The first meeting of the Iliad continued on into the late evening with only 2 breaks for lunch and dinner. Both of these meals were served within the meeting hall though so I didn’t have a chance to sneak away and speak with anyone privately as I’d hoped. Other than a short moment of embarrassment when everyone present realized I couldn’t eat my food the meals were incredibly uneventful. It was hard to relax and make more than small talk while the king was seated just a few feet away after all.

That isn’t to say I wasn’t productive though. My lack of eyes actually made scoping out the room secretly rather painless. Of course my time was spent finding my fellow dungeon masters and getting a read on their seating arrangements. The politicians of this world place great importance on one’s proximity to each other so I could infer quite a bit based on the seating chart. Ringley for example was outwardly expressing his negative opinion about me by seating directly opposite me and my comrades. That’s not to say everyone seated across from each other were mortal enemies but one could assume they were at least neutral towards the other.

Drahok, one of only 4 nonhumans present besides my group, was surrounded entirely by merchants and craft guild leaders. This came as no surprise as the Dungeon of Minerals was one of Illia’s key sources of income. What did catch my eye though was just how business their relationship seemed. Other than sitting near him not a single human attempted to speak with Drahok the entire day. The man himself didn’t help matters either when he broke out a device eerily similar to a rubix cube and began taking it apart. Without any guards or true acquaintances I couldn’t help but think he seemed a tad lonely.

For now I decided to chalk the behavior up to Drahok’s desire to be left alone. Everything I knew about the situation regarding nonhuman politics pointed to other races being considered equal to humans. Just like on Earth a few outlier groups existed and preached superiority but they were the vast minority. Most humans are tolerant of other races but given their rarity often don’t know how to act around them. Here in a human dominant kingdom like Illia it wouldn’t be strange to go one’s whole life without ever meeting a nonhuman. This wasn’t a country where slavery was excepted either so I doubt anyone held disdain for Drahok. They simply knew he liked to be left alone and respected his choices.

In direct contrast to the stoic dwarf Calla Banely was struggling to meet new people all day and failed spectacularly. The pale skeleton of a woman attempted to strike up numerous conversations with anyone seated near her but never got farther than a few words. Everyone else was treating her this way for various reasons but most prominent of all was her smell. Being the Dungeon of Poison’s master Calla has spent most of her life surrounded by toxic fumes and substances. As such its little wonder the smell wafts of the woman herself which I theorize stems from a skill. Combined with her unkempt appearance and stigma it was easy to see why the high society types kept things strictly business.

It had been my understanding that Calla, much like Drahok or Jastog, was simply an introvert with an important position that thrust her into the spotlight. Her change in attitude towards relations however seemed spurred on by her apprentice. I’d yet to learn the young masked man’s name but he looked to be pushing Calla to meet people. Whether this was a self-serving desire to link the Dungeon of Poison, which he was on route to now inherit, with nobles or a desire to help his mentor was unclear. At the very least he was one of the more talkative types throughout the day, chiming in with a light hearted joke or comment on occasion.

The final batch I kept my eyes on were the other representatives invited by Rylen this year. The elven Glacisk tribe. While I’d been regrettably hogging the spotlight in recent months the inclusion of their tribe was just as noteworthy. Not only was the tribe completely nonhuman but their lands also weren’t a recognized part of Illia. The frozen lands north of Illia were actually considered untouchable wilderness as elven teachings considered them holy lands. Their inclusion hinted towards the possibility of more than just military assistance regarding their Blight problem. Many gossipers wondered if Rylen intended on extending Illia’s border to encompass the northern lands. Such an act would be monuments as it would be the first border expansion Illia has seen in over 200 years not including recapture of lost territory.

Glacisk had brought just 3 representatives for their first year. The first and properly seated was Chief Tushar, a broad shouldered, blue skinned, warrior dressed in elegantly cut wolf hides that just as easily fit in the council room as they would on a battlefield. What little I’d heard about the man said he was rather young for an elf at only 430 years old out of a 2,000 year lifespan and controversial amongst his own tribe. He was a proud proponent of forgoing the tradition of elven solitude having reportedly realizing he couldn’t solve their current plight alone. It had been Tushar who first sought military aid from Rylen just a few years ago.

Standing beside Tushar was his first born son General Polor who much like his father seemed dressed for battle. A tad thinner than his muscular father Polor had a large battle-axe, bow, and quiver seemingly constructed of solid ice on his back, kept behind an icy glare that sceamed he could use them. Having fought in several wars against humanity in his 348 years it was obvious Polor wasn’t as excepting of humanity as his tolerant father. No matter anyone could say regarding his behavior though not a single person present doubted his mind. While the elven tribes had never officially won against human forces, losing much of their population overtime, they’d never been completely annihilated. The long lived races tenacity could largely be attributed to Polor’s talented leadership.

