Khenal
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Chapter Three-Hundred Fifty-Eight
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 02:28:20 +0000 UTC_______
Tarl
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The next day, Tarl leads Laineir and Golond around Silvervein, introducing them to the various people in charge. Serd can’t take too much time to meet with them, but that’s fine by the dungeoneers. They’re not there to take up his time, but to be polite and let him know they’re there.
The situation is similar with Kenneth, though the gnome is busy wrapping things up and preparing to return to the Dwarven Holds. The only thing they really need is to know if there’s an adventurer’s guild forming or formed, which he confirms isn’t a thing yet. When the Maw ruled, delving was regulated by its priests, similar with regulating the surrounding tunnels and caverns. The Rangers are working on establishing a branch in Silvervein, but no official adventuring guild application has graced his desk yet.
They thank him and take their leave, the two foxkin looking troubled. It’s hard to blame them. Their new post doesn’t have an adventuring guild to negotiate with, which will hurt their profitability. Still, Tarl doesn’t think the situation is hopeless.
“Let’s go meet the Shield and Thedeim churches. Until someone makes a proper guild for adventurers, I bet those two will be your best sources for information and income.” He doesn’t miss the look the two share at the idea of meeting the church of a dungeon, but they don’t voice their concerns, and instead follow him. He eases them into it, heading for the Crystal Shield church first.
They’ve claimed a small portion of the Maw’s former temple complex. There’s simply too much space for it to go unused, so much of it is being converted into space for the city officials, as well as wealthy housing and shopping districts. Unsil is still in charge, and he seems to be settling well into the role of a priest now, rather than a paladin. Tarl nods at the dwarf at the door in greeting before heading inside, and easily spots the large wolfkin organizing the main dais.
“Unsil! Do you have the time to meet Golond and Laineir, the new dungeoneers?”
The wolfkin looks up and smiles before he approaches. “Tarl! Of course! I take it this means you’ll be headed back to Fourdock soon?”
The elf nods. “Yep. I can only guess what nonsense Thedeim’s gotten up to while I’ve been here. I know he’s done something, but everyone I talk to is being vague about the details.”
Unsil smirks. “Then I won’t ruin the surprise.” His smile shifts from teasing to welcoming as he turns his attention to the two foxkin. “Welcome to Silvervein, you two. I’m Unsil, Paladin of the Crystal Shield, and if I’m not careful, I’ll get tied down as the Head Priest of this particular church.” He offers a hand to shake, which the two politely do.
“Inspector Tarl says you will probably be one of the people to talk to about dungeon information?” asks Laineir, earning a shrug from the large wolfkin.
“I hope not. I do like delving, but I don’t know if the local dungeons are going to be what I want to delve for a while. Is there no adventuring guild yet?”
Golond shakes his head. “Not yet. The locals are still apparently sorting out how they feel about dungeons.”
Unsil nods at that. “I imagine they’ll warm up quickly, especially with Thedeim’s church slowly gaining popularity. His congregation is pretty big on self improvement and broadening their horizons, so a lot of the non-combat sorts are dabbling in delving.”
Laineir takes a few moments to collect her thoughts before responding. “The Shield doesn’t mind a new church staking claims?”
Unsil barks a laugh. “Hardly! Thedeim is pretty live-and-let-live, and he’s had good dealings with the church in the past. He’s not willing to officially work on much together, but unofficially, his priesthood and followers are happy to help wherever they can.”
“And… you said the civilian classes are interested in delving?” asks Golond, looking incredulous.
The wolfkin nods. “They are. With the number of cooking classes around here, I’ve been doing a lot of dagger classes to help them get on their feet. Heh, and I’ve attended a few classes from them to learn how to better cook. I’ll never be able to make anything with a buff, but I can at least make camp chow that’ll taste better than wet socks now.”
Tarl nods. “We were going to head over to Thedeim’s church next, so see if they’re interested in the services of the Dungeoneers.”
“A good place to go next. The Shield church will be interested in more information on Vanta once he’s better suited to some combat delving, but I expect we’ll have to head to Fourdock if we want to do any fighting for a while.”
“What about delving the Southwood?” asks Golond, earning another shrug from the large wolfkin.
“If he gets some good encounters, sure. I’ve heard rumors of him testing a few fights, but I don’t think he’s going to go changing everything. He’s a pretty old toybox, yeah? They don’t usually switch things up, do they?”
Laineir reluctantly shakes her head. “No, not really. There are examples of them setting their denizens to harass delvers when the mana is lean, but toybox denizens are rarely a problem for adventurers.”
Unsil nods, glad his understanding is accurate. “Then I expect, at most, we’ll have a few acolytes escorting some civilians every so often. I’ll probably talk with Heno and Vera about it later.”
“Alright. We’ll head over there next. Looks like you’re getting ready for a service?” speaks up Tarl, looking around.
“It’s still an hour away, but yeah. It was good to meet you two. I’m sure an adventurer’s guild will get organized soon enough.” Unsil and the foxkin shake hands once more before Tarl leads them out.
“Unsil’s a good guy, and the Silverveiners love him. He was in charge of keeping the townsfolk safe from the Maw and its followers when Thedeim launched the attack on it.”
“The dungeon actually coordinated and thought ahead to protect the town?” asks Laineir, still confused about how a dungeon that’s supposed to be about a year old could think about a detail like that.
“Yep. The Guild has him listed as Cloistered, so he’s certainly older than his discovery date.”
“You’ve… delved him before, right?” probes Golond, and Tarl is all too happy to oblige his curiosity.
