“My lord, please. This adventuring party has just escaped a previously unknown type of dungeon. In fact it may be the blueprint for what dungeons have become. This find is remarkable. We only ask that you let us finish debriefing them.” Came the voice of Verus from the communication crystal.

“Is that you Verus? You’re a part of this rabble?” Asked Lord Pentecost as the knight to his right disarmed Ralph and held him at sword point.

“I am also here Minister. We were getting an appraisal of the danger this site now poses to the city. From what we have heard it is significant.” Said Lord Desentes from the crystal.

“Antonio? I did find it odd your son was here. I was willing to overlook his presence as long as the champion came quietly. What is this about a dungeon? I am here under the impression that this one has the gall to ignore our King’s request.” Replied Lord Pentecost lowering his hand and gently releasing Deacon from his telekinetic grip. Armand swiftly crossed the distance to Deacon to prevent him from attacking and making this situation worse.

“Are we all calm now?” Asked Jacob from the crystal.

“You see, this is what I’m talking about. They have a Canidae in charge of their Adventurers Guild. No wonder the champion is a loose cannon.” Lord Pentecost said leaning into one of his knights getting a snicker in reply. That comment more than anything earned him the iciest of glares from Deacons whole party. Then the Minister took one of the seats at the head of the table.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Deacon began to say getting to his feet but being held back by Armand.

“Is there something else we can do for you, my lord. We are still in the middle of this meeting. Can we set up some other accommodations for you while you wait?” Asked Lord Desentes from the crystal.

“No. This will be fine. Start from the beginning. I wish to hear it all. How better for me to fully explain a two-month delay in departing to the King.” Replied the Minister.

Armand managed to calm down Deacon enough that everyone sat back down. Everyone except the Knights. They remained standing to either side of Lord Pentecost. The one on the right even strapped Ralph’s sword to his side. Armand began the meeting again. Asking all the same questions as before. The scowl on Amanda’s face could melt ice. Periodically they were interrupted by a follow up question from Pentecost. The questions were always about gear or riches found within the Wode. When the answer came back as we were fighting for our lives and didn’t stop to loot crude spears, he scoffed and waived them to continue. Deacon was very quiet during the remainder of the meeting. He kept exchanging looks with Typhus across the table. Typhus’s shadow was nowhere to be found. Deacon was not idle, while the droning of words flitted across the table, he was using Polterheist to tie Lord Pentecost’s shoes together under the table. With the range increase he received from his new necklace; he could reach just about anywhere on this floor. That gave him a rough calculation of a foot for every point of Wisdom.

“That brings us to when you arrived, my lord.” Armand wrapped up.

“Troubling. A dungeon rated extreme this far south. You’ll need to keep a constant guard presence and invite higher level dungeoneers to do periodic clean outs. We don’t want it expanding too far now do we?” Lord Pentecost in a very businesslike manner relayed.

“Agreed.” Said Lord Desentes as another commotion came from down the corridor. Typhus just grinned.

“Where is he? We’ve been waiting two whole months.” Came a gruff voice from in the hallway.

Daskus Bloodbeard entered the room backed by several other Deep Dwellers from the Shattered Sky contingent. Typhus stood up, walked over to the door, and embraced his brother. They shared a deep hug and Typhus complimented Daskus’s beard.

“What’s the meaning of this dwar…Deep Dweller intrusion?” Asked Lord Pentecost getting to his feet and promptly falling flat on his face. The Knights beside him hurriedly moved to help him in what ended up being a lot of armor clattering and hand slapping. Deacon forced down a chuckle to not give away the gag. For some reason Ralph’s sword clattered to the ground in the chaos of flailing limbs. Ralph snatched it and sheathed it in one smooth motion when as he saw it floating his way.

“Lord Pentecost? I had no idea you were in here. Let me make this brief. The Stone Council would like to see the champion over a matter most concerning Dweller society. We’ll just get him out of your way and head out.” Stated Daskus as if it were fact.

“Not so fast. King Edric Reagan, first of his name, has requested the presence of Chimera’s Champion in the Crystal Cascade. He is months overdue to prostrate himself before the King. I can only imagine the groveling he’ll have to do to gain favor after this debacle.” Said Lord Pentecost now standing bare foot having had to take his boots off entirely.

“Now it looks like we have a problem. He is expected in two different places. Looks like he’s only one man. How do you propose we solve this than? Cut him in half?” Daskus asked furrowing his brow.

“Don’t be childish. Of course he’ll report to the King first then move on to the teeth.” Lord Pentecost said immediately realizing his error.

“You refer to the Shattered Sky as the teeth one more time and we’ll both be going to the Capital. Only his majesty won’t like to hear what I’ve come to say.” Daskus snarled up at him.

“For fucks sake, anybody got a map?” Deacon yelled growing tired of all this bickering.

