During the wait, Cojisto had wandered off somewhere and Ferrisdae decided that she had put off drinking in earnest for long enough. She finished off her mug, then ordered more beer. I had long since finished mine and wasn't looking for more. I had requested tea when Ramanelle came around asking for orders.

I waited patiently. The tavern had gone back to how it normally was: loud, rowdy, and rambunctious. The only ones who were waiting for the results, other than myself, were the two from Cojisto's old group, a young man from the Dyers, and the whole of Chuelda's clergy. We were all waiting.

"You look surprisingly at peace here," Ferrisdae noted, halfway through her second mug. Her ears were starting to turn as red as her face. What a lightweight. "I don't know why but I got the impression that you'd hate being in places like this."

I looked around instead of answering immediately. All in all, I didn't mind the atmosphere. "In small doses, it's not too bad," I admitted, sipping my tea. "I'm still going to go get rooms for us after the winners are announced, though. I'm assuming you'll stay down here for a bit?"

"Probably," Ferrisdae said. "Get to know some people, socialize. You know, like someone normal."

"By all means," I said with a smirk and a gesture towards the crowds. "Don't let me hold you back. Go and be free, young Ferrisdae."

As Ferrisdae was in the process of standing up, Forstra's voice punctured the din of the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she cried out. The tavern hushed as the people turned their attention towards the host. Those who continued being loud got told off by those closest to them.

"With nine out of ten questions correct," she announced, pausing. I scowled. Which one could we have gotten wrong? "We have a three way tie between Chuelda's Clergy, The Shadowsmashers, and The Inspectors!"

The sober Dyer stood up and threw something in the ground. I couldn't tell what it was from here, but he was mad. The church was ecstatic, and Cojisto's other party were reserved, but smiling.

What question did we get wrong?

"If each of you could send up a representative, we'll have one final question in a lightning round!" Forstra announced.

"Go get'em, Badger," Ferrisdae said, punching me on the arm.

I nodded, and got down from my seat. The clergy sent one of their older members, a balding Elven man in white cloth. The Shadowsmashers sent up Krylie, the Mage's Guild woman. We stood at the foot of Forstra's platform.

"Mrs. Forstra, what lovely questions you had tonight," the priest said. "Would you be able to tell me what question we missed?"

"Father Derrick," Forstra greeted with a nod. "Both you and the Shadowsmashers got the same question wrong, which was the Flowing Ship Style question. The correct answer was Captain Brother Rabbit."

"That's a stupid name," Krylie said bitterly. Derrick just nodded.

"According to Cojisto, he had a ship-bound monastery called The Great Shenanigan," I said. "So it was probably all stupid."

Krylie looked at me in confusion. "Cojisto got that right?" she asked, huffing when I nodded affirmatively. "Stupid knows stupid, I guess.

That made me frown, but it wasn't my fight. Plus, I wasn't about to defend the guy who said Flint Stranglebeard was his hero. Instead, I asked the same question Derrick did. "Which one did we get wrong?"

"The height difference of the buildings in New Frausta," Forstra said.

"It's three inches," I said with a scowl.

"The records show it as six," the hostess countered. I opened my mouth to argue, but she cut me off. "The host's word is final."

I stewed, but closed my mouth. Forstra went looking for her last question, and Krylie leaned in to whisper. "The New Frausta branch of the guild only added the top three inches in the last half a year with a metal ritual plate used to help make teleporting easier," she said, seeming to relish in knowing something I did not. "It's not well known outside of New Frausta, and I assume it's barely known there. You were hoisted by new information. I figured they wouldn’t know, that’s how I got it right."

I scowled. That made sense. This was a small event, unless it was run by the clergy of the goddess of knowledge then there was a chance that things would be like this. It was unfortunate, but it happened. My mood started to cool down. At least we were still in this thing.

"Ready, everyone?" Forstra asked loudly once she pulled the last piece of parchment out of her pocket, and each of us nodded. She read it to herself first, the room still quiet, before looking back up.

"Earlier this year, Crystal Snows had a problem between two members of the Dyer's Guild," she shouted. My mood immediately soured; there was no way I would know this. "What was their feud about?"

I looked up at Krylie, but she looked confused, too. This was a gentle question for Derrick, obviously playing favorites. I started walking away, though I could hear the answer while I did.

