"Though it did take longer than I'd expected," Greely reported, "you have received conditional approval to live and delve within the boundaries of the Verdant Sanctuary. The terms presented are all typical of what the Verdant Walkers would demand of any delver within their borders, but I will present them to you before you go to speak yourselves to your guarantor Grove to swear to uphold your promises. Is that acceptable to you?"
Over the seven weeks since they'd exited the Wandering Trials, the Wanderers had had a constantly changing group accompanying them. Initially, the Golden Fist, then their parents, then Felix and Benedict's families had returned home after about a week. Brighid and Savraba remained where no other parents had, freedom brought by her tier and his lack of commitments to force them away. A few Steel tier Human delvers had passed through camp, offering practice and training, but never for more than a day or two. Always, the parties that passed through were already journeying somewhere nearby and had come as repayment of a favor done to them by Greely.
Astrid maintained no small amount of bitterness towards the old Druid, given he could have saved a dozen lives with additional information provided to the other initially Bronze tier delvers. Yes, the other members of the Guild that had brought those parties to the Wandering Trials weren't him, and culpability lay even more on their shoulders than on his, but he should have said something. He had a responsibility to assist those who came after, and he refused. Regardless, she was reminded of the multiple facets of each person as she was told stories of how Greely had saved these dozens more lives that came and assisted her and her party.
This final week had just been her party and her parents with Greely, though, as they moved from one location to the next, steadily getting further and further away from where the entrance to the Wandering Trials still stood, she'd seen evidence of Verdant Walkers. There were due to be more people coming to take advantage of the monsters found within. The Trials didn't allow the delvers to stay more than two weeks within its bounds and offered the regular amount of experience now, but there were monsters to be found within that could still be valuable to those who killed them.
Disregarding the Trials, the days of practice already grated on Astrid, and now that she had made notable progress in understanding when to use Immortal Warrior's Aura as well as using Gravity Surge much more creatively, she wanted to get into action once again. Of the five Wanderers, four were itching to get back into the Dungeon. Skandr, of course, was in no rush.
"What exactly are the terms?" Astrid asked. "If they're too demanding, we'll have to consult among ourselves to see if we decide that it's worth it."
"Of course," Greely answered. "Among all of the different nations, the taxation rate among the Verdant Sanctuary is the lowest, being a static eight percent of the value of your loot."
Astrid squinted and asked, "Then what is Humanity's taxation rate?"
"Ten percent," he answered before glancing at Muti and continuing, "twenty five for foreign nationals."
Astrid's eyebrows raised, mostly surprised to hear the massive difference between the Verdant Sanctuary's usual rates, and those while within the Trials. She nodded, and Greely continued.
"Most people find no issue with the tax rates here, but what is difficult is that, before any delvers are permitted to enter the Dungeon, whether the Dungeon proper or a branch, they have to complete a task to the benefit of the Verdant Sanctuary."
"What will we have to do?" Benedict asked."If it's too much, it might be worth it to look for other options."
The thought of waiting even longer to start delving made Astrid get a little twitchy, but she couldn't help but feel some measure of agreement with the sentiment. If they were going to be entirely exploited by the Verdant Walkers, then it would be better to go somewhere else. Probably. Maybe.
"It depends on your own capabilities," Greely answered. "In your case, you're all strong for your tier and so may be tasked with the extermination of monsters that escaped eradication, or in clearing hostile, mana mutated plants from the surface. There's no saying exactly what it is, but it will generally entail physical labor and travel to get to your destination. Whether it be a Grove or an individual, Verdant Walkers prefer to be less walker and more verdant in their daily lives. Visiting delvers taking care of issues that would strain their roots to do themselves is a large reason why they collect very little in taxes, placing much greater emphasis on the tasks they present to maintain the strength and health of the Sanctuary as a whole."
"Then can we expect that any tasks that are laid at our feet," Skandr asked as he scratched at the stubble on his chin, "will be both achievable as well as to the benefit of the Verdant Sanctuary without being to our own detriment?"
