I walk around the camp silently, waiting for the time to pass. The energy boost I got wore off after a few hours, but I do plan on completing the quest. The rewords seem to be worth it, for sure.
Just another hour until the meeting. A few of the soldiers are already awake, some early risers and the night watch. I get to learn a lot from the soldiers. Being bored, they don't mind my questions, gladly talking about anything. Some of them are curios about the things that I don't know about, but nobody says anything directly.
Finally, the time for the meeting has arrived. I knock on the front door promptly at 5:00, and the door swings open after a few seconds. One of the more important people tell me the directions to the general's office on the second floor. When I walk in, I see the general sitting behind a large oval desk, and I take a seat on the only other chair in the room.
The room has a variety of things in it. A map covers the wall to my right, with marks all over it. To the left is a window, giving the general a good view of the camp. Behind the general are shelves, filled with an odd arrangement of objects. A few swords, some weird crystal balls, a jar of marbles, and other random things littered about.
"What is your name?" The general has a deep voice, fitting his heavily muscled build and at least six-foot-tall stature. "Hunter. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." His face stays neutral and unchanging, like it was chiseled from stone. "Hunter. I am general Grey. From the reports delivered to me by Lady Fein, you contributed to a large portion of the clearing of the Black Forest Dungeon. Is this true?"
Lady Fein? She must be more important then I thought, again. The way he speaks makes it sound like he is just clarifying, not that he doesn't believe it. "This is true, sir." Straight to the point. "Three months ago, a team of ten were dispatched to clear the Dungeon. Lady Fein reported that they all died." I can see where this is going. "Until the Dungeon is cleared, there is no way for another person to enter."
Time for the work around I have been working on. I tried it on some of the soldiers, seeing what I could and couldn't say. "I was sent traveling, and arrived against my will. I don't know how or why." This is the best explanation I could come up with in the time I had. I know for a fact I never would have said something that stupid to someone of importance, but the lack of sleep is making me care a lot less than I should.
"I see." The silence in the room continues for a good few minutes, but I refuse to break eye contact. "When did you arrive?" Happily taking the change of subject, "At most ten days ago, from what I can tell." His expression still stays the same, but I can tell he is thinking about something.
"Who do you follow? Where does your allegiance lay?" His voice changes this time, sounding dangerous. "With Lady Fein. I go where she goes." With this last sentence, the tension on the room shatters, and the mood almost visibly raises. "Good. But I should warn you. You will make lots of enemies if you choose to stay with her."
"With all do respect, sir, I believe this is obvious. I would have to be stupid not to see the way the soldiers have been looking at me." He doesn't respond to this either, but he does seem satisfied. "You may leave now." He throws me a key, "Back of the camp, room A 15."
"Thank you, sir. May I suggest cleaning your suit better? You still have cat hair on it." He reacts a lot to this, checking his suit all over. I walk out of the office and close the door. The room next to the office is his personal quarters, and from under the door comes two small cat paws. I slide a small piece of meat under the door, and the cat eats it happily.
For such an intense man, I didn't think he would have a soft spot for cats. Walking out of the building smiling, the guards on the first floor seem confused and concerned. I guess most people wouldn't be very happy after talking to someone like him.
Anyway, I head back to my tent and collapse. Taking a deep breath, I check my quests.
(Assist camp for 600 hours (25/600)
(Attend the meeting with the general without sleep- complete
Rewords: Increased affinity with darkness Sleep depravation immunity: Side effects of sleep depravation are removed. Doesn't remove bodily exhaustion. Rare Energetic Passive: Increase max energy, and energy regeneration. Temporary Blessing of Darkness: ????)
As soon as the screen appears, I feel the sluggish speed of my thoughts return to normal, and my head is clear again. The Energetic Passive starts working immediately, and I feel my body restoring as though I was asleep. Not nearly enough to make up for an entire night of sleep, and if I was actively doing something, it would only slow down how fast I lose energy.
Both of them are still amazing, as well as the affinity increase. The only part that concerns me is the Temporary Blessing of Darkness. Nothing has changed, as far as I can tell, so I guess I'll have to wait to find out. It says temporary, but there isn't a timer or anything on it. After a few more minutes, I get up and head to the building the general told me about.
It's a one story building, like the others, but it seems like a second floor is being built. I walk inside and head to the door labeled A 15. I unlock and open the door, finding an empty room. A bed is to the right, and a dresser to the left. No windows, but there is an oil lamp on a nightstand by the bed. All in all, a cozy room.