The dungeon camp had been set up quickly, focusing on function rather than form, so it had been quite a bit of work for Katherine to prepare a venue suitable for a welcoming party for the Bishop, especially given the time frame of only a few hours. But in the end she managed, and just in time too. She stood clad in her proper Hallmaster regalia for the first time since arriving at the site, and watched as the procession of Order Justiciars approached through the trees, with half a dozen carriages in tow. She wasn’t proud of it, but she took a little pleasure in watching them struggle through the still relatively wild terrain. There was somewhat of a path of course, or they wouldn't have been able to get their own supply carts through the woods. But it wasn’t a road, and there was a marked difference between a carriage and a cart in what type of terrain they could handle. Not to mention the difficulty it was presenting to their normal marching formation. She could tell they were trying their best to not let it show that the terrain was affecting them, but in so doing they made it all the more obvious.

She schooled her face. Annoyed though she was at this whole affair, she had to present herself properly as a Hallmaster of the Guild. It wouldn’t do to have a high Tier take any pleasure at the misfortune of her juniors, even if they were from the Order and here to try and lay claim to what should be the Guild’s priority. Especially since she knew they were only here due to the Bishop’s whims, and not on their own accord. That much was obvious even from this far away, going by the annoyed frowns on some of their faces.

She turned towards Yerin who stood behind her on her left side, also clad in the official garb of the Guild. A dark blue shirt and trousers covered by an even darker blue vest lined with golden stripes, and the crest of the Guild embroidered in actual gold thread on the chest, all underneath a light blue cape billowing slightly in the breeze. It was all a bit too pompous for her taste, but that was the cost of playing politics. A necessary evil to enable the Guild to get what it wanted from the world. That was what she told herself anyway.

“Any word on the Bishop’s arrival?” she asked. Yerin furrowed her brows slightly and shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. He’s flying directly over the forest, and it isn’t like we have an easy way of tracking his location from here. But judging by when he left and his normal flying speed he should have been here already. I don’t know what’s keeping him.”

“He might want to time his arrival together with the procession, make a spectacle out of it for his people.” Samuel said from Katherine’s other side.

“That does sound like something he’d do.” Katherine sighed, and turned back towards the incoming arrivals. Nothing to do but wait, then.

Luckily she didn’t have to wait long, as it turned out that Samuel had been correct. The procession stopped when they were a couple dozen steps or so away from her, and she heard a whisper from Samuel.

“He’s here.” Samuel needn’t have bothered in this instance.

Not being a magic focused class herself, she normally wouldn’t be able to feel someone using their Skills unless they were well below her in Tier, which the Bishop was not. What he was doing however was outright flaunting and exaggerating the effects of using the Skill, making no effort to hide its effect on the surrounding mana whatsoever. Even without anything resembling a [Detect Magic] Skill Katherine could feel it like an invisible wind rushing all around her. She looked up to see the man in the sky above them, a pair of glowing wings of light behind his back, illuminating his white and silvery Order robes as he descended towards them. She snorted. A spectacle indeed. The Bishop landed in front of the procession, then he and a few of what she thought was to be his higher Tier members walked the final steps up to Katherine. She remained where she was; as the host it was her right to be approached after all. And while she was waiting she studied Nicomedes closely, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Unlike most people, he didn’t seem young, as revealed by a faint graying at his temples and wrinkles around his eyes. To Katherine they always made it seem like he was smiling slightly, possibly at her expense, but she didn’t know if she was just not used to people that had actually aged. Most people she saw on a daily basis were either high Tier themselves or actually young enough to not look old yet. There weren’t that many who chose a slow and safe life where they didn’t Tier up much, and even rarer were those who changed their minds to join the Adventurers Guild after they already looked older. Adventurers typically died young, and those that didn't still looked young. Neither would result in someone seeming their age. It was a minor thing, perhaps, but it still made dealing with Nicomedes slightly more uncomfortable for her. Not that she could let him learn that, of course.

“Bishop Nicomedes.” She said and bowed her head slightly. “Welcome to the Dungeon outpost. Apologies for the rather plain reception, but we had no idea you were coming.”

The Bishop waved a hand with a smile.

