Chương 24: 23. Three Questions

Tavian stood over Jarden, sword raised.

"What did you just say?" he asked Lea. He slowly lowered his sword. Jarden, who could not see or hear Lea, thought Tavian was talking to him. He gave a gasp of relief and continued his babbled supplications.

"You have a Binding Oath Perk," Lea said. Tavian walked away so that he wouldn't have to listen to it anymore, leaving the cringing man confused.

"Tell me about this Perk," Tavian said.

"You unlocked the Perk at Tier II. It allows you to make contracts with people," Lea explained.

"Or between people. They agree to something, you agree to something, and if you break the oath, the Influence of your kingdom inflicts pain on you."

"What if they're not in my kingdom?" Tavian asked.

"Then nothing happens," Lea said.

"What if my Influence is quite low?"

"Then the effects of breaking an oath will be reduced."

"I see," Tavian said, stroking his chin.

"Why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"Why didn't you read the system notifications that told you about it?" Lea bit back.

"Besides, it must be willingly entered into by both parties." Tavian didn't want to argue.

"Can I make him swear an oath to take me to the relic?"

"You can't make him do anything," Lea said.

"The oath won't be valid if it's made under duress. You have to offer him something that he wants. And I'll give you some advice on this point: Make sure it's a short term thing. Something you can give him right away. Having long term, vague, or distant oaths that are hanging over your head can become a major problem down the road."

"How do I know if I've broken an oath?"

"You must designate someone to witness the oath. Your own mind, your witness, and I will judge. It is generally quite clear if the oath is well made. And any system-based consequences activate immediately." Tavian let that sink in. It was an interesting system, and it seemed like it could be useful.

"Problem," he said.

"If I make Jarden swear an oath to take me to the relic, what if the relic is not in my territory? The oath is not enforced?"

"Come up with a better oath, then," Lea said.

"Something that keeps him on your territory." Tavian rubbed his forehead as he considered the possibilities.

"I can have him swear to tell me the truth," he said.

"And if he willfully lies to me, I'll know?"

"That's right," Lea said.

"But it's actually better than that. If he tries to deceive you by telling partial truths, the binding oath will also punish him."

"Good," Tavian said. He called Braun over and briefly explained the Binding Oath Perk.

"I'm going to make a deal with Jarden," he said.

"Tell me what you think about this: I promise to try to rescue your daughter from Lord Anarvia. In return, you promise to always be honest with me."

"Didn't you say not to do long-term promises?" Braun asked, pushing back.

"That feels a bit nebulous, and distant. And what if she's dead?"

"Fine," Tavian said.

"What is your idea? I can't free him, because he'll run away. I can't just promise not to execute him, because that's duress."

"Are you sure he really has something valuable to tell you? The man deserves to die."

"I think he does," Tavian said. Braun shrugged.

"You said that the system would enforce the contract. What if you offered him a Class? Then if he broke the oath, the system would revoke it. You'd still have a bit of sway over him, even if he wasn't on claimed tiles, since he wouldn't want to lose the Class?"

"That's a good idea," Tavian said.

"It fulfills my end of the bargain immediately, too." Tavian walked over to Jarden.

"We're going to make a deal," Tavian said.

"It will be magically binding." He explained the Binding Oath. Jarden's eyes widened. His whole demeanor changed when he realized that his life was no longer on the line. He wriggled himself more upright, so he could better look Tavian in the eye.

"What is it?"

"I want you to tell me the truth when I ask you questions," Tavian said.

"In return, I promise not to kill you while you're on my territory for the next six days, and I'll grant you a Class with a constitution bonus, to help you live until you can see your daughter."

"No deal," he said.

"You won't kill me, but your minions might. Or you might drag me off your territory and execute me." Tavian sighed.

"I promise you that you won't be executed by any order of mine?" he said.

"It's not good enough," Jarden said, rejecting the deal again.

"What stops you from revoking the Class as soon as I answer your questions? Or killing me when the six days are up?"

"In six days this will all be over, one way or another." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Twenty-eight days," Jarden said.

"I will be under your protection, and won't have my Class revoked. And in exchange, I will answer one question to the best of my ability."

"Hah," Tavian scoffed.

"One question? Forget about it. I need… two dozen honest answers, at least." Jarden shrugged.

"I'll die here, then," he said.

"Fine," Tavian said.

"A dozen questions. A Class. Plus one constitution. And I'll grant you amnesty for two weeks." Jarden was clearly tempted by this.

"Two questions," he said. Tavian exhaled slowly.

"Six." Jarden glanced around the courtyard, a measuring look in his eyes. Gone was the sniveling prisoner. This man evaluated Tavian's deal like a fake relic offered to his vault.

"Three." Tavian bit his lip.

"Three topics," he said.

"Which means I'm allowed to ask follow-up questions." This time Jarden hesitated.

"Fine," he said.

"But I want two constitution." Did the man seem… hopeful? Tavian could agree to this deal. Tavian activated his Binding Oath Perk and created the contract as discussed. He copied the Class [Fortify II], renamed it to [Ward], and attached the oath to the Class. When Jarden accepted the Class, he'd accept the oath and gain two constitution. By accepting a Class, Jarden would also become a subject of Tar Corinath. That meant that the high Influence in Tavian's kingdom would stop working against Jarden.

At a cost of six Essence, Tavian assigned the Class. He assigned Braun to witness the oath. Jarden accepted. A flash of light and runes swirled around Tavian and Jarden, before settling down and sinking into their skin. He leaned over to Braun.

"We're going to need a thicker rope. And get Calli and Cormath." Braun jogged off. Jarden sat up, pulling his hands free from the stake that had pinned him to the ground. He strained and broke the cords, then shook out his arms as blood flowed back into them.

