No Need for a Core?

Mordecai was not in a great mood at the moment. The silver-haired stranger that had visited Kazue, Moriko, and Bridgette was unsettling and had left that itchy need to set the balance of the world right. But instead of him doing so, the three women were walking into danger on his behalf, which he did not want any of them to do.

Worse, at this point, none of them knew what the danger was. The idea that it was 'festering', whatever that meant in this case, implied that one of his creations had gone even more awry than he could account for. On top of that, he'd felt obligated to remind Moriko that in the worst-case scenario, Kazue's avatar could be recovered if she died, with Deidre being an example of how a dungeon could not retrieve a securely captured avatar.

Moriko was not happy with him. Mordecai was confident that she understood the possible need at a purely practical level, but her emotional reaction was also perfectly understandable. He wasn't exactly happy with himself either, but he'd be even more unhappy with himself if he didn't say anything and things went astray. Sometimes there were no great choices, only less bad options. He'd taken the immediately unpleasant choice that would probably be unneeded rather than risk an unacceptable possibility.

All of this he had to pack up and set aside for the moment. It was time for a very important meeting, and he awaited Baron Demidov in the office adjacent to the feast hall, as did Kazue via her illusion, each seated behind a desk. Both rose to greet the baron when he entered. "Welcome, Baron," Mordecai said, "how did you enjoy your delve?"

"Please, take a seat," Kazue added, "and if you like, we can provide refreshments while we talk.

"It was an interesting experience," Emanuel Demidov responded as he accepted the offered seat, "and light refreshments would be welcome, thank you." Social niceties continued for a short while until they had a small table at the baron's side with a tray of small snacks and some freshly brewed tea sweetened with honey and a small splash of bourbon. More of everything waited at a side table should it be needed.

"So," Demidov said, "while I will not claim that the delve has given me incredible insight into the two of you, it has given me some. For the path you suggested, there is a certain theme of fun and games, which I suspect is mostly the influence of Lady Kazue. I admit, I struggled some with this. Participating in games like this is not something I have done much in quite a while, and the circumstances do not particularly encourage that sort of mood. Still, it behooved me to tackle the challenges with sincerity."

He took a moment to sip his tea, closing his eyes as he savored the taste. "There are lessons being taught, lessons that I do appreciate. Patience, thoughtfulness, humility, a willingness to learn and to persevere. There was also pragmatism, letting people pay their way through some of the more time-consuming aspects while still providing a challenge." The baron smiled at a memory. "I also get the feeling that your swamp witch had some sort of restriction placed on the challenges she could give. She seemed displeased about the choice of challenges she could provide me and my group."

Baron Demidov was correct in that assessment. Kazue and Mordecai had restricted Carmilla from the extremes of her options; she was not allowed to seduce the baron or his party, nor was she allowed to indulge in the dirtiest or most humiliating possible challenges. "Yes," Kazue replied, "Carmilla can be a bit temperamental and willful, and we felt it best to ensure that there were no diplomatic issues."

"I see," the baron said. "I appreciate that. Now, that covers the prelude I believe. So to business: what do you want of me."

Mordecai nodded and said, "Correct. What we want is simple in its nature, if not its execution. In the theme of a life for a life; a freedom for a freedom. The price of your son's freedom is the freedom of the dungeon that the Puritasi have enslaved." He waited a beat before adding, "However, I do not expect you and yours to complete this task yourselves. In fact, I think we will need to cooperate to make this a reality. But your son's freedom does rely on the result, not the attempt. Should the dungeon not survive with her mental faculties intact relative to her current mental state, then your son will live out his life as our prisoner."

Neither Kazue nor Moriko had been happy about that condition, but he had convinced them to agree to that absoluteness. It was ruthless in a way, but it was the best guarantee they had that the baron's efforts would be as perfect as possible.

Baron Demidov stared thoughtfully at Mordecai for a long moment before saying, "Clever, and perhaps devious, but I can see why you would not be trusting. But I must ask, presuming that you are correct about this dungeon's existence, why you said 'she'?"

"I believe I mentioned another guest who delved that path in order to know us better. She has chosen to use the name Deidre." And that was a cue.

