Something about this construct sounds wrong. We just saw it slough off of the orb in the sky, yet it almost sounds like a completely different thing. And apparently the quest just put this thing in charge after we took Click away, which can't mean anything good for us. If we can actually trust everything this is saying I'll be damn surprised.

I lean down and skim my fingers through the liquid. "You don't sound the same as when you were in the orb. What caused the change?"

Nothing, really.

That part of me is the cryptic quest-giver, and this me is the one that really missed talking to people for… however long it's been since I talked to someone.

Oh, but this isn't like some of the others you might've seen.

I'm the one and only me through and through.

Yeah, sure. I'm starting to doubt my gut feeling right about now. With a simple flick of my wrist I summon my Class Card and get to filling my reservoir. Clutter does the same.

"So, um, whoever you are… do you know more about the heretics than you're allowed to say?" Clutter asks. "Because since we found the heart, we've found pretty much nothing about them at all. Except what the big orb-you just told us, I guess."

Of course I know more than I'm letting on.

Just like you're aware that I can't say anything that the quest itself hasn't permitted me to say.

The heretics are a… tender topic for so many of us here.

The surface of the pool of liquid ripples as a regretful sigh travels through it. I try to ignore the construct's musings, since it's definitely just trying to throw us off, but it's damn hard when it feels like we're so close to actually learning more about what happened in this place.

Construct juice slides into my Class Card by the gallon, filling my reservoir with huge gulps of liquid. Somehow the level of construct liquid in the pool doesn't dip by an inch. I watch the actual inventory slot grow greyer and greyer as it fills until it hits the very top and stops instantly. No notification, no warning, just a stoppered flow.

Clutter brushes off his pants and stands at the exact same moment I do. He furrows his brow at me like I'm copying him for no reason, then hums to himself with a shallow nod.

"Because we're sharing a reservoir it fills at the same time." He says. "How would this work if we were far enough apart, had two reservoirs filled to the top, then got close enough to link them? Would they explode since they're at double capacity?"

"I sure hope not." I chuckle nervously. "Llaliu seems to know more about these slots, so we'll just have to ask her later. I–oh, look at that; the level's already going down. They must've gotten started on the other side."

My reservoir dips ever so slightly to just below full. Clutter looks over my shoulder instead of just checking the Class Card he's holding in his hand. I clear my throat, which gets a noise of embarrassment out of him and turns his attention back to his own card. Which is also draining, confirming once and for all that we're sharing reservoirs.

Oh-ho, it tickles being sent over long distances without using the pipes.

I'd almost forgotten this sensation.

There are your friends!

Hello, friends of Shelby and Clutter!

Ohp, the flow stopped.

Onto exploring the pipes once more for me!

I frown down at the empty eyes in the pool. Because this quest just seems… way too easy. Nothing else we've done has even come close to how smoothly this is going. Hell, if the others find the right pipe soon enough, then we'll have 'fixed' this place without having to fight anything. I'm not dumb enough to believe there isn't going to be a phase two where everything goes wrong and some new or expanded threat appears out of seemingly nowhere.

"Get ready for something awful to happen." I warn Clutter. "It's how this usually goes."

He nods. "I'm already ready for that. Hoping that it won't happen, but still ready for it."

The construct doesn't bother denying our worries. Not that I'd believe it if it did. I look around at the tooth-splattered ground and try to come up with ways this could go. The pools could bust with construct liquid and we'd get attacked by the smaller constructs. Or we could be extremely tiny now, shrunk down by the orb in transit, and we'll get drowned by the same construct fluid we sent out being returned a hundredfold.

No… neither of those feel right. I don't know why, but something feels unbelievably stagnant about this place. As unchanging as a frozen morgue forgotten to time. Almost like nothing's going to change at all on this side of things for as long as… as… I don't know. Something's just wrong. Like a gear that's supposed to be turning but isn't.

…Shit, maybe that's what the construct means by this place being 'broken'.

"Clutter, watch your card for any messages." I say as I turn to look in the opposite direction from Jumble and Llaliu. "Construct, if I take a handful of you, can you talk through that?"

An eye drifts towards the edge of the pool and blinks. I wait for it to say anything, but apparently that's all I'm going to get. With a roll of my eyes I summon and empty out my potion flask with the liquid sleep in it, then hold it in the construct liquid until it's full to the top.

Clutter watches with curiosity. "Did you see something out there? Should I go get Jumble so she can go with you?"

I shake my head and tighten the cap. "No need. Once she finds the water I'll come running right back here to regroup. I just want to confirm something I'm not sure I even saw."

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"I'm pretty sure I would've seen it too, so it's probably not there. Good luck finding something!" Clutter pats my shoulder with a smile. "And good luck with whatever you want to talk to the construct in private about."

I laugh and pocket the flask. "That obvious, huh? I'll say this; it's not me who's going to be doing the talking. I'm just saving you the pain of some serious censorship."

