The Ground was the area on the outskirts of The Thousand Year Blizzard. Over the years, the storm had fluctuated in size and shape, engulfing much of the Snow Elf kingdom of Despa, before settling into the blizzard that persisted today. It had been unchanging for nearly five centuries, if one were to believe the Mages Guild scholars who studied it. But to those who were there in person, that’s not really the first thing anyone thought of.

“This is really, outrageously big,” Cojisto stated, looking off towards the giant white wall of constant snow and ice.

The three of us and Moose stood outside of the Skymirror Carriage and stared at what was commonly known as the Whiteout Wall. When I first heard it, I had thought of a small section of the blizzard where it got snowy enough that you couldn’t see any further than your nose. My imagination was lacking in this regard. As snow tried to buffet us from the ground, rebuffed by Ferrisdae’s Snow Globe, we all stared awestruck into the sky.

The Whiteout Wall was both enormous and immediate. It wasn't a gradual transition, but a full on cliffside of snow. It was the perfect name. We craned our necks to try to see the top without success; it disappeared into the dark clouds high into the sky. Pulsing veins of lightning could be seen inside the wall, like blood pumping through a person.

Honestly, it was a little intimidating.

"Very big, Cojisto," I agreed. "Ferrisdae, how did you come to the decision that this was the best way forward?"

"I visited Hellisby last night after you had gone to bed," Ferrisdae explained. "Sober, of course, and remind me when we're in town that we need the ingredients for more hangover cures. I only have one left."

"They do seem very handy," Cojisto commented.

"They are, and fairly easy to make, it's just that some of the ingredients are expensive," she said.

"What are the-"

"What happened to taking care of things in the morning?" I asked, cutting Cojisto off. That wasn't the line of questioning that we needed right now.

"Put it off for the morning?" Ferrisdae snorted. "I was excited. I am excited. I couldn't wait."

She looked at me like she was expecting me to argue, but I felt she did the right thing. There was no danger in that decision, anyway. "And what did Hellisby say during your visit?"

"Right, he said that this is the path that will get us closest to the center, which is where the mage expedition was likely to head," Ferrisdae explained. "Didn't take much to get him to agree. It seemed as though he was really lonely there all by himself."

"Makes sense, he did have that air about him," I said. And I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that the Mage's Guild also looked down on those who they thought didn't get a proper education.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Cojisto asked after we were silent for a few more seconds.

"Yeah, I think it's time," Ferrisdae said. "I just wanted to see the Whiteout Wall up close. It didn't disappoint."

I agreed with her, but didn't voice it. The fact of the matter was that this storm was supposed to be much, much larger. That it was stopped meant saving countless lives, perhaps even the continent itself. Just thinking of the alternative had my head spinning.

Ferrisdae followed me into the Skymirror Carriage while Cojisto mounted his moose, and then we took off. Ferrisdae knelt on the front seat to look through the glass. She was very excited, and not without reason. I also felt a thrill as we passed into the Whiteout Wall.

The driving snow and ice immediately tried to engulf us, but Oristrella's blessing prevented it. I took a look through the rear window to see Cojisto looking around while mounted on his moose. He had assured us that the cold wouldn't be a bother to either of them, and it looked like that was true.

Moose caught my eye and then snorted, promoting Cojisto to look down at me. He gave me a thumbs up, to which I nodded back. I returned to my seat.

Unfortunately, that was the most exciting thing to happen for a long time. The storm continued to rage around us, lightning cackling and roaring nearby, but that was it. White walls lit by our own lights, the sound of high speed winds, and a path worn down by centuries of storming weather. If it weren't for the fact that we weren't sure what kind of creatures lurked here, though it was likely to be elementals of some type, I would have started reading.

But whether by good fortune or the Snow Globe, we traveled for five hours unmolested and drove directly into the eye of the storm.

Suddenly, we were surrounded by a lush green scene. Grass and trees grew here, separated from the storm by mere inches of bare brown stone. The sky above was blue, and we could see the sun reaching its apex in the sky. It would be around noon at this point, so that made sense.

