"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" Corvan's lower lip quivered a bit. He had spent many restless nights, many moons, and wasted wealth to find a way to save her. His true love.
Carter smirked with confidence. "Black veins on skin. Clouded, unfocused eyes. Do I need to continue?"
Carter remembered just enough to describe the condition of Luna, Corvan's wife.
"You really know it!" Corvan had to be wary because many fraudsters had already tried to trick him. "How do we save her? What is the price?"
"No physical price. But I need your help. I want you to join my party and do exactly as I say. We need to survive this wretched place first. Deal?"
"And when are you going to treat her?"
"Right after we escaped," Carter leaned in closer, "and you can trust me. I swear on the soul of my father, Cody Caine, that I will help your wife as long as I breathe."
Carter's expression turned serious in the middle of his sentences. His gaze was cold and stinging, looking directly into Corvan's wild soul. Corvan could feel the tension of Carter's words. A weight that couldn't be any heavier.
"Alright. I'll travel with you." Corvan nodded. He answered Carter's gaze with an equally serious, unblinking look. At least for now, he had given Carter his trust.
'The Family Man' was the name the community gave the hunter. He was a simple character with a simple goal: to save the love of his life. The horror of this word and its tragedies would only wait for Corvan in the future. He would have to face so many hardships that he couldn't even imagine, adding complexity to his character throughout the game journey.
As the Family Man, the best way to gain his trust was to invoke family. He could always empathize with such sentiment.
Carter took this dialogue choice straight out from the soldier's line. He would have used one of these lines to recruit the hunter in the future. Unlucky for him, it should no longer be effective now.
"Shall we go?" Carter reached his hand toward the holes.
"Which one?" Corvan said.
"Third one on the second row from the bottom up. The one that was just a bit too small for adults."
"How do you know these things?"
"Learning and practice, my friend. Learning and practice."
Carter squatted down to pat Seven's big head. It was the largest contributor to killing the Bricken. Its precise timing had brought the first advantage to Carter's party, and it has kept snowballing from there. In Darkness and Bloodlust, one simple weakness could be the death of your character, and one minor advantage could be the difference to achieve a win.
Corvan walked to the Bricken and examined it. As a hunter, it was his expertise to recognize, trace, and dissect beasts. But not one of these kinds of beasts. In his mind, this was no longer a beast, it was a monster of this nightmare.
"What is this creature?" Corvan mumbled, his eyes couldn't hide their fear even after the Bricken was dead. He sneakily glanced toward the wolves that were surrounding Carter right now. He had the same wary feeling for them.
"An Alchemical Beast, my friend. They called it the Bea… The Bricken."
Alchemists were horrible name givers. Instead of telling Corvan the terrible name that was probably given by the Goddess, Carter told him the name the community gave it. It at least was less dumb than 'Bear Chicken'.
"Bricken… Wait, Alchemist? They are also here in the Dungeon of Darkness?"
"Where else should they be? This dungeon was built for them exclusively. The Kintara's spies must have told you this is the door leading to Ascador's secrets, right?"
The hunter nodded, "It was why I agreed to follow them here." It's the only hope to save Luna."
"Well, my friend. I am your only hope now." Carter patted Corvan's back.
"Da'Ka Ta." Carter shouted, and the wolves were released back to the cavern.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to bring them outside of the cavern. At least not with what Carter was capable of.
Fifty-two ran off first to the far end of the cavern, finally being free to do what it wanted. Thirty-four was a little bit hesitant, but when Carter didn't say anything, it followed Fifty-two. Nineteen stood beside Seven, looking at Carter. They understood his order, but they decided to stay back anyway.
"Those are two loyal pups." Much better than the other two. You're leaving them?"
"I have to. No other choice. They are too big for the holes."
Carter waved at Seven and Nineteen. The wolves let out a low, hoarse grunt. Different from dogs, wolves couldn't whimper. The two wolves could only express their longing with those grunts.
Carter and the hunter entered the holes. Inside the holes, Carter twisted a small handle on his lantern, opening its air latch for more oxygen to go in, allowing the fire to burn bigger and brighter.
"Wait… I know that lantern. You found it in my camp?" Corvan said.
"Why else do you think I found you and the Bricken?" Carter said.
Now that everything calmed down, Carter could have a better look at Corvan. He looked strong and ready for action. His eyes were always watching carefully. On his body were practical, tough clothes made of leather and strong fabric, perfect for moving through forests or rough places. They look a bit worn, showing he uses them a lot.
The bow was Corvan's main weapon, always ready in his hand. The quiver was worn behind his hip. On the side of the waist was a machete, one that would be very useful for chopping down plants and branches when moving in a forest or jungle.
When they crawled out of the hole, what was waiting for them was another long hallway. This hallway was wider than the axe trap passage and had a few doors in between.
"It's our lucky day. We reach the falling room. We should be able to reach the marked room soon before it begins to move."
Marked room? What is going to move? Falling room? What is he talking about? So many questions pop up in Corvan's head. Carter seemed to know everything about this place. This made him curious about Carter's true identity.
"Looks like we have a friend, Hunter." Carter unstrapped his shield and put it in front.
A few dozen meters from them, a Mutated Prisoner revealed himself. Its grotesque appearance caused Corvan to be alerted immediately, he raised his bow and was ready to fire.
Carter stopped him. "Wait! Remember, do exactly as I say. Especially if you want to kill it."