Zaria followed Penara to a clearing where - apparently - the Coven was going to build a new reservoir soon. Right now, it was the perfect spot for her to dig out a hole for herself to settle into. Vysala had gone to report in, although she’d promised to be back afterwards.

Then Zaria got to work redesigning her dungeon per her conversation with Vysala - and to take advantage of an expert.

Penara hesitated. “I should be getting back.”

Zaria let the word hang in the air, watching Penara closely.

Penara smirked. “You know, I know you’re buttering me up.”

The little wisp’s smirk turned into a grin. “Absolutely. Please tell your mobs to treat me as part of your dungeon so I can come in without any disruptions?” Zaria did as instructed, and let the wisp fly around for a moment. “Okay, I see the problem. Your force concentration is all out of order. I’m guessing you max out at those mobs? Four of the crates, four of the candles, and two bosses?”

Penara blinked at the word Ovens, then shook her head. “Oh, okay, that’s your version of command pylons. Interesting. I’d tell you to construct additional pylons - ovens, rather - to find out, but…I see what you mean about space. Can you get bigger?”

“Completely understandable, although I do have some notes for how you can add more Ovens and mobs…but that’ll take time. This is truly a fascinating challenge. For every other dungeon I’ve ever worked with, I’d tell them to just grow their dungeon and populate it, but for you…let’s talk balance on a tight mob budget.”

Penara launched into an explanation, far more detailed than Zaria had expected. She delved into some of the details for determining how powerful a mob was, and included a rule that Penara preached heavily on - the Rule of Five.

“It’s complicated, but it essentially boils down to this; you, as a dungeon, are as powerful as twenty five adventurers of the same Tier as you, if you were to concentrate all your power in a single location. That’s because you are two Grades above them. Grades are like Tiers – five times more powerful for each step - but for beings within the same Tier. So a Tin A grade and a Tin B grade are of 5 times different power, but a Tin A Grade and a Copper B Grade are roughly equal. Dungeons are two Grades above adventurers, and Bosses are one Grade above.”

Zaria could feel herself getting confused, and tried to pay attention as the Wisp plunged ahead. She was clearly knowledgeable, but she clearly was used to having months to explain herself, and was now rushing ahead.

“That same rule applies to each Tier - so as a Tin Tier Dungeon, you can go one on one with your full might against a single Bronze adventurer, because the jump from Tin to Copper is a five times multiplier, then again from Copper to Bronze. Which means if you concentrate all your mobs in one room like you did…”

Zaria caught on, and realized why she’d annihilated that group of Reclaimers earlier.

“Exactly!” Penara said brightly, and her excitement was visible on her face. “Now, each mob is roughly as strong as an adventurer of the same tier. A Boss is a challenge for five adventurers of the same tier - so it’s technically, as strong as Copper Tier.”

Zaria did some quick mental math.

“Right, it’s not precise. Because twenty five Tin tiers would have access to group spells, and added healing - you’ll have more than fifteen mobs and two bosses once you have the space and Ovens to control them to balance that out. But as a general rule – twenty five Tin Tiers can fight all of your mobs and win half the time.”

Zaria considered for a moment.

“No idea!” Penara said brightly. “You could be a half grade above, which would add an extra times two multiplier for balance…but honestly, that only matters when you’re doing risk assessment. If you’re fighting twenty five Tin Tiers at once, someone is trying to kill you, so at that point fair play doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

Penara shook her head. “You can make a balanced dungeon with what you have. Because it’s generally considered bad form to do five or more mobs in every room, unless they are spaced out enough to not all gang up at once. That would make every room a deadly room, and people would rarely even reach your boss. Half the time, they’d die in your first room. Half of those that made it to the second room would die. You’d rarely get groups that survived all the way to your boss, and most would be too drained to handle the fight.”

Zaria sent her the image of a face with a furrowed forehead.

Penara thought for a few seconds before answering. “The longer they are in your dungeon, the more experience you gain from the encounter. So it would slow your advancement.”

Zaria lit up at that explanation. Literally - apparently excitement made the ambient light in her house brighter. Penara opened her mouth, and Zaria sent her the image of an upraised hand to halt her. This method of communication was handy.

“Exactly!” Penara beamed. “You’re a quick study. Further proof you Mutant Cores deserve Wisps.”

Zaria said.

Penara pursed her lips into a razor-thin line. “No, before then. You should have one from birth, like every other dungeon core. Even if the Wisp doesn’t bond with you - which would be smart, the death of a bonded being is traumatic for everyone who survived - having a Wisp there to guide you all through your early stages…well. I can’t prove more Mutant Cores would have survived if we did that, but I can hypothesize.”

