The night had been long, but I didn’t regret the time I spent with my family one bit. Emilia and Willow were fine in the morning despite being up so late, but that was an advantage for the young that we could no longer hope to match. Ferrisdae waking up early to make coffee for Tabs and I had helped immensely.
After breakfast, it was time to go. I had made sure to remind my junior that she didn’t have to come in if she didn’t feel ready for it. While it was true that she had managed to cast one of her more extensive spells just the day before, that didn’t mean she was miraculously ready for what I assumed to be another long mission.
Of course, Ferrisdae had told me in no uncertain terms that it was her decision and she felt that she was ready. Personally, I would have preferred it if she took the rest of her leave, but I wasn’t about to tell her she couldn’t work if that’s what she really wanted.
We walked through the Department of Dungeons towards one of the conference rooms on the lower floors. Those who preferred to start their workday early kept staring at us as we passed, but I ignored them. No one said anything to me even as Ferrisdae greeted our coworkers when we walked by, often by name. Once again I had to wonder if Brackenhorst stuck her with me because she was a people person.
That certainly wasn’t going to be something I asked him, though. I certainly wouldn’t get a straight answer.
Surprisingly, we were the last to arrive at the large conference room. Brackenhorst was sitting on the far side of the room at the end of a long table, while Justisius and Liddy sat on either side of him. They both had their Junior Dungeon Inspectors lined up beside them, four each just as I had been told the last time I was being briefed by the chief.
I didn’t recognize most of the eclectic crowd, which was fine by me. These weren’t mine to deal with. There were a couple, however, that I did know. The ones who refused to look me in the eye, Godrick and Tamela, had been my juniors at two separate points. Because of differences that were certainly not any fault of my own, they had been transferred away.
Ferrisdae was proof that I could certainly tolerate a rookie, provided they were competent.
“Nice hat,” Liddy said, and I looked right at her. It was hard to tell if she was trying to jab at me or if she was being sincere.
Reaching up, I itched at the pastel blue knit cap I wore. While I didn’t generally like to wear hats, I made an exception due to the circumstances. Emilia had made it for me and insisted that, because I was leaving early, I needed to wear it when out and about. It had been Sophia's idea, but both of my kids had latched on to it. I couldn't stand the Kitsune's smug look after that, but I didn’t want to upset either of my daughters and thus chose to wear it for them.
Even if it did say #1 Dad in bold, black letters on the front.
“Thanks,” I said gruffly before sitting down. Ferrisdae sat beside me and reached out towards one of Justisius’ Gnomish rookies. They bumped fists together and gave each other a friendly nod. I arched an eyebrow at her.
“Dev and I went through orientation together,” she explained.
I grunted understanding before turning back to Brackenhorst. “Are we waiting for anyone else, Chief?”
The elderly Dwarf raised his finger as he went over some paperwork. Unlike yesterday, he was fully dressed for his position today, and his beard was immaculately done in its usual, elaborate style. He released a heavy sigh before taking his quill and crossing out an entire section of whatever parchment he was perusing. Rubbing his eyes with a fist, he looked up at me before he got distracted by the door.
“I thought for sure we’d get here before the bother,” Sophia loudly stated. She paused behind me and I felt the cap getting plucked at. "This is a good looking hat, bother. Glad to see it."
Holding back a sigh, I looked Brackenhorst directly in the eye and mouthed, really?
The Chief simply smirked. “I’m glad you were able to join us on such short notice, Ms. Blair,” he said, gesturing towards a pair of seats next to Ferrisdae.
“It’s mostly a pleasure, Chief Dungeon Inspector,” Sophia replied as she sat down. The Kitsune was back in her tall Human form now that there was no magic blocking her ability to transform. Her secretary, Maribelle, took the chair beside her and readied herself to take notes.
“I know Justisius and Liddy told their apprentices about what happened here yesterday,” the Chief started. “Badger, did you tell Ferrisdae what she needed to know?”
“She’ll get the gist of it as the meeting goes on,” I answered.
“So, no,” he stated.
“I’ll be able to figure out the details, sir,” Ferrisdae said, sitting up straighter.