In the center of the Eye was a gigantic crystalline obelisk. It shone in the sunlight and had to be at least 40 feet tall. It reflected blue, purple, and green light, and did so unevenly. Surrounding it were four closed-roof wagons, three blue and then an overly ornate red one. I didn't see any Avians guarding it, but there was a group of ten or so Elves wearing mages robes.

The majority appeared to be studying the obelisk. Was that all of them? I hadn’t realized the Crystal Snows tower was undermanned like this.

Our entrance didn’t go unnoticed, and as we approached the wagons and obelisk a member of the group came to greet us. The carriage pulled to a stop not far from the man, and we disembarked.

"This area is off limits, I simply must tell you to leave immediately, " the Elf said in a shrill voice. Now that we were closer, I could see the wrinkles on his face and his white hair receding into an unfortunate widow's peak.

I looked at Ferrisdae as the only mage here. She nodded at me, then stepped forward. "Hello, I am Junior Dungeon Inspector Ferrisdae," she greeted. "This is Dungeon Inspector Badger, and our allies from the Consortium, Cojisto and Moose. We're here on official Department of Dungeons business with those wagons."

"Unfortunately, I must still turn you away," the Elf snapped. "The wagons are a big part of whatever the obelisk is doing. This area is dangerous, and it's of the utmost importance that we study it."

"And I'm telling you that it's not possible for us to simply turn around and go back," Ferrisdae insisted. "The Mage's Guild is not above the Department of Dungeons, no matter where we are. Unless you'd rather us escalate this to a higher power? Perhaps one befitting a joint venture between the DoD and Adventurers Consortium?"

The Elf scoffed. "What higher power? There's no one out here but us."

Ferrisdae smiled, then looked down at me. "Dungeon Inspector Badger?"

The Elf looked down at me expectantly. I snorted derisively at him, and then started walking towards the nearest wagon. "Where are you going?" the Elf asked. "I just told you that you can't go over there! Listen to me!"

Ignoring the man's yells, I heard him scramble after me. He made the mistake of grabbing my shoulder. I snatched his hand and squeezed. Hard. The scholar immediately let go, but I didn't. I continued walking with the Elf leaned over behind me.

"Let go of me!" he yelled. "You can't do this to me, I'm a high ranking member of the- ahhh!" the Elf screamed. I was getting close to breaking a finger.

I stopped next to the closest wagon and finally let him go. The Elf shook his hand in pain, scowling. "I'm filling an incident report with the Department of Dungeons the moment we're back at the tower!"

Scowling, I finally turned to face him. "For a mage, you really are amusingly stupid," I told him.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"What's this now?" he spat, face turning red.

"If you file a report, friend, then you're going to have to explain exactly what happened and why," I explained calmly. "Are you ready for the shitstorm that will be brought down on you for obstructing what my junior succinctly put as a joint venture between the DoD and the Consortium? Do you think you can handle that?"

The Elf reached peak rage and, just when I thought he was going to lash out, he turned towards his group and began running. "Serto!" he yelled. "Serto, we have ruffians in our midst!"

"Nice work, Badger," Cojisto said. "It's always nice seeing mages get knocked down a peg or two."

"Hey," Ferrisdae huffed.

"Present company excluded, of course," Cojisto quickly added. "Both Moose and I think you're wonderful, Ferry."

"I'd rather not wait for this Serto guy," I said, pulling out the long Dungeon Doorknocker from my Dimensional Pocket. "So let's get to work."

"Or, that Serto guy could already be in your midst," came a voice behind Cojisto.

We all turned to face the newcomer. He was another Snow Elf with white hair and pale skin, but he wore a black, unadorned robe. I would guess that he was middle aged. I would also guess that this was Serto.

Serto was switching his gaze between Cojisto and Moose before settling on the man. "Aren't you the guy who showed up to the tower claiming that you had a magic moose?"

"Yes," Cojisto said proudly. "But you and yours would not even entertain the idea."

