It had only been a day since Xalt's visit when another odd visitor arrived. It was so absurd that Matthias could not help but laugh as he saw the carriage slowly make its way toward the training center of Vitalmire from Mirehold.

  The carriage looked like a massive turtle shell. Where legs would have come out, there were instead wheels. The carriage was pulled by two horse-sized turtles, and the driver was a turtle-kin man. They plodded along slowly down the road.

  "Do you want me to see to this guest?" Rey asked.

  "I think I know who this is," Matthias responded with a chuckle. "You can accompany me if you want, but this is a conversation I think has been a long time coming."

  Rey bowed before taking a place behind him. Matthias raised a brow as he watched her, just as the carriage stopped and demanded his attention.

  "Do you speak on behalf of the local dungeon?" the driver asked.

  Matthias bowed. "I am the dungeon," he said simply.

  The driver paled and attempted to rush out of his seat. "Oh dear, oh dear," he muttered as he descended. "I hope I did not offend."

  Matthias placed a hand on the driver's shoulder and helped him down, his smile warm and reassuring. "No need to panic. I assume there is an Envoy in the carriage?"

  The driver nodded. "Then I am eager to meet them," Matthias said calmly.

  "Right this way," the driver offered cautiously, shuffling to the door without taking his eyes off Matthias.

  Matthias stepped inside, hand tucked into the folds of his robes, suppressing a chuckle at the interior. The carriage was essentially a small apartment, complete with a working kitchen, bookshelves, furniture, and even a bathroom. A large wheel on the far wall had a turtle-kin man jogging on it.

  "Oh? Guests all ready?" the turtle-kin asked as he slowed his pace.

  "I don't mind informality," Matthias waved off. He seated himself on a stool. "Don't let me interrupt you. I am sure you can multitask."

  "It would be rude," the turtle-kin refuted as he eased himself off the running wheel. "I am Titus, Envoy of the Turtle dungeon. To whom am I speaking?"

  "I am the Vitalmire Crucible," Matthias said, still smiling warmly.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  "You are not what I would expect from the one the other dungeons call The Father of Monsters," Titus remarked.

  "Is that really what they call me?" Matthias chuckled.

  "Indeed," Titus sighed, seating himself in a papasan chair that hugged his shell snugly. "You seem a bit too happy to see me."

  "Is there a reason I should not be?" Matthias asked.

  Titus blinked owlishly. "The turtles?"

  "What about the turtles?" Matthias asked with a smirk.

  "Well, they must be stunting your growth," Titus tried.

  "My internal economy runs on the mana I get from turtles," Matthias admitted. "We even evaluate cost in different kinds of turtles."

  Titus blinked, clearly perplexed. "So you are not upset?"

  "No," Matthias confessed. "They were a bit of a headache when I had no good solutions for them, but they really are part of the ecosystem here."

  "My lord dispatched me several months ago," Titus admitted. "He was worried you would be upset with how much mana he has been getting. Dungeons don't tend to get mana when the monsters of another dungeon kill their minions."

  "I assure you, I am making more mana than I am losing," Matthias said.

  "The dungeon I represent is worried because their gain has only been rising," Titus explained. "Normally there is only finite gain as one side or the other remains."

  "Ah, you did not account for the fact that every turtle became a brood-mother, pumping out eggs to outproduce my minions," Matthias said. "So all he knew was that his turtles were killing things, not what they see or do."

  "Yes," Titus agreed. "This region was the site of a clash between my master and the leech dungeon not long before you appeared."

  "Oh, I took out those leeches quick," Matthias informed him. "They began forming a hivemind."

  Titus shivered. "Good riddance."

  "But the turtles have flourished and become a kind of apex predator," Matthias continued.

  "I was sent to negotiate what you want from my dungeon for compensation," Titus explained. "He can even release the turtles and let them become minions of your dungeon."

  "I don't want anything," Matthias refuted.

  "What?" asked Titus.

  "I don't need anything," Matthias explained. "If you had windows, you could see my dungeon. It is flourishing. I assure you, I don't mind how things are."

  "You are sure?" Titus asked skeptically.

  "Do you want to see?" Matthias offered. "I can show you how well the turtles have grown."

  "I suppose I should witness what is going on," Titus admitted with a sigh.

  "Take my hand," Matthias offered with a grin.

  Titus gripped Matthias' hand, and with an effort of will, they both suddenly stood on the pier. The scent of seawater hit them both in the face as the warmth of the sun caressed them. In the bay before them, the new Primeval Hydra was fighting a dragon turtle. The hydra was twice the size of the turtle, yet the turtle itself was the size of an estate. The battle was brutal as the hydra was using its own blood to burn through the shell to get at the softer insides.

  Titus watched, eyes wide and jaw agape.

  "You see?" Matthias asked.

  "What is going on?" Titus asked. "I don't think I have ever seen a turtle that big."

  Matthias gave him a confused look. "Your dungeon does not have dragon turtles?"

  "He does, but only one," Titus confessed. "It mostly sleeps. It is a floor boss. But that one is huge. And your beast is even bigger!"

  "You must not get out much," Matthias guessed.

  "Does it show that much?" Titus asked.

  Matthias extended a hand and a tuna jumped from the water into his waiting arms. "How about I show you a thing or two about my dungeon?" he offered with a grin.