“A Custodial room, you say,” Hazel hummed, peering around the notched stele and the platform below it. She leaned over, sniffing the stone then poked it with a claw. Without looking, she asked. “You sense it, right?”

  “A little,” Miles said. He’d gone back to sitting down after having pulled a cushion. He was biting into some dried meat and cheese, enjoying the late afternoon sun as Hazel roamed about. In his soul, he could sense the barely perceptible current of mana wafting out of the platform. He hadn’t picked up on it earlier, but ever since he brought back the platform closer, he’d noticed it.

  “What do you think?” Hazel asked, hopping nimbly to land in a seat at the edge of the blackstone structure to face him.

  Miles pointed at the stele as he finished chewing. “I think that’s gonna somehow keep track of how deep I delve through that,” he said, lowering his arm to point at the platform. “Ideally, going deep would raise the mana being generated by the structure.”

  Hazel clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she ran her finger along the stone. “Not generated. Funneled,” she said.

  Miles raised a brow. “You sure?”

  Hazel seemed to hesitate for a second, then nodded. “I… can’t exactly put my finger on it, but I’m sure. It’s a gut thing.”

  Miles hummed. While Hazel remembered being asked before she was brought to work for him, she couldn’t recall much else from her old life. She often had gut feelings and impressions that had nearly always been accurate, so he was inclined to trust her.

  “We’ll test it, then. I’m loaded on elixirs and potions, but this will soon become an issue. With the mana being so watered down up here, it’d take me 2 to 3 days to recover half my core through my natural regeneration. Same goes for the book. So… once things are settled here, I’ll head down through this entryway. Should take me less than a week to hit the fifth if I get lucky with shortcuts. You could stay and keep an eye on the mana. Make sure it does change, because I don’t know if I’ll sense the difference between the first and fifth layers once I’m back.”

  Hazel nodded along, eyes roaming about, and when he was done, she tilted her head as she spoke. “What if you have to use their exit again?” she asked, glancing down at the platform on the edge of which she was seated. “After all, we don’t exactly know how all of this works. It might spit you back out there,” she added, nodding toward the ghostly door. “And if you’re right about mana changing… boy is it going to be fun,” she said, eyes twinkling with dark amusement.

  Miles scratched the back of his neck, grimacing. “Yeah it’s a theory, but if we’re right… that’s going to be a whole other thing.”

  If their theory was right, accessing the richer mana of the depths would make this room literally priceless. Aside from him having his own gate, that is. The only reason why society has developed in the dangerous depth of the Dungeon was the mana. If there was access to it on the surface? Without risks? That’d turn a few heads for sure. “We’ll worry about that when we get there,” he said after a moment. “As for potentially popping back out the other gate, yeah, it would suck. But hopefully the rule holds. I go out the way I got in. As for the outside gate, I’m going to have to go on a delve from there with the new identity as well, sooner or later. Ugh,” he groaned, shoving another piece of dried meat in his mouth.

  Hazel chuckled at his misfortune. “And you were so excited about taking a break from the Dungeon. It’s already dragging you back in.”

  “Yeaaah. But it’s like coming home after a long day and having to make something to eat and taking a shower, you know. I am tired, but I’m not so tired that I’d just go to sleep hungry and dirty. I’d rather get the work done now so I can really relax once it’s over.”

  Hazel gave him a begrudging head tilt, and the flowers and on her horns swayed. “That’s a fair point. So why do you need to do it with the identity as well, then? Why not just use this?”

  “It’s simple,” he said, taking a sip of water from his clay bottle. “Because when I exit over there and go through the Surveyors, they can tag my ID with how deep I got. Floor 20 is the minimum to establish a Silver guild with the Registry, and that’s how we can have our own delving rights, do business with other guilds, and bypass a lot of questions and headaches.”

  Hazel raised a brow at him. “You thought this through. For once,” Hazel noted hopping down from the platform, a teasing smile on her lips..

  “I had time for it,” Miles grinned. “So? What do you think of this place? Can we grow some crops? How about some spirit herbs and flowers?”

  Hazel had been adjusting her robes when she slowed and slowly looked up at him. “How would I know? Do I look like a farmer to you?”

  “You got flowers in your horns,” Miles said taking a small bite as he waved vaguely toward her. “Also, you’re a witch.”

  Hazel crossed her arms and looked down at him. “I’m not a green witch.”

  “Your eyes and robes are.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, though the twitch at the corner of her lips was unmistakable. “That’s reductive, master Miles. It’s borderline racist.”

  Miles grinned. “You literally grew roots to lock down Ashirruk so I could land the final blow on him.”

  The two stared at each other, then Miles chuckled first and Hazel followed right after. She sat down in front of him, nearly two feet taller than he was even in her regular form, and eying the content of the coffee mixture through the container’s mouth, she took a swig.