"Hello, Baron," came a new voice. The curtained alcove that covered the passage used to deliver the refreshments had also been used for Deidre to listen in to the conversation pertaining to her future, and she now made her entrance. She passed behind the desks and took a seat off to the side, facing the baron. That simple action placed her squarely on the dungeon's side of this negotiation. "It's been a long time since I saw you in my territory." She glanced over to Mordecai briefly. "I am willing to acknowledge that he has always been at least professional, as far as I can recall."

Mordecai smiled slightly. "She was forced to participate in the most recent attack. While it was not a pleasant process, we did manage to take her prisoner and we have treated her as kindly as the situation allows. While Deidre's restrictions limit what can be learned, she has been spending a lot of time with some of our people, and there have been many conversations. There is a lot one can learn if one knows how to listen."

Baron Demidov was visibly surprised, though he did recover himself quickly. "Well, that is ... interesting. It certainly makes deniability a moot point." He covered taking the time to think by eating one of the small snacks. "I think I should note that under the right circumstances, slavery is legal in Trionea."

"Perhaps," Mordecai replied, "but the wording of your laws also makes it impossible for a dungeon to be held as a slave legally."

The baron frowned and asked, "How so?"

"Do you know what is involved in the enslavement of a dungeon's core? No? Allow me to explain then. The most extreme ends of your laws still limit magic to placing restrictions on some actions and enabling punishments for disobedience." Mordecai's calm facade cracked as the heat of his anger crept into his words. "A dungeon's avatar could be bound by such things, but the core can not. The only way to truly control a dungeon is through direct and continual dominance over the core's mind. Her free will has been abrogated and her mind and soul continually violated by this control, and through her, all the inhabitants of her dungeon have been enslaved simply by the nature of the relationship."

It was a struggle to not shout as he continued, his voice tight from maintaining that control. "The Primogens may, technically, allow for physical slavery, though you will find almost any priest to be opposed to it. But slavery through mental domination is clearly and repeatedly labeled as blasphemy and a true sin." A sneer slipped into Mordecai's voice then. "Though I do note that Dormire does not seem to have mentioned it in any of his texts."

There was a heavy silence while Baron Demidov processed this information. Mental domination was not completely forbidden, it had uses for situations like taking prisoners before they could be physically restrained, but there were strict limitations on its usage. What Mordecai had done with the mad wolf monster was an example of using it as an act of mercy, bringing a peaceful end to a creature that could not be allowed to live freely. A certain amount of mental influence was also allowable and was reflected in the nature of some creatures. But the bonds of loyalty to a dungeon were not absolute and could be broken if pushed, and a faerie could work around its restrictions on speaking the truth. True, continual domination of another's will was another matter entirely.

"That is troubling," the baron finally acknowledged, "and even before this meeting, I had been growing somewhat dissatisfied with the empire's relationship with the Puritasi. But I am not in a position to unilaterally break that relationship."

"True," Mordecai allowed, "but you can take lawbreakers as prisoners, no matter what the official position of their organization. Allow me to explain what we have in mind. Step one is that you attempt to take Dimitri Igorek as a prisoner while simultaneously taking control of the compound and isolating the dungeon. Should you succeed, all his personal effects should be secured to await for when I am free to travel there. I will need only one item from his possessions and once I have it, my team and I will then proceed into the dungeon to establish communication and ease the transition to her freedom."

He knew that the item he needed was a ring, that had been easy to uncover. He'd simply asked Deidre if there was any type of jewelry or accessory she particularly disliked. After giving him a long look she'd replied that she found rings to be about as distasteful as collars. Mordecai had then promised that he would avoid both of those for any prizes or gifts she received from the dungeon, but they both knew what the question had really been about.

"I will note here that aid with the transition will be needed, the bindings have forced her to hold on to far more mana than a dungeon should be able to contain without growing. No one wants that going wild."

Demidov nodded and asked, "What do you want done with Dimitri?"

"Strangely, I find that I do not care much so long as his ability to attack me and mine is removed," Mordecai replied. "His personal life is too far down my priority list to spend much energy with. However, others may have differing opinions, even if they are not currently free to express them." He gestured to Deidre before continuing, "You may want to do your best to ensure that no one will have any reason to complain."

"And should we not succeed in capturing him?"