Recognition rolls onto Clutter's face as he makes an 'o' with his mouth. I wave goodbye as I start walking away; a wave that he returns and then snaps his head to stare at Jumble and Llaliu in the distance. He doesn't even want to risk looking at me out of a fear of being censored. Probably rightly so, since even I'm not confident about how painful this is going to be.

As I run to make distance, Pearl rests her chin on her hands and stares down at the flask filled with construct. "What do you think it'll have to say? Something to do with me or the shellraisers in general, of course, but why're we doing this so far away from Clutter? He knows pretty much everything already. Or… does he know everything? I can't remember if we're keeping a secret or two from him still."

I open my mouth to answer, but honestly, I can't remember either. Hopefully that means we've told him everything, but if we're both forgetting something, it can't be that important.

"I don't know. But I'm making space for the exact reason I said I was." I hold out a hand under Pearl's shell for her to squeeze onto. "Something tells me this construct knows way more than it should, maybe because the quest had to improvise, and you're the only one of us who can hear everything. Except… maybe Jumble."

"Definitely Jumble." Pearl says confidently. "She might even be beyond any kind of system censorship. Heck, all the other Worth Classes might be. I don't know how high a Mind stat you need before the system stops censoring stuff you hear or see."

After a few minutes of jogging I turn back to make sure I'm far enough away, then pull the flask out of my pocket and open it. The construct slithers free like a grey serpent, eyes opening on all sides of it that take in both my and Pearl's form. It wiggles from side to side without any emotion I can detect, then twists forward to get a little closer to Pearl. But retains a very safe distance.

I thought the quest had said something about a shellraiser, but it was so far-fetched that I dismissed it.

Seems like I was completely wrong.

Blessedly so, might I add.

Pearl grimaces and backs away. "You're not continuing your experiments on me."

Continuing?

No, no, I was never a part of those experiments.

Though I do exist because of them, so your reluctance is completely valid.

But for some reason the quest doesn't care what I say about your kind.

I would've thought that was important to the quest, but apparently not.

"Yeah, apparently." Pearl mutters. "We found one of your underground research labs and took back the research you killed so many of us for, so don't try to play innocent. We know those experiments were done here."

The construct shakes itself and closes its eyes.

I swear on my boss' name that we had nothing to do with them.

All us constructs… we're the consolation prize for when the system failed with whatever it was trying.

I can assure you–to the best of my and my colleagues' knowledge–that there was absolutely no shellraiser research being done here.

Yeah, because that assurance carries weight. But… it does fit with what Jumble said about there not being an underground. Doesn't mean this place wasn't repurposed after it disappeared, though.

"If you don't want to experiment on her, why are you happy she's alive?" I ask.

Pearl nods in agreement. "Yeah, why do you care? Shouldn't you want to get rid of me just like the system does?"

Oh, the answer to that is unbelievably complicated.

Give me a moment to… sorry, the quest says I'm not allowed to say anything more about this.

But hey, that means it'll be revealed when you progress the main quest, so it's not going to be a secret forever.

This isn't what you wanted to talk about, though, right?

So why'd you put so much space between us and your friends?

"That's easy." I tap Pearl on the shoulder. "Apparently another one of my quests is active in this place. The one I inherited from a book a shellraiser wrote, and one that'll only progress if I follow Pearl's lead. You should know about it. I want you to tell Pearl everything you can."

Is that so?

The quest's serpentine form coils out of the canteen and wraps itself around my forearm like a tight coil of bandages. More liquid than the container should be able to hold joins the strange shape as it solidifies next to Pearl, knitting itself into a doll-like approximation of a very gaunt paindne with shawls of fabric draping over its bony form. The tiny paindne motions at my hand next to Pearl in an ask to get closer.

Pearl thinks for a second before reluctantly nodding and making room for the construct. It hobbles over with great effort, then grunts as it sits cross-legged on my fingers. Part of me can't imagine it ever standing up again.

Well, Pearl, I may know a little about what you say.

Your people hadn't yet been extinguished when I was first created.

Unfortunately, I had the displeasure of both knowing the truth and watching a lie spread like wildfire.

Until now, those were just… data points in my memory.

Now, for some blessed and damned reason, I am burdened with thought.

Thought and emotion.

Maybe it's because of you two.

"I'm so sorry." Pearl sarcastically apologizes. "Did my people's genocide make you feel a little uncomfortable?"

The construct shakes its head.

No; at the time, I felt absolutely nothing–because I was not made to feel.

I was made to proctor one specific trial and ensure it was properly conducted.

But if you have questions… maybe I can answer some of them.

Just not about the research carried out by the system.

Pearl sets her jaw. "What happened to the shellforge?"

Gone.

Hidden from the system by unknown means or so utterly destroyed that nothing remains.

Your people ensured the system would not extract their most valuable secrets.

"That's a… relief." Pearl says emotionlessly. "What about the wellspring?"

I don't know.

If the system does have access to it, it hasn't done anything with it for all this time.

Unfortunately, I think it's safe to assume the worst.

Pearl weakly shakes her head. "You just confirmed that the worst hasn't happened. But yes, the second worst possibility is probably… wait. Shelby… are you actually listening to us?"

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