No more expeditions were planned on the first day. However, starting tomorrow, one team will be sent every two hours. It was a custom everywhere. The first hour was needed to restart the room, the second hour allowed the first team to move a few rooms forward. Thanks to that chances for two teams to meet were low. Sometimes there are situations where one team is stuck for some reason and the team who entered later cached to them. In that situation, adventurers combine their teams, or if they can’t agree a team who gets stuck should step back. It ends that way usually, sometimes it ends in a brawl. Guild Master Lucius knows that his seven teams will not cause problems, however in the future sooner or later it will happen.

  "Luci, leave these papers and go to sleep." Demanded Paoli. "Tomorrow there will be another day."

  "Right. We have time. The next caravan will be no sooner than next month." He agrees.

  They slept most of the night, however someone woke them up when it was still dark.

  "Guild Master!"

  "What is it?" He sits immediately reaching for his sword. Paoli does the same.

  "Commander Serator needs your presence. We probably have some bandits in the desert."

  "Fuck. Give me five minutes."

  "Yes, Guild Master," Adventurer answered.

  "Bandits? Ridiculous, we are too deep in the desert. How do they do it?" Paoli was both surprised and angry. The Desert was her home. That could happen, a few days from the desert border, but they were one month of travel from the nearest town.

  "I know. It isn’t entirely impossible. But I too was thinking that couldn’t happen. The commander and I were more wary of a team of assassins or someone like that, and even that not so fast."

  In the tent of the paladin commander, the three high priests, Serator and Commander Arthuros, who had become the commander of the old company created by Lucius, gathered.

  "Everyone is here." Commander nods. "Like was said, we suspect that there is a small group of bandits there."

  "Are you sure? Maybe they are some lost travelers?" Priestess Pinera asked.

  "They are hiding in the dunes. Well, they are trying. They aren’t too good at that. Of course, I send our best scouts to check that. The walls and towers of this dungeon are intimidating so there is that possibility." Commander answered.

  Almost two hours later when the sun started slowly brightening the sky, scouts were back.

  "What did you find?" Serator asked.

  "Sir. They are bandits, there is no doubt about it. They travel without camels and don’t have any packs with goods or even tents. There are thirty to forty of them. Most of them look like they are barely at master level, maybe not. Three of them, their chieftain, and two others could be on the grandmaster level. They have a camp just half an hour south.

  "They were preparing for an attack?" Knight asked.

  "No sir. We think they will try a night ride."

  Everyone looks at each other hearing that. Night rides usually mean that bandits sneak in the middle of the night, cut some throats, grab what they can, and run. It happens when some adventurers are sloppy or overconfident. However they had scouts patrolling around the oasis, paladins guarding gates, and adventurers were also helping. They can accept some bandits that somehow managed to get here. Bandits thinking they can night ride them were beyond absurd.

  "We need to inform the Dungeon Mistress."Grand Priest of the Sun decided.

  "Yes. I will inform adventurers that we will not send any team to explore. We need everyone ready for tonight."

  There weren’t any established methods to contact the dungeon master. However, when someone steps on the final floor he always gets a warning about intruders. Because of that, the Guild Master takes his team and goes there. The route through first wasn't the shortest, however it led through already explored rooms so it was a relatively easy and fast run.

  "So now what?" Paoli asked when they arrived in the safe zone on the final floor.

  "We wait. Dungeon Mistress noticed our presence. Soon she should check why we are still there and not leaving." The Guild Master explained. Indeed after a quarter of an hour or so, she appears.

  "Oh, Guild Master. Good morning."

  "Good morning. I hope that I don't disturb your sleep."

  "I wasn't sleeping. As you know, I don't need to sleep and I was going through my library looking for a solution to my problem. But I should rest tonight, maybe even get some sleep."

  "Understood, Dungeon Mistress. However, I'm afraid that I need to add one more problem, and tonight no one will get sleep. There are bandits outside the oasis."

  "Bandits? How? We are so far away from anything." Naomi couldn't believe what she heard.

  "Commander Serator and head priests are waiting for you. We want to discuss this issue with you Dungeon Mistress."

  "Let's go. I don't know how but I promise to help."

  "Thank you, Mistress."

  "Good day, Dungeon Mistress," Juntar said when she entered the mine tent.

  "Hello," Naomi said visibly agitated. "Please tell me how I can help."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "Maybe I start by describing the situation first." Serator steps forward.

  "Please."

  "We have thirty to forty bandits. Relatively low levels, just a few of them could be master or grandmaster level. We believe that they were following us by night. They kept two days' distance from us and because of that, we didn’t spot them earlier. They will, most likely, attack us tonight."

  "Correct me because I'm a complete amateur, but they don’t stand a chance. You can apprehend them without a problem. Yes?"

  "They indeed don’t have a chance fighting us." Knight agreed. "However apprehending them is almost impossible. If they see that we are holding our hands they will only attack more aggressively. They will see this as their way out of their predicament. And they need to surrender willingly, because of the law of hospitality there is almost no food for them.

  "Fuck. Can we do something?"

  "Dungeon Mistress. we don’t see a solution without bloodshed." Juntar said.

  "Can we try to scare them?"

  "We will be waiting for them outside of the gate so we can try to talk to them. But I doubt that they will listen." Commander answered.

  "Please do. Your safety should be most important, so if they don't listen fight like you were planning."

  "We will do that."

  Everyone spent the rest of the day on preparations. Fighting in the night is always very hard. They plan to prepare a few bonfires and light them for some extra light. They also have few torches, however, the fight will still be fierce.

