"I've found someone that I'm almost positive is the culprit." Klara spoke simply. When she'd come back to the inn, she'd been angrier than Muti. "I didn't think it was possible, but this test, which wasn't laid for them, was fallen into. I can't explain right now, but now I just need proof. My suspicions were completely misplaced and I was investigating the wrong person. There's politics here that I wish I could get into, but can't. Instead, please accept my sincerest apologies and know that now, at least part of this conspiracy will be hobbled.
"For now, stay together. Work together. If someone harms you, then fight back. There's documented history of you coming under unreasonable, deadly treatment, and the Guild won't stand for it. As such, you don't need to worry about defending yourselves with lethal force. The entirety of the Guild will stand behind you. Just ensure that you aren't aggressors. Muti, I'm talking to you. If there's something happening that you would be permitted to kill for among the Hordes, do not kill until Astrid gives you permission."
Muti merely nodded, her golden hair still in its braids. There was something about why she hadn't taken them out that Astrid didn't quite understand, but the Barbarian obviously intended to communicate something by it.
"So what are we supposed to do? Just… take it?"
"For now, continue building your strength. I've said it before, and I'll have to say it again and again. I hate it, but it's also the only course of action right now that I can see giving us the results we want."
"And what result is that?" Astrid demanded.
"The ability to slaughter every one of the involved parties and leave the law no ability to get back at us." Klara's voice was steady as she spoke as much. Astrid felt her eyes widen as Klara stared at her.
"Delvers live in a special place, socially. We're needed. If we didn't exist, then the Dungeon would spread its influence up over the surface and everyone would die eventually. It's our responsibility to keep the Dungeon at bay. As such, we have certain perks that we're given. Any delver who reaches even Iron tier is extraordinarily wealthy compared to any regular metric, if they aren't deeply in debt. Our personal strength allows us to flout many of the rules of society, such as submission to those with greater influence than us.
"As such, those with societal, political, and social power attempt to keep us down. I know, we've talked about this before. Let me give you an example, though. That surge in Schteldt? I can guarantee that the reason why your mother wasn't there killing every warg wasn't because she refused to answer a call but because she never received one."
Astrid felt her heart sink where she sat in her room. A question that hadn't occurred to her until now. But yes, her parents hadn't heard about the surge at all. If Brighid couldn't leave her work as the guard captain, then her papa, at least, could have come and helped out massively! And why didn't they come? Klara's point just made too much sense.
"So, the nobility has a vested interest in taking away our political and social power wherever and however they can. They will sacrifice innocent lives to do so, and the Guild doesn't just accept that. Instead, they wield the sword of law against the nobles who will twist law and ignore it completely to get what they want. I would execute the guilty party based on the suspicions I have, but I refuse to weaken the Guild's stance in the long run, so instead, I will gather irrefutable evidence. Then, heads will roll."
Klara's tone was decisive and her face furious. Even so, the anger that boiled there was controlled and kept under a tight lid.
"Alright." Astrid nodded. "Alright. We'll give you space to do that for now."
Something in her gut twisted as she said as much. Again and again, these past weeks and months were hammering the lesson into her head that the Guild, the country, the Duchess, everything didn't work the way she'd always thought.
"Who do you think it is?"
"I can't say. If I'm wrong, which I believe is impossible at this point, then it would be immensely damaging. As it is, it will be enough of a blow that I almost regret having to do this. Only almost."
Astrid and her party acknowledged Klara's points and the woman disappeared from view, not even a flash of light announcing her departure. Skandr was the first to break the silence.
"I want to get to level 9 already."
Even though it'd been a mere couple of days for Astrid since she had gained a level, she didn't disagree. The levels were coming faster with how many they were killing, and each additional attribute point they got was something else that helped them to kill more. They were still on the second floor for now, even though they were level 8, because they needed just a little edge to make sure that they wouldn't sustain any real injuries on the lower floors. As the numbers of gnolls grew, the small party was feeling the difference more and more. With Skandr's increased mana, he could even engage in melee with his Lightning Bestowal to take a gnoll or two out in direct combat. It was far from what any of them would like to have happened, but it was a possibility that wouldn't deplete his stores entirely.
