"Sylvie! I'm so glad to see you again," I said as I hugged her, which was a little awkward given our height difference, but we made it work. We didn't get to talk much on the last subjugation since she came a bit late, so I'm glad we have some time to catch up before the others arrive.

"Hello darling, I am very happy to see my favorite little healer again," she said as we hugged.

"Aww, you mean it?" I said with a smile.

"Indeed," she said, smiling back at me with her elegant demeanor, "I heard you received quite an honorable promotion since we last met."

"Yeah, I didn't do much to earn it, I just happened to have... known the Archmagus before hand. It's basically nepotism," I replied while trying not to blush.

"Oh, don't be so modest dear," she replied, "I am sure your hard work had been properly acknowledged."

The bartender handed us our drinks, a pint of an Ionian stout for me and a much more appropriately girly cocktail for her, "Hard to believe it's only been a few days since we met. It's been such a busy week," I said, sipping my glass.

"Oh, sweetheart, I wish I could say the same," she said, which reminded me of that messy wolfboy, but it's much nicer coming from her, "my life has been rather dull as of late. Better that than having my guts spill out I suppose."

"Ugh, yeah. I'm honestly happy to never do another one of these again. I'll never get used to the irony smell of blood or the sound of bones snapping back in place," I said with a shudder, "What brought you back to another dungeon? There's got to be better ways to make money."

"The pay for this job is quite high for the Church," she replied, "I have need to save for the sake of my family in Lydia."

"Oh shit. Are they okay? Have you heard back?" I asked as my heart sank.

"Last I heard was a month before, soon after the Church declared war," she said, and if there was grief in her heart, she didn't let it show. I wanted to say something to show support, to say that I don't condone the war, that the Archmagus doesn't either, that we'll do everything we can to bring peace, that the Church is wrong, anything, but I can't leak info and I can't speak ill of the Church as a high-ranking official. I feel sick.

"Want a smoke?" I offered as a opened a new pack.

"Typically I don't condone this behavior, but I would pen myself a liar if I claimed to be above it. Nerves, as it were," and I helped her light up. We sat for a moment together just smoking and taking in the moment before an irritating voice came by to ruin it.

"There ye are, cute thing," he said in that annoying, rough voice, "and ta you too, madam. Two fine ladies 'avin a smoke, eh? Spare fer one more?"

"Sure thing, bum," I said as I handed one over.

"Oi, so hostile ain't ye?" he said with that annoying grin, "Nice ta meetch'ye, Stratus, demon hunter," and he arched over to shake Sylvie's hand. She hesitated a bit which made me grin and she held his fingertips delicately.

"Drossel Sylvae. Silvie, I would prefer," she responded, and the contrast between their voices felt a little off somehow.

"Not ta ease-drop, but I 'eard ye mention family in Lydia. My condolences," he said, for the first time with authenticity.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said, taking a puff, "I trust in their survival, and if they perish, then it's well deserved."

"Aye, ain'tchya the coldhearted type," Stratus replied, taking a drag, "Respect fer that."

"So, Mr. Demon Hunter, what's your weapon of choice?" I asked sarcastically, and he pulled out a strange looking arma.

"Aye, this ol' thing," he said. It held firmly in his hand with his index finger extended over what I assume is a switch, "She speaks to me, she does. A pistol, of Eastern make, but with mana instead. Cirrus, she called 'erself."

"Is that a joke?" I asked.

"No joke, sweet thing. She's a right ol' bastard," he replied, "it's what keeps 'er so cheap. Mana's hard te come by, these days. Ain't like it used ta be. She called you a whore, by the way," he finished with a laugh.

"Yeah. Very funny," I said, getting really annoyed.

"Well, I don't think so cute fing, Cirrus gets a 'lil protective izall," he said, stroking it's side. Now I'm genuinely curious what restrictions he commissioned for it but I really don't want to get into a deeper conversation with this guy, "Ah, 'n she quite likes you, Svlvie."

"I'm honored," she said without a hint of sarcasm and now I'm wondering if I'm the crazy one.

"Old friends and new, united by the smoke," another, better, familiar voice spoke.

"Axel! Ah, I'm so happy to see you," I said as I gave him an awkward hug, again due to the size difference, but in the other direction, "Want to join us?" as I offered him one.

"Thank you. Glad I am to see your manners unchanged by status," he said as I lit his.

"Now all we're missing is Fymner and we'll have the party back together," I said as I had another puff.

Stratus started hitting on Sylvie which gave me some relief since he's off my back and she doesn't seem to mind. The mood is really great here. The other two parties are mingling at the other tables and everyone seems to be in generally high spirits, despite the danger everyone will face in only a few hours.

"Hey Axel," I started while I reached into my pocket, "Take this back. It's your share from the last dungeon, and then some. I really appreciate that you offered your pay, but I'm in a privileged position now. I'd like to pay you back."

"Miss, guilded is your heart as the coins in your hand, but for me, keep and treasure it, in a box if need be," he said, declining his pay, "Here I am not for pay but for means."

