Both children crowded around him. Tayci, in a black jumper with little black boots, doubled over, hands on her knees, and chortled like she'd just seen the funniest thing in her life.

"Vast thinks you're a rug, Sev! Hahahaha!"

Severance didn't think it was all that funny. Even Mirren, the little brat, was trying to hide a grin behind his hands.

"Do you think you can get him off me? Please?"

Vast glanced at the children for a moment, then lowered his head onto his front paws. His tail wagged slowly back and forth, brushing against Severance's legs. Its length had grown to ridiculous proportions; it was nearly as long as the rest of Vast himself now.

"Okay," Tayci giggled. "We'll try!"

Both she and Mirren tried to coax the annoying silver beast first, but he didn't bother to listen. Next, they tried to shove and pull, their little hands grabbing onto fistfuls of fur. That made Severance wince, because that had to have hurt. Yet Vast just grunted and stiffened, bracing himself against their attempts.

Throughout it all, Mouna kept her head bowed to her task. It was like they never even existed. Severance felt somewhat hurt.

And then Rasin came by, his entire frame shaking with barely suppressed laughter. "So, this is where you kids ran off to, eh?"

Thoroughly past the point of preserving any pride, Severance begged, "Help."

Humor dancing in his eyes, Rasin leaned down and picked up Vast. He did so easily despite Vast having to be close to seventy pounds. The animal didn't appreciate it, and immediately twisted and growled until Rasin let him go.

By then, Severance had scrambled to his feet, so Vast promptly bounded over and threw himself against Severance's legs. The weight nearly knocked Severance over again, but he managed to keep his footing.

"Stop that," he hissed, thoroughly annoyed.

Vast stilled, looking up with big, round eyes that shone a stunning silver blue. He made a soft, gentle whine deep in his throat, while quietly, his tail slowly snaked around Severance's leg.

Severance scowled, even as his irritation instantly halved. Stupid beast. He reached down, intending to tug Vast away from his feet, but somehow, the moment his fingers sunk into that soft, warm fur, he ended up petting the vastlhidan instead. Vast leaned into his hand.

"This thing is a nuisance," Severance muttered.

"A noo-sance?" Tayci repeated, then looked up at Rasin. "What's that?"

With a fond smile, Rasin reached out and gave one of her pigtails a gentle tug. She squealed and ran a few steps away, both hands going to guard her pigtails. "Hey!"

Rasin chuckled. "It means Sev thinks Vast is being bad."

"But Vast isn't bad!" Tayci looked horrified at the idea. "He was just really happy to see you, Sev! Vast didn't mean to be bad!"

I'm sure that's exactly what he meant, Severance thought sourly. Animals were annoying at best. Especially this one. He scratched behind Vast's ear, scowling as Vast panted happily, his eyes half-closed in pleasure. Ungrateful beast.

"How's everything been?" Severance directed the question to Rasin, hoping the clansman would understand what he was asking. With the children around, he wasn't sure how much could or would be said.

"Surprisingly quiet," Rasin said. He smiled as Tayci and Mirren plopped themselves on the ground by Vast and started petting his soft silver fur. Vast didn't seem to mind, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

"Really? The Free Traders didn't do anything?" That was a relieving thought. Maybe the attack on himself the other day really was a random occurrence.

"If they have, I hadn't heard of it." Rasin looked steadily at Severance, who couldn't help but shift awkwardly. Did Rasin know he was attacked?

Maybe he or another Veiled had been following him again. Severance had no way of telling.

In any case, Severance dropped his attention to Vast, and focused really hard on scratching that hard to reach place behind those ears. The Veiled had a lot to worry about right now, and he figured it wouldn't make much of a difference whether they knew about him getting stupidly slaughtered in an alley. That was his own mistake, anyway. He shouldn't have dropped his guard nor should he have ventured into an empty street.

He wouldn't make either of those mistakes again.

"Well, that's good. Maun thinks I should be spending every waking hour in dungeons."

He moved his hands away from Vast's ears as Tayci scooted over to claim that spot. She shot him a cheeky grin, as if proud of claiming ownership of the Prime Scratching Spot.

A low chuckle came from Rasin. "Does he? In that case, I'm surprised he hasn't dragged you into one already. He's a man of action, that one."

With a soft snort, Severance muttered, "No kidding."

A silence settled over them, and Severance found it increasingly awkward. He would have hightailed it out of there, but with Vast glued to him and the kids petting the beast, he couldn't exactly just leave. And, Rasin was here.

Severance glanced sideways at him, thoughts churning. It dawned on him that this was a good opportunity. If anyone was going to give him straight answers, it'd most likely be Rasin, if he was inclined to do so. It was worth a try.

"So," he began casually, "I found something in the Ruins earlier. It had the Veiled symbol on it."

At first, Severance wondered if he was being too vague, but Rasin's next actions completely erased that worry. The clansman took two big strides forward so that he stood a mere foot away. He lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper, urgency coloring his tone. "Did you tell Olen?"

