The room was silent for a few moments before Jake inhaled sharply and nodded. “Alright, it’s time to discuss all this properly. I want to stay here, and I want to fight the Fatesworne and the Corrupters. The information we’ve had from Gordon will give us the means to make a real attempt at it, and I can’t walk away without trying.”

  “You have a way out, Jake,” Nepthys said softly. “A way to the next Realm to escape all of this, why not take it?”

  “Because if I leave, if I just walk away, then nothing will change. Strovia will be in the same position it was when I arrived. The next Dungeon Noble will be caught and killed, all because I chose to run rather than fight.”

  “Nepthys does have a point,” Ari said, holding up a hand to forestall Jake’s response. “You should do what you want, but you need to know how little chance we have of winning.”

  “Oh, I understand,” Jake said firmly. “I’ve been finding my way to this decision for a while, but now that we’ve achieved our goals, it’s time to commit. I don’t ask or expect any of you to follow me in this, and I will keep everything quiet until you move on if you wish to leave.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t miss this for the world,” Aspen said, grinning madly with anticipation.

  “I’m with you, Jake,” Alan said, with far less energy but just as much conviction.

  “The Corrupters and Fatesworne are a blemish on this Realm, I would be pleased to take the time and destroy them,” Gargan said, his normally mild voice suddenly threatening and cold.

  “And I can’t go anywhere anyway,” Nepthys said lightly, though Jake knew she wouldn’t leave even if she had the chance. She was too devoted to the principles of her Patron.

  “Alright then, let’s talk about what we can do to even the score,” Jake said, leaning forward in his chair. “Specifically, what we can do about this divide within the Triarchy.”

  -**-

  Jake’s plan was a bold one, but it relied on their understanding of the divide within the Triarchy being fundamentally correct. If they were wrong, or if they had guessed incorrectly about how things would come together, it would all fall apart.

  Still, it was the best they had, and if all else failed, they’d fall back on a direct solution. Simply assaulting the fort and trying to kill the key people in charge wasn’t Jake’s idea of a smart plan, but at least the enemy wouldn’t be expecting it. Likely because of how stupid it was, but that was why it was the backup plan.

  For now, they had some work to do, and that meant delving all three Dungeons around Casthorpe as much as they could. The idea was to get one of them to tier up as soon as possible.

  Ideally, all three would reach the next tier, but that felt unlikely.

  The positive side of things would be the Wyrdgeld they’d accumulate, but the first tier Dungeons would be a drop in the ocean for their new requirements. Even the second tier wouldn’t be enough soon.

  For the second rank of the third tier, Alan, Aspen and Gargan needed six hundred Wyrdgeld apiece. That meant that Jake needed twelve hundred. His share of their first delve had been two hundred and forty, so five full delves would be needed to get him a single rank.

  They’d been doing those kinds of numbers before coming back to Casthorpe, but that had been in first tier Dungeons, which were a lot shorter, and a lot easier.

  Trying to do the same with the fire Dungeon would be dangerous. Their Wyrd would be coming back more slowly as well, which meant that back to back delves wouldn’t be possible. Not without more risk, anyway.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  -**-

  They had just finished their first delve of the fire Dungeon the next day and were about to discuss how different it had been when Jake froze.

  Attention. Ormel Infernis, one of your bound Dungeons, is increasing its tier.

  For a moment, Jake thought the Dungeon had reached the end of its tier with just that single delve, but then he realised it was the other fire Dungeon they’d completed.

  It had finally reached the second tier, and that meant another Plexus Point for Jake. While that was good, it did mess with their planning to an extent. They wanted attention here, not elsewhere.

  “What I don’t understand,” Alan said as they made their way over to the next Dungeon. “Is why all these Dungeons weren’t right at the cusp of tiering up when Jake bound them. It had been a while since another Dungeon Noble, right? So why weren’t they all at the peak of their tiers?”

  “I wish I knew,” Jake said, holding back a sigh. “Unfortunately, the mechanics of it all are beyond my understanding. I don’t even fully know my role in all this. The most I know is that Dungeon Nobles are required, but not how or why.”

  “Well, at least this means we’re likely going to have time to work on the Dungeons properly,” Aspen said with a shrug. “That’s better for us in the long run.

  “True enough,” Jake said, unable to hold back a slight sigh before turning the conversation to the Dungeon they’d just left. “I’ve got to admit, the Drake was much easier this time around. Being able to put a poison infusion into my wand was really useful. That new attack of yours definitely helped as well, Aspen.”

  “Oh yes,” the spearman said with a dreamy smile. “Between that and my Dash Skill, I’ll be the terror of big and slow beasts.”

  Aspen’s longing sigh had them all chuckling as they left Casthorpe to head for the forest Dungeon. They’d have a slower delve here, and then double back to the fire Dungeon in the late afternoon.

  Two heavy, sweat-filled delves a day was more than enough for them at this point. It would also mean that they were out during the day and more easily spotted, but that was also part of the plan.

  They just had to hope that Gordon and the resistance could hold up their side.

  -**-

  It took three days at that pace for the fire Dungeon to reach the next tier. The change coming an hour after they’d finished their final delve of the day.

  Jake was tempted to go right back and take a look, but the others talked him down, and instead they came in full force the following morning.

  “Wait,” Jake said, slowing his walk as they approached the Dungeon. “There’s something different about it.”

  “What do you mean?” Alan asked, turning to give the Dungeon a once over before shaking his head. “It looks the same to me, what are you seeing?”

  “The designs,” Jake said, feeling the usual headache as he focused on the ever-changing and images and designs on the doors. “They’re different. The name at the top has changed as well.”

  Ever since Varin had helped Jake pierce the obfuscation around the words at the top, Jake had realised they were the name of the Dungeon. It wasn’t especially useful information, or at least, it hadn’t been at first.

  As time went by, he was figuring more and more out about the Dungeons. That knowledge was telling him that the Dungeon before them was not the one they were familiar with.

  Lognir Infernis, that had been its name, much like Ormel Infernis had been the Dungeon that had reached second tier recently.

  Focusing on the name, Jake felt it resist before becoming something he could read. “Stramed Deja.”

  “What does that mean?” Gargan asked sharply, looking between Jake and the Dungeon with growing interest.

  “It’s the new name of the Dungeon. Deja, that’s the same last name as the undead Dungeons, and the duck one, if I remember right.”

  “Well, let’s go take a look then,” Aspen suggested eagerly. “Maybe they change when they get to third tier. We’ll back out at the end of the second tier, but we can at least see what has changed.”

  Jake nodded, though he felt oddly apprehensive, and they moved inside, heading for the entrance stairs.

  “Wait a second,” Jake said before they start down the stairs. Walking past the first entrance, he saw the second, but there was no sign of a third or fourth. “I think this is a completely new Dungeon, not just a change in appearance.”

  “So what happened to the other one, then?” Aspen asked, looking less confident now.

  “I don’t know,” Jake said, falling silent for a few moments before shaking himself. “Let’s run the delve as normal, see what we find. Afterwards, I’ll have a talk with Ivaldi. I have a feeling he’ll know what’s going on.”

  Aspen nodded and led the way down to the entrance, pausing at the door for a moment to roll his shoulders and crack his neck. “Damn, I love the feeling of not knowing what’s on the other side.”

  Jake rolled his eyes as his friend walked into the inky blackness of the doorway, but privately, he agreed.