The rainbow swirl of light faded, depositing Kat in the center of a circular marble chamber. Diffuse white light filled the room, seeming to emanate from the walls themselves.

She frowned. Rather than the usual single pathway exiting the entrance to the dungeon, four circular archways, equally spaced around the circumference of the room, marked the tunnels leading away from the starting chamber.

A prismatic soap bubble of mana sprang into being beside Kat as she inspected each of the exits. She couldn’t tell much without actually venturing down one of the tunnels. They were all made of roughly the same featureless marble as the spawning chamber, curving sharply after about ten paces so as to prevent casual observation.

The bubble popped, revealing Kaleek. The desoph glanced around the chamber and sighed, his whiskers drooping.

“I suppose I should have inferred from the name that we’d be stuck in a maze. I hate mazes.”

“The Crystal Labyrinth is a bit of a dead giveaway isn’t it?” Kat chuckled, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end as mana coalesced behind her to teleport Dorrik into the dungeon. “Still, I don’t see why you’d hate a maze so much. I’ll take a maze over a swamp ten times out of ten.”

“Kaleek simply prefers to fight his opponents head on,” Dorrik interjected, closing the distance between the three of them with two strides. “Most maze dungeons focus on traps and environmental hazards rather than monsters. Explorers spend less time actually fighting creatures than they do lost and avoiding pressure plates.”

Kat squinted at the exits suspiciously. She might not be as driven by the thrill of battle as Kaleek, but that didn’t mean that she found trap based dungeons anything but miserable.

“I don’t suppose,” she started, speaking slowly as she eyed up their potential paths. “That this dungeon breaks that mold? You know we don’t have a footpad in our team. It’ll take us hours to get anywhere if we have to spend all of our time searching for trap triggers. Hell, this is an Iron dungeon. We’ll all probably wake up before we can finish.”

“Oh no,” Dorrik shook their head earnestly. “I made sure that this dungeon doesn’t have any traps before I directed us here.”

“Thank the ancients.” Kaleek sighed, whiskers twitching. “What sort of monsters will we be facing then?”

Dorrik paused, cocking their head to the side. Their crest fluttered gently in agitation before they turned their head to avoid eye contact, claw tracing through the almost invisible layer of dust covering the marble floor.

“There are monsters right?” Kat asked, squinting at the lizard.

“It depends on how you define monsters,” Dorrik responded, their voice dragging as they struggled to equivocate.

“Of fucking course!” Kaleek slammed his foot to the ground before sheathing his sword. “This is the part where you come up with some sort of long-winded explanation for how whatever deadly but ultimately boring challenge we’re about to face is actually a monster.”

“The Singing Crystals drop loot,” Dorrik replied, crest flaring with embarrassment. “Even if they don’t move, and generally attack using sonic magic from a distance, that still qualifies them as creatures. Plus, your skills will level up fighting against them. Even if their outward appearance might not be what you’d expect from monstersThe Tower of Somnus considers them to be such-”

“What do they look like?” Kaleek interrupted between gritted teeth. “More importantly, where are they located? At least tell me that the crystals seated in some sort of quasi mechanical housing that gives them some mobility. Like spider legs or a little cart or something.”

“Err,” Dorrik scratched the back of their head uncomfortably. “They look like giant gemstones mounted on pedestals at the center of the four mazes. Once we navigate the mazes and smash the four crystals, the walls will retract into the ground and the dungeon boss will appear.”

“I’m not going to lie,” Kat shook her head. “If you throw some jumping puzzles in there, this sounds like a video game level.”

Dorrik glanced back at her, cocking their head thoughtfully. Finally, they spoke, clearly deliberating over their words.

“Some speculate that the Tower of Somnus was originally meant to be a video game for the gardeners. That the entirety of the dreamscape and all of the powers we prize so highly were nothing more than trinkets and baubles for their young.”

“Good,” Dorrik smiled brightly. “The translation filter didn’t kick in. You may be from a probationary race, but reaching the sixth level does have its perks.”

“Wait,” Kat whirled to face the grinning lizard. “We can talk about these things now? Seriously, what in God’s name are the gardeners and what happens when someone hits level twenty four?”

