Guntrak Gear, [Noble Goblin] of the [House of Steam] was contemplating his next move. His special Lo’reta, consisting of silk and metal woven by the finest and best of their stem weavers and imbued with an unhealthy amount of magics helped the [Noble] to calculate the best course of action. His spies had informed of an anomaly far east, a [Dungon core], no doubt.

That wasn’t special in itself. [Dungeon cores] popped up in the lands of the [Goblin Empire] all the time. Some were subjugated for their resources, while others were left to grow and mature, only trimmed and delved occasionally to prevent overflow.

This, however, wasn’t the case. The [King] had sent a literal army out to capture this particular [Dungeon Core] after a [Noble Goblin] of some minor house went missing there. That was alarming and very suspicious. The [King] hardly made any moves—the [Queen] made sure of that—so this could only mean one thing: they were both in on it.

Guntrak Gear was sure the other [Noble Goblins] were scrambling right now, desperately searching for information about this particular [Dungeon Core]. It must contain an ungodly amount of wealth for both the [King] and [Queen] to be interested in it. To his knowledge, this had never happened before. If it weren’t for the fact that only half of the army sent by the [King] came back, the [House of Steam] would’ve already sent out their fastest off-road battle Ru’ka to set up a temporary base.

Something was amiss, and he intended to find out what exactly was wrong with this dungeon before sending out any of their precious Ru’kas. The dungeon would also serve as a test ground for their new steam-powered battle armor, the [Gobla]. Though it was just in its initial phases, the armor showed promise. The [House of Steam] planned to build it for [Brutes] trained by the [House of Steam].

His [Cog spies] were diligently reporting to him on the intricate state of affairs in the [Goblin Empire]. As he suspected, the other [Noble Goblins] were also eagerly awaiting information to formulate their next move. However, he couldn't glean much due to the heavily warded nature of their chambers. Alerting them to his presence would undoubtedly trigger an all-out war. They likely knew he was spying; after all, all [Noble Goblins] engaged in a certain degree of espionage, as long as they didn't cross certain boundaries.

The other [Noble Goblins] had plenty of spies infiltrating his house as well. He was well aware of this fact but chose to tolerate them. After all, known enemies were deemed better than unknown ones. It was a calculated risk, and one that was paying off immensely.

Guntrak needed a change, a direct source of information from someone who had survived the supposed battle that wiped out half of the army sent by the [King]. However, he encountered a frustrating and annoying obstacle. Those who had survived were either suffering from shell shock, teetering on the precipice of a steep mental decline into insanity, or were all getting scooped up by agents sent by the [King] or other [Noble Goblins].

So far, they had only managed to retrieve one, and she instantly went silent when one of the servants mentioned [Dungeon Core]. A few days later, the [Goblin] entered a deep state of depression and showed no signs of recovering, even with [Mind Goblins] working on her shattered mind.

From his spying, he could tell that the other [Noble Goblins] were experiencing a similar conundrum, with only a few houses having some or great success. He couldn’t tell what they gleaned from the broken [Goblins], but going off the fact that he saw none of them making any major moves, it likely wasn’t much information.

If the [House of Steam] somehow managed to apprehend the cunning [Goblin Commander] responsible for leading the disastrously defeated army, then the [Goblin] gods were truly shining their vibrant green light on them. Nobody witnessed where he vanished to amid the initial chaos and uproar sparked by the shocking and devastating defeat of the army. The [Goblin Commander], a seasoned and resourceful veteran, was adept at leveraging situations like these to his strategic advantage.

There was also the looming possibility of him being apprehended by agents of the [King], provided by the [Queen]. Nothing escaped the discerning gaze of the [Queen], and few could withstand her terrifying magic. Just the thought made him shiver and feel queasy.

Only the wealthiest of [Noble Goblins], possessing the grandest of houses, had the capability to block her sight. A [Dungeon Core], meticulously carved by [Mage Goblins] and imbued with layers upon layers of intricate magic and runes, was what it took to fully obstruct her vision from a room. Such a creation cost anywhere from 1000 wits to 10,000, depending on the size and potency of the enchantment one desired.

Even for a large house such as the [House of Steam], boasting an estimated net worth of 1.5 million wits, acquiring such an item wasn't easy. They only possessed five of these enchanted [Dungeon Cores], tucked away in extremely secret rooms designated for major discussions and emergencies. These rooms also served a dual purpose as bunkers in the event of an attack.

Guntrak was pulled from his thoughts when the Rouh’a in the middle of his room whirred to life, and a crystal screen unfolded itself from inside of it. Seconds later, it lit up with blue light as a face formed out of pure blue light projected itself from it and started speaking in the tongue of [Nobles].

“Greetings, Milord, I am the personal servant of Milord’s great brother Funtrak Gear. Some agents of the [King] along with a [Goblin Commander] named Gobbroto’ka wish to speak with you.”

Guntrak dismissed the crystal screen and began grinning wildly. His grinning gave way to laughter as joy overcame him. This was truly great; the Goblin gods were indeed looking upon him from above. This was an opportunity he couldn’t let slip..