"One", Melisande began to answer, "you can stop attacking the dungeon. You don't know what you're doing to it."

"Oh, and you do?", Leldro asked.

"No, I don't. Different dungeons are different. We don't know what kind this one is, it's too young."

"It killed a giant, and had a giant flying rock monster. How are we supposed to kill giant monsters made of solid rock if they start invading? Such a dungeon has to be destroyed before it gets the chance."

"I heard about that too, but the Exterminators are supposed to investigate that, not us."

"The Exterminators found the dungeon first but didn't recognize it as one. How am I supposed to trust that they'll do their job?"

Mael spoke up. "First, we report monster sightings. Then, we send an expedition. If it turns out to be a dungeon, then a runner breaks from the expedition to make a report. Then more Exterminators are sent, a delving investigation is done, and if necessary, the Ministry is notified and we destroy the dungeon together."

One of the support beams that was sticking out of the mud a few feet away from Leldro quickly became transparent, and a new one that looked exactly the same began to appear where the bog abruptly changed angles, heading upwards at an angle that would be uncomfortable to walk upon. Then, a wall did the same thing.

"If necessary, he says. The old scripture says that dungeons are dens of evil that kill constantly and always hunger for more, never to be sated", Leldro argued, proud of himself.

"We don't even read that script anymore! It's why it hasn't been translated!", Melisande exclaimed, appalled by what she was hearing. "Where did you ever even learn to read it?"

"I don't know why you Plainsheartians keep it in your copies if you're not supposed to read it", Leldro said offhandedly.

"Because it was part of our history and we should never forget it", she said. "The second script is what we focus on. It's how we were given the Revelation of Honesty."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Well, we don't care about that where I'm from."

"Listen", Mael said, "I'm tired, the goanies are tired, everyone's tired. We have one goanie no one's riding. Get on it."

"Yeah, surprising, that", Leldro said snidely. "Came just to get me to come back, did you?"

"Look", Snyl said, not wanting to bother with this anymore. "We got goanies from whoever we came across first, if they had any. We didn't know how many they'd have, even. We only found out on the way here that we had four mounts and three riders. The priest wasn't able to come, since he didn't have his own steed, and time was of the essence", said Snyl.

The four of them hadn't been looking, but quite a few other things had disappeared and reappeared, leaving almost nothing left in the damaged room.

"I doubt you people are even here with the permission of the priest", Leldro said, ignoring what he'd been told.

"Well you're definitely one to talk", mumbled Mael.

"What was that!?", Leldro asked yellfully.

Mael and Snyl looked at each other, each giving a small nod. "Melisande, do we have permission?"

She looked lost. "Permission for what?"

Leldro was looking rather annoyed at the Exterminators. Exterminator? Where did Mael go? His goanie was right there, but where was-

Leldro wobbled and fell to his knees, caught by Snyl who was waiting for it and had dashed at just the right moment.

She saw the unconscious Leldro being carried by the two men, who hefted him over the back of the goanie who was mostly interested in ripping some particularly tall blades of grass from the tuft nearby, before beginning to chew.

"Uh, yes?" she answered. She looked at the dungeon's territory, black and blue, but mostly black. The large pile of building parts and random garbage sat in a physics-defying jumble just a couple dozen feet away. How her people measured feet, not ours.

She gently touched the mace she had on the side of her belt. What? It was a mace! She had gotten in trouble for having it, but every member of the Ministry of Truth clerical order was allowed to have a single wooden mace. It didn't matter that her mace was long and thin and cast a shadow that looked like something else. It wasn't sharp enough to cut anything. At this point, that is.

The black and blue walls burst.

Melisande walked forward to the pile of... things... and climbed on top of the nearby aisle shelf that looked like it had been knocked over. "I apologize for his behavior, Dungeon!", she shouted. "Please accept this with my- sorry, our apologies!"

She took the weapon, mostly for status and not use, off of her waist and put it down gently. She then tried to walk backwards while maintaining a bowing position, but instead tripped and fell ass-first into the mud behind her, her heel having caught on the shelf.

She saw Leldro's holy book. She picked it up, turned around to walk properly, and the party made its way back to town.