The tapping of Princess Eliza's foot fills the silence. The air in the meeting room is stifling, what with there being two royals and the captain of the royal guard present. I can tell Prince Theobald isn't planning on staying any longer than he already has. The young man has aged much during his tenure as interim lord of Daywark. He's probably ready to return to those silk sheets back at the royal palace.

  Eliza looks like she wants to have me executed. The sharp look in her bright blue eyes is telling. If it weren't for my close business relationship with King Geoffrey, I think I'd already be in chains. My crime? Making her wait a few minutes.

  Captain Drake is hard for me to read. I've only seen the man in passing, but he's got the presence of a statue. The armor he seems to never take off makes him look bigger than he actually is. The weapon he carries is just as impactful as the armor.

  Mercifully, the door to the room finally opens.

  "Miss Hawthorne, we brought the items you-- Your Highnesses!"

  The soldiers at the door both immediately bow upon seeing who's in the room. They drop the item they were carrying--a large wooden trunk--and it clatters loudly to the floor. Prince Theobald sighs, gesturing with a limp hand.

  "You may rise... please, I've been in town for weeks now, relax."

  "T-Thank you, Your Highness!"

  With the momentary lapse in judgement over, the two men pick up the wooden trunk and haul it into the room. They set it to a place beside the table. I nod to them to indicate they should open it and reveal its contents. They oblige by unlatching and flipping up the lid of the trunk.

  Prince Theobald hums his approval. Princess Eliza rolls her eyes, as if unimpressed. Captain Drake doesn't give any indication of his opinion on the contents of the box.

  Within the wooden trunk is a pile of coins retrieved from the dungeon. The quantity of copper is immense, the shining perfectly uniform currency creating a dazzling display. If these coins weren't inscribed with a four leaf clover and the face of an unknown woman they would be worth a decent amount. Of course, royalty likely sees this as a paltry sum.

  "Is this supposed to impress us?" Princess Eliza scoffs.

  "This money was taken from the dungeon. It produces it roughly every day, though the time varies on when it appears."

  "Who cares! We have mines for that, not your weird door, or whatever."

  My expression tightens at her dismissive tone. If she weren't royalty, oh how I would love to give her a piece of my mind! At least Prince Theobald and Captain Drake appear to be thinking on it. They can see some potential value here.

  "This copper may not be large in quantity, but it is easy to obtain. A short hike is all it takes to retrieve these coins from within the dungeon."

  Prince Theobald chimes in with a counter point, his interruption making my brow twitch.

  "Miss Hawthorne fails to mention the aggressive wildlife that stands in the way of the coins, and the fact that it is not just a hike. One must be willing to scale a cliff face, and hope they don't happen to enter at the wrong time."

  "What do you mean by the wrong time, Your Highness?"

  "There's an eclipse that occurs within the dungeon. Bathes the whole place in red light, and makes all the monsters go completely berserk."

  Captain Drake frowns, unsettled by the casual manner in which Prince Theobald speaks of the eclipse. It's honestly funny how normalized everything feels to me at this point. Roughly a month ago I was doubting the existence of the dungeon, and now I'm trying to keep monsters alive in a bid to sell them for profit. Fate is a funny thing.

  "So this 'dungeon' is a liability. It has slain not only the former city lord, but several soldiers and civilians. All of that death is not worth a few copper scraps marked with a nonexistent country's insignias, is it, Miss Hawthorne?"

  Damn it. Captain Drake must be the one I'm actually trying to appeal to. He's well informed, and likely acting under the direct orders of King Geoffrey himself. The way he's framing the situation is... Bad, to say the least.

  "There is more to this dungeon than coins and beasts, I assure you all. Take these for example."

  I take a special case from my assistant, Lily, and open it. Within are three corked healing potions. Each one glistens in the light. The bright unnatural red fluid within does raise some eyebrows. Prince Theobald doesn't react, as he already knows the potions.

  "This is a healing potion. One sip is enough to bring a wounded person back from the brink of death, and applying it directly to a wound can heal even nearly severed fingers."

  Prince Theobald interjects "Wait, really? How did you test such a thing, Miss Hawthorne?"

  Even Princess Eliza looks curious. They're probably thinking I committed some heinous deed, like slicing the fingers of a man only to heal them back to prove how effective the medicine is. The truth is much more disappointing.

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  "Please, relax, Your Highness. Recently a party of adventurers got careless during a sparring match. One of the men nearly sliced his friend's finger off. They healed it with a potion."

  Princess Eliza looks unsatisfied with my answer. Prince Theobald is the opposite, pleased it was a case such as that rather than something maliciously inclined. Captain Drake is once again difficult for me to read. He looks at the healing potions before pulling a dagger from his belt. The guards in the room start to panic and unsheathe their swords.

  "Stop! Stand down, all of you, he is not going to hurt anyone!"

  "Thank you, Miss Hawthorne."

  Captain Drake then stands from his seat. He moves around the table to my side, and cautiously holds his blade above his own bare forearm. He looks at me with raised brows. I nod, giving him my nonverbal agreement. Lily has to look away as he slices a deep gouge into his own flesh. He then takes a healing potion and pours it onto the wound.

