I was quickly ushered into a meeting room after showing my Department of Dungeons identification badge. It wasn’t nearly as large as I thought with enough places at the table for five, four of which had a wooden box in front of them. Two people were already here.

  One was a Kobold with golden scales wearing the white and orange regalia of Segrech, god of the sun. He had his arms crossed and tilted his head towards me when I entered. His eyes were white and clouded over, something he was likely very proud of. It wasn’t unheard of for those in Segrech’s service to stare at the sun for hours a day until they’ve gone blind to prove their faith. His other senses were undoubtedly blessed if he had earned a place at this table.

  Standing at the head was a handsome Human with dark skin and a bald head. His grin illuminated the room as he saw me. “Badger!” he greeted enthusiastically. “I was hoping you would make it in time.”

  “When have you ever known me to be late, Justisius?” I scoffed, but there wasn’t any heat in my voice.

  It was good to see my fellow Dungeon Inspector again, especially since I considered him one of the most reliable. I was a little surprised, however; I hadn’t realized he was going to be leading one of the special operations teams. While decently strong, his expertise had always been in diplomacy rather than fighting.

  “I suppose this is true, though I wasn’t sure about the reliability of your transportation. I’ll try not to underestimate the Matriarch again,” Justisius replied smoothly. He was sitting at the head of the table, and I sat next to him. “We’re waiting for two more before we can get started.”

  “Are you leading the meeting?” I asked as I inspected the box in front of me. It was unmarked and made of oak wood, but I didn’t touch it just yet. The Kobold’s hadn’t been tampered with so I assumed it would come up later.

  “I am, yes,” he answered. “The Chief has brought me on as a—”

  Justisius was interrupted as the door swung open, revealing a tanned Dwarven mage in light blue robes. He cast his eyes across the room with a surly expression on his face before he started moving again. A white wand was holstered on one hip while a thick tome was positioned on the other, but neither hindered him when he sat next to the Kobold. He scoffed at the small woman who came in after him.

  I would have, too, since this was another face I recognized.

  Teladora Whizzlefizz would have been shorter than I was if it weren’t for her obnoxiously large blue hair. The Gnome wore a black jacket and skirt combo with a fire motif on the back and sleeves, and her adventuring guild symbol was featured over her heart. It was three quarters of a circle with red, blue, and green panels. She had a smug look on her face as she waggled her eyebrows at the Dwarf, who just scowled at her.

  “Sorry if I’m late,” Teladora said in a tone that didn’t convey apology in the slightest. She sat next to me and gave me a nod, which I didn’t return, before jerking her thumb towards the other mage across the table. “He thought we could trade magical pointers or something. Wasn’t fully paying attention, but I’m here now.”

  The Dwarf seemed to be grinding his teeth, and he gave his brown beard a hefty tug. He turned away from the adventurer to look at Justisius. “I do not wish to be in the presence of this brat any longer than needed. We are all here, so let us get on with the meeting,” he demanded, his voice thick with an Alashroan accent.

  “Wow, brat, never been called that before,” she responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes before leaning back and putting her feet on the table. “Bantering with you is beneath me. You are right, though; we should get started.”

  Justisius cleared his throat before the Dwarf could respond, and everyone except the Kobold looked over at him. With a clap of his hands, he put on a smile that didn’t seem stressed or strained. Dealing with these kinds of personalities was his forte, after all.

  “Thank you all for showing up in such a timely manner. I believe we’re right on time,” he said with a smile. “I am Dungeon Inspector Justisius, and I am going to be the liaison between your teams and those running this expedition. I have been a part of the Department of Dungeons for over twenty-five years where I have primarily worked as a diplomat for some of the more dangerous and violent elements out there. Not everyone’s reputation precedes them, so let’s start with introductions. Badger?”

  Frowning, I glanced at the others sitting at the table before deciding it wouldn’t hurt to throw my friend a bone. “I am Dungeon Inspector Badger. I, too, work at the Department of Dungeons. That is all.”

  “He’s holding back, as always,” Justisius said with a chuckle. “Badger here holds the DoD record for subjugations. I believe the events in Athir make 80?” I crossed my arms and grunted, not bothering to confirm or deny. “When it comes to clearing out dungeons, we have no one finer. His skills are the real deal. In fact, he was integral in stopping the Cult of Chaos’ leaders from pulling off their plans and splintering what remained. But I can tell that I am making him uncomfortable, so let’s move on.”

  Teladora took her feet off the table and leaned her elbows against it. “Teladora Whizzlefizz, at your service,” she introduced with a small flourish. “I’m the guildmaster of the House of Fate and Flames and the leader of the adventuring party Snake’s Tail. Flames are my specialty. If it can melt, I can melt it. If it can’t melt, then give me a couple of minutes and I’ll manage it anyway. We’ve tackled almost all of the hardest dungeons on our home turf, so this Southern Continent seemed like the next natural step.”

