Worthy Core

Early the next morning, before the diplomatic negotiations could resume for their second day, Darrosh took a moment to greet a pair of visitors who had just been escorted to his tent by a group of Rainlander guards. With the prisoner release portion of the exchange already completed, Tassa and Grizza had finally been processed and returned to the Valleylander ambassadors. Neither of them actually made it inside the tent however, as the elder orc immediately stepped outside himself to greet them. "Ranger Tassa! Mage Grizza! I hope your imprisonment has not mistreated you?"

Tassa seems to be uncertain in her response, so Grizza takes over for the two of them. "No, no, everything was quite professional, I would say. I feel I must apologize for our capture and putting you in the position of needing to negotiate for our release, but I'm afraid the mission turned out to be rather more complicated than I anticipated."

Darrosh nods. "I don't blame you, in fact I believe you did well to survive the ordeal that you experienced. After all, I heard all about it from your friend here." He gestures behind them, where an earth elemental is rushing over with steps that shake the ground around her.

"Tassa! Grizza! You're alright!"

Tassa gasps. "Roxxy!? You actually made it? Not that I doubted you, I mean, but, well...I suppose I've been something of a pessimist the past week or two."

"I said I wouldn't forget you, and I meant it! Though uh, I think the old man here has some stuff to say before we catch up and all that."

Darrosh chuckles at his description. "Indeed, the old man does have a thing or two to say." Before he can proceed however, Tassa steps forward.

"I - sorry, sir, Commando Darrosh, but...I have something to say first. I must apologize for...for the loss of your son, Ragrush, under my command. I was unprepared for the dangers of the dungeon, and Ragrush, and Cleric Pusht, suffered for it."

Grunting, the orc shakes his head before stepping closer and placing a strong hand on the minotaur's shoulder. "Do not blame yourself, Tassa. For starters, while you may have technically been Ragrush's superior, Grizza was the one in charge of the mission, so there's no need to play the martyr and take the responsibility for things that are not your fault. And secondly, I know how much the two of you cared for each other. As much as my heart grieved to hear of his loss, I am certain it affected you no less, and I am equally certain you did not treat his life casually. This is the life of a soldier, and the price we must sometimes pay."

Tassa nods, though there's a look on her face as if she has more to say but is struggling to find the words with which to say it. Not wanting to stand around, the Commando turns back towards the tent. "Come in, both of you. We do have more to discuss, as your elemental friend said."

Once the three of them are inside, standing around the tent's center table, Darrosh's face grows serious. "Now, both of you deserve a long leave after everything you've went through. I do have another mission to ask of you, but please, feel free to let me know if you need some time before returning to active duty." Once again, Tassa steps forward to speak up.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I need to request something rather more than a week of leave. Losing Ragrush, the time spent underground, our captivity...I've had a lot of time to think, and much to think about. To be honest, I'm not sure I can return to duty at all, as I am now. I've been thinking a lot, since the dungeon and...I would like to submit my resignation from the Rangers."

At this, both Darrosh and Grizza turn to her with looks of surprise in their faces, with Grizza speaking first. "Tassa! Please, it's exactly at the Commando said - it's not your fault how things went on the mission! You don't need to take it as, as some sort of personal failure!" Darrosh nods in agreement, but Tassa shakes her head, even showing signs of a slight smirk.

"It's not because of that. It's because of what I saw in the dungeon. Sir, I assume Roxxy told you of our...the battle with the dungeon spirit?"

"Yes, it's very much one of the things that concerns me. Obviously, a dungeon this size should not have access to an avatar already. Dragonlord influence, I am certain of it."

"True, but it's more than that. The dungeon spirit is...special, beyond her abilities like that. I don't know if Roxxy would have an eye for it, given her lack of combat training, but...sir, the way the spirit fought...it was beautiful."

Darrosh is surprised again - whatever analysis he was expecting of the dungeon, that was definitely not it. "...Explain your meaning, Ranger."

