After reserving rooms at the top of the Tall Tree Tav, we left with Moose and Cojisto to head to our first destination. My plan had been to give Brackenhorst a call after a dungeon audit or two and get the details before heading to the local Adventurer’s Consortium branch. Not that it made much difference, but I hadn’t expected to find our contacts so quickly.

“We were already on our way to Athir,” Cojisto said once we were far enough from the city that I felt comfortable discussing the job. “I mean, how could we not? We adventured with an Anne Runelara!”

Moose croaked as he walked alongside the Skymirror Carriage.

“Yeah, but I’m not supposed to say his nickname,” the Human whispered, trying not to look at me but failing to keep his glances in check. “I don’t want to make him mad.”

“You are right to fear me,” I said.

“What he means to say is thank you for keeping his identity safe,” Ferrisdae translated. I huffed and she elbowed me. “Isn’t that right, Badger?”

“You are right to fear me,” I insisted, not budging. “Anyway, you were on the way to Athir.”

“Yes, we were,” Cojisto said, nodding. “We were going to do our usual thing. Show up at the Consortium, find some people who are looking for unaffiliated adventurers, and have a grand time of it. Maybe, if we were lucky, we’d find some of Ferry’s family. We figured if they were half as capable-“

Moose croaked again.

Cojisto nodded. “Yeah, even a quarter as capable as Ferry, then it would be some of the most fun adventuring we’d find in these parts.”

My junior beamed even as her face darkened at the praise. “I’m glad I left such a strong impression on you two,” she said.

“How could you not? It was a sight to see, even after you lost your magic,” Cojisto said before hitting the side of the carriage with his hand. “Glad to see you’re making progress. Archery Ferry was fun but, and I don’t say this lightly, Mage Ferry is the best.”

“Yes, Ferrisdae is very talented,” I agreed before waving my arm. “Will you continue? How did we get stuck with you?”

He shrugged. “About a day or so after we left New Frausta, we received a missive from a magic raven. About halfway, I’d say. It had orders for us to report to the Consortium branch in Athir if we wanted to work with you and Ferry again,” he finally explained. “Moose and I had a talk about it-”

Moose huffed and shook his head.

“It was a talk! Me asking if you wanted to and you saying yes is a talk, it’s just a short one,” Cojisto defended. “It might as well not have happened, we both know you’d say yes. You like these two as much as I do.”

The large animal looked at his Human companion for a long second before nodding vigorously.

“I, for one, am very glad to have you both along for the ride,” Ferrisdae said. “If Badger was more honest with himself, I’m sure he’d agree.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t speak for me.”

She ignored me. “I’m assuming the Consortium had a detailed list of places you had to go, right?”

“Yup,” Cojisto confirmed as Moose nodded again. “And there were even a few groups who were looking for extra adventurers, and we didn’t approach them. We could have, but we didn’t, because we wanted to work with you more.”

“While you were there, did you notice anything off?” I asked.

Cojisto stroked his chin. “In which way?”

“In the way where someone might have lost too many friends,” I huffed with a glare. “Part of the reason why we’re here is to check up on the increasing mortality rates. Did you not get briefed on that?”

“I did, sorry, I just wasn’t thinking about it,” the man defended. “As for people talking, not really. The Remembrance Wall had more candles than usual, though. Not a huge amount more, but enough that Moose commented on it.”

I nodded as I thought that over. The Remembrance Wall was a way for adventurers to honor their fallen brethren with a public display. Every Consortium location had one along with blessed candles. The ritual was to carve the name into one and leave it with a small personal belonging or picture, and then light it. While it was only a small gesture, it was a sacred one amongst adventurers.

Moose croaked and huffed. Once again, Cojisto nodded. I was already starting to get tired of this.

“That’s right, that group was weird,” he said.

When he didn’t continue, Ferrisdae spoke. “Which group was weird?”

“It doesn’t have to do with the wall, but we were talking to this group that said they had a job where Moose would be a big help. I got excited because usually when people hear me say that he’s my best friend, I get weird looks.”

“Sounds like they just don’t get it,” I said sarcastically.

