Mirgia and Doroly went to the location of the nearby dungeon on foot. Despite her smaller stature, Doroly was easily able to keep up with Mirgia’s larger strides. Mirgia had his bow slung over his back and a short sword at his belt. Doroly had a longsword on her belt. It was tucked in quite high to avoid it hitting the ground when she walked. She must be quite strong to be swinging that thing around, Mirgia thought to himself.
They didn’t speak much during the walk. Mirgia was a man of few words and didn’t mind the quiet and it seemed like Doroly was used to walking along the road in silence as well. They made some conversation here and there, but not all that much. Eventually they reached what looked like their destination after about six hours of walking at a pretty good pace. Jutting out from the ground, a little ways away still, was a structure that looked alien to Mirgia. The way it was designed didn’t quite make sense to him, that much he could tell even at this distance. Between here and the strange structure was a camp set up and as they got close to it, a man stood up from his makeshift chair and approached the two.
“Hail travelers, what brings you here?”
Doroly stepped forward. “We’re here on behalf of some of the people of Redsan, to see what is going on. Talks of strange buildings appearing out of thin air has the townsfolk worried.”
The man smiled. “That I can imagine.” He reached out his hand. “Captain Arios Darfan. I have been given the thankless task of keeping an eye on the people here.”
“By whom?” Mirgia asked.
Arios looked him up and down. “You don’t look like a villager from Redsan.”
“Correct, I’m visiting from Milinia.”
The man smiled. “Then it’s no surprise that you’re unfamiliar with the way we work.” He motioned over to where he was sitting earlier. “Have a seat, I’ll get you up to speed.”
Mirgia and Doroly sat down.
“I didn’t catch your names,” Arios said, sitting back down in his chair. He was quite heavily armored and had a broadsword at his side.
“I’m Doroly and this is Mirgia.” She looked at the captain expectantly.
“Right, an explanation. Usually when us Sahilid take on a mission, things can be quite chaotic. In an attempt to avoid any bigger issues amongst the different members – as the glory goes to the person who solves the problem in the end – an enforcer is sent to each big endeavor. Our role is to keep things peaceful and to also assess who does what. We also mediate between members of the Sahilid and private mercenaries wherever that’s necessary.”
“Have you seen something like this before then?” Mirgia asked. “I can’t imagine enough major dungeons randomly being discovered that it requires a separate branch of mediators.”
Arios chuckled. “You would think so, but Severanti has long been a land plagued by mysteries. When the current Emperor took his throne, he soon made a habit out of actively searching for these dungeons. How he finds them regularly is his own secret, but it’s made for a lot of business to be had.”
This was all mostly news to Mirgia, the only thing he really knew about already was that the Emperor of Severanti was a bit of an oddball. It surprised him that they had kept so much of this so well hidden from their neighbors.
“Before we continue our discussion, I would like to know a bit more from you, friend elf.”
“What do you mean?”
Arios’ eyes narrowed. “With all due respect, it’s hard for me to believe that you are here without any reason, and then also choose to wander into our camp. Redsan is a quaint little village but it’s no vacation destination. I would ask you to be honest with me.”
Mirgia pondered the question for a bit. He then figured sharing some of the story couldn’t hurt. He told the man about how he and some friends – withholding who they were – ran into some trouble with a local cult. One of their magical circles then sent him flying across the continent, which is how he arrived over here.”
Arios listened intently, not interrupting him at all. When Mirgia finished he nodded. “Well, I am glad you were able to share this with me, for that means I have news for you.”
“Oh?”
“One of our companies might have run into a companion of yours the other day.”
Mirgia immediately sat up straight. He thought he’d been completely rational in his assessment of the situation, but he hadn’t considered that someone else might also be in the area. Perhaps Cobal and Mana were much closer than he thought.
“A young spirit got into conflict with some of my men the other day. After my colleague tried to mediate between them, things calmed down, but she has been hounding them relentlessly and will not leave them be. They’re supposed to meet us here, but they’re probably slowed down by her antics.”
Mirgia couldn’t help but grin. “That’s Kimi’Thania.”
“Oh, so you are acquainted?”
Mirgia nodded. “She was one of my companions before I was sent to this land. She has a long history with mages mistreating her, one of the people that clashed with her wouldn’t have happened to be wielding magic.”