"You know, there's something that I did in my last Dungeon entrance. Maybe we could try that…" Astrid said. A smile crossed her face as Skandr cocked an eyebrow up at her. Muti, for her part, just looked incandescently angry, but that would probably be her default face for a while yet.
***
Marchioness
"—of interest. That would be all of our reports on all recruitment efforts."
"Then what of the possible seeds in… what's the name of the silly town?"
"Kznietch. Our contacts have been quiet. Previously reported were two potentially powerful people, both of whom are in circumstances that may allow us to use the carrot."
"Then use the carrot, though I don't believe the town's given us anything noteworthy in the past. If there remain no results in the next year, pull all funding. And as an immediate warning of my displeasure, pull Miresh back. The other agents will need to succeed without his presence."
"Yes, Marchioness."
The Butler bowed his head and left her presence. With a wave of her hand, the Marchioness dismissed the Masseuse who was working on her calves. The other on her neck remained as she sat up. A pair of her Handmaidens set about dressing her as she thought. There truly hadn't been any seeds that'd borne fruits in two years. She supposed she'd allow her agents to work for another couple of months. Until the end of the year? Yes, when the snows covered the fields and the Duchess's attentions once again returned to within the Bulwark, she would cease some of her less effective plans. There was no reason to cut off her hand, though. Just the small things, a trimming of her nails, perhaps.
"And where is Lissa? I need to hear what my elite team has been able to do these past weeks."
The Masseuse continued working on the Marchioness's neck and she allowed herself a small smile as she watched a Messenger go to do her will.
***
"As you enter the third floor, you will occasionally encounter packs that have a shaman. The trophies for them are the same as the other gnolls, as well as their tokens. They'll use a fist-sized carved bone or piece of wood. They sell for 10 copper each, so make sure you don't lose them. And, as a warning I'm sure you've heard before, there will almost never be a pack of gnolls that is asleep after the second floor. You need to be ready to fight and fight hard from the moment you make first contact with each pack. In addition, your permitted quantity of gnolls to hunt on the third floor every day is now effectively limitless. We have a couple delvers who are hired to clear out the third, fourth, and fifth floors every three days. Your work will effectively help cover that cost, and if you begin hunting enough to begin challenging the Dungeon, I will let you know to cut back. Any questions?"
Astrid looked at Muti and Skandr, both of whom shook their heads.
"No, none. Thank you, Anders."
"Yes. Now, please close the door on your way out."
The party stepped out of the man's office. They'd spent several more weeks in what was becoming an almost routine slaughter of the gnolls and had finally reached level 9. Their delving had grown even more effective at slaughtering the monsters now that Astrid had encouraged the others to spend a total of about two silver on draughts every day. That paired with the gold that they had spent to buy another four potions in case of any of them sustaining any grievous wounds, allowed them to push themselves harder.
As it was, it did not take long for them to pay off the debt to the Guild that the antidote for Skandr had incurred for them. Then, with them receiving all of the payment for the trophies and materials from the gnolls, they were making almost 11 silver every day. As such, they'd paid off the one gold worth loan that accrued more than two silver of interest every day around the same time that they reached level 9.
As they stepped out of Anders's office and then through the communal space into the world outside, Astrid took in the sight of the yellowing leaves on the trees and smiled. There were so many reminders that let her realize how time was passing. Snow had fallen a couple times in the past week, but none of it was sticking. Autumn had begun in truth, and before winter was over, their party would be finished with delving outside of Kznietch.
"I think that for today we should just conduct a short delve." Astrid said. "It will probably be better for us if we just accustom ourselves to never having the drop on our enemies from here on."
"You will have to do so. I will always be able to ambush my foes."
Muti wasn't wrong in saying that. Each day that passed, Astrid less and less was able to catch her in the act of sneaking around and doing different stealthy things. Even though they were "bloodbound companions", Muit was becoming more violent in her tests. She still wasn't shedding any blood, but the bruises that covered Astrid's body were now half of the time from her training partner. Skandr was joining them on their training sessions, though.
The party engaged in casual conversation as they strode through the streets towards the exit from the city's wall, but no longer was it only Muti who kept their eyes focused on what threats might be approaching. All three of the party kept at least half of their attention focused on their surroundings, whose caution was strengthened by how there had been one attempted mugging in the past three weeks. Astrid didn't think that the foolish man who'd attempted it was at all related to the person or people who had assaulted Skandr, but she could easily be wrong. Regardless, the man didn't put up any fight worth mentioning once the three turned on him. It would appear that the man thought that a single dagger would be more frightening to delvers than actually was.
