4.7

Lena

Feeling petty and selfish all the while, Lena had put off opening the Priesley's Folly entrance for a few days. She had wanted the time for her friends to recover from helping her clean up the mana allocations, and to get to know just who and what she had added to her domain.

The ethical implications of being an actual Dungeon Master had been hitting her hard, and she could only build so much to distract herself before their new reality came into play. Even before linking to the older dungeon, she had been talking with Candy and Aaron, and to a lesser extent Rob as well, about the morality of creating creatures for the defense of their dungeon.

When she tried to bring it up with Jason, his answer was, "It bothers you, so don't do it. We'll figure something else out." He wouldn't even let her get to the point of discussing it. As far as he was concerned, she was some damned delicate flower that shouldn't be stressed with the demands of survival.

Rob's response had been more along the lines of, "Why wouldn't we use every tool at hand?"

Candy and Aaron had understood a lot better what Lena was trying to figure out. Rhofhir was not Earth, not by any stretch of the imagination, and they now lived in a world without their familiar civilized insulation against violence. The dungeon gave them power and made them a target all at once. Just how much could they sacrifice of their civilized selves to survive before it wasn't *them* surviving anymore? What was their line in the sand?

Aaron had advanced his [Tapestry Reading] to [Tapestry Synchronization] with helping Lena figure out what the system they now lived under considered the necessary functions of a dungeon. Candy helped some, too, but she had been busy working with Sha'lanadi on how to get the zone cores to work outside of the Studio.

After the linking, well, Lotrot had their problems and desires for the dungeon, and out of the blue, they got Brad back, but not like they had ever expected.

The town of Priesley's Folly needed to be addressed. Jason wanted to focus on Brad and Dibbs, but she needed him handling the negotiations she could not get to. By this point, she was done with the gentle approach. She would yank him into fulfilling his contract if she couldn't just point him where she needed him. It sucked having to put on her boss hat, and worse with Jason, but she needed partners and employees, not knights in shining armor. If he wasn't going to trust her to handle her side of the business, he wasn't her partner, and she didn't really have a choice about being the boss — it was her dungeon, after all.

Perhaps if her dungeon was not also her new body, Lena could have stepped back and taken on the subordinate role. Both Jason and Rob were older and had life experience that she didn't. That wasn't the case, though. They could all walk away, go explore this new world, and make their places on their own merits. Lena couldn't walk away, nor had she been raised to pretend she wasn't responsible for her choices.

Every order to every contracted creature went through her. She couldn't pretend that every life was just as valuable to her, no matter the civilized part of her that demanded she acknowledge her responsibility to all the creatures dependent upon her, or the irreplaceable value of even her enemies' lives. Lena knew that she would sacrifice every other creature in her dungeon for the lives of her cousin and her friends.

Lena already knew what she had to do.

As soon as Jason said his goodbyes to Crafts Master Gilvillian, before he had a chance to leave the [Lotrot Training Floor], Lena said, «It's time to open up the entrance to Priesley's Folly. Do you want to be present immediately, or give them a chance to react first?»

Jason's head fell back and he glared up at the ceiling. «They can wait!» he snapped.

«No, they can't. The block before that portal needs to come down, and I don't have a way to make it an exit only.» Lena wanted to snap back at him, but she had to be the reasonable one.

«Brad matters—»

«—A hell of a lot,» Lena cut in. «*But* his situation is not as urgent as the Folly. I have been trying to drive that point home to you. We have him back, and Candy's got his back. The mages are contained. The Folly is not.»

She watched the corners of his jaw bulge as he bit back whatever his first response had been. «Lena, you're acting erratically—»

Oh, he did not just go there! Lena wasn't ready for the conversation that would need to follow, but it looked like her liaison needed to have his own shortcomings held up. «Jason, I am not your mother, and I will not accept you treating me the way she trained into you. Now, do your damned job!»

*~*~*

Inthe Adventurers Association Guild House at Priesley's Folly …

"The way has been blocked off for over a quarter moon! We have orders backlogging! It was better for us when the dungeon was a monster pit because at least we had access to it! Do you have any idea of the cost everyone in the Folly is paying thanks to you shutting off all access to the dungeon?" The speaker, a half elf cat kin dressed in well cared for leather armor, slammed his fist on the reception counter to emphasize his point.

The guild receptionist, a young naga, was leaning back, hands up in a warding off gesture toward the irate adventurer. Atolandr took in the scene with a glance and his Defender design kicked in. He was suddenly between the cat kin half breed and his employee, using his bulk to send the adventurer stumbling back several steps.

"First, you are now on probation for threatening a guild employee. Piss in my guild again if you really want to be guild-less. Next, *we* are not responsible for the containment ward that is blocking the dungeon portal! Shasha wasted politics got us that, and we're still tracking down the idiots who thought the Sun Emperor could really give them control of *our* dungeon. Last, but by no means least: do *you* know anything about who would be stealing control cores from the dungeons? Because those wasted knobbers are the root of our current problems and making mana stones from their corpses would be a lot more profitable use of your time than screaming at a registered Soccer!" Atolandr's voice rose as he berated the adventurer, until he was leaning into the adventurer's face and bellowing out his own rage.

