A few days after Fuyuko left for her training with the kitsune, Princess Orchid and Lord Paltira revisited the dungeon. Orchid was quite pleased to hear that things were going well with Bellona and Xarlug and after spending some time consulting with each to make sure they understood the full ramifications she happily taught Bellona the correct form of the ritual.

However, once the couple was ready to begin, Orchid privately asked Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko to help Paltira support her while she unbound Xarlug. The version of the binding she had created for Xarlug was less permanent and did not attach directly to her soul, but it was still rooted in her spirit and it was not easy to untangle. The process was painful for Orchid and left her exhausted in Paltira's arms while Moriko helped heal her. Mordecai and Kazue double-checked Xarlug's aura to make sure there were no issues, then withdrew their attention from that more private room.

Once everyone was recovered and had adjusted, the dungeon had a potent delving team wintering at the dungeon: Orchid, Paltira, Kansif, Xarlug, Bridgette, Brongrim, and Nainvil. This combined group was capable enough to trigger Mordecai's boon for empowering zone bosses even when both dragons were active in the wetlands, so he and Kazue made sure to provide support with mixes of other wetlands inhabitants as needed. One of the goals of the group was to ensure that everyone was capable of reliably soloing either Nezha or Ysi. The zone bosses had mostly mastered all of their abilities, but unlike the delvers, their power was limited by their zone.

Xarlug intended to become a full-time contractor come the spring while Brongrim and Nainvil had previously stated their plans to become temporary contractors to help protect the dungeon while the Puritasi were being dealt with.

The dungeon was quite happy to help them all gear up and anticipated being able to fully kit them out in mithral and some key pieces of adamantine gear before the tournament. Everyone was planning on entering the tournament, so the dungeon needed to balance out what they were owed before their official entry delve for the tournament to keep things fair.

Meanwhile, training continued apace for the soldiers from Trionea. Mordecai was in charge of this project and he coordinated with the officers to arrange which troops would be sent back to begin spreading the training they had received here. The groups he sent back were selected primarily from those who had already died once in the sewers, though he did give them the opportunity to delve twice on the normal route first if they wanted. He did select a few directly from the more successful sewer delving squads; specifically those who were not very flexible in their tactics but were very good at following the rules and training that had been provided.

While mastering the tactics of clearing and holding rooms in controlled waves was very important, the most potential growth lay in those who could do so while being able to react to changing situations. Sending the less flexible back to act as trainers for the larger number of troops in Trionea was the most efficient option for everyone, and those who had been casualties could act as assistants for the trainers and squad leaders for the trainees.

The strongest teams were already good enough that in a normal delve they could have at least reached the river zone. Mordecai fully intended the best to be able to clear all of the Azeria dungeon's zones, including a couple not yet claimed, despite any potential future issues with having trained up teams like this.

Based on what Deidre had said, they were pretty certain her dungeon had at least sixteen zones. There was a decent chance that Dimitri would take the risk of letting her core claim one or two more zones, given the circumstances. Obviously, this would make clearing the dungeon harder, but it would also make the aftermath easier as her core would not be burdened with as large an excess of mana. Mordecai was not certain which option he preferred, but his preferences were not going to change whatever the reality turned out to be.

For all that there was plenty to do, there was also a relaxed routine to it. The three of them trained with each other and their dungeon inhabitants and rotated who would manually add a bit of surprise and danger to each of the stronger delving groups.

Meanwhile, Fuyuko was certain that she'd been banished to some sort of hell. Aia was taking charge of the training and running them into the ground. And she was mean. While she'd never let them go hungry, the tastiest foods would be offered as rewards for overcoming seemingly impossible tasks. The three of them once spent four whole days and nights in a clearing trying to snatch the ribbon floating near The Matriarch's head while Aia fended them off using her tails and foxfire. The blasted woman was sitting on a stool and reading a book the entire time. They could camp nearby to rest and recover, but they were stuck with trail rations until they overcame her challenge.

It's not like they weren't allowed to use their powers too, but direct spells she could simply knock away. Shizo didn't hold back against her gran gran, but it didn't help much. Fuyuko had no idea how you made a fireball bounce away mid-explosion.

Fuyuko herself had been smothered into near unconsciousness multiple times by those tails as Aia took a hard stance against her battle fugue. Being repeatedly forced out of that state and then being immediately pushed back into conflict did prove to be a key to unlocking better control for Fuyuko, but it was a little traumatic being brought to the edge of a blackout repeatedly by inescapable soft fluff and fur.

Derek found the experience very frustrating. It didn't matter which powers he used, he couldn't make the elements near Aia respond to his command. The earth would not tremble, her wooden stool would not animate, and the wind would not turn into a cyclone. He said it didn't even feel like she was using magic against him, he was simply running into her raw will and couldn't command the elements near her unless he could first overcome her will. But he could at least initiate attacks from further away as her will didn't seem to cancel those out. Unfortunately, Aia seemed as adept at deflecting those attacks as she was deflecting spells.

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The shadows were similarly unkind to Fuyuko. She couldn't use any shadow near Aia for any of her tricks or powers. The only shadow she could manipulate near the matriarch was her own, and that limited the range and power of what she could do.

What finally earned them success was learning how to recognize and accept magic from each other in the middle of combat. Their communication rings provided an easy conduit to extend the reach of some spells, though they still required being fairly close. Fuyuko became the focus point for both of her friends who were able to target her to initiate effects even when Fuyuko was near Aia.