“I’ve inspected him several times, and delved on my own a few times, too. He’s weird, but helpful. If something needs to be done, he’ll get it done, and in a way nobody expects. He subsumed Neverrest before he even got a Voice, vassalized Hullbreak before he could starve himself in his grief, he’s mentoring a new dungeon in Fourdock, and allied with the Southwood. And destroyed the Maw and the Harbinger.” Tarl pauses on that one before elaborating.
“I don’t know too much about the Harbinger, except it was bad news, and had a weird new typing that even Thedeim didn’t like. Thedeim likes all kinds of strange things, so if he doesn’t like something, it’s usually a good sign to be cautious about it at the minimum. But you probably want to know more about his followers than himself, right?”
Both foxkin nod as Tarl continues to lead the way for the more middle class tunnels and the location of Thedeim’s small church. “He’s not big on authority, so he’s been pretty taciturn when it comes to directing them. Last I heard, he gave them just one rule to follow: to love. Not to romance, but to love, to help, to be concerned with the wellbeing of those around them. So I imagine, even if you’re outright hostile to them, they’ll politely show you the door and ask you to not return.”
Golond shakes his head. “We’re not going to be hostile to our potential customers. I was just… worried about how the followers of a dungeon would react to the Dungeoneers, and worried we might accidentally offend them if we don’t bow and scrape for Thedeim.”
Tarl waves his concern off as the entrance for the church comes into view. “They don’t mind. Most of the followers here are converts from the pale elves and dwarves, but there’s enough of his dwellers around to help keep the zeal to a minimum. And Heno and Vera keep things running smoothly. Thedeim’s ratkin are pretty good at keeping things calm, probably following in Teemo’s footsteps.”
“Aren’t Voices usually among the most zealous of a dungeon’s scions?” points out Laineir, and Tarl chuckles as he nods.
“Usually, sure. The Stag for the Southwood is a great example. But Thediem specifically told Teemo to keep him grounded, and he doesn’t see any reason to not apply that to everyone. The ratkin tend to follow that same philosophy and treat people like people, not whatever their status is.” Tarl nods at the pale elf and dwarf standing to either side of the entrance, earning a nod from them each in return before they return to their duty of guarding.
Inside, the church is rather utilitarian in its design and decor, though examples of creativity are slowly starting to find their places among the benches, floor, walls, and ceiling. At the back is a simple orange circle on the wall, with a small podium before it for the priesthood to give their sermons, or for teachers to lecture from, according to Unsil.
Currently, there is neither a lecture nor a sermon going on right now, and instead a few scattered followers either offer quiet prayer or chat with each other or the priesthood. A ratkin notices the group and holds his arms wide, welcoming the group of Dungeoneers.
“Tarl! Are these two your replacements?” asks Heno as he walks toward them, wrapping the elf in a welcoming hug once he reaches him.
“That they are, Heno. Where’s Vera?”
“She’s resting. She’s due in just a couple weeks, and the little ones are taking their toll on her.”
“I hope everything goes well on that front.”
Heno smiles. “As do I. I have a good feeling about it, though. Between Lord Thedeim’s followers and the Crystal Shield, I don’t think either of us could hope for a better situation for her to give birth in.” He turns his attention to the two foxkin. “Welcome to Thedeim’s church, Dungeoneers! I’m Heno.”
“These are Golond and Laineir,” introduces Tarl, with Heno hugging the two in turn.
“Can I get you two a drink? Or perhaps simply a seat?” he offers, gesturing to the nearest bench. The foxkin awkwardly accept the hospitality of a seat, though they wave off the offered refreshments.
“We actually came because there’s no adventurer guild, and Tarl suggested your uh… congregation might be interested in the services of the Dungeneers?”
Heno nods at that. “Ah, of course. I’ll certainly bring up the possibility of someone officially founding a guild at the next service, but even without one, I do think a lot of us will be interested in information. The Southwood may be Lord Thedeim’s ally, but that doesn’t give us any special insight into how to best delve him. Delving might not be required of us, but it’s still an excellent way to improve ourselves and experience something new.”
The two foxkin look relieved at that, but Heno turns his attention to Tarl before they can reply. “Oh, and speaking of something new…”
“Are you going to tell me what everyone is keeping quiet about?” asks Tarl with hope, only for Heno to smirk and dash it.
“No. But there is something else you might find interesting. Lord Thedeim has a new affinity.” Tarl can feel the hairs on his neck stand up, before he realizes the feeling is a lot more literal than metaphorical! He turns as he raises from his seat, the rotation of his own power if not the ascent itself. He quickly finds himself standing on the ceiling, looking up… down at the three, his eyes narrowing as opposed to the wide stare from Golond and Laineir.
“Gravity,” explains Heno with a wide smile, acting like there’s nothing unusual about placing Tarl on the ceiling. “It’s what makes down. We’re still trying to figure it out, but isn’t it wonderful?”
Tarl folds his arms, considering this development for a few seconds before sighing and looking to the two foxkin. “See? This is why you two should be happy to be assigned here instead of Fourdock. Whoever heard of a dungeon getting a new affinity?” If his suspicions are correct, the affinity isn’t just new to Thediem, but new, somehow. Just that thought is enough to make him briefly consider delaying his return. The paperwork for something like that must be a bureaucratic raid boss. The only question is if helping Telar with it would be better than dealing with whatever other paperwork she’ll leave him as revenge for not helping.
He should probably try to get back quickly.
Comments
Robinn57
Thank you for the chapter. bureaucratic raid boss. Lol
PEBZ101
Im sure somehow Thediem and Teemo are watching and laughing! It would be a shame for him to Tarl's face when he understands the gravity of the situation!
Matthew Rodencal
I love that even the priests catch on to "the boss wants tarl to experience the tree of seasons and all the shenanigans he's been up to since Tarl left fordock, personally." Surprise! Mountain worth of paperwork time!
Gregs_Crow
pls more tarl