“I’m sure,” he agreed sourly. “Now, everything said here today stays in this room. You’re all here because I trust you, you’re the best we have, and I know you can be discreet. If anything from this meeting gets leaked, then be aware that we will find out who did it, and getting fired from the Department of Dungeons will be the absolute least of your worries. That is not a threat, but a promise due to the sensitive material we will be discussing. Everyone understand?”
Brackenhorst scanned the faces of everyone in the room, getting a series of affirmatives, before waving his hand and saying a few words. A detailed image of Carimella appeared behind him as he finished casting his illusion spell.
“Yesterday, Badger interrogated and fought against CC, who was using the body of Carimella Rose as a personal dungeon,” he stated, pointing towards the floating image. She was fully dressed in her robe without any of the strange ritual circles showing. “Her attempts to change the DoD into a dungeon so that she could operate out of it failed, and we spent all night performing every test we had to make sure that there were no traces of her magic leftover after her defeat.”
Ferrisdae’s gaze turned towards me so quickly I thought her neck was going to snap. I shrugged.
“I’m familiar with Carimella from previous Mage’s Guild functions,” Sophia said, leaning back and giving me a sideways look. I ignored her. “She was just a few years away from becoming another of Athir’s Archmages. Her involvement in this is a big deal, especially because she was a beloved figure in her home country.”
“Yes, it is rather unfortunate,” Brackenhorst agreed. “Not only is this a problem because of her general ability, which were well above most others, but because of her high standing in the Mage’s Guild. Ms. Blair has agreed to start an investigation using people she trusted to try and find others who may belong to this cult of CC, but it will take time.”
Justisius raised his hand, and when the Chief pointed towards him he turned to Sophia. “According to the information we received from the Dungeon Master, it seems he expects CC to show up on the continent as early as five months from now. Do you believe your investigation can be completed before then?”
“If it takes more than three, then I’ll be surprised,” Sophia answered. “The moment we make sure that Archmage Della, the head of the Athir branch, is not involved with CC, then I’m sure that she will do everything she can to help us.”
“And if she is a part of it all?” Liddy asked. She had been doodling on her parchment, but everyone here knew that she was still paying attention. The Gnome just had to be doing something with her hands or she would go crazy.
“Then our job becomes a lot more difficult, and I’ll need to go use slower methods,” Sophia admitted. “However, that possibility is included in my three month estimate. The Mage’s Guild here in New Frausta is well aware of the threat CC poses to us all, and we’re willing to do what we can to oust any of her followers as needed.”
“Thank you, Ms. Blair,” Brackenhorst said. With a wave of his hand, the image of Carimella Rose changed into that of a map of the continent. Three different places were lit with small blue dots. “Now, we’re going to do something different from what we normally do. We can’t very well let Justisius and Liddy’s routes go untended. Therefore, I want you both to choose two of your juniors to act as partners in your stead to take care of your official duties while the other two aid you in special assignments. This is a lot of responsibility, but if done well there will be a chance to come out as full fledged Dungeon Inspectors once your routes are complete.”
A murmur of excitement went through the rookies while the Dungeon Inspectors nodded. Justisius remained focused on Brackenhorst. He would likely make his choices privately.
“Sure thing, boss man,” Liddy stated, glancing over at her juniors. She immediately pointed at the Gnome beside her and the Human in the middle, who seemed to have to stop themselves from celebrating.
Brackenhorst turned his attention to the map he conjured. The first dot he pointed at was in the far northwest, the Laroda Jareet Desert. I remembered the Chief complaining about that spot specifically. Sultan Jareet’s exiled son had returned and made the palace his own private dungeon despite the entire desert being a magical dead zone.
“Thanks to intelligence the director gathered from the Dungeon Master, it seems as though this fluke of a dungeon is an incredibly likely place for this cult to have laid down roots,” Brackenhorst said before pointing at Justisius. “I’m sending you and whichever two don’t take over your route to look into it.”
“We won’t let you down,” the man said seriously. It was still strange not seeing a jovial smile on his face.
“I know you won’t,” the Chief responded, nodding. “The tensions between the sultan and his son are still high, so I need you to act as a mediator between the two. That’s the official reason for you all to be there, so you’ll need to be your usual charming self. While there, we need you to find anything related to CC’s cult. I assume you'll naturally find what means they used to make a dungeon in a magic-free zone during your official duties, but being able to tie it to the cult will make things a lot easier for us going forward.”
