Sworded Affair

"I have no idea!" Her Dad concluded with a beaming smile. "Your Mother never got that far in her telling, not between my shock and Ryan's constant badgering. That's why we have all these books to work through; better crack on with it!"

"That's just like you," Emma laughed despite herself, the tension gradually building over the telling of his tale abruptly broken. "Always leading us in with some exciting story, only to leave us hanging with research to do."

"If it works, it works," Her Dad chuckled, wholly unapologetic as always. "I never did find a better way to get you and Felix to do your homework. How is your brother by the way? I've been told he's fine and that you've met him already, but I can't help worrying despite that."

"He's far safer right now than either of us," Emma reassured him. "Seems the new world's taken a liking to him; he's been appointed to oversee the Dungeon where his school used to be. You should visit, after gaining enough strength to survive the Wolves anyway. It's quite a big upgrade from how the school used to look, that's for sure."

"What's this about wolves?" Her Dad asked, puzzled. "Those were hunted to extinction in England hundreds of years ago."

"Bears were gone even before that," Emma pointed out. "The old rules don't necessarily apply anymore; though admittedly for the wolves, they're spawned as a defensive feature of the Dungeon itself. The bear I have no idea about."

"In that case, I suppose we have some studying to do." Her Dad grinned, perking up at the idea of hours spent poring over dusty old tomes. "I'll go brew some more coffee; need some help taking that helmet off?"

"I can drink as I am," Emma demurred, extending her straw for emphasis. "This armor stays on for now, until I figure out how to leave it anyway. It's only been a few days, and I've had more important things on my mind."

[Spacetime distortion detected. Inventory disabled. Fast travel disabled.]

"Speaking of which," Emma shifted gears smoothly. "Why don't you work on the books while I check the perimeter? Something's come up."

"Trouble?" Her Dad asked, drawing a concealed handgun to her surprise; it seemed even language analysts were armed whilst they worked for MI5. "Want me to spot from the windows? I've not seen any action in a long time, but I still practice at the range at least once a month."

"Feel free," Emma shrugged. "But don't start shooting unless I go in first. The warning is a bit vague on what we're facing here."

Without any further delay, Emma made her way back downstairs, rather glad to have an excuse to avoid reading Middle English; languages had always been her brother's strong suit after all. As she reached the front door, Emma received a second surprise when the sleeping bear suddenly got up and followed her out.

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[Companion unlocked! Bear - Level 3 is ready for battle.]

"What?" Emma deadpanned, having almost taken a swing at the beast before that notification popped up. "Why is it a companion?"

[As a result of your accumulated actions and choices to date, Hidden Alignment trait unlocked!

Circle of Life: Increased affinity with animals. Decreased affinity with humans.]

"Is it because I spared the bear but killed the crazy guy in the cabin?" Emma guessed.

Receiving no further response, she shrugged, unable to change the facts and happy to refocus on something she could actually fight. Glancing at the sky, Emma could see an unnatural violet haze filling her vision; not unlike videos of the northern lights but significantly more sinister in appearance. The first crack of dried earth was deafeningly loud in the empty plain around the house, a gnarled branch reaching up and pulling the rest of its rotted body above ground. Empty pits burned with pale light as a rotting tree trunk stood to its full height, joined by dozens more of its compatriots with every passing moment, even the shortest among them at least eight feet tall and many significantly taller than that.

[Deadwood Demon - Level 5]

"Stay out of sight!" Emma called up to her Dad, crouched by the front window. "A handgun won't do much against these."

Raising Epitaph confidently, Emma charged forward, her Bear just a step behind as they faced the horde together.

—

Conflict changed a person, and it changed them quickly; Noah was no stranger to this concept, having spent enough time on tours of duty back in the day, as part of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Whilst not the vast conflicts experienced by his own grandfather, his duties had still taken him across the world, exposing him to some of the darkest aspects of the human psyche in the process; he'd returned to the United Kingdom with a burning desire to keep it safe, ultimately leading him to join MI5 to make that dream a reality. Because of this, Noah knew it was no coincidence that his daughter had returned very different to how she'd set out, a mere week ago; it was apparent in the confidence with which she carried herself, forever attuned to and alert for signs of danger. It was the conviction behind her words, and the calm assurance that her instructions would be obeyed; uncannily reminiscent of his first drill instructor, a man who'd never let anything stop him and could probably outrun and outgun Noah even today, by now well into his sixties.

None of this knowledge made Noah feel any better to be relegated to the sidelines; between his time in the Army and then in MI5, it had been a long time since he'd felt so useless, hidden away in the back whilst Emma did all the hard work outside. He was still a professional though; unable to help in the coming battle, he quickly returned to the task he could make progress on, trusting that Emma could handle herself. Returning to his impromptu office, determined to at least do something productive, Noah reached for the nearest pile of books, frowning as the first tome he touched seemed to quiver beneath his fingers. Then it sprouted a mouthful of sharp teeth, sinking them deep into his outstretched hand.

"Christ!"

[System reboot initiated.

Date/Time synchronization underway.

Ambient Mana above minimum threshold.

Weave connection unavailable.

Date/Time re-calibrated, designation: Year 0, Day 0.

Genetic material detected, sequencing underway.

Noah Knight, 32nd generation lineal descendant of the founder.

User access granted.

User status: puncture wounds, bleeding, severe agitation.

Highest statistic: Intelligence

Intelligence above minimum threshold.

Willpower above minimum threshold.

Invoker class unlocked.]