"Ah, Tolleto and Fallowstar were arguing about who got credit for a new shade of purple that they were going to offer the king," Derrick answered quickly. The crowd erupted in cheers as Forstra claimed them as the winners.

I went straight to the bar and got Ramanelle's attention. "How much for two rooms?" I asked angrily. She looked at me with surprise at my tone before glancing towards the platform, then back down at me.

"One moment, please, sir," she said before hurrying to the back.

"Are you alright?" Ferrisdae asked from behind me.

"I understand it. That we're passing through and they need to keep their regulars happy and coming back," I seethed. "But there is such a thing as integrity."

I turned to regard her, and she looked worried. Like she'd been drinking, but worried nonetheless. I released a breath, and tried to smile. "It doesn't matter, but thank you."

Ferrisdae looked at me, and then to her drink. "I didn't think I had enough alcohol to start thinking Badger could smile," she said.

"And the moment is over," I told her, turning away from her to see Ramanelle had been standing there waiting for us to finish.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"We have rooms nine and ten for you two, sir," she said, nervous.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked, reaching for my pocket.

"Mrs. Forstra is going to cover it, on account of how you stomped off because of the question, sir," Ramanelle answered.

Frowning, I turned around to see Forstra giving me an apologetic smile. Giving a non-committal wave, I turned back to Ramanelle and set a handful of coins on the counter. "That’s to pay for our rooms. I’m not here for handouts. Make sure Ferrisdae here doesn't get in any trouble and that she makes it to room ten tonight."

"Softy, ain't even drunk yet," Ferrisdae said. She reached over me and placed her empty mug on the bar. "I'll take two more, thanks."

Ramanelle looked from Ferrisdae and then back to me, then gave me a determined nod. "Yes, sir, I'll make sure of it."

She handed me the key for room nine, pocketing Ferrisdae's key for safekeeping, and I said my good nights before heading upstairs. A quick glance over the tavern from the second floor balcony showed that Cojisto hadn't returned yet. With what little I knew about the man, I figured he was probably with Moose in the stable.

Rooms nine and ten were two of the farthest from the tavern and were relatively quiet. As I entered, I found a stack of blankets of varying sizes on top of the desk. The room felt warm even though there wasn't anything visibly heating it. As I disrobed and fell into the bed, my mind went back to the events of the day.

It really had been eventful, even if most of it had been traveling. We started in New Frausta, spoke with that harpy, Sophia Blair, teleported across the continent, and delved into an unforgettably terrible dungeon for Ferrisdae to receive a Dragon's blessing.

Also, Cojisto was now joining us with a moose. That was going to be… interesting was certainly a word for it.

Alone with my thoughts, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep in the soft, warm bed.

******

It felt like seconds passed before I was interrupted by the sound of someone barging into my room, bringing with them the smell of cooked meat.

"Rise and shine, Badger!" Ferrisdae chirped.

I wrapped myself even deeper into my blanket. "Just five more minutes, Tabs," she continued, taking on a deep, gruff voice.

"Oh, Tabs?" she asked innocently. "Who's that, Badger?"

"It's none of your beeswax, girl," she continued in that deep voice. Was that supposed to be me? "Now begone, and leave the food."

"Yessir, mister Badger, sir," she said in her chipper voice. "We'll be downstairs waiting for you. We want to get this show on the road by sun up."

"That's too early," Ferrisdae-Badger retorted. "I don't get up any earlier than dinner time."

"Oh, Badger, for such an old coot you sure do act like a rascal."

Slowly, I pulled the blanket down off of my face to fix her with a sleepy glare. "Are you finished?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ferrisdae said with a mischievous grin. "You have twenty minutes, sir, otherwise we're leaving without you."

"Hate you," I said. "Hate you so much."

Ferrisdae cackled as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

******

I left the Frosted Froth to find Ferrisdae, Cojisto, and Moose loitering outside. Both Ferrisdae and Cojisto were in their battle gear, her starry robes and his thick fur armor, respectively.

When I looked up at Moose, the towering behemoth stared down at me. This was my first chance to take a proper look at him, and he just seemed like a regular moose to me. Maybe he was bigger than a normal moose? I didn't have any references for this sort of animal. It snorted at me before nudging Cojisto in the shoulder.

Cojisto turned and glanced at Moose, then looked down at me. "Ah! The prodigal Badger joins us at last!" the boisterous man exclaimed. "And before the sun broke over the horizon, just as I said you would. Ferrisdae said you would drag your feet, but you have won me ten gold this morning, friend."

