Cestmir, Zaria, and Penara talked themselves around in circles about the new elements for the next hour, trying to figure out what this could mean. The confusion was getting to everyone, but especially Penara. The little Wisp was increasingly agitated as the conversation went on . “What’s weird about it - besides everything else about this list - is that Frost and Cloud are both complex elements made by mixing Air and Water. About one parts Air for every four parts Water gets you Frost, and a mixture of slightly more Air than Water gets you Cloud. But it should not offer them as baseline abilities, not until you’ve selected the initial elements!”

Zaria interjected.

Penara furrowed her forehead. “You get elemental Mist. Why do you ask?”

Cestmir chuckled in their minds. He’d given them his undivided attention, pulling his point of focus into Zaria’s dungeon with her permission. he said.

Zaria glanced outside to see what he meant. Vysala had nearly arrived. Zaria slid into her body without hesitation. “Welcome back. Have a good debrief?” she asked.

Vysala waved, and curled her lips. “There’s no such thing as a good debrief. Just boring ones and annoying ones. This was one of the latter.” She brushed her hair back from her face and eyed Zaria up and down, her annoyance fading now that she was away from the Tower. “Heard you had a group go through and live. Barely.”

“Is barely a problem?” Zaria asked.

“No, just a comment on what I heard. They seemed to enjoy the experience,” Vysala said. “You’re a dungeon, Zaria. I know you’re going to kill people. If I couldn’t handle that, I wouldn’t have come with you in the first place.”

“Can we please get back to the matter at hand?” Penara came fluttering out of Zaria’s door and landed on the railing of her porch. “Hey there, Vysala.”

Vysala nodded. “Penara. What matter at hand?”

“Oh, just a terrifyingly disturbing revelation about Zaria’s powers that have shattered every known law of magic and the system.” Penara drew herself up. “The elements she’s been offered for her powers… are different from the main twelve.”

If she expected Vysala to gasp, or turn pale, or demand answers, the Wisp was doomed to disappointment. Instead, Vysala stood there in expectant silence for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And?” Penara’s eyes threatened to bug out of her head. “And? That isn’t enough as it is? It could signal the world is undergoing a shift so fundamental, it could completely upend civilization as we know it!”

Vysala nodded slowly, then glanced over her shoulder to the tower. “I mean, civilization looks just fine to me.”

Penara blew out an exasperated breath. “Not this instant, obviously. A change to magic would need time to propagate outwards, spread through the world, upend things, and then civilization collapses as the fundamental nature of our world changes around us. Especially Moon as an element. We could have Moonborne on top of demons if that becomes an element! And Death as an element? Do you have any idea how many undead that would spawn?”

“I don’t,” Vysala said. “Do you?”

“No, I’ve never even heard of a Death element. But what else would it do? Everything could collapse!”

“How much time?” Vysala asked, still looking unimpressed.

Penara hesitated. “Well. Months, at earliest. Probably years.”

Vysala nodded. “Months, right. And is that definitely what is happening to magic?”

Penara stared at her, then shook her head. “Well, no, obviously. We don’t know. And before you say more - I see where you’re going with this, but surely you understand my concern. And Cestmir’s. And Zaria’s.”

“Of course I do,” Vysala said. “At least for the first two. You two have lived here for hundreds of years. I’m not surprised ‘months away’ feels immediate to you. I’m not sure why you’re panicking, Zaria.”

Zaria snorted. “Who said I was? I just want to make sure I’m not going to blow up my core if I pick up an Elemental Heart ability.”

Vysala glanced at Penara. “Will it?”

Penara shook her head. “Of course not. Even the weird elements are still elements. The system wouldn’t offer her something that would just be instantly fatal. The strange ones - Moon, Serpent, Bird, and Death - they might damage her core stability more than a normal mob heart would, but… it’s not going to kill her. But still-”

“Nope, no still,” Zaria said. She gave Vysala an appreciative look. “I haven’t gotten her to settle enough to answer that question for an hour. Maybe two. Thank you.”

