It had gone wrong from the moment they arrived. It was supposed to be an easy mission- go in with a team of delvers, escorted the entire time by a century, kill a four-month-old dungeon. They even had a magister as support- the dungeon had sprouted in an area he'd been interested in investigating for a while.

That was concerning on its own- places magisters were interested in were always fucked up- but the Bryn heard the details.Thulson's Fall, where the great archmagister had summoned a meteor to defeat the rebels threatening the Lotian Empire. It sorta worked. He'd killed the rebels, his own army, himself, and half the old empire to top it off.

Not quite his fault- nobody had any clue the warp veins had extended so far- but he had still released a cloud of miasma a hundred miles wide and turned the seas of grain into an arid wasteland. Half those who survived the clouds of poison starved and those who remained were changed by the essence storms.

Bryn was descended from the changed herself- she could smell mana and essence. Warp too probably, if only for an instant before death. It had also marked her bloodline with feathers for hair and lurid red stripes along their skin. Bryn Butcherbird, that was her name. At least she had a bloodline- most of the changed were sterile.

Still, inauspicious location aside they had expected an easy mission. The Sahii were never a prolific tribe and they'd been feuding with the Vanai too, there couldn't have more than 50 adults. They obviously wouldn't be able to present any danger to an entire century.

Climbing the walls of the crater had been a bitch and she'd caught her breath as she saw the inside. Bryn knew it was 'merely' essence crystal but the sight of Thulson's Claw grasping for the sky with its great green talons still sent a shiver of superstitious dread down Bryn's spine. You couldn't pay her to climb down- but Bryn knew what happened to deserters and that did the trick.

Not like she could hide out here anyways- the changed tribes tore imperials apart and they didn't care if you were a deserter or not. Or if you were changed yourself.

They spotted an encampment on the walls of the crater a few miles away and Bryn already felt nervous. Dungeon towns were common but this one was a baby- why were they there? Would they actually resist? It nagged at her as they took half a candle of rest from the climb.

The delvers gathered and checked each other's equipment. Hoff with his bell-encrusted plate, sword, and board. Yve with plate, short spear, and shield. Tank and off-tank in the parlance. Bryn didn't know where the term came from. Puarz with a halberd. Little Neech with her spearstaff, ready to batter any vermin. Woont had a bastard sword- less useful against the beasts but handy for scaring off other delvers. He did alright. Bryn herself with a pair of long daggers- most beasts would charge a shield but found a parrying blade more intimidating.

Bryn did like staying alive.

No magister, though Neech was close to breaking through. Another year or as little as a month depending on what dungeons they delved, but she'd leave the team when she did- Empire law was quite clear every magister had to do five at the University and then five in the legions. At least the University was free. In the kingdoms it was noble only and those who refused to marry into a family disappeared.

Maybe Magister Cryn might help when they chased off the savages. Probably not- a dungeon this age was beneath him and they probably wouldn't need the help.

Probably.

"Essence in the air. I can smell it." Bryn warned.

"This far away? Can't be." Neech sneered at her. Bryn shrugged. She smelled what she smelled. Neech didn't like that she was more sensitive than her- called Bryn’s nose cheating. Not like she could talk. She was only nearing magister because she was four feet tall tho- less body to saturate. Still, for all her future power she couldn't reach the top shelves without climbing.

The centurion called them over to meet with him and the magister. "Delvers. In the event that the tribe resists I want you to charge right into the dungeon. If they're willing to defend it then it's all the more imperative that we destroy it as soon as possible. It'll save casualties on both sides."

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"Can they?" Woont asked. He was a viscount and had the right to ask questions. "I thought this was Sahii territory and we outnumbered them."

"Magister Cavala is Sahii. So is his wife. She would've been a magister as well if she hadn't got pregnant- children are too rare for the Sahii to risk the babe. They left the Empire two years ago when their grandson got killed by a ghast. Officially on sabbatical." Magister Cryn cut in. He looked like he was sucking on a lemon. Bryn could understand- Itzal and Marisha Cavala had more than one song written about them. If they had to face the pair in battle...

Good thing Bryn was a delver.

