The stone parted, and the four of us gaped at what we found within.

  It was Byron who broke our stunned silence. “Oh my,” he said softly. “This changes things.”

  I took a cautious step inside, then slowly knelt, reaching down and plucking a purple-capped mushroom. From my research, I knew this was called a mana amanita; a bit psychoactive, but a potent source of technically edible mana.

  Sweeping my hand against the ground, I collected some silvery dust that had settled on the floor.

  “Does anyone have a bag?” I whispered.

  Byron handed me a small pouch, and I poured the contents of my hand into it, then placed the mana amanita inside, tying it off and slowly stepping back. I was extra careful to not kick up any of the fine powder.

  Glancing around, I spotted a few other treasures further in; fae fern, spellwort, bright moss, and creeping bindweed, all growing in the light of the dungeon core. A trickling spring of sparkling, mana-infused water fed the grotto’s plants, helping them grow.

  Most importantly were the creatures flitting through the air.

  I stepped back. “Close it back up,” I said to Felton, who shook himself from his reverie and began to chant.

  Goblins, the voracious monsters that they were, with their breeding pits’ rapacious magical hunger, were one of the lowest value monsters possible in a fae dungeon. While they were unfortunately common, for this reason, they weren’t the only fae-type monster that could grow within.

  Boggarts, for example, were a shapeshifting monster. While no more edible than goblins, their bodies had alchemical uses; perhaps not valuable enough to farm, but worth processing if one was encountered and killed. Trolls were larger, more dangerous monsters, but they had incredible regenerative powers that made their bodies quite valuable to the right potion maker.

  Various types of nature spirits and nymphs had value, whether for plant growth, or water purification, or various other use cases. They were a challenge to farm, but would have been worth the effort.

  The single most valuable fae monster, and the rarest due to their magical density, was the creature from which the classification itself was derived: the faerie. A tiny humanoid monster with gossamer wings that was relatively helpless and harmless. They were incredibly rare on account of the fact that every other monster that would spawn in a fae dungeon would eagerly predate on the small magical treat, as well as the high-value plants they relied on for food and shelter.

  If kept alive, somehow, they also harmlessly shed one of the most magically dense substances known to humanity, aside from dungeon cores or faerie corpses themselves: faerie dust.

  Within the hidden grotto was an entire faerie ecosystem. With goblins fully taking over this dungeon, this chamber should have been impossible.

  “How?” I finally asked once the wall was sealed, looking around at the others. “How can this be here?”

  “Dungeons aren’t formed with closed off sections like this,” Felton said, frowning. “This wall shouldn’t be here. It wouldn’t have been, originally.”

  “So either it formed naturally, some sort of faerie magic, or… unnaturally?” Felris mused.

  “This is most unusual,” Byron said, and I turned to listen to his wisdom, deferring to the man’s history and expertise. “If it could happen naturally, we should know of more instances of it. Fae dungeons would be explored more thoroughly. The queen would not have sent you to deal with this goblin issue if she suspected.”

  Those words were somewhat chilling. The value within was immense, but it would be heavily taxed. A greedier person might try and smuggle them out of Argadia to the highest bidder. I had no intention of that, though brief pictures of ridiculous wealth did briefly flash through my mind.

  “So someone… did this. Someone closed off the dungeon core. Why?” I asked.

  “This was Dulth territory, so one would assume it was a Dulthian mage. Why they didn’t just wipe out the goblins and start to farm it… oh, but the border… hmm,” Byron said, quite possibly displaying fluster for the first time since I met him. “I’m afraid I have a rather nasty theory, master Tovar.”

  Memories of my childhood—Hildan returning one-armed without my brother Toldan—and then of the war camp from my teens flashed through my mind.

  “The goblin dungeon break. Someone… what, weaponized this? As a preliminary strike on Argadia?”

  “It makes a certain kind of sense,” Byron nodded. “Nations can’t be held accountable for the actions of monsters. Had the goblins taken Redding, they could have expanded much more widely into the kingdom, destabilizing it and better positioning Dulth for an offensive strike.”

  “Someone would have had to be in charge of that,” I continued. “Presumably, a Dulthian mage. Otherwise, the goblins could have just expanded into their borders.”

  “If they dove the dungeon to prime it to break, and found surviving faeries…” Felton said, trailing off.

  “Someone with a strong knowledge of dungeon ecology, and who had the magic to erect an enclosed chamber, could have preserved the high value samples at the core, while still allowing the goblins to consume the rest of the dungeon and break. In fact, they might even break faster, seeking other sources of magic, with so much of the core’s mana going towards the preserved grotto. That might be why the goblins haven’t spread further in the years since. Not enough mana for their birthing pits,” Felris finished for her brother.