“You’re absolutely right, Badger,” he agreed, either not picking up on my sarcasm or ignoring it. “And I wanted to take them up on their offer. So much, like you wouldn’t believe. But we were going to work with you, and I had to turn them down. They tried to sweet talk me, but Moose was paying attention. One of them then called me Cojisto. In my excitement, I did not give them my name because I was busy talking about Moose, so they already knew who he was. They tried to play to my ego, saying of course they’d heard of the Legendary Cojisto but, alas, the spell was broken.”

I looked at Ferrisdae. “Family strikes again?”

She shrugged. “Possibly. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had information about us working with these two. They did visit your home, after all.”

“Do you think you know those people?” Cojisto asked, furrowing his brow.

“You already know about the Anne Runelara family. At least, I assume you did because you came here specifically because of Ferry, right?” I asked.

“Right.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“They probably found out that you were in the Thousand Year Blizzard with us,” I said. “Whether it’s a good natured attempt to figure out how Ferrisdae is doing as a Junior Dungeon Inspector or some kind of plot to influence the DoD is still up in the air, but I still find it annoying. They seem insistent in sticking their noses into our business.”

“If they’re worried about Ferry, then it could be that,” Cojisto offered before looking her way. “Have you contacted them at all before, during, or after our time holed up in the Mage’s Guild?”

“I wrote letters,” she answered. “I always assured them I was okay. Didn’t even mention any of the really bad stuff because I didn’t want them to worry.”

“Oh, then yeah, they’re probably trying to get info or influence or whatever,” he said, nodding. Then, an out of place scowl appeared on his face. “And they tried to draw me in using Moose. Diabolical! And to think I shared my favorite moose fact with them. I’m going to have to be more selective with adventuring groups in the future.”

“What is your favorite moose fact?” Ferrisdae asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Moose are excellent swimmers. They can swim for nearly ten miles and dive around 20 feet,” Cojisto said without thinking. “In fact, we were going to hit that underwater dungeon tomorrow morning after we get some of that seaweed that lets you breathe water for a short time.”

“It’s called Air Algae,” I told him. “And before we get any more moose facts, which I’m sure are fascinating, can you tell us about the dungeons you have gone to?”

“Absolutely. The first one was a Treant copse,” he answered, looking around. “Actually, it seems like we’re heading in that direction now.”

I looked at Ferrisdae, who nodded confirmation. “We are.”

“Okay. Yeah, they should be back to normal then,” Cojisto said with a nod. “One of their members actually attacked Athir’s treewall just yesterday morning. We helped defend the city.”

“Captain Deligrae was telling us about that when we asked about you,” I replied.

The man grinned. “He’s a good guy.”

“Seemed so,” I said as I leaned forward “The Treants in that dungeon do have a permit to roam, but it’s rare that they go as far as the city. The captain said that they were corrupted somehow. Do you have any information on that?”

Crossing his arms, Cojisto looked up at the sky. “We’ve fought Treants before, but these ones were… really easy to punch through.”

“We’ve been over this, Cojisto,” I sighed. “You’re just stronger now thanks to the events in the blizzard.”

“No, no, not like that,” he said quickly, holding up his hands. “Like, the bark was all discolored and messed up and their insides were mushy. I’m pretty sure even Ferrisdae could have punched through one barehanded.”

“Hey, I’ve been practicing my punches, just so you know,” she said defensively. “I’ve gotten fairly good at throwing them.”

Cojisto smiled. “You have? That’s great news! Then you could definitely punch your way through one of these Treants. I’ll check your form later, if Badger doesn’t mind.”

I scowled. “Why would I care?”

“Because you are her mentor.”

“Yes, as a Dungeon Inspector. You’re the one who taught her how to punch.”

“That’s true!” he said, pumping his fist in the air. “Then it’s settled! I’ll take care of you when we have some free time, Ferry.”

Seeing Ferrisdae’s determined nod, I sighed. “Before this goes off track again, that sounds like the Treants are having a problem with a disease,” I remarked, stroking my chin. “According to the file, the Green Union is supposed to be watching over this dungeon.”

