Chương 35: Another Fox?

Scarlet never felt herself hit the floor. There should have been an impact. Pain. Some reaction to her body meeting stone with all the grace of a dropped sack. There wasn't. For one thin, unstable moment, she was aware of the cool air against her face, then nothing. Consciousness returned in fragments after that. She surfaced, sank, and surfaced again, in intervals. Finally, she came to with most of her faculties in place. She woke to metal ringing against metal. Ting. Tink. Ting-ting. Tink.

The sound was sharp, and regular. Scarlet did not open her eyes immediately. She kept her breathing shallow, her body still, and took inventory. She was lying on something flat and cool. A bench, perhaps, or a slab with some kind of padding. Her coat was still on. Her cane was still with her. Her storage bag was still there. Okay, so nothing had been removed. That was good. She opened her eyes. The ceiling above her was smooth gray stone.

So, she was no longer in the archive or the office, nor the impossible library. The corners of the room curved rather than met at hard angles, giving the entire space a continuous, enclosed feel. No cracks or seams. No decorative excess. He was staring at what appeared to be a wall. Smooth plane, no visible curves or bends, no windows, doors or entry points. That's when she once again heard the ringing. It was a faster staccato this time. Scarlet turned her head to find that the Historian was fighting.

Two, metal practice blades were moving so quickly that Scarlet's enhanced perception could not properly track them. She caught flashes of motion, silver-gray arcs, the sound of feet shuffling against stone. Then, a clean metallic note as the weapons met and rebounded. Tink. Tink. Ting. The Historian had changed out of his robes. He wore a fitted set of dark training clothes now.

Across from him stood another Vulpian, taller through the shoulders and narrower through the face, with red-orange fur marked by pale accents along his muzzle and ears. His clothing was a medium gray, and he was moving with controlled aggression. Scarlet watched him and the Historian spar for another breath. She'd never wanted to fight like the two of them did. Sure, it would be cool. But so would having purple skin, and she never entertained those fantasies either.

She shifted carefully and could tell the poultice was still doing its work. She exhaled through her nose, pushed herself upright, and waited for gravity to reassert itself. The Historian, during the exchange, found it easy to look at her. His ears flicked.

"Welcome back," he said, pausing the spar for a moment as he caught the younger vulpian's blade on his own and turned it aside with a casual movement. Scarlet just nodded. Then she focused on her interface to check how long she was out. Apparently, only a little over fifteen minutes had passed since the last time she had checked. That was not much. It was, however, long enough for her to be moved and deposited in what was very clearly a chamber made to withstand significant abuse.

The Historian disengaged from the spar with a light step back. The younger Vulpian stopped at once, blade lowering as he turned his attention toward her. His expression was controlled, but not friendly. Not hostile either, exactly. But he wasn't nearly as pleased with her existence as the Historian was. He handed his practice blade to the younger vulpian without looking and crossed the room toward her. His gaze moved over her with an uncomfortable level of intensity.

"You depleted yourself," he said, as though that was supposed to mean something to her. If she had been born with the System, it might. However, as she was, she had no context for his commentary. Sensing this he grinned.

"So fascinating," he said, then, "You were sitting in a chair and were actively using a skill or a defensive measure to," he looked at his notes, "obscure reactions?" It was obvious he wasn't quite sure.

"I wasn't using skills." Was Scarlet's response. Both vulpians froze. Scarlet looked between them.

"What?" The Historian's ears tilted forward.

"You were not using skills."

"No."

"No active skill? No sustained perception technique? No defensive focus? No internal enhancement?"

"No," Scarlet said. Her answer was clipped, sure.

"What happened then?" The Historian asked. Obviously intrigued. At Scarlet's continued silence, he frowned.

"Little human, if you intend to beg for my expertise while refusing to provide the information required for that expertise to be useful, neither of us is ever going to get what we desire." He shrugged and proceeded to turn away and ignore her.

"I'm not begging," she said, quickly.

"I am soliciting expertise." She said, looking at him. The younger fox person, and the Historian just looked at her.

"Also, who is this?" She asked, glancing at the younger appearing vulpian. Their ears angled back slightly.

"You can call him Tareth." The Historian said, gesturing vaguely at the man. Tareth who'd had his mouth open to respond, promptly closed it. She looked back at the Historian.

"And he is here because?"

"This little Vulpian? Tareth is here because he is excellent at his job. Part of which included setting up this training room." At that Scarlet took another look around the space that seemingly held nothing more than the training weapons racks.