As they approached the entrance to the Dungeon, the groups of solitary delvers, hoping for an opportunity to join with those who were entering to delve, left them alone. Astrid's party's continued meteoric rise was enough to dissuade these people who were unable to get more than a couple dozen experience a day from looking for the party's acceptance. That they also didn't audibly criticize her was another perk she found herself smiling at as she led the party down into the Dungeon.
Jogging, they trusted in Muti's senses to avoid the slumbering gnolls. Astrid found her mind wandering, amazed by the casual manner in which they could stride through the first floor of the Dungeon has compared to where they were just a bit over two months before. She'd only gotten her Class in early spring. A mere three seasons before, she was about to be Bestowed with a Class, and now, here she was. The mere thought was something that made Astrid grin while also considering how much she'd left friends behind. It wasn't even a year ago that she had struggled to kill a pair of level 1 wargs. Now, she could wander among level 6 and 7 gnolls without any issue.
Unable to know what was happening in her mind, Muti and Skandr both continued on through the several kilometer journey to descend to the second floor, where they also walked with little issue. Before long, they had reached the entrance to the third floor, though once they got there, they did not descend so quickly. Instead, they gathered together, took the time to recover their stamina, and then descended as one.
Astrid led the way with her shield held high. The few times that they had encountered gnolls in the stairways had been enough of a struggle for her to internalize the lesson. She would always be ready to push forward and deal damage to them to ensure that they were not locked in a stalemate. This time, as most, they were fortunate enough to not encounter anything hostile until they had crossed into the third floor.
"Are you ready?" Astrid asked.
Muti merely grinned her wide, toothy smile while Skandr grinned nervously. His new armor, vibrant colors, and all, had taken him through many scrapes by now. It had yet to be punctured by anything, even an arrow from a ranger. It had more than paid for itself by now, and he was more willing to deal death blows or expose himself to slightly more danger because of its protection.
Before they could make a plan about what to do, Muti raised her head and hissed, "They're approaching!"
Fortunately, they had all spent months actively delving every day and were ready for combat at any time. The snarling pack of gnolls closed in on a party of three who had honed their skills against thousands of their kind for the past months. Beyond that, there was no shaman to assist the gnolls, so the pack of five, three brawlers, and two rangers, was swiftly dispatched.
As with the wargs, the three delvers gained more attributes per level than the monsters. Per the notes kept in the Guild's inn, Bronze tiered gnolls gained 6 attribute points per level, the distribution varying per type. Thus, from 3 levels she'd gained here in Kznietch were worth 5 gnoll levels. This would not hold true as the tiers continued climbing, but for now, every one of the delvers obviously outclassed their enemies in strength.
Muti, as had become her custom, threw herself past the brawlers, allowing only a couple glancing hits from their fists to scrape off her armor, then, both blades in her hands, she set about dismantling the Rangers. Her right hand with the short sword stabbed deep into one's chest while the left hand's messer sword chopped the other's hands off at the wrist in two deft strokes. Gnollish screams of pain filled the air as Skandr raised his hand and released his now second nature rain of lightning.
With months of practice now, Astrid and Muti were protected from being struck, the lightning instead falling only where he desired. Then, with the three brawlers slowed, Astrid set about ending their lives. With swift strokes of her hammer, three lives were ended. Just as quickly, Muti finished off the rangers, and the party settled into a ready stance.
A short minute passed, and, hearing and seeing nothing, Astrid asked Muti, "Do you sense anything else?"
"No, leader."
"Then let's harvest quickly while you keep your eye out."
"Yes, leader."
Astrid and Skandr cut fangs and ears free with movements practiced by having done so thousands of times. Before long, they were finished, the first of their spoils from the third floor collected. As soon as Astrid started to move towards the Rogue, though, Muti raised her hand in a shushing motion.
"There are several nearby. It seems that they might have been drawn by the sound of combat. Stay silent, and we may not be surrounded."
Despite herself, Astrid felt herself grinning widely. This… this was finally a new challenge in this Dungeon. The first one since the irregular. She was going to have fun venting her frustrations on this.