Lyota pulls herself to her feet, willing her spine to stand straight as she faces down the Core Guardian. She'd been a little uncertain as to whether or not her team would actually have to face the demon in combat - Core Guardians were often reserved as a combatant of last resort, only utilized when a core faced actual destruction, but it was hardly a certain fact of all dungeons. Having Sincere come to her and asking for a chat was certainly not at all what she had been expecting, however.

"Leaving your core chamber unguarded, aren't you? Not that I exactly expect another party to slip us by, but I fail to see why we deserve the honor."

As she speaks, Sincere turns an appraising eye on her, and the fury demon returns the favor. She'd been briefed on the man standing before her, of course, and found herself somewhat surprised by how clean his aura appeared to be given his age. Some stains did fade over time, but not all, and many semi-immortals tended to build up a patchwork of sins just in the process of surviving so long. Then again - the oppressive nature of the dungeon itself was still interfering with her senses to a heavy degree. As for what Sincere finds in her, his expression indicates that it amuses him.

"We're not all fools down here, you know. It's clear that you're representatives of the Dragonlord."

As Lyota freezes, attempting to come up with an answer, Lionel steps forward to play diplomat for her. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, honored Guardian. Yes, many of us are Domain citizens - but we are all registered members of the Challenger's Association. For many years, in most cases."

Sincere turns his smirk on the incubus, and gives a light scoff. "A fine choice, to answer an accusation with a truth. Indeed, I expect you are indeed all Challengers in good standing. As would be required for your cover, of course. Come now - you clearly don't have the camaraderie of an experienced party of old friends, and we're to believe that five mid-and-high-level Domain citizens just happened to all end up in town at the same time and form a party together? Besides, it's hardly as if we're unfamiliar with the Dragonlord and their interest in our operations."

Lyota finally finds the opportunity to ask a question of her own. "Even if we were sent on behalf of the Domain - would that change anything in how we manage our business here? We fought through your challenges honestly, did we not?"

The arcane demon's attention returns to her. "Of course you did. And no - you can expect no special considerations on behalf of your origins, as long as you mean no threat to the dungeon itself. We'll neither go harder on you, or easier - if you should happen to fall on one of your scouting expeditions, the Dragonlord will simply need to send superior agents to replace you. We know for a fact that they do not particularly mind casualties." As he makes the reference to Cerise's earlier visit, several members of the group noticeably stiffen, but Sincere shifts tracks before anyone can comment on it. "However, our primary issue at the moment is not the Dragonlord, or any particular snooping. It is you, Soul Lasher."

The fury bares her teeth, feeling somewhat insulted by his tone. "Me? I would not disobey orders - or Association regulations, for that matter - and I am honorbound not to destroy the dungeon's core. Why would you single me out as a problem for you?"

"Because I understand your temptation. You could give your incubus friend there all the orders in the world to stay on task, but half a dozen slimes would easily distract him from any command. You could pay me a princely sum to not open a box labeled 'Do Not Open', and at most I would last a week. In my old state, at least, I confess to not being exactly the same man I once was. But you? Your fixation on the dungeon when you arrived was not subtle."

"I..." Lyota attempts to deny Sincere's statement, but it's difficult for her on a number of levels. She could lie, as much as she dislikes the idea - being an agent of the Domain in foreign lands often requires lies of omission at the least. But aside from that, her own curiosity drives her to say something else instead. "Fine, yes! The master of this dungeon - what is she? How - it makes no sense! I have encountered serial killers with less weight on them than I feel here! And dungeons, dungeons serve a divine purpose, the lives they take barely touch them. What is wrong with this place!?"

She shouts out the final statement, and even her own party members wince at the display. Fury demons have a reputation for being rule-abiding sticks-in-the-mud in almost all situations...almost. It's said however that in certain cases they can be driven to snap, and few survivors are left behind to describe just how their kind got their name. Sincere, however, appears unaffected.

"This is no normal dungeon, I will give you that. Even I don't know her full history, and I admit that much of it is a mystery to me which I'd love to both savor and unravel. But what it is not, is any of your business. Your urges aside, your mission aside, you have no special authority or claim here. Therefore, in the interests of the dungeon's well-being, and in my role as Core Guardian, I am barring you from entering the core chamber."

Wetears can't stop himself from snorting at the statement. "You really think you could stop us, arcane? You could probably put up a fight, but I don't think you could enforce a ban. Well-reasoned or not."

Sincere turns his eyes to the goblin. "Perhaps not - this time. But I imagine your task involves more than a single dungeon intrusion, does it not? I tell you this - if the fury demon takes one step into the core chamber, you will find your subsequent visits far less pleasant. Your shortcut portal access will be denied, and we'll utilize every dirty trick to ensure you never get this close to it a second time."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Wetears is about to snap back at him, but Lyota motions for silence as she forcefully wills away the sneer on her own face. "You...you make your point, Core Guardian. What now, then? Do you demand that we reverse our course?"

The man shakes his head. "We're not unreasonable. We'll place down an exit portal for you here, and your team is welcome to visit the chamber and receive your final rewards. You may even visit Floor Five, if you wish - I know some of your party at least enjoys the amenities." He shoots a smirk in the direction of the kobold pair, and they suddenly grow a little sheepish at the reminder of the dungeon's lack of complete privacy. "The chamber ban only applies to you, specifically."