  “Ah… that’s good,” she said, licking her lips. Looking around, she nodded. “You got some variety of terrain for crops, but for most magically charged stuff we’re gonna need to do something about the mana. That’s your bottleneck. Spirit herbs eat the stuff up and if you want anything good, it’s gonna have to be much denser than this. As for the coffee you want to grow, I frankly don’t remember it. If you’ve got spare seeds, I can try to speed up the growth of a few and see what happens.”

  Miles looked at the stele and sighed. “We’ll see what happens when I delve from here, then. And if that doesn’t work, there are plants that concentrate mana. But their uses are limited and we’d have to plant so much of it that we’ll barely have enough space left for the good stuff. It’s not my first choice, frankly. But we’ll see. As for our first attempts—”

  Miles stood up, and dug into his storage for a second before he pulled up two hoes. Extending the handle of one of the tools to Hazel, who eyed it distastefully, Miles flashed his teeth, brows dancing. “Let’s get started! We could start with a few of the coffee seeds. See how that holds. Then we’ll do a couple rows of sugar cane and go from there? I’ve got a lot of stuff in storage. But let’s just start small. See what happens.”

  Hazel gave him a slightly annoyed, dubious look. “Miles. I’m a fey witch specialized in curses and glamor. I’m not a farmhand.”

  “But I bet you’ve got a mean green thumb. And I bet you’d enjoy that coffee you’re drinking a lot more if it was you who’d grown it”, he said, twirling the handle in his hand. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  Hazel narrowed her eyes at him, downed what remained of the drink, then sighed as she looked down at the empty container. “I guess if we’ll end up making more of this stuff it’ll be worth it.”

  “That’s the spirit!”

  In what remained of the day, Miles and the one-handed Hazel traced two thirty-feet long furrows before filling both with sugarcane cuttings. Hazel had tried to use the hoe, but after a couple of awkward attempts, she chucked the little tool to the side and just pointed a finger down and ordered the soil to split open. A few paces away, after marking the spots with a few rocks, they put down one Arcanth coffee seed, and closing her eyes, Hazel held her green glowing palm atop of the little mound. Squatting next her, Miles watched, eyes reflecting the witch’s magic, until a little cute leaf peeked out of the soil.

  “It’s working,” he whispered, a wide smile on his face.

  “I’ll give it a little more so it’s stable, but I gotta stop soon,” Hazel warned, eyes flaring with focus.

  “Got it,” Miles said as the stem reached up higher and as more leafs burgeoned outward, and a few moments later, Hazel stopped, breathing a little hard.

  “That’s good enough, I think,” she said, and already, her form was glittering as the Skill called her away.

  Miles winced. “Sorry for having exhausted you, Hazel. I’ll look into accelerating your recovery.”

  Hazel gave him a simple smile. One that lacked her usual bite or theatrics. “You were right. It was fun. And it really looked like you were enjoying yourself. How come you’ve never done this before?”

  Miles looked down at the young coffee plant and gently poked one of the leaves. “Because they couldn’t have grown with me dying every few weeks. Sure, I could have put some in pots… but it’s not the same. Out here, with me finally having the time and opportunity to be out of the loop, they can put down roots and grow. In a way, it’s even better that I can’t activate the loop here. It means what we did just now… cannot be erased. This happened. Today happened. It’s fixed. And no loop is going to take it away. For better or for worse.”

  Miles hadn’t felt this free in years. The loop was such a powerful and broken ability to possess, but it had also trapped him for a century, hammering and melding his memories with what had happened, what nearly happened, and what never did. And sometimes, it was hard to tell which was which. But this… seeing Thalia, dealing with his rough exit out of the Dungeon, planting a few seeds and cuttings… this would happen just once. He didn’t have the option to mess around with his Skill to make the event canon and he didn’t have to worry whether he was trapping himself in a dangerous timeline or not.

  He had no choice. There was no loop to reset. And that made it all special.

  “Well said,” Hazel said after a few quiet moment. “Once we figure out a fix for the mana, I’ll be able to sustain my form for much longer but for now, I’m taking a nap. See you soon, Miles,” she said, voice echoing as she faded away.

  Miles stood up and looked at the little patch of coffee and sugar. Then looking up at the moon, he summoned his bed roll out of storage and settled in. Stealing one last glance at the cuttings and at the tiny coffee tree, he smiled.

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  “Good night, little fellas.”

  ***

  Thalia’s POV

  Ever since she’d dragged herself out of bed after a lackluster night of sleep, Thalia had been expecting the other shoe to drop. Everything felt surreal. Like at any moment, she’d wake up, and what had happened the day prior and everything that had come after had been fake. But over the last few hours, when it had really sunk in that yes, Miles was alive, and he most likely had been the one who’d broke through the Gate Wardens’s checkpoint, the surreal feeling slowly dissolved away, leaving only the paranoia that had been hiding within.

