Garrelt, Robert, Maggy, and Antchaser approached the massive gate set in the stone wall of the Dragon’s Garden. The four stopped just short and took in the sight. The gates were just as magnificent as they had been from a distance, and this close, the group could see even more detail in the carvings.

“I wonder why it’s so detailed?” Garrelt asked, as much to himself as the rest of the group. Perhaps an absurdly powerful Cultivator could appreciate its entirety, but even he, at the late [Golden Spirit] stage, would practically need to press his face against the gate to see the smallest details.

Maggy adjusted her glasses and squinted at the gate. “I’ve seen similar things before, though never quite to this scale.” She pulled out a notebook and started flipping through pages as she continued. “Typically, such things are meant to act as guides and clues for trial takes. Or as monuments to their creature’s story and accomplishments. This one, though… it feels like someone tried to cram a hundred different murals into the same space. It’s rather… chaotic.”

Garrelt scoffed. “Ha! Chaotic! Painful is more like it. The thing looks like a master sculptor took inspiration from a teenager’s sketchbook. Why does that ant look like it’s performing martial arts? Why does that slime have a hat? That group there is literally just having a cookout in the middle of a battlefield! And what’s with all the bloody ducks?!”

HEY! I worked hard on those! Alpha complained as he observed the group.

Robert frowned. “So you noticed those as well? Good, I thought I was being paranoid. Some of them are rather cleverly hidden,” he said, scanning the gate.

Maggy nodded. “It is all rather much, but you can see several storylines weaved through the chaos if one pays attention. It’s all connected somehow, even if it’s not immediately obvious.”

Still rifling through the notebook, she gestured to the gate. “The overall story tells of the conflict between the ants and the slimes. That part is obvious. What they’re fighting over exactly isn’t clear, but there are several over minor stories happening as well.”

She pointed to one section. “Here, we have the tale of the star-crossed love between an ant and a slime.”

Then she pointed to another. “This one has to do with a rather large slime wearing a crown and a powerful ant standing up to him. I’m not sure why the ant has spiky hair and seems to be glowing, however. Or why the slime is riding a floating egg. ”

And another. “Over here, we…” Maggy’s face suddenly went bright red. “Nevermind! Ignore that one! Don’t look at it!” The three men gave her an odd look, and their gazes wandered in that direction. “I SAID DON’T LOOK!” Maggy suddenly yelled.

Three pairs of eyes snapped in the opposite direction.

Maggy coughed into her hand. “As I was saying, there are several different stories crammed into this thing. What they all mean is hard to tell. Most of them seem to be… incomplete? Or don’t really go anywhere. They might be references for those who know what to look for, more than full stories.”

Garrelt raised an eyebrow. “And you learned all of that in a glance?” he asked, his arms folded.

Maggy puffed out her chest and gave the man a smug look. “Of course! That’s my job, after all. Why else do you think I was chosen for this expedition? Seeing the small details and connecting the dots is what I’m best at.”

Garrelt only shrugged, causing the young woman to huff.

Alpha had to admit, Maggy’s skill was rather impressive. He had put a lot of work into the gate and didn’t think people would start paying attention to details like that for some time. On the other hand, that also meant the young lady was far more dangerous to their plan than Alpha had originally given her credit for. Dr. Maria had warned him that might be the case, as Maggy’s talent had bloomed since they had last seen each other.

Alpha would have to keep a closer eye on her.

“Ah! Here it is!” Maggy said with a sudden excitement.

She stopped at a particular journal page and, with one swift motion, tore it free. Holding the blank page in her hand, she pointed it at the gate and pushed. The page, as if freed from gravity, floated toward the gate until it stuck to the very center of the mural.

Maggy then snapped her fingers.

The page flashed with a blue light, and a bright blue ring of color swept outward from it. The light ring traveled the length of the gate, splitting and multiplying each time it hit a distortion on the gate’s surface until the entire thing looked like countless raindrops hitting a still body of water. When the light show finally ceased, one last blue ring traveled from the edge of the gate and converged on the blank page at the center. The page flashed once, and when the light had faded, the page was no longer blank.