Arios sighed. “Ladia, the commander of that group, is a talented spellweaver. She’s also been the one most receiving the ire of your spirit friend.” He looked at Mirgia. “Perhaps you can convince her to leave my people alone, it would be much appreciated.”
Mirgia nodded. “I’ll see what I can do, she can be quite hot-tempered.”
“You’re a strange one, Mirgia.” Doroly commented.
They all laughed.
A figure approached the captain and the two had a hushed conversation before Arios stood up. “I have some matters to attend to. You’re free to walk around the camp and see for yourself what is going on, just be aware that many of the people present are on edge due to the nature of an expedition like this. We’re not responsible for any problems they cause.” He smiled and walked off, leaving Mirgia and Doroly to talk among themselves.
“What do you think?” He asked the smallfolk mercenary.
“He seems nice enough, but something doesn’t sit right with me. It feels like the niceness is almost preventative, to soften the blow of the eventual trouble that will arise.”
Mirgia nodded. “I’m thinking the same thing. I’m sure our captain here will want to avoid any trouble with the locals, but it feels very much like he will prioritize his own people if such a thing were to happen. It reminds me of a concept Mana once told me about.”
“What is that?”
“Apparently in large companies in her world – similar to mercenary bands or armies here, but they sell products instead of raising armies – there will be a department that is in charge of the people it employs. One would assume they’re there to do what’s best for the people, but they’re always looking out for the company’s interests first. I think Captain Arios wants things to go smoothly, but if it comes to disorder, will protect his own people first and foremost, with us and the people of Redsan being secondary.”
“We best try and make sure no disorder arrives on our doorstep then,” Doroly said. “Let’s have a look around to see what we’re working with, before the sun goes down.”
Walking through the camp was a strange experience for Mirgia. He’d never been to an encampment like this before. Although many of the people there – all wearing Sahilid tunics that identified them as such – were talking amongst each other, there was a hostility in the air that someone with Mirgia’s senses was particularly susceptible too. He knew that these people were capable of snapping at a moment’s notice. He looked at Doroly at his side who seemed less tuned in to this feeling, but still on edge. Past the camp itself, Mirgia and Doroly walked up to the dungeon itself. Two guards stood in front of the entrance and stepped towards the duo as they approached.
“Halt, this dungeon belongs to the Royal Sahilid Legion,” the man said. A young human, probably not past twenty quite yet, and Mirgia sensed a hint of doubt in his otherwise demanding voice. Mirgia put on a bright smile. “We just spoke with Captain Arios, and he told us we’re free to have a look around.”
The young man looked surprised and seemed to have to think for a moment while his companion put his hand on his shoulder. “If the captain says it’s alright, then it’s alright Brihal.” He smiled at Mirgia. “Kids.”
“But the captain ordered us,” the man named Brihal started, but he was cut off by his companion. “I doubt our visitors here are planning to head into the dungeon itself, am I correct?”
Mirgia nodded his confirmation. “We’re just exploring the perimeter for now.”
“See, nothing’s going on, let them work while we keep an eye on the entrance.”
Brihal hesitated for a moment before agreeing. “Very well, but keep to the outside.”
Mirgia nodded and the two returned back to their post.
“Not sure I like someone so jumpy to be in charge of guarding something so important,” Doroly said.
“We all have to start somewhere, and I doubt it’s a coincidence they put him together with a more levelheaded companion.”
Doroly laughed. “You’re probably right.
Mirgia went to look at the structure. It appeared to be at least partially submerged into the ground, possibly a large part of it was underground, it was hard to guess. The structure was slanted as well, and about a third of the entrance was still buried. It was made out of what looked to be a crude sandstone of sorts, but it had a completely different hue from the red sand that was common here. He walked back to the two guards. “Did anyone see this thing when it appeared? I was wondering if it might have just come up from some sort of quake in the ground.”
The older man scratched his balding head. “If someone saw it, they haven’t told anyone. But tis a good theory, the captain said something similar.”
Mirgia nodded and walked to the far end of the structure. It seemed like there was very little to glean from just looking at the outside, if he wanted to know more, he’d have to go into the dungeon, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that. As he was pondering the question, he heard a scream from nearby.
Opal Kaharis 