During the wait, Cojisto had wandered off somewhere and Ferrisdae decided that she had put off drinking for long enough. She finished off her mug, then ordered more beer. I had long since finished mine and wasn't looking for more. I had ordered tea when Ferrisdae placed hers.

  The tavern had gone back to how it normally was, loud, rowdy, and rambunctious. The only ones who hadn't gone deep into their cups, other than me, were the two from Cojisto's old group, a young man from the Dyers, and the whole of Chuelda's clergy. We were all waiting.

  “You look surprisingly at peace here,” Ferrisdae noted, halfway through her second mug. I could already see her face turning red. What a lightweight. “I don't know why but I got the impression that you'd hate being in places like this.”

  I looked around instead of answering immediately. All in all, I didn't mind the atmosphere. “In small doses, it's not too bad,” I replied, sipping my herbal tea. “I'm still going to go get rooms for us after the winners are announced, though. I'm assuming you'll stay down here for a bit?”

  “Probably,” Ferrisdae said. “Get to know some people, socialize. You know, be a people person.”

  “By all means,” I said with a smirk and a gesture towards the crowds. “Don't let me hold you back. Go, be free, young Ferrisdae.”

  As Ferrisdae was in the process of standing up, Forstra's voice punctured the din of the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen!” she cried out. The tavern hushed as the people turned their attention towards the host. Those who continued being loud were told off by those closest to them.

  “With nine out of ten questions correct,” she announced, pausing. I scowled. Which one could we have gotten wrong? “We have a three way tie between Chuelda's Clergy, The Shadowsmashers, and The Inspectors!”

  The sober Dyer stood up and threw something in the ground. I couldn't tell what it was from here, but he was clearly angry. The church was ecstatic, and Cojisto's other party were reserved, but smiling.

  What question did we get wrong?

  “If each of you could send up a representative, we'll have one final question in a lightning round!” Forstra announced.

  “Go get'em, Badger,” Ferrisdae said, punching me on the arm.

  I nodded, and got down from my seat. The clergy sent one of their older members, a balding Elven man in white cloth. The Shadowsmashers sent up Krylie, the Mage's Guild woman. We stood at the foot of Forstra's platform.

  “Mrs. Forstra, what lovely questions you had tonight,” the priest said. “Would you be able to tell me what question we missed?”

  “Father Derrick,” Forstra greeted with a nod. “Both you and the Shadowsmashers got the same question wrong, which was the Flowing Ship Style question. The correct answer was Captain Brother Rabbit.”

  “That's a stupid name,” Krylie said bitterly. Derrick just nodded sagely.

  “According to Cojisto, he had a ship-bound monastery called The Great Shenanigan,” I said. “So it was probably all stupid.”

  Krylie looked at me in confusion. “Cojisto got that right?” she asked, huffing when I nodded affirmatively. “Stupid knows stupid, I guess.

  That made me frown, but it wasn't my fight. Plus, I wasn't about to defend the guy who said Flint Stranglebeard was his hero. Instead, I asked the same question Derrick did. “Which one did we get wrong?”

  “The height difference of the buildings in New Frausta,” Forstra said.

  “It's three inches,” I insisted, hiding my scowl.

  “Records show it as six,” the hostess countered. I opened my mouth to argue, but she cut me off. “The judge's word is final.”

  I stewed, but closed my mouth. Forstra went looking for her last question, and Krylie leaned in to whisper. “The New Frausta branch of the guild only added the top three inches in the last half a year with a metal ritual plate used to help make teleporting easier,” she whispered. “It's not well known outside of New Frausta, and I assumed it's barely known there. You were hoisted by new information. I figured they wouldn’t know, that’s how I got it right.”

  I finally let my scowl show. That made sense. This was a small event; unless it was run by the clergy of the goddess of knowledge then there was a chance that things would be like this. It was unfortunate, but it happened. My mood started to cool down. At least we were still in this thing.

  “Ready, everyone?” Forstra asked loudly once she pulled the last piece of parchment out of her pocket, and each of us nodded. She read it to herself first, the room still quiet, before looking back up.

  “Earlier this year, Crystal Snows had a problem between two members of the Dyer's Guild,” she shouted. I immediately soured; there was no way I would know this and I assumed Krylie was the same. “What was their feud about?”

  I looked up at my fellow foreigner and it was clear that she didn’t know the answer. This was a gentle question for Derrick, obviously playing favorites. I started walking away, though I could hear the answer while I did. “Ah, Toreto and Fallowstar were arguing about who got credit for a new shade of purple that they were going to offer the king,” Derrick said. The crowd erupted in cheers as Forstra claimed them as the winners.

