Paper and Dungeons

As the winds blew smoke about Reim, Zubaidah walked the rain-swept streets with briefcase in tow. She tossed her wettened hair, droplets falling into the puddles below, but she cared not for the weather. She had concerns greater than wind or rain. Indeed, as she entered a set of wooden double-doors on a street tucked away from the merchants and businessmen, she was greeted with a handshake.

‘You must be lady Zubaidah, am I correct?’

‘I take it that you are Maelius’ colleague, Trajan.’

‘I think that to call me his colleague would be a misunderstanding.’

‘I think I got you.’ She gave him a sarcastic but happy laugh, ‘You do all the work while he just looks over your shoulder and says you must be a genius?’

‘Quite so.’

‘I can assume that you are just as close with him as I am, if you understand that.’ He responded with a short chuckle, his expression matching hers, ‘He doesn’t exactly understand personal space, that’s true.’

‘But anyways…’ As she spoked those words, Trajan gestured towards a seat for Zubaidah at his desk. ‘Onto business.’

‘I assume that sir Flavrian has informed you about my circumstance?’

‘That you have delved into recent Dungeons?’

‘In particular, that me and my companions have been compiling information about the Dungeons.’

‘Yes, indeed, I hear that the Magister himself has become interested in that.’

‘How might we pool our resources then?’ He seemed surprised, writing something upon the parchment at his desk. ‘I was expecting that you might be hesitant to share your information so soon.’

‘I would not call it ‘soon’, since our meeting should have been much earlier.’

‘Quite true.’

‘I cannot think that the Magister could have expected the Senate to decrease our funding.’

‘Don’t worry, it has become clear that the Senate doesn’t fund anything that doesn’t enrichen them directly.’ They shared a pained look, as if recognising they were faced with the same problem. ‘Yes, I think that has become clear to all of us here.’

‘Well then, how might we organise ourselves here?’

‘I have brought some documents outlining these Dungeons:’ She opened her briefcase, piling several documents on top of one another. ‘Gamigin, the thirteenth.’ She handed him a small collection of parchments. ‘Furcas, the fourteenth.’ These were much larger, book-ended and filled with letters. ‘Ipos, the sixteenth.’ Being the largest of the lost, it was chock full of pictures and scribbles in an unknown language.

‘We can retrieve for you documents pertaining to the following Dungeons:’ He opened his desk to reveal tablets and parchments filled with black and blue ink. ‘Bifrons, the fourth.’ He separated them into two seperate piles, the first larger than the second. ‘Caim, the fifth.’

‘Do you have information on Gremory, the seventh?’ He shook his head with a small sigh. ‘I believe that those documents were transferred from this branch, if I recall.’

‘I apologise if our resources seem lacking.’

‘As I said, the Senate has decreased our funding, meaning that we have had to reorganise the Society as a whole.’

‘I can’t blame you, don’t worry.’

‘We have enough to discuss from these documents alone, I’m sure.’

‘Ah, that does remind me!’ He looked into his drawer, his hands reaching for something he could not quite see. ‘Have you heard about the Shrouded Isles expedition?’

‘Hmm, that was within the last decade, was it not?’

‘Indeed!’

‘I cannot recall the details, however.’

‘I am unsurprised.’ He showed her a single page, filled with signatures and senatorial colours. ‘It was not secret, but the Society made efforts not to disclose the full details in public.’

‘Oh, was it that surprising?’

‘Quite so.’

‘Pray tell.’

‘It was an expedition that revealed Torran ruins and information relevant to the Dungeons.’

‘I must admit, however, that there is still information that we have not yet organised.’ He gestured towards a door behind them, half-open and inviting. ‘It may benefit our discussion if we read and organise said information…’ She could see the stack of boxes on the other side, and she was filled with curiosity. ‘Especially if it clarifies the link between Torran and the Dungeons.’