  She nodded upwards towards the surly Dwarf, who crossed his arms. “I am Archmage Zaylfor Frostburn from Alashroe,” he said before turning away from the Gnome. “As my name suggests, my studies have been in ice magic for over two hundred and twenty years. Through my research, I have been able to keep my mountain city cool despite the desert sun for over half of that, and keep the cold at bay at night. Now, I plan on bringing my considerable magical strength to bear for the good of the continent.”

  Everyone looked at the gold-scaled Kobold once Zaylfor was done, and he didn’t miss a beat. “I am Noknok Dor,” he said in a surprisingly deep voice. “I have been a warpriest in the service of Segrech since I was but a hatchling thirty years ago, and now seek Luculus Rex, an artifact of the church. That isn’t to say retrieval of such a precious weapon is my only concern. I am just as worried for my continent as you all, and this cult needs to be put down.”

  “Well said,” Justisius replied with another clap of his hands before gesturing towards us. “You all have been carefully selected by the Department of Dungeons, Adventurer’s Consortium, Mage’s Guild, and the Clergy Faction to not only be a part of the special ops teams, but to lead them. Because there will be opportunities for you all to be working together in the future, I want to get it out right away that there is no nepotism in this room.”

  He made a show of looking from Teladora to Zaylfor. “Everyone who is here right now earned their place. I’m sure I don’t need to remind any of you of the process for the job and how all four of the groups needed to sign off on your participation. If you have any problems with anyone else, then I expect you to figure out how to solve it in a civil manner. Wars are not won from bickering, but they are lost through it. If you cannot accept that, then I must invite you to leave.”

  “My bad,” Teladora said, raising her hand towards Zaylfor. “If you need us, call us. We’ll come running as fast as we can. That goes for everyone here, by the way.”

  The Archmage gave her a critical eye before softening some. “Apology accepted. It has been some time since I have worked with adventurers. I had simply forgotten how… independent you all are.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Snorting, the Gnome reclined in her chair again with a grin. “That’s a real nice way of calling us dumbasses, which isn’t too far from the truth. I don’t mind it.”

  “I think it’s safe to say that we’re all here under a common goal, and we’ll do everything we can to see it through,” Noknok said, turning back to Justisius. “Of course, it’s still good to see that the egos of the powerful can be put aside when the crusades come calling.”

  My friend glanced at me, and I gave him a nod of acceptance. I had nothing to say that wasn’t echoing the warpriest, so I remained quiet. He understood and continued.

  “As I mentioned before, everyone in this room will be reporting directly to me for the foreseeable future,” he explained as he rested his hands on the table. “Due to the inherent danger of your role, this is for the sake of security. As you already know, we’re going to be sending you as deep into enemy territory as possible in order to disrupt what you can and hit high priority targets that we have learned about over the last few months. That’s why your teams are small, but composed of very powerful individuals.”

  “Calling me in was the right choice, then,” Teladora said with a grin.

  “Am I right to assume that we’re not going to have much contact with the rest of the expedition? And that there are other groups like this one?” I asked.

  “That is correct, Badger,” Justisius confirmed. “I can’t speak much on the other special operations teams, other than that we’re calling you First Cell. As powerful as you all are, there is a very real chance that you may be killed, captured, or otherwise turned.”

  “You think we may be persuaded to join the other side?” Zaylfor scoffed, giving my fellow Inspector a look as though he were crazy for suggesting it.

  “CC has creatures called Blackwood Queens,” I answered, leveling a serious look on the Dwarf. “They’re a type of Nymph that, after they kill you, fills your body with fungus that pilots your skin around like a puppet on her whim. If you die, the chance of your corpse becoming their plaything is basically guaranteed if one of them gets to you in time. It seems the council has taken my warning that they might also retain access to your skills and memories to heart.”

  “Those sound awesome,” Teladora chuckled. “Absolutely fucking terrifying, but awesome. Are you speaking from experience?”

  I frowned, giving Justisius a look, but he said nothing. “No. I fought one, but she died before I met her Thornguards and they had gone completely inert so I don’t know what their full capabilities are,” I freely admitted. “She could use martial arts on top of this biological necromancy, though, and her kind should be considered dangerous foes. Even though she was made of wood, my cold-infused blade worked better than my fire-infused one. They’re heat resistant, though I have no doubt Teladora here might be able to burn one down.”

  The Gnome grinned maliciously, but Noknok was the one to speak. “That is good information to have. Are you the same Badger who—”

  “Probably,” I interrupted. “I’m willing to go over more of what I know from my time fighting the Cult of Chaos, but I believe Justisius has more to say.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes, thank you. As Badger surmised, the First Cell will be separate from the main force. You will still receive news from the front lines as well as certain information some of you have requested, such as how members of your church are faring, Noknok. It just won’t be anything compromising.”

