Chapter 14: Hitting the Road
DM explained his rough plan to Grummanonth, who acknowledged that the dungeon in question was too close by to be of any concern to other dragons. In other words, DM could safely seize this dungeon without fear of retribution or other interference. Grummanonth actually offered to fly DM to the dungeon, but DM thought that was a bad idea. While flying places on a dragon was appealing, the mere sight of his visage atop such a terrifying creature would inspire all kinds of madness in the onlookers below.
Even though DM had been invited to visit this new dungeon, the trip there was still a challenge to prepare for. He thought it unwise to simply march down the road, waving at passersby with an appendage. Funny, but unwise.
DM did have the ability to change form thanks to his disguise ability. He could turn himself into an object and let someone else carry him or even place him on the back of a wagon. Further, he could use the hide skill to make himself invisible, if worst came to worst.
Alternately, he could use the tried and true method of flying under his own power at night. Repeatedly using his sprint ability would allow him to cover great distances fairly quickly. The only problem was, he didn’t know the exact route. Spotting the new dungeon from the air might prove challenging.
Even if DM resolved himself to traveling over land in a disguised form, he still wanted to bring other minions with him. Bringing monsters without causing an uproar posed an additional challenge, but one he needed to overcome. Although he’d become quite strong, there was always someone stronger. Indeed, there were ways to defeat a stronger enemy, as DM himself had demonstrated in the past. The last thing he wanted to do was become arrogant and face defeat.
That’s why DM decided to wait for Olivia’s answer before departing his dungeon. He’d learn whatever he could about how the Empire was getting its information. If nothing suspicious came up, he’d finalize his plan and go get himself some new digs.
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When Olivia returned, she had the same group of newbies with her as from the previous day. DM had forgotten to mention that he was actually going to leave soon and should probably pause visitations…
She had asked around at the Guild about how the Empire might be receiving its information. She didn’t learn anything specific, but both the Guild Master and a couple of others noted that the Empire has spies outside their borders, and it was one of the worst kept secrets ever. With all the free trade across the border, there hadn’t been a way to control the flow of information. Still, the Empire was not hostile toward the Holy State, even through all the current friction between the northern and central region, so nobody gave it any thought. Essentially, if the Empire and its Guild branches wanted to learn all about the things that the citizens of the Holy State already knew, it wasn’t an issue.
So in other words, it wasn’t surprising that the Empire knew about DM, the role his dungeon was playing overall, and what had occurred during the siege of the Twin Cities. They probably also recently learned that the Upper Gordu Dungeon was offering a similar service and didn’t want to get left behind.
Operating a third dungeon would be challenging, at least initially. DM oversaw training in the Lower Gordu Dungeon, and Grummanonth oversaw training in the Upper Gordu Dungeon. Who would oversee the dungeon in the Empire? DM wasn’t bad at multitasking, but that might be a bit much.
Still, as long as DM was up front about that concern with whoever liaised with him in the Empire, it wasn’t really his fault or problem. They’d have to make do.
“…I have a request.” DM had journeyed to the lobby himself for this conversation. He stood behind his morphling.
“Sure,” Olivia agreed. “What do you need?”
“…I would like to post a quest with the Guild.”
“Huh? You?”
“…Yes. The party who accepts will need to rent a carriage and bring me to the dungeon in the Empire. …I’ll be disguised like this.” DM normally turned himself into a treasure chest while trying to blend in, but since treasure chests weren’t normally found outside dungeons, he turned into a bland stone pedestal instead. The morphling gestured, showing that both it and the pedestal would be traveling.
“W–Wow…” Olivia gaped at the transformation. “Okay, I can take care of that for you. If we submit the request now, a party should be available as soon as tomorrow. What payment could you offer?”
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DM returned to his normal form. “…What’s the normal price for a quest like this?”
Olivia gave it some thought and talked DM through options for how much he could pay depending on the conditions of employment for the party that accepts. “Do you need to borrow that sum of money?”
DM removed some coins from his inventory, surprising Olivia again. After all the people he’d defeated under various circumstances he’d managed to amass some funds by now. DM handed them to the morphling who walked over to Olivia and deposited the currency in her hand.
“Okay… This will work. I’ll… keep quiet about the fact that the pedestal is actually you.”
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Bringing monsters with DM would be challenging, but he thought some wasps were manageable. They could follow him from high above in the sky, joining back up with him when he entered the dungeon. Unlike real animals and insects, monsters that used the fly ability were relying on a skill rather than a technique, so they could keep it up practically indefinitely.
