We gathered in the Bottom’s Up early the next morning. The tables and chairs had been moved from the center of the room for Akshashka’s Portal spell, and twenty Dark Elf soldiers were waiting on the sidelines. Despite what I assumed was a night of carousing before going to war, most of them still looked sharp and ready to go.
Most, but not all. Those few were in the back that were trying not to draw the Matriarch’s eye. Luckily for them, she was already deep in her Scrying spell, cast from a scroll like the Portal would be, and focused on the silver mirror that Dalsarel was holding for her.
I shifted Willow so that I could more comfortably hold her with one arm. The girl was sleepy due to the early hour, but she was adamant about staying awake to say goodbye. It wasn’t working well for her, but Rumblejump tapped her on the forehead whenever she started dozing off.
Emilia stood between me and Tabitha, holding our hands. She was quiet and nervous, but doing her best not to let it show. I nudged her with my arm, and she rested her head against me.
Danella and Gro were behind us with Ferrisdae. The priestess would know how to handle the girls after we left, and the archer was ready with treats and distractions. Even though Willow was the one more likely to cry, I still worried about Emilia. She had a tendency to bottle things up, just like I did.
But we all knew that there was no avoiding this. It had to be done, no matter how much we’d rather stay together.
Even though Scry took several minutes to work, it was over far too soon. Akshashka stopped her chanting and peered into the silver mirror. It took her a few moments to survey the scene on the other side before she nodded and turned away.
“Khagmur is ready for us,” the Matriarch announced as Dalsarel handed her another scroll. She began to unfurl it. “It appears as though there is a messenger with her, but there should be no problems once I have the Portal spell active.”
Holding back a sigh, I turned and pulled Emilia and Tabitha into a hug. Willow leaned over, suddenly very awake, to join in.
“We’ll be back as soon as we’re able,” I told them.
“You’d better,” Emilia replied.
“Don’t you worry. Together, we can do anything,” Tabitha said with a smile. “With Ferry and Dals on the team? We’ll be unstoppable.”
“Go beat up the bad guys,” Willow commanded, squeezing as tightly as she could. “Save the world.”
“We love you,” Emilia whispered, mimicking her sister.
“Big much,” my youngest added.
“And we love you, too,” Tabitha responded.
“Big much,” I repeated, kissing the top of my daughters heads one after the other.
The Matriarch was already reading from the Portal scroll. Unlike Scry, this spell didn’t take as long to finish. It would rip open a hole that would allow us to step through to our destination, which she had gotten through the first scroll. It was a little more involved than teleportation and just as rare, but more people could come along.
After only a minute, a small light appeared in front of Akshashka. The spell seemed to visibly fatigue her before expanding into a rift in space a few feet wider than she was and a head taller. Its edges were blurry and didn’t maintain its shape very well, as if it could untangle at any moment. The early morning light illuminated the sparse forest on the other side, and the Dark Elf she had just Scried waved at us.
“Soldiers, march,” she commanded. Her platoon did as instructed, going one by one through the portal.
We held our hug for another fleeting moment, but duty called. I passed Willow to Ferrisdae, who squeezed her tight, and joined Dalsarel next to her mother.
“Are you ready?” my apprentice asked me.
“Have to be, so, yes,” I answered.
I looked back at my family as Willow was set down. She ran towards us and I moved between her and the portal in case she tried to go with us, but she slammed into Dalsarel’s legs with a hug instead. I let out a relieved breath.
“Be safe, too, Dals,” my daughter said before doing the same to Akshashka. “You, too, Shasha.”
The Matriarch was surprised for a moment before reaching down and patting her on the head. “We’ll be fine, but thank you,” the woman replied fondly even as one of her soldiers stumbled upon hearing her called Shasha. He was quick to recover and pass through the portal.
Danella came and picked Willow up so she couldn’t run around anymore. She gave me a reassuring smile as Tabitha and Ferrisdae joined us, and backed up to be with Emilia and Gro. We had already said our goodbyes last night. There was nothing more to say.
“Your turn,” Akshashka said. She gestured to me, and I nodded.
As the spellcaster, Akshashka had to be the last one through. I had already checked, double checked, and triple checked my gear, but I found myself patting my jacket down one more time. Tabitha took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, and urged me forward. With one last look and wave back to my family, we stepped through the portal.
The sea breeze felt good through my hair, and the light of the sun was warm on my skin. It was warm and humid here on one of the most southeastern points of the continent, which was a far cry from the usually moderate weather around New Frausta and Athir.
We kept moving, avoiding the reunion between Khagmur and the soldiers, so that Akshashka could come through the portal behind us. She followed after Dalsarel, and the magic fell apart the moment she was clear of it.
