"Yes, I am," Ranus said to the Arbiter. Lying to the man was nearly impossible and would not gain him anything. He had a good relationship with the churches in most cases and did not want to ruin it.

He nodded, seeing it was the truth. "How are you doing this?"

"Through a special speaking crystal."

"May I see it?"

"It is hidden away. Please wait here for me to revive it." Nextom nodded to the request as Ranus stood and went to his chambers. He opened the lock box and took out the crystal. He then returned to the room.

Arbiter Nextom's attitude was a mixture of curiosity and fear. Ranus found this interesting, as the man was usually as calm as a pond on a summer's day. He sat and placed the crystal on the table. Nextom's focus was on it straight away.

"It's black…" He said, confused. He reached across the table and lifted it to inspect it in the light from the open window. "Good quality and well crafted. Solid enchanting with no mana leakage."

He continued his inspection for several more moments before turning and placing it back on the table.

"Please now, Lord Goldwind, tell me how it came to your possession and every interaction you have had with the Core." He placed his hands on the table, palms down, and was focused on Ranus. "Leave nothing out."

Ranus swallowed and told him everything. He listened, making no noise, and only blinked occasionally. Ranus found it highly unsettling as he told his tail. When he finished, there were a few moments of silence in which Ranus sensed that the air in the room had changed somehow. Before he could investigate more, Nextom spoke.

"To confirm, you have no indication of who supplied you with the crystal."

"None."

Nextom picked up the crystal, placed it in the palm of his left hand, and then covered it with his right. He closed his eyes, and the air in the room somehow became stranger and more oppressive, even with the window open and the breeze entering. His hands started to glow gently.

The strangeness in the air continued to increase until it suddenly disappeared. Ranus let out a breath he did not realise he was holding.

Nextom's hands stopped glowing, and he placed the crystal back on the table.

"This is quite the mystery, Lord Goldwind. The crystal has been crafted to prevent investigation of it through several means."

"How so, Arbiter Nextom?" Ranus asked, confused and concerned.

"The crystal itself is of an unknown type. Second, it has attuned itself to your mana and yours alone, and finally, it has been wiped off any identifying mana signatures when it linked with you."

"Then you have no way to identify its sender?"

"At this time, no Lord Goldwind, but I will continue to investigate." He stood, and Ranus scrambled to match him. "Please keep it close and apprise me of any other interactions with the Core."

"What of the deal I have made with it?" He asked.

"Honour it, Lord Goldwind. Honour it." Was all he said as he turned and left.

## ## ## ## ##

"I was wondering when you would appear," Oda spoke to the person who stepped out from the shadow in the corner of the room. He was standing looking out of his window at the mortal realms today.

"They have discovered the speaking crystal far faster than I planned. I never expected that the mortal would go to the Dungeon for a loan."

"Yes, I just had a very tense conversation with Nictor, Lawdrun and Xandus in that regard," Oda said.

"They asked you about the crystal and if you had created it then."

"Yes, and I told them truthfully that I had nothing to do with it or its delivery," Oda said, not looking around. "Well done hiding its origins. They are very unhappy to be unable to discern its source. But expect greater effort from them to discover who is behind it."

"Xandus is my greatest concern."

"Yes, her ability to see the threads of fate. But fear not; seeing into the past is far harder for her as her mantel is one that looks forward. I believe you using the visit of Astraus's envoy confused the matter enough." Oda turned around to look at this accomplice.

"Yes, her attempt to manipulate the Dungeon was too good of an opportunity to miss." Came the amused reply.

"That will keep them focused on her for now, but not for long." Oda walked across the room as he spoke. "The Pantheon has been disjointed and lazy this last two centuries. Recovering from the Folly has kept them distracted, but they are waking up again and returning to the great game."

"That will make things harder. The only reason we have been able to do what we have is of their focus on their own needs."

Oda sat down behind his desk. "We might be divine, but we still fear losing our power and influence lies within us. It is one thing that keeps us tied to the mortals."

