Genesis Locorum

One night, several months ago. Heathcliff and Tim provided Emily with parts for an avatara. This had given Emily both a humanoid form and more importantly, enough mana for a few weeks. A few days later, the avatara body is now fully ready. And by extension the day Emily awakens from a torpor.

As she wakes up, Emily’s mind is still groggy from the past week of unconsciousness. She realizes that she is now able to see without Elizabeth’s help. Her gaze surveys the various rooms of her dungeon body, now a little more vibrant than before. She sees rooms and halls patrolled by her cells but with little else inside them.

“Morning sleepyhead!”

Emily is startled and tries to find the source of the voice. She turns to the cheerful Elizabeth. “Elizabeth?”

“Today’s the day, sweetheart!” Elizabeth’s voice is brighter than before. No hints of panic remain from before her coma. Emily then realizes what occurred before her slumber. “Where are the other two?”

“They are waiting for the avatar to be finished. Follow me.”

Emily’s vision follows Elizabeth to a room where the pod housing her other body lies. There she finds both Timothy and Heathcliff as well.

“Hello?” Emily says.

The two men heard her. “Hah, so the sleeping giant finally wakes,” Heathcliff says with a pleasant tone.”

“Sleep well?” Tim says.

“A little,” Emily says. She looks around the dungeon, finding that it looks different. The halls are sleeker, and vibrant blues, indigos, and purples replaced the crimson hues of her sickness. The black walls are lined with patterns of circuitry and geometric shapes.

“No, cher,” Heathcliff says. “We didn’t redecorate you.”

“Huh?” Emily says.

“While you were sleeping,” Elizabeth says. “Your body took the extra mana from the avatara materials and the mana conserved by your dormancy to fortify itself. Your dungeon body was changed, and you had developed new abilities.”

Emily recalls that she can move her “eyes” without Elizabeth’s help this morning.

“The avatara is almost ready,” Elizabeth says. “I’ll prepare the upload posthaste!”

Elizabeth approaches the pod and attunes with it. Before Emily knew it, her vision shifted to within the pod. She moves her arms and legs as fluid drains from the pod. The pod opens and she walks out. Elizabeth brings out a mirror for Emily. She looks at it and sees a young woman, with purple hair tied in two pigtails and donning a black-and-purple dress, in the reflection.

“How do I look?” Emily says as she does several poses. Despite not having a human body for a few months, she finds that she retains acute motor function.

“Like a fine mademoiselle, cher,” Heathcliff says. Now that we gots you a body, today the day to get you registered.”

“Registered?” Emily says, confusion as plain on her new face as a full moon.

“The adventurer’s guild, dearie,” Elizabeth says. “I mentioned before that there are certain perks with an avatara, the most obvious is the ability to move outside your own halls. A dungeon is a living place, but it is still a place, rooted to where it was constructed.”

“Uh-huh,” Emily says.

“With an avatara,” Emily says. “You can move outside these boundaries. Dungeons that have them often use this newfound freedom to adventure with other people, be it their Sentinels or other people entirely. In fact, the most impenetrable Dungeons tend to be ones that can raid other dungeons and absorb their own treasures, gaining both mana and knowledge from them.”

“Knowledge?” Emily says.

“Specifically ‘blueprints’,” Tim says. “For either creating new weapons or armor or enhancing existing ones.”

“Tim, my boy,” Heathcliff says with shock. “How did you know that?”

“I taught him,” Elizabeth says. “Thought it might be good if he knew some of the basics as well.”

“Fair enough,” Heathcliff says. “Now Emily, come see the outside world with us. Allons!”

“Right,” Emily says.” She takes her first steps outside “herself”. The first steps into the wider world of Titania. Following Heathcliff, Elizabeth and Tim to a nearby town.

✦✦✦

Emily is taken aback by the sight of the town. So many people gather on the roads and buildings as the sunlight shines down from a clear sky. It’s almost as disorienting as the sensations she felt when awakening in a dungeon. Heathcliff leads the group towards the guildhall. One of the larger buildings is decorated with roses in a cross shape.

“Hey, Pauline,” Heathcliff says in a voice that almost booms across the lobby. “Come see, we gots a new girl here!”

An elven girl approaches the girl. Her blue hair drapes down to her waist. Her grey suit obscures her figure as her glasses reflect the light. “Oh, a new adventurer wants to join our humble guild? We’re honored really,” the woman says with a drawl. “Now what is your name, sweetie.”

“E-Emily,” the purple-haired girl says.

“Mine’s Elizabeth,” the fairy says, “I’d like to register too.”

