Astrid remembered how she’d been told nothing about what to prepare for regarding Caelum’s plans. Greely could have warned her a month ago when they showed up to the Trials, or even two months ago when she and her party had shown that they had the potential to come to the Trials, all he had to do was say, “Nobles in the Trials will try to make you their slaves. Be careful.”

  And he hadn’t.

  Now, he was smiling like a sweet grandfather and staring at her while he seemed to be thinking that she should just take whatever advice he threw out at her. However, he was also significantly stronger than her, able to bring the party teleporting here from Purcell all the way to the Verdant Sanctuary. She couldn’t afford to be anything other than at least polite, though her stomach twisted at the realizations that forced themselves onto her.

  “I can see that you do not trust me,” Greely said before Astrid could form a reply, “and I do not blame you. In truth, I considered there to be a good chance that some of the other delvers were compromised so I withheld information in the hopes that it wouldn’t present you to additional risk. I still consider it to be the case that some were compromised, as it should not have been so easy for the Count to do what he did, but that isn’t the point. I should have said something, and I let other things hold me back from giving you information that you were owed from someone supposed to be your mentor.”

  “What kinds of other things are there that’ll make you decide not to say anything to any of the other Bronze tiers that are here? How do we know that you won’t do the same to us again in the future?” Astrid asked with a scoff. Already, she’d lost that politeness that she’d said she would maintain, and she schooled her face into a more polite look. “All you had to do was say, ‘Be careful around the nobles,’ and that would’ve been enough. That isn’t giving any detail, and still would have had everybody be prepared to be on their guard around them. Instead, I got a helmet that helped me but wasn’t told why.”

  Greely nodded, his wrinkled face not changing at all. “To be perfectly honest, there was some measure of cowardice and complacency in what I did, and I need to confront that. The equipment I provided to you specifically, Astrid, was to ensure you could maintain yourself against any mental Skills. I should have said something beyond that, but I didn’t. The reason for that is also the reason why I am going to give the suggestion that I will. Regardless of how much you distrust me, I would ask that you give credence to the information I provide to you, so that you can make any decisions with the correct information.”

  Astrid squinted but nodded. “Say whatever it is you wanted to say.”

  “Frankly, there are more Arcanite tier people than you expect. Note that I very deliberately did not say delvers. There are many people at that tier and have been for decades and even centuries, and they live inside of the Dungeon proper, deeper than I could dream of going at my current level. They live there, and most Arcanite tier people, delver or otherwise, stay in the Dungeon all the time once they evolve to Arcanite. There are even many of these people from the time of the first surge, over two hundred years ago, and they do not adhere to any title or race. In fact, some of those oldest people have been so completely mutated by mana that they can only barely be recognized as people.

  “The reason why there are so few people at that tier who appear on the surface of the world is because there are politics and peoples beyond our comprehension below, and they’ve made that their home. They care no longer for the surface world, and they stay in their homes. At least, until recently. For some reason, three of the ancient ones have come to the surface, and they have begun taking action in the capital. They don’t seem to be entirely supporting any particular person, but they are taking actions that are to the benefit of the nobility. If that is incidental or purposeful, we don’t know, but the reality is that Humanity's Bulwark right now is trying to figure out what to do with three godlike beings who have shown up but then occasionally disappear.”

  Greely stopped talking for long enough to allow the Wanderers to try to understand what he was saying. Skandr was the first to speak.

  “What’s going to happen to the country now? Is everybody going to be enslaved? Or will there be a new war coming? What are we going to expect to happen? And how are we supposed to do anything about it?”

  “I don’t know what will happen,” Greely answered. “The reality is that the country is balanced off of three powers. When the first Duchess reestablished control over the country after the original surges, she was the primary driving force for Humanity’s continued survival. The noble Classes that came into existence began dealing with much of the mundane necessities of a country while the Duchess quickly rose to Arcanite herself. As such, she took care of the greatest threats that existed at that time, but the Dungeon continued spreading and monsters continued filling the world, so she established the Delving Guild. Whether by purpose or accident, she created a balanced system of government that had three aspects: herself to deal with the highest tier threats and to interface with other countries, the nobles to take care of domestic affairs, and the Guild to take care of the other threats that lacked the strength and proximity to require her presence.