"I mean it literally, sir. Her weapon and armor, even as dungeon-summoned items, were barely better than what you'd see at a raw recruit's training yard. But she used them perfectly. Every motion, every attack, every dodge. I've had the honor of seeing a Supreme-class swordsman display his skills once, at an exhibition. While I may not be expert enough myself to accurately compare the two...I'd say she was better."

The orc takes a moment to let that sink in. "That's...very unusual. When Roxxy made her report, I looked for cases of dungeon avatars engaging in combat before. In every case, it was a last-ditch effort to prevent a dungeon core from being destroyed. But no matter how powerful the dungeon was, no matter how good their weaponry may have been, any avatar who's ever engaged in combat has been defeated easily, at least to our knowledge. Which isn't a surprise - even if they can absorb the skills of those they consume, it means nothing if they can never practice those skills personally, yes? Even if you are but an Initiate, Tassa, I've witnessed your training personally, and I was quite confident that your loss couldn't simply be a matter of fault on your end. I could guess from the report that this dungeon wasn't like those others in some way, but if it's as you say, this one is on an entirely different level." That said, he pauses for a moment and switches tracks. "...But Tassa, why would this make you choose to resign?"

The minotaur leans closer with a new fire shining in her eyes. "Because I know now how weak I am! I was - am - proud of my status in the Rangers, of my placement in our training programs. I understand the role of a soldier is not to seek glory, or personal advancement, and that my personal career track was likely to result with myself one day retiring in perhaps the mid-Expert levels, decades from now. A month ago, I was fine with that. But not now! I have...I have seen something beautiful, and I understand now how far I am from it. That is why I wish to resign my status as a Ranger, and take up a career as a Challenger instead."

Darrosh sucks in a breath, forcing himself to wait before immediately responding. "...You have more than served your required term of service. Normally it would still take some time to process a resignation, but given that your last mission was, technically, something of a diplomatic failure, I doubt there would be much red tape holding up your exit. But Tassa! I know you! Your entire life, you have worked towards your career in the military! Once thrown away, it is not easily picked back up. Are you absolutely certain about this?"

Tassa gives a firm nod. "I've given it a lot of thought, sir. If I do one day return to the service, I want it to be in a condition, in a form that I can be proud of."

The orc sighs, but nods. "I cannot accept your resignation myself, right now, but once we are returned home I will help you see to it. For now...if you are indeed certain, then I must request that you leave the command tent so that I may speak with your colleague concerning official matters."

"Understood, sir. We can speak further later." The minotaur nods and makes her exit, and Grizza turns back to Darrosh.

"...I was not aware that she was shaken so thoroughly by our encounter in the dungeon, sir."

Darrosh takes a moment to answer, but when he does, it's with a chuckle. "You know...in a way, I actually envy the poor woman."

Grizza raises an eyebrow. "Sir?"

"I've known many Challengers in my time. Most do it for the baser reasons - fortune, glory, and so on, not that I hold it against them of course. Some do it out of genuine divine fervor, though most of those, frankly, never seemed quite right in the head to me. But Tassa...I'm still not sure I entirely understand it, but I do believe that is now a woman with a genuine calling, one to improve herself, to become her best self. Which is what the dungeons are supposedly all about, or so they say. I envy her the goal she's placed for herself. I just hope she lives to see it through."

"...I suppose that is a good way of looking at it, sir. As for myself, how can I be of service?"

The orc chuckles again. "Ironically, what I need is for you to pretend to be a Challenger. I wish I could still involve Tassa in this, but if she is genuinely no longer in my chain of command, then I cannot make her a part. Besides which, I've been informed that the dungeon personally threatened to kill her if it saw her again, which would make this very difficult. Perhaps it is best that it will only be you and Roxxy taking part."

"Roxxy and I? But Roxxy isn't a part of the military either."