Pauline sizes up the two and notices their peculiar dress and Emily’s fairy wings. “Stop the presses,” she thinks. “Did he…” Her gaze turns to Heathcliff, already taking the opportunity to get some booze from the built-in bar. She is no stranger to the occasional dungeon joining the guild, but still. “I’ll be sure to get you two signed up right away!” Pauline says. “Be back in a jiffy.”

“Thank you,” Emily says.

Emily stumbled on the way to their table. While waiting for Pauline the group talks about the guild and town at a table secluded from the other visitors of the guildhall.

“The Rosenkreuz Guild,” Tim says. “It oversees the adventurers of the eponymous own in Nova Virginia. It is a far away off from Noir, though.”

Emily is surprised to learn there is a city nearby. “Noir? What’s that?” she says.

“Largest city ‘dis side of Liberté, cher,” Heathcliff says. “Practically a dungeon unto itself with all the things that get down there.”

Pauline arrives with the paperwork, asking Emily and Elizabeth to give their signatures in several lines. She also hands them a small book about the guild’s rules and membership fees.

“Now then,” Pauline says. “We’re gonna need your place of residence, sweetie. The other adventurers here at Rosenkreuz might want to visit you if ya catch my drift.”

“Want me to handle it, cher?” Heathcliff says.

“No, I’m good,” Emily says. “I-it’s just.”

“Oh yeah,” Heathcliff says. “Pauline has got good peepers. She can know a dungeon avatara when she sees ‘em, Emily.”

With some help from Elizabeth, Emily writes down the location of her dungeon body. Heathcliff adds the name “The Black Box,” to the paperwork.

“The Black Box?” Tim asks.

“‘Parenlty,” Heathcliff says. “Messengers use the term for certain objects they do not know the workings of. Besides, it fits Emily herself, don’t you think?”

“Why do I need a new name?” Emily says, her quizzical expression apparent on her face.

“Actually,” Elizabeth says. “It is a good idea. We don’t want people here finding out Emily is a Dungeon.”

“But why?” Emily says.

“Well, sweetie,” Elizabeth says. “A Dungeon’s treasures serve as a reason to raid them, but the most valuable treasure they have must not ever leave their halls. The very core itself.”

“Okay?” Emily’s confusion increased.

“Right now,” Elizabeth says in hushed tones. “You control an avatara, and you perceive it as if it is your body. There is some truth to that, but the larger truth is that it is a puppet, controlled by your consciousness. And that is still inside your core, Emily. A Dugneon’s core is both its brains and its heart. Without it the dungeon cannot live, and yet adventurers and other dungeons seek to use these cores to empower or enrich themselves, for they also hold a large amount of the mana they generate.”

“Fact of the matter is,” Tim says. “If people know you’re a dungeon, they could try to exploit the time you are piloting the avatara to come to the dungeon and steal the core form beneath your nose.”

“Okay then,” Emily says. “Do not reveal myself to strangers, got it.” She wonders why that is possible before recalling her inability to see her rooms after her mind was linked to the avatara Avatara.

“Etrangers aside,” Heathcliff says. “The other reason is that the guild needs a nom de guerre for dungeons in their ranks. As they prefer having them be described as the places they technically are. A descriptive name useful for for both landmarking and tourism. Adventurers tend to make pretty good tourists.”

“Got it,” Emily says.

Emily and Elizabeth finishes the paperwork and hands it off to Pauline.

“Welcome to the Rosenkreuz Guild” Pauline says. “Hope you enjoy your time with us.”

“Thank you,” Emily says. She return to Heathcliff and Tim.

“There is one last thing, but we’ll need to do it back home,” Heathcliff says. “Give me a few minutes.” He heads off to talk to Pauline about some matters. After their chat, the group returns to the newly aliased Black Box.

✦✦✦

At the Black Box, Emily’s avatara rests inside its pod. She notices that Heathcliff has brought in several objects from outside, including some rocks and wooden planks.

“Okay, Emily,” Heathcliff said as he placed the wood such that it stood upright. “Guild’s gonna need some items to bait adventurers here. What’ve you got, cher?”

Emily observed the various Cells guarding her halls, she noticed that several of them seemed to melt into the structures or emerge from them at times. “Elizabeth thinks I can make something called ‘nanotechnology’. Do you have any idea what that is?”

“Nanotech, huh,” Tim says. He ponders on it for a while.

“Seems like we stumbled onto a real game-changer Tim,” Heathcliff says. “Things like that only existed in theory.”

