Chapter One-Hundred Seventeen


    <strong>Tarl</strong>


    The Inspector of the Fourdock branch of the Dungeoneers Guild grins as he finishes his foe with one final sh. It was a long and arduous battle, but it joins its brethren in the pile of the defeated, and he cleans his weapon, not letting it drip, before putting it away.


    He takes a moment to relish in his victory, d to have the horde beaten back, even if only for another year. He nces over to hispanion, d to see her enjoying victory in her own way. Truth be told, she is the far more experiencedbatant in this field, with nary a stter anywhere on her.


    He nces at his own hands, and can only shake his head at how easily they tell the tale of the conflict. Still, theyre victorious. How do you manage to fill out so many forms without getting any ink on you at all? he asks as he leans back in his chair, the paperwork and taxes for the end of the year finallyplete.


    His desk bears many dried blots of ink, but his stack of papers only has the minimum of blemishes. The ones with too many have been destroyed in the firece, never to betray Tarl with the truth of his penmanship. His quill and inkpoty in their spot on the desk, the feathered instrument of bureaucracy and itspanion finally finished with their duties for now.


    Experience, Tr replies with a smile over her hot cup of tea, and Tarl cant help but give her an exaggerated roll of his eyes.


    Fine, keep your secrets. A master of her craft is entitled to some, I suppose, he says with augh as he stands and stretches. Is there any tea left?


    Of course. Im not a barbarian to make you do all this and not let you have at least some kind of reward. Were running low on honey, though. You might want to go on a more ordinary delve if you want to get us some more.


    Heughs as he pours himself a cup, and adds a bit of milk and honey, too. Itd probably be a good idea to see how Thedeimsing along with Hullbreak, too. He hasnt sent Teemo here in a panic, so it cant be going <em>too</em> poorly, he says with a chuckle, before giving the teapot a shake and listening.


    Should be plenty for at least one more cup, he says as he nods, and takes his seat at his desk once more. Theyll need to clean up some and magically send the forms, but that wont take too much longer at all.


    Tarl enjoys the warm tea as he turns over in his head his ns for how to delve Thedeim. Hes seen the gauntlet, but never actually tried it


    His thoughts are interrupted as two figures enter the guild, and hes a little surprised to see its Torlon and Staiven. They seem to be in the middle of discussing something, too.


    -impossible! insists Staiven, and Torlon just smiles.


    Clearly not. The gnome raises his hands to stall Staiven before he can try to argue more. Magical theory was never my forte. But now were here, you can ask Tarl yourself.


    The aged ratkin sighs, but epts that he should talk to the one with more expertise. Tarl, for his part, waves the two to have a seat as he enjoys a sip of his tea. After a few moments to collect his thoughts, Staiven speaks.


    How old is Thedeim?


    He was discovered roughly eight months ago.


    But how <em>old</em> is he?


    Tarl smiles as his attempt fails. How old do you think he is?


    Staiven throws his hands up. I dont know! But Ill tie my tail in a bow if hes only eight months old!


    Tarl raises an eyebrow at the exmation, and Torlon takes over to let Staiven try to calm down some. Rhonda and Freddie got their sses from Thedeim, and theyre unusual.


    Are they alright? asks Tarl, worried something could have happened.


    Huh? Oh! Torlon smiles and shakes his head at himself. I meant the <em>sses</em> are unusual. As far as I can tell, the children are perfectly fine.


    Tarl rxes back into his seat, relieved. Whats unusual about the sses? Did Rhonda be a pdin and Freddie is now a mage? he asks with a chuckle, recalling how <em>both</em> kids ended up with a spider.


    Torlon shakes his head. Rhonda is an Ice Sage, and Freddie is a Legionnaire Pdin of the Shield.


    Tarl looks interested, but not shocked. I havent heard of those before.


    Staiven speaks up. Thats because Rhonda and Freddie are the first. Sage and Legionnaire are <em>Thedeims</em> words!


