"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation." -- Pearl S. Buck

  It had taken Hakdrilda far longer to get here than she had liked. Admittedly, waiting for the dungeon to approach, or at least cross into her own country, made perfect sense and allowed much more in the way of proper planning. Norfoth hadn’t made her work too hard to gain his acceptance on the expedition. She rather got the sense that he enjoyed having a younger colleague along to ask questions and handle some of the logistical planning.

  Still, that planning was a nightmare. The basic gear and supplies were straightforward enough; Norfoth had long years of experience with dungeon inspections, after all, and he was willing to share his knowledge when approached politely. Finding someone – anyone – willing to risk their skyship on a visit to a dragon-inhabited sky island was another matter. Unfortunately, too many established sky captains were leery of the risk, and a few even recalled when the dragon had arrived. At 345 years old, Norfoth was just old enough himself to recall the occupation of the sky island by the dragon, and the subsequent emigration of the human residents at the time. He’d said the loss of life, while significant, wasn’t massive; most humans had fled almost immediately, not unreasonably, and the dragon hadn’t pursued them beyond the island’s boundaries. A few holdouts were presumably killed or driven out, but there were always some people unwilling to be moved.

  Pointing out that the dragon wasn’t unreasonably vicious wasn’t enough for any successful captain to risk crossing them, no matter what fare was offered. That left them with either the less successful captains or trying to secure individual transportation (an even more expensive option).

  Their real break came once they managed to secure the initial report from the Guild offices in Zaipruniel. The fact that the dragon had permitted a brief visit to the dungeon had served to allay the most drastic fears and brought the asking price down from ruinous to simply highly expensive. Having identified a previously used approach path and landing point was also a useful selling point. They had managed to charter a small ship willing to remain docked for up to three days, with the caveat that if the dragon approached, they would depart immediately – with or without their passengers. As such, the crew had remained with the airship, and they visibly had no intention of setting foot on the sky island if they could help it.

  For Hakdrilda, the report offered a lot more in the way of useful information, of course.

  A sapient dungeon, no less, and one that preferred books to other offerings! I’m so excited! Admittedly, working only with yes or no questions is going to make things difficult. I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up too high; just because it’s sapient doesn’t mean it’s going to have intelligent insights into subterranean aeromancy or even that it’ll be willing to share what information it has, much less be willing to participate in active experiments. The inspector’s report seemed promising, in that the dungeon appeared to be quite cooperative – and interested in books! There’s got to be some way to take advantage of that! I really need this to pay off, or I’m going to be working for my parents until I’m 150!

  She patted her leather satchel subconsciously for reassurance for what must have been the thirtieth time today, much to Norfoth’s unspoken amusement.

  I’m hoping that working through some of the fundamental works in the field, as well as more cutting-edge theories will get it on board with my work. I’m not sure what I can bribe a dungeon with, particularly given my limited financial reserves. Hopefully I made some good guesses. I guess we’ll find out in a few minutes – I'm pretty sure we just crossed into an active dungeon aura.

  **************

  Norfoth stopped Hakdrilda as soon as they entered the dungeon’s territory for a few last-minute cautionary words.

  “Now lass, I know you’re excited to meet the dungeon, and I understand that. Still, you need to keep a few things in mind before we make official contact.”

  “Firstly, you’re here under the official auspices of the Adventurer’s Guild, and specifically as an associate dungeon inspector. That means your research will need to wait until we’ve completed the formal inspection. I can probably give you a couple of days to at least establish contact with the dungeon and lay out some preliminary research goals, but we do both have jobs to get back to, so you’ll either be returning with me after two or three days, or you will need to make some other arrangement. I will discourage you from placing your faith entirely in the dungeon, and you need to also be aware that while the dragon might permit short term visits, it is less likely to condone an extended residence.”

  “Secondly, you’re an adult and a trained airmage and I won’t insult your intelligence, but you need to recognize that the dungeon will likely want some compensation for any help it offers; and frankly, while killing you and absorbing your mana and pattern would be counterproductive in the long term, it WOULD offer some short-term benefits. Please keep some basic situational awareness. I don’t think it will attack you, but you’d be foolish to assume it won’t.” He rubbed at his wrinkled brow, concernedly.

  “Thirdly, you are still young and impatient, by my standards at least. You should be aware that even if this dungeon isn’t an immediate disappointment to you, it’s likely that you will only begin to clear away the overburden on this particular research lode. A sudden breakthrough might be possible, but it’s just as likely you’ll need to return, prepared for a much longer stay. And I won’t lie to you – it's unlikely I’ll visit this sky island again until it returns to our territory again in a year or two.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “And last, a quick counterpoint to the safety warnings – this is an ADVENTURE, lass. Try to be open to the experience – we're likely only the second intelligent beings to enter this dungeon and, given the description, it’s likely to have gotten bigger since its last visitor. We’ll be going where literally no one has ever been before, so tread carefully, but try to enjoy yourself!”

  And with that note, Norfoth led the way deeper into the zone, where they’d been informed the entrance was located.