“I would have answered it,” Penara said, holding up her hands defensively.

Cestmir sent them a telepathic version of a cough.

“Oh.” Penara grimaced. “Sorry. I just… I don’t like when things go weird, and it’s been five local years of weird.”

Vysala looked around, then shook her head. “Cestmir spoke to you two between those two things Penara said, didn’t he? Can someone please translate for him next time?”

“I will,” Zaria said. “But all he said was pointing out Penara was wro-” she saw the Wisp’s glare, and decided to not change her course of action. “-wrong,” Zaria said. Penara looked shocked, and Zaria shrugged. “You were.”

Cestmir said, sounding slightly bored.

Penara huffed and crossed her arms while Zaria relayed Cestmir’s message to Vysala. When Penara didn’t immediately resume speaking or ranting, Zaria took advantage of the silence to explain what had happened so the Witch would have full context. She told Vysala everything, including the capstones and her choices and thoughts.

Vysala nodded along. “We’ll come back to your capstones. In the meantime, for the elements… I’m not saying we don’t take that seriously,” she said. “But it feels like it’s an overreaction, and a bit of catastrophizing. Wouldn’t the System be issuing quests if we were months away from destruction?”

Penara hesitated. “I suppose that is likely.”

“And we can do more tests on Zaria’s abilities when we’re roaming about. Although you’re still set on hitting Copper before you leave, right?”

Zaria nodded. “I think it’s for the best. The bonus of my Copper capstone is… wait. You said we?”

Vysala gave Zaria a small smile. “Was wondering how long I could get away with that before you noticed. Was hoping it would take longer, damn the luck. But yeah, I did,” she said. “Rahana convinced me.”

Zaria didn’t even bother trying to hide her shock. “She did? How?”

“She explicitly told me it was forbidden for me to do it. Then refused to explain why I couldn’t.”

Zaria cocked her head. “That… doesn’t match up with our conversation at all. She told me she would make sure I got a Striga. I didn’t take Rahana for being that two-faced. Though I only knew her for a few minutes, so I could be wrong.”

Vysala laughed. “Collective testicles of all the Gods, she’s not. She’s also known me since I was a child. It used to be, her telling me not to do something without a good reason was the best way to get me to do it.”

“I never would have guessed that,” Zaria said dryly.

Vysala raised her middle finger, her smile unwavering with the rude gesture. She only dropped the smile when she dropped her hand back to her side. “Now, though? I know what she’s doing. She knows I know what she’s doing. Which means she was trying to tell me she thinks it’s a good idea - but didn’t feel like she could tell me why.”

Zaria shook her head. “Why would she do that?”

Penara spoke up. “Because she’s smarter than I gave her credit for.” Both Dungeon and Witch looked at her. “I had mentioned my interest in going after the Reclaimer portal to her. I really do think you mutant cores need fae. I also told the Guildmistress, and the rest of the High Coven. I was flat out denied. With everything going on, the Coven doesn’t want a war with the Reclaimers. Neither side can afford it.”

Vysala’s forehead furrowed, and she ran her fingers through her hair before nodding slowly. “And now if I do it? Well, I certainly won’t be checking in, because I’m already defying a direct decree. Which means it’s not the Coven doing it. It’s a rogue Witch and a dungeon that is allied with - but not part of - the Coven.”

“So she wants to be able to throw us to the wolves,” Zaria said darkly.

“No, not like that,” Vysala said as Penara shook her head for emphasis. “Fuck me sideways, Rahana wouldn’t do that after giving you hospitality. And she definitely would never do that to me. But if the Reclaimers come to the Coven, demanding recompense, they can say ‘so sorry, here’s a wergild as compensation. We’ll discipline the Witch, and the Dungeon isn’t under our control.’ If the Reclaimers push us after that, they’re the aggressors. They may come after you – but that risks them pissing off every Dungeon on the continent once we’ve gotten fae for the mutant cores. At the very least, it could piss off every other Mutant.”

