Angus POV

I reluctantly hit the option to leave the dungeon as I didn’t want to press my luck. How often can you say you spent a few hours fighting things and managed to level from the teens to 53? After making my selection, I felt a slight disorientation from the transfer and found myself in the gazebo structure with Inkler by my side. The red lights had gone, and I turned to see a group of drow waiting on me. The priestess I recognized immediately, tapping her foot and visibly restraining herself from further action. Behind her in an arch were eight scantily clad drowesses, though each one managed to have a family crest on a bit of cloth big enough to make it out. Most had slight aging lines around their eyes, and I assumed they would be the heads of clans. Behind them was another arch of drow. Each of the matriarchs had a younger drowess behind at her left hand, while an armored escort was behind at her right hand.

“Hello matriarchs.” I said with a slight bow. That got several raised eyebrows at my audacity.

“Care to explain what this was all about, Angus?” The priestess asked, barely hiding the fury in her voice. I craned my neck just a bit and saw that the entire line had been disbanded, but almost all of the guards were standing in such a way that they had an ear pointed toward the conversation.

“That’s not a problem, though are you sure we should do so out here? Where anyone could listen?”

“Heh. A man that actually uses his head for thinking.” One of the matriarchs snickered. “And where would you have us go?”

“Surely there is a room large enough for your entourages nearby? I have no requirements save that the room be secured.”

“Follow me then.” The priestess ordered, turning and storming off towards a building I hadn’t noticed before. I fell in line behind her, while the matriarchs worked out their own pecking order. I was a bit nervous with all of those semi hostile drow behind me, but focusing on walking with a straight back helped. Entering the building, we walked straight past two staircases leading up, and entered an unlabeled door. Inside was an odd table setup. Imagine a round table cut in half. Extending from the flat portion are two arms that would be the original edge of the circle, only they don’t quite connect, leaving a gap to walk through. At the head of the table is another round portion, with one seat. Each side of the round table had four chairs for the matriarchs.

“Take a seat in the middle of the table.” The priestess ordered as she moved around to the head of the table. The matriarchs filed in, and it hit me. Each matriarch was a leg of the spider that the table would resemble when viewed from above. The priestess was the head, while I would be in the middle of the stomach. “So, care to explain just what happened to our dungeon?”

“Sure. I guess the dungeon wanted to test a demigod monster by upping the difficulty level. Did you know that the first fifty floors are merely a test?” I answered in a relaxed manner.

“Of course we knew of the test.” One of the matriarchs near the foot of the table snapped. “What are you planning to do to our dungeon? ANSWER ME!” She shouted when she realized I hadn’t even turned my head to look at her. I answered when the priestess nodded at me.

“Nothing.” I answered curtly. Before anyone else could speak, and the matriarch who had just yelled looked nearly apoplectic, the matriarch just to the right of the priestess raised a hand.

“Perhaps a step back is in order. Do you prefer to be called Angus?”

“That’s perfectly fine matriarch.” I answered with a slight nod of my head. She simply smiled, probably for scoring a point in a game I had no idea about.

“Thank you. So, Angus, what did you know about the dungeon before you entered it today?”

“I knew that it hasn’t been conquered, and that it supported multiple instances. I was also made aware of the badge ranking system.”

“That’s all?” At my nod, the much calmer matriarch continued. “I see. Then we need to catch you up on what occurred. When you entered, alarms blared and nobody was allowed to enter afterwards. Any who tried were informed that testing was underway and that the dungeon would open up again after the test. May I ask how the test went?”

“It was incredibly difficult. I fought a series of monsters, starting with a low level slime and culminating in a level 65 manawarped abyssal hunter.” At the mention of the last monster, all the matriarchs reacted. Several stiffened, a few sucked in a deep breath, and almost all of their eyes widened. “After defeating him, I received a notification that I could alter the difficulty of the dungeon, up to any level I had cleared in divine difficulty.”

“And what would happen if you altered the difficulty?”

“The rewards would increase or decrease accordingly.”

“May we see anything you have earned as rewards?” The priestess asked, so I put an example of each item I had taken out of the dungeon. As I did, there were a few notifications that I quickly read.

Potion degradation!