“Do not worry yourselves about a lack of ceremony on my part. I was never one for such trivialities anyway.” He frowned. “It is unfortunate that you weren’t informed earlier though, as there should have been a missive sent several days ago.” He shook his head and his smile returned. “There must have been a mix up in communication somewhere between our two organizations. No matter, I am sure whatever you have planned will be more than good enough for me and mine.”

“Thank you, Bishop.” Katherine said with a smile of her own, inwardly though she was frowning. There was no way Nicomedes hadn’t delayed the message on purpose. And now he was being all benevolent and understanding about the ‘mix up’, which was no doubt so he’d have an advantage in whatever else he had planned to do here.

“If you would direct your men to follow Yerin, she will direct you to an area for your people to set up their things. I’m sure your people are all quite tired from the journey, so we have prepared quite the feast for tonight.”

Nicomedes laughed. “Great, great. Your generosity will not go unappreciated, I assure you.”

“I would expect nothing less from the Order.” Katherine said. “In the meantime, if you would like to follow me, we should have a discussion about how to proceed. Leader to leader.”

“That would be pertinent. Lead the way.” Nicomedes said with a nod.

**

“So,” Katherine said once they were seated in her private office and the door was shut. “What are you doing here?”

Nicomedes blinked, seemingly surprised at her bluntness, but soon smiled and shook his head in what Katherine felt oozed faked sadness.

“Ah, I had wished to avoid this part.” He said. “I know our organizations have had some issues in the past, but not everything has hidden meanings and secret agendas. Alright, I will be upfront.” He sighed. “I am merely here to add support and join forces in the delving of this new Dungeon you have found. But rest assured; I am aware your organization still has priority. Again I simply wish to offer my support in what has come to seem an unusually difficult Challenge.”

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“Uh-huh.” Katherine said. “Well in that case I would thank you for the offer, but I think the Guild has it covered.”

“Are you certain?” Nicomedes said. “I’ve heard you’ve lost several people during these last few days, and have yet to succeed even a single Challenge. I’ve brought some of my brightest here, all the way from Tiers 1 up to 3. We’re eager to help, all you need to do is ask.”

Katherine shook her head. “Thank you again, but I’m afraid I have to continue to decline. We already have a packed Challenge schedule, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be the reason one of mine couldn’t undertake theirs.”

“Ah, that would be unfortunate of course.” Nicomedes said. “One's Challenge is a sacred thing that shouldn’t be interfered with.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Katherine said.

“Though I have heard from some that what you’re doing isn’t considered a proper Challenge; that many of your parties are giving up before even trying to fight the Guardian.”

Katherine frowned, and Nicomedes hastily added. “I’ve made sure to try and rebuke my own people whenever I’ve heard them speak about it of course, but you know how the younger ones can get about these things. And even though I am a Bishop I can’t exactly stop people from talking." He shook his head. "I’m just worried that the rumors will harm your station here.”

“I see…” Katherine said. Nicomedes nodded.

“It’s unfortunate that rumor holds such sway over peoples minds, but it’s the world we’ve been given. It’s up to us to deal with it the best we can.”

“That we can agree on.” Katherine said. “But you needn’t worry. A few rumors aren’t enough to hold any sway on the Guild.”

“Naturally.” Nicomedes nodded. “I know very well the strength of the Guild as an organization.” He paused. “It’s more the junior members themselves I’m worried about. They and others might get the wrong idea about how the Guild handles itself. Or…” He cut himself off with a sad shake of his head.

Or being careful might spread into your ranks, you were going to say. Katherine thought. The Lady of 'Wisdom' forbid that ever happen.

She kept that from showing on her face though, and instead asked. “So what would you do about these so dangerous rumors then?”

“Of course I’d start by sending as strong a team as I can get to fight with the Guardian. Nothing quells rumors about weakness faster than success.”

“But it would be the Order's success, not ours.” Katherine pointed out. “Might it not instead seem like we ran to you for help if you did that?”

“Ah, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me.” Nicomedes said. “Apologies. I was stating what I would have done if I was the one these rumors had been about. You would of course send for the strongest Tier 1 Guild party that can get here quickly enough. I’m sure there are more than a few options to choose from that aren’t here already.”

“Of course there are”, Katherine said quickly. “I’m afraid they’re all busy on missions already though, and I’m not petty enough to interrupt other important work for something as small as a rumor.”