  Late afternoon something unexpected happened. In the dungeon magic ring appears the Dungeon Mistress. She was in the most elaborate full-plate armor with a helmet adorned with some crown. She held in her right hand an enormous wicked-looking mace, and on her back were two claymores. And everything was huge. She was as tall as minotaur priest Juntar.

  "Dungeon Mistress?" The commander asked.

  "Yes, it’s me." Smiled Naomi. "I want to help a little with scaring the bandits part of the plan."

  "This armor is very intimidating." Serator agrees.

  "Nice work." Erirser Grand Forge Master said coming neer wanting to see in detail her armor. "Not very practical for the real battle, however…" Then he saw it and started laughing loudly.

  "Grand Priest, what happened?"

  "This armor is fake. It's made from wood." He explained, still laughing.

  "My strength and stamina are barely average. Wearing full plate armor required very high strength and stamina," Naomi said embarrassed. "Anyway, I propose that I stand in the gate and pretend to be empress of the desert. You know, on your knees peasants thing." Naomi tries to convince the commander.

  "In my opinion, it won't work." Serator shakes his head. "However I rearrange our troops to fulfill your wish, Dungeon Mistress."

  "Thank you."

  Two hours after sunset bandits appeared. They were surprised to see adventurers and paladins, but then the chieftain shouted and they started to charge at them.

  "On your knees peasants!" Naomi shouts. She found a simple spell to amplify her voice for that. Surprisingly it stops bandits. "I said on your knees peasants. I’m the Dungeon Mistress of the Dungeon Oasis On Taram. I'm empress of the desert and the voice of gods!"

  "I can’t believe it works." Dwarven grand priest murmured.

  "It’s not over yet," Serator said.

  "I'm mighty Otar the Conqueror and here I am to claim this place! I'm the rightful owner of it!"

  "Shit. He is mad." Dwarf swear.

  "This place belongs to me because the gods ordered. However, as an empress, I need servants, a lot of them. Those of you who kneel and beg will be spared. That is your final warning!" Naomi shouts, praying that at least a few will do that.

  "Only people on knees will be you, a whore. After I conquer your dungeon and fuck you a few days straight you will beg for more."

  Naomi's fists clenched.

  "You want fuck me with what, this dead little thing before your legs? I bet that the combined efforts of all necromancers from the north will not resurrect that thing!" Her response stunned all and there was silence. "Otar the foul you want to challenge me! So be it. Go there and see my might. Those who understood and ran to me to beg on their knees will be spared. The rest of you can die!"

  "Mistress, you are not ready for that," Commander whispered to Naomi.

  "I'm not ready to see you sacrifice your life for me when you don’t need to. So tell me what is a better choice." The commander didn't have an answer to that question. "Now move. You are my guard and we need them shown at the entrance to the underground."

  There was a lot of tension between bandits and adventurers somehow both sides managed not to attack each other.

  "That is the entrance to my underground. There is only one floor beside my final one where my throne room is."

  "That is just fucking cave bitch!" The leader of the bandits shouts.

  "Not only foul bat fool too. Every peasant brat knows that tower dungeons are weak, and entrances in caves are traditional." Naomi shouts back.

  "You check if this whore doesn't lie to me." He pushes back one of the bandits. Paladins barely contain their anger for continuously disrespecting Dungeon Mistress.

  "It’s real!" Said the bandit who was back after a few moments. "But it’s empty."

  "Traps ha." Otar smirks. "I suspected some dangerous animals at least."

  "I believe in tradition, and the first floor should be with traps. If you are scared, kneel and beg for mercy!" Naomi, try once more.

  "Better run to your bed chamber and start taking off your fancy armor. We will see if you can do that before I will be there! Move out you stupid piece of shit!" He shouts at his men and all run to the cave.

  There was one difference in how Naomi's dungeon reacted when the law of hospitality was broken. All doors were opened to the next rooms after clearing the challenge. Only the doors to the shrine were shut tightly.

  "Fuck. Why they were so stubborn." Naomi cursed.

  "I warned you, Mistress. Bandits are just like that." Serator said. "And you are not ready to see how easy people can die in your dungeon."

  "And I said that I’m not ready to see when some of you died. I know it’s your job and duty, however … aaa." Naomi feels something like an electric shock.

  "Dungeon Mistress, what is happening?"

  "I think someone just died there," Naomi said, trying to understand what happened.

  "Don’t look there!" Pinera shouted.

  "I won’t… fuck, next one." Naomi starts breathing heavily.

  "Someone help me remove this armor!" Guild Master said.

  "Just unfasten straps." Naomi managed to say through clenched jaws, feeling the next bandits die. "Something is not right." She said when the upper part was removed.

  "What?" Commander asked and instinctively his hand reached for his sword.

  "They are not running away. They keep pushing forward." Naomi said and everyone realized that Dungeon Mistress was right. At least a few should be back.

  "Pilipa and Collas. Go to the bandit camp and search it through. I need everything from there, even trash."

  "Yes, commander!" Both paladins shouted.

  "Take as many scouts and adventurers as you need," Lucius added.

  "Do it." Serator agree.

  "They are on the second floor," Naomi said after some time. She still was trying to calm her emotions.

  "Dungeon Mistress, I'm sorry for what I will do," Pinera said and she hugged Naomi. She didn’t have time to react because she felt the worst surge. Then it was nothing, her floors were empty once again. It takes Naomi some time to regain her bearings.

  "Thank you." She said. "All of you. Thank you. I need some rest now."

  "We won’t explore your dungeon tomorrow to not disturb your rest, Dungeon Mistress," Lucius said.

  "Thank you," Naomi said once again. She slowly went to the magic ring to get to her private rooms.