Chương 30: 1-29 A time for deals

That night was only the second time Josef had entered the black market, more than a week having passed since the first one, though it still looked the same as before. Inconspicuously hidden away inside a fishery at the harbor, with nothing to give it away but a single lycan out front, their fur painted in an unnatural dark color. It was there that he had first met the inspector, requiring his services to analyze the gems he and Cana had gotten from slaying the two unexpected bosses on floor 10 of the dungeon.

Now, that same man, who also went by the name of Vasaj, had sent a messenger to call him in for another meeting. One that was about the livelihood of his lycan friend and her group of friends inside the dungeon. Right now he really wished he had gone for a proper cloak instead of the little cape that came with his outfit, as the air felt more bitingly cold than before.

Josef was nervous, and more than a little panicked, emotions that stemmed from the fear for his friend and the displeasure of having to see that creepy elf again. Part of him had hoped that he could just forget about that man and his political maneuvering, at least for a while longer, but fate had other plans, as it would seem.

This time around he didn't have to wait in front of the man's booth, the massive palanquin, but they let him through without any further stops, leaving him to wonder if the place just happened to be unoccupied right now, or if the owner had kept it clear for his arrival.

"Greetings, young Drake. I am happy to see that you could make time for me on this fine evening." Josef had barely closed the door behind him when the separator in the middle of the room opened up, and the oily slick voice of Vasaj welcomed him. He had to take a moment to mind his manners before he squeezed out his own greeting.

"Good evening, Vasaj. At least I wish it was one, but from what your messenger told me, it no longer appears to be so."

"Oh my, someone seems a little agitated. And here I hoped we could have a pleasant talk over a cup of tea tonight." As he said so, he brought up two steaming cups, one of which slowly but gracefully levitated over to his side of the room. Josef took it, if only so it wouldn't float around in front of his face.

"But I suppose there are matters of importance that we have to talk about."

"You could say that." He had trouble keeping his voice level, as the elf's slow voice clashed with his own agitated mood.

"What has happened with the dungeon, and what do you know about my friends? What happened?" Taking a sip of the tea, Vasaj slowly sampled the taste without a care in the world, his eyes only lightly flicking towards the cup in Josef's hand. Following the implicit gesture, he took a small gulp of the hot drink, which turned out to taste somewhat minty, despite the lack of any smell. An unbidden thought came to his mind about how much he hated mint, as the taste reminded him of medicine.

Josef wondered if that man had spiked the tea with something strange, but put that thought to rest quickly. Considering the apparent strength of his guards and the information that man possessed, it was unlikely he needed to invite someone over for such a petty trap. Finally, setting his cup down, as if there was a surface in the middle of the air, Vasaj answered.

"This taste always reminds me of better days, which is why I enjoy sharing it with others." The elf nodded to himself, as if he needed an affirmation after Josef didn't react to the drink.

"Now then, the dungeon. It is a curious thing, is it not? Were you aware that as of now, nobody has proven how or why these structures formed? Of course, many people speculate on the topic, and most agree that the disappearance of dragons links to these structures.

"After all, the first dungeons only appeared in the years after dragons stopped showing themselves to the world. Had they kept the formation of dungeons at bay before then? Or are they a natural consequence of the lack of their presence? Maybe they were created by whoever removed the dragons from Aurum? Unfortunately, there is no way to be sure of the answer. However, is it not interesting how quickly everything descended into chaos, shortly after a Drake entered into one of them?"

Josef would have flinched if he hadn't had the thought before. After considering his first foray into the dungeon, he knew that if something went wrong on Cana's exploration, the cause of it was likely what his presence had started back then.

"You have probably put together more about how this event connects to me than I have myself. And I doubt there are any clear answers, so just tell me, what's actually happening right now? What's this message about nobody coming back from the dungeon? No, most importantly, what am I supposed to do about it?" If he had a table in front of him, Josef would have likely smacked down on it by the end of his words. Vasaj merely chuckled at his apparent agitation.

"Still so very energetic, as is befitting of a young Drake. Always ready to head into action, with a fire burning inside your chest." His eyes appeared to look off into the distance during those words, but quickly came back into focus.

"As my subordinate has informed you, no party has returned from the dungeon for the last three days, as if something prevents all from leaving. Which, to my knowledge, means that your own associates are still within, unable to make their return." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"And I guess the dungeon has never done this before, and the only known change was my entering it like a week ago. But why now, and not right after I entered?" There was a desperation in his voice, from the worry over his friend and the guilt about what harm must be caused by this. Were the people inside still alright? Was there an effort to rescue them?

"Wait, can people still enter?" The elf nodded.