Again, with Olen? Maun had suggested the same thing. One would think the guy running the clan—Agadhi—would have been the first choice when it came to secret discoveries, but apparently not. Severance thought that was a little strange.

"No, he wasn't around. Maun and Agadhi know, though."

"Alright. Good. You can't tell anyone else, Severance. Not even another clan member." Rasin's voice was so hushed that the kids on the other side of Severance wouldn't hear, but Vast quirked his ears and angled his head to watch them.

"Why?" Severance matched the volume.

"It's safer. If anyone needs to know, Agadhi or Olen will tell them."

Severance frowned. "Is it really that dangerous?"

"Yes." There was not a single ounce of hesitation there. "Did Agadhi and Maun tell you what it means?"

"Sort of. It's just a key to a special dungeon. Isn't it?" He added the last part after a pause, suddenly not so sure. The way Rasin was acting made it seem like it wasn't.

The Veiled man dropped a heavy hand on Severance's shoulder. He didn't let go, not even when Severance flinched. Instead, his grip tightened.

"Knowledge is a heavy burden, and an even greater responsibility," he murmured. "This key, as you put it, is far more important than you realize. It has a lot to do with our future, as do you, Severance. Our hope for change rests on that key."

As do you. It wasn't spoken, but Severance heard it just the same.

It was rather worrying. He was pretty sure that he should be the absolute last option for being the pinnacle of someone's hope. He wasn't brave or strong, and he made a lot of mistakes. That was why he failed at everything while Carly excelled. She didn't even have to try; no matter what she did, success was sure to follow.

The Veiled, Severance thought sourly, would have a better chance with Carly than him.

"Look, I don't think that this is fair to you," Rasin went on. "You need to know what we're facing. The discovery of this key is like the spark that kindles a wildfire. More will soon be found, and all the clans will get involved. Worse, the Traders and the Chosen will get serious. What they've done so far is just playing around."

Hands clenching, Severance turned his head so he could meet Rasin's gaze. Really? A clan member had his hand sliced off and that was considered playing around? He opened his mouth, but Rasin cut him off before he could utter a sound.

"Listen to me, Severance. Only Outsiders can safely enter these dungeons. And any Outsider that beats one of those dungeons will get taken to a Tower. Do you understand?"

Severance' jaw just about dropped. A Tower?! "Then, that—your story—!"

"Yes." Rasin's gaze shifted past Severance to where Mouna sat a little way away. It was just for an instant, then his attention returned to Severance. "Before you say anything else, think very carefully on this. It was always our intention to find an Outsider to represent us, but we had to be sure we found the right one. You have good qualities, like honor, integrity, and kindness, but Sev, I fear that the path we must walk will be too difficult for you."

Severance's hands clenched. He'd heard that all his life, and now even Rasin admitted it? Hadn't he already gone through a dozen challenges just to get here? This might be a game, but it had already become something that he was invested in. It was something Fenn had left for him, and Severance wasn't about to let it go.

"It's a bit too late for that," he said coolly. "I might have been dragged here, but I already said I'd help, didn't I?"

The hand on his shoulder squeezed gently before releasing him. Rasin revealed a lopsided smile that was more sorrowful than anything else. "I know. Just think about what I said." He turned and raised his voice. "Hey, how about we go see if there's any snacks hiding somewhere?"

"Ooh!" Tayci immediately jumped to her feet. In one second flat, she was by Rasin's side. "I want pie!"

Mirren stood, brushing the dust off his knees. He calmly joined Tayci, looking up at Rasin expectantly. "I'd like some tea, please."

After a brief look towards Severance, Rasin gently guided the children out of the courtyard. Vast whined and gave Severance's hand a gentle lick. Severance looked down at the silver beast.

"Vast, just what am I supposed to do with all this?" He gestured vaguely around himself, as if that could encompass everything that had been thrown at him today. That was going to take some time to process, as he was still reeling from the confirmation that the Veiled were the original Keepers of the Towers. And that the Towers were real.

Suddenly, all the secrecy was starting to make sense. But now he felt like he was buried so far over his head.

Vast groaned and abruptly flopped down into his belly. One front paw curled inward, while he rested his head on the other. Ears flicking one way then the other, he watched the entirety of the courtyard in a bored manner.

Severance scowled. "Vast. Get off my feet."

The beast did not move.

Of course, that was when the system chimed.

You have received a message from Awesome Dude. Would you like to Open Message?

"Yeah, fine." If there was anything he needed right now, it was a distraction. And Awesome Dude was awesome at that sort of thing.

And boy, what a great distraction it turned out to be. As he listened to his friend's message, Severance groaned and rubbed his temples wearily. For crying out loud.

Since no one in his Clan currently needed the services of a healer, Awesome Dude had taken it upon himself to go on the Chat and auction him off. For free. To some random group that had been wandering by.

Well, at least he couldn't deny that Awesome Dude knew how to get results.