Instead, it was filled with a replica of the mural on the gate.

A quick scan of the page showed Alpha that while it hadn’t captured everything, the details it did capture were far beyond what any mortal hand could have done with simple pen and paper.

The more Alpha saw of this so-called ‘magic,’ the more it fascinated him. Alpha couldn’t wait to get his hands on his very own Mage. Dr. Maria had already… dissuaded Alpha from capturing young Maggy. The old doctor seemed to have a soft spot for the girl. Alpha could only hope there was a Mage among those Icefinger sent to cause trouble. Alpha did so enjoy gifts.

The now-filled page slowly fluttered back to Maggy, and the young woman snatched it out of the air with a squeal. She then placed it back into the journal, where the torn page magically mended itself, rejoining the whole. Maggy closed the journal with a satisfied smile, though she blushed slightly when she noticed the other three staring at her.

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She stood straight, though she looked away. “This way, if it is important, we have a record of it,” she said, answering the unspoken question.

“Right! Well, then, should we get a move on?” Robert responded with a clap of his hands, drawing attention back to himself. “Mr. Antchaser, if you would?”

Antchaser nodded and approached the gate.

“Showtime!” Alpha spoke into the goblin’s personal comms.

The goblin then raised his bangled arm toward the door. As he did, the bangle twitched and came alive. The metallic dragon released its tail and slithered up his hand until it was staring at the door, its eyes glowing a bright red.

As it did, two enormous dragon’s eyes also glowed the same bright red.

The three humans jumped as the mural suddenly burst into life and motion.

What was once a still frame, erupted into a chaotic battlefield, while the area was filled with the sound of clashing metal and clanking gears. Over the next few seconds, the intertwined armies pulled away from each other until each side of the gate comprised only its own soldiers.

Only the two massive dragons remained interlocked, but they too soon split. As they did, the middle of the gate cracked with a shutter, and a blinding light spilled out. As the opening in the gate widened, the light didn’t dim; if anything, it grew brighter until an opening just wide enough for two of them to walk through, shoulder to shoulder, formed. The opening beckoned them to step through, though the bright light beyond made it impossible to see anything past its threshold.

The four of them remained silent throughout the process. When nothing more happened, Garrelt looked at Robert, and the expedition leader nodded. As their scout, it only made sense that he would be the first through. Garrelt returned the nod and stepped forward. He stopped at the entrance briefly for a moment… then vanished into the white void.

Antchaser stepped through next, followed by a nervous-looking Maggy. Robert was the last to enter, bringing up their rear. Before stepping through, he turned again and waved to the watching crowd, eliciting another cheer. Then he, too, vanished into the white light.

When Robert disappeared, the massive gates rumbled and slowly closed behind him, the clashing armies rushing forward to seal them once more.

————————————————————

Boarslayer huffed as she watched the dungeon gates close behind the four.

If anyone had asked, she wouldn’t deny being jealous that Antchaser had taken what was supposed to be her spot in the group. Despite all the work that had gone into the Dragon’s Garden, few of the goblins had actually seen the finished product. In fact, only Weaver, the old seamstress-turned-resource-manager, had gotten that privilege. She had a frankly terrifying talent for organizing and making the best use of any given space. One that Alpha used time and time again during the dungeon’s construction.

During their meetings, the old hag had bragged for a week that she’d gotten to help lay out a real dungeon!

Because that’s what this little project was quickly turning into, despite Antchaser’s insistence on calling it ‘fake.’ Sure, it had started out that way. Nothing more than smoke and mirrors to fool the Adventurers into assisting them.

However, as time passed, Boarslayer started to see changes in the plan. Small things were tweaked here and there. Details were changed to better fit a story. Things that should have been unnecessary for their purposes but made sense in the long game were added. The resources anad effort put into it.

