I watched the orb in the middle of the room for a few seconds before my eyes darted back to the large spider, and then the platypus. They just stood there, unmoving. In all honesty, it was a little bit unnerving. To me, it was clear there it was attempting to establish communications, but Valtheril was still on guard, his sword drawn.
Then, the spider raised one of its pedipalps, and with it, I felt another tug on my mind. It then did the same for its other limb, and another stab followed, this one, painful.
"Ow," I let out, clutching my head.
The giant arachnid lifted its pedipalps all the way in the air and a massive spike of pain followed, causing me to grunt and use both hands to bury my face.
The general was about to move forward, but I managed to halt him with one of my legs.
"It's okay. I think we have a bit of a communication issue here."
The pain subsided and I faced the core and then the spider again.
"Right?"
It nodded using its front two limbs, leaving me feeling relieved.
"Okay. At least it's a start. You're trying to speak to me in my mind, just like the other dungeon, but there's something going wrong there. All I feel is a tug, and what you just did was painful." I thought about it for a moment, letting out an audible 'hmm' to make sure it knew I was contemplating.
"But at least we can talk to some extent, even if that's just yes or no questions. I have a feeling that I know the reasons things appear to be difficult."
The arachnid looked at me and cocked its head, signaling what appeared to be curiosity.
"Did you awaken recently?"
The spider nodded almost immediately.
"That sounds hardly possible," Valtheril commented.
"I know," I replied. "The thing is, Arch is a dungeon that specializes in spiders, and the ones that escaped his confines, as well as the one that guards the core are quite evolved. It probably took him some time to do that. If this dungeon has recently awoken and is not specialized in arachnids, I can fully understand the issue we're facing here."
"And how do you propose we resolve this?" He continued.
"I have an idea, but let's start with the questions that can be answered right now."
"Alright," The general called. "I'll start if you don't mind."
"Go for it."
"Did you attack Dawnleaf on purpose?"
The spider looked at him, then at me, utterly confused.
"The creature you created was led to Dawnleaf, a village."
As soon as I had explained, we got a clear 'no'.
"Were you pressured into doing that?"
We received a yes.
"Did they threaten to destroy your core?" Valtheril asked, his eyebrows raised, and his eyes narrowed.
Another yes followed.
"Master Lorin doesn't have the power to do that. Were there others with him?"
And another yes.
"How many?"
I could see he was eager to get answers, but this specific question had left the spider confused. For the first time since coming here, I could sense some form of emotion coming from it, leaving me to believe the dungeon was making progress towards what I had just thought about.
"One?" I asked while holding up a single finger.
"No."
"Two?" I added another finger.
"No."
"Three?"
"Yes."
"So four total?" The general took over.
"Yes."
"And have they returned here after that one visit?"
"No."
"Well, that certainly doesn't make things less complicated."
"We don't even know if Master Lorin was with them," Velariah filled in before addressing the spawned creature. "Were they all elves? Did they look like me and my dad?" She pointed at her father.
"Yes."
"Did one of them have his right ear cut off?" She demonstrated the treemender's looks by folding her right ear about where the cut was. "Like this?"
"Yes."
"Well, there's our confirmation," Valtheril concluded. "So there's Lorin, and then three others responsible for this attack, and at least one of them is a powerful person, potentially a high-rank adventurer."
"What kind of adventurer can damage dungeon cores?"
"Diamond rank or higher should have the power to do so," He spoke calmly. "But no one has the stupidity required to attempt such a thing. It is likely to kill you on the spot, but if it doesn't and if the guild found out, you'd be hunted down and executed, anyway. Threatening dungeons will get you expelled from the guild, and you'd probably face a lengthy jail time, in specialized facilities, of course."
"I see," I replied. "At least we know more now. I'm very grateful for that already. Thank you." I made sure to properly show my appreciation to the dungeon core with a small bow.
"What was that you talked about earlier, Elania?" Valtheril asked. I knew he would at some point.
"About the idea I had earlier?" I asked, receiving a nod. "It's quite simple. This dungeon is likely starving for mana. To me, it looks like it used the few reserves it had to fulfill this ridiculous request. Once it gets some more, I'm certain it can use my presence on its premises to evolve the spider over there which would lead to more advanced communication, and I have the feeling it's already doing that."
We got a yes in the form of a nod.
"So the lack of monsters and traps, later on, was because of mana shortage?" Valtheril inquired.
Another yes.