  “She was the linchpin of power, and when she guided her successor, the second Duchess, the transition of power went smoothly. The second Duchess was also able to transition power without much incident after she rose high enough, but the third was more mired in politics than delving and the transition of power to the fourth did not go well. Though the first three Duchesses retired from their position without much issue, the fourth met an early end, and none of the others have come to help. Now, the fifth Duchess is too weak to fulfill her portion of responsibilities while the nobles continue to expand their power and, frankly, the Guild has strayed from its purpose as well.

  “So, to answer your question, what will happen? Perhaps the Duchesses that retreated to the depths remain alive and will return. Perhaps other Arcanite tier people who live below will come and put things to right. Maybe something else entirely. We have no way to know, but it will not be immediate that the issues are resolved.”

  “What about my family? My friends?” Astrid asked. Things she hadn’t thought about as she’d been too consumed with keeping herself safe began to fill her mind.

  “For most people, life won’t change anytime soon,” Greely replied. “What worth is a Bronze tier Apothecary or Tailor to a century-old Arcanite? The fear is that, in this moment of expanded power, unscrupulous people, whether noble Classed or otherwise, will take ever more drastic steps to fortify their holdings as they are now. Beyond that, despite me having been told nothing, I am positive that you killed Caelum Count. Noble Classes are rare, and whenever they appear, the nobles to whom the newly Classed swear themselves take care of their investments. Once you reach level 70 or so, you’ll be able to resist the majority of the attempts that nobles may make on you for long enough to allow the few Adamantie delvers who maintain close connections with the Guild to come to your support in the event that somebody breaks the accords between them and us.

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  “That is what my offer is: to bring you five out of the area of conflict, to find you a place in one of the other nations to progress all the way to Steel and solidify yourselves there. At that point, of course, you will still be susceptible to the whims of those three intruders, but you should be able to hold your own against other threats.”

  Astrid stood there, bewildered. There hadn’t been any history lessons for her to learn much of this information from as a child, and, frankly, much of it didn’t matter to her at this moment, but, so far she knew, this was all information that was largely kept secret from the populace as a whole. After taking several seconds to gather herself, she looked at the rest of her party, who looked only slightly less confused than she herself did. Then, she couldn’t help but say, “How in the name of the Duchess has this country not fallen entirely? Why aren’t we all dead or under the control of one of these Arcanite people? The country’s falling apart at the seams!”

  Greely chuckled a little before answering, “Most people don’t know about these things, and those monsters that can sway the world with an errant thought or swing of their wrist stay underground, so those of us who live up here can live without provoking these hidden beasts. How has any country remained with all this happening and threatening underfoot? It’s a miracle, but frankly, those powerful few just don’t care. They’re much weaker up here, something about the evolution to Arcanite, but it’s something that remains hidden to me.”

  Astrid shook her head and asked, “Where were you thinking for us to go? We’d have to know that before we have any conversation about what we’ll do.”

  “I am familiar with several Groves that are at least Mithril tier here in the Sanctuary,” he answered immediately. “Since you seem to have a good relationship with those who were in the Bronze tier Trials with you, you would be able to seek out some measure of protection there, due to how the Groves interact. If a Grove Warden trusts you, then integrating with the Sanctuary wouldn’t be too difficult. With my connection as well, you would be guaranteed protections at least until Steel, though I imagine that, so long as you cooperate with their laws, you’ll be welcome here longer term. Further, we are already within the Sanctuary, and you would not have to travel far to find places to delve. Finally, the Verdant Walkers maintain a strong perimeter against those who would pose a threat to you.

  “On the other hand, you could go to the Hiveguard, they probably wouldn’t care to have you, so long as you didn’t attack the Hiveguard in your Trial. There would be precious little opportunity to make money or equipment there, but they secure their borders against anybody Mithril tier and above. I wouldn’t suggest the Kin nor the Barbarians at this time, but I would not stand in your way if that was the choice you made.”

  Astrid purposefully breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth as she tried to calm herself. Strangely, the massive difference in his willingness to talk had taken her most by surprise. “Thank you, Greely. We’ll talk about it.”