  I glanced back at the wall. “Does that mean Dulth knows about this?”

  “I can’t imagine its leadership does,” Byron frowned. “Or they wouldn’t have given up this land in the peace talks so easily, even with all the losses they faced. This grotto is full of enough material to make countless mages, and if well farmed, could be a mage-maker for generations. Not to mention the alchemical and crafting uses. It is incredibly valuable, but more than that, of enormous military importance. The mage that set it up must have kept it a secret, to profit from on their own after the war. I can only imagine they’ve since died, leaving it hidden until now.”

  “Well, they’ll likely find out if we start farming it,” I muttered. “Could that re-inflame tensions? Now that Somnial is gone…”

  We looked at each other, considering where that could lead. It was hugely valuable, but was it worth the potential loss of peace? The future of the march, and potentially having the land taken back from me? The safety of Redding and my family?

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “We could destroy it,” Felris said in a small voice. “No one needs to know.”

  Felton opened his mouth, probably to comment about the loss of resources, but stopped short of actually saying anything. He looked at Felris, then at me, then frowned, crossing his arms in contemplation.

  Turning to Byron, I found him looking at me. He inclined his head to me, telling me without words that he’d defer to my decision. I wasn’t sure what I had done to deserve this man’s loyalty, but I was grateful for it.

  It was a massive potential complication in my future, and it could simply disappear. Crack the core, shutter the dungeon, return it to the crown, and put this behind us.

  “No,” I finally said, sighing. “We tell the queen, and deal with what comes.”

  Maybe Elsa would decide to strip-mine it for the resources and crack the core immediately, to take it out of the equation, but that was up to her. I owed her too much to betray that trust just because of a potentially unfounded fear. If she decided to give the land to someone else to farm, that was her prerogative. And if she left it to me to deal with, then I would just have to do my best to live up to those expectations.

  “Of course, master Tovar,” Byron said, looking at Felton and Felris. “And no one heard anyone suggest otherwise, naturally.”

  “Naturally,” Felris and Felton echoed.

  “Well then,” I said, stretching to release the tension that had built up in my neck and shoulders. “Let’s get out of this cave and back to Redding. We’ll need to head back to Ivarnel immediately.”

  It was going to be a while yet before I could properly relax, but that was the job. As the four of us headed back up the tunnels, Felris sidled up next to me and slipped her hand in mine. We smiled at each other. It might not be easy, but it would be worth it in the end.

  * * *

  We hurried back to Redding, only briefly stopping to make sure things were proceeding as planned there. With the goblins defeated and a large part of the forest mapped en route to the dungeon, I left a copy of the map and some instructions with the laborers to begin construction of a road towards it.

  Nothing had happened to my stash of valuables—predominantly, the contents of Somnial’s library—but I didn’t like the idea of leaving it so unguarded while we set out to the country’s capital. Ultimately, we decided that Byron would stay behind to make sure things continued towards the development of the territory, while also ensuring the sage’s property remained secure.

  Instead, one of the other caravan’s porters brought Felton, Felris, and I back to Ivarnel before returning to Redding. From there, we could hire a driver to get to the seat of Argadia’s power. It would be the first time I saw it, not to mention Elsa’s castle.

  First, though, we went to the Obdorn barony’s local family home, so we could rest and recover from the road. Gus and Odel were back in Obdorn, which made the home feel a lot emptier and colder than I was used to in our academy days.

  “Should I… report to Lord Pendor?” I asked the siblings after we ate lunch with some food purchased in town. “Before we leave for the capital. Would it be a slight to bypass him?”

  Felton frowned. “You probably should, yes. He may take offense, otherwise.”

  “Well. That’s annoying,” I grumbled. “You two want to come with?”

  Felton and Felris glanced at each other. “Probably should, just to make sure he doesn’t call a meeting with the duke ‘annoying’ in front of him,” Felris said, her lips curling in amusement.

  “If they let us past the front doors,” Felton sighed. “But yes, seems wise.”

  To our surprise, not only were Felton and Felris invited inside with me, but we were granted access immediately, despite only having gone over to request an audience at the duke’s earliest convenience. Though, it wasn’t the duke who welcomed us inside.

  “Tovar,” the young lord said in greeting.

  “Ramius,” I responded, inclining my head.

  He frowned slightly. “We aren’t in the academy anymore, so the ‘lord’ bit is expected now,” he said, but counter to the hot-headed boy he had been in first year, the grown man shrugged. “Something to keep in mind with the others. Hello Felton, Felris.”