"That is the possibility I am spending a fair amount of effort preparing for. Should your mages not be able to block him, I believe he has a contingency in place that will bring him to the heart of Deidre's dungeon. At that point, you simply want to keep the dungeon isolated with heavy fortifications. The surplus of mana should keep the dungeon healthy for a very long time, but I do not know what Dimitri will try to do. Your goal here is entirely defensive, and to not allow anyone or anything to be brought into the dungeon's territory. And this is when I begin training on how to raid a dungeon correctly." Mordecai gave the baron a smile that showed teeth. "And complete isolation is part of the methodology. A dungeon with exterior support is nearly impossible to raid without overwhelming force. Done correctly, we can minimize causalities."

The baron frowned thoughtfully for a few moments. "This is going to be politically difficult. What will the training involve?"

"A moment please. The conversation so far is unlikely to cause any leaks to Deidre's core that she can be forced into revealing before actions have been taken. Once Dimitri is on guard and questioning the core, any vague information from across the spiritual link might be advantageous to him. Deidre?"

She sighed and rose before saying, "I understand, but I wish I could participate in this. I am placing a lot of trust in all of you." Deidre paused and looked at the Baron. "The trust does not extend to you directly. I am trusting their ability to make this happen. I do not recommend opposing their plans." And with that, she left.

"I am going to go as well," Kazue said. "Battle planning is Mordecai's forte, not mine, and my focus is better used elsewhere. Baron." She nodded to him before dismissing her illusion. She had mostly made herself present to ensure a message of solidarity and to be a polite host by meeting with their guest again briefly. Kazue already knew what Mordecai intended, and she did not feel like hearing it discussed again.

Once he was sure that Deidre was out of hearing range, Mordecai continued. "The first part is that you send teams of ten to delve our recently opened third path. I assume you have heard about our limited ability to prevent deaths?" Mordecai asked.

"Yes," Demidov replied.

"The design of our third path makes it significantly more dangerous. We will be letting teams of ten enter, but only if every member of the team is protected by our boon. If anyone has been saved by our boon, they can not delve this path. Your people will be under the same restriction. Here I will train your soldiers to be the type of squads needed for this sort of extended close-quarters combat. Once we have enough teams with the correct training, the next stage is to have the teams train with each other. Every team needs to be able to tell what any other team near them is doing, and to trust each team to take care of their part of the mission."

Mordecai stood up to hand the baron a scroll with a rough schedule spanning well into the spring of the next year, with notations for possible extensions. "Ideally, we will be training thousands of your people here. Those who fall once and need to be saved by our boon will be organized into groups for safer training and eventually sent back to begin training more of your troops. The broad shape of the plan is that the teams will be able to coordinate in overlapping waves and the entire dungeon will be occupied room by room and floor by floor. Normal military training is insufficient, the dungeon will be able to respawn its inhabitants every six hours, given that I have understood Deidre's hints correctly. Not only will they have to be prepared for that, but a dungeon can hold back a revival. So the teams will have to be able to maintain the correct levels of alertness for long periods on a rotating schedule."

He sat down and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "This is going to provide the dungeon a lot of mana, especially for the days it will probably take to force our path to the core. But it will also limit what the dungeon can do. And the final part could be very dangerous without the proper practice. Once we have secured the core, your soldiers need to begin evacuating in an organized manner. We will need the freedom to spend the excess mana properly, and the presence of so many people will be problematic."

Baron Demidov considered the rough plans before saying, "The expense of sending this many soldiers for foreign training alone puts this beyond my authority, at least, without approval."

"Oh, but Baron, you forget something. This is a dungeon, and they will be spending extensive time and effort here. There is no reason that all of your soldiers who do well shouldn't leave here with mithral weapons and armor." Mordecai would be more concerned about providing weapons like these to a less-than-friendly nation were it not for his intention to provide Kuiccihan with even better ones. He'd always rewarded just enough special materials and gear to keep hope alive and filled the remainder of rewards with valuables that did not have such strategic potential. Now he was in an alliance with a nation ruled by his own descendants, and to whom both of his wives held personal allegiance. The Azeria Mountain Dungeon was absolutely taking sides.

"That does change things, significantly," the baron replied. "But that will still take approval, lest the empire feel concerned about rebellion. I will promise to keep communications open and to do my best to take Dimitri Igorek prisoner. Beyond that, I can guarantee nothing." He rolled the scroll back up and rose from his seat. "I think that this is as far as we can go for now. I should like to see my son."

"Of course," Mordecai replied as he rose as well, "and you may take as much time with Antoine as you like. No matter what happens, I will always allow family to visit him."