Justisius crossed his arms. “And what do we do if there’s a larger group than expected?” he asked.
“Then take the time to get to a place where you can call me, and I’ll send backup from the Mage’s Guild and Adventurer’s Consortium,” Brackenhorst answered. “For the record, if you don’t think you can apprehend any cultists there on your own, don’t even try it. Your job is dangerous, but we don’t need you to take any risks if you can help them.”
“Understood, Chief.”
Looking back, Brackenhorst pointed at the blue dot to the east, which wasn’t too far away from New Frausta. It took me a moment to remember what was back there, but I figured it out before the Dwarf could continue.
“Thatcher?” I asked. “Are we looking into Krad?”
Beside me, Ferrisdae shifted. The Rat King Krad had been our first assignment together and she had mostly handled it herself. A random dungeon had popped up in a small town in the middle of nowhere underneath a tavern and inhabited by rats. They were surprisingly civil, all things considering, and it had turned out to be an easy introduction for my junior.
“Yes, but not you specifically,” Brackenhorst said. Ferrisdae became still. I was sure she wanted to go back and visit him. “I had Kaelmourn stop by on his way back to New Frausta. Sped him along to get there last night, actually, and spoke to Krad through a Sending Stone. It was a long shot, but I described the ritual circles that had been scarred onto Carimella’s body to the Rat King. The bad news is, the wizard’s spellbook he ate is mostly trash. Only the cover remains. The good news is, he thinks he remembers something similar in it from after he became sentient.”
I stroked my chin as I digested that information. “So we think the wizard in question has something to do with CC because they used the same strange form of magic?” I asked.
“That’s the gist of it,” Brackenhorst confirmed. “It’s a long shot, but we don’t have a lot of leads right now. Liddy, I want you to go get the remains of the book and use your magic to track down the wizard in question.”
“My divinations are at your command, boss man,” the Gnome said, doing a small flourish and bow in her seat. “Wherever this wizard is, then we’ll definitely find him and grill him for all the information he has.”
“How is Krad doing?” Ferrisdae asked, unable to help herself.
“Well, from the sounds of it,” Brackenhorst answered with a soft smile. “Fairly happy with his new life, even though he had reservations about being killed. Apparently, Thatcher is doing what they can to accommodate him since his dungeon will be fruitful for the town.”
“Okay, that’s good. He seemed like a really good kid, so I was worried,” the Elf said, relaxing into her chair. “Sorry, I just had to ask.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I told her before looking back at the map. There was only one dot left, and I already knew where we were heading. “Since Justisius is going to the desert and Liddy is going to talk to Krad, that leaves Ferrisdae and I to go to Athir.”
The final dot was situated to the west of New Frausta and a little bit south, close to the center of the continent. Athir was the ancestral home of the Forest Elves, and where Ferrisdae grew up. It was overwhelmingly Elven when it came to population, though people could make requests of the local government to become citizens even if they are of another race. It was a beautiful place full of magic, which made citizenship highly sought after.
“You’re right, Badger,” Brackenhorst said. “Because of Carimella’s involvement around the area, the director and I thought it would be a good place to start looking into things on the dungeon side. Particularly, a few where the mortality rate for adventurers has increased from single digits to low double.”
The way he worded that caused me to pause. “A few?” I asked, making sure I heard him right.
Brackenhorst confirmed it, and I bristled at this new knowledge. It wasn’t uncommon for a dungeon to suddenly become more deadly. In fact, it was one of the things we checked for constantly because one of the major perks to owning one was becoming stronger. That was simply how the magic worked.
But several suddenly jumping in strength at the same time was a very rare occurrence. That solidified the need for us to check it out in my mind.
“Alright,” I said.
“Good. One of the main reasons we’re sending you two there is because of Ferrisdae’s connection to Athirian nobility,” Brackenhorst continued. My junior squirmed a little bit in her seat at his words, and though I frowned I didn’t look at her. “The two of you will be doing your normal duties as Dungeon Inspectors while helping Ms. Blair on the side.”