Darrosh laughs. "She certainly isn't! Another oddity, an earth elemental who wanders about on her own, rather than being tied down to the place where she was born. Physically, of course, an elemental can go where they please, but in pragmatic terms? No elemental has ever willingly signed up for the service to my knowledge, because most of them refuse to acknowledge that there even is a world, or a government, a mile away from their home turf. But Roxxy seems bound to either you and Tassa, or both, in some way, and so for this mission I'm willing to grant her a special exemption. In any case, she, and you, are exactly the kind of subject matter experts we require."

Grizz's brow furrows. "Sir? I'm not sure I really have that much more intelligence to provide on the area."

"I do still need to cover your debriefing, but if you're willing to delay your well-deserved leave we have a mission for you here. Let me be plain, Mage: a lot of people are very concerned about this 'lost dungeon' beneath the mountain. I understand you didn't find much of note during your stay, but obviously survival was your first priority. Take some time, equip yourself properly, see if you can't find some some local Challengers to party up with, and then we need to see if you can't infiltrate the dungeon and take a longer, more thorough look at the place. There must be something down there, some clues as to its origins, and you and Roxxy know the place best."

He pauses, glancing at a draft of the diplomatic agreement on his desk that was written up the day before. "Now, we are on the cusp of arranging for Rainlander permission to send active-duty soldiers into the place, but even with me moving things along as quickly as possible, I have my doubts that we'll be getting a team in there any time soon. And even once we do, they're likely to be closely watched. We need someone with the freedom of a Challenger, and I'm not keen to rely on trying to bribe any of the newbies around here to do it for us. Maybe as support, but certainly not to lead such a mission. Therefore I'll need to ask that you temporarily 'resign' and take on a change in career, much as Tassa is doing herself."

The drider needs a moment to process the order, certainly his dreams for the past week or so had been to return to a warm bed and his studies, not to return to the dark hellhole they had barely escaped from. Still, if they were actually prepared for an expedition like that before trying again, he had to admit he did still have some curious questions to answer about the place. Like Tassa, he'd had a lot of time to think, but unlike the minotaur his questions had mostly only led to more questions. "...I believe I can handle such an assignment, sir. I will need some rest, and Roxxy and I will need to discuss how to best go about it."

Darrosh nods. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of immediately throwing you back into such a place. However, it looks like it's about time for me to return to my own diplomatic duties for the day, so I'll leave you to it. Get a good meal, spend some time with your friends, and we'll talk more later."

"Yes, sir."

Thirty minutes later, alone in a tent with Roxxy, Grizza's confidence is proving itself to be increasingly temporary. "Ahhh! Why did I say I could handle it! I'm a Mage, I don't even have Advanced training! This matter is years beyond me!"

Roxxy does her best to console him, very gently patting a shoulder with a rocky palm. "Hey, hey, chin up! You did great your first time! Hells, you even found me and woke me up! If there's some terrible secret thing hiding out down there, I'm sure we can find it together!"

The drider sighs. "As if that would be a good thing. Well, it's not going to be just the two of us. Even if Tassa wasn't resigning, a Ranger's skills aren't well suited for that environment either. We need to find a party, not just to get into the dungeon with, but we need to find someone who can help us actually survive down there for a week, maybe even more. But where are we going to find Challengers that crazy?"

Before Roxxy can answer, a strange woman appears at the tent's entrance. Her form seems human, although tall by human female standards, and the shadow she casts is notably enlarged by the unusual full plate armor she's wearing even in the middle of camp. Despite her intimidating appearance however, her voice is bright and cheerful. "Hey, you're Grizza the Handsome Spider, right?"

A wave of emotions cross Grizza's face. "I...um...perhaps? I am Grizza, yes?"

The woman pauses before answering. "...Hmm, was expecting a little something more, honestly. Uh, not why I'm here, though. I heard you've been down under the new dungeon, and that you just got let out of jail, yeah?"

"...Something like that, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm putting together a party to go explore the place. Got Worthy Dungeon-approval and everything, so won't even need to fight our way down there. You looking for a job?"

Grizza turns to Roxxy, trying and failing to entirely hide the incredulous look on his face. The elemental gives him a shrug, and so he turns back to the strange warrior. "...I think we may be available, yes."