The adventurer's ears flattened, but he took the reprimand without bowing his back. "What's the bounty on the core thieves?"

Atolandr straightened up and forced himself to calm down. "The Association just raised it to 10,000 carats over 20 gems."

There was a respectful hush in the lobby as the sum was named. Carats weren't quite on a par with ingots, but they were close, and for the adventurous types, more useful. The carat standard used for currency was a measure of weight used with gem quality mana stones. The smallest of the currency gems weighed in at 10 carats and was equivalent to two gold branches. A standard ingot, for comparison, was the equivalent of 10 gold branches. Their significantly lighter weight and smaller volume would have been enough for adventurers to like them over gold, but in a pinch, the gems could be used to empower their skills and spells. They would lose the radiance that made them currency, but what good was money you didn't live to spend?

"I'll keep an eye out. What's happening to get access to the dungeon back?" the half elf cat kin asked.

Atolandr stretched his neck and worked his jaw to ease some of the anger inspired tension before he spoke. "We've sent for mages from the nearest unaligned academy to inspect the barrier for weaknesses. They're due here in couple days."

One of the adventurers crowding the lobby asked, "Why do we have to send for mages?"

"Because of wasted Shasha politics," Atolandr growled. "The ones in the Folly that aren't affiliated with the Sun elves are merchant specialists, and they've already told us that it's a wasted knobby barrier, so sad, but there's nothing they can do about it. The Sun elves say that the Folly is worth losing if the dungeon can't be fixed, and they're 'giving it time' for the fix to take effect."

That led to a general grumble, and Atolandr, as the Guild Master for Priesley's Folly, gave his members a chance to turn their frustrated fury toward the Empire of the Sun. The time was nearly ripe for him to speak again when a runner burst into the lobby and caught sight of him.

"The barrier's down!" the runner gasped out, then was nearly trampled by the exodus of adventurers heading to see for themselves.

Atolandr had to push his way through the gathering crowd to get to the guards stationed by the portal, guards who had already had to lower spears and deploy shields to keep from being swarmed.

Activating his [Echoing Voice] skill, Atolandr faced the crowd and roared for silence. Getting it, he said, "We have no idea what's happened in the dungeon during the time it's been closed up, so I want a raid crew gathered and ready for anything! We'll start with twenty in, twenty on reserve. I want parties at tier 8 and up for the initial delve, tier 6 for the reserve! The sooner you move your asses, the sooner we can get back to clearing our dungeon!"

Most of the people at the back turned around and went to spread the word, but most of the ones up front started bug eyed behind Atolandr, hands reaching for weapons. His [Danger Sense] was quiet, however, so the guild master pivoted with controlled precision to see what was scaring his adventurers.

The first thing he saw was a pack of Advanced Armored Shadow Wolves. They rather dominated the view. Then he saw the humanoid male wearing odd clothing, and then he recognized Starry Night, the matriarch of the hemat wolf pack that lived in the dungeon, sitting calmly by his side. They were just on the other side of the portal.

Starry Night arou'd a greeting, her tone relaxed and confident, amused even.

Two of the hemats bonded to members of his guild pushed and wiggled their way forward, bounding into the dungeon to the matriarch's side. They went through the ritual exchange of scents, and then raised their noses toward the Shadow Wolves. Starry Night introduced them, and the alpha of the Shadow Wolves went into a play bow to take the scents of the adventurous hemats.

"Quill says the Matriarch holds dominance over the Shadow Wolves," a voice breathed behind him, sounding as shocked as a copper golem in a lightning storm.

"Hello there," the humanoid said. "No need for weapons. May I speak with whomever is in charge over there? We have some Terms of Service to work out."

Atolandr sucked in a deep breath. "I'm the Guild Master of this branch of the Adventurers Association. Who the wasted knob knockers are you?"

"Sha'lanadi and Sha'dakai didn't tell you about bringing the dungeon of Priesley's Folly back to equilibrium? Why don't you call over your city mayor or council, or whoever actually runs things?"

A light wraith appeared beside the man. It took the form of a young woman with round ears and an annoyed expression. The figure first looked at the man, whom Atolandr just noticed also had round ears, then let the annoyed look fade into something that was more neutral as she turned to him. "Guild Master, please pardon my liaison. It seems he critically failed his Diplomacy check."

A chair materialized just inside the dungeon, an interesting design with a backrest and space for even a lizard kin's tail to wag. It scooted out of the dungeon as the light wraith gestured. "Please, let's be seated and discuss just why we're both here, on each side of that portal."

"It looks to me like you intend to invade my guild hall, and from there my city," Atolandr said, more to gauge their reaction than because he believed it.