Emily thinks of something to make, before recalling Elizabeth says something about dungeon loot earlier. She concentrates on the image of a sword. As she thinks about the weapon, a chest suddenly emerges from the floor. Inside lies three swords. Their blades were as long as a dwarf is tall and the edges as thin as a sheet of paper. “How’s these?” Emily says.

Heathcliff takes one of the swords and gives it some good swings. He finds the blade lighter than his weapon. He turns to one of the planks and slices it. Despite cutting through the wood, the sword seemed to not affect it. Heathcliff approaches the plank and touches it near the top. The plank collapses in two as the pieces fall to the ground.

“Not bad,” Heathcliff says as he looks back at the nanotech sword. I found not a single scratch on it. He tries it again on the nearby rocks, but it can’t completely cut through the stone, instead getting stuck midway. “Gonna need a blacksmith to appraise it, but it already looks better than the swords I used,” Heathcliff says. “Can we get a shield to match?”

“Oh,” Emily says. “Right.” She focuses on the image of a shield and another chest emerges a few minutes later. At Heathcliff’s suggestion, she allows one of the other planks to sink and embed into the floor as Heathcliff mounts one of the three shields.

“Your turn, Tim,” Heathcliff says. “Let’s give this board a stress test.”

“Very well,” Time politely says. He leaps towards the shield and extends his arms toward it, striking the shield with his palms. The defensive arm holds firm, he then uses a combination of kicks, fluid arm movement, and other moves to try to break the shield. He found it can take a lot of punishment before eventually breaking into dust.

“Maybe these are too…high-end?” Emily says.

“Yeah, we gonna save stuff of that caliber for later, cher,” Heathcliff says. “Rookies plus these equals problems for everyone involved. And I don’t think we’re ready to take on the kind of adventurers that can handle these babies.”

Emily tries making weaker swords and shields.

“Try using less mana,” Elizabeth says.

Emily heeds the fairy’s suggestion, but the resulting items prove too fragile. After some iterations, she managed to create versions that were closer to the standard for novice adventurers. She then crafts other weapons, spears, axes, staves, bows, hand cannons, and even some basic armor and robes.

Heathcliff appraises the items, finding them good enough for the guild. Despite this, he felt like something was missing. “Hmm,” he says. “We have enough to supply adventurers that enter the place now, but there is still a missing je ne sais quois. Something that can fuel quests.”

Emily ponders on how to address that. As she thinks about ideas on what to make, chests start popping out, each containing various trinkets. She presents the first one “Maybe this would do it?” She says.

“Aww,” Elizabeth says as she gazes at the rabbit sculpture. “How adorable!”. Tim however scoffs at the trinket.

“I don’t think lapin chers like that would cut it, Emily,” Heathcliff says. “But then again, I’ve been wrong before.”

While Heathcliff considers the rabbits. Emily conjures another object. This one resembles a trophy. “I think it gives a sense of pride and accomplishment.”

Tim looks at the gaudy trophy. “It doesn’t give me a sense of either if we’re being honest.”

Emily is growing annoyed with Tim’s behavior, “Okay then, what would you want to get from here?”

“I’m here to train,” Tim says. “To master my skills with my body and Qiang both.”

“That isn’t helpful!” Emily says.

“Well, neither are the rabbit statues!” Tim says.

The two argue for a while, during which Emily creates a chest with an ornament in the form of an upside-down bird.

“Kid’s got some sass,” Heathcliff says with a laugh. “Shame that this particular object wouldn’t go over well with the guild.”

Emily, still angry at Tim looks at the shapes of her chests. She notices their blocky appearance and flat sides. The top half of their cubic exteriors are decorated partially in glowing lines on their black hues. The bottom half of them are entirely blue. The sights of these chests gave Emily an idea. A moment later, one last chest appears.

Tim opens the chest and finds…an object that resembles it in miniature. “You think questers would want nesting doll-like boxes?”

“It’s a token, you dummy,” Emily says. “What do you think?”

Heathcliff and Elizabeth look at the small cube and notice it carries intricate qualities. Heathcliff smirks. “Well, that might be the banger we’re looking for, Emily.”

“How so?” Elizabeth asks.

“We give these trinkets to the guild,” Heathcliff says. “They were in turn hand them to several curious people, who in turn would be driven to find the source. The less resources they have, the more direct the clues, the more resources the more obscure they are. This way we can ensure the only ‘visitors’ are folks that we know little Emily can handle.”

“And if Emily can’t handle them?” Tim says.

