Lucy, Chloe, and Serenia were all cooing over the Arachne taking her first steps. Matthias had to admit it was adorable watching the shock on her face as she learned how to coordinate all eight legs. But Matthias had work to do. The slimes were just hours away from contact with the skeletons.

  Right now, he was attempting to access Envoys. The problem was that no such entity apparently existed. As he was bonded to both holy and infernal fairies, his envoy needed both aspects as well. So he was stuck having to design a being that possessed both sets of traits within a humanoid body. It had to be that size, as it was expected to traverse among the mortal races and actually do diplomatic work. An Envoy could also tap into the dungeon's power to make requests to generate items outside the dungeon's influence. That was apparently so good-faith gestures could be done immediately.

  Matthias started with the easy bits. He was going to make his Envoy male. Aesthetic? A butler seemed appropriate. But then came the issue of appearance. He could not just make a human; that would be giving too much away. The factions used angels and demons, so using anything less would be an embarrassment. He also could not simply make an automaton, as his dungeon was all about vitality and life. And that was when Matthias had an idea.

  "How do I make elves?" Matthias asked. "I have seen a few of them running around."

  "Why would you want elves?" Lucy asked.

  "They would actually fit well with the aesthetics of the Forbidden Garden," Chloe noted with a nod. "Surprised we did not think of it."

  "Well, my plan is not to stop at elves," Matthias admitted. "There is an immortal species in the stories of my home world. They speak of beings bound to the seasons, having courts, and being almost living embodiments of narrative and forces of nature."

  "We have nothing quite like that here," Lucy admitted. "Were they gods in your world?"

  "No," Matthias said. "They were deal-makers, story keepers, and more. They were both a blessing and a curse upon the people. They were blamed for everything that went wrong and thanked for everything that went right, at least until other religions came into the picture."

  "The easiest way will be to start with your Blood Oaks," Serenia cut in. "You need spriggans. Their evolution is not generational, but based on the amount of mana in them. They become both more elemental and more mortal depending on the amounts of mana they have access to."

  "Thank you again, Serenia," Matthias said sincerely.

  She simply smiled back at him with a nod before turning her attention back to the baby.

  Matthias focused his attention on one of the Blood Oaks. This was going to take quite a bit of experimentation.

  ---

  There came a knock on Alycia's door as she was going over financial reports. The quantity of loot they were dragging out of the dungeon had already paid off half the entire expedition, and delvers had only been going in earnestly for the last three days. This place was a gold mine—almost literally.

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  "Who is it?" she called.

  Greg poked his head in. "Um, the dungeon has a proper Envoy now," he began.

  "Oh, that works out nicely," Alycia said with a nod. "Let them in."

  Greg nodded before opening the door the rest of the way. It took every ounce of self-control for Alycia not to start drooling. What walked into her office looked like a male elf at first blush, but he was so much more.

  First, his eyes were a solid green. His ears were also almost decorative, with swirls and accents. His hair was a vibrant red. His features were beyond what she would consider perfect—a good balance of both masculine and delicate. But what grabbed her attention the most was not his physical presence, but his magical one. Magic oozed off him like a forest wrapped within a mortal vessel.

  The man smirked as he bent at the waist. His butler attire was immaculately fitted to his frame, yet did not seem to hinder his lithe, smooth motions in the slightest.

  "Lady Alycia De'Falgar," he greeted before rising from his bow. "I am Sylt, the Envoy for Matthias and Vitalmire." With that, he took a seat across from her. His voice was smoother than cream, but carried the unwavering confidence of an elemental.

  "I—I would not have thought the dungeon would make an elven Envoy," she admitted. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

  Sylt threw his head back and laughed. There was an almost musical quality to it that drew her in. A single tear escaped his left eye as he laughed, which he quickly whisked away before returning his green eyes to her. Eyes that she now noticed were not a solid shade, but instead innumerable swirling pools of different hues.

  "I take no offense to your comment, as I am the first of my kin," he explained. "I am not an elf. I am Fey."

  "I am sure there is a large difference," she assured him.

  "The difference between a glass of water and an ocean," he agreed. "Fey are akin to elementals in a way—bound to flesh and narrative. We exist to personify something. Our title is our creed, our reason to exist. We are to elves what dragons are to lizards."

  "Oh," Alycia responded before swallowing heavily. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

  "Another dungeon recently declared war on Matthias," the Envoy explained. Sylt held up a hand to stop her before she could speak or panic. "They sent skeletons. They will not be here for a little more than twenty-seven days, if at all. Matthias dispatched slimes to counter."

  "Honestly, not the worst pick," she admitted. "What kind of skeletons?"

  "The dungeon that sent them was Urgnox of the Evernight Crypt," Sylt explained. "He sent ten thousand common skeletons."

  Alycia snorted, then abruptly coughed as if to cover up the not-so-ladylike behavior.

  "How many slimes did Matthias send?" she asked once she had collected herself.

  "Five thousand slimes that he felt were simply population overflow," Sylt explained. "They eagerly rushed off. Matthias actually sent me to invite you to watch the first engagement."

  "First engagement?" Alycia asked. "Should that not take days?"

  "While it would have taken the skeletons a month to march here," Sylt explained, "the slimes only needed three days to get there."

  "What kind of slimes?" she asked. "And why are they so fast?"

  Sylt extended a hand toward her. "Would you like to see?"

  Alycia bit her lip as she looked into his eyes, but it only took a moment for her to fold and take his hand.

  "There are things I need to talk to Matthias about anyway," she admitted.

  Sylt grinned as he gently took her and teleported them both back to Matthias' Forbidden Garden. It only took Alycia a moment to orient herself. Even as she did, she laced her fingers with Sylt's, to which he only raised a brow.

  "Hey, Matthias!" she shouted. "I have a bone to pick with you! You only gave me the normal monster cards! What's up with the shiny ones? I want a full set!"

  Laughter—deep and genuine—spilled out from Matthias in response.