I scowled tiredly at Ferrisdae, but she just grinned unapologetically. "What?" she asked, playing innocent. "It seemed like a safe bet."

Grumbling, I shook my head. "So how are we traveling?" I asked. "In the Skymirror Carriage, obviously, but what about these two?"

"Oh! That reminds me, you two haven't been acquainted yet," Cojisto said, turning to the moose. "Moose, this is Dungeon Inspector Badger, Ferry's boss."

The moose snorted at me.

"Badger, this is my best friend, Moose," Cojisto said.

Once again, I stared at the moose. All I knew about them was that they were durable creatures with a foul temper towards those in its territory. This one seemed downright civil by comparison. I gave it a nod as a greeting, mostly because Cojisto was still watching me. To my surprise, it nodded back.

"Right," I said, turning to Ferrisdae. "And traveling with these two means what for us?"

"One of the blessings Ori gave me will help them," Ferrisdae said excitedly. "It's the last one of four. I've taken to calling it the Snow Globe."

I was patient, but it was obvious that she wanted me to ask. For the sake of expediency, I did. "What does the Snow Globe do, Ferrisdae?"

"I'm glad you asked, Badger," she said jovially. "It does this!"

Ferrisdae snapped her fingers, and the snow covering the ground flew away from her in a large circle. She moved around the area; everywhere she went the snow parted and was effortlessly pushed aside.

"That'll come in handy," I said. I could appreciate the application of this blessing. "You said it was the last, so there's the ice sight, almost cold immunity, cold damage spell infusion, and now this Snow Globe power?"

"Not bad for a sudden meeting with an evil Dragon who counts their age in centuries, huh?" Ferrisdae asked smugly.

"Yeah, if you completely disregard any ulterior motives she had when she gave them to you," I said evenly. "Just don't get too attached to them."

"Which means abuse them as much as you can," Cojisto added. I had expected him to have questions about what had happened, but by the way he was acting relaxed I guessed they had already discussed it. Or, this was just Cojisto being Cojisto.

"How long can you keep that up for?" I asked.

"A long time," Ferrisdae claimed. "It lingers as long as I pay the magic cost up front. I should have no problem keeping it active along with my Skymirror Carriage. Because of that, and to answer your earlier question, Moose and Cojisto are going to follow us on the path we carve out with the Snow Globe."

I nodded before turning to the man. "Are you sure you want to come with us?" I asked. "It's probably going to end up being really boring. Subjugation runs usually are."

"We have said that we're coming, so we're coming," Cojisto answered, crossing his arms. Then he grinned. "Plus, with a line like that so confidently spoken, you know that everything will go to hell the moment we step foot in the dungeons."

“I sure hope not. Still, this is your last opportunity to back out,” I said, giving Cojisto a harsh glance. When the man opened his mouth to protest, I held up my hand. “Yes, you’re a brave adventurer, I get it. We’re going into the unknown to a place where some guy is messing up the natural order of things. It is not unreasonable to be wary.”

“Everything you said just makes this seem like it won’t be as boring as you want me to think it is,” Cojisto replied. “We will still come. I do have to ask who you think this Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons is, though.”

Great, now Cojisto was saying his full title.

“We… aren’t really sure,” Ferrisdae admitted. “By all accounts, the DoD hasn’t really come across anyone or anything that can just change a dungeon like he apparently can.”

“Is he not just another bad guy?” Cojisto asked, looking between Ferrisdae and myself.

“Honestly, it’s really hit or miss right now,” Ferrisdae said. “Their values might align with ours, but there’s an equal chance that the opposite is true. We already know that they’re going to be strong, and from what little we know about him I don’t think he can leave the dungeons. Hence, asking Razorbeak to bring him up here for… some reason. We don’t know the reason for that, either.”

“Which is why we need to be cautious,” I said. “Because this person has already started to alter dungeons, we know that he has some way to mess with them. That takes a lot of power and knowledge to do after the dungeon has already been settled. So we know that he’s very powerful, doesn’t regard the rules we’ve set in place as important, and has a thing for Dragons, apparently.”

“Okay,” Cojisto said, mulling it over. “Odd, but it changes nothing for me. This is Moose and I’s next big adventure, you know, and we are going to see it through.”

Moose snorted, as if agreeing with Cojisto.

Ferrisdae and I looked at each other again, and I shrugged. That was an adventurer for you.