“That’s where we come in, remember?” Heathcliff says. “Making sure that never happens. Besides by the time word reaches the head honchos, she’d surely would be able to take on whatever they send her way. Right cher?”

“Um,” Emily is unsure if she really could take them on whatever they send her way. “Maybe?”

“That’s the spirit!” Heathcliff says.

Tim sighs. “I’m sorry about my mentor. The Crimson Hound is very…eccentric”

“That much is obvious,” Elizabeth says. “And yet we’re here now thanks to him.”

The group decides to go along with Heathcliff’s plan, using the cubs to lure in Adventurers. Emily mentally prepares herself for the coming days.

✦✦✦

A few days later, the Black Box is visited by a group of adventurers. A knight in training, a novice spellcaster, and a clerical amateur. The three make their way to the Black Box.

At the same time, Heathcliff and Emily look on at their prey. They see several traps Heathcliff had laid out, as the novices fight through some cells. The spellcaster ends up tripping one of them, opening a trapdoor that separates them from their party. Without the mage’s backup, the cells became too sturdy for the others to overcome, and by the time they were able to regroup, they were ejected from the dungeon, with nothing to show for their efforts.

The next day, an archer, thief, and scout party, aided by a rookie gladiator, traverses their walls. They soon find themselves in a shifting maze. The winding and twisting paths had them running around in circles until they were ejected.

“Maze your idea, cher?” Heathcliff says.

“Yeah,” Emily says. “I had those walls change more frequently for that effect.”

“That’s pretty clever, cher,” Heathcliff says.

Later a third party of more experienced folk had managed to make their way through the labyrinth and past the trapdoors and made it to Tim. Alas, they were soundly defeated by the expert spearman and martial artist. But at least they left with some robes, an ax, and a bow.

A fourth party arrived the next day, a dwarf cleric, a lamia spearman, and a human friar. They too, fell to Tim and his more skilled arts.

A fifth party was lost in some puzzles Emily had set up, leading them to the maze f they failed. A sixth ended up separated and assimilated by the dungeon, to Emily’s disgust.

“I knew I forgot something! Sorry.” Elizabeth said, referring to what happens to adventurers who die within a dungeon. “Usually when someone dies, the dungeon absorbs their mana, leaving no corpses behind. Sentinels however can respawn instead.”

Another party ended up dying to the Cells as their tank ended up warped to another puzzle. A foolish man then decided to venture into it alone and was torn apart for it. Slowly but surely, Emily was gaining mana from these ventures and even more from the few items that were able to be claimed by her visitors.

✦✦✦

One day, after a long streak of attempted raids on the Black Box. Elizabeth greets Emily “How do you feel?” the fairy says.

“I feel…” Emily says. Her health has been improving since getting an avatara and since Heathcliff and Tim were taken on as the dungeon’s Master and Sentinel respectively. “I feel great!”

That day, a group arrives at the dungeon. One was a knight clad in shining brass armor. One was a cleric clad in well-kept white robes. Two were a pair of twins, one being a sniper and the other a wizard, both wearing identical ornate clothing. Lastly, two were a couple, both versed in melee combat. They had managed to make their way past the tricks Heathcliff and Emily had set up and navigated the treacherous maze and puzzles and were face to face with the dungeon’s lone Sentinel.

“You had done well to come this far,” Tim says. “But your quest ends here!”

“Please try not to kill them,” Emily says to Tim, inaudible to the adventurers. “Absorbing their corpses feels icky.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Tim says. “But fine.” He engages the party head-on. The knight intercepts his charging attack and tries to grab him, but Tim deftly deflects the grapple and moves the knight’s armored arm away. The moment causes the knight to stumble forward, leaving his back exposed for a shoulder strike.

The attack left Tim open to ranged attacks and he takes several arrows and magic missiles to the chest afterwards. With the knight stunned he moves in front of the sniper and is knocked out. The cleric heals both the knight and sniper while Time knocks out the wizard with a spinning lick. Before he can attack. The boyfriend intercepts him and the tow exchange blows. His girlfriend follows suit. The three are locked in a struggle as Tim deflects several of their attacks and counters with flowing arm movements and punches. This continues until the knight emerges behind Tim and puts him in a bear hug before suplexing the Sentinel into the ground

Tim is shocked to find how competent this crew is compared to his previous encounters as a boss. “Impressive,” he says before scoffing at the party.

“Ready to give up?” the knight says.

“Hardly,” Tim says as he takes his spear and summons a whirlwind. He uses the Qiang in tandem with his techniques to take out the sniper and couple. Before locking blades with the knight. His weapon parries the knight’s sword and Tim uses the momentum to strike the knight, exploiting chinks made from prior blows to stop them.