I didn’t pay much attention to that, though. A bespectacled Halfling I didn’t recognize dodged through the crowd of Dark Elves and headed right for me. He had a folder with the Adventurer’s Consortium seal, two swords clashing over three bars of gold, emblazoned on it. I gently squeezed my wife’s hand. She let go of me and I met him on the outskirts of the gathering.
“Dungeon Inspector Badger?” he asked, adjusting his glasses as he looked me over.
“Yes, I am Dungeon Inspector Badger,” I replied, noting that Tabitha, Ferrisdae, and Dalsarel had all followed me.
“Excellent. I’m glad that you arrived where we were told you would. It would have made things much more difficult for us otherwise,” he responded.
I frowned. “This is the agreed upon time of arrival, so of course we’re here. You are?”
He nodded and shifted the folder so he could offer me his hand. “I’m Daniel Durner, sir. I’m a messenger with the Consortium. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Then I suppose your presence here means you’ve got a message for me,” I said as I shook his hand.
“I do. One for you, and another for one of your companions,” he confirmed as he opened the folder.
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Without a word, I took the two envelopes he handed me. The first was unadorned except for my name, and I could tell at a glance that it was some kind of summons. It had the look of something cold and bureaucratic.
The second was much heavier and the envelope was made of textured paper. Elven script flowed across the front in green ink, which I recognized as Ferrisdae’s name. I might not have been fluent in the language, but I knew that much. The last name of the sender was the same, though I couldn’t make out which family member it was from. I had an inkling of who it would be, though.
“I’m going to guess that your mother sent this, Ferrisdae,” I said, holding the envelope over my shoulder.
“For me?” she asked in confusion, gingerly taking it from me.
Durendrelle, Ferrisdae’s mother, was currently a sore spot for her over a few things she had learned during our adventures in Athir. Mostly, that her family made several donations to the Department of Dungeons and had a say on which Dungeon Inspector to pair her with. Namely, me.
The poor girl had a crisis of confidence on whether or not she had gotten the job on her own merit, which was something she had been very proud of. One of the first things she had told me about herself was that she was the youngest Junior Dungeon Inspector in history when you considered she was the Human equivalent of eighteen. If we were counting her actual age of 124, then she would be one of the oldest.
I knew for a fact that Ferrisdae hadn’t voiced these concerns to her mother, though she did learn that she was placed in my care because of the woman’s machinations. That was thanks to my reputation of putting rookies through the wringer and sending them off, though it wasn’t out of malicious intent. She came from an adventuring family and adversity was how they learned best.
In this case, I was the adversity. There was a measure of truth to it.
“I’ll read it when we reach wherever we’re staying,” Ferrisdae said as she awkwardly stuffed the envelope in her Dimensional Pocket.
“Is that something you can take care of, Daniel?” I asked as I began opening my envelope.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be heading near there on my rounds,” he replied jovially.
“Excellent,” I said as I began reading through the letter I had received. It wasn’t very long, and I had a new question for the messenger. “And if you could point me towards the command center, I would appreciate it.”
“That one’s easy enough,” Daniel said as he gestured for us to follow him.
We did so, lagging slightly so Dalsarel could say a few words to her mother, before heading towards the camp. It didn’t take long; Khagmur hadn’t gone far to pick out a good place for the portal.
“Right there with the flag is your destination,” he said, pointing towards the tallest building in the town.
Flying from a thin tower was a navy blue flag. It was simple and unadorned, but only because no one could agree on what to put on it. Instead of making it a whole event, they decided to leave it blank for the sake of expediency. I could get behind that.
It was easy to tell what was native to Port St. Grandus and what had been hastily erected for the expedition. Beautiful white and blue stone mixed together to create homes and buildings near the sea. The architecture called for plenty of domes and soft corners, and had more than a few chapels.
Surrounding it were wooden buildings and cheap tents that were clearly meant to be temporary. The natural beauty of the port town was marred, but it seemed as though the visitors were doing their best to make sure they didn’t muck things up. Everything was surprisingly clean despite the explosive increase in population.
Something else caught my eye, but I ignored it for now.
“Thank you. Tabitha, Ferrisdae, Dalsarel, I’ll see you when I’m out of this meeting,” I said, turning to face them.
“What’s it say?” my wife asked curiously.
“They’re gathering the special operation leads together,” I answered as I tucked the letter into my pocket. “Likely to debrief us all at once on what to expect once we reach the Southern Continental Dungeon. It’ll probably take hours, but I’ll find you all once I’m done.”
“Okay. Try not to be too bored,” she said, nudging me towards the command center.