    Tarls eyes bulge for a moment as his body wars with itself. Instinct demands he clear his airway of the sip of tea, but his battle reflexes refuse to let something like a spit-take ruin the results of the trials of thest several days. He manages to swallow the drink properly before coughing, only vaguely aware of Staiven looking relieved to have his concerns taken seriously.


    Torlon looks over to Staiven. I guess you werent wrong about that being significant, after all.


    No, hes not! manages Tarl as he gets his coughing under control. He takes a deep breath before continuing. Youre both sure thats their sses?


    Rhonda let me scry her, states Staiven.


    I cant scry, but Freddie demonstrated for me. Ive never even heard of a pdin of the Shield being able to do what he did.


    Tarl sighs and sets his tea aside. Well, Im not an expert in sses, but I do know dungeons. And youre right, Staiven: a dungeon only eight months old should not have the kind of strength of concepts to be able to help someone manifest a new ss around them.


    Torlon suddenly looks serious. Should we be worried?


    Tarl shakes his head. Not for the kids, at least. Whatever a Sage and a Legionnaire are, they were, in at least some way, always part of them. Thedeim being Fate affinity helps exin it somewhat but not fully. He pauses to feel out the geas of secrecy he took for Thedeim, and measures his words carefully.


    The Guild will probably want to ssify him as Cloistered, once they get the report.


    The gnome and ratkin both look confused at that, and Tarl smiles, d to get away from secrets and into the familiarity of dungeon ssifications. Its a subssification, like Deep or Submerged. Cloistered means it was stuck for a while in a small area, before expanding. Generally, it means a dungeon will be more mentally mature than its size would indicate, as the dungeon spent some amount of time without outside influence and could work through actually forming ideas. And Cloistered dungeons often have strange concepts, since they didnt develop with outside ideas to guide them. Its rare, and even more rare for a Cloistered dungeon to be cooperative. Thankfully, thanks to his Fate affinity, its probably not going to raise too many eyebrows. Fate dungeons are always a bit strange.


    Torlon simply nods at the exnation. Staiven looks a little more relieved at it, but not fully. What about Rhonda and Freddies sses?


    Tarl shrugs. Teach them? Youre their mentors, not me. Thedeim cant exactly take the sses back. Just y them off as obscure, instead of something unique from Thedeim, if anyone asks. I dont have any advice for <em>how</em> to teach them, though, he says, and soon continues, cutting off Staiven before he can interrupt.


    If its some weird magic, go ask Thedeim. Youre probably the magic expert around here, so I cant think of anyone else for you to ask. If hes doing it weird, ask him. If he doesnt tell you well, do you tell just anyone how to enchant something?


    Staiven doesnt look happy, but doesnt argue. He doesnt stay silent, either. Do you have a book on the subssifications that I could borrow?


    Tarl nods. Well need a couple days to get these papers settled, but that shouldnt be a problem. You could probably talk to the Adventurers Guild if you want to research sses a bit more, too.


    The idea of research has Staiven looking much more in his element, and much less worried for his apprentice. Torlon stands in his chair and smiles at them both, before focussing on Staiven.


    Shall we go now? I wouldnt mind researching a bit of the various pdin variants, too. If Freddie is a pdin of many, I might need to be prepared to teach him a wide variety of things.


    Staiven nods and stands, and offers Tarl his hand to shake. Thank you for your time, Inspector, and for taking me seriously. Its been a while since I felt out of my depth about something.


    Tarl smiles and shakes his hand. No problem at all, Staiven. Im sure the kids will be fine, just as Im sure you two have your work cut out for you helping them reach their potential.


    The two mentorsugh at that and soon leave, and Tarl sits back down to finish his cup of tea.


    What would <em>you</em> ssify Thedeim as? asks Tr from her desk.


    Hmm? he responds, in the middle of a sip.


    You said the Guild would ssify him as Cloistered, but not what <em>you</em> would.


    He just stays quiet enjoying his tea, though he does turn and give her a smile over his cup.


    After a few moments, she smiles back. Fine, keep your secrets. I suppose a master of his craft deserves some.