The ghost town slums of Valkirk rose in a slapdash sprawl around the Dungeon. What had originally been a symbol of hope for the community turned into despair when the dungeon was deemed too dangerous and not rewarding enough to explore by the Delvers Guild. The certified Delvers quickly pulled out of the town, taking the merchants with them, and leaving behind only a token Guild hall, and those too poor to leave.

A lone elf staffed the remaining Guild hall. Being short, even for an elf, Enteno Savaz stood atop a small crate behind the counter. His long ears twitched in irritation as he explained guild policy to the man in front of him. Again.

“I’ve told you before Burke, Guild policy states that I can’t give you credits without you being a certified Delver and having a Class. I can exchange what you have for rations, or I can give you guild scrip at a reduced rate. That’s it.”

“The Nihilanth take you, Teno!” Burke roared “You know I can’t afford a cert!”

Teno paled. “Don’t invoke that name. Not here.”

“What, you still believe in children’s tales, Teno?” Burke sneered. “You of all people should know The Nihilanth doesn’t exist. Besides, even if it did exist, I think it would be smart enough to avoid Valkirk. It wouldn’t want to be stuck here anymore than the rest of us.”

“Don’t make me kick you out again, Burke.” Teno threatened

“You wouldn’t.” Burke whispered. “Even you can’t be that heartless, I almost starved last time.”

“I don’t want to, but that thing is very real. Before I was sent here, I heard about swathes of villages that were wiped out. I even talked to a boy who claimed to have seen it, from a distance. He wouldn’t stop gibbering about Nothing, in the shape of a man. It’s real, Burke.”

“I’ll take the rations.” Burke quietly stated, no longer making eye contact with the small green-haired man in front of him.

Enteno collected and weighed out the small copper fittings on the counter, quickly checking the book beside him before taking a few square cloth-wrapped ration packages from the shelf behind him and placing them on the counter, then hesitantly, he placed one more on the stack.

“Here you go, Burke, stay safe out there.”

Burke looked at the elf, then at the stack of rations. He quickly snatched the rations off the counter, then turned to leave, mumbling a quick, cough-like thank you on the way out the door.

Enteno shook his head as he watched the man leave. He had to walk a fine line between taking care of the people of Valkirk, and looking after the Guild’s interests. Be too stingy, and the people here are liable to lynch me. Too generous and im likely to get fired and forced to join them. He considered the circumstances that led to his posting here.

It really was just poor, cursed luck that night. Well, bad luck and bad decisions. He thought about the horse race he had bet on the week before. A sure thing. He thought about the loan he had taken out to make the bet worth his time. A negligible risk. The sure thing turned into a bust. The negligible risk turned into a hangman’s noose. The loan shark had offered him a deal, do a simple job, wipe out the debt. A saving grace. One poorly placed roof tile, and one poorly placed city watchman later, and his saving grace turned into a nightmare choice between jail or having his legs broken. He had needed to call in every favor he could, just to get this posting. Now far beyond the reach of both the city watch of Marath-Kel, and the city’s criminal element, his quasi-exile was more or less permanent. At least his sister had come with him. A pang of guilt grasped his heart. Illyana was a certified adventurer and could have made a decent living anywhere else. Instead, she lived here.

A chill ran through him. Winter must be coming early. Located in the bowl of a mountain, Valkirk was colder than usual in the winter, but was also sheltered from the worst of the storms and winds in the area. Leaving without major preparations was generally regarded as suicide, as once outside of the bowl, travelers had to not only deal with freezing winds but also wild animals, wandering monsters, and the difficulties of navigating out of the mountains. Once out of the mountains, things got better, but it was still several weeks of travel before reaching civilization proper.

A cold breeze swept in as the door opened, striking the bell at the top of the door frame. Enteno looked over at the door and wished he had installed a back door into the guildhall. It was his sister, and she looked pissed. “Hey, Illyana-”

“Don’t you ‘hey Illyana me.’” she began, “I hear you threatened to kick out old Burke again.” The light cascading tones of the elvish language did little to soften the anger she projected. “What did he even do this time? You know the Guild is the only source of food for pretty much everyone here, right? It’s not like he can just pack up and leave.”

“He said the Nothing Man’s name, Illyana. Twice.”

“Oh.” she suddenly deflated. “I’ll talk to him. Just stop threatening to kick people out, Teno, it’s not fair to them.”

“Ok, but im going to start threatening them with you.” Enteno stated flatly.

“That’s fine. It won’t work though, the people here love me too much.” She said, a smug grin growing on her face.

“That’s only because you give them half of your rations.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do, let them starve?”

A heavy silence hung between them as they both considered their relatively good fortune. Illyana shifted uncomfortably, then spoke.

“I didn’t just come here to yell at you about Burke. I found some work.”

“Well, that’s wonderful! What is it?”

“I’m going to be scouting ahead of the Guild’s research team in the dungeon.” She stated, not quite making eye contact with her brother.

“Well, you’ve done that before. What’s different this time?” He asked. “You don’t normally tell me about your dungeon runs.”

“We’re going deep.” She stated, suddenly making eye contact

“Oh.” He stated, “Oh no.” Realization sunk into the lines of his face. “How deep?”

“Maybe deep enough to find something new. One of the researchers thinks there might be a way to stop the dungeon from shifting. If we can do that, the dungeon would be viable again. The adventurers would come back.”

“I don’t like it, it’s too dangerous.”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.” They stared each other down, neither willing to give ground.

Enteno broke first. “Just be safe.”

“I will be, you know that.” She flashed a slight grin. “Besides, I’ve got to keep you out of trouble.”

Enteno smiled back. “Yeah, I suppose you do.” He hopped down from his position at the counter. “Well, if you’re going to be delving, I’m going to close early tonight.” He walked to the door, opened it, and took a look outside. Only the tall ramshackle huts and a deepening dusk greeted him. He stepped back inside and turned his open sign around. “Hey, you got plans for dinner tonight?”

“Yes, but only if you’re making it.”

A thousand miles away, Nothing in the shape of a man walks along a desert. It neither thirsts nor hungers. It does not feel the sun that scorches the sand around it. It hears a whisper of its name, once, then twice, carried to it from far away. It changes direction and continues walking.