Tim grows exhausted from the battle, his opponents standing their ground longer than he imagined, even with the tornado he summoned. The wizard manages to cast a spell that deal a critical blow to him, taking Tim out of the fight. For the first time in a while, he lost.

Succumbing to his wounds, Tim vanishes with a scowl on his face. His arrogant facade lasts until he vanishes and a chest takes his place. The party leaves with sic cubes, as well as a spear, a shield, a sword, two sets of armor, and enough rings for a pair of hands to wear one on each finger.

✦✦✦

A while later, a swarm of nanomachines jut out from the floor of the core room and take the shape of Tim, nanobots transforming into flesh and bone by magic. Shortly after, the swarm crystallizes into a body for Tim’s mind, mana, and soul to inhabit. The defeat is still fresh on his mind.

He punches the wall, leaving a small crack that is promptly healed.

“Ouch,” Emily says, feeling as though she was just pinched. “That hurt!”

Tim doesn’t care, he ruminates on his loss, his first loss since he met Heathcliff. I was certain,” thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to figure out how he lost. He knew he was outnumbered, but that didn’t matter before. He was able to dispatch them easily.

Emily notices his distraught state. “Um, can I help?”

“No,” Tim says. He thinks back to his previous mentor, a combat instructor and friend of his mother. He is the one who taught him all he knew of fighting with body and Qiang both. He recalls the sting of a loss he felt when he lost to a fellow pupil.

Emily is insistent on helping him. “You know it doesn't do either of us good sulking around like that,” she says. “Cheer up.”

“Easy for you to say,” Tim says.

The dungeon sighs, “Look, I get it. You’re not a people person, but if you’re going to be my Sentinel, then we have to understand each other. So c’mon, tell me what’s the matter.”

“Rather nosy for a dungeon, aren’t you?” Tim says with a playful tone.

“Well it doesn't help that you’d want to be moody while inside me,” Emily says, unaware of the potential misunderstanding of that phrase.

Tim sighs. “Alight, fine, you win.” He then sits down on the floor. “But you first. Do you remember anything before becoming a dungeon?”

Emily tries to remember, but nothing aside from her name comes to her mind, even the dream has become a haze to her. “I…got nothing,” she says. “Why do you ask?”

“You know what Messengers are, at least?”

“Nope.”

Tim shakes his head. “Administrators?” He says.

“Nada.”

“This is gonna take a while,” Tim thinks. He says, “For now, know that there are people claimed to be from otherworlds, they are called ‘Messengers’, Divine Dungeons, like you, are claimed to universally be Messengers.”

“Really?” Emily says.

“Really,” Tim says. “These people are said to be servants of gods, their messengers, hence the name. Yet they are also claimed to have lost much of their memory of their past life.”

“You say that as if they don’t exist,” Emily says.

“I have reason to believe they do,” Tim says. “But I also have reason to believe that most ‘messengers’ are pretenders. After all such a status tends to confer a grandiose destiny and with that comes plenty of clout seekers. As for Divine Dungeons, some Natural Dungeons tend to get mistaken for them.”

“Is there any difference?” Emily says.

“You’ll find out later, that fairy might know more about the distinctions,” Tim says. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Oh no you don’t,” Emily says. “You seriously think you can distract me and just run off like that?”

“Heh, Tim says. “You’re smarter than I thought.”

“Excuse me?” Emily says, to Tim’s bemusement.

“Alright,” Tim says. “Ahem, I am a traveler, one seeking invincibility in a sense. I was trained in several styles of combat to that end and became an adventurer under Heathcliff’s wing for a few years. During which I had fought and won in many battles and prevailed over many dungeons.”

“And you’re feeling salty because you lost to a party of adventurers?” Emily says.

“It is rather petty,” Tim says. “Yet there is more to that. I feel like I’ve been stagnating for a while, that I wasn’t progressing. I thought that meant that I was ready and able to take on the world. Then two people of lower skill arrived with four compatriots and well, you know the rest.”

Elizabeth approaches the two, without Tim noticing her.

“You feel frustrated, then?” Emily says.

“I guess,” Tim says. “I’m not sure if dungeons can feel something like that.”

“It feels pretty frustrating dealing with you,” Emily says in a playful tone.

“Someone’s got jokes,” Tim says.

“You bet I do,” Emily says. They both laugh. Elizabeth’s heart melts at the sight of her ward getting along with her Sentinel. She startles Tim.

