Chương 51: Chapter Fifty-One: Paradigm Shift

FIFTY-ONE"What about my family?" Roan asked as calmly as he could as he entered the rabbit-kin's office. It was a small space of muted colors, browns, tans, earthy tones mostly with little light coming through the doors." A burrow," the quiet part of his mind remarked as Roan looked to where the mayor sat in an ornate leather padded chair that looked like a throne. She leaned back in it and kicked her wide feet up on the desk as she continued to sip her small cup.

"Met your siblings a few years back when they started their climb. They're tough, competent, and smart. Well-educated too, they figured out what we're trying to do quickly and played the game well."

"Are they alive? Are any of them alive?" Roan asked. Hana grimaced and shook her head.

"Can't tell you about future floors or what challenges happen on them. One of the Rules." Hana sipped her drink and sighed as she blinked slowly and closed her eyes, head lolling back before she spoke again.

"You know these towers are supposed to be homebases for us. Once they're conquered and the natives are strengthened we can come and go, work the planet and explore. It's a great way to elevate one's clan or family; join some ambitious Tower Master and explore the frontier. Help save the ignorant barbarians, introduce them to the greater universe, you know how it is. It's not supposed to be like this," Hana said, shaking her head as her eyes slowly opened.

"This isn't supposed to be a prison. A test? Yes. Lethal test even. But not something insurmountable." There was sadness as she looked at Roan and he realized what she was saying.

"What happened to make it change?" Roan asked.

"Rules kid. You have to discover it yourself. Hard coded into the Tower's mainframe. It'll turn me into a fine mist if I break the big Rules."" She's a prisoner. All of them are because of something that happened to them. The Tower isn't functioning properly, but they want it to?" Roan shook his head as he thought it out. He didn't want to get trapped in this problem, he just wanted to find his family and know if they were dead or not.

"Will solving this problem of yours help me find my family?" Roan asked.

"It won't hurt. I watched your performance on level one and was hoping you'd land over here. Some of my family they think we should just wait it out. What's a few centuries of meditation and study to beings who can live millenia? Others of us think we should be more proactive."

"As long as you stay in the confines of the Rules?" Roan emphasized the word rules and Hana nodded.

"You're getting it, kid. I can't hinder or aid you in your climb. Not beyond the station I hold on the level. And there's not always a station to hold on every level, but where there is, me or one of my compatriots will be there."

"And your station right now is Mayor of Village 3?" Roan asked.

"You got it. Village 3 is in some trouble at the moment. Horde coming from the east. Infected horde too, one might even say corrupted," Hana said with a roll of her eyes. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"You can tell me this, but you can't say other things? Your Tower Master's logic doesn't make sense," Roan said. Hana grew still and blinked slowly.

"Who said the Tower Master made the Rules?" silence fell as the two of them stared at each other as Roan swallowed stiffly.

"Is the Tower Master in control of the tower, right now?" Roan asked. Hana glanced up and frowned, a furrow in her brow as if listening to something. Slowly she shook her head before saying.

"Can't say. Rules. What's happening in higher Floors is taboo for lower-climbers."

"What about the inverse? Can climbers on higher floors know about lower-climbers?" Roan asked, leaning inward. Hana hadn't confirmed his siblings were alive, far from it, but she kept referring to them in the present tense.

"Why would they? But there's no rule saying that they can't look down. They just can't travel down."

"Then if someone mentioned something to my family. I would forever be in their debt. Just tell them I'm coming." Roan felt on the verge of tears as something cracked in his chest. He'd given up on them. He'd known it was a suicide attempt and he'd done it anyway because what was the point? He'd been alone in a world that didn't care for him and this had seemed a fitting end. Raging against the immovable force that stood as a gravemarker for everything he'd ever known.

"If there is someone to tell that too, then it could be done. Now, as Mayor of Village 3 I would suggest you earn as much as you can from that request board and invest it in our very, very, valuable temporal chambers. Also visit our masterful artisans and use their services. We offer very reasonable prices," Hana said." Get a hold of yourself. You're letting an opportunity slip through your fingers because of your blubbering." Roan scolded himself as he wiped at a trace of moisture on the corner of his eye.

"As Mayor, what would be the quests that are most valuable for the town?" Roan asked.

"While they have lower value, the more fetch quests are completed, especially the alchemy ones, the more ingredients we have for our resident alchemist to use. We are blessed to be in a lush, vital, region. Local fauna are key items in purification potions and salves. Key ingredients for body tempering," Hana said.

"I see. Are the quests replicable? If I take one of the postings will they regenerate or is it the only posting available?" Roan asked.

"They replicate. Don't forget to check out our level's unique skills. Some interesting things there as well," Hana said as she put her feet down and rose to her full height.

"Now, I have a list of notable people I need to talk to and they should be arriving soon."

"Others?"

"Yes? Did you think you were the only special one? How narcissistic. Remember a climb is best done as a team, no matter how much you wish to hoard the rewards," Hana said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and steered him out of the room.

"Is the dragon the hordemaster?" Roan asked as he felt his time advantage slipping away.

"No. Don't worry so much about the horde, some challenges are distant. They're just on a different level," Hana said as she pushed him gently back on the street, closing the door behind her.

"Holy shit, that was a lot. What is going on in this tower?" Roan said, looking back and forth. His brain felt like it had been electrified as he tried to process the metric ton of information that Hana had just dropped on him. There was too much to think about, too many implications to go through." Focus on what we can achieve here and now. Gather the quests, clear the quests, get the rewards and use the temporal chambers to learn the skills. One step at a time, Roan."

Roan nodded as he walked to the quest board and began to rip off every quest he saw. When he took it a new one appeared a moment later, but soon he had his hands filled with paper as he started toward the gates, intent on draining this level of every credit and opportunity he could.