"Yes. The Verdant Walkers wouldn't benefit from harming anybody who came to do service for them," Greely answered. "If you are interested in knowing more specifics regarding the planned tasks for you, surely you can ask the Grove Warden who you'll speak with before you take your oath."
"If that's the case," Skandr continued, "then this only seems to be beneficial to us."
"Agreed," Astrid echoed. She then looked at the rest of her party and received gestures of affirmation, from Felix's sedate nod to Muti's wide, toothy grin. At that, she looked at Greely who smiled.
"If that is the case, then we are ready to bring you to the Grove Warden. Afterwards, you will give your farewells and will be taken to wherever it is that the Grove Warden decides."
Astrid nodded and glanced at her parents. Despite their very rocky reintroduction, she'd enjoyed this time with them. Now that she had a Class and years of experience under her belt, her mother could give much better, specific instruction to her while her father's teachings on Mana flow and the importance of understanding sigils made much more sense. There remained obvious tension between her mother and Muti, but no longer was she afraid for a burst of violence to explode at the drop of a hat. A large part of that was due to her father's willingness to work with Muti in mana manipulation and Muti's deliberate adjustment of how she acted and spoke.
Though Muti did tame her "Barbarianisms" when interacting with Astrid's parents, Astrid had also forced her to act like normal when interacting with the Wanderers. There had been no small amount of arguments over the past six weeks, each one culminating in Astrid reiterating her stance: "Muti is my friend and my ally, and I will not have you treat her as subhuman because of what she could have been."
As such, there was an uncomfortable working relationship between the two powerful women that forced Astrid to confront an ugly truth about her parents. Regardless of how much she loved them and how much they had continuously done for her, they, like Greely, were only people and were and would always remain imperfect.
Pulling that thought out of her head, Astrid nodded and fell in step behind Greely with Felix and Muti doing the same on her right and left respectively. Skandr and Benedict trailed behind, not more than a meter away from the rest of the party to ensure that they all could come to another's aid if necessary. Despite being nearly two months out of the Trials, the party had not fully relaxed, and Astrid suspected that having been surrounded and enveloped in hostility all day every day for a month would never truly fade from them, especially as they got back into the Dungeon.
While they walked forward and out of the clearing they all stood in, Greely led them through a series of narrow game trails, forcing the party to fall out of their formation. Astrid remained in the lead while Felix fell into the back and Muti stood in the center. Without seeming to think about it consciously, Benedict pulled out his flute and started to play Hasty Rebuke over all six of the walking people. Astrid watched as Greely's steps grew faster, reminding her that though an old man he was, doddering he was not. The trees, grasses, and every speck of greenery leaned towards him as he passed, seeming to hope to touch him.
After noticing that and leaving it behind, Astrid pushed Acumen-aligned mana to her head to sharpen her senses, suddenly hearing the creaking of the wind through the trees more crisply, the movement of small prey animals in nearby bushes, smelling the deep life in the soil underfoot, and the faint hint of the smell of rain on the horizon. Nothing large approached, though she was sure that, were an enemy to make their way towards them, Greely would be the first to note their approach. Even so, she kept herself battle-ready, and though she wanted to wield her new sling, with so little visibility and clearance, her hammer was far and away the superior weapon.
She kept her grasp on the weapon, choked up by the head to ensure it didn't get caught on anything, but the five minute journey was quickly over and Greely stood before a tree that, to Astrid's view, was unremarkable in every way.
"Grove Warden Ssthall, Greeley Druid gives his respect." After that, Greely raised his left hand in front of his face, the fingers straight and palm facing his right as he bowed his head.
As Astrid wondered if she was supposed to do the same thing, the Grove Warden's voice filled her mind. It surprised her, as she didn't notice or feel where their roots had touched her, but she listened as the deliberate, androgynous voice filled her mind.
Welcome to the Verdant Sanctuary. Your patience regarding our people's deliberate nature is much appreciated, Wandering Trials champions Astrid, Felix, Muti, Skandr, and Benedict. From our young Grove Wardens we have learned of your strength and willingness to abide by our people's customs.