  She kept expecting someone to tap her on the shoulder and tell her to come with them.

  To be fair, that feeling had been there ever since she’d entered the gates with Brie and went back to report—where they’d gotten grilled about the dangers of stepping into dilapidated homes before they were sent away. The anxiety was just smothered under the incredulity of the whole situation.

  Thankfully, the senior who’d taken their report was way too swamped with the crisis to try and poke holes in the story of two trainees. Which was that when Brie had heard something in one of the homes, she went to check, only for the foyer to drop on her head as soon as she tried to force the door open. She barely dodged back, but she still got nicked.

  That had been their story, which they rehearsed on the way back to Rivergate. They repeated it at the eastern gate when they were asked about the dust and blood, and again at the Watch barracks, and a couple more times to curious colleagues.

  Then Thalia had repeated that same lie to her mom—because things felt volatile enough as is and she didn’t want to drop the bomb that Miles was still alive now, without having to bob and weave around the subject that he was likely the one responsible for the event of the day. Then again, she wouldn’t have hated it if her mom had asked that many questions. It’d be a nice change from her… muted demeanor.

  After all that, Thalia had tossed and turned all night until she’d passed out. Somehow. And ever since she’d woken up, she felt it in the air, that at any moment, someone was going to knock on the door and ask her some very pointed questions.

  It didn’t happen though. Not in the barracks where she reported in, not after their squad leader chewed her up and partnered her with a senior instead of Brie, and not when she worked her shift and finished her patrol.

  Now that she was done, she really began thinking that they did get away with it. Stepping out of the Watch building, she found Brie waiting for her. And just like her, Brie had a traveling cloak on over some soft leather armor. A new one. The one she’d been intending to use for her own Delver’s Exam.

  The short redhead also had little bags under her eyes, but her eyes lit up when she saw Thalia. With a nod toward the street, both began walking. Quietly, at first. Neither willing to speak of the elephant in the room, but considering the direction they were heading, it was safe to assume they were heading out of the city again.

  “How was the patrol?”

  A scoff was her immediate answer, and Thalia grinned. “I didn’t even notice the time going by. And we kept getting stopped by citizens asking about what had happened at the Dungeon gate,” Brie said, voice low. Then with a furtive look around. She added. “Crazy day. I wonder how this one’s gonna go,” she mused, and both elbowing each other as they chuckled.

  It was nice to not have the secret all to herself.

  Eyes peeled, the duo made their way toward the gates. And while Thalia caught herself twice from looking over her shoulders, Brie did.

  “So. How was your night?” Thalia asked innocently as they crossed the paved street, nodding toward the traffic monitor who nodded back to her before he whistled for the carts to advance.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” Brie simply said, looking around as they passed the building of the Gate Wardens, the guild where they’d be taking their test. But they didn’t stop there and instead, they kept walking toward the eastern gate. The one closest to her old village.

  Thalia nodded. “I know what you mean. I keep expecting someone to show up and start asking questions. And… I keep thinking about the thing. The bottle. I spent a year collecting the exam fee. 3 golds. And this thing could pay for at least ten of those.”

  Brie barked out a laugh. “Ten? Try twenty or thirty. A ten gold-coin potion barely stops the bleeding of a small wound. That thing made my broken arm snap in place in two seconds. I couldn’t sleep yesterday, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just because of the… anxiety. I’m almost sure it made me grow like an inch overnight.”

  Thalia’s steps faltered as she took in her friend. “Wait, that can’t be right, ” she mumbled, looking her friend up and down. Then her eyes widened. “Huh. You are right. You’re a little taller. Like… half an inch, maybe. Still short though,” Thalia said, nimbly dodging the elbow that came at her as her hand inched toward her sidepouch, where the grow-taller potion was.

  Brie slapped her hand down. “Don’t you dare. But jokes aside, seriously don’t. I had just a sip and it did all that to me. I honestly think that’s poison if you drink too much of it.”

  Thalia rubbed her hand, but she kept thinking of the potion. Honestly, she wouldn’t say no to an inch or two in height. “I know it’s valuable but this is….crazy,” she said as they resumed their walk.

  “We should take it to an alchemist to get appraised,” said Brie.

  Thalia slowly turned to find Brie already staring at her, lips trembling, and they burst out laughing.

  Brie rubbed a tear away from her eyes. “Can you imagine?”