"You're still a prisoner," Tavian said, preventing Jarden from standing. Braun returned and rebound Jarden with thicker cords.

"Alas," Jarden said with a sad look.

"What are your three questions?" Three questions. Tavian stared down at Jarden, his heart pounding in his chest. Anarvia had hundreds of men below the keep right now, searching for something. He had no idea what it was; he only knew that Lord Anarvia thought it was more valuable than the Conqueror's Core. Tavian didn't have enough men or Influence to fight a half banner of soldiers. He only knew that he needed to stop Anarvia. Jarden was the key. With the right questions, he'd get the information he needed.

Braun, Calli, and Cormath gathered around him. They all stared at the former vault master, like a pack of hungry wolves. For his first topic, he made the obvious choice.

"What is Lord Anarvia looking for?" Jarden smiled.

"I knew that would be your first question."

"My first topic," Tavian clarified.

"Answer."

"It's a miasmic relic," Jarden said.

"We don't know all its capabilities, but it's powerful. It can absorb miasma from its surroundings and infuse it into an object."

"Is that what happened to the treasures from the vault?" Calli asked. Jarden's eyes flicked to Tavian, to see if he needed to answer that as a follow-up question. Tavian nodded.

"No," Jarden said.

"I could speculate, but we're talking about the relic, not the vault treasures."

"How did you find the relic?" Tavian asked.

"When I realized that there was something on the other side of the vault, I was worried about thieves. I started exploring and mapping the tunnels, and soon realized that the dungeon went far deeper and were far more dangerous than I had imagined. Miasma must have been pooling there for generations."

"So you lied about not going deeper in the dungeon," Tavian observed.

"Was that a question?"

"No, keep answering. How did you find the relic?"

"I was exploring deeper and deeper, at first, not knowing how much I was putting my own life at risk, when I found some kind of alchemical workshop in an ancient chamber. The books and scrolls had all rotted to dust. Vials and jars of potions had long since shattered. The ancient bones of a man long dead lay huddled in one corner.

"And in the midst of it all, there sat a strange metallic mechanism, pulsating with a black aura. I knew I had discovered something of great importance."

"Did you tell my father, the king?" Tavian asked.

"I believe that question strays into a new topic?"

"Fine. Tell me what you learned about the relic."

"I experimented with the relic. It was shaped something like an olive press, with a long handle and a series of chambers. I discovered that by placing small objects into the lower chamber and actuating the lever, I could impress a portion of miasmic essence into them, giving them a dark energy and strength.

"However, the relic was very, very slow to refill with miasmic essence. I believed that there might be some way to fill it faster, to infuse things more strongly, so I worked in secret, advancing my studies.

"What I did not realize was that with every pass through the dungeon, the life essence in my body was stirring up the stagnant pools of miasma. These turbulent patches began to create… dangers."

"What kind of dangers?" Tavian asked.

"If you want to ask me about the dungeon, I'll answer, but I believe that would be a new topic."

"Where is the relic now?"

"In the dungeon, still, accumulating miasma."

"Did you manage to make it accumulate faster?"

"Somewhat, though my experimentation has been highly limited as of late, due to the danger of the dungeon."

"How did you experiment on your own?" Calli asked.

"Do you have coresmithing tools, or did someone help you? Did you ever talk to Master Halin about this?" Jarden looked to Tavian.

"A new topic?" he asked.

"No," Tavian said, shooting Calli a look.

"Does Anarvia know where the relic is?"

"Not that I know of."

"Will it be difficult for him to find it?" Jarden simply shrugged.

"It took us—me months before I stumbled across it. He might be luckier than I." Braun placed a hand on Tavian's shoulder, pulling him back.

"When you were away," Braun said, "the miasmic surges were constantly getting worse. The coresmiths were constantly working on the Core, trying to bolster it. Master Halin thought that the Core might somehow be resonating with and enhancing the surges. But it sounds like it might actually have been this bastard, stirring up darkness beneath our feet."

"With hundreds of men down there searching, surely Lord Anarvia's expecting to find the relic soon," Tavian said.

"They marched right in there like they didn't expect to come out until they found it. This explains why he's desperate to get us to leave. Our kingdom's Influence is making it difficult for them to keep searching."

"What are you going to ask him about next?"

"If I may," Cormath cut in.

"I'd suggest a line of questioning that will help us rely on him more in the future. Maybe we should learn what the real situation is with his daughter? Then we could have leverage when the questions are used up."

"I think we should learn more about the dangers in the dungeon," Calli put in.

"If you're thinking about going down there, you'll have a better idea of what you're up against."

"I would ask about entrances," Braun said.

"We know that there's a hole in the guardhouse larder. There are probably others. Anarvians could be popping out around the palace like rats as they search." Tavian turned back to Jarden.

"Another question about the relic. What does it do to objects you infuse with miasma? How does it affect them?"

"The specifics vary, but it enhances them," he said.

"Blades become sharper. Shields become stronger. More importantly, it enhances the wielder and it seems to reduce the effect Influence has over you. But I believe that here may be stronger effects with more concentrations of miasma."

"Did you make many of these?"

"No," Jarden said.

"The first few I infused had such little quantities of miasma in them that the effects were hardly noticeable. I made one stronger blade. It turned the steel jet black. A man wielding it is granted significant strength.

"Where is it?" Jarden pursed his lips shut. Tavian leaned in, his shadow falling across Jarden's face. He didn't say a word. Sweat beaded on Jarden's grimy temple. This was a question that he had to answer.

"Anarvia has it," Jarden muttered.

"He carries it with him all the time, afraid of losing it."