"I see…"
The general stared at the ground next to the core, lost in deep thought. He needed quite some time before he continued.
"My next question would be why they did it, what deeper reasons they'd have, but there's currently no way to get a good answer to that. What I can ask, however, is whether you'd like me to punish them."
A resolute nod quickly followed, causing him to smirk.
"Consider it done." A brief pause followed. "But I'm afraid I'll need more help to find out who they are. To get there, though, I'm willing to supply a good deal of mana. Tell you what, I'll requisition, with haste, several runes orbs you can absorb. It's only fair after I destroyed the door."
There was a bit of confusion, but finally, a nod followed. Of course, there was little the dungeon could convey like this, but I assumed this was more of a way to say thanks.
"Another thing. We have kept you a secret so far. I suppose it's not a surprise that nobody knew about your existence. That was, until those others came down here. While I would like to finish this investigation with no possible interference, I would make this location known to other adventurers if you so desire. I reckon it would provide you with more mana as well."
An eager 'yes' followed. The way this dungeon was acting had me feeling sorry for it. I was no core, so I couldn't imagine how mana exhaustion would feel, but I could see just how desperate this being was to have its reserved refilled.
In that regard, I suppose it was lucky that Valtheril was a man of honor.
"So we have a deal, then?" He said with a smirk. It wasn't the evil kind. Rather, it was a friendly one, one which recognized there was a mutual benefit in the arrangement.
It was unsurprising to see another 'yes'.
"Great," Valtheril concluded. "Also, I'd like to offer my thanks for the treasures you've given us. I'm sure they will be put to good use. We will take our leave now, but rest assured I'll be back soon, probably tomorrow, to uphold my end of the bargain. I'm not sure how fast I can get my hands on these orbs, but I'll do everything in my power to get them as soon as possible."
He took one more bow before moving to the hallway, where he waited, giving me some time to finish up what I started.
"I feel obliged to give my thanks as well. I think I'll be back here soon. I hope we can talk things through better when I am."
The spider nodded once more, forcing me into a smile. I gave one quick bow before following Valtheril. From the corners of my vision, I saw the others take a small bow and wave before falling in line.
"That was… quite the experience," Valtheril was the first one to speak, and only after we almost reached the last room before the core room. "Communicating with a dungeon. I didn't know it was possible, but I've been shocked often enough in the past few weeks. Wouldn't have expected it to be so easy, either."
"Truth be told, there are many strange factors involved here, including the fact that it was willing, and from the looks of it, eager to talk to us. I think a large portion of that can be attributed to the fact that it was extorted earlier," I replied. "Hell, I'd talk to anyone that could help me get revenge."
"There is a reason for it to communicate," He said with a nod. "I suppose that just hasn't happened before. Still, it was rudimentary. What you can do far exceeds this."
"Maybe that's part of the reason why they never bothered to communicate?" I suggested. "I mean, if all you can do is say yes or no, I reckon it becomes incredibly dull. Like, what can you truly talk about? It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest that the prospect of having a talk with me, and through it, others like all of you, would be inviting."
"Plausible. Thing is, I don't think it would be a good thing for this dungeon to communicate with others outside of us. I don't want there to be a trail back to us that could serve as a warning to those that have wronged it. Besides, we can't have people get comfortable with dungeons. This place is a hell of a lot nicer than the majority I've been in, and I can see that being a danger to people." He stared at the ceiling of the room we were walking through. "No offense to you, of course."
"Unfortunately, we already fell prey to that," Velariah commented. "Happy to have learned from it though, or I should say, happy to have lived to have learned from it."
"I realize there are many differences in dungeons," Draco said. "But would you say there are dungeons that go 'soft' on people?"
"Soft?" The general asked, surprise appearing on his face. "As in, actually holding back and not merely meaning low difficulty."
He hummed yet remained vigilant, his sword still lighting the way.
"I suppose it depends what you mean with that. Most dungeons are not overly aggressive, simply because having adventurers visit is of benefit to both host and guest, but wounds are common, grave ones not as much. Fatalities are rare, but of course exist nonetheless. It is now abundantly clear to me that dungeons have their own personalities. The thing is, at the higher levels, one can absolutely not even think about it. It's do or die."
He heaved a deep sigh before pausing momentarily.
"The most difficult ones are often the most brutal in approach, and I don't know yet why that is. I've always written it off as part of the difficulty, simply because we cannot see them as beings for that would be dangerous. The issue is that there are so many things we can't know. Perhaps some dungeons deliberately try to have adventurers feel at ease, before trapping and killing them. Who knows?"