You have taken divine tier potions outside of the dungeon. Sadly, the ambient mana is insufficient to maintain their potency. They have been downgraded to the following:

Greater health potion x 9

Greater mana potion x 10

Greater recovery elixir x 1

Saintly cure disease potion x 5

Satiety pill x 1

The ‘nice’ matriarch, who I no doubt has ordered atrocities that would be unthinkable, lit up when she saw Kindness. “Oh? I didn’t realize that DeSade had created a sword. Most of his things are more, bedroom friendly.”

“DeSade?” I asked, confused.

“A nobility of some sort, I forget his actual rank. A rather gifted enchanter and blacksmith, most of his creations are renowned for their ability to inflict pain without killing or crippling the victim, be they willing or not.” She explained. “Though he was very careful that most of his creations could serve a more mundane purpose. To keep those prudes who worship Pelor at bay, you see.”

“Of course.” I said, pretending to understand. Several smirks let me know that they would allow me this polite fiction. Then the angry one opened her mouth again.

“We’ll be taking the rest of this as well, I’m sure our craftsmen will enjoy -.” Her words cut off as a feeling of death and rage filled the air. My priestess smiled, as did several of the matriarchs, though Angry and two others relegated to the ends of the table looked confused. I did notice that every single bodyguard had a hand on weapon hilt, and oddly enough that the drowess behind Angry was subtly leaning forward with a predatory look to her eyes.

“Should you try and take my items.” I spoke in a cold voice, turning slowly to stare her down. “I will end you. Not only that, but any time I need to walk through the streets of your city I will drag your severed head behind me. I’ll charge a copper a turn for anyone who wants to use your head for a few moments of enjoyment, until your jaw rots off. Do I make myself clear?”

She sneered, and was starting to rise when a yowling growl from next to her chair caused her to freeze. Inkler decided to reveal just his head, fangs bared as he was ready to attack at a moment’s notice. I turned back to the priestess, content to let the bitch sit in fear for a while. Though she had a scowl on her face, I could see the glee in the priestess’ eyes as she watched this unfold.

“Of course, your winnings are your own.” The priestess said, imperiously dismissing my items with a wave of her hand. “Would you mind showing us your badge?”

“Badge?”

“The dungeon should have placed a badge in your inventory when you left.” The nice matriarch explained.

“Huh, how did I miss that?” I said as I pulled it out and showed everyone. It was hexagonal like the ones they were expecting, but that was about it. Silvery white with a gold and black border, there was a golden 50 in the middle of it.

“I thought they were all blue?” I heard one of the matriarch’s heirs mutter, earning her a few subtle glares.

“I assume blue is for normal difficulty. Would you like me to increase the dungeon difficulty on our way out?” I asked.

“Not at this time.” The priestess waved off my offer. “Perhaps you could see if you could designate someone as a caretaker of sorts?”

“I will try.” I promised. “Who would you prefer?”

“I doubt you would survive the negotiations.” The nice matriarch answered. “Perhaps we should hold off on doing this for right now?”

“That’s fine with me.” I quickly answered. “I do have some things I need to take care of, that are a priority right now. If you have finished your discussions by then I will be more than happy to try. If not, that is fine too.”

“Very well. I will escort Angus back to his abode. In the meantime, I will say that should the matriarchs fail to reach a consensus before Angus is ready to leave, we will have him attempt to set up one of the priestesses of Lolth as caretaker of the dungeon.” I stood at the same time as the priestess, holding the door and following her out without saying anything else to the matriarchs.

She was quiet as she stormed through the streets. Her guards were incredibly agitated, and every time I tried to talk to her she silenced me with a glare. Shrugging, I fell into silent step with her. People hurried to clear a path. I was even surprised to see people halt for a second at the practice yard near where I was staying, only to immediately go back to what they were doing. I opened the door and entered the cottage, and the priestess followed me in.

“Wait outside, and hear nothing.” She ordered her guards before shutting the door in their faces. “Do you realize the shit-storm you just summoned?”

“You say that as if I knew it would happen and did it anyway. It’s not like I had a choice about the dungeon.” I fired right back.

“Choice? You always have a choice. That dungeon doesn’t even kill the natives of this world, they just get banned from entering for a week! You could have simply died and come right back out!”

“And how the hell am I supposed to know that? It’s not like I got a guide to your dungeon before going in there!”

“You adventurers always come back to life! It should be obvious!”

“And what am I to do if I keep coming back inside the dungeon? Keep dying forever? Fuck that shit.”