I swallowed down the words I wanted to say and cleared my throat. “But the dungeons are our top priority, correct?”
The Dwarf gave me a look. “Your priority is whatever lead you think is strongest at the time,” he answered. “And I expect you to be civil, Badger.”
“Of course,” I said.
He looked into my eyes for a moment before grabbing packets off of the table in front of him. “I got a hold of the Adventurer’s Consortium yesterday and had them get in touch with some of their more powerful members,” he said, handing one stack of parchment to Justisius and another to Liddy. “They’ll have a team run through the more suspect dungeons before you arrive so you have more information going in.”
“Are we not teleporting there?” I asked. If he said they were powerful, then I wasn’t going to worry about them. “I thought we wanted to be hasty.”
“Of course you’d want to barge right in,” Sophia sighed. “Maribelle and I will be teleporting in because that’s expected of us. But if the Mage’s Guild is compromised, then-“
“A couple of Dungeon Inspectors showing up with you would set off a bunch of red flags,” I finished for her. “I would have been satisfied with a simple no.”
“Sure, because that’s what you’re like, Badger,” the Kitsune scoffed.
“The only one we’re teleporting is Justisius and his team,” Brackenhorst said loudly, getting our attention. “And that’s only because it would take a long time to get there otherwise. Badger, Liddy, you’re both going by wagon, as is normal for the DoD. We don’t want to spook anyone.”
“They’re probably going to get spooked, regardless,” Liddy said, flipping her parchment over to draw circles on the other side. “Carimella never comes back, and suddenly there’s Dungeon Inspectors in the area? It’s not going to be hard to put two and two together, even for a culacke.”
“Maybe, but there’s… other things to consider that I’m not at liberty to discuss,” Brackenhorst said, glancing between Ferrisdae and I.
Even though he didn’t want to say it, I understood. Both of us had been altered by the Dungeon Master, which was apparently valuable to the cult. Carimella wanted at least one of us for some reason, which meant any adversaries in Athir might be reluctant to abandon ship with not just one, but two of us around. We wouldn’t know until we get there.
As I was thinking it over, Brackenhorst walked around to give me my packet. I took it and skimmed through a few pages. It looked similar to a regular route, even having us stop at one dungeon between here and Athir.
The Dwarf walked back to his spot. “If you all would like to read through it here and ask questions when they come up, feel free to do so,” he offered. “Otherwise, you’re free to go.”
Liddy was the first to start standing up. “If I need something, I’ll reach out on the Stone,” she said, stretching. Her juniors stood up with her. “We’ve got a long way to go so I’d rather be out esfrano, you know?”
“Understandable,” Brackenhorst said.
I stood up next and Ferrisdae was quick to join me. “We’ll do the same. We can probably hit that dungeon tonight before sundown if we’re fast.”
“We’ll stay here,” Justisius said, running his hand absently over his smooth head as he read through the packet. “We’re teleporting, anyway, so speed isn’t nearly as important to us.”
“Just remember that you have to make your way from Alashroe to Laroda,” Sophia chimed in. “It’s not the longest journey, but the Mage’s Guild can’t teleport you into the desert itself.”
“Good call, Ms. Blair,” he said, nodding though he didn’t look up. “Thank you.”
“Then, I guess we’ll see you there, won’t we?” Ferrisdae said to Sophia.
“Yes. If you need me, I’ll be at the Mage’s Guild,” the Kitsune confirmed.
“I’ll pray we won’t,” I said before turning to the other Inspectors. “Be safe out there, all of you.”
“Wishing us safety? Brack, Badger’s being scardasio again!” Liddy sang teasingly. I shot one of my coldest stares at her before the boss could respond.
“Don’t tease him, Liddy,” Brackenhorst chastised. “He’s in #1 Dad Mode, he can be worried if he wants to.”
My glare shifted from the Gnome to the Dwarf before I gave him a shake of my head. Turning on my heel, I started heading out the door. “Come on, Ferrisdae,” I ordered, leaving before my reputation could be tarnished further.
Ferrisdae took a few seconds to follow me and, based on the chuckle that came from the conference room in her wake, I felt as though I might not have left in time.
