I stare into Kandra’s eyes, framed by her skull glowing through her gelatinous skin. My spear shifts in my grasp while I size her up. I hold it with both hands, aiming the tip at her generous chest.

“What did I tell you about assuming a humanoid form?” I ask.

“I assumed the best form for the task at hand,” she curtly responds. With a shake of her arms she exits her battle stance. Her bones rapidly twist to form skeletal hands. With disturbing speed, her translucent skins shifts and folds to cover her forearms once again.

“My apologies, Master. I was concerned for your safety,” she gracefully reclines her head, but retains her form as a beautiful naked woman.

I can’t help but take a moment to appreciate her form. The way the light plays through her body is eye catching, not to mention how exotic it is to be able to see her bones shift and move as she walks.

“Wait. What’s going on? What did you tell her about being humanoid? Where did you get the spear?” Quinn’s peeved voice breaks through the moment, echoing in the small cave.

I turn to face Quinn and can’t help but wince at the cocktail of colors in her aura. She is no longer sleeping peacefully; She is storming over instead. The light red of annoyance wages war with the blues of disapproval. But what worries me more is the underlying pale green of apprehension lurking beneath the surface.

“Master told me to not take a humanoid shape,” Kandra admits humbly.

Damn it.

“Yes, I got that. Now tell me why!” Quinn retorts in a sharp tone, the light red of annoyance deepening to anger.

“Quinn, I told her that cause I didn’t want to upset you,” I raise my hands, palms up, in the universal sign for surrender. I’m confident I did the right thing, but… Why is she so mad? It doesn’t make any sense.

“Why the fuck would I be upset about your familiar being humanoid?!” Quinn is close now, her wings spread to make herself look bigger. Her feather twitch and flutter, as if moved by invisible winds.

The words flow out of me at a rapid pace as I try to defend my decision. “I was just trying to keep your feelings from getting hurt. I-“

“Why would my feelings be hurt? Do you think she is prettier than I am? Do you want to fuck her? What the hell Snowflake!?” The swirling cocktail of colors speeds up, becoming a storm. The blues deepen into sorrow and I can see her eyes welling with tears.

Kandra, perhaps even worse at social clues than I am, takes this time to give her two cents.

“I understand now, Master. You have my deepest apologies,” she says.

It doesn’t help. At all.

“You, stay the fuck out of this! Take your massive tits and get the fuck out of here!” Quinn shouts. The tears are beginning to spill down her face.

“Wait! No. I need to ask you both some question,” I blurt out. “Jeez, Quinn. Could you relax about this, please? Your emotions are off the charts right now. I was trying to do the right thing.”

“What do you know about my emotions, Snowflake?” Quinn clenches her hands at her side, knuckles turning white. “You don’t understand me at all!”

“Urgh. Knock it off, Quinn,” I growl, exasperated. I can understand where she is coming from, but I didn’t do anything wrong! “I can literally see your emotions. Look, you have some jealousy issues, but that is fine! I get it, which is why I went out of my way to make it less of an issue. Don’t you see that?”

Quinn opens her mouth to retort, but before she says anything the reality of what I said hits her. Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she says, “… You can see my emotions?”

“Well, I mean…” I weigh the pros and cons of trying to lie my way out of this… I should tell her. We are in this life and death situation together. Our destinies are entertwined. Besides, relationships are built on trust and communication, or so I’ve heard. “Yeah. That was one of the things I wanted to talk to you two about.”

“Master, please explain,” Kandra, still standing to the side, tenses.

“Okay, um. I wasn’t expecting to be put on the spot like this,” I say, organizing my thoughts. “Let’s see… Do you remember how I used to look like an average human and then I got pointy teeth and grew taller all of the sudden?”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Quinn says, her emotional storm winding down. “I thought it was a bit weird.”

“It was before your time, Kandra,” I wave off my familiar as she opens her mouth to say something. I take a deep breath and begin my monologue. “Okay, so here’s the deal. When I came to this world, dimension, universe, or whatever it is, I traded my race, class, and starting stats for the ability to evolve. Technically, my name too, I guess. I just read this book on magic and-“

“Wait, wait. Hold on,” Quinn interrupts. Her wings are closed now, but they are still fluttering agitatedly. “You can do that? What was race and class before? And what do you mean your name?”

“What is your race now?” Kandra stacks another question on to the growing pile.

“Can we hold the questions until I finish?” I ask in a tone that makes it clear I’m not really asking.

Kandra stares at me blankly, neither confirming nor denying.

“Fine,” Quinn’s mouth twists in displeasure, her feathers ruffling.

“Okay. Um… book on magic,” I recall my train of thought. “Right. So, I think all that stuff was the price I paid. So far, I’ve evolved twice. I got a Lesser Monster Core and I evolved into a Lesser Empath. The Lesser Empath is what lets me see emotions. I can see them as color. It is more or less intuitive and I’m still trying to figure out exactly how it works.”