Serto's gaze changed to me. "This is the kind of guy you want to take into dungeons with you, Inspector?" he asked incredulously.

"It wasn't my decision," I told him honestly. "But we are here on very important business."

"I would have to assume so, considering how far out of your way you had to come to get here," Serto mused, then turned to Ferrisdae. He squinted, and his eyes glowed. "Am I right to assume that you carry Oristrella’s blessing, young lady?"

"Junior Dungeon Inspector Ferrisdae," she gently corrected. "And yes, we visited her prior to entering the Thousand Year Blizzard."

"Junior Dungeon Inspector, my apologies. It seems I've been quite rude myself," the Elf said. "I am Archmage Serto Sercrello, Master of the Crystal Snows Mage's Guild."

"It would have helped if you didn't send your guard dog to snap at us the moment we walked in," I muttered.

"Yes, well, unexpected guests in the middle of a powerful magical storm don’t have a tendency to end well," Serto said. "I'm sure you would be wary as well, given the circumstances."

Wary, he calls it. More like downright hostile. I let it slide for now. "The reason we're here is for Raitheus Razorbeak’s caravan dungeons," I explained. "He's not supposed to be here, he stole something from a city-state's treasury, and now he's here because of some guy calling himself the Dungeon Master-"

"Master of Dungeons," Ferrisdae chimed in.

"- who also took over Oristrella’s dungeon," I finished. I didn't even bother giving her a chastised look, why should I put in the effort if she won't learn?

“I had wondered about the caravans, and the Avian who emerged from the red wagon to attack us,” Serto said, his voice and face grim. “Honestly, we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into at the time.”

My blood started to run cold. “What happened?” I asked.

My eyes scanned the scene again. There seemed to be a lack of manpower here if the entire tower left. These men all looked haggard, I noticed. Their eyes darted towards the wagons, and they were stiff and jumpy. Then, I saw them.

They had been obstructed at first, but I now had a clear view of them. Coffins made of ice were piled up by the red wagon, four side by side and four tall. Sixteen dead. My eyes shifted to Ferrisdae, who was staring with a hand over her mouth. She obviously saw them, too.

“A tall Avian wielding a blunderbuss came from the red one and yelled at us to leave his caravan behind and return to our tower,” Serto said. Suddenly, he looked very, very tired. Like he earned each of his many years today alone. “Before we had a chance to respond, he started firing. Over and over again, faster than seemed possible. We fought back, of course, but most of our mages are not used to combat. When I finally realized what was happening, I had managed to force him back into his wagon, but only barely.”

“If there was a big battle, then how come it looks like everything is absolutely fine?” Cojisto asked, looking around in confusion. It was true. Until I saw the coffins, there hadn’t been any indication of an attack.

Serto sighed. He turned towards Razorbeak’s red wagon and raised his hand. Without any words, he bent his fingers and a visibly cold gust of air headed that way. The grass it passed frosted and withered under the frigid winds, creating a straight line to the wagon. When the air contacted the wood, there was a loud crack and in an instant the cart was frozen solid with inches of frost coating it.

The mage raised a finger to us so that we would wait, then pointed towards the grass. My brow furrowed as I watched the grass return to life like time was being reversed. At the same speed that it had withered, it refreshed. The iced wagon didn’t even melt, it simply stopped being frozen like we hadn’t just seen it freeze over.

“We don’t yet know what’s causing it,” Serto admitted with a sigh. “But a few moments after Raitheus returned to the wagon, that started happening. I had frozen the wagon countless times, but eventually I gave up. I may be an archmage, but I wouldn’t be able to keep it up indefinitely.”

Serto’s voice dropped, and he sounded just as tired as he looked. “When I attacked him, when we all attacked him, he didn’t seem to have any sort of magical protection. None that I could sense, anyway, or see. It seemed like, more or less, he was simply… taking our attacks. Like they weren’t anything to defend against. I haven’t seen anything like it from any man. Beasts, sure, but not a person.”