“Agh,” Tim says. “Elizabeth! When did you get here?”

“Five minutes,” the fairy says. “Nice to see you two getting along.”

Tim is annoyed by the remark. “Shut up,” he says.

“What’s up?” Emily says.

“Heathcliff got a quest from the guild,” Elizabeth says “We’re going on a trip to another dungeon! Isn’t that exciting?”

Emily realizes what this means, and has a pressing concern. “But what about me, um I mean my body? My core?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Elizabeth says. “Heathcliff had already arranged for that. The guild will help ensure intruders won’t enter you while your avatara joins us.”

“Of course he has,” Tim says. “Never expected him to take the ‘dungeon master’ bit so seriously.”

“Why did he want to become one anyway?” Emily says.

“He says he needed a change of pace,” Tim says. The three make preparations for their first quest.

✦✦✦

The Arcane Tower, a Natural Dungeon in the dunes of la Prairie Inconnue. Once a thriving skyscraper where mages had gathered to share knowledge, not a ruin that spires above the rest. A monument to lost knowledge. Archaeologists had sought to explore the place for arcane secrets, and it is for that reason that Rosenkreuz was sought out to clear the tower of threats. And through them, why Emily and her group are at the tower.

Emily approaches the entrance, wielding twin blades, Modified from the first swords she had generated. “So, um, what are we doing here again?”

“Well, cher,” Heathcliff says. “Guild’ wants to do some pest control for some archaeologists. The monster population a dangerous hazard for them.”

“I see,” Emily says. A sense of uncertainty washes over her face. “Should we fear anything from the tower itself?”

“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth says, resting between her wings. “Natural Dungeon cores, usually tend to wander their dungeons to avoid adventurers.”

Emily is reminded of what Tim has said about them. “Can you tell me what exactly is a Natural Dungeon?”

“I haven’t told you already?” Elizabeth says, her mouth agape with the realization that she has forgotten an important piece of information. “Darn. Better late than never. A Natural Dungeon is the result of a place being mutated by the presence of a dungeon core that has inhabited a native of the land and mutated them, such creatures end up being merged with the core but retain their form, whereas Divine Dungeons need an avatara to perceive the world beyond their walls and move around.”

“Maybe we can save this talk, for until we’re inside the tower?” Tim says. Trying to wipe the sand away from both his eyes and clothes.

“Oh, right,” Elizabeth says. “Sorry.”

The group enters the ruin. The decaying walls provided shelter from the dusty winds blowing outside, as sunlight peeks through the windows and the holes in the crumbling spire. Parchments are seen strewn about the floor as disheveled bookshelves line the walls. Rats are seen scurrying about the place, using the dilapidated paper to nourish themselves.

“Should we take care of the rats as well?” Elizabeth says.

“I think the clients are more concerned with what is above the ground,” Tim says.

As they approach the stairwell, the group is accosted by wraiths. The spirits of people that had perished in the calamity that ruined the surrounding landscape, trapped in delusions and illusions of the past and seeing the group as intruders. The specters’ natures make them immune to physical blows as they phase right through them, but Elizabeth has prepared for that and sings a small song.

“Winds of the North,” Elizabeth sings with confidence, “blowing fast and true. Please grant us the strength, to carve a path anew.”

Her bardsong abilities enchant the party’s weapons with the element of light, allowing them to touch the wraith and defeat them. As Emily fights the wraiths, she trips on her legs and falls on the floor. A spirit lunges at her and she panics. Tim defeats the one lunging for her and helps her up. With the group of spirits quelled, they ascend the stairs.

On the second floor, they find several rooms filled with ruined books and desecrated tomes as well as several coyotes that had made the upper floors home. Tim dispatches the beasts with charging steps into snap kicks and elbow strikes, using his arms to deflect fang and claw both.

Another room has a combination of wraiths and wolves. After Elizabeth wreathes their arms in lightning, Heathcliff uses his sword to slice the specters while Emily takes care of the animals with graceful sword dances.

With the room cleared, the party takes some time to explore the room. They find an intact tome written in a language few could understand. Heathcliff takes it with him.

“Might as well make it easier for them,” Heathcliff says. “Plus even if they don’t want it, someone else might.”

Emily looks around the room, her eyes darting around in fear of hidden enemies. She soon breathes a sigh of relief, realizing that there is no chance of an ambush.

Heathcliff notices Emily’s behavior. “A little jittery, cher?”

Emily nods. Her eyes clearly shows a sense of uncertainty in their safety.