"Any indications on our traitor?"

"Not yet, but this reveal might be our sought opportunity."

"In what way?"

"The traitor must act against the Dungeon. Now that it has been revealed that it has communications with an outside source and is seeking knowledge and materials…" Oda reasoned.

"… They must act to prevent the Dungeon from becoming too strong." Came the reply as the other understood.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"Exactly." Oda agreed.

"Then we must be more vigilant."

"Just so. Our traitor is cunning and will come at us from an unexpected direction. We must be ready to adapt when it happens."

## ## ## ## ##

"Another failure." Elis snapped.

"Mother, we are using every source we have to find the source of Ranus's windfall," Marica spoke as her mother paced. Her mother's pacing was never a good sign.

"Hector is working on the political angle, and Rassal is enquiring with the merchants. We are checking the rest, but such a sum does not magically appear."

They went back to work by going over the reposts and messages coming through the speaking crystals.

"Interesting…" Marcia suddenly spoke.

"What is it?" Elis demanded.

"It's about the coins—a message from a contact in the Merchant Guild. The coins are identical…. But it's odd, as we have heard from the source already."

"Explain."

"The coins are identical in every way with no differences at all. Not in casting or metal purity."

Elis went silent, thinking over the words her daughter had spoken. A frown quickly comes over her face as she comes to a conclusion. "Is it possible?"

"What is it, mother?"

"There is only one way to get identical coins, but that is impossible," she mused. Marcia knew that she would have to wait for her mother to explain it to her, and that would be unpleasant, as she was expecting her to figure it out as well.

"What is the answer then, mother." Marcia needed to know and damn the consequences.

"The Dungeon," was her answer. This confused Marcia, as her brother was no adventurer, and the Dungeon was not yet known to produce such wealth. Her mother looked over at her as she tried to understand.

With an exasperated sigh continued. "He has somehow convinced the Dungeon fairy to aid him in this."

Marcia was shocked. "But mother, that flies in the face of everything a fairy is meant to do!"

"Indeed, we need to know more. This changes everything!" Her mother was back on her feet, pacing again. "If I am correct, it is even more important to secure a hold over him as every other faction that realises this will be seeking the same or to remove him."

Marcia remained silent, listening and considering her mother's words. It suddenly dawned on her that if her brother could do this once, he could do it again. Giving him access to almost infinite wealth.

"What shall we do?" She asked. This caused Elis to pause her movement.

"Why, dear daughter, it is far time that the family comes together to make peace and work towards a brighter future for all. I will send word to your brother and father that we are going to Shadow Vale."

## ## ## ## ##

Moves and counter moves in the game centred around the Dungeon in the Shadows continued.

Ranus had made a mistake that was changing things fast. He should have asked for the money in gold as it would have been easier to hide. But that bridge had been crossed, and the consequences were now in motion.

Some expected, many not. The most important was being received in a message for the Adventurers Guild.

Albrot received it under the guild's most complex cypher and turned pale. He walked into Elian's office and sat down.

"Well, this cannot be good," Elian quipped as she put down a quill, which brought his attention back to her.

"No, it is not." He spoke bluntly, activating his anti-scrying crystal. "The boss is coming."

"Gods! Why?" She exclaimed.

"She got a report from the Merchants Guild. Ranus had Amya deposit fifteen platinum coins into his accounts."

She understood right away. "He got them from the Dungeon."

"Tests appear that they were." Albrot agreed.

"What will our reaction to this be?"

"So far, the Guild leaders and possibly the church leaders are aware. We must try to keep it that way for as long as possible."

"The news is spreading then."

"Yes." He looked like he had eaten something sour.

"Do we know how he managed this?" Elian knew this was the most critical question.

"Not yet, but we need to find out fast."

"I think we should…" Elain was interrupted by a knocking at her door. "Enter!"

A receptionist entered. "Sorry to disturb you, but Arbiter Nextom is here and wishes to see you. He claims it's urgent."