Zaria said.

Penara’s laughter was laced with bitter notes so strong, Zaria wanted to pucker - and she didn’t even have a mouth. “It’s fine. The Seelie council…well. They’re thousands of years old, their membership rarely changes, and they’re prone to heavy-handed measures. Not exactly the people you want in charge during a situation that requires finesse. But what do I know? I’m a lowly Wisp.”

Zaria couldn’t miss the bitter flavor of the laughter carried into the Wisps words, but the dungeon got the impression Penara didn’t want that poked. Instead, she pulled the conversation back to the task at hand.

Penara cocked her head to the side. “Where is it now?”

Penara’s eyes flashed with fear. “Yes, please. I didn’t realize….that’s terrifyingly exposed. Do you have anywhere better to put it?”

Penara nodded vigorously. “Yes. Do be very careful.”

Zaria considered.

“Not from Coven groups. You’re safe here. But before you leave, find something better.”

Penara hesitated. “You know, just to be safe, build a trapdoor in front of it,” she said after a moment. “If someone comes for your core, open it and drop them into range of your feet, so you can stomp them to death.”

Zaria did so, making sure it was well hidden under the blanket that had once been her bed.

“I think that works. Put a random, non-crate mimic in the second floor pre-boss room, yeah? That way they won’t immediately suspect the inactive candelabra.”

Penara nodded firmly. “Then definitely do that there. I’m a proponent that a boss should test everything you learned on the floor before the fight – so if the boss includes a sneaky surprise, so should the room right before, to remind the group to be on their toes.”

Zaria looked at her mobs again and let a slight sigh slip.

“It is,” Penara said gently. “If you do hit Copper before you find a Striga - entirely possible, depending on how many Tin groups are willing to come through before that gets resolved - then I’d experiment, but…going up a Tier is a rough growth spurt. It will probably damage your core stability some. Better safe for now.”

Zaria said. As she spoke, she started the modifications needed.

“Of course. Although the Commander on Duty will want to speak to you beforehand, most likely.”

Zaria grumbled. She was eager to see how these Coven members did in the fight, but…well, a bit longer wouldn’t kill her. She was immortal now.

Penara gave Zaria an enigmatic smile. “Oh, I promise, she’ll be along very soon. And you’ll know when she’s on her way.” Then she dashed off, leaving Zaria to wonder what that meant.

She went back to work on moving her mimics around, which meant she was a bit distracted when she learned the reason for Penara’s strange demeanor a moment ago. A bolt of lightning lanced from the top of the tower, arcing upwards before curving back down to slam into the ground about twenty feet away from Zaria. The earth detonated from the impact, throwing up a cloud of smoke and dust.

And then a woman stepped out of the obscuring air. She wore a black jacket, one buttoned tightly across her torso with midnight blue buttons and silver thread that formed runes along the sleeves. Her pale hair was pulled back in a fierce bun that highlighted the sharp edges of her cheekbones, and the only sign of age was the crow’s feet at the edge of her eyes. She had a broomstick slung over her shoulder - although this was no simple peasant tool. If a Sorcerer Queen were to sweep her own castle, this would be the broomstick she’d use, with a handle of the finest mahogany and inlaid with intricately carved runes.

She cut such a striking image, Zaria barely noticed the other five who followed her out of the smoke cloud. Zaria just noted them for now - she was focused on the woman at the forefront, and pulled up her nameplate.

Name: Rahana

Tier and Rank: Gold Wyrdcore 7

Class: Witch

Mastery: Stormcaller

“Dungeon,” Rahana said, inclining her head as if to say: “I am acknowledging you with respect, but do not dare confuse this for a bow.” Aloud, she followed up that word with a pause before continuing. “If that title is appropriate. Do you prefer mutant? Or Yaga?”

Zaria slid back into her body. “I prefer my name to titles. Zaria is fine.”

Rahana nodded. “Zaria, then. I understand you want to work with the Coven, and I am interested in the potential for an alliance. But I’ve grown to know how the minds of Cores work, and I imagine you’re itching for delves to start.”

Relief washed through Zaria. “I am indeed.”

“Then I’ll keep this brief, and tell you what I told this group. I do not expect you to hold back, or go easy on them. I will not be shocked, or angered, if none of them return alive.” Rahana eyed the group over. “All of them have run Cestmir’s Tin floor by now, they know the risks, and have accepted them. The Coven has no room for fools who do not know their limits.”