Completing the elven trio was Tushar’s second born, and Polor’s sister, Flacera. Flacera was dressed in much more reserved clothing than her family with simple brown and white furs making up her coat, a coat Noire informed me to be enchanted. This wasn’t much of a surprise though as Flacera led the entire research and development division of Glacisk’s forces. Her sole duty in life was finding a way to preserve and prevent the extinction of various endangered species placed under their tribes protection millennia ago. Supposedly this position was considered somewhat sacred in elven culture as the fate of entire species was placed in her hands. A position I could somewhat relate too.

What worried me the most about the trio however wasn’t their inclusion, politics, or irreverent beauty, but their utter seclusion. Unlike me who had a few allies or neutral parties seated nearby the elves were almost completely alone. The only exclusion to which was General Corazen who’d asked me before about procuring my monsters as military mounts and oversaw the northern border. She was seated up near Rylen as a well-respected veteran but those in attendance were so desperate to show their displeasure at the elves inclusion they left a space between the elves and themselves. While Corazen was cordial and even borderline friendly with Tushar no one else even attempted to speak with them.

I’d have considered speaking with them myself as fellow first timers but the opportunity just never presented itself. Besides I spent the vast majority of my meal time conversing with my monsters regarding the seemingly endless propositions being made involving us. If I had my real body back on Earth I’d have been tired from just how often I was being made to stand. All day it seemed, no matter the topic, my dungeon’s efficiency, resources, or military was brought up. It got to the point I was asked to comment almost as much as Rylen! That’s not to say this was being done maliciously by those in attendance. My existence was just such a major event it impacted almost everything else. Combined with the disappearance of two major assets in the cores I’d taken such treatment was expected.

No matter the explanation for my busy day I was ecstatic when the bell signaling the end of day 1 finally rang. I could finally go back to the inn and take a break from all this prim and proper nonsense! Maybe I could even contact the sisters still at home and get an update on our city building project! Or work on evolving some more creatures! The Leech Hydra project was going well according to Lila so maybe I could offer some input-

“Chairman I believe our appointment near the phoenix hedge is coming up. Shall we make our way there?”

No sooner had I stood from my chair eager to go home was I sent crashing back down. It was a meeting I wasn’t required to attend, hell I didn’t even know who I was meeting, but after speaking with the others about it we agreed to at least hear them out. If whoever they were really was holding Megun or Leol hostage it would be valuable to at least know they were alive. As for absorbing them... that didn’t sit too well with me. Sure they’d wronged me but I was already working to reverse engineer their templates myself. If that didn’t work I could just pay Retic to go find me a Sprite or Imp. As level 1 free selection options they couldn’t possibly be very rare or powerful. Not that I couldn’t find a place for a monster like Makara or Ivan in my dungeon.

Hiding my boredom away from my monsters I asked Mulan and Almar to go round up the Lamia and Oni representatives from around the castle. Noire was in charge of consolidating all their progress reports for me but I’d at least try to give her enough time to hear them all out.

‘Actually I’m not entirely convinced she isn’t doing so right now through her link with them... Her work ethic scares me sometimes...’

---

Arriving at the phoenix hedge just after the sun had set I realized why this was such a good meeting place. Rather than meeting alone somewhere off castle grounds this hedge was stationed right in the center path leading out the castle doors. Meaning every single representative would have to walk passed it on their way home for the day. So it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to have a chance encounter and conversation with anyone else. Hiding in plain sight so to speak.

We wouldn’t be kept waiting long either as almost immediately after turning my back to the hedge 3 figures approached us from the right. Once the three were within range a translucent barrier one couldn’t spot unless they were actively looking appeared in the air around all of us. On the walkway beneath our feet appeared several glowing runes I’d never seen before and had a feeling anyone outside the barrier couldn’t either. Faced with a brand new magic and trio of figures trying to be discrete it didn’t take much to realize they were the Glacisk representatives. Why they’d sought me out though I had no idea.

First to address me was Tushar who said “Don’t mind the runes we’ve placed beforehand Mr. Sol. Simple protection against eavesdropping I assure you. Neither of us wants this conversation getting out just yet.”

‘He’s not lying sir. Far as I can tell this magic simply stops sound from leaking out.’

Nodding in appreciation to my magic expert I asked “A pleasure to formerly meet all of you. As for this conversation, should I be worried about keeping it private? You weren’t exactly clear as to what you wanted to speak about.”

