“...the Iron Mountain Sect’s library.” Entherys whispered the words. There wasn’t much else he could do at this point.

Serenity didn’t feel sorry for him. Compared to what he intended to do with (or, more accurately, to) his “loving wife” Andarit, Entherys hadn’t suffered much. Serenity wasn’t even certain he’d broken any bones. He hadn’t needed to.

It probably wouldn’t have even helped. After all, beating him up wasn’t how Serenity got him to talk. That just made him stubborn. No, Serenity got him to talk by getting him to tell his story to Andarit. The fact that she was unconscious didn’t seem to matter; Entherys simply wanted to boast to her about how clever he was.

Serenity wouldn’t have taken the time if he didn’t have Blaze available to heal Andarit when they got out; head injuries were nasty and repeated unconsciousness was a bad sign. She was nowhere near death, which meant Blaze would be able to heal her when they got out. He’d have Ita make a portal if necessary. He didn’t think it would be, but it was better to be prepared.

Fortunately, Serenity now had the whole story, as sordid and stupid as it was. While assigned to work in the library (Entherys said it was in recognition of his superior organizational skills, but Serenity suspected it was an unsuccessful attempt to teach him humility), Entherys found an old journal. He stole it (though he said “borrowed”) and was still reading it when he learned about Andarit’s visits.

The next time she visited, he killed a dungeon to get its core. He then sent a note to Andarit to lure her to the dungeon entrance, surprised her, hit her over the head, and dragged her into the dungeon. He couldn’t take her far, so he hid her in a cave near the entrance, locked the dungeon, and waited for her to wake up.

He didn’t have a plan for what came next. In fact, he seemed to think that everything would be fixed as soon as Andarit “admitted” she actually loved him and wanted to marry him. He’d just walk out of the dungeon and be able to go home.

Naturally, he blamed his failure on Serenity instead of on his own actions.

Serenity searched Entherys for the old journal. It wasn’t hidden; instead, it was carelessly rolled up in one of Entherys’s pockets. Serenity winced, then opened it and skimmed through it.

A diagram caught his eye, a balanced magical circle. Serenity read the text around it and winced; it was the planned layout for a set of dungeons “to be placed upon the peak of a mountain I have discovered, one that has a rare refraction in the ley line that may allow me this Grand Experiment”. The journal seemed to have been written by the man who set up the dungeons on Iron Mountain. Serenity definitely wanted to read it in more detail later.

He didn’t have time right now. Right now, there was a problem: all of the dungeons were needed to keep things balanced, including the one Entherys had killed. Serenity wasn’t certain if he should try to fix that or even if he could try to fix it. Whether or not he could do anything, he would want to look at the location where the dungeon once was. Even if he couldn’t fix it, he might learn something.

Serenity glanced over at the unconscious Andarit and sighed to himself. He’d need to bring her and Entherys’s body out, but he couldn’t kill the boy yet. Not unless he was willing to continuously carry him; if he left a body sitting around, there was a chance the dungeon would try to claim it, and he couldn’t let that happen in this case.

On the other hand, perhaps he should just plan to carry the body? Carrying an alive, aware Entherys wouldn’t be any easier.

No, he’d better finish everything he needed to here first. The weight wasn’t a problem but the awkwardness definitely was. He also needed to carry Andarit and that was going to be hellaciously difficult. He’d need to take the fast way out anyway, and that meant he needed to handle Entherys before he left the cave.

Serenity searched the edge of the cave and found the cracked, dull-looking crystal that was once a vibrant dungeon core. It was dead; he could see the Death-affinity mana and essence that clung to it. There wasn’t much; nearly everything had been used in the attempt to control this dungeon. Even so, there was a spark of something remaining in the empty shell of a dungeon core that made Serenity wonder if he could use it to make another dungeon.

Maybe he could fix the problem Entherys caused. That was another good reason to see if he could see the location of the dead dungeon; it might well take a full ritual as well as the knowledge of how it was originally set up. Serenity could only hope that information would be in the journal.

For now, he tucked the dead dungeon core into his Rift. He’d want it soaked in Potential for what he was going to try anyway; he might as well start now.

That was really all there was to do here. Serenity duplicated one of his knives and severed Entherys’s spine at the top of the neck, right below the skull. It took strength to do it quickly and cleanly, but he had the strength for it and it was the kindest kill he could manage right now.

He hated to do it; the more he’d seen of Entherys, the more he felt like the boy was never given the chance to be anything but a spoiled brat. Unfortunately, he was a dangerous spoiled brat and that was something Serenity knew better than to allow to continue.