  I went straight to the bar and got Ramanelle's attention. “How much for two rooms?” I asked angrily.

  The serving girl looked at me with surprise at my tone, and looked over me towards the platform, then back down at me. “One moment, please,” she said before hurrying to the back.

  “Are you alright?” Ferrisdae asked from behind me.

  “I understand it. That we're passing through and they need to keep their regulars happy and coming back,” I sighed. “But there is such a thing as integrity.” I turned to my junior, and she looked worried. Like she'd been drinking, but worried nonetheless. I released a breath, and tried to smile. “It doesn't matter, but thank you.”

  Ferrisdae looked at me, and then to her drink. “I didn't think I had enough alcohol to start thinking Badger could smile.”

  “And the moment is over,” I said, turning away from her to see Ramanelle had been standing there waiting for us to finish.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “We have rooms nine and ten for you two, mister inspector, sir,” she said, nervous.

  “How much do I owe you?” I asked, reaching for my pocket.

  “Mrs. Forstra is going to cover it, sir,” Ramanelle answered.

  No doubt because of the way I stomped off, I thought to myself. It wasn’t my intention, but I was done caring.

  I turned around to see Forstra giving me an apologetic smile. Giving a non-committal wave, I turned back to Ramanelle and offered her a handful of coins. “Make sure Ferrisdae here doesn't get in any trouble and that she makes it to room ten tonight.”

  “Softy, ain't even drunk yet,” Ferrisdae said. She reached over me and placed her empty mug on the bar. “I'll take two more, thanks.”

  Ramanelle looked from Ferrisdae and then back to me, then gave me a determined nod. “Yes, sir, I'll make sure of it.”

  She handed me the key for room nine, pocketing Ferrisdae's key for safekeeping, and I said my good nights before heading upstairs. A quick glance over the tavern from the second floor balcony showed that Cojisto hadn't returned yet. With what little I knew about the man I figured he was probably with Moose in the stable.

  Rooms nine and ten were two of the farthest from the tavern and were relatively quiet. As I entered, I found a stack of blankets of varying sizes on top of the desk. The room felt warm even though there wasn't anything visibly heating it. As I disrobed and fell into the bed, my mind went back to the events of the day.

  It really had been an eventful day, even if most of it had been traveling. We started in New Frausta, spoke with that harpy, Sophia Blair, teleported across the continent, and delved into an unforgettably terrible dungeon for Ferrisdae to receive a Dragon's blessing.

  Also, Cojisto was there with a moose. That was going to be… interesting was a word for it.

  Alone with my thoughts, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep in the soft, warm bed.

  ******

  It felt like seconds passed when I was interrupted by the sound of someone barging into my room, bringing with them the smell of cooked meat.

  “Rise and shine, Badger!” Ferrisdae chirped.

  I wrapped myself in my blanket, tucking my head under as if that would stop the humanoid ray of sunshine that had entered my room without permission.

  “Just five more minutes, Tabs,” she continued, taking on a deep, gruff voice.

  “Oh, Tabs?” she asked innocently. “Who's that, Badger?”

  “It's none of your beeswax, girl,” she continued in that deep voice. Was that supposed to be me? “Now begone, and leave the food.”

  “Yessir, mister Badger, sir,” she said in her chipper voice. “We'll be downstairs waiting for you. We want to get this show on the road by sun up.”

  “That's too early,” Ferrisdae-Badger retorted. “I don't get up any earlier than dinner time.”

  “Oh, Badger, for such an old coot you sure do act like a rascal.”

  Slowly, I pulled the blanket down off of my face to fix her with a sleepy glare. “Are you finished?” I asked.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Ferrisdae said with a grin. “You have twenty minutes, sir, otherwise we're leaving without you.”

  “Hate you,” I said. “Hate you so much.”

  Ferrisdae just cackled as she left the room, the plate of food now on the end of the bed, and shut the door behind her.

  ******

  I left the Frosted Froth to find Ferrisdae, Cojisto, and Moose loitering outside. Both Ferrisdae and Cojisto were in their battle gear, her starry robes and his thick fur armor, respectively.

  I looked up at Moose, and the towering behemoth stared down at me. This was my first chance to take a look at him, and he seemed like a regular moose to me. Maybe he was bigger than a normal moose? I didn't have any references for this sort of animal. It snorted at me before nudging Cojisto in the shoulder.

  Cojisto turned and looked at Moose, then looked down at me. “Ah! The prodigal Badger joins us at last,” the boisterous man said. “And before the sun broke over the horizon, just as I thought you would. Ferrisdae said you would drag your feet, but you have won me ten gold this morning, friend.”