"Send him up," Elian ordered. As the door closes, they look at each other.

"Well, this should be interesting." Albrot thought out loud.

Arbiter Nextom was ushered in and looked around the room.

"Excellent, you are both here. Let me enhance the anti-scrying spell." He glowed slightly, and the air in the room seemed charged as if a storm was coming. "As you are both aware by now, Lord Goldwind has acquired a large sum of platinum coins. The Dungeon has supplied them in return for materials and books."

"We suspected this to be the reason. How has he managed to communicate with the Core? And what were the details of the exchange?" Albrot covered his surprise at the Arbiter just coming out and saying that.

"That I cannot say. The deal struck was a fair exchange that both sides could meet, so it stands as a binding contract." The Arbiter said.

"What are the Pantheon's thoughts on this occurrence?" Elian asked.

"We are awaiting the Gods final word but I was instructed to inform you of the present situation."

"Thank you, Arbiter Nextom. Is there anything thing else you can say?" Albrot asked.

"Yes, do not interfere with what has been agreed upon to be delivered to the Dungeon."

"We shall not," Albrot promised. The Arbiter nodded at this and left the room, causing the static in the air to end. "Well, that was unexpected."

"Yes, it was." Elian agreed. "But there is something else we need to discuss as well."

"What is it?" He asked.

"I am afraid for Comus." She confessed.

## ## ## ## ##

Comus was in his laboratory. The room was a mess. It was always cluttered, but never in this state.

Comus was hunched over the desk, muttering to himself. His aides were getting worried, and his appearance was degrading. He neglected himself and the potions he used at first to hide this.

His notes were scrawls of his increasing insanity. He was far down the path now, as the void corruption was spreading faster. It was unseen but now was revealing itself.

"It's the Dungeon… it all comes back to the Dungeon…. Yes, yes."

In his derangement, he found a truth that led him to the Dungeon.

"The Core… it's unseen." In the back of his mind, a pull had been growing. As the corruption spread through his body, he felt the growing need to go to the Dungeon. He was trying to understand why.

"A quick trip in the night… Find the Core and get out…. That's what needs to be done."

Destroy it.

The whisper came. "No... No... We need to understand it first."

Danger.

"Yes… but we will go ready…. It should be on the last floor."

Find it. Danger.

"Yes… we will find it…. And we will destroy it if needed."

Go soon. Destroy it.

"Tonight."

He had been isolated for increasingly long periods and was unaware of many things. He made his plans, and those who cared for him sought to decide what they could do to help him. The problem was that they were acting too slowly.

The sunset came fast, and he left the Guild building armed with the tools and results of his possession under a long coat. He thought he was being cunning, but his Guildmates noticed enough to be concerned. They raised the alarm when they confirmed the number of things missing and their nature.

He took a different route to the palisade gates, which led to the floodplain and the Dungeon. This threw off those looking for him, as he did not go home as expected.

The guard on duty was distracted, looking at a woman who had engaged him in conversation as Comus paid her to do. He slipped passed through the gates with none the wiser but the woman he paid.

Crossing the floodplain was easy, and he approached the Dungeon's surface building. He expected the first structure next to it, as the Adventurers Guild used it to monitor and control access to the Dungeon. The second was new, and he did not know its purpose.

"We are committed," he muttered as he pushed on. He walked with purpose and confidence towards the watchtower doors.

"Halt! State your business!" Barked a commanding voice.

Comus turned and found himself facing a Paladin from the Chrich of Nictor, who was standing near him, hand on his sword.

"Alchemist Guild business, sir! Please stand aside."

"I shall not. You have a sickly look to you. Wait here. Your health is to be inspected."

Comus reacted with a speed that surprised even himself. A bottle flew from him at the Paladin. The warrior was a veteran and drew his sword as the bottle approached him to knock it aside, but Comus triggered a skill, causing it to shatter, causing a green cloud to appear and cover the Paladin. The gas caused him to choke, distracting him from Comus, who ran to the doors and entered the building.