  **********

  I was, of course, listening quite raptly, using a mossy vole for ears. The Hawk-Eagle would have been better in some ways but was also apparently much more noticeable. And besides, she was off scouting sites for me anyways. I wasn’t sure what the relationship between the two dwarves was, exactly, but the older male dwarf had given me some solid clues. Reassuringly, it was clear that he was the expected inspector for the Daekar Kingdom, so no immediate defense seemed necessary. I’d kind of expected humans from the surface side of the polity but was more interested in seeing dwarves for the first time, anyways! The younger female, and I assumed her name wasn’t actually “lass”, was associated, but clearly had her own goals – research goals, at that. Hopefully, that would enable some movement on my scholar quest – which, at this point, was the only quest I hadn’t advanced, aside from the enigmatic divine quest.

  In any event, the whole speech was vaguely nostalgic. I’d led archaeological field schools in Central America over the years, and his speech was familiar in tone, if not in the specific details. Have fun, but safety first, and don’t embarrass me!

  Of course, I had no intention of harming either of them, but they obviously had no way of knowing that – even if they had read Ornthalas’ initial report, which seemed likely enough.

  In fact, it didn’t take long to verify that particular assumption, as the senior inspector made it clear in his initial address, a few moments later.

  He took up what I was beginning to assume was a traditional position facing my entrance from just inside the boundary of my territory, took a deep, steady breath and began.

  “Greetings Dungeon. My name is Norfoth Flintriver, and my colleague here is Hakdrilda Stormbrew, and as duly appointed representatives of the Adventurers Guild of the Kingdom of Daekar, I have come to make a second contact with you and to update your status with the guild. Know that we mean you no harm; we will defend ourselves from direct attacks but will not seek to harm your core or instigate conflict with your inhabitants. We are now going to proceed to your entrance, where we will begin the formal process.”

  Interesting. It was very nearly the same script as the first inspector, with names changed to reflect the new personnel. It suggested a proscriptive approach and more cross-polity uniformity than I would have expected. I supposed it made sense that formal inspections would take up a predictable pattern for the sake of everyone involved.

  I took a moment to examine the two dwarves as they moved slowly, but deliberately, towards the main entrance. Norfoth lived up to my expectations for a dwarf, without doubt. The long, white, forked beard framing a craggy face with dark grey eyes underneath bushy white eyebrows was pretty classic, as was his low, rumbling voice. He wore a simple chain hauberk over a padded linen shirt, sturdy gray pants of what looked like canvas, and heavy leather boots. He wore no helm, and his thinning hair was pulled back in a simple braid.

  His companion, Hakdrilda (and that felt like a mouthful), was thinner, but still sturdy with feminine curves, jet black hair in a mid-length braid, and sharp, intelligent blue eyes. She also had sturdy boots but wore them with a simple blue tunic with attached hood and loose linen slacks in a slightly different shade of blue. He’d called her an airmage, which might explain the color scheme and the reduced emphasis on armor. Still, she seemed agile enough, and dressed for freedom of movement as much as anything; she also gave off an aura of thinly veiled excitement, and I got the sense Norfoth’s warnings hadn’t really sunk in.

  Both wore elaborately engraved handaxes at their waist, with the practiced air of someone who strapped them on every morning, regardless of the day’s activities. I might be projecting, but I sort of assumed they were carried simply as a basic social expectation – something everyone in their society did. They seemed functional enough, but also likely to encode information about their social status. Each also wore a copper talisman around their neck on a simple leather cord – Norfoth's showing crossed axes and Hakdrilda’s a hammer and anvil. I wasn’t sure if those were religious or indicative of some family heraldry. I leaned towards the former, as the general nature of the themes seemed unlikely to indicate a specific family.

  I cut off my own inspection as they set foot inside the first room of the dungeon, and Norfoth began his inspection.

  ********************

  Norfoth stepped forward through the entrance, casting a wary glance toward the bears whom I’d set to sleeping in the back corner of the room. He waved Hakdrilda in, and she moved in quickly, adopting a polite position behind and to his left.

  “Dungeon, I would politely request that you set your creatures to a dormant state and put your traps in a safety mode. I note that the grassland grizzlies here appear to be asleep; is it safe to assume you have already made the floor safe?”

  He gazed up at the inset mana lights, expectantly, and I flashed them a green light.

  He smiled appreciatively at that – white teeth glinting through his greyer beard. “Your cooperation is much appreciated and will be noted in our report. As you have likely guessed, we have read the report filed by your previous inspector, and we will be using it as a basis for assessing any changes. I suppose I should first ask whether you have established any means for more detailed communication?”

  **RED** I had yet to determine a way to print my own words in real time. I was currently restricted to publishing existing works from my own eidetic memory – meaning a fairly eclectic body of work, but nothing that would work here. I was hoping that as my scholarly quests advanced, something more helpful would become available. I didn’t envision actual speech anytime soon, but a written conversation might be feasible shortly.

  “Ah, a shame, but not unexpected. Even the yes and no answers are a tremendous boon. Well then, shall we commence with some basic background questions?”

  **GREEN**