-Ira-

The Council of the Two Sects had gathered.

In other words, the adults who ran the orphanages were having a meeting-- including Ira. They were all in the barn, a decent halfway point with enough space, and drinking apple juice.

Jove, the groundskeeping priest of the Nox sect, was sitting in the corner with his brother, Nettuno of the Lux sect. They were twins but couldn’t stand living in the same building.

Father Silas was sitting next to High Priestess, or Mother, Aurelia. She was chewing him out about eating too much candy, but he didn’t seem to mind. Not too far from them were Clara and Acacius, who weren’t really adults but very responsible.

Nocula, the beloved mascot Ira had grown up with, was wrapped around Acacius’ shoulders like a lazy reptilian scarf. The snake was almost three feet long and had been around as long as Ira could remember; apparently some previous member of the sect had dropped her off as a gift.

She was impressively even-tempered and the black scales on her back made a gorgeous contrast to her bright red underbelly. They had no idea if she was poisonous or not since she’d never bitten anyone. Acacius insisted that Nocula was an evolved member of her species with her long lifespan, and no one really argued that she wasn’t.

Looking around, Ira didn’t see Celio. A bubble of worry grew in her stomach, only to be popped when she heard him sneaking up behind her.

“Did you really think you could scare me?” She asked.

Celio changed course, instead standing next to her. “Not really.” Ever since the incident, he seemed much more youthful. He played with the children instead of scolding them-- sometimes to the point of irresponsibility-- and his paintings had regained a vividness they hadn’t had since he was a teenager.

And yet, he also carried a sense of melancholy. Ira wasn’t sure she liked it.

It frightened her.

At that moment, Father Silas and Mother Aurelia stood and shuffled to the front of the room. Father Silas held up a hand to signal the meetings start, lowering it when only the chewing and stomping of the cows could be heard.

“I apologize for delaying this meeting so long.” Silas began. “I was seeking our god in prayer—”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Oh, don’t apologize.” Aurelia interrupted fussily. “It’s our job to seek the counsel of our gods. And boy was Lux busy putting Celio back together, and then she was off doing the things she’d set aside. It’s not either of our faults for the delay, least of all you, Silas.”

“It never hurts to be polite.” The old priest responded mildly.

Acacius raised a hand.

“Yes, Acacius?” Silas prompted. The boy didn’t need to raise his hand, but he was only fifteen and there was no need to embarrass him.

“We’re here about the dungeon, right? What we’re going to do with it?”

Silas sighed. “At this point, it’s more what we’re going to do about it. We can hardly control it, and we’d all face System backlash if we killed it. Not that I think that’s the right course of action.”

There was a grave moment, before Aurelia cut in. “Well, I think we should, System be damned! That thing could have destroyed Celio, and it nearly did!”

Silas drank his apple juice thoughtfully.

“But it didn’t.” Celio said.

Ira frowned. “Celio—”

“And believe me, it could have. That [Claim] skill put me at its mercy like nothing else. I looked it up, and that skill only works for items with a weaker mind than the wielder. And that dungeon didn’t only have a sapient mind—it had two.”

“What?” Ira grabbed him by the shoulder. “What does that mean?” He hadn’t told her anything about the experience, so she’d assumed he didn’t remember.

He winced and she let go. It was hard to break the habit of treating him like her physical equal. Guilt burned in her throat; he’d lost all his hard work on a delve she’d insisted on. He hadn’t wanted to go…

Celio must have seen it on her face since he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Then, he let go.

He always let go, in the end.

“I wanted to save my story for when we were all gathered. When I tried [Claim], I was trying to enslave a person—two people. And one of them reacted to the attempt very poorly—protectively, really. But the other one stepped in, since I didn’t know any better.” He shifted uncomfortably.

Jove frowned. “Are you saying it was just an accident?”

Clara followed the conversation with anxious eyes. Acacius stroked Nocula, who was curling into the collar of his shirt sleepily.

“Not exactly.” Celio scratched his neck. “More of a misunderstanding, really. And I got a pet bird out of it, so that’s good?”

“It is a cute bird.” Acacius said. Ira scowled, and he went quiet again.

Silas cleared his throat. “Bird aside, I do have a revelation from Nox on this matter.”

“I have Lux’s input as well.” Aurelia added.

Ira took a calming breath. Across the room, Nettuno plucked a straw from the bale and chewed it, letting it hang from the corner of his mouth.

Silas went first. “Nox encouraged patience; this dungeon is both young and unusual. There is no set path for this kind of being. Perhaps we can set a good example.”

Aurelia clicked her tongue.

“Do you have something to add, Priestess?” Silas’ eyes crinkled at the edges. He was obviously fond of the sharp-tongued woman.

“Lux said to talk to Felix, Septimus and Nova.”

Ira froze. Those three… they hadn’t, had they? Not when Ira had specifically told them to stay out of the dungeon—

“Apparently,” Aurelia continued, “They delve that place regularly. So, they’re the local experts.”

Dropping her apple juice, Ira swore. Vigorously.