Lyota wants to argue further, demanding her rights, but somewhat to her own surprise she finds that she mostly feels...relieved. She truly wasn't entirely sure whether or not her mediation and willpower would be enough to keep her from violating her orders, and now at least it seems she won't need to find out. Still, she's hardly about to thank the man for his harsh words. "I understand your position, and agree to your terms. But there may one day come a time when I am obligated to proceed further, and if so - you will not stop me."

Sincere's smile only grows at the threat. "Well. You are certainly welcome to try."

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After the party takes their final treasures and exits, under the close eye of Sincere, the Core Guardian and his master spend a bit more time waiting together in the Floor Six boss arena. Lollyp was fortunate in that her apartment was technically a hidden part of her arena, and so she could choose to respawn in her own hammock. Floor Six lacks any such luxuries however, and when the Banshee Queen finally reappears in the center of her arena, the woman is more than a little unsteady on her feet.

"Whoa! Ah, fuck! I think that actually hurt more than the first time!" Taly spins slightly, catching her balance, and catches sight of Sincere and Xenia standing off to the side. "Ah...hey, guys. That was...dammit, how many shots did it take for them to finish me off? Like seven? I almost wish they had more punching power, if I'm gonna lose a fight anyhow."

Xenia gives a half-smile in response as she looks Taly over. She was once again in her 'default' Banshee Queen garb, her mask and bow missing, but she otherwise appeared in good health for a dead woman. "It was a bad match-up, that's for sure. Light magic versus shadow and a Bard to counteract sonic attacks? Literally got lucky, too, that's gonna be an ability to keep an eye on. Feeling alright? If it makes you feel better, Big D got stuck fighting a bunch of anti-undead holy types his first fight, too."

Taly nods, as she looks over her body to confirm her status. "Yeah, and honestly, it probably didn't even hurt as much as it should have, given it was fire attacks and all that. Still, was kind of hoping for a more impressive showing for my big debut."

Xenia nods, but repeats her question after a short pause. "You...sure you're feeling alright?"

Taly raises an eyebrow. "Eh? Yeah, should I not...oh. You're asking about how I, uh..."

Sincere fills in her statement for her. "You chose to let the fury demon live. It's not necessarily an issue, Lollyp makes choices like that every day. Assuming it was a choice."

The Rogue sighs, before taking a seat on a ledge running around the half-dome of the arena. "Thanks for putting it in a good light, but...no, I get why you're concerned. It wasn't a choice. I choked."

Xenia takes her time as she walks over, claiming a seat next to her floor boss, before looking into her eyes - or as best as she's able, given Taly's inclination to look away. "Sure, we're concerned. But not because we're worried about you being a bad dungeon monster, or something. I want to make sure you're alright. You might have technically chosen this gig, but you didn't exactly have a lot of real choice to make there. I don't want to force you into something you're not ready for."

The banshee gives a rueful chuckle, shaking her head. "It's so fuckin' weird! It took me by surprise, you know? I mean, let me put it like this, alright? I told you - I got my start in this career protecting Sely from bandit ambushes and shit like that, right? Meaning, I didn't start off with killing monsters - my first kill was a gnoll. Gnolls and humans, those made up most of the highwayman population around Highfalls. Outside of maybe some of the soldiers? I think I probably had the highest killcount of people, out of anyone down in Grassbrook before I came here. I'm - I'm a killer, when I have to be. But I've never frozen up like that in the middle of a fight before! Not even my first time!"

Xenia considers that, and purses her lips. "Sure, there's that. But it ain't all the same, is it? Bandits generally got it coming, and you were protecting your sister. But Challengers? Even ones doing it as a cover story for their side gig? You were a Challenger. And this wasn't a kill squad, at least not this time. There's not strictly a need for you to take lives, not like if it was your sister on the line, anyhow."

Taly's face turns to one of confusion. "Isn't there? We need kills to grow. We need to not have a reputation for just letting people wander on in to the core chamber. We need to be ready for if those Domain denizens do get orders to crack you open. You haven't gone pacifist since we last talked, have you?"

"I haven't - just saying, I understand the hesitation. You're right, there is a need, for all those reasons, plus the Dragonlord's expecting us to keep showing our strength. But just because you've killed people doesn't make you a killer. If you're not comfortable - we could switch you up, put you on one of the less-lethal upper floors and bring Lollyp down here, or something."

"No! I don't want to make someone else carry my burdens for me. Lollyp...maybe she is better at it than me, but I know it's not nothing to her, either. I'll toughen up, I will."

When she answers, Xenia's smile is still a bit on the sad side. "Wish I could go a bit easier on you, but the job is what it is. You're in luck though - if you're up for it, I think I do have some training ideas in mind for that."

"Well, I'm not looking forward to that at all...but, um." Taly sucks in a breath before asking her next question. "Speaking of being ready to kill...why is that fury demon so hungry for you? I know you've fought a lot over your lives, but that was mostly Hero or adventurer stuff, right? Normally that kind of violence doesn't set them off so much, or so I've heard."

Xenia's thin smile fades as she hears that question. "I...you're right on that. There's a difference between having a body count, and having...the weight of sins, or whatever she fuckin' called it. I ain't...always been on the side of the angels, Taly. More often than not, yeah, but not always. And I ain't ever been to a hell, so I guess I've never properly settled the debt."

Taly looks a little uneasy at the semi-confession, so Sincere asks for her. "Is it...something you'd like to talk about, Xenia?"

The dungeon master's smile returns once more. "Nope!"