  “Lord Ramius,” they said, bowing slightly. “Thank you for receiving us.”

  “My father is a bit delayed, but if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to his office.”

  I fell into step with the duke’s second son as he led us through the manor.

  “So, uh,” I said, breaking up the awkward silence. “How have you been since graduation?”

  Ramius raised an eyebrow in my direction.

  “Rather bored, actually,” he finally said. “I’ve mostly been sitting in on my father and brother’s meetings, to give ‘the mage perspective.’ Besides that, I’ve just been continuing to study spells.”

  I nodded. “And how’s Pellia? Still in touch?”

  Ramius looked back ahead. “She’s well, last I heard. Back at home.” He cleared his throat. “We’re engaged now.”

  “Oh, congratulations!” I said, and I meant it. The two had been kind of bullies when we were juniors, but they shaped up as seniors and had clearly become close. The problem, as always, with nobility was that one couldn’t necessarily simply choose their own partners without ensuring their respective families were on board and it aligned with their plans, particularly for the duke’s second son.

  We arrived at a large set of double doors, and were let inside an ornate office, as much a meeting room as a workspace. We were served tea by the staff as we waited for Lord Pendor, but before his appearance, two others arrived in the room.

  The man was a bit older and more well-built than Ramius, but bore enough of a resemblance with his black hair and blue eyes to immediately be identifiable as his older brother and the duke’s heir, Randor. The young woman, or perhaps late teenager, similarly bore black hair and blue eyes, with a restrained but polite expression on her face. Both were immaculately dressed, not unlike Ramius himself. I immediately felt like I was under-dressed, but I hadn’t expected a meeting so quickly.

  “Magus Tovar, Lord Felton, Lady Felris, this is my brother Lord Randor, and my sister, Lady Randaria,” Ramius said, making introductions. I barely had time to note that the family genes ran strong here before the door opened again and the stately duke strode in. We stood to greet him.

  “Welcome! No, don’t get up,” he said with easy confidence, locking in on me. “Magus Tovar, it’s good to see you again. I hope it’s with good news. And,” he said, noticing the other two. He blinked, only momentarily slowed, then smiled. “Lord Felton and Lady Felris, what a lovely surprise.”

  “My duke, thank you for having us,” Felton said, bowing.

  “Lord Felton and Magus Tovar were close friends in the academy, father. I expect they contributed their own dungeon expertise to Magus Tovar’s assignment,” Ramius explained.

  “Ah, well. Good to see the people of our lands coming together in aid of one another. Speaking of, you’ve met my son Randor and my daughter Randaria? Come, Daria, introduce yourself to Magus Tovar.”

  The young woman stepped forward, giving me a polite curtsy. “Hello, Magus Tovar. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  “Ah, uh, likewise,” I stammered, awkwardly. Felris cleared her throat slightly, and I shot her a helpless look.

  “I believe Lord Rikton has arranged to wed Lady Felris to Magus Tovar once he is titled, father,” Ramius said for us.

  “Ah, I see. Daria, you may go,” Pendor said, immediately dismissing his daughter.

  The rapid gear shifting of the duke was matched by his daughter, whose restrained polite expression was immediately released into one of teenage boredom. She curtsied again before heading to the door, which was opened for her as she left and closed behind her.

  While I wondered how narrowly I just avoided another planned engagement, the duke bowled right over the whole affair to get to the heart of the matter.

  “So, the dungeon. It’s been conquered?”

  I refocused on the duke. “All the goblins have been defeated and the dungeon is under our control,” I said, careful with my word choice.

  “Shackled, then? Were there resources worth keeping the core intact?”

  “I dried out multiple goblin birthing pits for use in magical clay which are ready for immediate harvesting,” I said, which was a partial truth. “And I’d like to bring in miners to check for any useful ore veins that the goblins may have left behind.”

  “Hmm.” Pendor examined my face closely. “Nothing else?” The lord of this domain was more than smart enough to see through my partial truths, not that I had planned to outright deceive him.

  “I’m afraid my inexperience in the matter of dungeons limits me, my duke. I believe I should report my progress to the queen, first, to gain her insight. She may prefer I simply destroy the core to conquer the dungeon, given its proximity to the border.”

  Pendor sat back, thinking. Clearly, there was more I wasn’t saying, but it was also a reminder that this mission had come directly from the crown. “Well then, I shall accompany you to the queen’s castle so we can report to her Majesty. Randor can run things here in my stead. Ramius, you shall come with us. Another mage’s insight will be helpful.”

  Ramius closed his eyes, took a breath, then opened them. “Wonderful,” he said through a pained smile.