  “Imagine what?” Thalia grinned, her wariness melting away by the second. “Waking up to a dagger in my stomach or getting accused of stealing it? If one of those crooks learned of it it’d be gone in the hour. I bet—”

  Thalia’s voice died as she heard the rustle of a cloak right behind her and immediately, a shiver coursed down her spine as her heart picked up. She glanced back, stomach twisting, knowing someone she couldn’t deal with was behind her, and came face to face with a tall figure in all black, with an inscrutable blackness under their hood.

  It was the rogue from yesterday.

  Thalia opened and closed her mouth, taking a step back as she raised a protective hand in front of Brie. They were in the middle of the city? What happened to Miles?

  What do I do?

  Panic slammed in her chest, and her breath grew shorter but before she could come to a decision, the man raised a hand. She almost bolted right then and there, but then he just… pulled the hood back to reveal a young-looking man with slicked back hair. Who then bowed.

  Thalia and Brie stared silently, mouth agape.

  “I wanted to apologize for yesterday’s incident, Miss Thalia. Miss Brie. My behavior was unacceptable. I should have asked before moving with the hostility I displayed. And I will endeavor to make amends. If you’d allow it.”

  Thalia stood there, stunned, and stealing a glance toward Brie, she found her friend just as dumbstruck. The two blinked at each other for a second, not knowing what to say, when the man’s voice made them turn to face him again.

  “If you two are heading toward our common… friend, it would be my pleasure to escort you both.”

  At that, Thalia’s shock took a step back, and she frowned. “Wh—why are you going?” she asked after she cleared her throat.

  Nonplussed, the rogue stole a furtive look around before answering. “Our friend entrusted me with an errand. I intend on heading to him to deliver what he requested. It would be my pleasure to ensure you arrive there safely and… unquestioned. ”

  Thalia’s brows knitted at that, and glancing toward Brie, the redhead just gave her a I-don’t-know-what’s-happening look.

  What’s Miles up to? And this man’s… awfully polite compared to yesterday, she thought. But it really did look like this was her sibling’s doing, and she did want to go check on him and see what he was up to.

  Yeah. It was probably fine. The man in front of her outranked her so much it wasn’t even funny. He had no reason to lie or mislead her, so this must be Miles’s doing.

  Thalia nodded. “Alright. Lead the way.”

  The man gave her a smile which quickly disappeared as he put back his hood. “With pleasure.”

  He stepped past them, and Thalia and Brie just shrugged and followed after him.

  Yesterday had been crazy. Why not today as well?

  ***

  Lott’s POV

  Even after having had the night to sleep on it, Lott still felt a bit shaken by what had transpired the day prior.

  Yesterday could have easily been the day he died. Easily. He didn’t even remember the last time he’d gotten that close to the monstrous existence of a Master delver and somehow, he managed to both offend the man and didn’t die for it. In fact, he ended up working for him which was… an opportunity Lott wasn’t about to let slip from his grasp. Even though he had come face to face with The Dying Dream. And that he might be seeing her again.

  She works for him, Lott thought, suppressing the shudder that came over him. He ordered that thing around…

  Something about that still didn’t click in his mind. A few years back, he remembered facing that nightmare along with a large party in her swamp, and sometimes, he still woke up sweating from what he’d seen. He still remembered the hospital bed he had been forced to stay while the curse was drawn out of him for weeks.

  To think that his new benefactor had that monster at his side. To think he had faced Ashirruk, the Final Howl, with only two other party members. It boggled the mind.

  Once he had gotten back to the city, it had been easy enough to dodge the questions about his short absence, and it almost looked as if his own handler was about to start grilling him when he managed to pass the message that this was Choir business.

  Lott had considered double-checking the validity of the keyphrase Miles had used to identify himself, but when one was that powerful, did it really matter? He knew about the Cantic Rite, and he was powerful enough to back it up. Plus, Lott hadn’t even sensed the man when he’d snuck up on him. He hadn’t even sensed him when he was sipping coffee right in front of him.

  His Veil was perfect, and that cemented it in his mind.

  He’s one of us. The Bagman’s a Shadow.

  It lined up. He’d heard that two more individuals had come out from the thirtieth floor around the same time as the breakout at the Dungeon gate. One at the Sandgate and one at the Skygate. Unfortunately, he hadn’t gotten much more than that from his source. Though one had been taken aside for questioning, and he’d seen a few bounties get updated back in HQ. But Lott wasn’t about to get involved in any of that.

  Arriving at the controls at the gate, he edged toward the special lane, away from the busy section. The guard took a second to see his identification before they looked past him. “Sir. Are these two with you?”

  “They are,” Lott simply said. The sentry gave back a nod to those behind him, and he was let through the tightly guarded and half-raised gate.

  “We might have not been able to leave,” he heard one of the girls whisper, and a smile tugged on his lips.

  With this, Lott was on his way to earning a spot in Miles’s circle. His first impression was awful, but he’d make sure he’d do his best to recover.

  dullahaan for the review!