Nicomedes stared at Katherine for a few seconds, tapping his fingers on his thigh as if waiting for her to continue, then burst out laughing when it became clear that she wouldn’t.

“I guess I should’ve known better.” He said with a shake of his head.

“What are you talking about?” Katherine said.

“I was waiting for you to realize what I was suggesting; that my people play the part of yours. That way progress can continue without any rumors spreading. No egg on your face, I get to help. It’s a win-win.”

Katherine blinked. “How on Nerian-Silex could you think I’d ever make that offer? I feel insulted that you even considered me thinking that would work.”

“I guess I owe you an apology then.” Nicomedes said. “I guess your aversion to playing the game has given me an unfairly jaded view.”

“Just because I dislike it doesn’t mean I’m a complete idiot.” Katherine muttered, crossing her arms.

“Fair enough.” Nicomedes said. “I won’t beat around the bush any longer then, though I had hoped to avoid using this.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a small piece of parchment and handed it over to Katherine. She unfurled it and read its contents, her frown growing deeper the more she read. Once she was done she leaned back in her chair and stared up at the ceiling.

“If you had this, why bother with the theatrics in the first place.” She asked tiredly, facing Nicomedes once again. He shrugged.

“I wanted to see if I could get what I wanted without using it. A favor like this is a precious thing, after all. Better to save it for when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Katherine thought for a moment, tapping the note on her desk absentmindedly as she did. She couldn't get out of it, not with this note.

“...Why do you want to help with this Dungeon so badly?” She asked. “There are plenty of stronger Dungeons the Guild has domain over, not just priority access. Surely the Order would be better served with you gaining access to one of them?”

“This isn’t a favor for the Order. It’s a favor for me, and I would disagree with that statement." Nicomedes said. “And I’m pretty sure you would too.”

Katherine sighed. He knew everything, then. “What do you want?”

“I’m not here to be the 'villain' who steals things out from under the Guild. I don’t want exclusive access or you to leave or anything like that. That’s how rumors get started.” He smiled slightly as if he’d said something funny then continued.

“What I do want is a partnership, of sorts, where the Guild grants us access to Challenge the Dungeon, and we will of course provide fair compensation to the Guild in return. I won’t even ask for an even split of time during the priority period, but something like one or two Challenges a week for my people.”

“That’s it?” Katherine frowned. “That's a bit of a waste of a personal favor from the Guildmaster, don’t you think?”

Nicomedes grinned. “I know, right? Hopefully the Guildmaster thinks so as well when he hears about this.”

Katherine paused, then placed her face in the palms of her hands with a groan.

“Alright, whatever. Seems like you win no matter what.”

“Now, don’t think like that.” Nicomedes said. “The way I see it, everyone wins here.” He snapped his fingers.

“Tell you what, I’ve got a great idea. We can be responsible the first Challenge of the later Floors. Up to Tier 3 at least. You guys do those ‘investigations’ beforehand anyway right? We could take that spot. My people like as pure a Challenge as possible, so we wouldn't have used the information your investigation would have gained anyway.”

“That… That could actually work.” Katherine said slowly. She thought for a moment. “Yeah, depending on the compensation I could spin that.”

“Great.” Nicomedes said with a grin.

“There are still a ton of details left to hammer out before we can come to any proper agreement though.”

“Of course. I have nothing but time.”

Before Katherine could get started though the door burst open and a harried looking Yerin rushed in.

“Hallmaster! They die…” She caught herself as she finally noticed Nicomedes sitting there, and her eyes opened wide and she clamped her mouth shut.

“Yerin? What happened? Don't mind him and tell me.” Katherine asked in alarm. Yerin quickly got herself under control.

“It’s Garie’s party. They were supposed to be out half an hour ago, and we just sent someone in to check…”

Katherine felt a freezing chill ominously travel up her spine. This could not have happened at a worse time. She clenched her hand to a fist.

“Is it a…?”

Yerin nodded with a mournful look on her face.

“It’s a party wipe.” She said.

Katherine swore, then turned to Nicomedes, but he spoke up before she could.

“Seems it best I leave you to it. We can continue this at a later time.” He said and stood.

“Thank you.” Katherine said gratefully. The Bishop nodded, then paused at the door. “And let me know if you want a vigil for your fallen party. It would be the least we could do.”

"I will be sure to do that." Katherine said.