Boarslayer knew that many in the village didn’t think she was very bright. To a point, they were right; even Boarslayer knew she wasn’t as smart as some of the others.

But she always paid attention to the minor details. To a Hunter, those details could mean life or death.

So yes, Boarslayer had noticed. More than anything, she had noticed how Alpha was enjoying himself with the plan. She didn’t even know Cores could have fun.

Regardless, this whole plan had shifted from a mere distraction and bait to something… more.

The dungeon had become less of an illusion and more of a fact.

After all, what was a dungeon if not a place to train, grow, and earn rewards?

That it was ‘new’ was beside the point. Every dungeon was new at one point or another, and part of Boarslayer had been excited to be one of the first ones through. But she also understood that there were more important things at work. They had a story to sell, if the village was to not only survive but thrive. If this plan really worked how they wanted, then more than just beating back Icefinger’s men, this could be the beginning of something none of them could have ever imagined!

No… what really made her grind her teeth was the fact that all of this was necessary.

That they even needed all these smoke and mirrors to even have a hope of getting to that future.

If they had been strong enough — if she had been strong enough — then Bosco’s men would have never been able to do what they had. Icefinger would never have been a problem. The village wouldn’t have to rely on outside help.

If she had been strong enough, they would have never lost their home in the first place…

Boarslayer clenched her fists until small drops of blood formed on her palm.

She then took a deep breath and released it in the way the human named Big Bert had taught her. Boarslayer had been skeptical about the things the man had told her — about herself, and the so-called ‘Titankin’ — but she couldn’t deny they had been useful. She had found herself seeking the man out daily during their trip to the dungeon to learn more, and it was paying off in ways she would have never imagined.

In fact…

Boarslayer strode off into the camp to look for the man in question. He’d vanished sometime during the show at the gate. If she couldn’t let off some steam in the dungeon, then she could get some training done. There was no telling how long it would be until Icefinger’s men arrived, and she had to get as strong as she could before then.

It didn’t take long for her to find him, either. After a few minutes of asking around, she was directed to the large tent in the center of the camp set up outside the dungeon gates.

Boarslayer approached the tent entrance when she froze. From inside the tent, she could hear Bert speaking to someone.

“Yes, they’ve entered the dungeon… No, still no information about what’s inside. The goblins are rather tight-lipped… No, nothing about the rest of Bosco’s men either…”

Boarslayer leaned in, straining to hear what the man was saying. She wasn’t aware the man could even speak that quietly.

“A week until they arrive? That’s pushing it… I understand, I will have everything in place by then… Yes, sir, understood. I’ll let our men know to be ready.”

As Boarslayer moved closer, she accidentally rustled the fabric of the tent. It was a slight movement that could have just as easily been the wind, but Bert stopped speaking instantly. Boarslayer’s heart raced, and she stood straight just in time for Bert to pull the flap back and frown down at her.

However, his frown soon shifted into a grin when he noticed it was her.

“Ah! Boarslayer! How are you, my girl? Here for another lesson? Good timing. With the camp build and the others in the dungeon, I’ve got a few hours to burn,” Bert said with a chuckle.

Boarslayer paused, staring up at Bert for a moment before speaking. “Ya… that’s right… Am I… interrupting something? I thought I heard voices,” she said, peering past Bert into the otherwise empty tent.

Bert laughed and took a step forward, letting the tent flap fall closed behind him and blocking Boarslayer’s view.

“Oh, no, no, don’t worry about me. Just finishing up some Guild work; nothing for you to worry about. I promise I’m perfectly free,” he answered, patting her shoulder. As he did, he turned her around and firmly guided her toward their makeshift sparing area and away from the tent. “Come now, young Boarslayer, I have a few things I’ve been wanting to show you.”

Boarslayer gave one last look at the tent. “Right… sure,” she said flatly before turning away and following Bert toward the sparring area.