Silence hung over us at Serto’s statement. Ferrisdae’s fears had been half founded; they hadn’t gone into the wagons for shelter, but that didn’t stop it from being dangerous. Over half of their group was gone because of the appearance of the Land Pirate Raitheus.

“Why are you still here?” I asked, crossing my arms. “If it’s that dangerous, you should have left and requested help.”

“Because we have work to do, inspector,” Serto said curtly. “I have been vigilant ever since the attack, and I have plans for the next time that horrendous bird decides to leave the safety of his nest. Until then, we are trying to figure out what the obelisk has to do with the wagons.”

"What do you have so far?" Ferrisdae asked, her voice low and shaking. Her hands trembled loosely at her sides. I could see it though; the grim determination to see this through. It wasn’t her fault, I knew that, but I hoped that she knew it, too.

Serto looked over our group before looking out towards the obelisk. "We're still in the preliminary stages," he admitted. "But we've had a little over a day to study it, since the attack, and I can safely say that it seems to be made to be some kind of magic battery, but that's it. It's connected to each of these wagons, these dungeons, but we're not quite sure how."

"So it's acting like a huge magic crystal?" Cojisto asked.

"That very well may be the case," Serto said. "But we're just not ready to say that's all it does. We don’t even know if it’s providing magic power or draining it away. Not yet, anyway; this was the reason why the whole guild left the tower, after all."

"Except Hellisby," Ferrisdae said. "Being left behind and all."

"Please, that boy is only happy when he's miserable. He's there because he said he'd stay behind and for no other reason,” he scoffed, shaking his head. Then Serto waved towards the wagon we were nearest to. “Before the attack, I was planning on sending an expedition in after another day or so of research to see what was going on inside and how it’s affecting the obelisk, but it seems there's no need for that now, is there?"

"No, you don't have to send anyone," I agreed, nodding. "But I do have to warn you that we're on a subjugation mission. I have no idea what destroying the dungeons will do to the obelisk. I’m also not sure if destroying the dungeons won’t cause Raitheus to emerge again."

"We can cross that bridge when we get there," Serto said. Despite his fatigue, I could see the fire in his eyes. He was ready to watch these wagons burn. "I'm very interested in seeing what will happen to the obelisk during your time in the dungeon and destroying them will be another extension of that. It'll be data that other branches would kill for."

"I'm sure," I said. I left the group to approach the wagon. "Then you don't mind if we move forward now?"

"By all means, subjugate to your heart's content," Serto said.

I threw open the double doors at the back of the wagon, revealing a shimmering white portal. According to the DoD archives, the inside of Razorbeak's dungeons were supposed to be bastardizations of their surroundings. Different seasons, different coloration, different wildlife; it all could vary.

All I could think about is what the Dungeon Master would have in store for us here that he couldn't get by making his own dungeons. Unless, of course, he couldn't make his own. Wouldn't be much of a master of dungeons if he can't even create one.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I swung the Dungeon Doorknocker at the side of the portal. It bounced off with a clear, loud tone, and we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

"I don't think they're coming out," Cojisto said. "Perhaps we should just go in?"

I sighed and put the Doorknocker back into my Dimensional Pocket. "It looks like it," I responded. The Doorknocker was only reliable in announcing your presence. It in no way compelled a dungeon boss to appear on command, so events like this weren't unheard of.

"Be safe in there, inspectors," Serto said. "I'll have more information for you once you're back."

"Take care of yourself and your people, Serto," I said. The portal in front of me pulsed, and I walked through it.

I stepped through the portal and into an office full of knick knacks. There was a chair in front of me facing a desk, and behind that desk was a gorgeous Human woman with deep blue hair in a bright yellow sundress.

"Welcome, Dungeon Inspector Badger," she said with a smile. Her voice was flat, but strong. She shuffled some papers on her desk and gestured towards the seat in front of the desk. "My name is Himia, and I'm very excited to work with you. We have some things to discuss first, however, about you and the dungeon. Let's chat about your status as a Fallen Paladin first, shall we?"