"If you're sure then I'll do just that. It'll give me something to remember you by if we part ways," I said with a sad smile, "If you don't mind me asking, why do you join these subjugations?"

"Heavy is the armor for those with strength to carry it, enough is mine with few to match me. Targeted are the weak for demons and dungeons, for who will stand up for them?" he said, finishing his smoke and chugging his stout.

"That's very noble," I said, and I meant it. With as much power as I have... "Stratus mentioned to me earlier than dungeons tend to appear in poorer regions. Do you know why that's the case?"

Axel nodded and said, "Same is reason why mages avoid, like plague, the poor-- mana sickness for sensitive souls."

"I don't understand," I responded.

"For lack of what's needed to sustain a mage are conditions ripe for dungeons," he continued, "A pity. For poor be poorer." I started to put the pieces together and I did not like what I saw.

"What's the East like?" I asked, a non-sequitor in conversation but linked in threads.

"Intelligent you are, a promotion deserved," he said nodding and drinking, "a culture without magic, none at all."

"Hello everyone," I heard Fymner say from behind me, "Axel, Drossel, Chloe," he addressed.

"Sylvie," she corrected.

"Oh. My mistake. Hello Sylvie," he responded as he joined us at the round table, "I'm permitted to inform you all that this subjugation will be led by the Archmagus himself," and with that, he caught almost everyone's attention except Stratus who was stroking Sylvie's thighs with his finger, and I suddenly wished I was much, much less perceptive.

"How Droll," Sylvie responded, seemingly ignoring Stratus, "and for what honor do we have for his guidance?"

"Protection and Service has placed a high priority on this subjugation because of it's proximity to the City," he responded.

"Aye, ain't that a crock 'a shit," Stratus said, finally turning away from Sylvie, but I noticed she started stroking him back, so at least she's into it, "hah, 'sif the Church ever gave a half-wit about the people. What's the real reason, halfie?"

"That is the real reason," Fymner said, looking undisturbed, and I appreciated his restraint, "the Platier District is extremely high density, and even a few demons leaking could lead to the death of hundreds. The size of the dungeon is another factor. We'll be facing even stronger demons than the last subjugation," he said as he looked at Axel and Sylvie.

"So ye do know a thing'er two, ain't that nice," he replied as he turned his attention back to Sylvie.

"We'll be navigating with three teams of four people each. We're team one, offensive team. Team two support. Team three defense. Coordinated by the Archmagus," he said, and I said my farewells so Fymner could get the rest of the team caught up on strategies and tactics.

I headed over to the support team, which was composed primarily of other Church members, to talk to the lead and give my support as Cabinet.

"Oh! Hello Ms. Einzweller," one of them greeted, "My name is, um, well it's Natalie Porter, but you can call me Nat. I'm a Priest with Protection and Service. Um, Mind Mage."

"Nice to meet you Nat," I said as I shook her hand and I noticed she blushed when I touched her, "you can call me Chloe."

"Oh, are you sure?" she asked with a meek voice, and it was hard to believe she was actually the leader of this party and I worried for their safety, but I tried not to let my concern show.

"Absolutely, no need for honorifics. I was a Missionary up until a few days ago and I participated in a subjugation just like this one. Have you linked with the Archmagus?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said with a shine in her eyes, "He's so well composed. It's like he has no doubt we'll get out of this alive. He's, um, very confident. Hard to believe he's my age!"

"Is that so?" I said, and I looked at her more closely. She's so young, she couldn't be too far past her twenties. I never really thought about it, but our age difference is fairly large, a whole eight years.

"Um, ma'am-- Chloe?" she called, "You've been in a subjugation before. How did it go?"

"It was rough, but we all made it out alive," I said, thinking back to how Remi wouldn't even let a scratch on me, "Just follow his orders, no matter how strange, and everything will be fine."

"Okay, Chloe. Thanks," she replied meekly. I'm worried about how many times Remi may have to die if he wants to keep everyone alive again with three times the amount of leaders and party members.

"Hey, I have a question for you," I started.

"Oh! Yes ma-- Chloe. How can I help?" she replied.

"I'm working on a secret mission for the Archmagus to break up an underground arma production ring. Have you happened to hear about any rumors of unlicensed Arma Mages?" I asked with a hushed voice, and she matched me.

"Yes, I have," she replied, "right here in the Platier District. I heard a rumor that someone recently purchased a trap arma severed a finger and caused an explosion in the sides of a building. I'm sorry, but that's all I know."

"Thanks Nat, that helps more than you could know," and I patted her on the shoulder as she blushed and tensed her muscles. She's so, cute.

I spent the rest of my time at the bar chatting with the rest of the party members. I heard of a handful of rumors from some of the Ionian locals that there's been an increase of illegal armas circulating the surface market, although no more mentions of trap armas. However, one name did come up.

Stratus Swift.

"Remi," Chloe started, "I'm heading out to the bar to gather intel."

