Two paladins stand In front of the Temple of The God of The Sun.

  "I am the commander of a caravan that just arrived. My name is Lucius. I brought important news for the grand priest."

  "What kind of news?" Asked one of the paladins.

  "There is a new dungeon."

  "Your weapon." Paladin reaches out for the adventurer's sword.

  Lucius immediately took off the belt with the sword and gave it.

  "Follow me." Said Paladin, then started walking to the grand priest's office. Right as he leaves, another paladin appears and takes his place.

  When they arrive at the office, the knight knocks on the door.

  "Yes?" Asked a female voice.

  "I bring commander Lucius from the caravan. He has news about a new dungeon."

  "Come in!" Voice demanded.

  First entered the paladin, and next was the commander. The knight stands next to the door, and the adventurer approaches the desk of the Grand Priestess.

  "I am Eleana, Grand Priestess of The God of The Sun." An elven woman stood and greeted him.

  "I am commander Lucius." He bows.

  "So, new dungeon? Let me guess. On Taram?"

  "Yes, it is. It's now a dungeon oasis. Dungeon Mistress has two patrons, The Lady and The Smith. Also, the Goddess of arts and the God of knowledge is watching her."

  "Tell me you are joking, sir," Priestess said after a moment.

  "With all respect, even followers of the goddess of fun don’t dare to lie to the priest of Sun God."

  "It’s true. But they still try to tell us jokes." Priestess smiled. "So from the beginning, I need to know everything."

  "Of course. But before I start, there is one urgent message from the Dungeon Mistress. We believe it's prophecy." He shows a scroll.

  His claim stunned the Grand Priestess, and even the paladin lost his composure.

  "Well, let's see it." Grand Priestess immediately regains her composure and unfolds the scroll. "It's prophecy indeed." She nods after reading it and checks. "At least it is not about war. There are a lot of people trying to entice holy war commander. And none of them care for all those who will die. I'm sorry, commander, for my outburst."

  "I understood and agreed. We adventurers also sometimes meet with people who don’t care that we put our lives on the line for them. Yes, some things are worth fighting regardless of risks, but usually, it’s just for someone's pride."

  "Exactly." Priests smiled. "But let's go back to the dungeon. From the beginning and every detail please. No matter how trivial."

  "I understood." Commander nodded and started retelling everything that had happened.

  Two hours later, when the commander's debriefing ended, the city was buzzing with rumors about a new dungeon. People mostly argue about which god chose the new dungeon master. Most people say it should be The Lady because the caravan brings news. The rest of the people were saying that as nice as it is, the dungeon in the middle of the desert is useless, and it’s in the north and dedicated to The Smith.

  The commander took the shortest route to the adventurers guild. After a few minutes, he entered a familiar building.

  "Oh, commander. I was wondering why you were late." The receptionist waved at him.

  "Good afternoon." He said. "There are papers from the Grand MMerchant about the successful mission."

  "Everything is in order. The money will be transferred immediately." The receptionist inspects everything thoroughly." So, about the delay?" She smiled.

  "I was in the Temple of the Sun and now need to give the same rapport to the guild master."

  "Can you tell me what happened? Like you know, he is rather busy." She keeps smiling.

  "We found a new dungeon." He stated. All the people stood in silence. Rumors were one thing. Every week, someone finds some treasure, a map of a forgotten city, or something like that. But a high-level adventurer, commander of a small company, was another thing altogether.

  "Gina, take my place." The receptionist said after a moment. "Come with me, commander." She said to Lucius and took him upstairs to the guild master.

  "Jalena, what is it?" Guild Master asks when the receptionist has just entered her boss's room.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "Commander Lucius found a new dungeon. I brought him in." She said. Then, she went to a small writing desk to get ready.

  "Lucius, so you were the one who set our town on fire." Bernul laughs. "Sit and tell me everything. For example, who won the bets about god patron?"

  "None. The dungeon mistress has them both as patrons."

  The guild master stops grinning and starts to look serious.

  "Shit. So in On Taram Oasis is a dungeon, and I will need to find a way to entice temples and merchants to help me send expeditions and build an outpost."

  "It’s already done. They are preparing right now."

  "I don't like where this is going. Speak what happened."

  "Mostly three things. The Dungeon Mistress claimed the land around an old shrine a mile wide and built eight enormous towers with supplies for caravans. Inside are stables, a place for tents, and orchards with every possible fruit. Everything is a safe zone. The rest of her floors are underground."

  "Nice. It's risky for her, but merchants will love it."

  "I think it's calculated risk and rather low. She is in the middle of the desert. The nearest oasis is one week away. I doubt that typical bandits will have enough supplies. And they don’t get them from her."

  "Bandits, like you said, are low risk. I'm concerned about cultists."

