"Kid, why do you think Karmeri dislike delvers?"

"I know Karmere and Nadir hated each other, before Nadir fell," Tav said. "And it's a whole religious thing with you Karmeri, right? I don't know the details. Um, ma'am. Not to insult your religion or anything."

"That's not it," Annria said. "It's because of what it means to be a delver, and to level. You said you graduated from a Perrigenese Academy, so you must be pretty high up there, huh."

"Not 'an' Academy, it's the Academy," Tav said. "The Perrigenese Delving Academy. But, uh, I'm only level 17. I—I wasn't a very good student."

"Don't care," Annria said. "You're younger than—"

"Not all that much younger," Tav interrupted.

"Fine. You're a little younger, and you're a sheltered rich kid who's spent the past however many years studying, but you've still got enough levels to kill me, my guards, Rutherford, and any twenty Karmeri off the streets of Brightben. You told Rutherford the wolves weren't a problem? They'd be a problem for us. How'd you get those levels?"

"Hard work," Tav said. "Study. Practice delves. Look, I'm not special, not like—not like some people." My brother, he thought. "I didn't have any special achievements helping me along. Anyone could get as far as I have—you could do it if you tried."

"You got those levels by killing things." Annria sounded frustrated. "They make you better at killing more things. That's what delving is: it's death. It's violence. You level up by doing something over and over, and what delvers do is kill. It becomes a habit; it becomes the easy answer. Why on earth would I trust someone whose only skill, trade, and tool is murder?"

"That's not fair," Tav said. "It's not like we're killing people. And it's not like Karmeri doesn't have soldiers! You've got the border with Nadir, the people there must have loads of levels, and aren't they, like, holy warriors or something?"

"That's... different," Annria said, her voice suddenly quiet. "Nobody wants to work at the Nadirean Gate." She sketched a quick triangle on her chest. "It's a burden to serve at the Gate, even if it's also a sacred duty, and the Gate's defenders are set apart from normal people. That's the other problem with delvers and the delving nations: you're too entangled with the dungeon. That place is a curse."

"See?" Tav said. "Religion. Uh, no offense."

"It's not religion, it's common sense," Annria said. "It's the evidence of your eyes. The dungeon breeds violence and monstrosity. Because of the dungeon, people learn better how to kill. They feel driven to it, for power or profit. The dungeon's monsters demand a violent answer, and so people feel themselves justified. Even the nonviolent products of the dungeon's influence, crafting materials and what-have-you, require violence in order to obtain."

Tav hadn't thought to bring up crafting. Most crafters were either indentured labor or convicted criminals, though, so it wasn't much of a counterpoint. Annria didn't seem to know that part, or she probably would have held it against him somehow.

She continued, this time with the air of someone quoting. "The dungeon both requires and rewards levels. By forgoing the dungeon's poisoned gifts, Karmere is weaker but more peaceful."

"Except for the border with Nadir," Tav pointed out. "That's about as far from peaceful as you can get."

"Like I said, the dungeon is a curse. Nadir is just more evidence. The citizens of fallen Nadir were a sacrifice to the dungeon's hunger, and still the rest of the world continues to feed it. The Gate is the price Karmere pays to keep the rest of the world safe."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Tav shook his head. "Okay, fine, I get where you're coming from." Even if it's crazy-talk, he thought. "But can you get me back to Perrigen? Or, even as close as you can get would be great, I'd really appreciate it. It seems to me that's the best way to get all of my horrible violence out of your perfect peaceful country."

"So you can ignore everything I've said and get back right back to delving?" Annria rubbed her brow. "Maybe it's unrealistic to think I'd convince you in one speech, but I hope you think about it. Maybe you're not a cannibalistic murderer. Maybe. But"—she looked around—"even so, we do encounter a problem."

"What's that?"

"Even if I believe you, even if I did decide to help you, the fact remains that I got us as lost as I could with two hours and an exhausted mule." She nudged the mule, which had lain down and was still breathing heavily. "I left my pack back at Ford's outpost, too, so we don't have water or food, or mule feed. I'm not entirely sure where the road is, much less the border."

"See?" Tav said. "You act all confident and treat me like a kid, but 'the fact remains' that you were the one who freaked out and tried to get lost in the woods with a murderer. Brilliant plan."

"It's fine," Annria said. "We'll be fine, Tav. That is your real name, right? Not a fake name to hide your awful crimes?"

"Yeah, it's my real name. Tav, short for Octavian. I'm still not a murderer."

"Fine, Tav. Great." She turned away and peered into the woods. "Just give me a moment to think of something."

"If you can see hidden achievements, can't you see my status?" Tav asked. "My name's right at the top. Here, let me show you—"

Cannot display status to an Unauthorized user!

"Wait," Tav said, "You're not Authorized for the system?"

"Karmeri aren't," Annria said shortly.

"I... you people really are committed, aren't you. I figured it was all talk."

"It's not."

"You've got to have a few people who get an Authorization," Tav reasoned. "Is it a crime, do you lock them up or something?"

"Authorized Karmeri go to defend the Nadirean Gate," Annria said. "It's not a crime. It's an honor. I thought we'd covered this."

"And if they'd rather not? If they want to avoid the nightmare wasteland and stay with their families?"

"That's not an option," she said. Her voice had gone quiet. "It's better for everyone that they leave. So they do." Annria shook herself. Still not looking at him, she continued speaking. "Let's not talk about such things. Let's focus on more relevant matters, such as: getting out of the woods and back to civilization."

"Or what passes for civilization in Karmere." Tav considered sharing the details of his Wilderness Survival skill, how her brilliant plan to commit a noble suicide-by-delver wouldn't have worked anyway, but he was interrupted by a rumble in the ground that seemed familiar. He looked behind himself. A double-row of smooth, square stones slowly pushed themselves up out of the dirt, a line stretching out of the woods and toward the pair of them and the mule. As Tav watched, the two rows began to pull apart like a tearing seam. The forest floor gaped open, revealing a stone-lined hallway and a neat staircase leading downward.

Tav tapped Annria on the shoulder. "So I assume your religion forbids entering a dungeon, right?"

Annria finally turned around. "It's not a religious prohibition, it's—" She stared at the dungeon entrance before them. "Tav, would this happen to be the unstable dungeon you claim dragged you from Perrigen to here?"

"I can't be sure," Tav said. "But it looks pretty similar."

"I suddenly find your story much more compelling," Annria said. "In fact, as of right now this moment, you strike me as an honest, upstanding lad." She grabbed blindly for Tav's arm, missed, grabbed again and made it. She took a few steps backward and pulled him with her. "Tav? Like I said, it's not a religious prohibition. Rather, it's a common sense and practical assessment: I don't want to die horribly in some monster's gullet. Therefore, I should stay aboveground. Let's run."

"Yeah," Tav said, "that sounds like a good—"

The dungeon entrance surged toward them, forest mud dropping away beneath their feet to be replaced first with smooth stone, then with empty air. Annria screamed—Tav thought he did too—and the two of them fell.

You have reentered ERROR: Unknown Dungeon! Welcome back!