Tarwantrad stepped back out into her own dungeon. She stood in the center of a circular nexus of her own made of glowing flowers. Her circle was placed in the center of a colorful forest, with flowers covering the ground, the bushes, and the short trees placed all around her. Mana swirled through the air and through each and every plant, flowing in such a way that it concentrated on the nexus. Some of the plants were moving about, blending in with their stationary cousins as they surrounded the nexus on all sides. Almablom stood staring at the nexus as well, tapping her foot on the ground. She raised an eyebrow once she saw Tarwantrad.
“Well? I assume since you’re alive that you didn’t just walk into the middle of the Hunger.”
Tarwantrad grinned at her.
“Mission accomplished, we found it.”
Almablom blinked, then smiled wide.
“Truly? Then the risk we took paid off.”
A moment later, she tilted her head.
“But in that case, why have you returned so quickly? I would have thought you would want to speak with the dungeon master in question.”
“Wardmaster Varilold, just in time. Right over here. I was just taking her into custody.”
Wardmaster Varilold pushed past the loremaster without responding and marched right up to Tarwantrad.
“You, what did you do?”
Tarwantrad shrunk on herself once more, but no longer had any reason to hide anything.
“I…built a nexus, and a nexus door.”
Wardmaster Varilold narrowed her eyes.
“How did you do it? And why hasn’t the Hunger flooded over all of us?”
“I, um, built it in my dungeon, hoping the dungeon’s purifying powers would prevent that. It seems to have worked, as it led not to the Hunger but to another dungeon.”
The wardmaster adopted a thoughtful expression and rubbed her chin.
“A dungeon? One in the Compact or…”
Tarwantrad shook her head.
“No, according to the instructions I received by the Oracle of Flowers, the destination dungeon is located back in the mortal realms, in the ruins of the old human kingdom.”
The wardmaster’s eyes widened.
“Of course…how did we miss that?”
Loremaster Anyadre stepped forward with a frown.
“Wardmaster, may I ask what’s going on?”
She began pacing as she replied.
“Just now, a flood of mana reinvigorated the wards, restoring them to levels of strength we’ve not seen in decades. A flood of mana originating from this very dungeon.”
The loremaster’s eyes widened.
Wardmaster Varilold nodded.
“We knew from the start that cutting off the land of the fair and the mortal realms would have consequences for the flow of mana, but we had no choice after the nexus road was corrupted. If this dungeon master, however, has managed to reopen the road without letting in the Hunger…we may have just found the solution.”
Loremaster Anyadre gasped for the first time Tarwantrad could remember.
“Of course…if the two doors are both located in dungeons, then perhaps the power of the gods would shield the path from the Hunger. We only received the dungeons after we had shut down the nexus doors and forbade their use, so we never checked how the dungeons would affect them…”
The wardmaster ignored the loremaster’s mumbling, snapped to attention, and stared down Tarwantrad once more.
“Tarwantrad, Wardmaster.”
“Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, we will investigate the door you’ve opened in full and assign several wardens to watch it until we can confirm the connection is safe. Will you be willing to prepare a residence for them in your dungeon?”
Tarwantrad was taken aback but managed to nod.
“Ah, yes, of course. That is…if I’m not to be tried for treason?”
Wardmaster Varilold snorted.
“Of course not. This is now a matter that concerns the very survival of the Compact, nothing else takes priority. We can address any crimes you may have committed later. Right now, we need you to keep that door open at all costs. And that’s an order.”
Tarwantrad led the wardmaster and her wardens to the door in question. Wardmaster Varilold wasted no time in getting to work, setting up some temporary wards around the door while planning out a more permanent arrangement. She queried Tarwantrad heavily on the dungeon’s defenses in the area, then barked at the wardens to keep watch while she marched back out of the dungeon to gather more wardens and supplies.
Loremaster Anyadre watched in silence until the wardmaster finished her work for the moment. He then stepped forward.
“Dungeon Master Tarwantrad.”
Tarwantrad turned to face him, still uncomfortable under his gaze even though she wasn’t being arrested for treason anymore.
“What you did was utterly reckless, displaying a complete disregard for the lives of everyone in the Compact. That it proved incidentally helpful does not change this, for I know this was not your intended outcome, as indicated by the deceptive manner you went about it. So, whether or not it has worked out, I fully expect you to never attempt something such as this without informing us again. You understand this, correct?”
Her face fell but she nodded.