“I’ll let you know who the gardeners are once I know,” Kaleek responded with a chuckle. “All we know is that they made The Tower of Somnus and left ruins around the galaxy filled with fantastic technology that no one has been able to replicate. About half of the races in the Consensus have been touched by the gardeners. Their history and myths are all filled with stories of faceless aliens guiding their physical and cultural evolution.”

“The desoph revere them as gods,” he shrugged. “We don’t really know what they look like, just that they gave us fire and taught us to shape metal and wood into tools. Finally, when our race split the atom for the first time, an ark arose out of the ocean and granted us our first two hundred avatars to the dreamscape.”

Dorrik put a hand on Kaleek’s shoulder, shaking their head.

“Unfortunately we can’t talk about level twenty four,” the big lizard said with a sigh. “Level six has its perks, but you still are from a probationary race. Miss Kat is a smart woman. She can infer what’s happening, but I would prefer to not have a translation lock before we tackle a dungeon.”

Kat chewed on her lip for a second, eyeing the four exits. None of them gave any hints that would betray what lay beyond the turns just past their entrances.

“So,” she said with a frown. “What you mean to say is that you can only pass on useless tidbits about what’s going on. Everything else will just get locked out by the translation filter.”

“Yup,” Kaleek agreed cheerfully. “One thing the gardeners are big on is for every race to explore the galaxy and find out more about their place in it on their own. Personally? I don’t know whether or not the gardeners are still around. Every time we level up, the Tower gives us a notification about them, but that’s all I have to go on.”

“Dorrik might know more,” he indicated the embarrassed lizard with a thumb, “but whenever they try to talk about it, I get translation locked too. That plus the artistic renditions of the ancients have led a lot of races into suspecting that the lokkel-”

“Kaleek,” Dorrik shook their head again, cutting him off. “I know you’re looking for an excuse to avoid tackling the mazes, but your gossip is starting to stray into proscribed topics. We can discuss your conspiracies once we finish clearing the dungeon.”

Kat drew her knife, flipping it into the air and letting its metal blade flash in the soft light before catching it. She glanced at one of the exits before turning back to her companions.

“So do we just pick one and start wandering then?” She asked, pointing with her knife. “I don’t suppose your massive repository of knowledge on this dungeon has some sort of hint as to which way we should go?”

“No,” Dorrik replied, almost apologetically as they reached into a pouch in their armor. “What I do have is Bogrut Wax.”

They deposited two milky yellow spheres into Kat’s outstretched hand before rooting around in their pocket for more.

“Bogrut wax is an alchemical substance designed to help with sonic attacks,” they continued, triumphantly presented another pair of soft, malleable wax balls to Kaleek who accepted them with some distaste. “We will still suffer damage from the Singing Crystals. The vibrations they generate will still harm mucus membranes and soft tissue, but it should protect us from the worst of the HP loss and vertigo.”

“Unfortunately, we won’t really be able to hear each other with the wax in.” Dorrik shrugged as they inserted a ball of the soft substance in an ear. “Just remember to follow my lead and take the wax out after each maze. It has a limited duration, and there are some… unfortunate side effects if you leave it in for too long.”

“Side effects?” Kat cocked her head to the side. “Like, ‘headache and dry mouth’ side effects, or are space bugs going to hatch in my brain and take control of my body or something?”

Dorrik walked away, their ears stuffed shut. Kaleek followed them, similarly insensible to her complaints.

Kat grumbled one last time before sealing her own ears with the wax. A thrill of energy ran through her as the enchantment took hold and all sound ceased.

She hadn’t even consciously been aware of the dozens of tiny noises that her mind automatically filtered out, but their sudden absence was jarring. From her own breath to the swish of Kaleek’s tail, or the click of Dorrik’s claws against the marble floor, everything just vanished. Even Kat’s halfhearted complaints all but disappeared, sucked into the same void that swallowed all sound.

With an unheard sigh, she followed Kaleek and Dorrik toward one of the tunnels, turning immediately to the left as their team hit its first dead end. After walking down a nondescript hallway for about a minute, they reached another blank wall with branching paths going to the left and right.