Serenity picked up Andarit’s unconscious body, holding her carefully, then Entherys’s corpse. He didn’t bother to be careful with the corpse. “Cliff? Can you manage that quick exit you offered from here? I can probably make it back to the entrance but I’d rather not try.”

There was no verbal answer, but a moment later Serenity was standing just outside the dungeon’s entrance. Verit was next to him. A little ways down the path, heads turned to look; Serenity knew they were looking to see who came out.

Serenity dropped Entherys’s body and turned to Verit. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk? Also, do you have a good healer or should I get Andarit to mine?”

It wasn’t that simple. It was never that simple.

Fortunately, they did have time for Serenity to send Andarit to Blaze through one of Ita’s portals before a messenger found Verit and Serenity poring over the journal together. Verit kept muttering to herself; Serenity had stopped listening. All she was doing was beating herself up for making Entherys take that position in the library. Serenity’s reminder that she had no way to know he’d do what he did didn’t seem to help.

The messenger led the two of them to a building near Verit’s home; Verit gasped when she realized where they were.

Serenity looked over at Verit. “What is it?”

Verit nodded at the building. “That’s the Sect Master’s residence. I was sure he’d call us to the Sect Hall. Being called here means he wants this discussion to be private.”

Serenity nodded uncertainly. He didn’t know what “discussions” might be done privately instead of publicly here; it varied from culture to culture. The one thing he could guess was that the Sect Master was probably not throwing Verit out; while he might ask her to leave in private, the formal expulsion she’d worried about would probably be done somewhere people would know about it.

The Sect Master was, surprisingly, Tier Five. Serenity had expected at least Tier Six. On the other hand, this was Zon; Zon had oddly low Tiers in places for the Tier of the planet. It was a vicious cycle that could only be broken if they figured out how to grow the planet again.

“Elder Verit. Serenity.” The Sect Master’s voice matched his aged but strong appearance; there was gray in his black hair and his face was wrinkled but he still carried a good bit of muscle. “Welcome to my home. Please come join me.”

The Sect Master sat in a well-stuffed recliner, clearly not bothered by staying seated while they approached and found their own chairs. Serenity noticed that, completely unlike when he waited on Lykandeon, the chair he chose was comfortable to sit in. The room was less opulent than Lykandeon’s, as well, though it definitely showed off a level of wealth that Serenity had seen on Zon only in the Palace; none of the Lowpeak properties had so many gems and precious metals adorning the furniture.

“Before we begin, Elder Verit. You brought your nephew here as a candidate. I don’t need to say where that led, do I?” The Sect Master didn’t sound upset. There was a stern note in his voice, but not an angry one.

Verit stared at her feet. “No, Sect Master.”

“Good. You owe a debt to the Sect. You may continue to sponsor novices, but the first two who reach Member will only pay off your debt; they will not count towards Sect advancement.”

Verit winced but Serenity noticed a small smile make its way across her face as she thought about the punishment. Serenity wasn’t willing to ask in front of the Sect Master, but it definitely sounded better than expulsion; in fact, it didn’t sound like all that much of a punishment at all. He was probably missing something.

“Now tell me what happened. From the beginning; don’t leave out things you think I already know. I want what you know, not what someone else told me.” When Serenity went to start, the Sect Master held up a hand. “Elder Verit first, please. I’ll want your story as well, but hers starts first.”

It took Verit more than an hour to tell her story. In comparison, Serenity’s was short, even with showing off the journal. In the end, the journal was the only thing that seemed to bother the Sect Master; it apparently belonged in a restricted section of some sort.

That was enough to make Serenity glad he’d already taken an image of each page; if he lost access to the physical book, he wouldn’t lose any of the information in it.

Serenity didn’t mention the possibility that he might be able to replace the broken dungeon. It would be far, far better if the Sect Master thought that it either hadn’t fully broken or was such a good spot for a dungeon that another one grew in the old one’s place. Serenity didn’t want to be known as someone who could create dungeons.

Verit didn’t mention it either, even though Serenity suspected that she’d worked out what he was looking for in the journal. She did, however, ask to be allowed to retain the journal for a while longer. Her explanation was that she wanted to see if there was anything that might help locate a replacement dungeon or if there were any other risks that would warrant destroying the journal instead of locking it up.

It sounded like an excellent explanation to Serenity. Not only was it almost true, it would cover for him if he replaced the dungeon core by making it seem like they’d used the journal to find the replacement rather than to make the replacement.

The Sect Master allowed Elder Verit to keep the journal, but he cautioned her that she wasn’t to destroy the book without his permission.