The Outlands

As Tess and Ellie were leaving, they passed by a tall angel woman. It wasn’t the first time they had passed other people in the hallways of the gods’ domain, but this woman was different; she blinked in surprise as the group passed, then turned to follow them. “Oh, hey, wait up!” She called. “I need to talk to you two!”

Tess stopped, giving her a puzzled look. “Sorry if this is rude, but…do we know you?”

The woman shook her head. She was…well, tall, with short black hair and bright yellow eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt and a set of shorts, and had an overall pleasant feel to her. “Sorry, you wouldn’t.” She said. “I’m Dungeons, and I kept meaning to get with you about the whole savage dungeon thing, but then I ended up working out some kinks with some of the higher level ones I placed and you guys were busy so I just forgot.”

“Breathe, Dungeons.” Fortune said, smiling faintly. “You don’t need to justify yourself, we get that you’ve been busy.”

“Right, right.” Dungeons replied, taking a deep breath. “Are you guys in a hurry, or do you have some time to hash out how we’re going to deal with the one you’re in charge of?”

“No, we were just heading back home, we cleared our schedules just in case things took longer than expected.” Ellie said. “So…yeah, we have time.”

“Perfect. Let’s go sit down, then, and we’ll hash this out.” Dungeons said, motioning for them to follow.

“You all go on ahead.” Death said. “I’ll catch up with you once I finish putting everything away.”

“I’ll help, you guys start without us.” Fortune added.

“We’ll just be in the side room here.” Dungeons said. “Take your time.”

The two gods left, and Dungeons brought Ellie and Tess to a side room as promised. “So, I’ve already put a couple of the high level savage dungeons in, and I’ve worked through most of the major kinks with the more experienced Appointed, so, fortunately you two are just going to have to deal with balancing and making sure this dungeon doesn’t run wild. Uh…it’s been a bit, do you two need a refresher on how savage dungeons are going to work?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Tess said. “They’re like…dungeons where more than just your party can be in at the same time, right?”

“That’s the shape of it, yeah.” Dungeons confirmed. “And…well, where other dungeons are more…randomly generated, for lack of a better term, these dungeons are static and completely handcrafted. At the same time, they’re also going to be more difficult. Uh…if you’ve played MMOs, think of it like the difference between a raid dungeon and just your run of the mill normal dungeon.

“The idea is to try and force people to work in larger groups than just a party, at least if they want to beat it on-level. I’m also curious to see what sort of social situations come out of this, if people try and set up waystations in the dungeon, that kind of thing.”

She paused briefly, shifting in her chair. “The one you guys are going to be dealing with is the dungeon we’re going to be using as the intro to savage dungeons. Nothing hugely difficult, just something to get you used to the mechanics. It’s designed for large groups of about level twenty five, so it might give you two a bit of trouble, but you should be able to take care of it no sweat.”

Ellie nodded. “So…what exactly is our job? Also, I’m assuming the Rewards Crystal is still a thing, how does that work? I’m assuming they don’t have the same floor setup as normal dungeons, so…is it still clearing from the beginning, or…?”

“Good question.” Dungeons replied. “There are still some teleporters, but there aren’t always going to be clearly delineated floors. You just have to beat the dungeon without using a teleporter to have a shot at it. The dungeons are going to be quite a bit longer than normal too, so expect to only have to go through a single dungeon ten or so times to get all the rewards.

“As for your job, you’re both beta tester and maintenance crew. You’re going to run through the dungeon and make sure there are no fatal flaws in the design, and until we are ready to have the public discover it, or someone just randomly stumbles upon it, you’re going to clear it once a month or so and make sure it doesn’t start overflowing.”

“We miss anything important?” Fortune asked, opening the door and walking in.

“No, just catching them up on their duties and what savage dungeons are.” Dungeons replied. “Go ahead and take a seat.”

“Can do.” Fortune and Death walked in and sat down near Tess and Ellie.

“So…what can you tell us about this dungeon? Do you have an info packet or something like the guild?” Tess asked.

