Little Brown's journey was nearing its end. Up ahead the small brown bird saw the Lunar temple that it had accompanied Lucan too on a few occasions.
Flying to the center of the lake the bird swooped down through the entrance. Off to the side, a blue goblin was sweeping the dust from the floor. The goblin glanced at the bird and then went back to its work. Even though the goblin, More Food, was focused on his task, he kept the bird in the corner of his vision to make sure it wasn't doing anything funny.
The goblin almost leapt out when the familiar hopped onto the alter in the center of the room but stopped when the bird began pecking at the note tied to its leg. After a few attempts the note was released from its bindings.
Once the delivery was complete, Little brown took flight and flew to the upper raffters of the building and looked down, keeping watch.
White light began to swirl as the figure of a women appeared on the alter. She bent down and picked up the note before unscrolling it.
[Goddess, I have been taken prisoner by the demons. They have locked me in the abyssal prison. I have not abandoned you. Please help. -Lumina]
The women who read the note seemed overjoyed to receive new from the believer who had gone missing a hundred years prior.
She then noticed that there was another message scrawled in the corner.
[I now control the prison. If it is your desire to see this lady released, let me know. -Lucan Quilldrake]
[P.S. Bring your wallet.]
After reading the second part, the lady scowled before transmitting the message to the goddess Marama.
The woman on the alter suddenly went stiff for a moment, then her eyes overflowed with white moonlight as the goddess possessed her believer.
"Lucan, I know you can hear me." She said while looking up to the rafters. After hearing no response, she spoke again. "My temple is poor; we do not have enough gold to satisfy you. I am unable to offer you money for Lumina's release." She said and then waited.
After a full minute passed, the shadows in front of the alter began to swirl until an illusion of a warlock stood in their place.
"Pah, you take money from others to go against me and my wife but when it comes time to pay for your own, your pockets are suddenly empty. Laughable, truly laughable." Lucan said while crossing his arms and sneering.
"While we do require payment for our services, what use would gold be to a goddess?"
Lucan's illusion stroked his chin with his demonic arm. He had never had high hopes for getting money from the goddess. He understood her point before she had even said it. Nor did he have plans on claiming weapons or armor from her.
"Fine." Lucan said. "Then I need top quality gear. Armor and weapons. How much do you truly value your believer?" He asked.
Both More Food and the believer who was possessed by the goddesses knew it wasn't their place to speak so they quietly watched the negotiations unfold.
"That… The things you desire can only be obtained after swearing loyalty to me. Otherwise, the epic artifacts in my possession would surely reject you and not allow you to wield them. It isn't a matter of my willingness, but the things you desire… I cannot give."
"Then it would seem that our business is done here. I am sure that you have guessed that I will never bow down and swear my loyalty to you. This brings and end to our negotiations. Although the demon monarchy is unsatisfied with the loss of their prison, they don't mind giving up their gold and weapons for a few prisoners."
Lucan's illusion began to fade as if the shadows were dispersing.
"Wait, wait. There must be something I can provide."
The image of Lucan re-solidified but he did not say anything. He only stared at the alter and the goddess who possessed her believer.
"I can give you information on the ruling powers of the fey wildlands. The moon has witnessed many things that they would rather not have come to light. I can provide you with many advantages."
Lucan considered it. The offer was outside his expectations. It would be nice to have a bunch of dirt on the powers of the fey wildlands. But then he considered his situation. Right now he was devoting himself to the shadow realm. If he were to expand himself into a different realm, it would be the ethereal realm. Perhaps if he was Super, he might have taken her up on the offer. But he wasn't SuperSleuth, he was Lucan Quilldrake.
"Pass, not interested."
"Then… I have many agents and believers spread throughout the realms. If you are need, they will assist you and answer your call. I can have them help you with a few matters."
This was an offer that the warlock had expected to hear but he had already decided that it was not what he wanted. Even if they were bound by a pact, he wouldn't fully trust any aid she sent. There were always ways to be stabbed in the back. It wasn't something reliable."
"Pass, no thanks. If there is nothing else, I am late to meet up with some people to run a dungeon."
"Ah, dungeons. That's it. I know you travelers are fond of defeating dungeons. I know where several untouched dungeons are located in the fey wildlands. Think of it, there will be endless chances for you to claim the gold and gear that want."
"Hmm, how many are you prepared to offer?" He had finally started to hear what he had wanted to hear.
The goddess thought for a moment. "I could tell you where three are located. Judging from the surrounding environment, they should all be within your level range."
"Three, that is hardly enough. I lead many people and three dungeons can only hold a handful at a time. It isn't worth the effort. I want fifty."
"I… I really don't know of fifty dungeons that would be at your level. But I have another idea. What about an advanced dungeon? I believe you travelers call them instances." Lucan's eye flashed in delight, the goddess knew that she had latched onto his desire. "I know of an instance that is slightly out of your level range and has never had a visitor since you travelers came to these realms. Would that interest you?" She asked with a smirk.
Lucan's illusion tried to contain his excitement, but in reality, it was all an act. He controlled every movement and expression of his illusion, but her was aware that it was the same for the goddess. Her helplessness and her appearance of worry were all deliberate acts that she purposefully displayed through her possession.
But in the end, it didn't matter. She was offering what he hoped to receive. After taking control of the prison, What Lucan needed most was dungeon points. He wished to add the shadow elf guards to his prison so they could respawn, and he also wanted to change the layout and expand in certain places.
As a beginner dungeon master, he was only qualified to obtain one more dungeon until he advanced to the intermediate rank. But doing so wasn't easy. He needed to bank one million dungeon points and then buy the upgrade to intermediate dungeon master. So, for his third dungeon he needed something profitable. The best-case scenario would be an instance dungeon where multiple groups could go in at the same time. Each time a new group entered they would start their own private dungeon run instead of having to wait for the group ahead to finish. This would allow him to accumulate DP very quickly.
It was the fastest way to upgrade his current dungeons and strive towards becoming an intermediate dungeon master.
"An instance interests me very much." He replied. "If you lead me to the entrance of an untouched and unknown instance, I will release Lumina into your care. Do we have a deal?" Lucan's illusion asked, stretching out his hand towards the possessed woman.
The goddess was surprised for a moment to feel something solid when she shook the illusions hand. While she was surprised, Lucan activated his pact magic, sealing the deal.