"Maybe I will find out at least some of those things," I said softly. But it's going to take time before we get to that level."
"Maybe you can, but be very careful."
We continued in silence, walking through the cleared rooms on the way back to the surface. Valtheril still took the precautions to clear the traps and enemies, but there were none. Vymar was still waiting at the stairs when we reached them, but inquired neither verbally nor nonverbally about what had transpired further down the corridor.
"We're opening it up," Valtheril said with his usual commanding voice when we reached the outside world, loud enough for all the soldiers present to hear. "Vymar, I'll leave you in charge of construction. I want lodging opportunities, guild relays, and a potion shop with an emphasis on anti-venom. Initial estimation is mid to high-gold, possibly low-ruby rank. Further exploration will yield more determinate results. I've done the initial mapping, but it's inconclusive. We'll enter together tomorrow with a team to get that sorted. Rewards inside are good. Feel free to spread that bit of news to attract visitors."
Rewards are good?
There was no doubt left in my mind that he'd recognized the loot we'd picked up, and if he said they were good, then I was excited about their use.
"I'm going back to Dawnleaf for some urgent business. Vymar, you're coming with me to notify the architects, carpenters, masons, laborers, anything you need. Tell them to get here as soon as possible and have them work through the night for quadruple their normal pay. Any time they need beyond that will be paid double."
His eyes traveled from the major to the other soldiers.
"As for the rest of you, start clearing the area. Turn this place into a proper construction site. Cut down trees, prepare torches… you know the deal. There will, of course, be extra pay for you as well."
That sounded like he was going to spend a small fortune on this. That coffee business must really be paying off.
The gap in the floor that allowed access to the dungeon was slowly beginning to shrink as the illusion was retaking hold. Valtheril watched it happen, as did the rest of us.
"And one last thing, nobody is to enter the dungeon. That will be all."
"Yes, sir!" Everyone except for Vymar exclaimed saluting the general.
It would never cease to amaze me just how synchronous well-disciplined soldiers would pull off a salute like this.
Valtheril nodded once, then gestured us to follow as he was off to the village at a brisk pace.
Once there, Vymar split from our group to get the ordered things arranged, and we were off to the guild hall. The general truly kept up the pace and, before he'd even set foot inside, he called the Lore Keeper's name. At first she reacted with shock as she looked up from a tome, then relaxed.
"Emergency requisition for runed orbs, as many as we can get our hands on the shortest possible notice, preferably within a day."
"A day?" Kantasia reacted with even more shock than she'd shown before. A brief look into the general's eyes convinced her that he was dead serious, and she almost immediately jumped from her chair, hopped over the desk, and ran past us, exiting the building.
Holy crap. That really was the request, wasn't it?
"And with that taken care of," He continued. "I suppose we're done for the time being. Thank you for joining me, and for the enlightening experience. When all preparations are in order, I will call on you to join me again. I hope that's no issue?"
"Certainly not," Velariah spoke for us, a small smile growing on her lips. "I'm looking forward to it in fact, but we still have so much to do on our own."
"Understandable," He replied with a nod. "Well, it appears you're in luck. There's still plenty of the day left to do… whatever you were going to do. I'm heading to my office to start writing those damn reports. Those dreaded reports…"
"Have fun, dad," Velariah said with a smirk.
He sighed in reply and left us behind.
"Who's up for some lunch?" Seralyn asked both annoyed and excited at the same time. I didn't know how that was possible, but here we were. "I'm starving."
"Could go for some," Draco replied, and a quick nod from Velariah and Nira was enough for us to sit down at our usual place.
There were still some eyes on us from the few people inside the hall. Valtheril seemed to have made quite a bit of commotion with his imposing voice. I reckoned the reaction from the Lore Keeper had also contributed to it all.
As much as I didn't want it, there was no avoiding attention. Then again, I'd started learning to live with it.
Lunch did us good. There was some built-up anxiety from earlier that was released now that we got our hands on some food and drinks. I imagined there were still a few things to talk through, but that would have to be done at home.
On the other hand, they were all there when we communicated with the dungeon core, so nobody should have missed out on anything.
With no further business to take care of, we quickly went back home. Nobody had mentioned it, but it was clear we would continue where we left off when it came to developing this new weapon. Seralyn's body language told me enough. She was almost shaking with… was that excitement?
I grinned when we entered the mansion.
Phase two was about to begin.