With the key safely tucked away in my Dimensional Pocket, Ferrisdae and I stood in front of the tunnel heading deeper into the ground. My mood was still sour from the poor execution of what could have been a great encounter in the other tunnel and the dungeon suddenly stopping because it hadn't been built further yet.

  “Are we going to go down?” Ferrisdae asked, staring down the tunnel.

  This path sloped downwards with a gentle curve, disappearing out of sight to the right. I ran my hand through my hair and tapped my flaming sword on the ground. “Yeah, yeah,” I said sullenly. “I just need another minute.”

  “We've been here for five already,” she pointed out.

  “I'm just nettled,” I told her. “This is completely unprofessional and it irks me to no end.”

  Ferrisdae snorted, and I looked up to see amusement in her eyes. “Sorry, I shouldn't laugh,” she said, holding up a hand. “But almost everything irks you and this is one of the things that sets you off the most?”

  “Yes, this is one of the things that make me irrationally angry,” I answered, trying to keep the heat in my voice from boiling over. “Oristrella's kidnappings are like clockwork. I don't know if she keeps a calendar or it's some kind of draconian sense but she knew it was coming and she did the kidnapping. The adventurers came and went and for what?”

  “I think it's safe to say that the appearance of the Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons-”

  “Please shorten their name,” I requested.

  “No, thank you,” Ferrisdae responded before continuing. “But the more I think about it the more I think it's safe to say it's a recent change to the dungeon. She could have just holed up and waited it out, but instead went and did her job.”

  I thought about it, but it just didn’t make sense. That meant this change—these changes still happening—were less than a month old. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary when an inspector had come out last, either.

  “So it's unprofessional, sure, but only because of recent events,” Ferrisdae continued. “That just makes me more curious about what kind of gift she had to receive to change what she’s been doing for so long.”

  That made me pause. Cojisto had said that it was a glowing rectangle, but that didn’t give many clues as to what it was. I was also fairly curious.

  Our attention was suddenly arrested by the sound of a pair of clawed feet walking towards us in the tunnel. I activated my shield and took position in front of Ferrisdae.

  A robed Kobold stepped around the corner with their arms up. Black facial tattoos, piercings, and a thick wooden staff identified them as one of the Kobold leaders, likely a shaman of some sort.

  “I don't mean to intrude on your riveting conversation about our queen's intentions, inspectors,” he said in the Imperial Standard. His voice sounded old, though the way he moved showed that he was still spry. “I just came to tell you that you don't have to take your time. One of the youngsters tripped a new trap in their excitement and, well, you'll see when you come down.”

  My arm dropped, and my shield struck the ground. “You've got to be kidding me,” I said, exasperated. “Really?”

  The Kobold bowed his head. “As unfortunate as it is, it's true. With all due respect, Inspector, you are intruding during a time when renovations are in full swing. We are not ready for you.”

  “You shouldn't even have renovations!” I said, perhaps a little louder than I meant to.

  “We are aware,” he responded. “And yet that is where we find ourselves regardless of the rules we have bound ourselves to.”

  I grumbled unhappily, and Ferrisdae rested a hand on my shoulder, stepping in. “I'm Ferrisdae, and this is my senior, Badger,” she said. “May we have your name?”

  “I am Elder Serily, Inspector Ferrisdae,” he said. “Once you two leave, the dungeon will start resetting itself and we can move on. In order to expedite this, I would direct you to the other tunnel. At the end is a key that you will need to continue.”

  “We have our DoD badges on us, it should reset over time even when we're inside,” Ferrisdae said.

  “That is the way it should be,” Serily acknowledged. “But it is not how things actually are. We henchmen can feel the difference, but we do not understand its cause. Our queen will have answers for you.”

  “This dungeon is fucked up,” I spouted angrily. “There's going to be a lot of explaining to do.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Also, we already have the key,” Ferrisdae said as she squeezed tightly on my shoulder. I sighed, leaving the rest to her as I tried to reign in my irritation.

  The Kobold looked us over, tilting his head in confusion. “You do not look battle worn,” he noted. “And yet you already have the key? I would expect more damage on any adventurers that came through, let alone a solitary pair.”

  “Something… not dissimilar to what you mentioned happened on the other side,” Ferrisdae said with an unapologetic grin. “Badger, the key?” At her request, I pulled the key from my pocket to show him.

  “Hmm.” Serily scratched at the white scales on his chin. “Well, I can't deny your efficiency. At the bottom of the spiral you'll find Warchief Corez inside the Coldspring, our boss chamber. I may be old enough to know when to step back, but he'll stand in your way to the bitter end, I'm sure.”

  “We'll take that,” Ferrisdae said lightly. “Won't we, Badger?”

  “Sure,” I said through gritted teeth. Shrugging Ferrisdae's hand off of my shoulder, I began trekking down the tunnel. Serily gave us another bow as we passed, but didn't try anything to stop us. Ferrisdae fell in line behind me and I could hear Serily's clawed feet shuffling behind her.

