My head snapped back towards the source of the voice, and I noticed that it was the dwarf.
"Sorry lad, didn't mean to startle you. I was just curious. Why are you doing all the work while your slaves do nothing?"
I threw another piece of masonry on the wheelbarrow and began to drag it towards the cart. "It's because of our stats," I said, the rehearsed line flowing smoothly. "I'm better suited."
"Strange class you must have."
It was a seemingly innocuous sentence, spoken with genuine interest and a smile, but it was potentially dangerous. I had already told him that I was an outsider and that this was my first job, and from what I knew of this world classes only came from consuming slaved creatures.
"I actually don't have one," I said, scratching the back of my head. "I just gained a bunch of stats by training and doing grunt work with my parents."
The dwarf must have seen my grimace at the mention of parents, because he quickly looked away. But then, his curiosity won over. "The level of effort required must have been immense! Even I barely got 20 total stats from working all my life."
"Well," I said with a laugh. "You should try working out. I have a whole regimen I can share, if you are interested?"
"Working out?" the dwarf repeated, savoring the word. "Is it like, purposefully getting tired so your muscles can grow? Is that a thing? I thought it was all horseshit."
"Oh yeah," I said, gaining more confidence. "Back home I had all these strange machines to work the various muscle groups. As long as I ate my proteins, slept and took a few… supplements," I said with a knowing face. "I got plenty of Strength and Vitality each time."
The dwarf shook his head. "Supplements… kids these days. I knew you were strange."
"Oh he's strange alright," Vespera said. She still had my shirt. "Did you see the stupid grin on his face, hauling all those bricks around. I mean, it's hot and all but…"
She made circular motions around her temple. What the hell, Vespera? I was smiling because for the first time in my life, it felt nice to pick up weights and move them! I was enjoying my skills and stats, alright?
The dwarf laughed. "She be funny. But lad, your slaves, you just let them talk to you like that?"
Ah, that. Of course Vespera couldn't keep her mouth shut, could she? But then again, I didn't want her to. All this was bound to attract attention, and indeed it had been turning heads ever since I set foot in the city, except that now I was also being questioned rather than just looked at in a strange way.
"Why not?" I replied simply. "They aren't bothering me."
"Well. I'm sure plenty of people warned you about getting too close to your sentients, yes?"
Vespera got up from her makeshift seat of bricks and put a hand around my waist. "They sure did! What's the deal with that? Do they really think we're going to go on a rampage?"
The dwarf's face darkened as he stared straight at her. "After you kill him, yes," he said. "It's that or be consumed, after all. Basic survival."
He stared at Vespera straight in the eye, even though it meant that he had to crane his head up quite a lot. "Don't tell me you're okay with being consumed, ey? Or did your master figure out a slave bond that makes you want to be consumed? Because that, well, that would be revolutionary."
"No such bond," I said. It was time to test the waters. We had gotten this deep already, might as well go all in. After all, we weren't being subtle at all, and this was a much more controlled setting than the Guild. "What if there was another way?"
The dwarf blinked, before chuckling nervously. "Except there is not another way. Do you understand?"
The way he said that sounded more like a warning than a statement or bewilderment.
"Do you think he should stop interacting with us, then?" this time it was Elyra, and her tone of voice was arctic. "Force us to grow in power so he can consume us and gain a good class?"
That's when the dwarf pulled me down so that I was level with his face. "Lad, listen. I'm a sunny guy, you know. Even in a place like this. Heh, us dwarves are sunny even in the bowels of the earth! But listen to me, you should really get a grip on your slaves. You can joke around with me, it's fine, but most other people aren't like me, you get it? I find this amusing, because I'm me. All these theatrics, with the wrong person? The least that can happen is that they force you to consume your slaves on the spot, and that's if you are lucky."
When he released me, he was all sunny again. I swallowed a heavy knot, and knew that the girls were tense too.
"Now," the dwarf said. "As I said, you can be yourselves with me. I find it amusing. That's my way of life. Why wake up slightly annoyed when you can wake up slightly amused? The world is just that much funnier this way, and a lot less bothersome. Here though? You are in public. What you are saying is madness. Another way? There is no other way."
The way he was speaking made no sense. It was like he was saying all those things about himself loudly enough for everyone to hear, while he spoke the rest in a hushed voice, still keeping me bent over so that his low voice could reach me.
Understanding his intentions, I sat on the ground beside him and spoke as softly as possible.
"What if there was one? One that does not require any consumption, just the cores to unlock skill points."
"And what would that be, lad?"
