I stood in front of the Labyrinth opening, staring into that shimmering tear in reality. I couldn’t see what was on the other side, in the local area of the Labyrinth, but I’d see that soon enough.
It wasn’t quite time to go in just yet, so I took a few seconds to go over my gear just one more time. I had my hammer, a relatively new one that had the same kind of curved spike on the back that I’d come to appreciate. I liked the simplicity of a mace, but the beak was too useful a tool to abandon.
Most of my armor was the lightweight grey stuff that the Wardens issued, but I had included a few artifact pieces that had come from the Labyrinth. Those didn’t really match the rest of the armor, but they included a few minor benefits that I wasn’t going to ignore.
In spite of the fact that I wore Warden issue armor, I wasn’t actually a Warden anymore. Officially, I was categorized as contractor, which gave me a bit more freedom and leeway than what I would have had as an actual Warden.
Two months ago, I’d been a critical part of the team that hunted down Mad Mike and Raze, and put an end to their threat. That hadn’t gone unnoticed in the Wardens, especially once the higher ups learned of my previous identity. Because of that, they’d put a lot of focus onto recruiting me, not that it had really taken much effort. As Simon had once pointed out, being a Warden was in my blood.
Just then, I noticed someone cautiously approaching me from the side. I looked over and saw a young man in the grey uniform of a Warden. He wasn’t wearing any armor or combat gear, so he clearly didn’t intend on going in right now. Not if he wanted to survive at least.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Are you Maggie Upton?” the young Warden asked.
I smiled faintly at that, tempted to shake my head. Legally, my new name was just ‘Maggie’, with no last name, but my previous identity was an open secret among the Wardens, and a lot of them had taken to the fiction that I was my own daughter.
“That’s me,” I responded.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” the young Warden gushed. “I’m Dan Giles, and I recently went through my Labyrinth run and came out as an invoker.” He paused a little awkwardly before adding, “I was hoping you had some advice.”
My smile widened a little at that and I couldn’t resist chuckling. “Sure,” I told Giles. “Invokers have a pretty rough start compared to most other classes, but if you can get over the initial hump… Well, depending on your patrons and what you negotiate, invokers can be incredibly versatile and powerful.”
“And how do I find a good patron?” Giles asked.
I considered this for a moment, remembering my own concerns when I first respawned as an invoker. “The Labyrinth is full of primals,” I explained thoughtfully. “If you go on a delve of any length, you’re almost guaranteed to run into at least one. You just need to find one that works for you. Increasing your perception can really help with finding them, but presence is critical for getting their attention so that you can negotiate.”
“Thank you,” Giles told me before he hurried off.
I chuckled again and mused, “Was I ever that young?” Admittedly, Giles and I were now physically around the same age, but there was a vast difference in experience.
With that, I considered my own patrons and abilities, not that they’d changed too much over the last couple months, other than to grow stronger. Sure, I’d gained one new ability since then, one that let me charge primal energy into my weapon to increase the amount of damage I dealt, but other than that… Well, I only had one use left for ‘Invocation of the Wisp’, but I’d been saving that one for an emergency. As Ace liked to point out, it was always good to have an ace up your sleeves.
Avexis hadn’t given me any new abilities, nor had she offered me the chance to become her paladin again. I hadn’t gone to any of her altars or temples, so I didn’t know if that had something to do with it or not, but I was suspecting it didn’t.
When I made it clear that I had no intention of dedicating my new life to vengeance, I’d felt a sense of disappointment from her…but also of relief. I had a feeling that the goddess of spite actually had a soft spot towards me because of her long relationship with Magdalena Malice. I suspected that, in her own way, she wanted me to be happy. But of course, I also knew that if I did need to seek vengeance again someday, whether it was a grand vendetta or merely a bit of petty vindictiveness, that she’d be more than happy to help.
I shook my head to clear those thoughts, focusing instead on my surroundings. It wouldn’t do to get caught daydreaming while a group of Wardens were nearby watching.
My eyes went to the Wardens, five of them including Giles. Their leader was a gruff old veteran named Miles Lawrence, though I remembered back when he’d just been a snot-nosed rookie. I hadn’t been his primary trainer back then, though I had taught him a thing or two.
