The words on the page seem to blend together the longer I work. Irritatingly numerous documents cover the desk I've inherited, with a constant flow of new paperwork coming in. How can one measly city be this difficult to keep up with? Lord Fredrick had seemed so relaxed, yet this is what he was handling day to day?

  A quiet groan escapes me as I slump down onto the desk. This was not what I had in mind when I left the capital for this quest. It was supposed to be a simple investigation. I ask some questions, get some answers, and come back to the castle and continue my leisurely life.

  My eyes linger on a lantern stone sitting on a nearby shelf. Lord Fredrick only managed to retrieve a select few from within the dungeon, as it started barring the lights from human hands. Plans to break the stone bars apart to get at the sealed lantern stones were never fulfilled due to the incident.

  Apparently, this little glowing rock is worth gold to certain nobles.

  I can't fathom why a little light is so worthwhile. Fools, the lot of them.

  There's an urgent knocking on the door. I sigh, sitting up so as to appear professional.

  "What is it?" I call out.

  "Your Highness, you have a visitor!"

  "Well who is it? It better not be another commoner here to complain about the situation!"

  The guard on the other side of the door pauses, as if unsure how to proceed after hearing my words. It isn't seriously another disgruntled dirt farmer here to gripe about how I've handled things, is it? Why did Lord Fredrick even allow for any random peasant to visit his estate to meet with him in such a fashion? I have to instate some kind of rule against such nonsense.

  "I-It is a commoner, Your Highness..."

  "What? Turn them away. I'm busy right now."

  Instead of another reply spoken through the door I hear the sound of the heavy wooden door being opened. The guard from before sputters as a familiar face strides in. She's wearing a rather striking black dress alongside a veil, but her fiery red hair is still visible.

  "I wouldn't turn me away if I was you, Prince Theobald."

  Miss Hawthorne! This woman has the nerve to show up here after starting a veritable riot in the square during my speech. She's lucky Father favors her as a trade partner, or I'd have to throw my authority around just to teach her a lesson.

  "What do you want, Miss Hawthorne?"

  "My, you've changed. What happened to stuttering every time you talked to me?"

  "That was before you crossed the line. What gave you the idea to leak information to the public like that? It wasn't beneficial for anyone involved. Not the peasants, nor you and I!"

  My fist slams the top of the desk before I realize I've lost my temper. I take a deep shaky breath, reining in my emotions. All this administrative work has been taxing. Handling the public opinion on top of that has got me far more touchy than normal. Miss Hawthorne gives me a raised brow as she replies to my outburst.

  "I wasn't aware you had such a hot streak. First, the shouting at the common folk, and now you're blowing your top at a defenseless woman?"

  "You're not defenseless by any means, Miss Hawthorne."

  "Perhaps not."

  Leaning back in my chair, I decide I've had enough of her games.

  If she wants something from me why doesn't she just come out and say it?

  "What do you want, Miss Hawthorne?"

  Miss Hawthorne's carnation colored lips curl into an unsettling smile. She takes a seat across from me, her hands neatly folded into her lap. I'm getting a foreboding feeling watching her as she opens a little book she brought with her.

  "I want profit. Money. Resources."

  "What does that have to do with me? I'm not looking to sell you anything, not after you leaked information that never should have been so publicly available."

  "Oh, please, you really think you could keep the dungeon a secret for long?"

  I swallow nervously at her words. She knows its name? I was under the impression only the guards and Lord Fredrick knew the nature of the dungeon. Everything was in his journal, which the soldiers were able to recover from the destroyed camp.

  "I know all about the dungeon, or at least what any other person in Daywark knows."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "The guards talk, Theobald. They let things slip without meaning to. My little stunt at the square was just speeding the process up a bit."

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  She's talking sense. It's inevitable that common guards will talk about their work. What I don't understand is why she would want the information to spread faster. That stupid smug smile she's wearing gnaws at my patience.

  "I don't understand. Secrecy would help you keep a monopoly on the dungeon, wouldn't it? Who's to say I wouldn't agree to the trade deals you and Lord Fredrick had?"

  "Exclusive trade isn't what I'm after. There's something much better than that."

  Oh no. She isn't seriously suggesting what I think she is, is she? Miss Hawthorne flips to a particular page of her little book, and begins to read a passage aloud.

  "As per royal law one hundred and sixty two, instated by King Harold of the twenty second era, worldly resources are not to be monopolized by one entity. This includes the royal family, city lords, and any one individual or group."

  "That law is archaic, and outdated!"

  "Old it may be, but it still holds precedent to this day. I happen to believe His Majesty will actually agree with me on the validity of this law applying to the dungeon, Your Highness."

  My voice grows harsh as I snarl. Venom fills my words at her ridiculous idea.

  "You intend to let people walk into their death? Into the very hell that released a horde of angry monsters, which just so happened to trample Daywark's lord into paste?"

