The group's trip into the local wilderness was completely uneventful. Most of the ingredients that Trillia required were easy enough to find and with the increase in patrols as well as the existence of two cities fairly close together. The wilderness was a lot less wild these days.

The group decided to do a delve without Trillia while she went to the lab and worked. It gave her some more time to think about how she wanted to approach the group about any potential issues that may arise.

She was pleasantly surprised to see Kismet and Ralrouk in the lab when Arlyss opened his portal. Kismet, at this point, was certainly showing signs of carrying a child. Trillia was all too happy to run over and give the woman a hug. Followed shortly by giving Ralrouk a hug.

"I haven't seen either of you since we returned from Rift City! Is everything going okay?"

Kismet was happy to pull her into another hug. "It's going very well. The Sage has been surrounded. For now, he is silent. There may come a time when he plots, and we must face him. But for now, D'Jamu is safe. The first sets of crops are also coming in. Between the gnomes and Stas, their machinery is working wonders."

Trillia smiled but shook her head. "I mean you, silly. Are you doing okay?" She looked down at Kismet's stomach.

The woman let loose a little laugh and nodded. "Other than being ornery and hungry, yes. How goes the dungeon delving?"

Trillia's smile faded a little. As she pulled out the herbs and prepared to start brewing, she filled Ralrouk and Kismet in on their recent delves into the third floor. As well as her worries about her power.

Kismet seemed happy to sit in a chair near the lab and listen. Ralrouk had been pulled away by Arlyss for something. Once Trillia stopped speaking and had fully started to focus on her brewing, Kismet spoke up.

"I think Lord Arlyss is correct. I can't speak for the power you wield. It's well beyond me. But you're a good person, Trillia. I don't think any changes to your physical appearance are going to change how people view you."

Trillia nodded slightly, glancing around the room to see that the two of them were alone. "I've overheard people call me a demon because of my dark red skin. I'm worried if I sprout claws or horns, I'll be attacked as a demon in some cities. I want to eventually explore the world. Stas and Mom have already warned me that there are some places that just hate orcs. What's worse than an orc? An orc that looks like a demon."

Kismet hauled herself up from her chair and walked over to hug Trillia again. "So make sure you're strong enough that they have no choice but to give you the opportunity to prove you're better than them. Look at Stas. As much as Maldoun and I had our issues with him at first. We had no choice but to give him time to prove our prejudice wrong. I'm glad he did, for our sake, as well as his."

That gave Trillia pause. She hadn't really ever thought about Stas' strength like that. But a goblin that was nearly indestructible for most people would give everyone pause when dealing with all goblins. Taking a deep breath, she nodded, returning the hug before getting back to brewing. "Be strong enough that I can speak my mind. I think that's what my mother and all of my uncles did. It seems like a good idea. How is Maldoun? I haven't spoken to him in some time."

Kismet smiled before returning to her seat and leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Stubborn. Something has been off with him lately. He's on edge but won't tell anyone why. I'm worried about him. But Lord Arlyss assures me that it's fine. Maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Trillia nodded a bit off-handedly. "Maybe he's just worried about the future of D'Jamu? Not only do we have to deal with potential issues with the sage, but now that a [Primordial] has woken up, things will get more dangerous for the city. I think he's just worried. About the city, himself, and you."

Kismet grumbled a little but didn't argue the point.

They chatted about mostly nothing for a few hours as Trillia worked. She had enough to make everyone four of the ice potions and two of the gill removal potions. She also had enough ingredients left over to make everyone one good healing potion for emergencies.

Trillia stretched and sat down at the bench. "I'm hungry. Wanna head to the kitchen to get something to eat?"

Kismet almost leapt out of the chair with a raised fist. "Yes! Food, here we come!"

Trillia couldn't help but smirk as she followed the woman downstairs and towards the kitchen.

-=- A Few Hours Later -=-

Trillia sat in the tent and took a nice long nap after eating. Ialu lay curled up at her feet.

She awoke when Amelia gently shook her shoulder. "Fred's parents have resurfaced. We thought you might like to come visit them."