“Okay, but what about-“

“I’m not done!” I snap, the familiar feeling of irrational irritation at my orders being disobeyed rising in my chest. “I’ve got more to tell you. This leads up to the question I have for you. Do you remember, Henry?”

“Henry von Vordaray?”

“The guy who was calling you brother?”

“Yeah, that guy,” I confirm both of their questions, pushing my irritation down. I address Quinn. “You remember the whole becoming a vampire and being adopted into their family, right?”

“It rings a bell,” She replies thoughtfully. “But nothing changed after that so I didn’t pay it much mind.”

“Well,” I explain, hefting my new spear. “I just used my blood as the main part of spell matrix to make this spear. The description says that I’m an Unawakened Vampire Lord, so I was wondering what you two know about vampires?”

“I feel like you just glossed over a lot of crucial details and now you’re trying to change the subject,” Quinn snaps, the red in her aura flaring.

“I agree,” Kandra gives me a cold look.

“Alright, alright,” I concede before the two irritated women. Where is Mordai to act as a foil when you need him? “I’ll answer two questions each, but then you guys answer my question. Deal?”

“Do you have any racial abilities that might help us defeat my husband and his companions?” Quinn asks without hesitation.

“I can dampen and heighten emotions to an extent, but I’m not sure how useful that would be. Other than that, I think you’ve seen most of what I can do,” I answer her question as honestly as I can. I have chosen openness and honest as my route, so there is no point in hiding anything.

Kandra raises her hand to grab my attention, her skin and bones shimmering.

“Master, when you evolve do I evolve as well?”

“As far as I’m aware, yes,” I turn to answer her. “Nevasca evolves a little bit each time I do. I think it has something to do with soul evolving as well as my body.”

Out of the corner of my eye I catch the tempest of Quinn’s emotions once again rising. I turn to see her facing the floor, her wings drooping.

“So…” She whispers, her voice barely loud enough to hear. “You can control people to an extent. That is… Have you ever altered my emotions?”

“No!” I exclaim. “Of course not! When I gained the ability, I swore to myself I would never play with the emotions of those close to me.”

“Promise me, Snowflake,” she says, the quietness of her voice doing nothing to hide the intensity. She raises her eyes from the floor to meet mine. “Look me in the eye and promise me that you’ll never play tricks with my mind!”

She her hand out to grab my chest. Her fingers dig into the tattered black armor I didn’t have a chance to replace. Her eyes search my face, looking for… something. If I didn’t know better I could swear she is trying to divine the contents of my soul. I open my mouth to answer, but she speaks before I can.

“I’m not sure I can even trust my own emotions anymore!” Her eyes are wild and lost, looking for something to cling to. “I just- I can’t- It’s so much like him.”

“I’m not him, Quinn!” I reach out to hold her, my eyes not leaving hers. “Look, I love you. I would never do that to you. I’m telling you this up front so that there are no secrets between us. We’re in this together, for the long haul. I like you just the way you are. I wouldn’t change you. I promise.”

We stand there for several minutes, peering into each other’s eyes. I can feel her silently weighing more words and actions. She is deciding whether or not she believes me. I can feel it.

“Thank you, Snowflake,” she pushes me away, gently. “I need a couple of minutes to adjust. This is a lot to wake up to….”

“Of course,” I blurt, worried. “Take your time. Kandra and I will go chat outside. You stay in here where it is safe and cool.”

Without further ado, I usher Kandra outside. The sun sets in the distance, casting a gorgeous moziac of colors across the large clouds floating overhead. With a watchful eye, I scan the horizon for approaching threats. Not letting my guard down, I flex my Source to remake the shattered icewall, providing Quinn with a measure of privacy while she sorts through the mass of information I’ve just thrown at her. Waking up to find your lover ogling another woman, and then finding out he can alter your emotions, would put anyone in a bad mood. If she wants space, I can do that.

“Master,” Kandra interrupts my introspection. “For my second question, I would like to know what it takes for you to evolve.”

“Oh, yeah,” I nod, still scanning for threats. “Sorry, that got a bit intense in there. Um, for every five achievements I get, I evolve.”

“Ah,” Kandra smiles at me, turning my attention away from the horizon. Her smile is a smug, predatory smile hiding behind a charming veneer. “In that case, I promise to be of the utmost assistance.”

“Thank you, Kandra. And thank you for being understanding about the humanoid thing,” I talk slowly, half addressing Kandra and half thinking out loud. “I think Quinn has low self-esteem because of the way her husband treated her. That makes her more prone to not feeling wanted, so she lashes out. I just wanted to do my best to keep her from getting hurt, you know?”