“They might still be having trouble,” Ferrisdae offered. “They were supposed to be in charge of the Mushroom Leshies at Sevensleg’s dungeon and help out with feeding the boss. Have they been having problems lately?”

I frowned, thinking about it. What happened with Sevensleg and his minions had been terrible. He became hungry enough that he ate them because he was no longer getting any food sent to him from the Green Union. Their entire job was to help supplement the dungeon in exchange for a percentage of the magical crystals inside, and they failed horribly.

Whatever problems they were having, it had to be catastrophic. They could lose their union license over something like this if it became common enough.

“Before we go in, we’ll call back to headquarters and see if there’s any update on the Green Union,” I decided. “From the sounds of it, though, it’s neglect rather than active maliciousness. A low probability of something CC related, but not impossible.”

“Is there anything that you can tell us?” Cojisto asked.

“Not yet, but soon,” I answered. “What about the Dark Elf Quarry?”

“Their matriarch destroyed my crossbow,” he whined.

“Yes, you said that,” I said, suppressing a sigh. “Anything else you want to mention about it?”

Moose spoke, grabbing our attention, and Cojisto nodded along.

“You’re right, my friend, they did seem skittish,” he said after the divine beast was done. He looked back at us. “But they didn’t get that way until we fought. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they were fairly surprised that the two of us could take them on. It was almost like they thought we were easy prey or something, and the moment we proved otherwise they started to get antsy.”

“That might just have been confident that they can take out one guy and a moose,” Ferrisdae said. “They’re Dark Elves, so they generally do have the upper hand in dark environments. Were they strong?”

“Stronger than the average dungeon, I’d say. Especially with the boss breaking my crossbow.” Cojisto looked at Moose, who nodded, and shrugged. “I don’t know, it just seemed a little off to us. I mean, obviously you two are here to check in on that kind of thing. I’m just offering some forethought.”

“I appreciate that, at least,” I said. “Also, I’ll be taking care of that dungeon alone. Ferrisdae, you can work on reports or investigate the city at that time.”

“What? No, I want to help!” she protested.

I met her eyes. “The only reason why Matriarch Akshashka set up a dungeon in the first place was to piss off the Forest Elves of Athir. I know that you know this,” I said. “She holds a centuries long grudge against your people, your presence might exacerbate the situation. If the Dark Elves are in league with CC, then it’s better if you sit this one out.”

“For what it’s worth, I think that’s crap, sir,” she responded, scowling.

“I understand, but it’s still the call I’m making,” I told her evenly. “First, we’ll hit up the Treants. Next, I’ll hit the Dark Elf Quarry. If you don’t want to sit around writing reports, then pretend to sneak away and visit your family or something. Or punch Cojisto. As long as it’s for the good of the mission, you have my permission.”

“I’d prefer permission to go with you.”

“You’ve made your stance on this very clear,” I said before turning to Cojisto. “You’re going to check out the underwater dungeon?”

He gave me a thumbs up. “Yup.”

“Okay, that one and the bandit camp after,” I ordered. “We’ll need some time to process the paperwork from the first two dungeons, so take your time with them. Maybe join a random group if they aren’t going to any of the ones we’re auditing. This isn’t supposed to be a quick mission, so let’s move at a bureaucrat's pace.”

“Sounds boring, but alright. You got it, Badger.”

“Good. Then you and Moose are dismissed. Be safe out there.”

“You, too,” he said, offering me a fist bump. I arched an eyebrow at it and shook my head. Undeterred, he offered it to Ferrisdae who, despite pouting, took him up on it. With a grin, he bounced off of his seat and jumped onto Moose’s back. “See you both later!”

“See you, Cojisto,” Ferrisdae said, watching as they rode ahead of us.

“It’s protocol, you know,” I said. “It’s just too dangerous.”

“So was the blizzard, but I still went in there,” she muttered. “Any other official business to discuss?”

“No.”

“Very good, then.” Reaching into her Pocket, Ferrisdae pulled out the paperwork pertaining to the dungeon we were heading for.

At least she was diligent.