The sun was still down by the time we pulled up to Alashroe, exactly as the Dwarves promised. According to them, we had shaved at least two hours off of our original travel time. Based on how the camels laid down in front of the water trough the moment they were unhitched, I could see that they had been pushed to their limits.
I felt like Hatenbrow and Kitzkin earned that extra gold, even if the amount might have been excessive. They didn’t know it, but I would have paid many times that for some peace and mind about my family.
Adjusting my jacket, I finished recharging my sword with one of my spare magic crystals. I started working on my shield next, imbuing it with enough mana to change it back into its buckler form before strapping the crystal on with a string.
The moment Hatenbrow told us that we crossed the threshold of the void, I had woken up everyone who had been sleeping so they could maintain their equipment. Ferrisdae and Dalsarel needed the least amount of work since their gear had gone into the Shashilly Bags straight from the protection of Abara’s crystal. All four of us, including Cojisto, were back in our normal wear.
Ferrisdae and Moose both took deep breaths. The desert was hard on them both, but I certainly didn’t envy him. Not only was his magic striped away, he also had to make the entire trip on foot. Cojisto hadn’t ridden him the whole way and opted to walk alongside his friend when it became too much. His exhaustion had to be at a level seldom felt.
“If you need time, take it. I’m going to go on ahead,” I told him and Cojisto.
Moose croaked, and his Human shook his head. “No, we’re with you,” he replied. “It’s just some stairs to the Mage’s Guild, right? We’re good.”
“If you insist,” I said, not pushing the topic as we began climbing into the city. I barely got my foot on the first step when my Sending Stone started ringing in my pocket. Without breaking my stride, I pulled it from my pocket and dragged my thumb across the surface. “We’re coming back to New Frausta.”
There was a momentary pause from the Stone as the person on the other end digested my words. “I don’t need you in New Frausta,” Brackenhorst eventually said. “You’re being redirected. I need you in Athir.”
“Sir, I have proof that Abara has been consorting with Sticky, the leader of the Half-Pints,” I argued, scowling even as I tried to keep my tone diplomatic. “Not only that, but with other dungeon owners in the area. Something big is going to happen, and I know you can sense that.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” the Chief begrudgingly admitted. “Seems we’re coming up on the climax of this little adventure.”
“What an absolutely bardic way of putting it,” I said flatly.
“Still, I need you in Athir.”
“And I’m telling you that we’re coming back to New Frausta,” I returned, my voice gaining some heat. “Knowing Sticky means that Abara knows who my family is. Now, I trust in Tabs. She can handle the Half-Pints, but if that portal riding jackass shows up then something terrible is going to happen. I’m not going to get sent away knowing full well what’s lurking in the shadows.”
“You done?” Brackenhorst asked.
“I’m going back to New Frausta.”
The Chief sighed. “Abara is in Athir, and he’s asked for you specifically.”
“Wait, what?” Ferrisdae asked. I turned to see that she was walking awfully close, listening in as best she could. She gave me an apologetic smile and let me get a few steps ahead. “Sorry.”
“With all due respect, Chief, that’s not very compelling,” I said, making sure Dalsarel, who had been trailing behind me on the other side, wasn’t eavesdropping as well. She gave me a curious glance, but she was still a respectable distance away. “We know Abara is a portal master. There’s no reason for me to go there when he can be in New Frausta in seconds. Plus, why even trust him?”
“Because I’m looking at my map of the continent and Athir is completely covered,” he answered solemnly.
I stumbled on the next step, nearly falling, but managed to catch myself as gracefully as I could. That information made me stop. “As in, there’s a bunch of dungeons that suddenly appeared?”
“No, Badger, as in the entirety of the country has turned into one giant dungeon. Now, I can’t zoom in on this map like you can but, based on where the edges are, I’d say it’s suspiciously close to that ritual circle you and Ferry were working out,” he explained.
I slowed to a stop as I wrapped my head around this development. The ritual circle hadn’t meant to make the area a dungeon. That was something I was fairly certain of, though I couldn’t tell if that was because of my expertise or the result of the Dungeon Master’s experiment. Either way, what it must have needed was magic.
“What if the crystal was put in the desert to stop everyone from finding it?” I muttered to myself.
“You’re going to have to speak up, Badger,” Brackenhorst said.
“Like they were just hiding it?” Ferrisdae asked, having heard me clearly. “What’s going on?”
“Athir has been turned into one big dungeon,” I answered, shaking my head as I continued the trek upwards. “And the crystal might have been a catalyst for starting it. Us finding the damned thing might not have been the win we were hoping for.”
“Badger, pay attention,” the Chief scolded.
“I am paying attention.”
“Look, this is what happened. I sent a team of Inspectors to Athir just like we discussed to start trimming away some of the dungeons. They arrived last night to find that everyone and everything there has seemed to become frozen in time.”
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I furrowed my brow. “Like with ice? Or-”
“No, as in everything’s stopped,” Brackenhorst explained. “Trees aren’t moving in the wind, the people are frozen in all sorts of different poses like they had stopped in the middle of things, and the mental feedback from the DTER is, and I quote, absolutely terrifying.”
“Who did you send?” I asked.
“Kaelmourn is acting as the primary on this investigation. After hearing that something was suspicious so close to his cousin’s dungeon, he wanted to check on things. He took a few others to divide and conquer, but called me as soon as he saw the state of Athir.”
“Did he just say Kaelmourn?” Dalsarel asked.
Rolling my eyes, I turned up the volume so everyone could hear. If they were going to be rude about it, then I wasn’t going to repeat anything later.