Miles was in charge of training some Wardens who’d just come back from their Labyrinth runs as players, and helping to integrate them into their new positions in the organization. Now that they were players, they were capable of a lot more than before, and a lot more would be expected of them.
Then my attention went to Maya, who was standing off to the side in conversation with Turtle and Olivia. She’d spent her own time training with Miles, and was now working in her new official position as a liaison to player contractors, such as myself.
I smiled as I watched Maya, appreciating her curves even though much of them were covered up with her armor. Our relationship had only grown stronger over the last couple months, and we were even considering taking things to the next level, though neither of us was quite sure of exactly what that entailed.
Maya noticed me watching her and responded with a smile and a wave. A few seconds later, she began walking in my direction, with Turtle and Olivia following close behind.
“Are we about ready?” Turtle asked.
“Once Bunny and Ace get here,” I responded. I gestured off to the group where Miles was talking to his trainees, and added, “We’ll be taking two of the trainees with us to get them a little more active experience, and maybe a second ability.”
“Giles is a new invoker,” Maya said. “So, it would make sense to bring him, just so he can see you in action. However, Agent Lawrence wants to put him through a littler more training before letting him go back inside.” She shrugged. “He doesn’t have any abilities yet, so I can understand wanting him to be more prepared.”
“He was in long enough to earn a class,” I pointed out, a clear reminder of what it took for someone to become a player that way.
“I agree,” Maya responded with a shrug. “But not my decision.”
Just then, I noticed something racing towards us at a high speed. It was a giant brown rabbit, Bunzilla, with Bunny and Ace riding on its back.
“Looks like they’re finally here,” Olivia commented with a faint smile.
“Hey,” Bunny exclaimed as she came to a stop beside us.
“You’re both late,” Olivia pointed out.
“We got distracted,” Ace offered with a broad grin as he hopped off the rabbit. “We got into a race with a turtle. It was a whole big thing.”
“Leave me out of it,” Turtle responded with a chuckle.
A few seconds later, Bunzilla vanished as Bunny sent him back to wherever her summoned creatures came from. Then she summoned her other rabbits, the ones who would actually go into the Labyrinth with us.
Sir Fluff appeared and saluted Bunny. Then he stood there, patiently waiting with one hand resting on his sheathed rapier while his other hand settled on the main gauche that was on his belt. The main gauche had recently begun appearing with the rabbit, as part of some kind of evolution in his strength.
Five horned rabbits spread out in a crescent in front of us, ready to lead the way through the Labyrinth entrance. Not only were there more of them, but over the last couple months, they’d grown a little larger as well. Their horns looked just a little longer and sharper.
“Oh, before we go in,” Ace said, adjusting the oversized football jersey that he wore over his armor. Then he reached into his pack and pulled something out. “For you, Maggie.”
“Me?” I asked, feeling a bit curious. I accepted the offered object and saw that it was a sheathed dagger. I looked it over and nodded. “Good balance. Nice edge.”
“It’s an artifact,” Ace exclaimed with a proud grin. “And I made it.”
I paused at that, then looked over the dagger again. “You made this?”
“I finally figured out how to actually make artifacts,” Ace announced with a broad grin. “This one doesn’t have any special abilities though. It turns out that if I want to make anything more powerful than a basic item, I need to unlock some specific abilities.”
“That’s something to work for,” Turtle told him with a nod of approval.
“Great job,” Olivia said before giving him a kiss. “I knew you’d be able to do it.”
Ace blushed but looked inordinately proud. “I’ll make the rest of you some stuff later. Right now, I want to see about earning my next ability.”
“Since everyone is here now,” I said as I strapped the new knife to my belt. I looked forward to trying it out.
Then I let out a piercing whistle to get the attention of the other group. Two of the Warden players came hurrying over, already armed and armored for the delve.
“You’ve already been in the Labyrinth and you already have classes,” Maya told the Wardens. “This is just to get a bit more experience, and hopefully, some more abilities.” She gestured to me. “Maggie is in charge of the group, so make sure you listen to what she says.”
I’d already briefed the two Wardens myself, but they both immediately responded, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Well,” I said with a grin, “let’s get going then.” And with that, I started for the Labyrinth entrance and the beginning my next adventure.