Freddie and the other Crystal Shield guys don’t stick around long after that. The head guy looks pretty cowed, Freddie looks a bit confused, and the priests just look kinda embarrassed. I can’t really blame them. The silence after Grim left was the kind that makes someone re-evaluate the choices that led them to where they are, and nobody looks really proud of what they did. Well, except for Larx.

Either way, that little kerfluffle tipped me over the threshold to designate my Voice! And… I think I’m going to offer it to Teemo first.

Hey bud. So, uh… wanna be my Voice? Nah, I’m not exactly sure what it entails, aside from talking to people sometimes. Probably not very often, no. For the most part, I want to keep letting my actions speak for me, which is great for broader things, but there are more complex ideas I’d like to communicate.

…Yeah, and I need to tell the ratkin about the love stuff, if they’re determined to put me at the center of their cult. Yes, I would like you to keep doing your Scouting. I’m pretty sure you’ll still be able to. I mean, look at Fluffles. He still can do what he did before he became a Conduit, so it’ll probably be the same with being my Voice?

Heh, no, you won’t need to greet everyone who shows up. You’ll probably be talking a lot with Yvonne and Aranya, probably a bit with Freddie and Rhonda, some with Ragnar and Aelara, and probably with Elf Guy, too.

You’re only saying yes because you want to see the look on his face when you talk to him, aren’t you. Well, I guess it can be for multiple reasons. So, you want the job? Cool.

Teemo

The boss is an odd one. It’s not like Teemo has been a scion in any other dungeons, but he was created with some expectations set in his little rat mind. Some expectations the dungeon met and exceeded with ease. Some expectations never seem to be on the dungeon’s mind at all.

It’s difficult to tell, sometimes, what’s actually on its mind. It speaks clearly enough, but a lot of the concepts go way over Teemo’s head, and even over Tiny’s. The big spider takes a pretty stoic look on that fact, saying the dungeon’s odd behavior has certainly been working well so far.

Teemo would like to argue that point, but he really can’t. Especially not after their victory over the rival dungeon. He still feels a little bad about not being able to save the tall birdwoman, but even that seemed to work out well in the end. Besides, the skeleton scion cheated with that enchantment anyway.

But now, the dungeon has actually asked if he wants to be its Voice. Asked! Who does that?! A really weird dungeon, that’s who. It even talked with him about it, instead of just dumping the responsibility on him.

Honestly, his first instinct was to just do as ordered, but he wasn’t ordered. Then he was going to decline. But… the dungeon really has been doing amazing things with its nonsensical decisions. Maybe having a simple rat like Teemo as the Voice will also do amazing things? He doubts it, but he also doubted the maze would work.

Either way, those doubts are a bit moot at this point, as he’s already accepted. All he has left to do is head to the ratnest so the bar can start filling. He just hopes it doesn’t take him as long to Ascend as it took Fluffles.

Freddie

Freddie didn't expect the consecration to go like that. He thought it’d be a simple matter, things would go off without a hitch, and the church would be able to start transferring the interred to the cemetery.

He’s pretty sure the last part will still happen, but Head Priest Torlon has been slowly talking to everyone individually about what happened. The gnome is usually very genial, but was clearly unhappy with how it went. He first talked with the Head Acolyte, and then the attendant priests, and now he’s waving for Freddie to come into his office.

Freddie hasn’t actually ever been in there before. Even when he took his initiate vows, they were done in front of the entire church. So he can’t help but look around as he enters the office. Shelves line the walls, filled with various books on various subjects. A chipped crystal shield hangs on the wall behind the desk, put there after Torlon retired from his days as an adventurer.

He smiles as he sees Freddie’s eyes lingering on it. “I’ve been asked why not get a new one to hang up, but I think it’s very fitting. The Crystal Shield does not require perfection. Life will leave its mark on everyone, and you can’t be a proper protection if you pretend it doesn’t. But please, have a seat, Freddie.”

The young orc nods and takes a seat, and waits a moment for the Head Priest to climb up onto his own behind the desk. “Can you tell me what happened today, Freddie?”

He just looks a bit confused. “Didn’t… didn’t everyone else already tell you?” The Priest smiles.

“They did, but I want your perspective. People can miss things, or have their own perspective on the events. You know the dungeon best of all the ones who went today, so of course I want to hear your perspective on what happened.”

