Rok was at his desk, hands folded in front of him, as he and the two branch leaders sat in an uncomfortable silence staring at one another. The evening sun was shining through the window behind him, casting a shadow across the table and onto the door.

The Selkie and the Bear-kin had wasted no time in responding to his report, and within hours had arrived. That had been yesterday, and they made the decision to disseminate the news that the Reef Dungeon was likely producing elemental crystals, news which had now been all but confirmed by the time they got back together this evening. Shockingly, that wasn’t what had made what was likely to be the three most influential people within hundreds of kilometers so solemn. Instead, it was the information about some of the creatures within the Dungeon which had made them nervous.

The Bear broke the silence first.

“Are we certain we can trust those mercenaries actually encountered a variant Dragonkin and a Drake on the tenth and twelfth floors? Or the groups who claim to have encountered two separate dragonkin and a drake-kin hunting divers throughout the floors?”

Rok sighed and nodded solemnly, he had had so many surprises thrown at him by this dungeon that he almost believed it to be a personal vendetta for attacking its wyvern. He was stumped, five creatures of at least a moderate Draconic bloodline, on top of another with Royal Serpentine blood, it was truly intimidating for such an apparently young dungeon, and that was already discounting another creature, one which was even more disconcerting by its very nature.

“I’m more concerned in making sure that that ‘black horse’ wasn’t actually a Bunyip somebody mistakenly identified.” Spoke the Selkie.

Rok spoke up at that, clarifying. “While I am not sure what exactly it is, I am at least certain as to what it isn’t. It was identified as a ‘sticky black horse’ by a few separate groups, and noted that while it was distinctly unnerving, it wasn’t ravenously hungry, and made no attempt to eat any of its victims. From the tales they recounted, they had been rather near to the creature, even describing that a kobold was riding it.”

The Selkie simply nodded, accepting that the dungeon had at least not gotten hold of something from a Trench. Rok too was hopeful that this was the case, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything Trench after what he’d seen the last time he went to one.

Thankfully, it appeared that he was spared from that nightmare at least, instead he was stuck trying to figure out what exactly was happening that could drive so many creatures to evolve so thoroughly in this short a time, or at least how it managed to create at least thirteen floors in the same span of time.

While he had encountered dungeons which developed faster, and ones that were, objectively, far more dangerous, he had no experience with one that managed to do both in the span of a year. He was certain there were more like this one out there, but he lamented the fact that he was stuck dealing with one nonetheless. The Bear snapped him out of his musings, though, asking about what exactly a Bunyip was. He’d heard of them, but due to their location, he had never encountered one.

Rok took the opportunity to explain to him that they were one of the more esoteric creatures of the Trenches, covered in sticky fur and uncannily flexible, they would use their own bodies to adhere themselves to anything living they could, before contorting unnaturally to allow their crocodile-like heads to rip and tear portions of flesh from their still living victims. The bear-kin agreed with the two, a creature like that would be most certainly unwelcome in a dungeon.

The three began to discuss further what exactly should be done with the Dungeon, before it was a mere curiosity, albeit a deadly one, but overnight it had become potentially one of the most important places any of them could imagine, the idea of renewable elemental crystals could get even the most stoic or jaded amongst them worked into a frenzy, and few people were thinking deeply about the dangers that lie in wait within those very halls. Already they knew of four creatures within ranked A- or even A, and tens more ranked B- through B+. And yet no one talked of the dozens who perish every day in those halls, simply the promise of grand rewards should they manage to escape with their lives, and spoils. Rok shook his head at this, a great many would never fulfill this dream, and he would be stuck dealing with the messes they would leave behind.

He couldn’t help but think, as their meeting drew to a finish, that the Dungeon truly aimed to please, giving one new surprise after the next, and while he and the branch leaders were hung up on the dangers within, a great deal who weren’t already on the way after hearing the news that “the first ever aquatic dungeon has been found” were spurred to action when they found “it also creates elemental crystals.” Riches were already being built and fortunes toppled as an apparently steady supply of these gems had been uncovered. Already the news spread far and wide, even faster than its initial discovery, and there was nobody who wasn’t interested after that. Major players grew restless, and hidden powers started to stir.

And in the middle of the growing storm, the leader of a small town, swamped by paperwork and headaches, Rok readied himself for what was likely to come.