“I’m glad to hear that will cause you no anger.” Zaria turned to the group and eyed them up and down. One stepped forward, a square jawed man with no armor but wearing two small bucklers, one strapped to each arm. He looked out of place - not just for his odd choice of weaponry, and not just for his shaved head, but also because his clothing was not black like the others, but simple brown. “You lead this group?” Zaria asked him.

He nodded. She pulled up his nameplate.

Name: Xyver

Tier and Rank: Steel 5 Cultivator

Path: The Guarding Moon

Body: Iron Crucible.

That meant…absolutely nothing to Zaria. Since Penara wasn’t around, she hastily consulted her Dungeon Instructions.

Cultivators are different from most classes. The formation of their core is accomplished through meditation and training, not through experience. Certain Cultivation elixirs to refine their Ki (See Section 56.B for more information on Ki) do require Mob Shards, so they will sometimes engage in dungeon runs for that reason, or for training purposes. Their progression follows a different path than most - cultivators start off weaker than Herocores, but as their core is developed, they have a much higher potential. A low Tier cultivator will likely lose to a low tier Herocore. A high Tier cultivator will typically win. (See section 19.C for more information on Cultivators and a better understanding of their tiers. If you find yourself frequently facing Cultivators, see section 43.J for information on dungeon modifications for such groups.)

Zaria left that alone for now. He was here in front of her, and Rahana wouldn’t have brought him here if she didn’t think he could handle Zaria’s dungeon. “Xyver.” She gestured to herself. “This body is a boss you are not meant to fight. Endanger my core, and you will face two bosses at once.”

Xyver bowed. “As you say, Yaga Zaria.”

“Then enter,” Zaria said. “And try to survive to my boss, would you? I want to see what Maw is capable of.”

Xyver nodded, then motioned his group forward. “We don’t know how many mobs or rooms there are in here,” he said to his group. “And Yaga Zaria has made it clear we will get no mercy. Try to be conservative with your runes, focus on weapon strikes instead. Bryna?” he nodded to the group’s witch. She dressed like she and Vysala shared a wardrobe, but in appearance they were nothing alike - Bryna had a far darker complexion, and her hair was in dozens of tight braids. “Only use any of your runes in the early rooms if it’s life or death. Just stand back and soak up experience until an emergency - or until we hit the boss.”

“Fine,” Bryna said, running her hand along the handle of her broom. Zaria knew the runes painted on the bristles were not any of the ones Vysala used, but had no idea what they meant beyond “upon something, do something.”

Xyver continued. “Vandra?” This time, he addressed a woman of Copper Tier. She was a Witch, but had a Mastery - Hedge Witch. Vandra was dressed in simple leather armor, and carried staff wrapped in two steel intertwined serpents. The woman herself was small and mousy, an impression not diminished by the wide glasses she wore, but there was a fire behind her eyes that undermined the meek impression. “Stick only to your sustained healing unless someone takes a bleeding injury.”

Vandra nodded. “And in the meantime, beat things to death.” She hefted the staff eagerly.

“And in the meantime, beat things to do death,” Xyver said. “Caren and Olennah?” Those last two included the group’s Runeknight and Runebow respectively. These two were, without question, siblings if not twins. They both shared the same narrow chin, high cheekbones, and rather bulbous noses - one of those cases of siblings that looked so alike, the familial resemblance was stronger than the differences in their gender. Caren had his raven-black hair slicked back and held in place by a simple bun, and he wore a proper cuirass, as well as greaves and vambraces. Unlike Lurbok earlier, Caren had two smaller arming swords, each with the blade lined with runes. Olennah, for her part, wore an archer’s scale mail, and her runes were along the bow. “Do not burn runes until the boss.”

“Except to save someone’s life,” Caren said, his forehead furrowed.

“Or if it would be really, really funny,” Olennah said with an impish grin.

“Yes to Caren, no to Olennah.” Xyver paused. “Okay, if it’s that funny…only once for this whole run, yeah?”

“Deal,” Olennah said.

“Can I use runes if it would be funny?” Bryna asked.

“Only if you using the rune is funnier than you trying to fight a boss mob with a runeless broom,” Xyver said without hesitation. “I don’t think that’s likely, though.”

Bryna sighed. “Soon. Soon, Copper, and at least one permanent rune.”

“You just have to survive long enough to get there,” Rahana said, a note to her voice reminding the group that her time and patience both were not unlimited. By the way the group jumped, they feared the stern woman far more than they did Zaria.

Xyver nodded, and - with one last bow to Zaria’s body - headed inside.