It is my great task to forge for this place a path to peace. --60.2 Seconds Post-Integration.
He felt warm as he followed Adam. He still had no idea what was happening. Adam had told him little which wasn't a grunt once he had given up his name. He kept his eyes glued on his Core Metric -- the '1.00' did not degrade as he walked alongside Adam. Not having anything else to go on, he trusted his gut and the System that he should be talking to this person as part of his job, hence why the System did not ding him for working, because this was the job, for the moment, anyway.
Stopping in the middle of a deserted hallway, he took out from his coat interior a badge and held it over an invisible scanner. A red light briefly scanned the badge. Whoosh! A door camouflaged perfectly within the hall, slid opened. Adam led him into the secret room. The door automatically closed behind him. Darkness shrouded them for a few seconds before powerful lights flooded the hidden chamber. "Please, take a seat," Adam told him. "But not before helping yourself to a drink and snack."
The newly lit space was small but comfortable. Lush carpet filled the floor, making it feel like he was walking on a cushion from the moment he entered from the corridor. In a corner was a coffee nook stocked with a number of coffees, teas, and pastries. Not to mention the little plates and cups!
Two wide desks carved from quality wood dominated the chamber otherwise. Not feeling in the mood for a drink or snack, Clark took his seat before the large, wooden desk. "H-how can I h-help you?" he asked, his voice stuttered more than once.
Adam sat at the desk opposite him with a warm beverage in hand. "Very polite. I like that in a co-worker. And it tracks with your record! Sure, there was an outburst or two earlier, at the Green Guild office and library respectively, but we all have off days, right? And neither process was as smooth as it should've been for you; for that, Clark, I, on behalf of the store, do apologize. We strive so that every employee has a clean, straightforward experience while working and living in Augustford Central, especially you Lifers. That you had to go through so much trouble is regrettable, truly. So, this is me apologizing on behalf of the store and I do hope you will consider it genuine, if not accept it."
He had no clue what to say. Adam's response was so unexpected. He lost his stutter as a result. "No, it is fine. Thank you for the acknowledgement of doing wrong. Or being able to do better... uh, thank you."
"I am pleased! Thank you for accepting our apology. You continue to demonstrate your wisdom despite your age. I must step outside for a moment to report to my superiors. Please, do take a moment to partake of our treats and drinks. Just a moment."
Adam then stepped outside into the hall. Alone, he jutted up from his seat and went to the confectionary station. "SIMP? Do you have any idea what's happening?!"
"That's a negative, Clark. I am trying to locate information on 'managerial meetings,' but I see very little that matches your current situation."
"Nothing like secret doors and well-dressed people apologizing, then?"
"No. I will keep looking. I am sure there is precedent. I am also sure whoever this man is, he will tell you something shortly."
Clark settled on a soothing green tea. That and an unsalted cracker he found on the dessert cart. He munched on his cracker and sipped his tea without enthuse. Whatever was happening, it was safe to say it was because his actions as 'dungeon champion.' He remembered SIMP's words on this subject earlier -- Corporate's discovery of his identity as dungeon champion and as their worker would've been uncovered sooner or later. When that happened, assert yourself to the company and to the dungeon. They (supposedly) can't fire him for his actions undertaken in the defense of the dungeon. Which meant, if they knew about his actions with Theo and Hera, he would need to defend his work as part of his job as Champion.
He took a deep breath. Released. He remembered his mindfulness practice. Focus on the here and now; not the hypothetical 'what if.'
When Adam re-entered the room about ten minutes later, Clark had a much better mental placement. He was calm. Ready for the first question.
"My deepest apologies for my sudden departure. My handlers love having updates! Not that I am complaining -- updates are part of the corporate lifestyle. Nothing we can do about it, nothing we should do about it. You will learn that if you haven't already. Regardless, we should move on to why I called this meeting with you today." Adam looked him dead in the eyes. He gulped.
"You are," Adam began, teasing the words out. "Our dungeon champion, correct?"
Here it was -- the question he had waited to hear, his nerves a frantic mess.
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A brief's moment and he considered lying. saying 'No, you have the wrong guy.' He settled against such an idea, seeing as how it would've been a mighty plank-headed thing of him to try and get away with, but so strong in him was his desire to be done with this 'meeting,' he considered it.
Instead, he was brave and took the direct route. "Yes, that is me. I knew you or someone from corporate would want to talk to me eventually. So, please, sir, tell me how I might help you." His voice was calm -- good! With how scared-shetless he was, he was worried it would come out a broken mess. Each word was direct, spoken unambiguously. Better yet, he was professional.
"Ah, I am pleased -- very pleased -- to gain your acquaintanceship, Clark! Not every day a humble middle-manager like me meets the Dungeon Champion! Might I ask you a few tiny questions?"