Dorrik turned to Kaleek and Kat, tapping the despoh on the shoulder to get his attention before gesturing at the intersection. They poked the featureless marble with a claw before pointing to the left.

Just as Kat was nodding in response, a tremor ran through her entire body.. A red damage indicator began flashing in the corner of her vision even as Kat’s vision blurred and her eyes watered.

Her jaw clenched shut as a wave of pain erupted from her teeth, the delicate enamel resonating with the vibrations from what Kat presumed was an attack.

A second later, the pressure was gone, leaving a dull ache in her mouth and a trickle of blood dribbling down Kat’s nose. Almost on instinct she began casting Cure Wounds I, her mouth moving soundlessly as it formed the strange syllables of the spell.

Golden warmth washed over her as the spell repaired the damage done by the attack. Just as she was finishing her casting, Kaleek tapped her on the shoulder, silently trying to say something to her. Unfortunately, due to The Tower of Somnus’ automatic translation, Kaleek’s mouth had never synced with the words he spoke, meaning that any attempt to read his lips was entirely fruitless.

Still, one look at his puffy and swollen eyes rendered all of that guesswork unnecessary. Kat turned her glowing hands on the bedraggled otter, healing him while Dorrik marked the marble of the wall, scoring an arrow pointing left into the marble

Dorrik nodded gratefully, twin streams of blood still trickling from their nostrils, as Kat healed them. Then the three of them set off once more, falling into a silent but efficient pattern. Every time they reached an intersection, Dorrik would mark their path, and after attacks from the singing crystal, Kat would heal the party.

Periodically, when Kat ran low on mana, she would prod Dorrik in order to get their attention and a potion, but with the help of the wax, the three of them managed to avoid any serious injury. Sure, the attacks from the crystals hurt like absolute hell, but in reality they only shaved off four or five hit points per attack.

Kat suspected that each wave energy would have floored them without the Bogrut Wax. Every blast of magic made Kat’s mouth ache and practically caused her skin to leap from her body. Without the wax’s protective dampening, all of their ear drums would have broken after the first attack, leaving the entire party nauseous and crawling as the follow up spells savaged their inner ears and destroyed their balance.

Instead, they skated through the maze. Some twenty five minutes later, Kaleek was jumping over a chasm with the aid of Levitation. Another wave of vibrational energy pulsed out from a torso sized uncut gem, glowing slightly from his housing on a marble pedestal on the other side of the gap.

Kat struggled backward, tears streaming from her eyes as the air pulsed and pressed against them. This close to the singing crystal, the throbbing surges of energy bore into her body, stealing the breath from Kat’s lungs and bursting blood vessels in her face and nose. At her side, Dorrik slapped their claws over their eyes, muzzle opening in a silent groan of pain.

Kaleek landed, drawing his greatsword with trembling paws and slashing downward onto the ruby, shattering it in one swift blow. Immediately, As soon as he landed, the big otter drew his greatsword and slashed the blade blindly downward.

The weapon thundered into the crystal, shattering it and snuffing out its soft glow. Kat dropped to the ground, gasping for breath as the waves of energy cut off just as suddenly as they appeared. Across the gap Kaleek fell to his knees, not even noticing as the razor sharp shards of broken gemstone cut through his fur and drew blood.

She rolled over, wiping the blood from her nose and mouth even as Kat began casting Cure Wounds I for what seemed like the twentieth time that day. Sitting up Kat pulled the Bogrut wax from her ear, wincing as she noticed the streaks of red in the formerly yellow substance. Apparently, the defensive enchantments hadn’t completely protected her from the crystal’s attacks.

“Make sure to gather up the crystal’s dust,” Dorrik croaked out. “It’s incredibly useful in higher level enchanting and even a cupful is worth a dozen or so marks.”

Kat pulled herself to her feet. Even after healing herself, the spells took a toll on her body. Despite being at full hit points, she felt like she’d just ran a training course a half dozen times.

“You can comb them out of my fur,” Kaleek groaned back. “Kat, once you’re finished with Dorrik, can you jump over here? I really don’t think I have anything athletic left in me until you heal me.”

She just grunted, walking over to the lokkel and pressing her glowing hands against their scales. Dorrik groaned, leaning into Kat as the magic began to course through them.

