“You were saying that Felix’s actions were his own, and that no one pushed him to do what he did,” Jake said before taking a big sip of his wine. The relaxing sweetness helped take the edge off of his anger, but it was difficult.

  Felix had been more of a father figure than Jake had ever had, even in such a short space of time as they’d known each other. While he wasn’t grieving as openly as Ari, he was far from over it.

  “I’m saying that you are ascribing too much to whoever Felix made that deal with,” Ivaldi said in an almost gentle voice. “None of us can see the future, Jake. We can only work with what we have and take what opportunities we can grasp.”

  Jake wrestled with his thoughts as he tried to really consider what Ivaldi was saying. He didn’t want to listen, he wanted to blame whatever that deal had been, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t right.

  The Fatesworne were the true culprit here, he had to remember that.

  “Alright,” Jake said eventually. “I still want to know more about the deal, though. What exactly was traded?”

  “If I tell you more, you will be edging further into a greater conflict,” Ivaldi said softly. “A conflict where you are beyond insignificant as you currently are. That is no place for one such as you, and it could be dangerous.”

  “I want to know,” Jake said firmly and without hesitation.

  “Very well,” Ivaldi said before pausing and frowning, his gaze going distant. A subtle frown built on the shopkeeper’s face before he grimaced and nodded.

  “Ivaldi?” Jake eyed the big man with some concern, unsure if he should do anything.

  “My apologies, Jake Khesh,” Ivaldi said, bowing his head slightly. “I was communicating with a concerned party. We’ve agreed that you should know more, but they have limited what I can explain.”

  “A concerned party, who?”

  “Your Patron.”

  Jake froze, his eyes going wide as so many of his assumptions about Ivaldi were shattered immediately. He knew the weight of the Great Dungeon’s attention, and he knew full well that no one even remotely mortal could communicate with it so clearly.

  He’d always known Ivaldi was something more, but he was starting to think he’d underestimated just how much more.

  “To go back to your question about the deal, it was a fairly simple one. Felix was offered knowledge, and in return, he was sworn to secrecy about what he had learned. Especially from you.”

  “Why me?” Jake asked, still somewhat reeling from the fact that the Great Dungeon had spoken to Ivaldi. “And just knowledge? What sort of knowledge?”

  “You were excluded because it would avoid exactly this sort of conversation,” Ivaldi said with a wry smile. “The more you know, the less you are protected by certain Accords.”

  “Accords?” Jake echoed, feeling overwhelmed. “I don’t understand.”

  “I know,” Ivaldi said in a gentle tone. “The knowledge given to Felix was that you were being tracked by the leader of the Fatesworne who was following you. That much was self-evident, but what was important was that the leader’s Patron was acting directly, not through the System.”

  “What do you mean, directly?” Jake asked, a sick feeling growing in his gut.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “I mean that the god was informing him of exactly where you were, allowing the Fatesworne the track you regardless of what measures you took.”

  “That explains so much,” Jake said, remembering how much effort they’d put in to shake off the pursuers, and how little it had mattered. “I didn’t realise Patrons could act beyond the System, though. How does that work?”

  “Anything powerful enough to be recognised by the System as a Patron is powerful enough to directly effect anything happening within the Realms,” Ivaldi said, his expression darkening. “The reason you weren’t aware that it was possible is because it is forbidden. There are many Accords that cover interactions with classers and mortals. None of them allow this.”

  “Then why wasn’t it stopped?” Jake asked heatedly.

  “It was a subtle thing, hard to notice amongst the chaos of life. Whoever is behind it is concealing themself with great care as well. That meant the only course of action was to shield you and cut off the existing connection. Felix knew that killing the leader of the trackers would cut that connection, and you would be shielded from it happening again.”

  Jake rubbed his face as he tried to process everything and make it all make sense. “Alright, so why that time limit that Felix mentioned?”

  “Shielding you is an infraction of the same Accords that were broken,” Ivaldi said solemnly. “Balancing the scales allows for such an action to occur, but not indefinitely.”

  “So at the end of the year…”

  “You will be no longer protected. I recommend you prepare for that day as best you can. If the Patron of the Fatesworne acts against you directly, measures can be taken, but they are a subtle foe.”

  Jake shook his head in disbelief, trying to come to terms with the fact that he had less than a year until an angry god was going to try to get him killed.

  “Alright, so assume that I understand all this,” Jake said, pushing gamely on to the reason that had brought him here. “What I don’t understand is if I’m shielded, how did Varin know to be here?”

  Ivaldi was silent for a long few moments before he spoke again, seemingly choosing his words carefully. “There was some lingering imbalance from the actions of your foe. Varin’s Patron simply used some of that to bring about a favourable meeting.”

  “And how exactly do you know that?” Jake asked, folding his arms and regarding the big man with suspicion. Ivaldi was shockingly well informed on all of this, especially considering that a lot wasn’t being said.

  Part of Jake wondered if all of what he was being told was true, but Ivaldi had done right by him this far, and Jake trusted him. Well, as much as he could trust anyone as oddly enigmatic as the shopkeeper.

  Besides, Ivaldi clearly had deep ties to the System and to Dungeons, his shop being present at every Dungeon told him that much. Given who Jake’s Patron was, it made sense that Ivaldi would see him favourably.

  “I know many things, Jake Khesh,” Ivaldi said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “While I have given up much to be as I am, I gained much in return.”

  Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to pretend I understood that, but thank you for being as open about all this as you have been.”

  “Personally, I would have preferred that you did not know,” Ivaldi said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. “Or that if you did, you knew much more. By being aware that a Patron is targeting you, you step further into a much larger conflict, as I said earlier. Be careful, Jake Khesh.”

  “I will, thank you, Ivaldi,” Jake said, getting up and heading out from the store.

  -**-

  Jake stopped by Varin’s room to pick up the equipment that he’d brought them before heading back through the tunnel to the safehouse.

  It wasn’t the easiest trip, not while carrying a large bundle of weaponry and a lantern, but it was manageable.

  The others were still awake when he got back, so they gathered together to examine their new weaponry while discussing their plans for the next day.

  They knew what the first tier was like, and they had good information on the first few floors of the second, but what would be waiting for them at the end was a mystery.

  It would be linked to the two Lineages that were present in the Dungeon, but beyond that, they didn’t know.

  “Well, we’ve got a bit of time tomorrow,” Alan said as they mulled it over. “Why not see if Gordon can get us a briefing of the second tier?”

  “That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Aspen said, perking up at the thought. “They should be fairly cheap, and hopefully reasonably accurate. A lot comes through this town, after all, and scouting out a Dungeon is good business.”

  “If it helps, I’m happy to do it,” Gordon said, looking eager to have a role in their plans.

  “Alright then, we’ll see what you turn up,” Jake said, nodding to the resistance fighter. “Either way, though, we’re going in tomorrow, so let’s rest up and prepare.”

  “Gods, it has been so long, and we’re so close,” Aspen muttered under his breath before grinning wildly. “Tier three is just around the corner, and once we have it, those Fatesworne are going to regret everything.”

  “Oh yes,” Jake said with a hungry smile. “They absolutely will.”