The dwarf sat near me, snapping his fingers with practiced nonchalance. At once, all the sounds of the bustling city vanished. It was almost disorienting, because I had not noticed how much I had gotten used to all the chaos, and the sounds of monsters attacking the walls.
"So?" he demanded.
"A willing bond between equals, and not slaves. When I did it with them, it gave all of us three a class," I said.
The dwarf's face twitched. "Then what about the collars?"
"Sol," Vespera warned.
"It's too late now," I told her. Inwardly, I was cursing myself, but outwardly I tried to be solid. Facing the dwarf again, I said: "the collars are fake."
"Truly?" he asked. He was, despite everything, still amused. "You are an idiot."
His statement hit me, and I knew he was right. What was I thinking? I felt Elyra and Vespera tense up, taking position on either side of the dwarf.
"Now, before you get all serious," he said, looking up at the two women around him. "Let's say I believe you. Look at those two. They are ready to kill me. Or try, at least."
"Girls, please," I said, feeling the tension in the air.
"You don't come from around here, do you?"
I shook my head. "I tried to blend in as best I could."
"You failed miserably." he said. I expected more, but without notice he simply broke down laughing. "This is nuts!" he said. "Nuts and bolts! You really are lucky that I am me and not anyone else. Naive fools that you are, all three of you."
I grit my teeth. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," the dwarf laid, stifling another laugh. "This is beyond amusing, that's for sure. I'm not going to report you or anything, so you can tell your girls to stand down. Since they are not your slaves, I'm curious to see if they will actually do it. Now that's a conundrum. If they do, they expose you to danger. If they don't, they show loyalty to you but also prove the slavers' point that sentient monsters need to be slaved. What then?"
"Girls, stand down please."
They did.
"Interesting. It's beyond me to speculate the philosophical implications of this. As for the practical ones, don't tell anyone else, lad. I'm not joking anymore."
"You are telling me I should behave like the others."
"You should pretend. You were pretending when you got here, but then you lowered your guard because you thought nobody was looking. Wrong. Someone always be looking. And, for the mountain's sake, learn to blend in better. You can do manual labor, but not with your fake slaves lounging on a rock and having fun bantering with each other. Look around. See anyone else do this shit? You were lucky it was me who approached you. Now the others will stand down, thinking I gave you a good scolding."
"Alright," I said. "I don't like this."
"You are too weak to get to choose," he stated matter of factly. "Then you made another mistake, lad. You thought I was the nice uncle dwarf that you could trust. Again, you are lucky I am, but what if I wasn't? Even now, how can you trust I'm not lying to you? Then again, you better do trust me because I can take the three of you in a fight no problem."
I nodded.
"Anyway, one last word of advice from someone who's probably older than your grandpa. I don't know how it was where you're from, but if you are here it means your home is gone. Am I right?"
"…yes."
"I'm sorry about that, by the way. I just wanted to make a point for ya. You are here now, get it? I know you think you are different. Sure, your bond is different. But you have not proven anything yet. Trust me, I want you to succeed perhaps even more than you want it yourself. A bond between equals without slavery? Treating them like companions, and with respect? Affection? Forging bonds like that? However, there is a reason why the world is the way it is. For now, you think you are different, but you haven't shown noone nothing. You haven't gotten through adversity. Through the bad sort of shit. Do that, show the world that things can be different, and I will be your first and greatest believer."
"I don't want to change the world," I said.
"Oh but you will. Just by existing. I can see it in your eyes. You hate having to pretend, but you have to because you're too weak. What happens when you are strong enough that you can choose not to pretend anymore?"
"I will stop pretending, of course."
"And then you'll have to fight. Either you die, and that's it. Or you win, and the world changes. You have been in this city what, a week, and already you've found yourself in this situation. I can't imagine you staying away from more problems. No other ending, lad."
His face, which had gotten dark like a spell had robbed all the light from around us, cleared. An easy smile settled on his features, making him look like an old amicable grandpa.
"Oh, I apologize. I ended up lecturing you and I didn't even introduce myself. Where are my manners? I'm Ted."
I took his proffered hand. "I'm Sol."
"Heh. Three-lettered names gang grows."
"Three-lettered name gang?" I asked, dumbfounded.
Ted shrugged. "It's no secret club or nothing. Just a little game I play with the other longer-named dwarves. They all have these pretentious sounding names, while me? I'm just Ted. Ah, they used to make fun of me but lad, I wore the name proudly and just like you will, I changed the world. In a tiny way, that is."
"And I was the weird one, Ted?"
"Haha, I like you lad. You are a breath of fresh air around here. You'll learn soon enough that you're not the only one who's forced to pretend. Anyway, you were about to use a skill, no? Don't let me keep you. I do want to watch, if you'll allow it."