A bit choked up, Hans replied in the affirmative. He was truly happy that Dale thought so well of him. Through his bawdy jokes and teasing, he had really come to think of Dale as a friend, and it was good to see that feeling reciprocated.
Dale cleared his throat, “Your grand-daughter?” He prompted Madame Chandra.
“Yes! Of course!” Chandra started, almost flinching a bit, “Rose! Get in here!” Her manner was nervous, and she was casting pleading looks at Hans. A tall lady walked in from the attached kitchen, fluidly moving across the walnut wood of the floor. She stood nearly six feet tall, had grey eyes, flowing black hair and a slim, willowy figure. Dale was impressed by her graceful movement, but growing up in the mountains had him looking at her a bit critically.
In his mind, she was too tall and thin to do the work required of the highlanders. His people were average height, with packed muscles and stout frames. He understood better why Chandra was looking for a team for this girl; she didn’t look like she could survive an unescorted night in the city, let alone a dungeon in the mountains. His vision flipped to his Essence enhanced vision and he looked at her center, roughly at the same time as Hans.
Father Richard gasped in anger, “You just shouted at me for pulling Dale ahead in the rankings, yet you clearly did the same for her! Look at her center! It’s barely even healed from the trauma, just like Dale, and you try to foist her off on them!”
Rose looked a bit stricken. Embarrassed by the sudden judgement of her, she opened her mouth to speak. Chandra cut her off unintentionally, “You don’t get to yell at me in my place of business, Richard!” The tree they were in suddenly swayed ominously. “Look at her! Tell me why I did it! I know your reasons, you wanted to get away with not having to pay the worth of something and so handed out power like a treat!”
Father Richard was taken aback, and looked at the girl again. His eyes widened fractionally. “Oh. Oh, you poor girl, I am so sorry. Please forgive my assumptions.”
Dale of course had no idea what was transpiring. “Oh, spit it out. What?! What’s wrong with her?”
Rose’s face was becoming the color of her namesake, “Excuse me, I am right here.” She seethed, turning toward Dale, “And nothing is wrong with me, you ass.”
Her voice was cultured, and delicate for the harsh words. Dale was instantly mad at her, “I’m not going into danger with someone who can’t even be around people without them feeling sorry for her unknown weakness.” He announced harshly.
“Dale!” Chandra was aghast, “Where is this coming from?”
Dale looked at her coldly, the cold steel of a man who has had to force others to show him respect every time their opinions differed. “This is coming from a Highlander. I worked for what I have, I paid fairly for my increase in rank, if not in time then in goods. What gives her the right to come in here and start attacking me for asking a simple question? I’m guessing as well that you simply pulled her to the higher ranks for free. The look in his eyes and tone of voice,” He pointed at Father Richard, “Tells me other people’s charity and pity falling on her is not an uncommon occurrence. Her reaction,” a gesture at Rose, “shows that she has a chip on her shoulder that will get us killed if we take her. Either she will not be able to pull her weight or she will try to overcompensate and do something stupid. I need people that will work to keep me alive as I do the same for them, so find another team or explain why it benefits my team to take her with us.”
The others in the room were stunned into silence. They had not seen this side of Dale, and now they were realizing that - just maybe - they should be a bit warier of making decisions for him without his knowing consent. Hans broke into a proud grin when he realized that Dale had made a well-reasoned argument, while Father Richard started to sweat a bit over the future expansion plans he had for his church.
“Dale,” Chandra started uncomfortably, “Rose is - as I’ve mentioned - my granddaughter. My son, before he was murdered, eloped with a High Elf and eventually blessed us with Rose. She has been ostracized in society for being a half-breed,” her eyes darted to Rose to see if she was offending her, but Rose’s eyes were flint hard as she tried to stare Dale down. “That by itself is not too much of an issue, the real problem is her Essence.”
Dale looked at Rose’s core again. It had the same reconstructed, shattered look that his did. “What? It looks really pure, so, yay you. Beyond that I see no other issue.”
“What do you know about Essence affinities?” Chandra probed patiently.
Dale looked at her, “Not too much, I suppose. I know we all have them and they get stronger over time as we affect them.”
“Well,” Chandra smacked Rose’s arm when she rolled her eyes, “You see, we all are able to eventually use other elements to pull Essence from. As you grow, so does your capability to use other affinities. Your main one will always be your strongest though. Rose is... Well. Special.”
Rose rolled her eyes at this, obviously hearing it for the thousandth time. Chandra charged on, “She began life with a dual affinity. That means she has two main affinity channels and has to train them both at the same time. Usually, this is not an issue. If she had fire and earth, she could cultivate near lava, glassblowers, or some such. This is not the case, as she has the opposing affinities for celestial and infernal.”
Hans’ eyes were wide, he breathed in amazement, “A chaos cultivator. Alive?”
“Just so.” Chandra nodded reluctantly. “As such, Rose has never been able to cultivate. She would have died if I did not pull her up into the D-ranking as a child. The scars in her cultivation have been there for nearly twenty years. She cannot use Essence for fear that the lack will kill her, as she cannot replace what she uses.”
The news he was given disturbed Dale, the others also seemed uncomfortable at Rose’s plight. “Well.” Dale hemmed, “I may have been hasty in my snap judgement, but the fact of the matter is that this does not change things. If she cannot fight, it would be too dangerous for all involved to take her with us.” He clandestinely ate another bite of the rabbit steak that was beginning to cool.
“I am the best archer you will ever meet.” Rose broke into the conversation hotly. “And I do it all without using Essence! Once I am able to cultivate, I can only improve.”
“Can you work as a team? Can you follow orders? Will you duck when I say duck? Have you ever been in combat or just shot at stationary targets?” Dale was brutal in his questioning. “These are the same questions I needed to face when I first became a cultivator. The others knew the answer and took the time to train me for months. You know the first job I had in the team? I quote: ‘Don’t die, that is your only job until you become useful.’ My team will not be experienced and strong like theirs was, I can’t protect you like they could me. So I ask you again. Why should I risk my team's’ life, and my own - for you?”
Rose’s face was burning and Dale knew his questions had hit their target. Like arrows. Ha, because she was an archer. Anyway. “I can be a good teammate.” Rose quietly promised. “I am a fast learner and know the stakes. Just give me a chance to prove myself! No one… No one else will even look at me without that stupid look on their face!” She pointed at an affronted Father Richard.
“Ok then. We’ll see.” Dale made his decision with finality. “I’m going back into the dungeon tomorrow morning. Meet me at the mess hall at dawn and we will make a temporary place on the team for you. If you can’t handle the dungeon, I will take no blame for the outcome.” He looked at Madame Chandra when he mentioned this; she nodded gravely.