Worthy Core

When Sincere returns to the core chamber several hours later, he finds a smirking Dungeon Master and Floor Two boss waiting for him. "Evening, ladies. Did I miss an amusing joke?"

Xenia chuckles. "Not a joke at all, from what I picked up. Tired you out, did she? That Paladin left almost an hour ago, Lollyp recovered and came down here before you did and she was dead."

The demon sighs. "Not to complain, but many are the lamentations of my mere B-tier form. I would never allow a partner to leave unsatisfied, but compared to one of her stamina, well...I'm afraid the matter required the full use of my reserves. Please, feel free to kill a few more mortals at your earliest opportunity, and grant me a promotion into the A-tiers, would you?"

Lollyp's smirk grows. "I'll see what I can do! Hehe, you know I joked about it a little, but I wasn't actually expecting you two to hook up, or at least not on her first time through the dungeon! She was pretty hot stuff though, right?"

"If you wish to see for yourself, I'm sure you would find success offering such the next time she comes through - while she does have many qualities, being particularly picky in her partners does not appear to be one of them. Anyhow, I don't suppose we have anything to discuss tonight other than the soreness of various parts of my body and the causes for such?"

Xenia nods, her expression a little more serious. "Yeah, actually. If everyone's up for it, I was thinking tonight we do another dive into the old dungeon and try to unlock another floor."

The slime to her side looks a little surprised. "Oh, tonight? Seemed like you were putting off doing that again, any reason we're doing it now? Not that my schedule is exactly busy."

"Just basic preparedness. Floor Four finally got cleared for the first time today, and while not every party is going to have so many hard counters for our traps or the undead, most of its secrets are gonna be public info now. It's only a matter of time before other Challengers start trying it again, and maybe even beating it. We don't need to rush into opening a Floor Six, but I'd feel better at least having it available."

Sincere considers the thought. "That does sound reasonable. Any change to our party composition?"

"Yeah, figure Big D could use a little more opportunity to stretch his legs, so I'll have him take the place of Tank and Dips. He's decent for melee and ranged, so I think the four of us should be good. If there's no complaints?" She looks around and, seeing no disagreement, claps her hands once. "Alright! Get ready, cause tonight it's gonna be a little personal trauma followed by ass-kicking!"

That evening, once it seems reasonably certain that no more parties will be coming by for the day, Xenia's strike team again gathers in her core chamber. All three of the present dungeon bosses seem relatively calm and prepared, but Xenia pays extra attention to DEATH regardless. "Alright, Big D, you ready for some excitement!? Did your debut today rile you up at all?"

"I DO NOT KNOW IF I WOULD DESCRIBE MYSELF AS 'RILED', BUT IT WAS ENTERTAINING - AND I DID RATHER MISS OUT ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE SOME KILLS. PERHAPS TONIGHT SHALL BALANCE THOSE SCALES."

Xenia nods with a grin. "For sure! Now, we don't know what we're going into exactly, but last time there were enemies right in the starting room, so be ready. Also, preemptive apologies if I come into it a little fucked-up, I am kind of dreading what this damn curse is gonna put me through this time."

Lollyp gives her boss a pat on the back. "Don't worry! I'm sure by now you're ready for, uh, whatever you throw at yourself!"

"You know it! Alright gang, here we go!" With one hand on the hilt of her sword, Xenia once again utters the words to send the team into the pocket dimension, and the room goes white.

When the bright light fades from her vision, Xenia finds that it's still rather hard to make anything out. She has the sensation of being in a cave, with a rough ceiling looming not far overhead, but an incredibly thick fog seems to surround her in every direction. Just to be on the safe side, she draws her blade. "Huhhh...not ringing any bells. Probably have been in a creepy cave once or twice, but if this is supposed to be like, emotionally important to me...nah, I ain't feeling it." Just after she says that there's the hint of movement to her side, and the sound of something heavy sliding across the floor, causing Xenia to quickly raise her guard. Despite the apparent underground nature of her environment, the mist somehow seems to be lit by an omni-present source, too diffuse for her to see any sign of torches or lanterns.