  I know my temper is lost, but I don't care in the heat of the moment. Miss Hawthorne was present for the incident. She was almost crushed just like I was. She experienced the danger of that infernal dungeon firsthand, yet here she is bidding for anyone to be able to enter it.

  "Prince Theobald, you misunderstand. I want you to work with me to regulate entry to the dungeon. You would be spearheading a new branch of the government."

  A few moments of silence pass between us. I cool off, considering what she's proposing we establish. Some kind of agency to keep those unqualified from entering the dungeon. A rather optimistic concept that requires the crown to extend opportunities to the commoners.

  I've never liked handing power down to those beneath me. It always felt like asking for trouble, to offer a tool to a child who doesn't know how to use it.

  But there is something that gives me pause. A certain memory of a woman I spent many nights with. She was one of the most intelligent women I ever knew, and she would often steer our pillow talk to the nature of our kingdom. I think if she had been born within a higher station, she would have made great improvements to our country. Her only flaw was that she was born a poor woman of common blood.

  "So, Prince Theobald?"

  "I won't do it."

  Miss Hawthorne's face falls as I refuse her. She parts her lips to continue speaking, but I cut her off before she can go on what will inevitably be an inspiring speech.

  "You'll be in charge of this."

  "M-Me? But, would that not be a conflict of interests?"

  Her strong sense of justice brings a slight grin to my face. She's definitely the right woman for the job, or perhaps she'll select someone who is even better suited to it than her. I lean back in my chair as I offer her an additional reason I won't be doing it myself.

  "I just don't want to have to do any more paperwork."

  ~

  Shades of red and pink light up the sky as the sun rises someplace unseen beyond the valley walls. The rushing sound of the river we walk beside is almost enough to ease our nerves, but we know better than to let ourselves relax in the dungeon. Complacency kills in this vile place.

  Our descent from the top of the plateau left us on a thin strip of land cut off from the forest by a flowing river. The river appears surprisingly deep, so rather than drench ourselves and risk attack by some unseen waterborne foe, we have been walking along the bank of the river. We're hoping to find some sort of natural crossing. Thus far we have had no luck.

  "How much farther to that lake, Henry?" I inquire.

  Henry has been marking his map as we've walked. He's made sure to keep the thing updated in hopes of us making our way out of this place unscathed. Henry glances at his map for a few moments before answering me.

  "Looks like it's just around the corner, Captain Dirk."

  We turn the aforementioned corner to see the lake we've only witnessed from atop the plateau. It's a lot bigger looking now that we're standing right next to its greenish blue surface. Lily pads dot the surface of the water, some blooming with pink lilies. There's the occasional splash of a fish leaping out of the water. Algae clouds the water enough to make it difficult to see much at all beneath the surface.

  Our contemplative silence is broken by Tanner.

  "Do you think the source is down there?"

  "You think the devil that runs this place is going to be at the bottom of a lake?" Billy scoffs.

  While it would be rather strange to see a demon of some kind resting at the bottom of a glorified pond like this, we can't rule it out. Nobody thought a door would open to reveal something that looks like heaven only for it to functionally be hell.

  "He has a point, Billy. This place isn't the fiery wasteland talked about in the church."

  Billy sheepishly nods his understanding. The one eyed boy approaches the edge of the water, looking out at the ripples formed by the wind brushing across the top of the water. Henry is glancing around whilst scribbling away within his little map. I'm sure he's noting the size of the lake and what kind of things are in it.

  I make my way to the water's edge, hoping to catch sight of any clues as to where this dungeon's custodian is hiding. Places like this don't just pop up from nothing. It's too alive, too intelligent in how it shifts and changes.

  "Do you see anything?" I ask the others.

  "No, just a lot of water. I think there's fish, but nothing else really," Billy pipes up.

  "Same for me, Captain Dirk. It's difficult to see with all the algae," Tanner adds.

  Henry is strangely quiet. I turn to give the man a cursory glance. He's focusing on something in his little book. I might have to scold him about paying attention to his surroundings. He may be our navigator, but he's a soldier too.

  My study of the lake resumes as I scoop some of the wet sand from the shore. The stuff smells like the kind you'd find near Daywark. Same silty mixture of detritus and coarse grains. I watch the wet sand slough off my fingers and back into the water.

  That's when Henry shouts, his voice rife with panic.

  "Captain Dirk, get back! There's something in the water!"

  Greenish blue water splashes up in a spray as something massive leaps from the lake toward me. Adrenaline courses through my veins, speeding up my reflexes. I get a good look at the fleshy interior of a wet toothless mouth. My sword slips out of its scabbard faster than the monster can swallow me.

  With the sound of meat being sliced in twain, the huge thing lets out an errant croak before falling to the ground in a heap of twitching grey flesh. Apparently, the dungeon has giant toads.