are you ready for this

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Since you're back," Danta is saying conversationally to Edmund over his shoulder, as they grow nearer to the tangle and thicket of general badness that (apparently) is The Labyrinth, "I figured you could help me check this place out. The Grounds is always so much bigger than I expect it to be."

Just when he thinks he's gotten to grips with the likes of the Inner Quarter and Jack Tar Landing and all the landmarks in between, here's this fuckin' thing.

"What made you eventually decide to join us here for good?" he continues, clearly in high spirits despite the spookily-bookily things he's heard about this place. If they get lost, whatever - he's got a gore crow shift for a reason, right?

And it's not as though he hasn't told anyone where they're going, though quite when Kiada will spot the post it he's stuck to one of the bottles behind the bar is anyone's guess.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Edmund has no reservations about joining Danta's expedition, "Of course. I'm happy to help." As they make a turn, the younger Ancient jots down the direction on the sketched map that he's been working on. The paths may be rumored to change but he hopes it takes long enough that the map will at least guide them out when they're through. The question is expected, but Edmund was sure it would have been asked sooner. "Mother did. She told me I should get to know my siblings and help them adjust." Between older Ancients reawakening to former Ascended transforming, many of their kin had learning curves to deal with. Edmund did as well, but he likes to think that he's made good progress. "The best way for me to do so is to be here, where so many of us are." There were many nomadic Ancients, of course, but in terms of settled regions, the Grounds was theirs. Edmund Reborn In Fire

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

At least one of them is wise enough to even consider a map, however rudimentary - Danta, meanwhile, is mainly focused on the going, and when presented at a fork in the labyrinth, he's already turning right and continuing down the pathway. Maybe a squirrel calls something in a human voice. Maybe birds go silent Who is he to tell the fauna what to do?

"She did?" The Maverick's tone grows fond to hear that Edmund is in the Grounds directly on orders from Dygra, and the smile he shoots over his shoulder to the younger man might be fanged, but it's no less warm for it. "I can only agree. I'm pleased that so many of us decided to settle here. I wasn't expecting it - it's not exactly The Climb." But hopefully the bonfire he's installed over the past year will make Deepfrost much more bearable.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

The warmth directed towards him is as unexpected as it is reassuring. Edmund finds himself smiling brightly for it, "She did. I was planning to come immediately but then the crash happened, and I couldn't leave without at least helping with the immediate recovery."He'd have felt guilty for the rest of life had he turned his back on Torchline when they needed him the most. Staying for an extra few months to help rescue and rebuild was worth it. The mention of the Climb makes the fire in his blood race, "It's not. But it can be our second home." However, which of the two regions is first is a debate that even Edmund is unsure of. Instinct said the Climb while the location of his house said another. The duo makes another turn, having to squeeze through a patch where a fallen tree has blocked part of the path before continuing. "Do you think we should build an outpost there? A second base of operations of sorts." It felt necessary. They had expanded their territory into the Grounds but was the Climb defended enough now? The Family couldn't be allowed to take it like they'd claimed the Greatwood. Edmund Reborn In Fire

Glittering darkly, this small circle of black stones has remained undisturbed even after all this time. The ashes of an old offering lay stagnant at its centre. It’s kind of cute.

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Mm, that's right. Torchline was hit pretty hard, wasn't it?" Danta knows this much now because Kiada has been kind enough to read his backlog of letters to him. He still hasn't responded with sending any aid (where was Gondor Caido when the Westfold fell the Grounds was struggling, and so on), but he's at least aware of it now.

The region becoming their second home, though - that's much more interesting to think about, and he smiles to himself at the implication. He's about to respond when he comes across the strange circle of obsidian and the apparent burnt offering in the centre, but Danta isn't one for sentiment; kicking it away takes little effort, and he continues into the Labyrinth without a care.

"Well," he says, "were it not for the influx of void creatures, my next plan for the Grounds was to establish a portal between here and The Climb. That would probably make it pretty easy to create an outpost out there - or even to visit in general."

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

Edmund's eyes glazed over for a moment. "Yes. It was horrible." Glimpses of fire, rubble, and cries distracted him from the offering, and he hardly paid any attention as Danta kicked it. The sound of the other Ancient's voice pulled him from his memories, and the younger took a breath to steady himself. "A portal? That's an excellent idea." Opening up transportation between the two regions would be crucial for defending both from the Family. Maybe they could even build up the Climb enough to set up a subsection of leadership there and the Ancients could officially rule both regions. It was worth considering, at least. Edmund Reborn In Fire

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"I thought so as well," Danta says, proudly as you like, and he hops over some weird slithering vine to continue deeper into the labyrinth - and he hopes that Edmund is continuing to make his map, because the Maverick is firmly on a wander at this point. "I was even wondering whether we could create the portal within the bonfire. That way only Ancients could come and go through it."

Or... well, no, that's not technically true. But someone would have to be pretty fireproof to be able to make the trip, which is just as niche if you ask Danta. He hasn't decided yet, though, whether he wants to be quite so exclusionary. People tended not to like it.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door