“I understand the sentiment,” Kandra nods her agreement. “But it isn’t exactly something I am readily familiar with. Although humanoid slimes, like me, have been known to enjoy sex, we produce asexually. Our emotions aren’t hardwired around sex, unlike many other races.”

“Oh, you enjoy sex even though you don’t have… reproductive parts?”

“I’m a shapeshifter, Master. I can make any sort of parts I want,” Kandra purrs with a sly expression plastered across her face.

“Wow. That’s, uh,” I stumble over my words. This conversation is not helping my case right now. I need to change the subject. “Good to know. Anyway, speaking of different races, what do you know of vampires?”

“I don’t know much,” Kandra politely changes the conversation without batting an eye. “Beyond the fact that the von Vordaray clan is extremely powerful; Vampires are adept practitioners of blood and shadow magic; Vampires need to consume the blood of sentient species to survive.”

“Consume blood to survive?” I mutter. “Why sentient species?”

“Forgive me, but I do not know. The reasons why are a closely guarded secret.”

“Hmmm,” I sink into thought, before asking another question on my mind. “Have you heard of a race known as the Lesser Tyrant Empathia?”

“No, I have not,” she shakes her head. “Perhaps your lover will know more?”

“Perhaps,” I nod. “Do you think we should go check on her?”

Kandra answers my question by shifting out of her humanoid form and into her bird form. I acknowledge her advice and turn to my icewall. I channel Source into an image of the ice splitting in two and swinging open like a set of double doors. I connect the image to a rune in my mind, and I associate that rune with a word.

“[Open],” I mutter. With a surge of Source, magic makes my vision a reality.

“Snowflake, I’m glad you came in. I was about to come out and talk to you,” Quinn greets me in a flood of words. “Before you say anything, I want to apologize. I overreacted about Kandra. I know you were trying to be thoughtful…”

I open my mouth to tell her that its okay, but she is just getting started. Fear, sadness, and disgust swirl around her in a combination makes me think of shame. Shame or self-loathing.

“About your emotions thing…” She lulls briefly, as if to give her mind a moment to catch up with her mouth. “It’s good for us to be open and honest with each other, so I want to be honest with you. I… Well, he found me and… He made me do things. I came to you as soon as I could get away, but you have to understand that survival was my foremost thought! Something like preserving my honor or… Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“Hey, hey,” I cup her cheek, using my thumb to wipe away the tears that appeared halfway through her storm of words. “Of course I understand. We’ve all had to do things we’re not proud of. I don’t blame you. It isn’t your fault. Shhh. Come here. You don’t need to be ashamed.”

“As long as we’re being honest about things,” she glances down and away. “I need to tell you about our escape plan.”

“I’m listening,” I say, pulling her into a hug. My hand rests on the back of her head, holding her against my chest. My other arm wraps around her should, holding her up while she leans against me.

“You talked about price earlier,” she murmurs. “To open the gate to the sub-dungeon, we need to kill the Guardian. The Guardian is known as the ‘Unmoving Mountain’ and it’s life energy is what fuels the spell to open the gate. From what I can tell, it is one of these creatures with a mountain on it’s back that’s shuffling around in this floor of the Dungeon. You know, like the one we’re on. Anyway, we have to find the only one that’s not moving and kill it. Hence, the Unmoving Mountain.”

She looks up at me, to make sure that I’m listening. I kiss her forehead and nod. Killing a Guardian is something I was sort of expecting, so no surprise there, the life energy to fuel the spell totally tracks with the book, and the mountains being creatures makes sense in a strange way.

“Here’s the thing,” She buries her face back into my chest, muffling her voice. “With just the two of us there is no way in hell we can kill it. The thing is a literal mountain. I have a plan but… it comes at a price.”

“Whats the price?” My hand runs through her soft, silky hair.

“You didn’t know this about me but… I’m a Body Engraver,” Quinn pauses, as if waiting for a reaction.

“…”

“Right, I forgot you haven’t been around for very long,” she says. “Um, it is a job. People with jobs aren’t allowed into the Dungeon so it kind of a big deal… Anyway! I can engrave a rune into your body that will amplify your power and allow you to use all of your Source in one big shot. It is a single use rune and with my illusions we can sneak close enough for you to hopefully kill the Unmoving Mountain in a single attack.”

Sounds like a solid plan. Quinn sneaks us up so we can get the drop on the Guardian and I use all of my Source, Blood Energy, and Core Energy to power a single, massive strike kill it in one shot. I confirmed earlier today that it is impossible for me to put all my energy into a single thing unless I’m willing to sit there for ages to charge it up. If I can get it in the head or heart, I’m confident we can kill it in one shot, or hurt it so bad that Nevasca can finish it off. There is only one thing that’s tugging at the edges of my mind. Those brothers paid a massive price for their gains. What is the price I have to pay to override my Source flow limitations?

“Okay, but what is the price?” I ask.

“It will sever your connection to Source.”