Freddie still looks uncomfortable, but can’t really argue that logic. “Well… uh, we all got ready to go this morning. The others were nervous about going, and I did my best to reassure them that the dungeon’s safe. Some were, uh… more reassured than others, but everyone had enough faith we’d all get through this safely.

“We walked through the gates to the cemetery, which felt a bit strange. I don’t think anyone has walked through those gates since before I was born! At least none that weren’t breaking laws. Um…” He pauses to collect his thoughts before continuing.

“We got to the center of the cemetery without seeing any undead, though we did see some fresh graves. I wouldn’t be surprised if the dungeon did its best to try to put people back in their proper graves.”

Torlon smiles at that. “Some of the priests said the same thing. They’ve seen graves that had been burst out of, and graves that were freshly filled, too. The dungeon is an odd one…”

Freddie smiles at the understatement, then continues. “Before we could get the ceremony started, one of the Dwellers wandered up out of one of the crypts. I guess it connects to some tunnels down there? He acted like a friendly grandpa and asked to watch, and the Head Acolyte agreed.

“He just sat on the steps to one of the mausoleums and watched. The Head Acolyte invoked the Crystal Shield and tried to consecrate the cemetery, but I guess it didn’t take? Then he tried to exorcise the dungeon, I think? He was getting ready to prepare a full ritual when the ratkin spoke up and asked if he could try.”

Freddie chuckles for a moment before trying to hide it. “Uh… I don’t think the Head Acolyte was paying attention, and just told him sure. And… he consecrated the cemetery. The Head Acolyte was uh… displeased. He started yelling and threatening and carrying on, which got the attention of the skeleton scion.

“The Head Acolyte tried to Turn Undead, but… it failed. Utterly. Like it had no power over the scion. Not that it resisted, but that it didn’t even need to resist!” Freddie trails off at the memory, before remembering he’s in the Head Priest’s office.

“Uh… and then we left. The dungeon didn’t kick us out or anything, but we all kinda felt like we should go before we could do anything else like that…”

Torlon nods, his subtle smile never wavering. “Did the scion threaten the Head Acolyte?”

Freddie looks confused at that, then concentrates as he thinks. “No? It leaned forward and shushed him, but that was it?”

“Did the ratkin interfere with the rituals?”

Freddie shakes his head without even needing to examine his memories. “Nah, he just watched. Er… as far as I could tell, anyway. I could feel when he consecrated the area, but never felt anything from him when the other attempts failed.” He thinks about the odd ratkin before remembering something.

“Oh! He knew who I was! He said the dungeon knows me, and Rhonda, too!”

Torlon simply nods at that as well, before giving Freddie a crooked smile. “I’m not really surprised. You and your friend seem to spend much of your spare time there. We’re all fortunate it’s a friendly dungeon.” His smile slips slightly at that, before settling back into his usual friendly look.

“Well, if that’s all you can think of, I believe we’re done with this matter for now?” Freddie scrunches his face as he tries to remember anything else important, then nods.

“Yeah, that’s all I can think of, sir.” The gnome motions for him to lean forward, and Freddie does, and he gives the younger a simple blessing before letting him leave. As the door closes, the friendly look collapses into one of exhaustion.

“I knew I shouldn’t have sent the Head Acolyte…” he grumbles to himself as he falls back into his chair. The Acolyte means well, but his zeal can lead him to forcing awkward situations… like with the dungeon. He just had to invoke the Crystal Shield in the consecration, rather than the simple generic purification rite. And then to attempt an exorcism on the dungeon itself! The Crystal Shield Itself must have been protecting him for the dungeon to not simply destroy him on the spot!

Possibly even more worrying, though, is that Turn Undead had no effect on the scion at all. The way everyone described it, a simple breeze would have had more effect on the undead scion! And then it just shushes him like a librarian? He sighs and looks up to the hanging shield over his head.

“I miss how straightforward things were when I was an adventurer,” he laments, enjoying the catharsis of just wallowing for a few moments. Still, he can’t just wallow while there’s a potential problem to ward off. He takes a moment to recite a prayer, strengthening his resolve to do what he knows he has to do. The Head Acolyte will need to be punished in some way, likely starting with no longer being the Head. And the rest… will depend on the dungeon.

He grabs his quill and ink, and some parchment and gets to writing. If anyone can help him make amends with the dungeon, it’ll be the Dungeoneer’s Guild.