Trillia smiled and rolled over to stand up. "Absolutely! They were down there a little longer than we all thought!"

Amelia nodded and helped her stand up. "Come on, hurry up. They won't talk about anything until you are there. I'm pretty sure everyone else's whining is getting annoying." The minotaur princess grinned as the two left the tent and headed toward the armorer's home.

Once they arrived, Frederick threw up his hands. "Finally! Come on! Show us the loot!"

Trillia was happy to run over.

The two looked a bit more weary than usual but certainly in high spirits. "What floor did you guys get to?!"

Alfred chuckled before taking a long drink of ale. Marg was fanning herself with a little cloth fan. She was the one to tell the tale. "Well. You see. We were going to give up on the fifth floor. It's a single room. No hallways, no tunnels. No mazes. There is a single enemy there to beat. We fought that enemy for six hours!"

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The group huddled around as the woman spun her tale and made grand gestures. "Unlike the rest of the dungeon, you don't get kicked out of the fifth floor on a loss. You have to surrender!"

That caught everyone's attention. Alfred grinned wider and spoke softly. "One of the more challenging floors, honestly. But Marg refused to back down! Refused to surrender, even when I had thrown up my hands in defeat!"

Marg stood with her hands on her hips, nodding proudly. "I learned long ago that you can't surrender and give in at the first sign of defeat! Once that great foe had been vanquished, we made our way to the sixth floor! It's a huge cavern filled with rivers of magma. Great-scaled creatures swim in the molten rock, only to jump out and spew the stuff at you when you least expect it!"

She motioned for them to follow her over to the anvils. The kids were all too happy to do so. Extending her hand, which had her storage item on it, she produced a scale. Burnt orange with streaks of brilliant yellows and reds running through it. First, one scale, then a dozen more. "Put your hands close, but be careful not to touch them!"

Trillia was the first to move her hand close and found that even within six inches of the scales, it was hot enough to be uncomfortable. As she tried to get her hand closer, her fingertips blistered. The group stared at her hand with wide eyes. Trillia looked up at Alfred and Marg with a newfound respect.

Marg grinned as she continued. "Oh, but these are just the whelps. The grunts of that floor! The boss..." As she said the word, she paused and glanced at Alfred. Who shivered almost on command. "Well...let's just say it has plenty of legs for running. I'd be burnt to a crisp were it not for my knight in shining armor intercepting so many attacks!"

As she said it, she moved back over to Alfred and kissed him on the top of his head. "Another hard-fought battle, but one that Alfred and I were far more prepared to deal with! Go on, dear! Show them the drop!"

Alfred chuckled and stood, looking them over to make sure they were all properly enthralled.

They were.

With one motion, his armor was on. The next, a cape draped over the armor. It glowed faintly in the dimming light of twilight. It looked like silk that was made from fire itself.

Fred was the brave one this time, slowly moving his hand close. "It's....cold?"

Alfred grinned, and they all watched as the glowing red silk cape turned dark blue. Frederick yanked his hand away with a yelp and a small burn. "It was a well-earned cape. Provides total protection from heat and cold due to temperature. Also grants Greater Fire Resistance or Greater Ice Resistance at level five."

Marg nodded, and the two shared a look before each painted a solemn face. "Floor Seven is where we failed. Where Sir Gobbinz had to pull us out."

The silence, despite being so brief, felt like an eternity to Trillia. Who slowly inched closer, waiting for the why. Marg gave a heavy, dramatic sigh. "We ran into two enemies there. At first, we were doing well. A bit drained from having been in the dungeon for so long. But nothing that Al and I can't handle. Even in our old age. But these enemies pursued us and hunted us. We spent two days on the seventh floor and didn't get a single moment of rest. It was a constant pursuit."

Alfred nodded. "True hunters. They'd wait until just after we set up camp. Just after thinking we were safe. As one of us would lay down, eyes heavy and head weary from the delve. BAM! They'd attack in groups of six. Three of each enemy type!"