“So Kaelmourn made his way to Athir, it’s a dungeon spanning the country, and time seems to have frozen over,” I reiterated before ignoring the plethora of questions sent my way. “Okay, but how did Abara request me specifically?”
Brackenhorst took a breath. “Kaelmourn called, explained what was going on, and then went silent. Just as I was about to hang up and try to call him back, a voice spoke through the Sending Stone and introduced himself as Abara.”
“Because why not,” I said.
“He went on to say that Athir was under his control and that the dungeon he created was one that was powered by a crystal the likes of which we had never seen before,” he continued.
“That, at least, should be the truth,” I said. “While we were in the palace, there was a tall, amber magical crystal that provided enough mana to keep a decently sized dungeon in place. Both Ferrisdae and Dalsarel said that they thought it could keep going despite the environment for at least ten years.”
“Dalsarel? The First Daughter of the Dark Elf Quarry?” Brackenhorst asked, confused.
“Yes, I was displaced by one of that Gnome’s portals,” she answered. “Dungeon Inspector Badger has been kind enough to let me accompany him back to more habitable lands.”
“Well, I suppose it’s good to have you on board,” he said. “But I’m afraid you won’t be returning home right now. Only those blessed by the Dungeon Master can set foot in Athir now without succumbing to Abara’s spell.”
“Blessed,” I spat, rolling my eyes. “I’m assuming that’s what he told you?”
“Aye, but I’m not trusting it,” Brackenhorst answered. “His initial request was to have the four of you all go to Athir.”
“Yeah, definitely not,” I snorted.
“Definitely not,” he agreed. “But we can’t just do nothing. There’s an entire country swallowed up by a dungeon. We have no idea what’s going to happen next. It might spread by getting bigger, it might destroy itself and the people he has hostage, or something else. We just don’t know. That’s why we need you.”
“Badger can’t just go on his own,” Ferrisdae protested. “My family lives there. If something’s happening there, then I need to be there to help him stop it.”
I shook my head before looking back at my junior. “Did you already forget our discussion back in the wagon?”
She recoiled as if I had just slapped her before her face started turning red. “That was all fine back when we were speaking about some hypothetical disaster, but this is my family, Badger,” she angrily replied.
“And I’ll…” I stopped myself with a growl before taking a deep breath. “Brackenhorst, Chief, I still need to know that my family is going to be okay before I even think about taking up this invitation. Which, no matter how I look at it, looks like a bad plan. You don’t just walk into a villain’s trap, especially after you’ve killed their friend.”
“You’re not going to walk right into it,” Brackenhorst said with an exasperated sigh. “Do you think I’ve just been sitting on this information all night, hoping you’d just follow my orders? No, we’ve got a secret weapon. Millicef’s been on the Stone with Sophia. She had the foresight to go to Alashroe to wait for you, and she has everything ready to go.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything about my family’s safety,” I replied.
“We could go to them,” Cojisto offered. I turned around to see him raising his hand. “Ferry can go with you, and Moose and I can help look after your family.”
“If I can’t set foot in Athir, then I will help as well,” Dalsarel added before making a face and glancing around the mountain. “It’ll be better than staying in this place. The only thing making it more bearable than the palace is the return of ambient magic.”
“You’re both coming up with a lot of assumptions here,” I said, shaking my head. “Dalsarel, I appreciate the offer, but you have connections to Abara that I don’t want near my children. We can take you to New Frausta so you don’t have to be here, but that’s it. Also, if anything, Ferrisdae is going back to the DoD headquarters while I go to Athir.”
“I’m not letting you go alone!” she yelled.
“And you’ve been back in a magic rich environment for all of ten minutes!” I returned. “You’re already having problems with casting your spells in combat and this will be Abara’s turf. The Gnome who’s been portalling all around the continent and doing impossible things? And you want to go into his house and fight him when you’ve barely started to recover?”
“I’ve got potions!” she shouted. A few demands for quiet came from nearby homes. Those quelled her fury somewhat, but her tone remained angry. “I’m not leaving this up to you alone. You don’t have to do things alone just because you’re worried about me. My job is to go into danger, in case you’ve forgotten, and this is that.”
“Don’t you lecture me on what our job is,” I said, pointing up at her. “You’re just getting like this because it’s your homeland. That kind of attachment is going to get in the way.”
“Oh, is it? Just like your attachment to your family is preventing you from committing to an entire nation’s safety?” she challenged, crossing her arms as she stared pointedly at me.
“I’ve already all but said I’m going, I just have reservations,” I responded. “If Brackenhorst takes my family somewhere safe, then I’ve got no problem going.”
“Then it shall be done,” the Chief said. I looked down at the Stone in my hand, having forgotten that we were still in a call. “Badger, you have my word that I’ll take care of your family. That said, Ferrisdae going as backup wouldn’t hurt your chances.”
“Did you not hear anything about how she can’t cast spells?” I asked.
“She’s a sorceress,” was his only reply.
“That’s a gods damned gamble and you know it, old man,” I retorted. Everyone looked like they were about to say something when I lifted my arms. “Alright, everyone needs to stop. Give me some time to think.”
It took a lot of effort, but they simmered down. I closed my eyes, attempting to think things through.
“At least meet with the secret weapon before you blow up again,” Brackenhorst calmly requested. “They should be close to you now.”
“They?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah. I found them, Mills, thanks,” I heard Sophia say from behind me.
Before I could turn around, another voice joined her.
“It is good to see you again, Dungeon Inspector Badger,” came a feminine, monotone voice. “I come bearing the most powerful weapon of all to soothe your nerves: information.”
I put my face in my hand. “Son of a bitch.”