The town of Shadow Vale is back to growing. It is not yet a city but well on its way.

Construction was happening in different sections of the community. The buildings rising were not all human now and were adding strange shapes to the skyline. Elven and Dwarven structures were under construction. The Elven building was wrapped around a tree they used magic to grow. The Dwarven was a squat square building that was utilitarian and practical in design.

Other races were arriving and making overtures to have their trade missions in the community. Ostrul had, so far, decided not to take up the young Lord on his offer. Lord Ranus entertained envoys regularly, which he was happy with publicly, but privately, he was cursing everyone who contacted him. More of these races were seen on the streets and in the marketplace.

Vulus was often seen across the town overseeing the construction of human buildings. Loggers supplied the wood, and stone cutters had a new quarry for the town. Buildings were not just going up but being rebuilt from earlier wooden ones. If things kept going at the current pace, this would take another year, maybe two. The valley was filling and the riverbank's other side was now being settled.

The number of adventurers trying to access the Dungeon was increasing, a trend that was not without its consequences. This led to longer wait times for groups, causing financial difficulties for many. The town's economy was feeling the strain, with the number of other requests from townsfolk for resources or escort helping many, but not enough to offset the growing financial burden. The new group did not pass the third floor as often. The more veteran teams were only now arriving.

Danrum was with the Watch, keeping the few malcontents in line. At first, there was trouble, but the Watch came down hard on the few adventurers stepping out of line and convinced the others to seek other opportunities. Homelessness was a problem now starting to appear within the town.

Merchants and traders were plying the river route. The Dungeon was a source of income for many, both directly and indirectly. The adventurers were a strain, as so many could not access the Dungeon, but what was coming out was the town's main source of income through the Lord's due. This tax, combined with the Adventurer Guild due, sat at one-tenth of the total haul from the Dungeon.

At first, it was pitiful, but with the resources coming from the third and fourth floor along with the tin and copper nodes, it had started to increase. The silver node added even more to the income being generated. Of course, the big earner was a hide of the third-floor boss as undamaged as possible. That brought in gold by itself.

Amya took all this in, looking out from the window of her office.

She was holding one of the endless reports on the town's finances. She did not bother looking at it anymore, as she knew its contents. The town was not looking at a financial crisis anytime soon. The silver vein was fast becoming its salvation. The average worker earned between two and five silver coins a month. Specialists could earn up to a gold coin related to their profession. Crafters and merchants could earn even more depending on their skills. This was typical for this part of the continent. Most were here to improve their paths and to be able to establish themselves before others arrived.

Adventurers could bring in a lot less or more, depending on what they were doing. She knew that she could not rely on them as constants and had to factor them into her calculations as random.

The town's three biggest exports were copper goods, spider silk, and the boss's mana-infused leather. Alchemic items were also starting to increase but had not reached the levels of the first three. Much experimentation was still going on and nothing so far had become in demand due to its unique nature.

The summer solstice was approaching with the taxes from the townspeople. The projected earnings would be more than enough to cover the expenses until the winter solstice.

"God's damn it all!" Amya muttered to herself. This job was supposed to be an easy infiltration and ruination of a lord's accounts. She had done it many times already and had an established path to follow.

Enter their service in a financial role. Study the accounts and books. Look for a weakness or manufacture one. Arrange for several bad loans from her employers to be accepted and then get out. She was never around when they came due and ensured they could not be traced to her.

It was a tried and tested method.

But not here!

Lord Goldwind was a former trader who watched his accounts like a hawk. This made it extremely difficult for her to manipulate the numbers to her needs. Every copper coin was accounted for and he scoured the ledgers if there was a tally that did not match.

This made her job far harder.

She was a professional and knew things did not always go her way. So, she settled in for the long haul on this one. It was still frustrating, but that was life.

Returning to her desk, she looked at the carefully laid reports before her. She sat down, adding the one in her hand to the pattern before her.

"What to do?"

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"Another one!" Elian exclaimed as another sheet of vellum was added to the pile. The receptionist who placed it scuttled out of the room, quickly closing the door behind her. Elian glared at the offending pile, trying to set it alit with her mind.

Elians hands were stained with ink from her quill and inkpot. The desk before her was a mountain of vellum sheets arranged into different piles that never seemed to end.

The last few weeks had passed in somewhat of a blur. The sixth floor had opened, but few were risking it. The silver node was a temptation, but it only regenerated every three days, limiting the desire to visit it. The snakes also proved to be an enemy few could handle. Higher-tier teams were arriving and she expected the floor to be visited more often.

Sighing, she went back to the report she was reading.

The Guild had been scanning the Dungeon and her scryers thought that the Dungeon was getting to the point where two teams might be able to operate within it soon. They were pretty sure that a team on the sixth would not disrupt the other five floors if there was another group on them.

That was some good news.

