Trash Mountain Dungeon

When the dungeon called to him, he answered, some would criticize his willingness to enter the jaws of a predator, but this predator was his ally, for now. What he had to say though, scared him, the implications were wide and dangerous, but as the dungeon likely understood, useful.

The symbol that the dungeon's representative drew was crude but recognizable, it was an old krullian symbol worn four or five hundred years ago, its major stake in history though was being the recognized symbol of Kruul's only child, the demigoddess Alsina. While her semi-divine status was a secret back then, she was known as Kruul's favored champion, being one of the few paladins to be granted some of the greatest blessings the war god could give, which made it somewhat awkward when it later came out that she was, in fact, more than a paladin but also a demigod.

The problem with the dungeon giving this symbol and another was the implication, she and her father were considered among the kindest of gods, being among the few who sought a balance with their divine duties, Kruul despised dishonorable actions and people and was known for offering charity to the beaten and downtrodden. Gluut was famed for her frequent blessings on households that had difficulty getting food, there were more of course, but those two are the best examples. The fact of the matter was that people loved her, and she in turn loved them, but some despised her, namely Faas, goddess of envy and spite, who for reasons that went without saying, despised the radiant demigod. But what the second symbol implicated was that it was not Jeormand Kous, the paladin of Faas who part of was the 72, who betrayed her during the climactic battle where she died, but instead, it was Rigel's paladin, the Golden Avenger as he was known.

Rigel was the god of justice and laws, a being who should embody virtue and fairness, but what the dungeon implied was that Florian Voss, Rigel's paladin among the 72, was the one to betray her. This had massive implications, Arthur could barely think with all the thoughts swarming in his head.

"This is a severe accusation, you are my ally, but such a claim cannot go without proof, and furthermore, even if you are right then we will succeed in our plan, but we'll likely have to watch a war brew on our doorstep."

The creature swayed its head back and forth, listening to some sound that wasn't the pounding of metal or the wind.

"My master wishes to offer proof, a replica of the blade that killed the woman."

Then a longsword shined in the air, dropping into Arthur's arms, it wasn't a real sword, more of just colored stone, but the detail was perfect.

"I shall have one of my people look into this, I shall return once I have found answers."

The creature gave a small bow before returning to cleaning the glass tables.

If this turned out to be true then they had a major first step, if he could pit the Kruul sect against Rigel's sect it could keep the other's attention away for more than long enough. The only issue was that Kruul and his sect were prone to violence, which was fair considering he is THE war god, and if it got out of hand then the entire region could suffer a bloody conflict. But let's not get out of hand, there was still much to do and if the evidence turned out fake or too weak then he would be where he started.

Reaching one of the scholars they brought along, he handed over the evidence, nervous for results, but as the minutes turned to hours, Arthur quickly wished he had brought something to keep himself busy.

"Hmmm, an interesting piece you've brought milord, an almost perfect reconstruction of Florian's sacred blade, I can't quite tell the material, but appearance wise it's almost perfect."

"And you're certain this is his blade?"

"Certainly, I saw the blade myself when I was an apprentice."

So, it was Florian, at least, if he was willing to trust the dungeon then it did.

Retrieving the item, Arthur made his way back to his tent, thinking hard about what to do. He needed to be sure that this evidence was true without using just the dungeon's words, but he wouldn't know where to start, Florian Voss has been dead for over three hundred years, and if he remembered correctly there was no current paladin of Rigel. Even if he could pull them in and get them to make a buffer for him and the dungeon, Kruul maintains several paladins at all times as part of his war god status, but Rigel hasn't had one in over a century, there simply wasn't a reason his Head priest announced a couple years ago. Perhaps another sect could be convinced to confirm?

But maybe he doesn't need the Rigel sect, after all, they already hate Faas who does have a paladin at the moment. Maybe he didn't need the truth to set his plan in motion, just another lie on top of an existing one, and if they were to find out that Rigel was the cause of the betrayal, well, a three-way war never sounded so good. Still, he has plenty to work out and he would need time to work out how to pull everything together. Kannor had surprisingly little business with the other three but who knows, every large organization has a few back-alley deals going on.

A week passed by, and with it came good and bad news. The good news was that his father was willing to let him go forward with his plan, but the downside was that Arthur was in deep shit for letting it happen, though he's not really sure how he would have prevented this, to be honest. Other good news was that things were progressing, he had sent out several missives to various churches, monasteries, a couple of priories, and several convents, and yesterday he started to get responses. Most were willing, if hesitant, to join but they would take months before they could get there, while a few notable ones such as Kruul's war clerics, Kannorite Mind healers, baptized craftsmen and women, and Rigellian judges, were all set to join us on the mountain.

True they were still finishing the fort but thanks to the effort of the dungeon's monsters, they were well ahead of schedule and were set to finish the fort proper by the time they all got there. Of course, this wasn't without problems, namely a certain follower of Leighlash.

"My lady and Reverend Mother have a great deal of patience, my lord, but even this is, game, of yours is testing them"

Arthur had indeed sent an invitation to her convent, without her input.

"I have no idea what you are referring to sister, I'm simply reaching out to my local faiths to come to bless our new fort, what game do you refer to?"

"Oh, you know exactly what you are doing young man, and if you think I'm going to let you invite those slavers here then you're sorely wrong."

Hmm, maybe she didn't know what I was doing, let's see if we can keep it that way.

"I truly have no idea what you are talking about, I am simply inviting some of Great Kannor's finest healers, guarding a dungeon can be truly dangerous work. Why, we even had a few strangers lose their lives just two days ago."

She gave a strange growling noise, almost a chitter in sound. They indeed did have a few strangers attempt to get in the dungeon, some random adventurers that likely felt the mana suffusing the region, but it wasn't the dungeon that killed them, it was his men. But that wasn't all, while the strangers were the only ones to get close to the dungeon, several others had been probing the camp, likely searching for ways to the dungeon or to attack the camp, and perhaps even her people were testing them, regardless, his scouts were constantly busy keeping unwanted eyes away.

"If you say so my lord, but try not to get in over your head, the slavers might take a liking to it."

Sigh

He supposed that wasn't just a threat, kannorites did often practice slavery and so long as they could disguise them well enough, they would even target noble houses.

As night came down, he lay in bed with his companion, tired from their... activities. As he heard her soft breathing he wondered and thought, he had an opening with the sects, but he would need something to eventually challenge them. Looking at Helvina's face, he had a thought, an obvious solution, all he needed to do was exactly why they had come in the first place, they needed to fight and grow using the dungeon. Edward was already powerful, but he was one man, Arthur needed an army, and looking out to his troops, he had some idea of where to start. When the day broke, he would start putting his men to real work, they had a few months to go from standard if loyal soldiers, to true dungeon challengers.

Oh, this was going to be fun.