"We believe it is the duty of civilized beings to seek peace before resorting to war. At this time, we have no reason strike at you." As the wraith spoke, the Shadow Wolves slid back into the dungeon, away from the entrance, leaving Starry Night and her pack standing with the humans.

Atolandr watched Starry Night stretch out at the wraith's feet, the picture of peace. He [Analyze]d the chair, found it to be harmless, and took the proffered seat. Another one grew out of the ground for the man. The light wraith simply folded her legs under her skirt and floated at a sitting height.

"My name is Lena Weston, and I am the Design Lead of the Studio of Capricious Dreams. Time is difficult to track in a dungeon so I believe it was about 25 days ago that a trio of Sun elves invaded my domain looking for an auxiliary zone control core…."

*~*~*

Jason

"I am not your mother." Lena's words wouldn't stop echoing in his head. Damn straight Lena wasn't anything like Diane Pershing-Kline. His momma was a spoiled, manipulative bitch. Lena didn't play games, she didn't take anyone on a guilt trip, and she certainly never volunteered someone else to do her dirty work. If anything, Lena tried to take on too much.

The sting of her apology over his blunder might be something he had to own — no, no might. He had to own that screw up or he wouldn't be able to look himself in the mirror. He had to own his blunder, and he did not like the sting he felt at both the rebuke hidden in her apology and the disappointment he could feel from her over the G.C.

Just, Jason had been talking so God damned non-stop that he didn't know what was going on with the dungeon management side of things. He wasn't sure what he wouldn't give to just get a moment to decompress, get his bearings. He needed Rob to figure out how to step up with all this endless talking and talking and talking. Aaron had taken on Candy wrangling duty, and more power to him for that, but Lena was stuck in the nexus of all their diplomatic dysentery. She wasn't Wonder Woman. Worrying over her was probably the most stressful part of all of this whole thing with being teleported to another world.

Hell, if it weren't for the need to protect the girls, Jason thought he might actually really enjoy this. A whole new world to explore? One with cat girls and griffins, gnomes and elves? And magic, real honest to God magic!

Jason's eyes were still sweeping over the other side of the portal to the Folly even as his mind ran in tired circles. He noticed the arrival of a delegation of Sun elves and another group mostly made up of cat kin.

Lena paused her recounting to greet each group and provide them with chairs. Sha'dakai and his companions Jzun and Zair came with the Sun elves. The way the silent Sun elf avoided meeting his gaze raised the hairs on the back of Jason's neck.

*** *** ***

You have unlocked [Danger Sense]. +1 ACU

*** *** ***

That was far from a comforting notice.

When the last cat kin took his seat, he looked around and said, "I think we have more than enough people here. Atolandr, would you mind clearing out your adventurers?"

"Yes, I do mind. They have more right to be here than the Sun elves. Unless you want to ask the long ears to leave?" Atolandr cocked a brow ridge at the cat kin.

The cat kin pursed his lips, sighed, but said no more.

An older Sun elf, judging by the creases on his skin, crossed his legs at the knee and leaned back. He ignored the guild master and the cat kin. "Let us dispense with frivolities. Our diviners have ascertained that you have, in deed, tamed the dungeon of [Priesley's Folly]. What is the price for your assistance in taming the other dungeons with missing core stones?"

Jason stepped in. "What is your position with the Sun Court, Seir elf?"

"I'm not asking on behalf of the Sun Court," the elf countered.

Lena sighed. "Did you know that dungeons bring in new mana, filtered and refined from what you call the Primal Chaos, to replace the mana that gets vented by just about every living being on Rhofhir? Their stability is key to staving off Unravelings. My friends and I, we're still working on discovering what the 'Summoning Protocol' entails, but it seems to be the first step in an Unraveling. If the autonomous intake of mana is disturbed, it kicks off this 'Summoning Protocol', the same if mana fails to properly vent out of the Tapestry and back into Primal Chaos. At this time, the Grand Tapestry tells me I am the only sapient Zone Arbiter. What do you bring to the table?"

Jason tried very had not to react to that bombshell. «Is that true?» he demanded.

«Every word,» Lena promised him. «Brad had some scroll books that got Candy asking the right questions. If you weren't so focused on Dibbs, getting a word in edgewise about it would have been a lot easier.»

«What are you asking for?» he asked, the accusation forming in his hind brain changed at the last minute.

«We need help, and we need some kind of world spanning agreement on the management of dungeons. I think the Adventurer Guilds may be our best bet, but we also need other interested parties to help govern how dungeons are managed.»

Relief washed through him, then upset at himself that Jason had even thought Lena might have been willing to hold a world captive for profiteering.

"That's the theory," one of the cat kin delegates said.

"What do you want?" the Sun elf said.

"Candidates to take over management of the other dungeons, preferably ones that already know how to communicate without a body. I could just link to each dungeon individual and absorb it, but then I'm stuck managing it, and the requirements for me to regain a physical form are already insane." Lena delivered that statement with such an innocent perfunctoriness that he felt both proud to call her friend and worried at her naivete.