Akahana looked mildly offe the suggestion. “I don’t o be paid to help protect my daughter!” She said with a frown.

  Mordecai smiled, “No, but it is advantageous for the dungeon if you are. Because ay you in goods, and those goods could include, say, twice the amount of any ingredients or materials you need for the ritual, assuming we already have a sample or I have the knowledge of how to make it.”

  Ricardo’s eyes lit up now. “Oho, that could be quite profitable.”

  “That it could,” Mordecai responded, “And I have a project for you as well. I want to build our reputation a bit more, so I would like te for some of your fellows to work with some bunkin and rabkin, and build a trading post in the area outside of our entrance. I want to include things like a proper inn and a stable, and our crafting rabbits trade their work indepely of our loot process. And very importantly for the unity, they delve into proper merdising.” Mordecai jured up a plushly stuffed doll version of Zushi. “Someone who has just fought through the first flht not want something like this as a direct prize. But as a memento of a victory, ohat they buy? That’s a different story. However, hashing out the details wait.”

  He turo look at Brongrim and Nainvil. “I wasn’t certain if I needed you as part of this little cil, it just didn’t feel right to exclude you. I do have something I would like you to do however; I want you to be less-partial witnesses. Our retionship started off adversarial. That makes you a good point of view for what es . Shizoku and Takehiko will be takis back to Aia, but that’s hardly going to be a ving point of view for those already hostile to us. Now, I think we’ve let the three guards stew long enough. Ricardo, I would like you to question eae before me, I’ve already structed a story in my head so it might bias my questioning, and you know the three of them better.” He was also hiding part of his pns from all four of them, which he felt bad about, but he wahem to be able to be pletely ho with the rest of the world while still hiding a part of his and Kazue’s capabilities for now.

  One by one each of the three was led in to be questiohey were worried, nervous, tired, and a tiny bit guilty as each realized what happeheir stories were simir, though the details varied, they’d each been approached by a woman g to be from Riverbridge who was very ied in their uping delve, and by the end of the evening they’d been given a ‘good luck’ token by the woman. The descriptions varied and the times overpped, so it robably three separate agents.

  In the end, all present agreed that the men were i of ill will, and were merely pawns in this scheme. It wasn’t a bad way to do it, dungeons were good at sniffing out true hostility. There were so many subtle clues a person could give away, and dungeons had very keen senses ierritory. So they were sent off to enjoy the feast hall, prizes to be awarded ter.

  After that, it was time to deal with the prisoners. The cells were created down the same hall that led to the kits and other work areas, which ractical sideration on Mordecai’s part. There was likely not going to be frequent cause to use them so there was o create their own pletely separate area, the prisoners would o be fed anyway, and unlike most pces, the dungeon’s cooks and crafters were also bat capable, making them sedary guards.

  In the newly built room holding a ring of cells, there were several bunkin finishing the preparations for a ritual under Mordecai’s mental instrus. The cells were reasonably spacious and each held a single oct, and each cell had a small private area for basieeds. The privacy was Kazue’s touch, Mordecai wasn’t feeling that generous, but he had given each of them basic, grayish robes to repce their clothing, as all of them had been pletely stripped of their clothing. This included all piergs, and any signs of magic etched into their flesh had either been dispelled or surgically removed, leaving scars on a few of them where perma magic tattoos had once been. He preferred the least invasive method avaible, but he was not going to tolerate any of them having anything that might turn out to be usable against the dungeon. A few teeth had to be removed as well.

  There tf around the room about te above the floor, with no stairs or other method to get there by foot, not everao the Warrens. The only way there was to fly or be carried, which the rabkin could take care of for the bunkin. Mages, archers, and gunners stood guard from there.

  “Hello everyone,” Mordecai’s voice carried through the chamber. “I’ll be talking to you in a moment about the sort of idiots you are, but I o verify some information first.” The others were spreading out on the wall behind him to give him room as Mordecai walked to the ter of the freshly inscribed circle and started the finale of the ritual.

  Light flickered out in waves, followed by questing motes of energy that danced in plex patterns before darting back to the ritual circle, repeating several times until Mordecai was satisfied and he brought the ritual to a close.

  “And that’s pretty much what I thought.” He looked around at each of the cell octs, receiving gres from all but the most badly injured one, whose flesh still looked ashen gray and his body still vulsed occasionally as Akahana’s regeion spell peted with the after effects of being nearly absorbed by Zushi’s void. The broken bones and other purely physical injured were mostly healed. “So, it’s not hard to figure out that you lot were sent by the purity cultists, uhere’s another fanatical group out there with cause to hate me. No, please, don’t bother with denials, nor do I care about fanatical rants trying to justify your cause. You are here to listen to me right now.”

  As he spoke, Mordecai activated the ‘traps’ he’d prepared for the room earlier. The first was a magical suppression aura that would make any use of magic more difficult. The sed overid the first and created turbulehat could disrupt any magic that did mao be cast. He did make an exception for healing magic, which might have a way to be abused, but it was difficult to use vitality offensively against most beings.

  The mages assigned as guards here were rendered immuo both effects, by volunteering to have their magic irrevocably altered, whether here, elsewhere in the dungeon, or even outside the dungeon. Any magical effects they created would always be a little more chaotid proe misfires. It almost perfectly banced out the chaotifluence of the trap.

  “First of all, I don’t know where you got the idea of sending in a team this small against even an ordinary six-floor dungeon. Even without our numbers, all but the most anemigeon should have some iing resources and tricks by now. Oh, you’d have doer against a normal dungeon without support, you might even have found and killed the core, but a good number of you would be dead.” He shook his head in disgust. You he o pletely clear out aire dungeon twibsp;if you wao be sure you got through, especially for any dungeon wise enough to hold ba activating their Break until the st feasible moment. Three times was a surer bet.