“Thank you Miss Kat,” they spit a stream of blood saturated saliva into the gap in the marble floor. “I understand intellectually that the singing crystal’s attacks only inflame and disorientate, keeping their victims lost in their mazes until blood loss from ruptured veins finishes them off, but that doesn’t mean it feels good.”

“Seriously!” Kaleek called out from where he was laying in the broken shards of the crystal. “By the ancients, let me pick the dungeon next time. Even if it’s a nightmare, at least I’ll make sure it’s a fun nightmare. This maze is absolutely miserable.”

“Sorry,” Dorrik replied, no real hint of penitence in their voice. “Now that I’m stationed on the Undaunted over Earth, I have direct access to the entire lokkel database on the tower. It would be a shame to waste that advantage so that we can visit a dungeon that someone in your pod’s mate’s cousin enjoyed. As unpleasant as this run has been, we came in properly prepared and have never truly been at risk.”

“No iron tier dungeon is going to be easy,” the lizard winced as Kat moved her hands up their muzzle to try and stem the bleeding. “The Crystal Labyrinth is the best fit for our abilities. You’ll get your chance to fight something when we clear the mazes and the boss reveals itself. Until then, not everything about the dreamscape is glamor and excitement. For many merchants and craftspeople, it is a matter of putting in a solid night’s work. Tonight, we must adopt the same attitude.”

Kat empowered herself with Levitation, hopping over the chasm that separated the rest of the maze from the platform where the singing crystal’s altar was located. The broken chunks of the gemstone crunched under her shoes as she made her way over to Kaleek and began healing the injured desoph.

“Say Dorrik,” she called out, pulling a sliver of crystal out of Kaleek’s paw, her hands glowing with golden light as they immediately closed the gash she created. “You just said something about being in orbit above Earth right?”

“Yes Miss Kat?” The lokkel stretched, limbering up their sore body.

“Is there a reason why your people haven’t landed?” Kat asked, moving her hands up toward Kaleek’s swollen face. “It should be pretty obvious that the stallesp broke the rules, but humans aren’t really prepared for clearing up the aftermath. We can’t tell the difference between clones, disguised aliens, and ordinary humans.”

“Worse,” her expression soured. “Every company seems to want someone else to handle the problem. All of them realize that rooting out the infiltration involves a serious investment of resources that would weaken them enough that a rival could take advantage of the situation. Instead of doing anything, they’re all eyeing each other like a bunch of feral dogs circling roadkill. None of them are willing to make the first move.”

“There’s a reason,” Dorrik replied unhappily. “Not a good one, but a reason nonetheless. The commander of our expedition made a mistake early on that cost lokkel lives. Now he is slavishly following procedure in an attempt to escape an inquest. It won’t succeed, but in the meantime our task force has reached out to the Galactic Consensus.”

“The stallesp have accused us of opening fire without provocation,” they sighed. “They have claimed that the lokkel are actually interfering on Earth. That we are the ones influencing your development and interfering with your probationary status.”

“What a mess,” Kaleek snorted under Kat’s hands. “They’ve already recalled the blue ribbon investigative commission. Last I heard they are sending a full multi-racial sub committee to audit the situation in person. In short, nothing is going to happen.”

“Unfortunately, Kaleek is correct.” Dorrik’s crest fluttered in distressed agitation. “The stallesp have been making moves on multiple fronts. Many of them have ended in open conflict. The entire time the Consensus and the ‘sober heads’ that lead the lokkel wring their hands and flippers in distress.”

“We are at war,” Dorrik crossed both sets of arms. “It is time for action, yet the entire galaxy seems content to write sternly worded letters in response to pulser fire and plasma lances. THAT is why I am stuck practicing my swordsmanship onboard the Undaunted while you struggle with foes that outmatch you. Willful blindness plain and simple.”

They frowned past Kat, crest fluttering.

“Quit faking it Kaleek,” the lokkel snorted in amusement. “You aren’t bleeding anymore and the longer you lay there, the longer it takes for us to finish the dungeon. On your feet. We have three more mazes to traverse.”

Kaleek groaned under Kat’s hands, slumping back onto the platform’s marble floor.