"Tareth will be helping you with your physical evaluation, combat conditioning, and more." Tareth's mouth tightened.

"Master." He said quietly, through clenched teeth. The Historian did not respond. Scarlet studied the younger Vulpian more carefully. He was obviously strong, though not like the Historian. His presence had weight, and his emotional signature was dense. The kind she associated with sapience. This was obviously a thinking, reasoning being. Yet he was thin too, and so… shallow. Like wading through a kiddie pool.

"How old are you?" Scarlet asked the guy. Tareth blinked.

"Forty-two." Scarlet turned to the Historian.

"What is the age of majority for a vulpian?"

"Twenty."

"Ah." She nodded. Tareth's tail went very still. The Historian's grin widened until he laughed outright. That caused Tareth to stare at her as if he was trying to decide whether he should respond to her at all. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Scarlet reached for her cane and used it to stand.

"Before we do anything else, we need to discuss information control." The Historian's good humor dimmed by a degree.

"Information control?" He said slowly.

"Yes." He walked to the side of the room to put away his sword.

"Explain." He said as he then began to take off his gloves and training gear. Scarlet focused on her Guide. Querying whether binding agreements were possible through the System. She looked at the Historian.

"System contracts exist." She said as she silently read through the information she was being presented.

"They do," agreed the Historian. The other Vulpian stayed silent.

"You know how to create them." It was a statement. An educated guess, and a risk on Scarlet's part.

"I can get access to them. Certainly."

"Blank ones, or ones that can be filled in? You can get them. Now?" She clarified, pointing downwards to emphasize her point.

"Yes." Scarlet took a slow breath.

"My personal information, observed capabilities, testing results, anomalous traits, and any derivative analysis produced from this process remain confidential. They are not to be shared, sold, transmitted, archived beyond your personal research notes, discussed with outside parties, or used to disadvantage me without my explicit consent. Do you agree to these terms, and would you be willing to sign a System enforceable contract stating the point?" Scarlet just up and said.

Tareth's ears lifted slightly, while The Historian's eyes brightened.

"His next few questions sounded less like he was grilling her, and more like she was helping her check her boxes.

"You would like for us to enter a System enforced legal agreement." He grinned.

"You know we'll be in a fully enforceable contract. Do you recognise we're in a portal world? How do you know any binding agreement would apply once you leave?" What he didn't mention was what would happen if he left. Neither of them brought it up.

"It was my understanding that these are enforceable so long as the System is present?" She clarified.

"That would be correct," he said. Scarlet continued.

"Any records created from testing are to be available to me upon request. Any conclusions drawn and documented must be as well. Any use of my data in broader theoretical work must be anonymized to the point that no reasonable actor could identify me, Earth, my portal origin, my titles, my traits, or developmental path. You," she pointed to Tareth, then back to the Historian.

"Neither of you" she pointed back and forth again, "will attempt to compel, coerce, trick, scan, extract, infer through deliberate provocation, or otherwise obtain restricted information from me outside the stated scope of testing..." Tareth looked at the Historian.

"Master," he began. The Historian lifted a single finger, his eyes never leaving Scarlet.

"... Additionally, if either of you become aware of information that might place me at substantial risk if withheld, and that risk relates to this process, you must disclose it in a timely manner unless disclosure would produce a greater immediate threat." Scarlet had her fingers up and was listing things off.

"If a conflict of interest arises, you must disclose the existence of the conflict, even if the details remain restricted-""Little human," the Historian cut her off.

"What you are proposing would be a remarkably expensive agreement."

"Would you like to discuss potential payment?" She hadn't expected this, but knew it could be a possibility. She began wondering how she would bargain for her worth when she didn't even know what a System credit might buy.

"That is not what I meant by expensive." The fox smiled the moment Scarlet paused for breath. The Historian reached into the air beside him, and a sheet of pale material appeared between his fingers. It was too smooth to be paper. Dense, and faintly luminous along the edges. Lines of script shimmered over it before fading completely.

"This," he said, "is not a System Contract. This is a mana document. They are far weaker than a true System Contract, but enough for the present purpose if drafted by someone competent. You just want to know your information is secure. Correct?"

"Correct." Scarlet said slowly. Finally, fully coming awake to the situation and her very grey presence. Tareth shifted.

"Master, binding yourself like this seems excessive." Scarlet looked at him.

"He will be signing something too then?"

"Of course," he said beginning to write on the magical looking paper.