  "I believe she should be safe until they don’t send some serious force. Her next floor is entirely made from metal. It's hard to find a mage with that affinity. The rest of the affinities won’t work properly, and something like lightning will be deadly for the caster. Traps should be carefully triggered because their release mechanisms are hidden under floor tiles. Traps also are entirely mundane. They don’t use magic to work. The floor is probably a set of rooms connected, but I don't know how to open doors. When we clear one room, only one door gets opened. Her final floor is a mystery. She slips that she has giant spiders there, but that could mean anything."

  "Ok. I admit that all of that looks promising. However, how do you manage to get help from temples?"

  "Not me. It was a Dungeon Mistress. She has two more gods watching over her: the Goddess of beauty and the God of knowledge. And she gives a prophecy."

  From the corner where Jelena was taking notes, they heard the crash of glass and a distressed cry.

  "Whaa! My monthly extra pay!"

  "Tell me this isn't about the war."

  "It’s not. It's a warning for crafters and merchants about being greedy."

  "Uff." The guild master relaxed a little. "Thanks, gods."

  Early in the morning, in the Palace of the Lord of the city, all leaders of all temples and guilds gathered.

  "I'm sorry for such a mediocre feast. On such short notice, my servants can’t prepare proper breakfast for many people." Lord Grivius welcomed them.

  "It’s enough." Smiled the Grand Priestess of The Sun. "No one was expecting anything like that. And no one should expect from your cooks that they, in a few hours, make food for us all."

  "And there is a lot of food anyway." Said the old halfling, head of the local church of The Lady.

  "Besides, we came to talk, not to eat." Old Warrior said. He was the Grand Priest of the god of war, Trinus.

  Some of those gathered agree with him. It took some time before everyone got seated.

  "As the Grand Priestess of the Church of The Sun, I will begin. The first question is if everyone read the report my clerks sent to you. I know it was a very short time, so some of you might be unable to read it."

  However, everyone confirmed they read the report by nodding and waving their hands.

  "The most important question is how reliable the news is," Malena said. She was a fox beastwoman and represented all tavern owners in town. Also, she followed the Goddess of mischief and fun.

  "It was Commander Lucius who discovered the dungeon. He is a Grand Master Sand Warrior and one of the best caravan guides. His company is small, but all his men are disciplined and reliable. Priestess Shewa, following The Lady, accompanied him. She only got her master's level a few months ago. However, she is hardworking and dependable.

  "Yes, she is." Said the old halfling. "She comes to my temple right after arrival. We had a long conversation, and I can vouch for her. She is young and inexperienced, but you can trust her."

  "Good. But what about war? I read a report, but even blind people can see how this new dungeon can change things." Bumus, an old warrior, asked.

  "I'm afraid that change will be minuscule. It could ease the burden on central kingdoms, but to amass enough supplies for war. I doubt it." The old woman answered. She wore an expensive but elegant dress. "The reason for that is simple. We don’t have anything ready for that. We lack camels, adventurers, food, weapons, and anything else. And by we, I mean also all the nearest towns. At best, you get one or two extra caravans. My clerks are going through warehouse manifestos to see what can be done, but they need a few days before they get anything."

  "Understood. It should give me some excuse for punching fools who are thinking about war. They imagine it will be easy, like getting rid of some bandits. It’s fucking north. Half of the men died there from cold, not killed by cultists. You need proper warm armor and warm food." Grumbled the old warrior.

  "And that is the reason why we are in a stalemate. We can’t press further north because of the cold, and cultists can’t win with our armies and conquer our fortresses." Added Grand Priestess of the Sun. "But I think we should get back to the main topic, the new dungeon. If I remember correctly, the adventurer guild should organize an expedition to establish official contact with the Dungeon Mistress. Right?"

  "Yes, priestess." Answered Bernul. "My people are going through the records to find a proper team. Bringing them could take some time, a week or two. The bigger problem is that I need to find someone who could be at least a temporary guild master for the outpost there."

  "What about Commander Lucius." Asked dwarf. "He is the grand master, and in the report, it is written that he has a specialized class for fighting in the desert."

  "That is an interesting idea. I will talk with him, but I don't know if he agrees. Lucius has his own small company. He will need to resign from commanding them. And he has a wife. She is from one of the desert tribes, so maybe I can convince him to settle down."

  "I agree that it's a good idea. He already talked with the Dungeon Mistress." Grand priestess Eleana said. "But don't force him. They need to make a decision." She warned.

  "Yes, priestess."

  "Good. The next important topic is who else will go as representatives. I need to send a few paladins and priests because of the prophecy. And the Temple of The Lady and The Smith will send their priests. But who else?"

  "From me, there will be few merchants. I will do the same as guild master Bernul and send grand merchant Venancijs. He met the Dungeon Mistress, and he is an experienced negotiator. At least he is single, but I bet he will try to rip me off for some extra concessions." An older woman sighed theatrically, and some gathered smiled, amused.

  "Someone else?" Grand Priestess asked, but no one answered. "We need at least two or three weeks to gather people and supplies. If anyone changes their mind and will be interested in joining the expedition, inform me or guild master Bernul. Thank you for your attendance."