“No one gave you permission to speak.” Snapped Pentecost.

“If that’s going to be your attitude, I’m going with the Dwellers.” Deacon shot back with a smirk assuming he scored a point.

“You don’t get to choose! Sit down.” Replied Lord Pentecost.

“Ok I’ve had enough.” Deacon said as he began sinking into the floor.

“If he leaves, slap his party in chains.” Ordered Lord Pentecost.

“Chimera damn it!” Deacon said reversing his intangibility.

“Are you done? Is your rebellious phase over now or do you still want to act like a child?” Asked Lord Pentecost.

“How about we all return to the Plateau and discuss all this at the Keep?” Asked Lord Desentes over the crystal.

“Fine by me, being this far south always gives me hives.” Said Daskus as he turned to leave through the door.

“Disgusting, naturally. We finish this conversation at the Keep, then we leave immediately. Those are my conditions.” Said Lord Pentecost rushing after Daskus. Fully armored Knights clanging down the hallway behind him.

“Did you do this with your connection to Chimera?” Tantus asked Deacon starring opened mouth.

“A second ago they wanted to do nothing but tie you to the back of the horse and ride north. Now they walked away without even addressing you. Has to be Chimera’s influence.” Ralph said obviously teasing Deacon.

“Nope. I just sat here hoping it would all just stop. So much talking.” Deacon replied.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you are still transmitting.” Jacob said from the crystal.

“I guess it’s a good thing the Kakiat Forrest doesn’t want you as well.” Elle added.

“We should all probably go while they’re distracted right?” Amanda asked.

“Yup.” Replied Armand.

On the trip back Deacon found himself alone again with his party. He figured now would be a good time to ask them what Subclasses they received.

“So, did you all get the Ward Guardian title?” Deacon asked receiving affirmative nods from everyone.

“Did you get a subclass?” Tantus asked looking around.

“I was wondering when we would get to this.” Ralph said leaning in closer.

“Ok everybody share slate through the party.” Deacon asked. He first read over the notification from Tantus.

Subclass Unlocked: Arcane Artificer- This is a subclass of Mage. The Arcane Artificer gains +20 to intellect. They also receive a 20% reduction in mana cost when creating items as well as a 20% resource cost reduction. Arcane Artificers can create items up to the fourth tier of Arcane Energy; Elemental Magic, Psychic, Holy, and Dimension. All previous class abilities will now include this option.

“Wow, that seems really useful.” Deacon said.

“I know, I can’t wait to create some new items now.” Tantus said practically jumping up and down.

“What’s Dimension?” Ralph asked.

“Well I assume that’s how you make portals and gateways. I’ll have to do a little research. Not much work is done in that space here.” Tantus replied.

“Here’s what I got. Can’t wait to get into another fight.” Ralph said getting concerned looks from everyone else.

Subclass Unlocked:Hallowed Blade- This is a subclass of Fencer, Swordsman, and Duelist. The Hallowed Blade gains +10 to Speed, +10 to Agility, and +5 to intellect. They can now imbue their weapons with holy light allowing them to project their strikes five yards per level for ten points of mana. Doing so will allow them to bypass enchantment required to hit conditions. This subclass is compatible with all previous class abilities.

“Awesome!” Deacon said after reading it.

“I assume its tied to the Goddess Astrael?” Tantus asked.

“It does say holy light. That’s the only thing specific about it. I’ll have to do some training with it.” Tantus replied before getting a new slate notification.

Subclass Unlocked: Poison Pariah- This is a subclass of Thief, Assassin, and Brigand. The Poison Pariah gains +20 to Agility and 20% poison resistance. They can also secret poisons from their body for a ten percent minimum health cost. The greater the percentage the more damage the poison will do and the longer it will last in the target's system. Ingesting different poisons will grant different poison options. This subclass is compatible with all previous class abilities.

“This is the edge I need to take down that bitch, Ruby.” Amanda said. She was still facing straight not meeting her parties eyes.

“That’s great. If I come across anything like that, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Deacon said. If he wasn’t afraid of her before he was now.

“Amanda, did you poison yourself with the darts you got from the Wode?” Ralph asked with alarm on his face.

“Of course I did.” Amanda replied without a hint of concern.

“Ok mine just created an efficiency between my sources of power. You all got major upgrades.” Deacon said pouting.

“I think you’re going need that efficiency. Things seem to go from bad to worse for you.” Tantus commented off handedly.

“Thanks for that vote of confidence bud. But I think you are right. Something’s been bugging me about a message I got from The Fates when we entered the Wode. They called me Child of Ruin. They’ve never done that before.” Deacon said.

“That’s how Elder Ruby referred to you!” Amanda said. Evidently picking up on what he was implying.

“Right. The Fates are working with Elder Ruby.” Deacon said nodding in acknowledgement.