to live our lives together, if that's not a proposal I'm not quite sure what is. Probably best if I don't mention that thought to him just yet, he's got enough on his mind and I don't want to scare him off.