“That’s normal,” Heathcliff says. His expression brimming with confidence that Emily lacks and the experience of a seasoned adventurer. “Don’t worry, over time you’ll learn when things are safe.”

Emily notices Heathcliff’s relaxed tone in his voice. “Can you tell me something?”

“Of course, cher,” the knight says.

“Do you think I’m ready for this sort of thing?” Emily asks.

“You mean dungeon raiding? Oh course you are!” Heathcliff says. “If you weren’t we wouldn’t be here now, would we?”

Emily’s face shows an uncertain look. Heathcliff places his palm on her shoulder.

“Look, cher,” the knight says. “I know you can do this, and so does the guild, they wouldn’t have tasked us with this otherwise. Besides you got me, Tim, and Liz on your side! Clearing out this place will be a cinch, cher. Trust me.”

Emily smiles. “Thank you,” she says.

Heathcliff sees her face brighten as she makes those words. “Girl’s gotta have some more faith in herself,” he thinks.

The group leaves the room to venture deeper into the tower.

They enter and clear out a third room, and then make their way to the stairs leading to the third floor. There they find a sandy specter in a sand-logged room. The first boss, it seems. The sight of the specter causes Emily to quiver before composing herself and preparing for battle.

Heathcliff grabs the ghast’s attention, while Tim and Emily coordinate their attacks. Emily’s Blade dances in tandem with Tim’s martial arts and qiang techniques, all enchanted by the light of Elizabeth’s songs, which deal damage to the ghost.

The spirit attempts the buffet and blinds the party with sand, but it proves futile as Tim counters with a whirling cyclone and Heathcliff distracts it long enough for Emily to rush forward and strike it with her two swords. Her attack is strengthened by the monument of the cyclone as she runs along its path.

The ghost soon falls, succumbing to the wounds Emily landed on them, and fades away, leaving behind a chest made of sand in a now still room. Emily breathes a sigh of relief at her first defeat of a Sentinel. Her expression changes to one of joy and confidence as she realizes she has just defeated a tough foe. She opens the chest and sees it has some surprisingly immaculate robes. They also find an axe inside, but since no one here can use it, they decide to sell it to the guild.

“Forgot to mention,” Elizabeth says, “The gear generated from all dungeons is protected by the mana that forms them. They will not age or tarnish as long as they are in the chests. The protection only lasts until they leave the dungeon, however.”

Emily examples the clothes and finds they are best suited for herself and Tim, melee fighters. “Do you need them?” Emily asks.

“You don’t want them?” Tim figures Emily was more deserving of them as her attack was the one that felled the boss. Emily in turn feels that it wasn’t possible without Tim’s cyclone and that he was more deserving of them. Tim takes the robes.

✦✦✦

On the third floor, the dungeon grows more dangerous as poison dart traps are strewn about the area. The traps were hindered by some of them malfunctioning and the sand corroding their mechanism. More concerning however is the presence of sand ghouls similar to the boss.

The party was left battled by several encounters with these ghouls, but Emily uses some potions Heathcliff had stocked up on to heal the group.

“These remedies come in handy in a pinch,” Heathcliff says. “Shame they taste vile.”

“That is a feature, not a bug,” Elizabeth says.

Tim maintains a stoic demeanor through the battle, in contrast to Emily who visibly expresses feelings of concern and fright. He approaches the avatara. “I understand, the first one is always the most difficult.”

“Huh?” Emily says confused.

“I know you are quite green to the life of an adventurer, and that you were only on Titania for a few months at most,” Tim says with a calm smile. “But you can trust us to protect you, and trust yourself to carry on.”

Emily is a little surprised that Tim says words like that. “Thank you, but um—“

“But what?” Tim says.

“I’m just surprised, you struck me as more of a battle maniac, to be honest,” Emily says innocently.

Tim frowns and glares at Emily, scaring her for a few moments before he chuckles.

“I’m sorry!” Emily says expecting some retribution. “I ju—huh?”

Tim laughs a little, a rare sight. “You’re rather easy to mess with you know?”

“Hey!” Emily says. “I’m not!”

“But you are wrong about me,” Tim says. “I take some pleasure in fighting, yes. But it is not for the thrill of it. I simply seek opportunity to train myself, to prepare for what’s to come.”

Emily is surprised by Tim’s candid response. In their short time together she had seen him as someone who seemed rather arrogant and aloof. A man who would be better suited as a rival to a different type of martial artist. A man who seemed like he didn’t care about her, yet the interaction showed her a glimpse into another side of Tim. The group continues deeper into the dungeon, with Emily ruminating on the man she now knows a little better.