  “That is good,” the warpriest said with a nod. “I would prefer not to be kept in the dark should any I know perish or become injured. Other than that, I am fine. So long as I walk with my lord, I am always within the light.”

  Teladora appeared ready to say something at that statement, but wisely held her tongue.

  “Excellent. I’m glad there’s no issues. If you all would open your boxes, you’ll find the special gear you’ll need for the expedition.”

  All four of us were curious, and we almost moved as one to check the boxes. The sound of wood sliding against wood filled the room as we opened them up to find a few objects inside.

  The first thing I pulled out was a rolled up parchment. I unfurled it to see a surprisingly detailed map of the Southern Continent. It was smaller than the Central Continent, but still massive in size. There were a few red "X" throughout the midwest that I assumed were First Cell’s targets, but a small signature in the corner caught my attention.

  “Porolo Sitchken made this map?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “He did, finishing up around forty years ago,” Justisius confirmed. “Apparently, he explained what he was doing to a Human woman who never gave him her name, and she led him through the land so he could map it.”

  I gave him a look. “CC?”

  He shrugged in return. “His records show that she was constantly stating how bored she was, so it’s possible. Either way, she allowed him to come and go to most areas. The marks on the maps were places he wasn’t allowed to see, so those are high priority targets.”

  The fact that I didn’t understand CC frustrated me. When we had fought she certainly didn’t seem to have a long attention span, so boredom could possibly be a big motivator for her, but I found that hard to accept. I looked at the map one more time before rolling it up and setting it aside. There would be plenty of time to play with it later.

  Eight vials of swirling green and red potions were next, settled in a velvet bag to prevent them from rolling around. I was about to read what they said when Zaylfor laughed.

  “Are these Teleportation Drafts?” he asked giddily. “And enough for the whole team? I shudder at the thought of how expensive these had to be.”

  Justisius smiled. “Only the best. They are rare, expensive, and brewed specifically by the Merchant’s Guild for your teams. If you find yourselves overwhelmed, drink it and you’ll teleport into a magical circle on a boat off the coast of the Southern Continent. It will be there from the moment the fighting starts all the way to the end. Once you’ve been debriefed on what happened, a mage will teleport you back to land. Obviously, we would prefer you not to use them, but it will be up to your discretion on whether or not you’ll need to.”

  “So be frugal, got it,” Teladora summarized.

  “That’s absolutely right. However, no one will fault you if you use them in an actual emergency. Your safety and success are top priorities.”

  With a nod, I set them aside and pulled out the last two items. One was a black Sending Stone that was much smaller than what I was used to. A piece of parchment was wrapped around it, and I took it off to see a list of names and an accompanying pattern.

  “Those are more powerful than anything on the market right now,” Justisius explained as we all looked them over. “I have not tested them myself, but I have it on good authority that they should be able to cut through any magical interference we may encounter here.”

  “I’ve already got my hands on one of these,” Teladora said smugly. She reached into her robe and pulled an identical black Sending Stone out of her pocket. “I can attest to how good they are. Can reach damn near halfway across the continent.” Seeing Justisius’ curious gaze, she shrugged as she slipped it back into her pocket. “You save a couple of high-powered merchant’s livelihoods, and they trip over themselves trying to reward you. My second and third in command and I all have them.”

  “I’m glad we have someone who does know how well they work, then,” the Inspector said with a smile. “These ones are only keyed to work with those patterns on the parchment. You can reach other members of First Cell as well as myself through either call or message. I expect to hear from you all at least twice per day, one around sunrise and one around sunset, but feel free to reach out if you need information or orders.”

  Noknok felt around the inside of the box to make sure that it was empty before he started putting everything back. “I certainly appreciate the thought that went into these.”

  “You’ll be receiving more basic supplies such as healing potions and scrolls right before we ship out tomorrow,” Justisius said. “These are just important enough that I wanted to go over them with you myself.”

  “Appreciate it, boss man,” Teladora replied with a sloppy salute.

  With a nod, he leaned forward against the table and steepled his fingers. “Now that that’s out of the way, let’s go into the details. I’ll give Badger the floor to talk about his experiences with the Cult of Chaos and then we’ll move on to what I have to discuss. What we know, what to expect, and basically everything else,” he said before retrieving a small music box from under his chair. Justisius set it down and opened it, but no music came out.

  I knew that it was actually a magical recording device. My testimony was probably going to be played for the other groups. I scowled at him, and he just smiled in return.

  “Alright, fair,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Let me go over the Blackwood Queen again for the record, and then we’ll talk about the other freaks I met fighting against the Cult of Chaos.”

  I could already tell that my premonition of this being a long meeting was already proving to be true.