“I do, but I’m not going to give it to you until you’ve seen all the surprises the dungeon has. While most people will go through the dungeon with that information, it’s also important to make sure there isn’t anything too unfair if someone doesn’t have it. Once you’ve been through everything major, though, I’ll drop you a packet with one of the boss kills.”

“And if there is something unfair?” Ellie prompted.

“If you die to it, then I give the Worship required to resurrect you to your god. Otherwise…well, then we just deal with the problem after you discover it.”

“How are we going to get there?” Tess asked. “It’s going to be kind of…out in the middle of nowhere, right?”

“Oh, right, I’m supposed to give you two a Blessing that’ll teleport you there and back. You’ll need to be on the same plane, in this case the main plane of the Outlands, and you can’t already be inside a dungeon, but other than that, you’ll just put in a bit of Mana and you’ll just blink on over. Then, just put Mana in again when you’re ready to leave, and you’ll teleport back to where you last used it from. Here…give me a second…”

“There you go. If you’re curious, this particular dungeon is far to the west of the known area of the Outlands, and there aren’t many people exploring there now. I’m projecting this will take a couple of decades to see the light of day, so you should have plenty of time to get everything taken care of before the public lays their hands on it.”

“And if you ever get into a sticky situation, we’ll just Descend and that should…probably take care of it, provided you don’t get instakilled. Don’t stress about it.” Fortune added.

“I’ve learned since last time!” Dungeons said defensively. “That hasn’t happened in centuries!”

“See? Nothing to worry about.”

“Last time?” Ellie asked.

“I made a stupid mistake and accidentally introduced a trap that could kill without warning immediately upon entering a room if you happened to meet a specific set of criteria. I was working overtime and just…goofed. Seriously, I’ve triple checked this dungeon, there isn’t anything like that in there. Evan would kill me if there was.”

“Can gods even die?” Tess interjected.

“Contrary to popular belief, yes. We just need a little Worship, and then we’re right as rain, though.” Fortune said. “But Evan wouldn’t actually kill her, so it’s a moot point.”

“Yeah, but he’d make me wish he had.” Dungeons grumbled. “The last time I had to listen to one of his tongue lashings…” She shivered a bit as she recalled it. “Let’s just say it’s not an incident I’m keen on repeating.”

“So…back on topic, we just go through the dungeon as normal and keep an eye out for anything that seems unfair? Anything else to keep in mind?” Ellie asked.

“We like to introduce new abilities and monsters alongside new dungeons. Try not to show those off when unrelated people are around.” Dungeons said. “It’s never been an issue before, but be careful, just in case. But other than that…that’s it. It’s not really a big deal, more of a…chore than anything. Once I get my own Appointed, you won’t have to deal with this sort of thing as much, so…yeah. Thanks for doing this for me.”

“How is your Appointed search coming, by the way?” Death asked.

“It’s…coming. I kicked it back into high gear once you guys got yours, but I’m honestly just kind of…lost. I’m not sure exactly what I should be looking for, you know?”

“You probably don’t need someone with super great stats.” Fortune mused. “Your Appointed probably won’t be in the public eye all that much. You just need someone who can clear dungeons and get along well with the other Appointed. I mean, you might need them to do something if a dungeon is being mismanaged, but…”

Dungeons frowned. “Probably best I get one before we formally introduce savage dungeons, then.”

“So, you’ve got a couple of decades, then.” Fortune said. “Plenty of time.”

“Easy for you to say.” Dungeons grumbled. “You never had any pressure to get one. This is kind of super important.”

“What about Maven?” Death volunteered. “She’s a nice enough girl, loves the work, and she’s above average with stats to boot.”

“Who?”

“Amara’s however many greats granddaughter.” Death supplied. “She’s in Tess and Ellie’s party right now, so you can even take the however long it takes to get savage dungeons out there to drill your Blessing into the basics of how she fights. That way, you don’t need to get someone already used to fighting used to using a crazy powerful new tool.”