Here it was, the questions -- he would need to choose his words carefully.
"Fire away. We are overdue to meet and hash this out. Might I ask you a question, first -- do you represent the store as a whole or are you here as part of a petty assignment?" he couldn't believe he was so direct. He waited for the answer, on edge.
Adam regarded him before answering. He looked at him like how a father might look at a wayward son whom he loved. It was a strange sight to see on the face of someone he did not know. Adam said, "Yes. I do represent the store as a whole, Clark. Most of our employees would not be of the mind to ask. I suppose this is why the dungeon's Spiritual Consciousness chose you as its host."
SIMP chimed in: "Deny that. You are not 'hosting' me, Clark. You do this of your own free will. Don't let them paint me as a parasite!"
Clark repeated what SIMP wanted him to say. "My role alongside the Spiritual consciousness is an important one to our shared community, here," he told Adam. "Working alongside Augustford, I know we can jointly discover a way to end the plague rot crisis."
"I am excited to hear you say such a thing, Clark. Because this meeting is (partly) about that very subject. As a Dungeon Champion and an Augustford Associate, you are in a position no one else has been in before -- and believe me, I checked! You're the first to occupy this position. Until now, someone holding both positions were thought to be purely theoretical!" Clark wondered how that could be, that he was the first to occupy such a position; how could there be bylaws within corporate policy about his very dual position if he was the first?
"Then all the better for us to make history. Let's chat about what's on your mind."
The conversation he had with Adam lasted for hours.
"First, I want to talk about how you first came across the Spiritual Consciousness's path, and the process of becoming their 'Champion,'" Adam had said, taking a bite of an apple, he would eat over the course of his explanation of their first encounter upon Orientation.
"Very good," Adam continued. "Next, what is your relation to your work detail mates?"
SIMP cut in and advised him to remain stoic; "They are fishing for information about their wall being destroyed; Hera's church has been causing a lot of controversy for the store lately. They don't have anything on you or your activities. Deny!"
"My relationship to my co-workers is purely a professional, one. We met only recently but I would consider them friends. Work friends, but perhaps more later? Only time will tell!" He spoke to Adam using his 'salesperson' tone. As SIMP advised him, he would give Adam only fluff.
And so, the questions went.
At a point in their conversation, he couldn't tell 'when' as his track of time had all but evaporated over the course of the relentless questioning, Adam stepped outside again to talk with his superiors. This time, he was away for so long, he wondered if 'talking with his superiors' was what he was even doing. Did a man truly need two-and-a-half hours (and counting!) to chat with their boss about an assignment?
He used the on-site bathroom tucked away at the back, not once, but twice, over the course of his waiting for Adam to return. "Not helping myself, but I need something to perk me up." He got himself another caffeinated beverage. The coffee had a strong nutty flavor which, when properly sweetened, had the perfect blend of bitter and sweet.
The coffee served its purpose. When he finished off the last sip, tilting the mug high toward the ceiling to ensure he got every last drop, he felt a third wind in him begin to bellow. "I hope Theo and Hera weren't disadvantaged because of my absence today," Clark wondered aloud.
SIMP helped to answer his question: "My trackers indicate they are on the 51st floor. It looks like they had an extremely average day. Worry no more."
He nodded. Good. Last thing I need is for my team to lose their way because of one unexpected obligation.
"Apologies for such a wait," Adam said as he walked back into the room. "Supervisors and their questions upon questions. You know how it is." Adam winked, but Clark thought it was half-sarcastic. "We are nearing the end of our time together. Yet the most important question has yet to come. Clark. How would you like to join a secret department?"
'Secret' department? "What was that?" he asked.
Adam explained at length: "Aside from the obvious? Merely an accounting wing... essentially. I am getting ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning. I am a representative from Qoon -- written with a 'que' but pronounced like 'raccoon.' We are an information gathering agency within Augustford. Well, we account for information and weigh it according to scale. Those words 'accounting information' might seem silly right now, but they won't be in a few months -- not after you train with us. I won't lie -- having the Dungeon Champion himself sign with such a core Augustford Department would be a great win for the store during a time of crisis; the plague rot has everyone on edge, not to mention the monster attacks, which, I have noticed, you have been instrumental in stopping. Augustford doesn't forget who helps them."
None of Adam's explanation sounded like something Clark wanted to be involved with. Secret departments, information gathering, weird 'scales'? He was about to reject Adam's offer when Adam interrupted -- "Before you answer, how about we take a tour?"
All Clark really wanted to do was say 'no' and return to his working day. Yet, he was getting paid by the store to entertain Adam, and waiting around, answering questions, taking a tour, none of that was as tedious as his day job, so he figured, why not, might as well let the man use his time. "Sure. Lead the way, sir."
Were Certain Departments at Your Workplace More Valued than Others?