"Why would they fight? They'd both be declared rogue. The dungeon is only a few months old- can't be worth it." Woont asked again. Bryn coughed and interjected.

"I can smell essence. It's still two miles away." Magister Cryn frowned, then spoke a word. The air sparked.

"Must be an abnormal. Maybe a god seeded it to do something? Not from the Imperial pantheon though- we've had no oracles about it. It doesn’t change your mission. Destroy it." Centurion Rex ended the little debate. He ordered the century rise and they all began to pick their way down the slope.

The scent of essence strengthened then began to fade again. What the hell? Bryn sniffed- smelt almost like it was coming from two different directions. She looked around and spotted a stream coming from a cave to the other side, away from the direction the century was marching. Meech punched her in the hip. "Don't get distracted, birdbrain." Bryn hissed at her. Bitch. She was changed too. Well, the scent was still getting stronger- if there was another entrance it wasn't the main one.

The Sahii had packed up their camp by now, putting their stuff on the backs of some big shelled things- nothing like Bryn had ever seen before. "Crabs?.." Puarz muttered.

"What?" Meech again.

"The big shelled thing. Crabs. They belong in the ocean. Plus, they’re nowhere near that big." Puarz was from a coastal town, wasn't he?

"Probably got them from a dungeon. We won't have to deal with them- dungeon this age couldn't support them." Bryn frowned. Meech was wrong. The scent kept getting stronger.

Ten Sahii guided the crabs away while herding a gaggle of children along with them, leaving forty to fight the century. At the front of them were four people- one man wearing the bone crown of the chief, an old man with a magister’s staff, an old woman with a spear, and a young giant of a man. His smile bothered Bryn- his eyes seemed blank. He was half Sahii- maybe his other half came from the northern barbarians? Had to be with his size. What, eight feet tall? And broader than any ‘pure’ Sahii would be even if they got that tall. His spear was made of bone and as thick as Bryn’s leg.

“Magister Cavala. Chief Zetli. Ms. Cavala. And is that your grandson? I’m glad to see that the rumors were wrong. Centurion Agarthus Rex.” Rex introduces himself with a smile and a polite bow. “With me are Magister Cryn and Viscount-”

“We won’t let you destroy the dungeon. This is Sahii land.” The chief interrupts. He’s not smiling. He’s got the face of a granite wall and a gleam in his eyes.

“I was unaware that the Sahii had claimed land. In fact, I’m rather certain that in the last census-” Rex tries again, his smile cooled. He’s just going through the motions now. He knows it’ll be a fight.

“Empire law. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re not imperial citizens and cannot claim land. Even then, this is not imperial land. You have no right to cull our dungeons.” Zetli isn’t having any of it. His voice is firm. Behind him the Sahii are shifting, getting rowdy. A far cry from legion discipline and precision.

“The Empire has generously taken the duty of culling rogue dungeons in the surrounding. As you know, rogue dungeons pose a threat to all the peoples of Vasku. If you wish to manage one then perhaps Magister Cavala can return to the University and apply?” Rex’s voice is icy cold now.

“We’ve tried. Oddly enough, whenever Kaz Itzal does so he finds that the dungeon has been destroyed before he arrives at the university. Fancy that. You could Oath to protect the dungeon until Kaz Itzal arrives with his seal and the appraisal team?” Chief Zetli is smiling now. It’s not a nice smile.

“Unfortunately, my orders do not allow me that flexibility. So I ask you: Is the Sahii tribe interfering with Legion and Delver operations?” Rex raises a hand. In perfect unison the century forms a hedgehog behind him. We tense- we’ll have to run for the dungeon in a moment.

“Yes.” Zetli raises his own hand. The warriors behind him tense as if they’re about to pounce.

“Really Cavala? For an abnormal dungeon?” Magister Cryn asks him, curious even on the cusp of battle.

“The rumors were right. My grandson was attacked by a ghast. The dungeon healed him. It’s not abnormal- it’s divine.” With the last word Magister- No, Kaz Cavala raises into the air. Magister Cryn does the same as Centurion Rex drops his arm. The battle has begun.