She does, however, eventually catch sight of a large, dark tail sliding just out of view. "...Okay, fuck, I know a dragon's tail when I see one. But...when was this? I've killed a few of those bastards in my time, but I don't remember any of em having a lair like this..."

The echo of a chuckle finds her through the fog. "Haha, I enjoy your confidence, little one. Allow me to answer one of your questions - when, is now."

Xenia's brow furrows as she tries to peer through the haze. "Now? What the fuck's goin' on here, scale-tush?"

The sounds of heavy movement continue for a few seconds before suddenly fading away, and the next noise that reaches her is that of footsteps. Still heavy, but bipedal. Turning towards the sound, she soon sees a staggering nine-foot-tall figure clear the fog in front of her. They're dressed in a jewel-studded toga, colored gold if not actually made from it, but with bare arms and legs revealing a mixture of white and yellow scales. As they come a few feet closer massive wings also become apparent, as do the green eyes gazing down at her. From Lollyp's descriptions Xenia would call this a draconic, except draconics don't shapeshift. "Okay, I know I've never met anyone looking like you before. Mind giving some introductions?"

The figure grins, baring a snout full of teeth. "While I have perhaps not received the politeness I am due, I shall return some to you nevertheless. I have gone by many names, but you would know me as the Dragonlord. You need not introduce yourself, I am familiar with you - Xenia Worthy, Master of Worthy Dungeon."

Xenia's eyes go wide for a brief moment, but she quickly works to master her expression. "Oh. Hey, nice to meet you. Are we, um...not in my head right now? How is this possible?"

The supposed Dragonlord nods and begins to pace around Xenia, keeping well out of sword range. "I have to say, the first few times took me quite by surprise. Building a bridge to my old dungeon was quite a rare feat - but not a unique one. Did you think I had entirely abandoned my own ties? And did you not consider that bridges can be crossed both ways?"

Swallowing a few swear words, Xenia takes a breath and keeps her voice steady. "Honestly, I don't really have much idea of what the hell you were doing in there, or what you do now, for that matter. Gotta say, the place seemed pretty dang abandoned, though. Is this you posting a 'No Trespassers' sign and warning me out, then?"

The towering figure ceases their pacing and chuckles again, before leaning down slightly. Xenia is able to get a somewhat better glimpse of their face and upper body as they do so, but it seems to be as the others had told her - even for a reptilian species, the Dragonlord's figure is quite androgynous, and almost certainly crafted to be so. Even aside from their potential shapeshifting, in a pocket dimension like this Xenia wouldn't want to put any bets on what limits there might be on their level of control. "Well, that is one option. Not the only one, though perhaps my default position."

They straighten back up and continue pacing, speaking without looking at Xenia as if they were simply thinking out loud. "Granted, enforcing such an order would be a minor burden. Slipping a team past the defenses, ensuring they're high-level enough to break your own labyrinths, and then dealing with the political fallout of destroying a dungeon located in territory others falsely believe to belong to them." Their toothy grin returns. "But as I say, a minor burden."

Xenia nods, before deciding to sheath her sword - a physical fight, here, seems unlikely to solve anything. "I'm...not going to deny any of that. I'm sure you've got a few Supremes on call that could do the job, and I know you've snuck in a team once already. If you want a fight, you'll get one...but if you don't want a fight I am totally cool with that. There perhaps another option on the table?"

"Indeed. You showed quite a bit of promise, in your early days - you impressed my Emissary, which is rare. Your success rate was also impressive, and even now, I can see for myself that you're quite intelligent for one of your kind. Yet I wonder...in recent months far fewer Challengers have been meeting their ends in your depths, and the various military detachments have ceased sending teams in entirely. While your arrangement with my Emissary did not lay down any specifics, I fear that perhaps you no longer abide by the terms you agreed to."

The reincarnator sucks in a breath, preparing her best brand of bullshit. "Oooh, well...there have been a few complications, I'll admit. It's not that we don't want to kill a bunch of Challengers, I mean, obviously that's a pretty sweet deal for us. But there were, uh...other concerns."

"Yes." The Dragonlord's eyes narrow. "Kahlia. Tell me, what did that interloper demand of you?"