"And I cannot write the document because-""I write, we sign. Yes?" He cut in. Yes, Scarlet said after a moment. She had neither a System contract, nor any practical experience with them. If the Historian was willing to be bound, she could extend the stipulations too. She was curious though.

"Why let me write the contract?" She asked.

"You cannot power what you are asking for. You do not have the energy, authority, tier, or standing to bind a being at my level to the kind of legal," he waved his arms around "document. Not like what you've stipulated. Well, the backlash alone would probably end your life." Scarlet went still.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything has a cost. When one party is attempting to bind another party's future actions - speech, research, memory and more - across a significant number of tiers." He held the blank document between two fingers.

"The scale is just too large. Our power differential. You cannot enforce this contract." He shrugged. Ahh, he was literally too powerful to bind using her own power. What was she supposed to do then?

"I will draft a simpler agreement," the Historian said.

"It is not as though I would be doing this with the intention of profit. Don't worry. It will bind me and Tareth to confidentiality regarding your personal data. That's what you're really looking for, yes?" He waved a single piece of paper in front of her. She took it from him and read it through, then nodded once. The moment she signed it, the document filled itself. Scarlet could feel the pressure of the mana around it.

The way the document felt just in the world made Scarlet more than sure that the Historian was telling the truth. As the Historian pressed one padded finger to the page, the document flashed. Tareth hesitated. The Historian looked at him.

"You may leave." The words weren't unkind, but even Scarlet felt the dismissal. Tareth's jaw tightened, but he stepped forward and pressed the pad of his finger to the document. Once all the proceedings were done, the Historian held it out to Scarlet.

"What happens when I sign?" She asked.

"You agree to the reciprocal terms. You will not intentionally misrepresent testing data, sabotage the process, conceal relevant immediate risks, or share protected details of my methods without permission."

"That is… more than fair." She was forced to admit.

"You will sign then?" He asked. Scarlet, the Historian, and the new guy, Tareth? touched the document. She felt a tiny trickle of mana leave her. For a fraction of a second, she felt the shape of the agreement press against something deeper than skin. Something binding. The document flared, then vanished. Scarlet found that if she thought about it with intention, her Interface would pull it up for her. Strange, but good?

"Now," the Historian said, clapping his hands together.

"Time for testing. Stand there," the Historian said. To Scarlet it felt very sudden. Wasn't he going to give her more time to rest. Then she realised he probably had more data than just her age and how long the System had been Integrated. She had no clue what info he did or didn't have. Might as well go along.

"Come now, for the Strength test," the Historian said, the other vulpian gestured, and Scarlet just looked through the doorway at the additional expanse of grey. It felt really fast, but not seeing a reason to disagree Scarlet made her way forward. The moment both feet crossed the boundary, the air changed. Her knees flexed before she could stop them. Strength test, she reminded herself. The Historian and the other vulpian stayed just outside the room. The snow fox picked up a slim tablet of dark stone.

"Tareth, observe her posture," he murmured to the creature beside him before returning to Scarlet.

"This is the test for the Strength stat. Your only goal is to stay standing," he instructed. Tareth stepped to the side. His expression was now focused. The pressure increased. Scarlet's spine compressed by degrees. Her boots seemed to root into the stone. The half-healed places in her body objected with alacrity. The Historian occasionally glanced at her buckling frame over the tablet.

"Do not brace with mana." He said. Scarlet just glanced over. Then the pressure climbed again. Scarlet's breath hitched and she was forced to adjust her stance. She widened her feet a fraction and let the pain register before passing it off. It was just information. Loud information, perhaps, but still only information. Her legs trembled, and her body bowed despite her best efforts.

Her shoulders rounded, her cane tapped once against the stone before she forced herself to use her muscles and not to lean too heavily on it. Too heavy. Everything had become too heavy. That was the only way her mind wanted to explain it. The room had become heavier, and she was fighting her inevitable meeting with the floor. The pressure increased. Scarlet's knees buckled halfway before she caught herself. Pain flared white through her legs and up her side. Her free hand curled at her side.

She could feel mana in the room now. Some part of her wanted to grab at it. She didn't. The Historian watched as she struggled to stand. Scarlet managed to turn her head enough to glare at him.

"This is a terrible strength test," she said. The Historian's smile widened.

"We must agree to disagree." He said simply. Scarlet shrunk down once again.

"This is perfect. Call out when you can't take a moment longer." He said. With those ominous words, he gestured to the tablet mouthing something Scarlet couldn't quite make out.