The number of people trying to get access was still increasing, and the list was nearly seventeen days long. This was causing problems, but the Watch was containing them for now. Every other request that was posted outside the Dungeon was snapped up within heartbeats.

Money was flowing through her Guild and her numbers were good. The other Guild Masters could not complain about that. Albrot was not here right now but had hinted that he might be forced to shift his base to the town as the number of things requiring his attention in the town was starting to outweigh other locations. Other Guilds were making similar noises.

The non-human race influx combined with the churches was now forcing their hands.

She looked around and pulled out the report on their numbers. Fifty-seven registered non-human adventurers in the town or operating out of it at the moment. That was a nearly unheard-of number this far into the continent. On the coastal Dungeons, it was more common, but here?

This number was only increasing.

Elves and Dwarven were present; their trade missions were under construction. She knew that the Gnomes, Drakon and Minoars were in negotiation to establish a presence in the town. Their first merchants and adventurers were already here.

The town's docks were being expanded again to handle the increasing river trade. A land route to the south had been established and many adventurers were finding employment patrolling the road or as escorts for those traveling.

The town's population was now looking into the neighbouring valleys and the mountains around them for new opportunities. This generated more work for unemployed adventurers. Which brought more money to her Guild and fewer problems for the Watch.

She had noticed a large number of reports of small groups being attacked. She pulled the reports out of the piles and reread them. What did this mean? She rubbed her eyes and wondered if she could seek demotion back to being an assessor.

Sighing, she returned to the nightmare on her desk.

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Many scholars and sages say that when things are going well, the forces of fate or the Gods send you an unexpected challenge. Many others would point out that when things are bad was the time more problems would appear.

If you asked the Dungeon Core Bhaldor, he would say…

"Smile, it will get worse."

But as no one could hear his answer, that was a moot point.

In the mountains, the corruption left by the Ogre's passing had spent time changing and warping the animals and plants in the valleys. It was slow at first, but it was still happening. The snake that reached the Dungeon was the closest and first to arrive, but there were many more.

What only the Gods knew was that, at the moment, the area around the Dungeon was showing the least corrupted creatures. Other regions were suffering far more, and they were on the move.

They only heard the siren call of the Dungeon in the Shadows. At first, it was a small thing easily ignored, but over time, as the corruption strengthened, it got louder, until the creature began moving towards the source.

Oceans, deserts, and ice fields blocked many, but they sought the means to cross. In the mountains, the local animal and monster population was fast learning to avoid corruption, as those who fought and lost added to their power or were, in turn, corrupted if they won.

Thrugg had become powerful, but deep in those mountains were far stronger monsters. Thankfully, none of these had been infected yet.

A local mountain lion had been watching the passing of the Ogre and had avoided it, knowing it could not win against it. It, however, was young and hungry. It had scavenged from a kill made by the Ogre and had become infected by a sliver of corruption.

The young male did not know of the danger and the corruption set to work. Over the following seasons, it spread through the lion's body. Slowly, at first, the lion fought other corrupted and won, adding to the energy within his body. The changes came over time.

The mountain lions of this region were known for living in prides like their savannah cousins. Young males were cast out of the pride until they were strong enough to claim one or die. The lions of the mountains were a light grey and were slightly tougher due to exposure to a harsher climate. They were a respected mid-tier predator in these mountains.

The first change was the white around the lion's golden eyes changed to black. It was hard to spot, but it was the first outward sign. The colour of its hide then turned a little darker and the frame below became more evident as the muscles beneath grew.

This made the lion stronger and faster.

If it were normal, the lion would seek out the nearest pride and challenge the male for it. The lion did seek out the pride and killed the male, but the lioness joined the fight, sensing the corruption and he killed them all along with the cubs. He feasted well that night.

Over time, he fought other animals and monsters, winning and getting stronger. As he did this, the call from the south got stronger. Without understanding, the lion started moving a little further south every day. The locals did not welcome it.

With every victory, it grew.

As the seasons passed, he reached the areas humans were now exploring. At first, it avoided them, studying this new prey. A group discovered him and he attacked. The two-legged creatures were more challenging than expected. They had strange hides that covered their flesh and claws that could wound him.

He emerged as the winner and ate well. He continued to grow and move south.

He encountered more two-legged prey, but there were far more, so he avoided the larger groups and ambushed the smaller ones. The number of prey was still increasing.

The pull was getting stronger and soon, he reached a new valley unlike any other. Strange things covered most of it, and the two-legged prey were here in impossible numbers. Near the entrance to the valley where he was hiding, a single thing stood taller than the others on a small hill. The lion knew that was where the call was coming from.

The prey numbers were too great, so the loin had shifted to stalking and hiding. This had allowed it to get as close as it had. Now, he needed to get to the strange, tall thing and it was overriding every other instinct.

He started to get closer.