“Too late to change things now. We just have to keep you safe.”

“What do you mean keep me safe? What about that contract?”

“Oh you sweet summer child, do you think that contract infallible? There are loopholes in every contract, no matter how tight it is, and the matriarchs will find a way around it.”

“Why would they be after me though?”

“You seriously don’t get it? Fine. You went and gained fifty levels in a day. A Day! Not only that, but you admitted to everyone there that you could increase the difficulty for everyone who enters, and increase their rewards! So now all the matriarchs see you as a key to increasing the power of their armies, letting their soldiers train in the dungeon. And every time they come out, they will be bringing in more than enough treasure to pay their salaries. A key they absolutely must control in some way. Then you go and offer to let someone be caretaker for you. Had I not stepped in and said that the church would take control if they couldn’t agree within a week then you would have singlehandedly plunged the entire city into a civil war. Oh sure, most of it would be assassins in the shadows, but that has a way to bleed into the city when only two major families are going at it. Can you even imagine if all eight families went to war?”

“Oh.” I said in a subdued voice. I didn’t realize all the implications until they were spelled out, but now it seemed rather obvious.

“Oh, he says.” She mocked, throwing her hands up. “As if the possibility of a shadow war with you as the prize can be summed up with a two letter word. Idiot. You’re damn lucky to have made it out of there without being chained in a dungeon and forced into being a stud horse for noble women.” She stared at me for a second before continuing. “What do you need before heading out?”

“Huh? Just a bit of rations and a direction towards Lucifer’s area. Other than that, I’m good to go.”

“Fine. Brownie! I know you can hear me. Head out and gather enough rations for a week. Bring it out within a half hour or face punishment.” She ordered, turning back to me. “We will sneak you out of the city, but I want you to summon your shadowgheist and send it out with the guards. Does it have any distance limitations?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve never tried.”

“Seriously? Damnit, you are practically useless. We’ll just have to hope for the best then. I’ll show you the tunnels and you’ll have to travel them alone. Don’t worry, as long as you carry this then you won’t have any issues with traps.” As she spoke, she tied an armband to me with the symbol of Lolth on it. “After you exit the tunnels, head south. Lucifer’s territory is a two-day hike; you’ll know it when you hit the graveyards. Good luck.”

“Is there anything between the tunnel exit? How am I going to return to the city?”

“This is the Underdark, of course there are dangers between the tunnel and the graveyard. Try not to kill them all, we do actively cultivate many of them.” She added, still somewhat upset with me. “As for returning, use the armband. Put it on, and say, ‘Lolth, I require transport to the city.’ She will take you and Inkler back, though it will be taxing for her.”

“Wait, why do I have to rely on Lolth’s magic? Don’t you have return stones like the above ground cities?”

“By Lolth, you are insatiable! Last questions. No, we don’t have those trinkets. The magic field is too strong down here to use most personal portals. Divine energy is almost always needed. Now, I think I heard the brownie drop off your rations. Follow me.” She ordered, heading into the kitchen. Sure enough, there were seven packages sitting on the counter waiting for me. I quietly picked them up and put them in my inventory, turning to find the priestess looking around in the pantry for something. Reaching up, she grabbed a bag off the top shelf and pulled on it.

“Careful!” I started forward to help her, as she was tugging with only one hand, when the bag slid forward a foot and a click sounded. The ceiling dropped down and her spare hand reached up and caught a ladder that was descending.

“Relax, I’ve got this.” She said, backing up and dropping the ladder all the way down. “Summon your gheist, then head up the ladder. It should only take you three hours to travel through the tunnels. Good luck.” She ordered, stepping out of the way.

“Thank you for the help priestess.” I said, stepping towards the ladder. Before I could do anything else, she placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Be careful, Lucifer has been feasting on summoned creatures for long enough that he is likely a demigod ranked monster at the least. He also mastered fire magic, so watch for that.”

“I thought undead would be afraid of fire magics?” I said.

“They are. That’s why he learned it, so he could stop any burn effects. Now go, and hurry back.”

“Don’t worry, I will. [Shadowgheist].” I summoned a clone, then watched as Inkler flowed up the ladder. Following him, I turned back to see the priestess already closing the ladder behind me. Facing down the tunnels again, I followed Inkler, looking forward to finishing this divine quest.