Zaria raised a hand before Vysala could move ahead. “And them being the aggressors matters why?”

“Because,” Penara said. “The other powers on the continent don’t much like either the Coven or the Reclaimers. With everything going on, they are content to leave us both out here to rot in the Edgelands, but if they see a war brewing, they might leap in on it.”

“And,” Vysala said, picking up where the Wisp left off, “to make sure that there’s no question from their own Guilds and churches and populace about spending the resources, they’re almost certain to join in on the side of whoever is on the defensive.”

“Not to mention the Unaligned Dungeon’s League,” Penara said. “They won’t tolerate someone starting a war right now.”

Zaria shook her head. “Okay. So in other words, this is all politics and subtlety.”

“Exactly,” Vysala said. She had clearly heard the note in Zaria’s voice, and continued. “I feel the same way about it. So Rahana thinks me being your Striga is a good idea, and going after this Reclaimer’s portal is a good idea. Plus… I want this. Just promise me one thing?”

Zaria nodded.

“Play fair when you’re acting like a typical dungeon. When you stand up and go stomping to war, fuck restrictions, fuck the rules, and fuck anyone who gets in your way. But when you are telling people you are here to give them a challenge, where they might die, or they might get power and wealth? They need to have a fair chance for the latter.”

“Except Reclaimers,” Zaria said. She hated to contradict Vysala, right when Zaria was so close to getting the Striga she wanted, but she refused to limit her options against a real threat.

“Oh, of course.” Vysala waved away the exception. “I meant for random adventurers, or those from guilds that will work with you. If someone deserves that, lure them in, feed them to your mimics, and we’ll laugh afterwards. By the bosom of the Umbral Queen, I’ll pop up during the Maw fight and help shove them into his mouth.”

“Deal,” Zaria said. “And - not that I’m complaining, mind you - this seems like a large change from earlier.”

Vysala nodded. “I also took time to chat with Arrenthis.”

“Who?”

“One of Cestmir’s Servitors. He and I get along, and I wanted the opinion of someone who is already bound to a dungeon, but isn’t a dungeon or wisp himself. No offense, Penara. Both of you just tend to overlook some of the more… flesh and blood concerns sometimes. He gave me some fresh perspective. And he’s fun to talk to.”

“I do like the mental image of you chatting to a small snake on your ear,” Zaria said.

Vysala snorted. “Oh, no. Arrenthis is a Lynndra - a hybrid Cestmir made of Linnorm and Hydra. He’s large enough to constrict you like a boa with a chicken using only one of his five heads.”

Zaria had to laugh at the image. “That is very different. Well. I’m… very glad you decided to come along. Do you know how to do it?”

“Not yet,” Vysala said. She patted the pack at her side. “Got a couple of books on Striga from the library. You’ll get your second group soon, so I figured I’d come by and spend time here reading up on things while they fight you.”

“I’d like that,” Zaria said.

“Great,” Vysala said. “Now. We can figure out what your element selection means later, but I do have a question for you - why was Elemental Affinity even an option? Bigger on the Inside seems like it solves all your problems.”

“Because it doesn’t have numbers attached,” Zaria said. “If it did, it would be an instant pick. But as it reads right now, it could increase a single room to the size of a mansion - or it could add six inches. There’s no way to know until I take it.”

Vysala’s forehead furrowed. “I didn’t take you for the cautious type. You seem to be more the type to throw yourself at whatever solution seems best at the time. And… from what I know of how abilities work, there’s almost zero chance of that happening.”

“I’m not talking about wading into battle here. That’s do or die, in the moment. But this? These abilities will be with me for the rest of my existence,” Zaria said. “I really don’t want to spend the next five centuries regretting a choice I made at Tin Tier.”

Vysala shrugged. “Why not just try it and respec if it doesn’t work?”

Zaria stared at her, then at Penara. “Is that an option?” she asked them both.