Trillia couldn't help but jump at the tone shift. A giant smile on her face.

"It was simply too much for us. But we refused to walk away empty-handed!" With that, he extended his hand, and a half dozen massive fur pelts appeared on the table. The fur was dark green and smelled of ground mint herbs. "Go ahead. Inspect them."

Trillia surrounded the table with the others and gently ran her fingers through the pelt. Her eyes went wide as they reacted to the mana flowing through her. The dark green turned a vibrant lime and shimmered.

[Greater Druidic Ursa Mauler Pelt]

[Quality: Superb]

This pelt will triple all regenerative abilities.

All spells that use Earth Mana, or any Plant-Based Mana, will have their effectiveness doubled.

[OBFUSCATED] You are not at a high enough level to determine anything more about this item.

It was certainly a mouthful for a name! She looked at the bonuses again. "This seems really powerful."

Alfred nodded. "It is. This is the stuff artifacts are made of. We didn't manage to defeat any of the second enemy types. We'll leave that for you young folks to discover in your own time. But these creatures here?" As he said it, he patted the pelts, which shimmered with each touch. "Incredibly intelligent, incredibly dangerous. The only reason we had half a chance is because both Marg and I have high levels of earth resistance."

Malor seemed especially taken by them. Leaning in as if getting closer would let his scanning skills work better. "These things have an absurd capacity for magic."

Amelia nodded. "Druidic. That's a class I've heard about. Some Orc Shamans have told me about it. It's a class that integrates itself with nature. Giving themselves powerful shapeshifting abilities and a keen understanding of nature itself. I wonder how Red River discovered the class or these creatures."

Marg sat back down and sipped her ale. Wearing a little grin at all the inquisitive minds. "That's a good question. I'd also love to know where and how it found a volcano. There's a lot about that dungeon that's odd to me. I don't quite understand it. The fourth and fifth floors aren't, well, they aren't standard for a dungeon. Plus, the way it's set up. It's like someone else is helping it along. All of the floors are good for training something. All of the floors have incredibly good materials for the level of the enemy you face."

No one really had much to add. The kids were happy to hear about some herbs and hidden areas on the third floor. They didn't want specifics, but knowing that such places existed told them to be more thorough. Trillia had asked to borrow one of the druid pelts. As she wrapped it around her shoulders, she informed them that it also tripled her mana regeneration. Marg seemed especially excited about that.

"Oh! Ms. Marg! That reminds me." Trillia carefully unwrapped the pelt and laid it back on the table before trotting over to Marg and pulling out her alchemical notes. "I did a bunch of experimenting!"

The next few hours went by in a flash, with either Al or Marg telling a tale that the kids had no idea how tall it might be and Marg going over Trillia's notes in detail. The woman had an incredible mind for alchemy. Seeing formulas she had no part in, she could almost precisely pinpoint what their purpose was. Or at least what Trillia wanted their purpose to be.

Fred spoke up during a lull in conversation. "Tomorrow, we're beating Floor Three!"

Trillia grinned at his words, as did the others. With that in mind, she took a deep breath. "I made another potion today. Its effects are...unstable. But it should seal a person's abilities to utilize their mana for a few seconds."

That drew a few curious stares. "Arlyss and I had a talk. I'm not going to hold back at all. I'm going to go all out every chance I get. I know we've already discussed this once. I just wanted to make sure you guys were safe. I'll let Layla hold on to the potion, but if I ever become a danger to you guys, even just breaking the potion on me should sap my abilities long enough to knock me out or get me close."

The truth was, she hadn't brewed the potion. It had been a gift that Arlyss gave her for her own peace of mind. But she didn't want them to worry too much about using it on her. "I want to get stronger and learn to control it."

The others nodded or shrugged. Amelia wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We said it before. We all want to progress. We want you to progress with us. We'll watch your back, don't worry. Tomorrow, let's show Floor Three and its boss just how tough we all are!"

The group all yipped and cheered. Trillia took another deep breath and smiled.

Tomorrow was the end of their dungeon delving. At least for a while.