Deciding there was no harm in mimicking the senior delver, Astrid raised her left hand, just as he had, holding it in front of her face as she bowed towards the tree that slowly shifted to display a face.
"I appreciate your willingness to consider our presence within the bounds of your country while we consolidate our strength."
She wanted to say something else, to bring up the results of the other country's deliberation, but, given that she was standing next to somebody who was negotiating on her behalf, she decided not to ask anything, and instead only reply as respectfully as she could manage.
The bow was unnecessary, but appreciated from the intentions involved in giving it. You are not Greely, and you lack his connection with our lands, so to others, you should not do so, as it will communicate a position that you lack.
Astrid nodded, just waiting to hear what the Warden named Ssthall had to say, and they blessedly continued.
As an appreciation of your patience in getting to this point, I will not delay in declaring to the Wanderers that they have been given total approval to delve within the bounds of the Verdant Sanctuary until you reach level 71, at which point your continued presence within the Verdant Sanctuary will be reevaluated in accordance with your contribution to the continued well-being of the Sanctuary, as well as your obedience to every command that has been given to you. Is this acceptable?
Astrid felt her eyes widen, though she didn't look at her party to see what they had to add. Being allowed to stay for 30 levels seemed to be immensely valuable, so far as she knew, but she went ahead and asked the question that Skandr had brought up.
"I'm told that the conditions for this residence are to pay tax on all materials acquired as well as to do a service for the Sanctuary whenever we wish to enter the Dungeon. Is this correct, and if so, what will be the task placed before us first?"
There will not be a task required to be taken before every delve, as certain requests made of you shall be more demanding than others, and will grant you more goodwill from the Sanctuary upon their completion than others. The first request from the Sanctuary to you shall be the extermination of a small flock of carrion harpies that have settled nearer to the heart of the Sanctuary than we shall permit.
Astrid nodded, and a part of her grew excited at the prospect of using her sling in battle. Then, she said to the Warden, "Then we will consult among ourselves to ensure that we are all fully aware of what this entails before we give you your answer. Is that acceptable?"
On the contrary, the Warden's voice was colored with a faint tinge of approval, if you were to jump into an agreement without deliberation it would be a disappointment.
At that, the Warden seemed to withdraw from communicating with her, though their face continued to look at the five Humans and Barbarian. When she turned to look at her party, Astrid could tell that they all had been privy to the same words that she had.
"That's about what we expected," Skandr was the first to speak. "I'd imagine that they won't send us after monsters that we have no prayer of facing, so I'm more than happy with the terms that have been presented."
"Agreed," Muti said. "We will have an opportunity to display the results of our training. In addition, we will finally grow closer to the next level."
She deliberately didn't look at Skandr, who'd managed to gain small amounts of experience through the weeks of practice with spellcrafting. Unlike the other Classes, he'd had plenty of opportunities to gain experience in a way in accordance with the Great One's expectations of what a Wizard was and should do. It hadn't been more than a thousand experience or so, but she remained bitter that he'd begun to close the gap in experience between them.
"I'm not seeing any better options around," Benedict said with a shrug. "They seem to be dealing with us in good intentions, so I won't turn them down. Better than trying to find a Kin who'll protect us or a place in the Hordes that'll be safe from that Arcanite madwoman."
Felix didn't say anything, but he nodded along with everyone else's words. And just like that, a decision that Astrid knew would bear consequences for at least another year was made. She turned towards the Warden and said, "We would be honored to spend time within the bounds of the Verdant Sanctuary in accordance with your terms."
The face didn't move, but the tree creaked in what seemed to be approval as a root visibly pulled out of the ground to touch her foot. Then, the voice returned.
We are looking forward to you dwelling beneath our canopies. Please, enjoy safety and security within the Verdant Sanctuary. Then, Ssthall's attention shifted to Greely and they said, Thus, it is time for the rest of you to make your retreat.