  “As for the history of the cult and I, the short version is that you guys started it, and I did my best to finish it. I,” he paused for a moment and softened his voice. “I did not do well there, I admit. I made some very wrong and very dark choices in my pain and rage.” Now he let sincere emotions begin to leak through, echoes of trauma that had never left him. “Your founders wiped out the vilge I founded, and tried to wipe out the bloodliarted by my various avatars. Ask yourselves what you would do were it in your power, if you had discovered a spiracy that might have just wiped out every blood retion that you had, as just the start of their atrocities?” His voice was tight and held an unsubtle snarl. “So while I may have my sins to atone for still, yanization is not a whit better, and I sider them worse. Expepathy for me over your plight.”

  He wao vent his rage now that it was this close to the surface, and he had to fight that urge. These people had not only their perverse tradition, they had now just tried to murder his wives and the newfound friends and family he’d made since awakening. But stepping away from the cycle of vengeance art of what he o learn to do. It took him a few moments of trolled breathing to restore his calm, and only after that did he realize how much menace must have leaked into his aura. The prisoners looked terrified.

  Mordecai rolled his shoulders to release a st bit of tension before he tinued. “Your cult’s sin of stupid decisions pound themselves beyond that. The mere premise is idiotic. My ritual just now was an analysis, and not a single one of you is pure human. By physical iance alone, all of you carry markers that e from different primary aries. Your spirits also carry iable influence from other sources, including all of you having signs of Dungeon influence. But that’s true of every single person who I’ve had a ce to examine since I awoke, so I assume that this is the result of what happened before I was sealed. Three of you, however, have actally tried to it another sin. That of Parricide, though I aowledge I am using the word loosely here.” He poi the woman still regrowing the rest of her arm, one of the men who had been heavily armored, and one of the male mages. “You three are direct desdants of mihough fairly distant. I won’t be offended if you don’t believe me, but ask yourselves if any of your retives have slightly purple hair. I never intended my little vanity to have a use like this, but here we are.”

  “Oh, and your raid has made us stronger. Not only have we defeated you, we now have fourteen living hostile people leaking their mana to fuel rowth. Were we cruel, I wouldn’t have told you this part and arrao make you into a breeding popution forever trapped in the bowels of the dungeon, a perpetual sourana to grow the dungeon. I could even arrange for the occasional ‘escape’ that would give a y creatures to practice against you. And don’t think I’m the first core to think of it, I learned of it from a psychotigeon that I aided in taking out.”

  The looks of horror on their faces were satisfying, but he wasn’t here to torture them. “Now, I have vented a bit of my emotions, and feel much better. I doubt you share the se. It is now time to let you know your possible future paths.”

  He raised a finger. “Ohe most likely path for each of you is to be handed over to Kuic, as we have a formal, signed, and witreaty with them. Oh, I could try and torture you for information or otherwise use you, but the kingdom use you as political capital in ways I ot, and probably gain information through muicer methods. I don’t have the patieo deal with you properly anyway.”

  Mordecai raised a sed finger. “Two: Ask for sanctuary by being inhabitants of the dungeon. I doubt any of yoing to take me up on that, but it is there. Just be warhat you had better be sincere in your version. You ’t fake it, and the process of allowing yourself to bee part of the dungeon will enforce a bond of loyalty. I’ve seen the results of someorying to infiltrate a dungeon, thinking they keep their will opposed to the dungeon at the same time. What was left of their mind was not something I’d choose to infli anyone.”

  As he raised a third finger, Mordecai smiled. “Three: There is a ce a young ratling will find his way here. If that happens, and he chooses to help you escape, I will not interfere. But her will I intervene on your behalf. All I do is advise that you not lie to him. Fate tends to be very unkind to those who treat Li poorly, and lying to or deceptively maniputing him ts as treating him poorly. That kind of luck twists reality far beyond the depths my power has ever reached.” Most of the prisoners looked fused, but at least two of them seemed to uand what he was saying from the way their eyes widened. “Yes, I do mean Li Zarb. You thank him however, luckily for you his interventioo your quicker, er capture, or at least a few of you would have died before we ed up. I’ll leave further expnation to those of you who already uand.” Li’s luck had also probably influenced ce to keep ons from pierg immediately fatal locations.

  “And beyond that, well, I don’t really see much possibility. I had sidered keeping my three desdants here in order to offer a reeducation and a ce to redeem themselves, but holy, the thought of dealing with you sounds exhausting. I want to g to ties of what I had, however faint those ties might be, but that’s not a truly reasohing. So it is my iion to hand you over to Kuic with your fellows.”

  He gave the lot of them one more look over and sighed. “I thought I might actually take the time to talk to some of you individually, but I don’t really want to get to know you. You will be fed areated for the rest of your time here, but I for one will not give you more sideration than that. Kazue and I both hear anything you say, and you try to impose upon her kinder, more empathetiature, but much like with Li, I really don’t reend trying to deceive her.” His smile held not a hint of humor. “Aside from the fact that I think my ratling friend likes her and would hate to see her sad, you don’t want to provoke anyone else here. She’s universally adored.” And she was adorable he o himself as he watched her avatar blush. “That is all I have. Akahana, please feel free to tinue any treatments you believe necessary. I’m leaving, anyone else is free to stay and talk with the prisoners if you like.”

  He turned on his heel and stalked out, his emotions simmering under his calm facade. Mordecai wao make them feel even a fra of what he’d felt, to inflict upohe sort of pain that haunted his soul. But that was not the sort e he could afford to let himself fall prey to ever again.

  Zagaroth