Chapter Twelve

"Grrrheept." Hyacinth's alert pulled Harmony out of her introspective testing. She'd just about figured out how and how much chronostasis was hampered by the seal. Prey, but almost everything was prey in that toad's senses.

Just a man. At least hyacinth hadn't acquired a taste for people like he had cats, vigilantism aside.

Soul sense was now limited. The suppression of so many parts through seals meant most functionality would require adjustment and practice. A blurry impression that would limit soul strike even if that wasn't crippled as well.

"Here comes a new challenger." Adric commented when he was in sight but out of earreach.

Stamina fighter, worker class. The kind of average person you'd find walking down the street. He had a bond leading out of sight, and the fact that he wore blue pants signified another bond she could logic into place. Okay, not a resource to solve the clothing problem. [Recall]. Not one of the twenty-four that joined her on the arena floor.

"So you took the offer presented to members in the crowd?" Harmony called to the man.

[Poise and Bearing] was in full force. Nearly naked was too close to actually being that way. It was likely that many others were having a hard time with the situation.

The man blinked and gave an awkward bow. "Oh, um, Lady White, I didn't recognize you and your pet. With all.." He gestured to the nudity. "As for this, one will miss every opportunity they never risk. I'm Muthu."

A worker's social skill entered play, something like [Good Worker]. Not the polite invisibility that servants presented, or the grabbing of nobles. Shades of relaxation, a casual fun time, someone to drink with, and tell you jokes. The skill felt like a lighter version of what Ma Bell spread at her table.

"Well, not all of us got sent here with pants." Adric moaned.

"You pick up one pair-of-pants and suddenly you're pair bonded with one. Though I can't currently take these off."

"Uh." Adric started.

"It takes care of all bodily functions.. One of the reasons I accepted the offer was to find a solution to my problem."

Harmony focused in with her hampered sight. Blurred and warped. Nothing she could do inside the Games, and that wasn't even considering how her skills were hampered or attempting to work on someone living. What she'd done with Max was through shared connection, and part of her died in the process.

While contemplating it, she bumped one of the seals.

Break Seals? After 100 seconds, you will be removed from the Ascendant Games if broken. Yes/No?

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No, not that. As good to know she could, in a life-threatening emergency, break them. You cheat, you lose, felt like a reasonable cost.

"I can't do anything here. But if it's still a problem, make an appointment with Bates and visit my manor. I'm no doctor, but I have a way with problems." [Recall] reminded her of all her successes and failures. "Though I may make it worse," Harmony admitted.

"I could never…" Muthu started.

"We're all competitors here. Haz'el Ri selected you for a reason. If I looked down on people the dungeon singled out, I'd have to do that with myself first and foremost."

The worker scratched his head with that awkward innocence that seemed to be more than just what his social skills presented. "You're not what I expected, Lady White. I'll consider it." He answered with a smile like he'd found a gold coin on the street.

"What were you expecting when you noticed it was me?" How the public perceived her was a point she'd not yet grasped. The wild rise, and then those months working on herself before running off to Naewauld. Bates and Ambrosia buffered her from nosy news hounds, crazed fans, and only with the trip to the capital did she dip her toes into the aristocracy; most of those peers were unimpressive and uninterested in her. The average person, though?

"Someone a little more full of themselves. More like your mother. Your name is in many a catchy tune, and you're a legend, Hazeldown's first lady. You deserve the admiration but… " Muthu grinned. "I think I could share a drink with you." Still working his charm.

Harmony's critical social skills were earned from the nights at the Dragonfly Inn and supported by [Keen Investigative Awareness] and [Poise and Bearing] revealed an honest and forthright man. It was nice to see people could still surprise her. "Thank you. If you're heading to a site, we could travel together." Harmony gestured to the beacon in her vision.

"Oh, no. My site is that way." Muthu pointed in a different direction. "I just sensed a person and had to check them out."

As friendly a face as he put on, he had some bonds out of sight. She could feel them with her gut, but this new blindness was a liability.

"Too bad we didn't get the same group. I'm imagining that they'll have groups compete against each other. Best of luck." How many group sites were there? How many had been recruited from the audience?

"I'm sure we'll meet again. Try not to hit me too hard if we fight. I'd like to stay in one piece. We might be opponents now, but I'm sure we could become great friends." Muthu responded and, with a nod, headed off in his camp's direction.

"He seemed like a nice fellow. I wanted him to be at our camp." Adric commented.

"Grreept." Hyacinth agreed from his spot hidden in her cleavage where he'd nestled into.

The man had gotten the usually salty toad to like him. Had she underestimated the man's social skills, or was he naturally likable?

Marching forward, more important thoughts crept up on purely practical matters as they walked towards their location. [Feed] would need to be applied again soon. It didn't help much with thirst, and her throat felt parched. Wouldn't that be a wicked trap to starve all the contestants to death? Though the seal notice implied removal was possible, notices like that never lie, though they could be misunderstood.

The near complete lack of life made it clear that this land was artificial. Hampered as she was, if there were a thriving ecosystem, she'd sense more death, and Hyacinth wouldn't miss any prey. The spirit didn't seem like it was one to starve everyone as difficult as this was being made. Her gut assured her that food and water would be presented to them. The question was how?

The box that exploded out of the ground provided that answer. Too bad it came with teeth and tentacles.

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