Penara nodded. “But it’s so hard to do, I didn’t think it’s worth mentioning. You have to actually get a Major Fissure Core, and those are so hard for a dungeon to obtain.”

“Is it?” Zaria asked her. “Or is it hard for dungeons that are locked in one place to obtain?”

“Oh, obviously it…” Penara trailed off. “Oh,” she said. “Right. I’m still not used to that.”

“So,” Vysala said. “Besides the Major Fissure Core, what other barriers are there?”

“Well,” Penara said. “It’ll have you unconscious for weeks, and I definitely won’t suggest doing it until you’re stable. It’s also fairly new, so a lot of dungeons are leery of it - but you’re young, so you won’t be as set in your ways, and it is an option now. Wasn’t for most of our history, but the System opened up the option when the Fissures started appearing - to let dungeons rebuild themselves to fight the Fissures better, or survive.”

“Well, between the elements being weird for me and now this, definitely will take Bigger on the Inside when I hit Copper.” Zaria was relieved for the resolution there. And for having Vysala agree to work with her. Everything was coming together. “Now, there’s one last decision to make. Do I take the elemental hearts still, with their strange elements, and learn heart-based spellcasting, or do I pick up Baba’s Cauldron and see where that takes me?”

“Remind me of what the Cauldron does?” Penara asked.

“And show me,” Vysala said.

Zaria created a piece of paper and inscribed it for Vysala’s benefit.

Baba’s Cauldron - You gain spellcasting abilities. Unlike normal dungeon spellcasting, these spells can originate from the exterior of your structure, and can be cast at targets outside your area of influence. 2 Upgrade points. Prerequisite: Babamorph.

“The Cauldron,” Penara said without hesitation. “That’s so much better than normal dungeon spellcasting options, just for the ability to cast outside alone. Heartcasting takes time to learn, while that should just give you a list of spells you can pick from. You’ll want elemental hearts eventually, but until you get Copper, expanding to add new mobs or rooms to your dungeon is basically not going to happen. And since you are spellcasting, you’ll be able to experiment with those elements without needing to put them in mobs. Or at least, with one of those elements. Plus… that’s the third ability down that tree so far, right? You got the Moon Hag, then the Babamorph, and that unlocked Baba’s Cauldron?”

Zaria nodded.

“Shit,” Vysala said. “Why didn’t you already pick that? You had a three-chain before Copper?”

“No one told me what a three-chain was,” Zaria said.

“It’s a mortal slang term,” Penara piped up. “Almost always, if you need 2 abilities to unlock a third in a direct line like that, the third ability in the chain will be stronger than the first two - as a reward for sticking with it.”

“Ah. Well… I still had to save a point for a stability upgrade in case I didn’t get a Striga,” Zaria said. “Now I know it’s coming though - and I can respec if needed - I’ll go ahead and pick it up the moment you figure out how to do the bond.”

Vysala shook her head. “I really didn’t think I’d be the incautious one here.”

“Only when it comes to my upgrades,” Zaria said. “With everything else, I think you’ve seen how I operate.”

Vysala chuckled. “That I have, Zaria. That I have. Now. Mind if I get to my room before the group shows up? I’m hoping to watch the fight against Maw.”

“Absolutely. Pick up my core from under the stairs and move it to your room? I’ll build a proper Core room once I hit Copper and get Bigger on the Inside, but for now, I’d like to be in a better place.”

Vysala chuckled. “It’s been years since I had a roommate, but sure.”

“You two have fun,” Penara said. “I’m going back to Wisphame. If anyone knows why the elements are off, it’ll be them - and I need to make sure things are ready on the other end of the portal once you’ve claimed it.” She paused. “With time being weird, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Promise me you will work on the issues with the elements from this end, though? I really have a bad feeling about it.”

“We will,” Zaria said. She checked her map. “Now. I actually see the next group approaching, Vysala, so come on in. I’ll make a little one-way window so you can watch - and stay clear of the splash zone.”

In spite of looking a bit queasy at that phrasing, Vysala didn’t hesitate to stride inside.