They make their way to another room, guarded by three skeletons. A familiar sight to Tim and Heathcliff, but their earthen magics provided a new challenge. Emily manages to weave past them and snag the chest while they are distracted by Heathcliff. Tim gets up close to them and uses a kick to shatter a skeleton, a stomp on a second’s femur, and a palm strike on the third’s ribcage. But the skeletons reformed their bodies afterward, using the nearby sand to pull themselves together. Emily uses sword slices to knock them to pieces, but they immediately reform again.

Emily notices the room has a window on it and lures the monster towards it. Heathcliff takes the opportunity to defenestrate the three skeletons, causing them to land far outside the tower and be buried by the sand.

“Got to make a note of those to the diggers,” Heathcliff says. The group finds another similar tome which Heathcliff takes. The Chest Emily had taken from the monster opens to reveal a suit of robots fit for ranged fighters and some armor. Heathcliff decides to take it, but for want of a place to change his clothes decides to wait until after they leave. It also contains a staff and a hand cannon, but the former seemed to be incompatible with Elizabeth’s skillset for now.

They soon ascend to the fourth and fifth floors, fighting several monsters along the way. They eventually reach the tip of the tower, guarded by a dangerous dire coyote. The last boss of the dungeon. The beast proves a fearsome opponent as its large size and intangibility make it difficult to deflect its claws and it wields control over the sand much like the first boss. Tim tries using a cyclone to clear the sand away, but the coyote manages to leave it. Tim anticipates the attack dodges, and uses a shoulder strike to slam the boss into the wall. With Elizabeth’s lightning enchantments ensuring the blow strikes true and stunning the beast further. The beast crippled it lets out a howl to summon ghouls as its allies, Heathcliff gathers up the spirits and leads them towards a window, using an acrobatic maneuver to dodge their charges and cause them to walk outside the edge.

The coyote limps around still unfinished. But Emily combines her blades into a chakram and throws it at the beast. Wreathed in radiance, the weapon hits the sand-cloaked coyote and leaves a gashing wound on it. One of the blades is removed and sent into the air by the impact, but lands on the beasts front paw, pinning it to the ground as it succumbs to its wounds.

The coyote fades into the aether, part of its mana going to Emily as it fades.

“Was that the core?” Emily asks.

“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth says.

A chest soon emerges. Within is a pair of blades, similar to what Emily wields, and a grimoire.

“Twin blades, Haven’t seem those in along time.”

The party turns to find the source of the voice, and sees a cloaked man where the coyote once stood. The party knew they were the only people in the tower until now, so that only ones one possibility for the cloak’s emergence.

“Are you…” Emily says.

“I am,” the voice says. He wistfully looks around the spire. “Are you here to consume me?” he asks.

Emily is confused by the question.

“We’re here to help clear the place of monsters,” Tim says.

“Archaeologists be wanting to explore the place,” Heathcliff says.

“I see,” The cloak says. “The attempt is futile, but I understand the intent.”

“Hold on, what do you mean ‘consume’?” Emily says.

The cloak turns at Elizabeth, and then back at Emily. “She seems like a fresh dungeon,” he thinks. He approaches the girl and hands her a few books he’s been carrying. “My fate matters not, but if what your friend says is true, then this spire is still of some value to the land. Here are the few tomes that had not been lost to the sands of time. The tomes I was able to recover.”

Emily struggles to hold the heavy stack of books. Heathcliff takes two off the stack and Elizabeth and Tim to take one each. Emily is elft carrying a more manageable load of three tomes. “Thanks? “She says.

“My pleasure young one,” the cloak says. He nostalgically recalls the time before where wizards studied here with joy, a time before catastrophe took their lives. He has stood as the sole surviver, a relic of a bygone era. “Farewell,” the cloak vanishes in the sands.

Elizabeth is concerned for the core of the tower, but that was subsumed by the sense of triumph the other three feels. And the sense of dread at explaining to Emily certain details later.

“Alright, cher,” Heathcliff said. “Quest over, let’s head to the guildhall tout suite!”

“Rather impatient,” Emily says, “aren’t you?”

“You’d be impatient too when you have to deal with such a heavy load,” He says. “Should’ve gotten a car ‘fore we got here.”

The group makes their slow and long descent down to he tower and make their way through the desert and back to Rosenkreuz’ guild hall. Along the way, Emily thinks about the adventure and the friends that helped her through it, and who would continue to help her through many more. Her face beams with the confidence of a girl ready to take on the world.