"Apparently, you are catching on. It is indeed still possible to enter, though even a group that was to specifically turn around on the spot did not make their return. Makes you curious, doesn't it?" Taking another slow sip from his cup, he continued.

"As you might have guessed by now, there will be a major operation by the Adventurer's Guild, supported by Sanctum itself. There will be a lot of people entering all at once." Josef worried, "So they are fully committed to this? What if no one returns?" With the beasttide getting closer, wouldn't it be horrific if many able-bodied adventurers ended up disappearing?

"That would be catastrophic indeed, but after today's developments, they see no other choice. You see, there was an incident involving monsters in the adventurer's district, after several had emerged from the dungeon and attacked the stationed guards. Said event has since repeated more than once. Of course, this wouldn't be surprising with a wild, untended dungeon, as those tend to overflow if left unsupervised, but not with one that is frequently entered by so many.

"Right now, the magistrate fears the possibility that this event is linked to the beasttide. If monsters were to emerge from the dungeon just as they approached the city from the outside, the situation would quickly turn untenable. With pressure from without and within, the fate of Highsend would be uncertain, though likely unfavourable. That is why there is currently no other choice but to solve this issue, even if it means clearing the entire structure down to the last floor." Josef mulled over this information.

He wasn't aware that monsters could leave the dungeon, but the possibility didn't surprise him either. Did his entering the dungeon set this off?

"But why tell me this? There is nothing I can do there, right? It sounds like the situation is already handled as well as it could be. Not like I could just join that group with Sanctum…" The realization hit him as strongly as it was sudden. Sanctum. Those bastards wouldn't exactly be forthcoming with anyone not of elven birth inside that dungeon. Worse, they could encounter Cana.

Cana, who had fled from them before, a hole in their otherwise untarnished appearance, someone who knows how they truly treat people inside those halls. Who they would still intend to silence if they ever found her.

"Shit. No, wait, how would they even find anyone? Wasn't there layers to that stuff?"

"Spot on, if a little uncouth." Vasaj chuckled.

"They can and will find other groups during this excursion. Whenever a dungeon is overflowing, the layers inside lose stability, often merging all on their own. On top of that, some specialized classes can help pull those layers further together. If your friend is alive, they will find her. Which is why I thought it prudent to inform you of these circumstances."

"That still doesn't answer what I am supposed to do about it?"

"You could enter with them, come along and search for an opportunity to save your friend. And if some of Sanctum's supporters were to be lost to the depths? That would just be a fortunate side effect."

"How do you expect me to pull that off? I have never even killed anyone before!" Vasaj's intentions enraged Josef. It might come to that one day, but he wouldn't just go kill people on this old man's whim.

"No need to be upset. I would never ask such a thing of you. I merely mean to say that accidents happen inside the dungeon, and that's also where they stay. So if someone gets taken by a shadow?" The man simply shrugged. So he was already planning to send his own men along to cause chaos and hurt Sanctum during this operation. It made sense, though it left Josef feeling uneasy. This could go so horribly wrong in so many ways. But if it was going to happen anyway, then he might as well be a part of it.

For a chance to help Cana and to make some levels on the side. This wasn't how he had pictured his next adventure to go, but he would have to take it.

"Fine, I will go. Can you get me into that group? I'm not exactly official… yet." Vasaj waved him off as he lowered his now empty cup.

"Already done. I came across this droll application to add an apprentice to an existing party and made sure that it would be accepted quickly.

'Scalesome Brothers' wasn't it? What a surprisingly fitting name, all things considered." As if Josef needed any more confirmation of this man's creepy stalker habits. Was he watching him all this time, documenting his every move? He felt cold sweat run down his back at that unnerving realization.

"No need to look so shocked, little Drake. It is only natural to look after one's assets. After all, I'm planning to invest quite a bit in you, so it is only fair if I make sure that nothing can go wrong, right?" The grin on Vasaj's face wasn't the kind one would want to break with a fist, but one that triggered every natural instinct to run away. Unfortunately, Josef didn't have the luxury of fleeing from this.

If Vasaj thought he could just be strung along like a puppet, to be used as he wanted, then the man would be in for a rough awakening. He would make sure of that. However, until the time for that came, he was going to play along in this perverted game, even if it disgusted him. He couldn't throw away the life of a friend just because saving her would cause him discomfort.

"Now then, I have prepared some gifts for you. The expedition is scheduled to start in the early morning hours, and I believe you are still lacking equipment for this task. I shall see to it that your party will not be unequipped to face the challenges ahead." With that, he began to lay out items for Josef, whose eyes widened as he looked over the descriptions one by one. At least his manipulative overlord wasn't stingy.