"Alright," I replied, trying to focus on my notebook. I'm going to have twelve party members in total and three simultaneous Mind Links. How am I going to pull this off? What does it feel like to link with three people at the same time if I can feel everything they feel, think everything they think? I'm going to have to memorize the abilities of every team member, which might mean I'll have to die dozens and dozens of times before I can even plan out a general strategy for how to deal with this. This is going to be way different than the first subjugation. I'm not going to be able to micro-manage every single action. Then, how could I possibly lead everyone to victory?

"Hey, dummy," she said and she held my head in both hands and forced me to look at her, "I'm talking to you."

"Oh. Hi," I replied. How do I even respond to this? What kind of face am I supposed to make? ... What kind of face am I making right now?

"It may be months until you see me again. For me, it will be just one day. Remember, you're allowed to take breaks. If your supervisor kills you for being inactive... if it's truly painless, give yourself some time to reorganize your thoughts. And just know, the whole time you're stuck in that room, I'll be thinking of you. Even if it's just one day, I'm going to miss you." With that, she craned my head towards her and gave me a kiss on the forehead and she hugged me for long, long while. And then she was gone.

Pre-Dungeon Notes
The Archbishop didn't visit this time, presumably because Cali/Tavi don't exist in this timeline. Instead, I was summoned to the 10th floor by Bishop Sertra (who's far nicer than Sirrus, but honestly, the bar is so low that I can't tell if she's nice or if my perspective is warped). She still intends to kill me, but she was apologetic about it which surprised me. I asked if I could take notes between deaths to help with my long-term memory, and she let me. I just have to be careful not to let the 4th Rule show.

She prefaced the mission with some new information that I would have ignored two days ago. It's a supposed blessing from Elkae made specifically for the Archmagus-- no matter how many times I die, no matter what future I choose, some events are preordained to happen. Last week, I would have believed it because of my author-theory. Three days ago I would have disbelieved it because of the Archmagus-Earth theory. But now? After Chloe had replaced every major event that involved Tavi after her disappearance, I'm inclined to believe it. Maybe some events are preordained; falling from the sky to meet my first companion, going to the library to discover this world's system of organization, leading the dungeon subjugation with all four party members, delivering the speech (which I'm not quite sure is the same, but assuming), and appointing my first Cabinet members. After nearly debunking my metaphysical author-theory, I'm hesitant to adopt a framework that conveniently explains everything, and I won't outright reject it, but I have no idea how I would test it. Unless I started erasing key items. Hmmm.

Party Members

Team One (DPS)

Team Two (Support)

Team Three (Tank)

In general, the party seems decently balanced, although if I had my pick I would have included two less tanks and two more DPS. I'm worried about how efficiently we're going to clear, but I'm still thinking in terms of an RPG. Despite being the party healer, Chloe did a great job at clearing mobs quickly because of her Arterial Magic subclass. I'll be learning each members abilities on the fly, along with everything else in this dungeon.

Notes Guidelines
semantic versioning

D.S. v2.0.0

intention: focus on scouting, learning party abilities

D.S. Two v2.0.4
D.S. Two v2.0.6
D.S. Two v2.0.9
D.S. Two v2.0.10
D.S. Two v2.0.11

D.S. Two v2.1.0

intention: building confidence in team two

D.S. Two v2.1.6
D.S. Two v2.1.12
D.S. Two v2.1.14
D.S. Two v2.1.20

D.S. Two v2.2.0

intent: testing synergies

D.S. Two v2.2.3
D.S. Two v2.2.6
D.S. Two v2.2.13
D.S. Two v2.3.0

intent: memorizing fights

D.S. Two v2.3.8
D.S. Two v2.3.25

D.S. Two v2.4.0

intent: keeping everyone alive

D.S. Two v2.4.3
D.S. Two v2.4.9
D.S. Two v2.4.18
D.S. Two v2.4.25
D.S. Two v2.4.32
D.S. Two v2.4.40
D.S. Two v2.4.45
D.S. Two v2.4.50
D.S. Two v2.4.52

D.S. Two v2.5.0

intent: break

D.S. Two v2.5.20

D.S. Two v2.6.0

intent: get to the end, just to see

D.S. Two v2.6.12
D.S. Two v2.6.13
D.S. Two v2.6.29
D.S. Two v2.6.54
D.S. Two v2.6.56

D.S. Two v2.7.0

intent: NO DEATH ONLY, MISSING LIMBS OKAY, PERMANENT DAMAGE OKAY

D.S. Two v2.7.23
D.S. Two v2.7.45
D.S. Two v2.7.70
D.S. Two v2.7.99

D.S. Two v2.8.0

intent: death celebration

D.S. Two v2.8.20
D.S. Two v2.8.30

D.S. Two v2.9.0

intent: who is acceptable to die?

D.S. Two v2.9.1
D.S. Two v2.9.29
D.S. Two v2.9.37
D.S. Two v2.9.57

i miss chloe. i would do anything for a hug right now. i don't know how much longer i can do this. i can't. i need to finish this. i can't do this anymore.

D.S. Two v2.10.0

intent: work out death logic tree

D.S. Two v2.10.8
D.S. Two v2.10.29
D.S. Two v2.10.42
D.S. Two v2.10.63
D.S. Two v2.10.129

D.S. Two v2.11.146

success