Worthy Core

4:00 PM

"You really brought back an interesting bunch with you, didn't ya?" Trush chuckles as Prince Thaddeus and his party finish sitting down at a table in the Fiver's Lounge. The others they had led back to the dungeon had been sent into the public inn instead, but Thaddeus had been hoping for more of a quiet moment to relax. Unfortunately, the Rabbit Knight was quick to come over and say hello as soon as he'd noticed them.

"As many as we could manage, I believe." Thaddeus nods towards his wife, as Tizzy gets to ordering a drink from a passing barbunny. "Those nobleborn Challengers were quite helpful with that, actually. Tizzy's never had to cloak so many people at once before, so if they hadn't made a hole in the forces watching the town things may have been somewhat difficult for us."

The imp nods along. "They were pretty impressive, alright! Though it only makes it kind of scarier that they never even considered fighting the dragon directly. I mean, Beatrice and Xenia managed it with a much less powerful party, from what I've heard."

"Aye, I've heard the story of Xenia the Blade's final moments myself, but I can only imagine the dragons in Beatrice's realm are...not quite up to local standards." Trush shakes his head as he claims a seat. "Not that there's many of them left in this era, mind you. Maybe half a dozen in the world, and some of those haven't been seen in ages from the tales I've heard." The man gestures towards an empty space next to him. "Speaking of, Xenia's here with us now, and...it seems she'd like an update. Just who are all those people you led back, by the way?"

The prince explains. "Well, other than the group we just mentioned, there's also Raylin and his bodyguard, who Xenia probably recognized. Lady Highbranch herself remained behind to oversee the town's surrender, which...I suppose I'll get to in a moment. There's also a handful of other lower-ranked Challengers who didn't want to join the surrender, and some Rainlander army soldiers who'd been in the town when we were cut off from the fort. The largest group however is the soldiers who were manning the checkpoint at the base of the mountain. That seemed to be virtually every remaining soldier left in these woods, and they didn't feel like standing around and waiting to be crushed the moment the Domain turned their focus in that direction. So, they retreated here...I hope that's not an issue?"

"Not at all. If we end up needing to defend the place from Domain attack, every hand could be helpful, mortal or monster." The rabbit pauses for a moment as Xenia explains something to him. "...Also, logistically, it shouldn't be an issue either. Even if Xenia wants to reserve some of her daily mana for emergencies, she's been summoning up food supplies for ages now. A barracks for sleeping space is within the floor limits, so...hrmm, it sounds as if we could withstand a siege here til every mortal grows old and gray, apparently."

Reed, the fencer, furrows his brow from the other side of the table. "And it's not an issue, having so many people living inside of a dungeon instead of running it?"

Trush scoffs at the question. "Ask the Domain - they've done it for ages, though I don't know if anyone outside knows just how many people they've crammed into one before. As for shutting down the normal dungeon business, heh, we've actually had to make that explicit. Some of the Challengers here wanted to keep running the dungeon just for something to do, never mind that we might need every hand to fend off a serious attack at any moment. Fortunately, they've been discouraged."

Tizzy grimaces. "Uh...how, exactly?"

"Well, literally, of course, we specifically told them not to do it. But on top of that Xenia's already been reconfiguring the floors. Enthusiasm to do a 'quick run' of Floor One dropped pretty quickly after hearing that it's getting top-tier monsters now, hah!"

"What about dungeon loot?" Thaddeus rubs his chin in thought. "Wouldn't it be better if the Challengers here were better equipped? Or...I suppose you could just give them new gear."

"Aye, we've been giving them some trinkets." Trush waggles a hand. "As for the high-end shit, since it's expensive to make Xenia doesn't actually have that big an arsenal in storage. We're holding that back for the teams we trust. Might include you, if you ask nicely, heh."

"We might want to do that." The prince sighs before shifting topics. "As to the matter of Grassbrook - I don't know if Xenia was able to see it from here, but the Dragonlord did a personal flyby with, ah, a bit of an entourage. To attack the defenses to the north, for today, but a promise that they would be returning tomorrow completely deflated all ideas of a serious defense. The fort had already fallen in the early morning, it seems. At least it sounds as if the Domain is offering merciful terms."

"All that quickly, eh?" Trush taps his thick, paw-like fingers upon the tabletop. "Xenia thinks, and I agree, that they're probably going to turn their attention on us next. And by 'they', I mean the Dragonlord personally. Insane to consider...the war front must be hundreds, perhaps over a thousand miles wide, if they're indeed attacking both the Valleylands and the Rainlands at the same time. But they're going to be spending their time and energy here."

Nalain, the orcish Stalwart Shield, speaks up with resolve in her voice. "Well, you're not alone! You've got us, obviously, but we saw how crowded the place is! Just how many people have gathered here while we were down in the town?"

"A good question, and one Xenia would like to answer - but it seems that it's a matter for a council to discuss. Which we're apparently going to be doing in about fifteen minutes, once we can scrounge all the present VIPs together. You up for it, prince?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The man sighs, having only just received the drink Tizzy had ordered for him. "A man's duty is never done..."

While Thaddeus had seen some of Xenia's meeting rooms before, it seems as if today they're going to be gathering inside an unusually large one. It needs to be, going by the number of people gathering within it. Mortals and floor guardians both share the space, although the main table appears to be reserved for VIPs while others stand in the back of the room. Almost as soon as the man sits down Xenia herself appears at the head of the table, her black-and-white visage indicating that it is indeed her and not Emma being present as a stand-in. The prince tries not to shiver, knowing that Xenia tends to reserve her avatar time for when things are either particularly good or particulary bad - and this is definitely no party.