“That…is tempting.” Dungeons admitted. “Is she in line for the throne?”

“Crown princess, but planning to abdicate to her brother ASAP.” Death replied.

“Well…if she’s planning to abdicate her royal duties, it shouldn’t get too in the way of things.” Dungeons said. “I’ll look into her, thanks for letting me know about her.”

“Is this how the process for finding an Appointed normally goes?” Tess asked. “Someone just gets recommended by another god?”

Fortune shrugged. “Usually, yeah. There are a lot of people, and frankly, it’s easier to pick from the pool of ‘people we know’ than it is to pick through every single person and find someone who meets our criteria. There are obvious exceptions, like with people who have gone above and beyond in fields relating to a god, but by and large, it’s just nepotism.”

“Have they met the other Appointed?” Dungeons asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been to the meeting.” Tess replied.

Dungeons shook her head. “No, not them. There are a few more…unruly Appointed who don’t attend the meetings. They’re mostly with gods who aren’t on the best terms with our…” she paused, clearly searching for the right word. “Clique. I think Commerce and Passion have Appointed not in the group, and…one or two others I can’t think of right now.”

“And yes, we have friend groups.” Fortune said. “We’re people too, and there are like…forty or fifty of us. We’re all mostly cordial with each other, but there’s been some beef in the past, and so we try and…well, not work with people we don’t get along with unless we have to. Just saves headache, you know? Don’t worry about them for now, you’ll meet their Appointed eventually, but they’re not important at the moment.”

“Yeah, I was just wondering.” Dungeons said. “No reason or anything. Anyway, I’m gonna…well, I’m going to go snoop on this Maven, if I like what I see I’ll give her a Blessing and see how things go.”

“Let us know if you do.” Death said. “And if you don’t, let us know why, that way we can help narrow in on what kind of person you’re looking for.”

“Will do.” Dungeons replied, standing up. “Thanks for the talk, you two. Go ahead and start clearing…well, let’s say after you leave on the expedition, that should give you time to get everything in order.”

“We’ll do that.” Ellie said. “We’ll…see you around, I guess.”

“Yup. Later!” Dungeons replied, giving a little wave as she left the room.

“So, what’d you think?” Fortune asked.

“Of Dungeons, or of our job?” Tess asked.

“Both.”

“Dungeons seems pretty nice, and the job is simple enough. How about you, Ellie?”

“Basically the same, yeah.” Ellie replied, turning to Death. “Any reason you mentioned Maven in particular as a candidate?”

“Convenience, really.” Death said. “She’s already in the loop on a bunch of stuff, and she’s a bit…different from standard freelancers. I figured Dungeons hadn’t picked a ‘normal’ freelancer for a reason, so I thought maybe someone more…unique might suit her tastes. But, yeah, mostly because she’s just in a really convenient position for us. The Rumors are too, if a bit worse, but I’ll see how Dungeons feels about Maven before suggesting them.”

“Wouldn’t The Rumors be better than Maven?” Tess said. “They’re a lot more experienced.”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s a little awkward to make only one person in a party an Appointed, especially when the party is already established. But, at the end of the day, their circumstances are enough to override that awkwardness. Anyway, we really should be getting you back about now, anything else you wanna do here?”

“I don’t…think so.” Tess said. “Can you think of anything, Ellie?”

“Nah, I’m good.” Ellie replied. “Thanks for having us over!”

“Any time.” Death said, smiling. “Let’s go find Life, make sure he’s good, and then get you two home, eh?”

The four of them left the room and began searching through the various rooms until, eventually, they found Life. “Ready to go back?” He asked, looking up from a book he was reading.

“Yeah, we just wanted to make sure you didn’t need anything before we left.” Tess said.

“No, I am fine.” Life replied. “Have a nice night, you two.”

“Yup, see you later!” Fortune added.

“Yeah, we’ll see you around.” Death said.

“Bye, guys!” Tess said, giving a wave.

“Later!” Ellie said. And then, Death waved a hand, and the two found themselves back in the Holy Room in their local church.