The Dispatcher’s Hub was different from the Temple.

Instead of white marble, there was metal and glass. Instead of large decorative columns and trees, there was a simple, rectangular building. While the Temple maintained facilities for those without means, the Dispatchers catered to Adventurers. There were also people marching around in front of it holding signs that said things like ‘The Apocalypse is Coming!’ and ‘Wurn Is Coming Back’, and ‘Down with the False Gods!’. I had a feeling that the last one was going to get them some unwanted attention.

When we walked into the recycled air smelling two story building, there was a checkpoint where we had to have our crystal bands scanned. The Anubis attendant raised her eyebrows when she scanned them, but otherwise, there was no reaction.

The Gate was at the center with eight waiting rooms around it. When our number was called we moved to a waiting room, which was just an empty room with benches on either side. There was a light above the room that led to the gate and when it turned green, we walked in.

The gate itself looked like every other one that I’d seen. The room was large and I assumed it had been designed that way to accommodate multiple teams coming or going. When we approached the gate, we had to choose our floor. Since we hadn’t been here before, the first floor was the only one that I could select.

The first floor reminded me of the Cathedral dungeon, except there wasn’t any underbrush between the trees.

“This is so different.” Fray marveled as she walked down the trail.

“You think the trail is a safe zone?” I looked at Ether.

She shrugged. "There weren’t any safe zones at the Temple.”

“Good point.” I took my sword out of my crystal band and slung it over my head. We weren’t allowed to carry weapons inside the buildings, so we had to keep them stored until we got into the dungeon.

The others started arming themselves too. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be using my sword much, but I still wanted it out in case I needed it.

“We really need to buy a map before we come into these.” Justia nodded down the trail. "Do we even know if this will take us to the boss?”

“Probably safe to assume, but we can always explore if you want. We’ve got lots of time.” I motioned towards the woods.

“No! We’re not exploring, we’re going to the boss, so I can have my shopping trip!” Aelin took the lead and pointed down the trail. "Let’s go!”

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We followed the excited blonde for almost an hour before the woods gave way to a rocky desert that didn’t look too different from the second floor of Zeb, except I didn’t see any caves. Just one and it was a ways away.

“I think that’s where we need to go.” I pointed at the rocky hill.

“There are people by it.” Rix moved around me. “Fighting something.” Her chain sword was still on her hip, so I took that as she wasn’t concerned, but I thought we might want to be cautious.

“Let’s let Ether lead.” I looked at Aelin. "Stay behind Justia.”

For once the blonde didn’t argue. I grabbed Fray’s hand and pulled her close to me. "Stay close.” I nodded at Ether. "Let’s go”

Rix vanished as we made our way towards the other group.

It took us about thirty minutes until we got close to the other group. There were sixteen students and two teachers. Judging by the way the students were operating, they were cycling through since they didn’t have enough to support two full teams. There were two in full metal armor with large metal shields. One had a sword and the other had a mace.

There was one person who was shouting at all of the others, and three people in robes. There were two people with light jackets on and the remaining eight had either swords, spears, or axes.

While most of them were clumped up around the two Tanks that were drawing the attention of two different very large scorpions, there were two people out by themselves. One was a black-haired brown-skinned woman with a sword, who seemed very upset and was taking it out on a much smaller scorpion while being backed up by a black-skinned, blonde woman with a spear.

The teachers were both dressed like Dispatchers, but one was human while the other was an Anubis. The silver-skinned woman had long haired redhead with a long slender sword at her side. The Anubis male was carrying a wand and shouting orders at the ranged units.

“There are no other teams scheduled to be out here.” The Anubis teacher moved onto the trail to cut us off. "Who are you?”

Before I could speak, Justia stepped forward. "I am Justia Publian, here with my team. We’re not here to train, just to fight the floor boss so we can move on to the next floor.”

“Publian, Publican.” He snapped his fingers. "Gesai! It’s the Publian!”

The female teacher walked over, her green eyes narrowed as she looked at our Healer. “What is a Publian doing here?”

“I’d let them through if I were you.” The black-haired student that I’d seen earlier that was taking out her frustrations on the scorpions came walking over. The blonde with the spear following behind her.

“And why would an Alard ever move aside for a Mundane wannabe?” Gesai Alard folded her arms as she turned to the student.

“Because her teacher is Trent Vowler.” The black-haired woman focused her green eyes at Justia. “Is this the famous team that dad has been going on about?” She gestured at us.

“Probably." Justia walked over and gave the other woman a hug. "It’s good to see you, Oz.”

Jealousy spread over Aelin’s face, but she struggled to hide it. "Who’s your friend, Justia?”

“Everyone.” Justia turned back towards us. "This is my cousin, Ozet Mite.”