Hearing Kahlia's name, Xenia brain fires quickly, making an urgent mental calculation. How much is she willing to potentially piss off a Goddess by throwing her under a bus to cover her own ass? It's not as if a Goddess really has anything to fear from a mortal dragon...right? In the end, she decides to go with the gamble. "Well, there were a few incompatibilities with your requests, you see. Kahlia wants fertility boosted with the Challengers, it's kind of a recent hobby for her, you know? She wants em making babies, which is a little hard to do if they're, you know...dead."

The dragon snorts and rolls their eyes. "Figures. As always, interfering with mortal lives for nothing more than their errant whims. I suppose I do not blame you for acceding - few would have the courage to defy a goddess, even a benign one. Still, this would seem to put our own arrangement on fragile ground, would it not?"

Steeling herself, Xenia stands a little taller before answering - best not to look like a pushover, after all. "While I do appreciate the offer Cerise made, that was just a one-time payment, and I daresay I've paid back in kind a fair bit already, ain't I? I mean, two Expert level soldiers along with a few others, and a bunch of Challengers including multiple full party kills. And it's not like we're done yet, either. If we want to work out something new going forward, we can talk, but I don't think you have anything to complain about."

The tyrant again leans down in her direction, and while they look nine feet tall, they briefly feel far, far larger. "Already forgetting that you ought to be seeking my goodwill for plundering my old abode, are you? For our new 'arrangement', you should perhaps be focusing on your own survival."

Xenia swallows, but doesn't back down. "Look, Dragonboss, there's no reason we can't make this work for both of us. Kahlia's mostly a numbers gal, you know, we keep most of the adventurers running through the first few floors, go a little easy on them, they get some loot and celebrate, and maybe get a little surprise bundle of joy out of the deal. The ones that get deeper than that? We can go gloves off - even if they are stronger, not like the Goddess cares about one Expert more than she does twenty Initiates. And the more floors we get, the deeper and tougher we can get. And I'm willing to bet you're more of a quality-minded dragon, yeah? Killing off an Expert or Master Rainlander probably suits you better than a bunch of Initiates do, when a bunch of em wouldn't get past their next graduation anyhow."

Straightening up again, the Dragonlord pauses to consider the logic. "Not entirely untrue. Of course, if we were to renew our deal, consider that my allowance of your trespass is the greater part of your bargain. Whatever you steal from those ruins, consider it a gift from me, not merely abandoned salvage to be looted and held as a trophy."

The woman nods, willing at this point to take any exit ramp that looks to be marked as 'Worthy Dungeon Survives, Next Right'. "Of course. Apologies if we were looking ungrateful, or anything."

The Dragonlord waves a hand, as if to dismiss her before stepping back into the mist themselves. "Expect a visit, Master of Worthy Dungeon. And prepare to be tested on whether or not you can truly slay the powerful as you claim. I will need to see for myself that your success was not merely the incompetence of my enemies."

Before she can respond the room goes white again, and Xenia finds herself back in a core chamber filled with very confused floor bosses. Lollyp is the first to ask the question.

"Wait, what? There was that usual flash and all, but...we're just back here again? You didn't get your ass kicked before we even got there, did you Xen?"

Xenia takes a moment to take a deep breath before answering. "No...but we might be in a little bit of trouble..."

Later that evening and far to the south, Lady Cerise Darktouched is doing a bit of after-hours paperwork while relaxing in bed, as the moon is starting to peep in through the windows to her tower apartment. Being as deep in thought as she is, it's not until the second knock on her door that she hears the sound of it. Growling, she casts a quick cantrip to carry her voice to her front door. "What? It's late, come back tomorrow."

"Urgent message from the Dragonlord, my lady." At the mention of her overlord's name the succubus immediately darts upright and begins to climb her way out of the bed, lightly bruising a few limbs belonging to others as she hurries.

"I'm coming! Ah, sorry Polis, I just...ah, sorry...there we go." Quickly pulling on a robe before she opens the door, she opens it up to find a kobold waiting for her. "I'm here! The Dragonlord, you said?"

The kobold nods, handing her a scroll. "Details are in there, but to summarize: the boss wants you to put a new team together. Worthy Dungeon just got bumped up in the visitation queue."