  I scowled tiredly at Ferrisdae, but she just grinned unapologetically. “What?” she asked innocently. “It seemed like a safe bet.”

  Grumbling, I shook my head. “So how are we traveling?” I asked. “In the Skymirror, obviously, but what about these two?”

  “That reminds me, you two haven't been acquainted yet,” Cojisto said, turning to the moose. “Moose, this is Dungeon Inspector Badger, Ferry's boss.”

  The moose snorted at me.

  “Badger, this is my best friend, Moose,” Cojisto said.

  Once again, I stared at the moose. All I knew about them was that they were durable creatures with a foul temper towards those in their territory. This one seemed downright civil by comparison. I gave it a nod as a greeting, mostly because Cojisto was still watching me and I figured being rude would lead to some kind of tirade. To my surprise, it nodded back.

  “Right,” I said slowly, turning to Ferrisdae. “And traveling with these two means what for us?”

  “One of the blessings Ori gave me will help them,” Ferrisdae said excitedly. “It's the last one of four. I've taken to calling it the Snow Globe.”

  I was patient, but it was obvious that she wanted me to ask. For the sake of expediency, I did. “What does the Snow Globe do, Ferrisdae?”

  “I'm glad you asked, Badger,” she said jovially. “It does this!” Ferrisdae snapped her fingers, and the snow covering the ground flew away from her in a large circle. She moved around the area; everywhere she went the snow parted and was effortlessly pushed aside.

  “That'll come in handy,” I said. I could appreciate the application of this blessing. “You said it was the last, so there's the Cold Sight, almost cold immunity, cold damage spell infusion, and now this Snow Globe power?”

  “Not bad for a sudden meeting with an evil Dragon, huh?” Ferrisdae asked smugly.

  “Yeah, if you completely disregard any ulterior motives she had when she gave them to you,” I said evenly. “Just don't get too attached to them.”

  “That means abuse them as much as you can while you have the chance,” Cojisto added. I had expected him to have questions about it, but by the way he was relaxed I guessed they had already discussed it. Or this was just Cojisto being Cojisto.

  “How long can you keep that up for?” I asked.

  “A long time,” Ferrisdae claimed. “It lingers as long as I pay the magic cost up front. I should have no problem keeping it active along with my Skymirror Carriage. Because of that, and to answer your earlier question, Moose and Cojisto are going to follow us on the path we carve out with the Snow Globe.”

  I nodded. “Are you sure you want to come with us?” I asked Cojisto, trying not to be hopeful. “It's probably going to end up being really boring. Subjugation runs usually are.”

  “We have said that we're coming, so we're coming,” Cojisto said, crossing his arms. Then he grinned. “Plus, with a line like that so confidently spoken, you know that everything will go to hell the moment we step foot in the dungeons.”

  “Speaking of which,” I sighed, giving Cojisto a harsh glance. “This is your last opportunity to back out.” When the man opened his mouth to protest, I held up my hand. “Yes, you’re a brave adventurer, I get it. We’re going into the unknown to a place where some guy is messing up the natural order of things. If things do go wrong, it’s not going to be in a fun way. It’s going to be in a deadly way. You, Moose, or the both of you may end up dead.”

  “Everything you said just makes this seem like it won’t be as boring as you want me to think it is,” Cojisto said. “We will still come. I do have to ask who you think this Dungeon Master, Master of Dungeons is, though.”

  Great, now Cojisto was saying his full title.

  “We… aren’t really sure,” Ferrisdae admitted. “By all accounts, the DoD hasn’t really come across anyone or anything that can just change a dungeon like he apparently can.”

  “Is he not just another bad guy?” Cojisto asked, looking between Ferrisdae and myself.

  “Honestly, it’s really hit or miss right now,” Ferrisdae said. “Their values might align with ours, but there’s an equal chance that the opposite is true. We already know that they’re going to be strong, but from what little we know about him I don’t think he can leave the dungeons. Hence, asking Razorbeak to bring him up here for… some reason. We don’t know that, either.”

  “Which is why we should be cautious,” I added. “Because this person has already started to alter dungeons, we know that he has some way to mess with dungeon magics. That takes a lot of power and knowledge to do after the magic has already settled. So we know that he’s very powerful, doesn’t regard the rules we’ve set in place as important, and has a thing for Dragons, apparently.”

  “Okay,” Cojisto said, mulling it over. “Odd, but it changes nothing for me. This is Moose and I’s next big adventure, you know, and we are going to see it through.”

  Moose nodded as if agreeing with Cojisto.

  Ferrisdae and I looked at each other again, and I shrugged. That was an adventurer for you.