“He’s about to be surrounded by some of the most powerful people on the continent,” Dalsarel stated. “What’s there to be bored about?”
“I’m expecting it to be an incredibly dry meeting,” I sighed, crossing my arms. Daniel cleared his throat politely, and I jerked my head towards him. “But you all go. Don’t want to keep the messenger glued to one spot any longer than we have to.”
“Much appreciated, sir,” Daniel said before turning to the others. “If you’ll follow me, please.”
Tabitha kissed me before heading off, and the two Elves followed. I watched them go for a few moments before turning towards the command center and started walking towards it. A familiar face joined me along the way.
“Not going to say hello to your daughter?” I asked, not looking at the Forest Elf who walked beside me.
“There will be plenty of time for her and I to meet up later, away from that filthy girl that has attached herself to you as a junior,” Durendrelle said with a sniff. “I’d rather not get the moldy stench of cave dirt on me if I can help it.”
“You’d best learn not to speak about anyone under my care that way, no matter how far back your ancestral feud goes,” I warned with a stern tone. “Now that I have apprentices, I don’t take kindly to those who speak ill of them. That’s your fault, by the way; Chief Inspector Brackenhorst only gave me a second junior because you foisted your daughter on me.”
“Clearly, she has been a good influence on you,” the Forest Elf said, not sounding chastised in the slightest.
I glanced at the woman who was keeping pace with me. She looked like a slightly older version of Ferrisdae, though her blonde hair wasn’t nearly as long. The slender Elf wore green mage’s robes that matched her eyes. Her red staff, carved with arcane sigils and topped with a clear sphere gemstone, was being used as a walking stick.
“Yeah, well, I’m busy. Let’s try for a discussion again later, like when this war is over,” I returned, speeding up.
That didn’t deter her at all. She simply matched my pace, which was easily done considering her longer legs.
“I wanted to extend a courtesy to you, Inspector,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “Considering how our first meeting went, I wasn’t sure if you had any courtesy to give.”
Durendrelle ignored the jab. “The Anne Runelara family has also been called in to be one of these special operations teams.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. We’re happy to help our continent as best we can,” she said with no small amount of satisfaction. “However, I wanted to tell you in person rather than blindside you with an official missive later on.”
I scowled. There was only one topic I could think of that she would come to me about personally.
“You’re requesting Ferrisdae get transferred to your family’s team,” I guessed.
“My, Inspector, you’re as good as they say,” she replied with a smile. “Yes, Ferrisdae should be with her family rather than participating with the Department of Dungeons. I’m not sure what your team looks like, but we can supply someone reliable to take her place.”
“And on what grounds do you think you’ll be taking her?” I challenged.
My tone must have triggered something in her, because she crossed her arms. “I am simply looking out for family, as my position dictates as Ferry’s mother and head of the household,” Durendrelle defended haughtily.
“Sure, and that’s why you’re replacing one Anne Runelara with another,” I scoffed.
“Someone from a branch family, actually, but yes,” she admitted.
I laughed at that. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
Durendrelle bristled. “Do you think I won’t succeed in getting her transferred?”
“I’m sure you can do most things that you put your mind to, but I know for a fact that you’re not going to get your way this time,” I told her honestly.
“And why’s that?” she challenged back, taking on the same tone I had used earlier.
There were several things I couldn’t tell her. Our connection with the Dungeon Master, for one, as well as the device he had left me during our meeting. Brackenhorst had been adamant about keeping us together. That meant I was expecting Moose and Cojisto to show up at some point and be shoved back into my group, but I would be the final arbiter of that decision depending on how the man acts after his loss and near death to Ulrich.
I still didn't know exactly how I was going to feel about that, to be honest.
Since I couldn’t bring that up, I deflected. I looked Durendrelle straight in the eye. “Instead of asking me, don’t you think that’s a discussion you should be having with Ferrisdae?” I asked in return. “I think you’ll find what she has to say on the matter of family very illuminating.”
The Forest Elf slowed down as she registered what I had said, but I kept going. Picked up the pace, in fact. I heard her shout to me to wait up, but by then I was already around the corner. This really wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have and there was no way she was splitting up my team, so I decided not to deal with it.
Hopefully, Durendrelle’s meddling wouldn’t come back to bite us later on.
100th Run 6 came out, and book 7 is already complete. The next one will be the series finale.
Kindle Unlimited and . It has been fairly successful, and Giancarlo and Hannah are still fantastic narrators.
HearthCon again this year. It's less to do with Dungeon Inspector and more Courier Quest because it's a cozy con, but I'm going to be a part of the LitRPG and ProgFan panel this Sunday at 1PM Eastern. It will be streamed on the host's YouTube, .