Speed to make her faster, illusions to make her harder to detect and defend against, sudden blasts of air and water to counter tails and foxfire that tried to keep Fuyuko from getting close, and finally Bip himself, who had been hiding in Fuyuko's shadow. A shadow that had been deepened by a couple of Shizoku's flare-bombs. Bip hurled himself at Aia just before one of Shizoku's spells exploded from him. Ice and stone shards curled themselves in a dense cone at Aia just in time for Fuyuko to dodge in the final step she needed to grab the ribbon before a fluffy tail smashed her away.

Fuyuko would have appreciated their victory if she hadn't made eye contact with a smirking Aia just as she grabbed the ribbon. They had not, in fact, beaten Aia at the game. They had merely overcome the challenge level that she had set for them. Fuyuko decided not to pass that on to their friends, though she was pretty certain Shizoku could guess.

Overall, there was very little downtime and Fuyuko felt constantly tired. Once she had gotten a handle on how to maintain a partial or full shift mid-combat without losing herself to the battle, all of Aia's challenges pushed Fuyuko's speed and strength enough that she had to maintain the boost that the partial shift gave her. Worst of all, when there was time to rest and breathe, she had to work on more of her thank-you notes until they were all finally done.

Derek and Shizoku were no better off. While Fuyuko was spending hours trying to not get hit by the collection of foxfire balls that were constantly chasing her, Shizoku spent that time struggling out of various containment and capture spells which required her to puzzle out a variety of magical and physical techniques. Derek was challenged to use his powers to move a stone from Aia's open hand. When the direct approach didn't work, he used an obvious indirect method which in this case was forming a whip of water to knock it out of her hand.

Aia smiled at that and said, "Good, you remembered to use attacks from range when direct methods won't work. But this time, you need to command the stone to move. This is a direct power challenge, no clever tricks are allowed. Now, try again."

Derek later reported that he felt like he was trying to lift a boulder when all he wanted was to make the stone slide a tiny bit to the side and roll off of her hand. It was one part an exercise but it was also a reminder of a lesson they had been taught. The stronger a person is, the harder it is to directly affect them or the reality near them.

The inverse was true as well. Fuyuko's arena for dodging foxfire had been limited by a wall of wind that encircled their training area. Shizo could cast a similar spell, but Fuyuko was fairly certain she could force her way through Shizo's version. Eventually. Even getting near the wind wall that Aia had put up was almost enough to knock Fuyuko off of her feet.

When there were only a few days left until it was time for Fuyuko to return to the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, Aia called a halt to all training to let Fuyuko and Derek rest and prepare for travel. "Shizo," Fuyuko asked with a groan, "Does your grandma always push you like this?"

Shizoku shook her head and replied, "No, she knew she could push me harder with you two around. Plus she won't have a chance to work on you for a while, so she wanted to squeeze in every little bit she could. I swear, the woman is pure evil."

Fuyuko snorted at that. Aia pushed hard, but she obviously wasn't actually evil.

Her opinion was challenged the very next day. Fuyuko was sitting with her friends and eating her well-deserved third serving of lunch when she heard Aia's voice cut through the sounds of all the people also enjoying their meals.

"I would like you to meet your granddaughter, Fuyuko," Aia said. Fuyuko's head snapped up and she spun around to stare at a red-furred kitsune woman and a dark-haired human man, with her mouth still full of food. "Fuyuko," Aia continued with an evil smile, "I would like you to meet Akahana and Ricardo, Kazue's parents."

Fuyuko forced down her food hastily with some water before she stood up to stare at the pair nervously. "I, um, hello?"

Akahana sighed softly. "What has our girl gotten herself into this time? Wait, I'm sorry, Fuyuko, yes? I shouldn't complain immediately like that, Aia caught me off guard. Well, it's a pleasure if a surprise to meet you. And please, sit, that'll be easier for all of us."

Ricardo recovered from his surprise a little slower but then he started laughing. It was soft at first, but the man couldn't stop. The inability to take a full breath slowly brought him to his knees before he fell over onto his side.

Akahana looked embarrassed as she hissed at him, "Ricardo! Pull yourself together! It's not that funny! Okay, it's kind of funny, but stop laughing."

But Ricardo's laughter was contagious, and Fuyuko had to admit that it was a pretty good prank by Aia. A giggle escaped her before she pressed her lips together tightly, but she could feel more bubbling up inside. Akahana groaned, "Oh no, not you too." But a smile was already working at the edge of her lips and neither of the women lasted much longer before they started laughing too.

Aia simply observed the results of her handiwork with a self-satisfied smile before sweeping out of the dining hall.

Once the three of them had recovered Akahana took charge of the conversation once more and started asking Fuyuko about herself before eventually giving Fuyuko some time to finish her meal. "We'll meet up with you later. Spend the rest of the afternoon with your friends, there will be plenty of time in the evening. Also, it looks like we're going to be your escort home; The Matriarch had said she was introducing us to someone who could use a ride to the Azeria dungeon."

Fuyuko did do one thing before she met back up with her grandparents. While Aia's prank was funny, she didn't feel comfortable doing the same thing to her new parents so she activate her earring to bring her parents up to date. Mama K sounded a little nervous about Akahana and Ricardo showing up, but none of them sounded surprised. It seemed more like they hadn't been certain when it would happen.