The dungeon master wastes none of that time and gets right to business. "Alright, looks like everyone here! You all know how serious shit is, so I'm not gonna spend time on pleasantries. Welcome to the official Worthy Council, our meeting agenda today is three topics. One, introductions so that everyone here knows who made it in. From the sounds of it Grassbrook is basically cut off now, so odds are anyone not present ain't gonna be showing up. Some of the folks here ain't been invited to some of these talks before, but we don't have the luxury of keeping everyone in the dark, so consider yourself provisionally trusted with at least some level of dungeon business."

Among others, a certain white-furred mousekin has a particularly nervous grin at that mention.

"Second, we'll cover the current situation, and third, discuss future plans. So, getting to it - at my right here is Sincere. He's not only my Core Guardian, but was formerly a Supreme-tier Challenger, and is our primary liaison to the elementals living below the dungeon."

The demon nods, his hands folded in front of him. "While I never fought in a war, I've lived through many, so I hope my advice can be useful."

"Hopin' so. Going around the table, next we have Alizz, who I figure will be representing most of the Challengers currently bunking with us. I hope being here ain't ruining that Challenger neutrality of yours, Alizz."

The drider gives a thin-lipped smile. "For what it's worth, our charter requires us to do our best to protect dungeons which have not been officially slated for core-cracking. If Worthy Dungeon is at risk, then we have an obligation to defend it. ...That said, I don't know that the Domain will care about that much should we fight them and be defeated. So let's attempt to avoid that outcome?"

Xenia chuckles. "That's what we're here for. Next up, we've got Bountiful Mother Hammerdown, who is...apparently on a divine quest from Kahlia herself? Honestly, I'll take whatever I can get."

Although only Elance Hammerdown is sitting at the table, the paladins Sable and Tolla watch on from one side of the room. "The Church of Bounty ain't a church of war, but we'll give you what support we can. Our hope is we'll be able to aid in providing the defenders of this place with the blessings of Kahlia and Palain...and it never hurts to have a god or two on your side, aye."

"Beats the Dragonlord at least, I get the impression they're not big on any of the churches. Then we got my good friend Beatrice, also known as the Monster Slayer, also known as the Dragon Slayer. She's probably the only damn mortal in this realm who's ever killed a dragon, so I figure she gets herself a seat at the big kid's table."

The scarred woman gives a nervous laugh. "Well, I wouldn't mind adding another trophy to my collection. But if it comes to it, I imagine it'll end up being a hell of a team effort."

"Killing the Dragonlord!?" From across the table, Raylin Highbranch shakes his head in disbelief. "Is it even possible?"

Xenia is quick to keep the meeting on focus. "We'll get to plans later. Alright, next - Prince Thaddeus Worthy. Yes, he's a prince, yes, he has my last name, no, I don't want to go into it. Trust that he's a Supreme-tier swordsman, and I'm planning to make him field commander of whatever otherwise unassociated mortals we get to sign on for the defense."

Thaddeus's eyes grow wide, considering that this is news to him. "Me? I mean - if you are certain, I'll do my part!"

His ancestor nods. "I don't want people having to get orders from an invisible lady all the time. They need a face they can trust, and fortunately, you've got my dashing good looks. A key part of any command position. Moving on, next we have Lord Raylin Highbranch. The man's got himself a retinue of very highly-trained bodyguards, but on top of that I've got a question for you."

The archer sits up a little straighter. "Yes, dungeon master?"

Xenia gestures towards the wall. "We've got a couple dozen Rainlander soldiers in these walls now. They answer to you? As far as I can tell, the highest ranking actual officer we've got is like, a high-Advanced squad leader or something like that who was running the checkpoint down below."

The noble has to consider it for a moment. "...If I had not been wed, I would answer that Lady Nalina Evervein would be the highest-ranking noble present. But I am, and so I suppose I speak with the authority of House Highbranch. So yes, I could take control of them, although I must admit I've been ill-trained for the command of army forces."

Thaddeus gives him a nod. "I would be happy to assist in that matter, Lord Highbranch. As long as they'll follow you, then I'm sure we'll be able to find whatever advisors you need to guide them."

"That would be a relief, Prince." Raylin takes a deep breath. "I won't ask about your origins, but your confidence and capability have certainly been displayed over the past day."

"Glad to see everyone getting along, which gets us nicely to our next guest." Xenia gestures at the mousekin. "Battle Alchemist Tinsel Hansliss here represents a couple squads of Valleyland soldiers who've taken refuge under our roof. I know you're a bit far away from home, but I hope there won't be any issues with having your people work alongside the Rainlanders?"

The woman's nervousness gives way to frustration as she answers. "There better fuckin' not be! I mean - I ain't a high-ranking officer myself, me being in charge here has always been one of those damn 'temporary' assignments that ended up becoming permanent. I mean...not that there ain't been benefits, or whatever...but I can at least keep my boys and girls in line." Tinsel looks towards Raylin. "If there's time, might be good for our people to train together a bit - or at least sort out responsibilities so we ain't stepping on anyone's toes."

"I would be glad to do so." Raylin gives her a firm nod. "While we're on the topic of introductions, I did have one question." He points towards a man in the corner. "...Is that skeleton over there a new dungeon guardian?"

The warrior in question perks up. "Hi! Nope, I'm Dave!"

"That's Dave, and that's probably all we need to hear out of him for this meeting." Xenia plants both of her palms on the table and gives everyone a hard look. "Now, let's talk about how shit this situation is."