“In case you hadn’t shown I’d have revealed more to entice you.” The old elf said with a smile “Lucky us you came along before that was necessary. This is a time sensitive matter after all.”

At this Polor turned his eyes to the side and grimaced. Whatever the matter was Polor likely didn’t approve of my involvement. Flacera on the other hand seemed indifferent. In fact she seemed much more interested in Noire than me, her eyes continuously inspecting her scales.

After I asked him to get to the point with a look Tushar said plainly “Mr. Sol my people would like to formerly request aid from the Dungeon of Seasons against the greatest threat we’ve ever faced. The Blight. Their numbers grow with every day and we won’t survive the coming year should this continue. I know it is selfish but having seen your recent demonstration of strength I ask for your help in quelling this matter.”

“I thought it might be something like that...” I muttered scratching my chin “But I’ll need more information than that. First of all what is the Blight I keep hearing about? Why is it so dangerous? And let’s not ignore the obvious chieftain, what do I stand to gain? Of course I’d love to help you guys out but almost all my resources are being poured into cementing my presence in this country. To send aid would serve to temporarily halt that.”

Slightly to my surprise Polor stepped forward and explained “The Blight is simply a collective term. In truth it’s best described as a rogue population of monsters. We don’t know for a fact where they stem from but we believe the creatures of The Blight to be the result of a curse. Most commonly this curse creates endless herds of powerful, enormous, miasma filled reindeer. Exceptions do exist like the odd bear variant but the deer are the most common.”

“A few big deer and bears don’t sound that bad gentlemen. What’s the catch?”

Narrowing his eyes Polor answered “” The Catch” is the wake of death and pollution the herd leaves as it moves. Whether it be forest, desert, or ice the herd turns it all into uninhabitable land filled with miasma. As this territory grows more and more Blights are created and join the others. From what our scholars figure they are created by the miasma itself. As this is an exponential scale you can no doubt understand the ramifications.”

I nodded “That does explain why Rylen is providing aid before it reaches Illia’s border. He hopes to finish it off sooner rather than deal with it once the herd grows uncontrollable.”

Tushar said with a solemn expression “And we are immensely grateful for Illia’s contributions to the war effort. However his aid and commitment only goes so far. While the king is proactive The Blight hasn’t reached his border yet and isn’t scheduled too for several years. As such he simply can’t justify complete support.”

“How am I any different then? My borders are even farther south than Illia’s.”

At this point Flacera spoke up “But what if they weren’t? What if your lands were in direct threat to The Blight herd?”

Taking their bait I answered flatly “I’d fight them unceasingly with everything at my disposal. Just what are you proposing?”

She continued “Given the terms of your recent Dungeon War you should have 2 Unused Cores in your possession, correct? We’d like to offer you the opportunity to plant and grow one of those cores within our lands. Naturally our people would delve into your dungeon for resources resulting in a mutually beneficial relationship over time.”

Downplaying my surprise at their knowledge of Unused Cores, as not one of my N.A.S.A. allies seemed to know they even existed, I asked back “What’s stopping me from just planting one there myself right now? Or better yet why would I seek to grow another dungeon in your territory as opposed to the richer human countries?”

Polor gripped his axe handle enraged before Tushar placed a hand out in front of his son “It is a fair question my child. Mr. Sol means nothing by it.” Addressing me next the old elf said “Frankly it would be more profitable for you to grow in another country like Chlorostail. Humans simply have more resources available to trade. We don’t have the political influence, nor the strength to be worth your time. What we do have however is our traditions and ideals.” At this point the chieftain’s eyes despite being cold as ice seemed to roar with a burning passion” You’ve no doubt heard of our sacred mission to preserve dying species? We would be willing to give several of them over to you. That is an offer you’ll find nowhere else. Along with them we also have in our custody not 1 but 2 failed dungeon masters. Of which dungeon’s they used to operate I’m not sure but I swear their legitimacy. Finally... We are a people who repay our debts. If you help us now in even 1,000 years’ time we will remember your actions. Should you ever come into conflict we will provide our aid. That is, if you save our people here in the present.”

His piece said Tushar gave a bow in my direction. This was apparently a big deal as both Polor and Flacera’s expressions grew shocked. Even I found myself caught off guard by the man’s sincerity. This was an all or nothing gamble to save his people. And the choice was in my hands.

I didn’t take long to come to a decision though. I found myself empathizing deeply with Tushar’s position and wanted to help, even if just a little. What can I say? I’m a sucker for emotional appeals.

“Noire?”

Pulling out her clipboard Noire gave a knowing smile “Yes?”

Putting a hand out for Tushar to shake I said, “Let everyone know we have somewhere to put the Dungeon of Winter.”