  The aging Kobold's description was spot on as we turned the first corner into the spiraling corridor, the flames of my sword lighting our way.

  We passed by a few sets of palisades along the inner wall of the corkscrew. There was a scattering of Kobolds tending the wounded behind the walls. Some grabbed their weapons at the sight of us, but a quick yap from an elder caused them to stop and get back to work.

  While I was diligently watching the Kobolds, Ferrisdae whistled appreciatively behind me. I took a moment to glance at her. She was looking along the outer walls, her green irises glowing light purple. That was probably whatever ability let her see magic.

  “This is pretty advanced stuff,” Ferrisdae said absently. She noticed me staring and quickly explained. “There's magic trap runes in the walls. They're all set to fire icicles indiscriminately towards the inside wall if any creatures that doesn't have scales or a specific talisman affixed to them passes by.”

  I took a closer look at the injured Kobolds. They had large chunks of their flesh missing, and I now noticed the ice chunks that had been pulled out of them. Although bloody, they blended in with the frost ridden stone.

  “That is quite right, Inspector,” Serily confirmed.

  “Then what set it off?” I asked, still looking at the impromptu triage. There were moans of pain coming from further down the spiral as well. It seemed like this was a very long trap. “And why is it so big?”

  Serily coughed and scratched his chin. He seemed embarrassed, and rightfully so. “The trigger is at the end, and it's wide so that it can catch any stragglers. You know how some less tactically minded adventurers are,” he said, and I nodded at his words. “As for how it was tripped, well, we have a long standing tradition with the Ice Behemoth Tarvrel…”

  As his voice trailed off, I barked a laugh but it was Ferrisdae who responded. “The Beast King of the Yeti, right?” Ferrisdae asked. “His prestige is lower than that of your Queen's, but he's far less amicable to people. What's this tradition?”

  “A Minion Exchange Program,” I answered. “Right? Off the books? Last we had records for it, it was discontinued three decades ago when a yeti got a little too rough with a nobleman.”

  “That is quite so, Inspector, though we acquired permission to start it back up just this year,” Serily said with a grim nod. “A youngster named Rarataramine is the Yeti in question, and in his haste to get into position, he had forgotten the talisman that marks him as one of us. It’s a shame, really. This was going to be his first combat encounter. Alas, you can see the damage it had done to us.”

  If they did receive permission, then it wasn't in their file. That was disheartening, but not too suspicious. Not everyone had such strict standards as I did when it came to paperwork, and oversights like this were common to an unfortunate degree. That wasn’t even mentioning the Department of Dungeons’ long backlog of documents it needed to go through.

  Still, I mulled it over before shaking my head and resuming the path deeper underground.

  The tunnel didn't descend all too much lower. The Kobold forces the whole way down were ravaged by the trap, a scant and lucky few were unhurt, but an accident of this magnitude was a disaster. At the bottom of the spiral was a smaller path of worked stone and, a few feet from that, a massive white-furred humanoid stained with blood. A shocked, pained expression could still be seen on its hairless face.

  We stopped in front of the scene, Ferrisdae looking down sympathetically at the Yeti. I rolled my eyes, knowing he was going to get a stern talking to when he revived.

  “Beyond this doorway is our warren,” Serily explained. “Our women and children are in there since the dungeon is not yet complete. Warchief Corez allowed me to come get you and appeal for their safety. He will be waiting for you beyond that.”

  My now ever present frown deepened. “We’re not going to attack your women and children,” I spat. “And I know that you know that's wildly against regulations, Serily.”

  In cases where dungeons were home to those who would not fight, those non-combatants were meant to be protected out of sight and safe from adventurers at the dungeon owner's expense. They weren't often afforded the protection that the dungeon imparted on minions unless the owner was sufficiently powerful.

  “It is, Inspector,” Serily acknowledged. “But we also both know that we are not up to code given the circumstances, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing it up.”

  I shook my head but he was right. There was no point discussing it right now. “Corez is down there?”

  “That is correct, he's guarding our queen's chambers,” Serily confirmed.

  “Then one more question, are the renovations Oristrella's doing? Or are they the machinations of The Dungeon Master?”

  “Master of Dungeons,” Ferrisdae added unhelpfully, causing me to scowl at her. She didn’t even pretend to look chastised.

  “As far as I know, everything was prompted by the visit of that Human,” Serily answered. Then he leaned in. “Between you and me, and no ill will to our queen, but I'm not sure how involved she is in the conversion process. She hasn't come out of the Coldspring since receiving that gift.”

  “The glowing rectangle,” Ferrisdae said.

  “The very one, Inspector,” Serily confirmed, nodding.

  “Let’s go, Ferrisdae,” I said, activating my shield so that it opened again. “One more stop before we get answers.”