He also planned to bring the morphling with him. This would be his first time sending a morphling away from his dungeons, so he’d have to be careful. He’d also feared morphlings would act too unnaturally to trust outside the dungeon, although in this case he’d be right there with it, disguised.
As promised, a party of adventurers arrived at the dungeon entrance the following morning, some members appearing eager and others confused. DM didn’t know them, not that that was a problem.
“…Please help me bring the pedestal out of the dungeon.”
“Sure.” They complied. While they were lugging the pedestal up the stairs, the party leader asked, “Why is the dungeon master giving you this pedestal? Also, why do we need to bring it to the dungeon in the Empire?”
“…Some deal was worked out with the Empire,” was all the morphling replied. The adventurers didn’t push further. Once at the top of the stairs, they lifted the pedestal up again and carried it through the Lower Gordu Forest to the nearby location where they’d managed to get a cart. After loading the pedestal, the party took turns rotating members to push the cart while the morphling walked alongside.
“We’ll bring the pedestal to the Twin Cities using this cart, then load it onto a carriage. That all right?”
“…Yes, thank you.”
This would be the first time DM actually entered the Twin Cities himself. While it was unlikely, he felt a bit nervous that he could be discovered. Even with his good reputation spreading, he knew plenty of people would freak out at the prospect of being in the presence of a large tentacle monster.
Despite his worries, the group entered the Twin Cities without incident. DM was transferred to a carriage as promised, and the group trundled over to the eastern gate. The guards hardly gave them a cursory glance before another voice stopped them.
“Surprise inspection.” A dwarf trudged up to them carrying a scrying orb. “Are you all on a quest?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the leader answered.
The dwarf narrowed her eyes at the morphling and the contents of the carriage. “Y’all be careful in the Empire now, ya’hear? Especially you.” She gestured at the morphling with her nose. “I don’t trust those central region nobles.”
“We’ll exercise the utmost caution,” the party leader assured her.
“Well then, safe trip.” She returned to the city proper.
“Who was that?” another party member asked the leader.
“Don’t know. I think I’ve seen her around. We should take her warning seriously.” The leader eyed the morphling who just nodded awkwardly.
The rest of the party shrugged as they resumed their march.
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The journey was uneventful. The request Olivia posted had specifically required the party to have experience traveling to the dungeon in question, so these adventurers knew the way. The weather was calm, the ground was dry, and the carriage was in good condition. Considering the quest didn’t provide a deadline, the trip was relaxed. Of course, the party wanted to drop off their charge and begin their return trip as soon as they could from a pure efficiency standpoint, but at least there was no need to rush.
“What’s wrong?”
At one point after crossing the border into the Empire, the leader caught his archer gazing up at the sky with her eyes narrowed.
“It kind of looks like there’s something up there.”
“Something? Like what?”
“Little dots? Hm, I can’t see them now.”
“…What’s that?” The morphling pointed to some random nearby tree.
“That? Looks like a diseased tree.”
“…Disease?”
“Yeah, trees can get diseases just like humans. I think—“
The morphling pretended to care about tree disease, having successfully distracted them from talk about things in the sky over the party. Another party member specialized in botany jumped into the conversation, and it kept everyone distracted until they neared their destination.
The entrance to the dungeon was well marked, unlike the other ones DM was familiar with. Also, soldiers and other people were camped outside. The feel of the area was different, though. Unlike the dungeon Sasha’s party was investigating near the center of the Empire, this one closer to the border with the Holy State was more welcoming. In fact, the soldiers waved at the adventurers as they approached.
They brought the carriage to a stop and the party leader stepped over to the nearest soldier, who addressed him politely.
“You’ll need to pay the fee to use this dungeon.”
“Oh, we know, we’ve been here before.”
While the two spoke, the morphling whispered to another member of the party. “…How much is the fee?”
“Hm? Oh, it’s a pittance. I’m not even sure why they bother.”
The party leader returned. “I told him we just need to drop one person and an item off. He was confused, but didn’t object when I paid the fee anyway. He said he’d report it to the others.”
“…Thank you all for bringing me and this pedestal. You can return to the Twin Cities for your payment.”
“Thanks. I enjoyed discussing plant disease with you.”
“…Likewise.”
The rest of the party nodded and they turned the carriage around for a return trip to the Holy State.
Once they were out of view, the soldier came back and asked the morphling to join him. “This way.”
Perhaps someone figured out DM had arrived.