Chapter 14: I See Why Vault Doesn't Talk to His Patron

It had gotten much later into the night. It was now practically pitch black outside, but neither Harmony nor Vault felt like sleeping. Instead they continued sitting around the campfire without saying much.

Vault poked the fire with a stick. “We need to take out the dungeon soon. If we put it off for too long then that lady will send her forces and overwhelm us.”

Harmony nodded. “We would need to get better stuff or get a lot stronger. If we rushed out there right now, even I can tell, we might only make it past the first battle.”

Vault frowned at the extra stone weapons he had leaning against the wall. “Too bad all I got is junk. It’s going to be a long time before I can make anything decent…And that’s if I can.”

Harmony shook her head. “Don't say that. If it was just me then I would be using branches to break rocks. Your creations are the reason we got this far to begin with. Although, your cooking still needs work.”

He gave a light chuckle then furrowed his brow. “If only I could get my hands on the things my patron had. If only I could call him or something and ask for some help, but he stopped talking to me a long time ago.”

Harmony brushed her hair aside and Eunice switched out with Felicia. “Actually, there is a way.”

Vault almost dropped his stick from the sudden shift in tone. He had experienced this before a few times, but usually he could tell when it was happening. Something about this transition was different. A lot smoother. Before it was like they were fighting over the steering wheel. Now it just seems more natural. “You're the other one right?”

Harmony nodded. “My name is Eunice by the way…I am the goddess that has fused with the human from your world…Crafting boy…I mean…Vault…I have a way we can call your patron, but…I’ll need…Your cooperation.”

Vault could feel a lot of tension from her words. She seemed very hesitant and full of dread. Like she was really struggling to make the request. Perhaps she had some issues asking others for help. Or she just really didn’t like him.

Vault smiled. “What do you need?”

They had gathered what remained of their food around the campfire in bowls. Harmony instructed Vault to start saying a few words while throwing the food into the flames.

“My patron, this is your representative. I make an offering to you in order to hear my plea. First I shed my blood, in order to form the connection.”

He made a cut on his own hand with difficulty. He really didn't want to do that part, but they needed to throw his blood into the fire. After spending a good minute or two preparing himself mentally, and finally working up the nerve to do it, he threw a few drops of blood into the fire.

The color of the flames had changed to become more of a bright bloody red. He threw the bowls of food into the flames as an offering. A bright flash of light burst out from the flames before it had calmed down. The fire remained bright red, but nothing had happened.

Harmony and Vault just stared blankly at the flame. They were disappointed by the lack of results. Eunice was confident that this would work, but now she could feel her usual insecurity creeping up on her. Before she could rack her brain for another idea of what to do next, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of something dragging.

They turned towards Vault’s extra stone weapons and saw a boy about their age. He was wearing long black pants, bandages around his wrists, no shirt, long black hair that went down to his waist, and piercing golden eyes

He was observing the equipment with intrigue, but also a lot of disdain. “Primitive. Extremely primitive.”

Harmony and Vault exchanged a look of confusion as they were trying to process how to proceed. Harmony glanced back at the boy. “Is that your patron?”

Vaults nodded reluctantly. Harmony took a step towards him, but he quickly turned in her direction, almost startling both of them. “Clearly you have something you want to talk to me about. Alight, we'll talk, but I'm going to be judging everything you've created so far.”

Harmony and Vault sat down around the campfire. The patron grabbed all the stone weapons that Vault had lying around. He brought them closer to the fire, so he could observe them while they chatted.

He sat down and started looking over a stone axe. “You seriously just took a stick and stuck a sharp rock against it? I know it's a survival game, but this is just sad.”

Vault gave the patron an annoyed look. Meanwhile, Harmony was just staring in silence at the boy. The light from the campfire made it easier to see what he truly looked like. Taking in his appearance, she felt her face getting flushed. Her cheeks were turning red and it felt like her heart was racing a bit.

All of this felt very off. In the mental world, Felicia felt very confused until she looked over at Eunice. She was experiencing the same things that Harmony was currently experiencing at the moment. She tried calling out to Eunice and gesturing for her to talk, but she seemed way too hesitant.

Felicia decided to be the one to lead the conversation, since she couldn't figure out why Eunice was suddenly feeling very skittish.

Harmony pointed at herself. “Guess I’ll start. I am the representative for my patron. My new name since coming here, is Harmony. She pointed at Vault. I decided to team up with this guy because he's cool like that.”

The patron let out a snort and Vault looked a little more irritated. She gave him a sympathetic look before continuing. What should we call you Mr. Patron forger crafter man?”

He gave her an unamused look. “Definitely not that. That is a horrible name. Even as a nickname. I would never give such a title to my worst weapons or even my own failed creations with such horrible naming taste.”

He turned to Vault. “You seriously teamed up with someone like her?”

Vault grit his teeth and finally blew up. “At least she's a lot nicer to be around! All you do is just keep judging everything! I can't think of a single time you actually said something nice about someone or anything really!”

The patron shook his head. “Not entirely true…There was once a scavenger that I would often send on fetch quests for me. I kept a log of the materials that she would often bring. I often requested her because she always did her best to make sure they were in good condition.”

He put a hand to his chin as he recalled her. “At some point she did stop coming. Part of me kind of wonders what became of her.”

Harmony pointed at herself. “You mean Eunice Edelweiss? She's kind of fused with me. That's the new body I got when I joined the survival game.”

The patron just stared at her in complete silence with a very bewildered look. He did not know how to process what he had just heard. “For real?”

Harmony nodded. “For real.”