  He nodded and said, “Whatever it is that you choose, I will do what I can to support you, and again, I apologize. I should have said more, and I did not. I thought I had reasons, but they become increasingly weak as I look at you and think of how little you know of the world at large. I brought you here, you are my responsibility, and instead of saying something that would help you, I gave you an item and hoped for the best.”

  He didn’t say anything else as he bowed his head and walked away. As the tent flap dropped down behind him, leaving the party alone once more in the tent, Astrid looked at her friends. She felt a certain amount of comfort in the fact that all of them, even Muti, looked slightly disturbed by what they’d just been told. After all, though it was her goal, the idea of reaching level 200 and evolving to Arcanite was, at best, ten years away. In reality, it would probably be more, as monsters at higher tiers grew scarcer and more difficult to kill. Giants, dragons, true elementals, and more mana-mutated creatures filled every corner of the Dungeon. But that wasn’t the point.

  Instead, it was the reality that dangers presented themselves at every turn, and the feeling of progress that Astrid’d allowed to surge when they’d won the Trials was washed away. Sure, she and her party were more than impressive in their tier, and with her current attribute growths and boon, she’d already gained more attributes than even someone who had gotten a rare Class and was about to evolve to Steel. In fact, she probably wasn’t too far off of somebody that had gotten a very rare Class, counting the extra 60 attribute points across three attributes for Bronze tier she’d gotten. Every level she gained from here on out would just serve as a further testament to her extraordinary nature.

  And compared to those older monsters that were apparently deciding to insert themselves into regular life on the surface, it wasn’t worth anything.

  “All of this is stupid,” Benedict grumbled. “We’ve made ourselves as impressive as possible, and now we’re being told that it doesn't matter and we need to run away now?”

  “I hate it too,” Skandr said, “ but I think he’s probably got the right of it. He knows a lot more than we do, so it’s probably better to listen to his advice instead of just going at it ourselves.”

  “Then why didn’t anybody tell us this?” Astrid began to pace. “If he’d been upfront with us in the past, I wouldn’t mind trusting him, but it’s obvious that he’s going to hold things back from us if he thinks it’s better for him, or for us, or whoever it is that he’s keeping in consideration. We can’t trust anything he says!”

  “I don’t think he’s lied to us at all, so I wouldn’t say that,” Skandr shook his head. “I don’t think that he’s being totally upfront about everything, but he seems genuinely remorseful.”

  “And will he do anything more than feel bad if we end up dying because of his advice?” Astrid shook her head. “The worst part of it is, though, I think you’re right. I think we have to listen to him for now, and I hate that.”

  “We could retire to the Hordes’ lands,” Muti offered with a shrug. “Vlarkta is somewhat of a lingering threat, but with Kalta’s offers to join him, our safety within the Plains is no longer so conditional as it once was. He considers us, at least, as his equals, so we would not be beholden to falling under his command, and would merit some measure of freedom while benefitting from his Class and position. Klara was able to delve in the Plains, so there must be a way to do so without it being considered a betrayal against your people.”

  Astrid ran her hand down her face. “I don’t think that’s a bad option, but I think that the offer of an introduction into the Verdant Sanctuary may better suit our needs. Here, we can rely on the Verdant Walkers’ long-standing reputation: be peaceful, and be guaranteed peace.”

  The rest of the party grumbled, and they continued to speak for a while, but with what Astrid said, the decision was largely already made. They could choose between returning to a place where they knew they had enemies, the lands belonging to Humanity, or they could remain here and keep themselves relatively safe. As the decision was made, Astrid looked at the rest of the Wanderers.

  “I’m with you all. I’m your leader, for as long as you’ll have me. I’ve never been an especially good leader in terms of actually leading, but I do want to be better. The two ways that I can think of to make sure that we’re safe in the long run will be to get stronger, which we’re doing as fast as possible, and making alliances with people stronger than us, people we can truly trust to protect us. This is the best way that we can do both of those things, so far as I can tell.”

  “I mean, it’s time we live up to our party name, right?” Benedict asked with a smile.

  The party smiled, and, with that determination strong in their chests, left the tent to begin training with some Arcanite tier delvers.

  End of Book 3