  The effects are nigh instant. Flesh stitches itself together miraculously, and he audibly gasps.

  I watch with a smile as Captain Drake rotates and flexes his hand without issue. It is clear he's satisfied with the performance of the healing potion.

  "I must say, these potions are impressive. I've never seen anything like it."

  Princess Eliza sighs, making her distaste for what she's been shown thus far known. I suppose I'll have to appeal to the royal girl's whims. I motion to a guard and he catches my meaning, leaving in a hurry to fetch a live specimen for me.

  Captain Drake turns from inspecting his fully healed arm to face me directly. He speaks in hushed tones, likely not wanting Princess Eliza to interfere in the conversation.

  "I'm not sure of what terms His Majesty will want, but I must warn you that the goods coming out of this dungeon must be of use to the crown. If the risk of the dungeon is too great, measures may be taken."

  My expression stiffens at Captain Drake's words. I had my debate with Prince Theobald about this very issue, and won, but I can't possibly use the laws to stop King Geoffrey himself from doing as he pleases. If he can't legally monopolize or destroy the dungeon he will most likely do so illegally. I must tread lightly.

  "I understand. Thank you for the notice, Captain Drake."

  The door to the room opens again as the guard I sent away returns with a cage in hand. A variety of songbirds sit perched upon pegs in the cage, their feathers a variety of bright colors. Some birds are yellow like grain, others a shade of rich indigo, and few sport the red hue of a ruby. Princess Eliza's eyes widen as she catches sight of the birds.

  "Where did you get such beautiful birds? I must have them!"

  "These song birds are native to the dungeon. They live within its forests, and come in nearly every color you can think of."

  Princess Eliza moves to the birds, and stares at them with a look of fascination. I can tell the spoiled rich girl likes the colorful creatures by how her eyes follow them. Even I will admit they are rather cute. Captain Drake's expression looks a bit sour as he realizes Princess Eliza is bound to support the dungeon's continued existence now that she's learned of these birds.

  "I suppose this dungeon place isn't so bad, if it has such lovely creatures... I'm bringing these beautiful babies home with me!"

  "Y-Your Highness, we cannot possibly bring them back on a whim-"

  The door swings open and four familiar faces come stumbling in. Their expressions are tense, and they all look even more aghast upon realizing they've barged into a meeting between royalty and their employer. Lyric, Chandra, and Petra all drop to their knees in a show of reverence. Carter is slower to do the same, but a little encouragement from Lyric does the job.

  Prince Theobald lets out an exaggerated sigh "Rise! God, will you all quit wasting time?"

  The group returns to their normal posture. I look them over with a closer eye, finding concerning details. Petra's complexion is far paler than it should be. Chandra looks like she's been crying, her eyes puffy and red. Lyric and Carter both look far more twitchy than they normally are.

  "A-Apologies, Your Highnesses, we come bearing an urgent report on the dungeon."

  "What did you find?" I ask, worry narrowing my eyes.

  Lyric looks from me to those I'm meeting with. He clears his throat, and does his best not to sound too offensive to the nobles.

  "Would it be possible for us to make this report to you directly, Miss Hawthorne? The information is very-"

  "You'll be sharing all information with the crown. I suggest you fess up before I'm forced to interrogate you for the information myself," Captain Drake threatens.

  "V-Very well."

  With the group of four too tired to argue, they take a seat at the table. Princess Eliza is too busy with the birds to pay attention. Prince Theobald, Captain Drake, and myself pay the report ample attention.

  They recount a series of events not out of the ordinary. There are new creatures in the Wildwood, as well as new plants. Some of the flora and fauna are identical to that found in Green Valley. Petra nearly died to a giant constrictor, which explains the party's rough state.

  The part that worries me isn't that. It's what comes after.

  Apparently Lyric noticed someone watching them as they tended to Petra's injury. He called out to them, and got the stranger to reveal themself. They were not human at all. A bipedal moose with a strange flowering staff and practical clothes. This being introduced itself as Silva, custodian of forests. The conversation they had is... alarming.

  Once the report is over an uneasy silence fills the room.

  Princess Eliza is the only one immune, her attention solely on her new pets.

  Captain Drake breaks the silence with a few words relating to his superior.

  "His Majesty will hear of this... I cannot say how he will react, but I do have a few things I know for certain."

  The group of adventurers listen with unsure gazes. I'm the most attentive, as this is directed toward me and the Adventurer's Guild as a whole.

  "Prince Theobald will be returning to the capital, and a steward from the palace will replace him as acting city lord. Daywark's soldiers can no longer be used as guards for the dungeon. Such a thing will fall to the Adventurer's guild for now."

  "You can't be serious! If you withdraw support the guild will have no backing to-"

  "I never said we were withdrawing support. You still have the authority of the crown to wield, albeit you do not have the country's soldiers. Hire some mercenaries to do the work for you, or train some yourself."

  My protests don't pass between my lips as I look at the way Captain Drake is clenching his fists. The man fears the dungeon, he fears whatever created Silva. There is no arguing with a man driven by the fear of the unknown.

  Honestly, I am afraid as well.