Rhen pulled on the rope at his shoulders, then at his hips, ensuring the knots were as tight as Aki’s had been. Next, he tested the simple crane he had put together from bones. The hole was situated in a fairly narrow passageway, so Rhen had designed the crane to brace against the walls in a tripod. He grabbed the other end of the rope then lifted his feet off the ground.

The bones creaked, much like his own had the day before, but they held his weight. He bounced side to side, stress testing it.

“This should work for now.” He tied the rope in a loop right above him.

Jakira grabbed the slack he would use to lower and raise himself and twisted it around her hand. “What if the bone breaks? What if the rope slips? What if… you’re too weak?”

“The crane is like this so if I can’t pull myself up, you can grab this end and reel me in. Plus, it’ll be a brief trip down. Just far enough in that I can use my breath to light it up. I’ll get a lay of the area, so we know exactly what we need, and then come back up. Promise.”

“And if he falls in, I will follow. Water is my natural habitat.”

“Right, so why isn’t Aki going again? He weighs a lot less and can make a lot more light.”

“Well, because…” Rhen shook his head. He didn’t have a good reason. “Because I was only thinking about how cool it would be spelunk into my own dungeon and find a nexus node. But now that you mention it, Aki, hop on my back and make some more light for me.”

“Wow.” Jakira huffed.

Rhen understood, she wanted to keep him safe. He’d made the crane himself, and tested it. Everything would be fine as long as the crane didn’t slip and fall in with them. As for his muscles giving out, he doubted it.

Aki’s suckered tentacles latched onto Rhen’s neck and shoulders as he let most of his watery body drain into the pit. It was weird having water lapping against his back, but he’d get over it once they were being continually dripped on.

Rhen positioned himself butt-first over the pit, belay end of the rope gripped tightly in both hands. “Ready?” he asked with a glimmer of excitement.

“Completely.”

Jakira groaned. “Okay, fine. Good luck, seriously.”

“Thank you,” Rhen said with a cocky smile, then dropped them over the edge with a little bounce.

They descended a few feet at a time, the walls of the tunnel getting narrower and wider at random intervals. Aki projected a brilliant green aurora around them, causing a tiny rainbow wherever the water from above slapped against rock. The stone was black, and coarse, perhaps some kind of volcanic. Rhen could see the drainage outlet and a soft yellow light glowing from beyond it just a few more feet below.

Aki sent his aurora zipping through the opening. Rhen braced his feet on the wall and looked down in awe. The lake was even larger than he remembered from his fever dream. He couldn’t see the edges of the lake to the left, but not far below him and to his front he could see a rocky outcropping from the wall and a sparkling white beachhead.

The ground glittered like shattered glass, and magnificent crystal stalactites held fast to the ceiling. He lowered them a little more.

“Can your aurora reach the water?”

“I will try.” Aki reached one of his little glowing tentacles out past Rhen’s face, as if that much distance would help.

The aurora swooped low over the lake, but couldn’t reach all the way in. Rhen strained his eyes to see any traces of mega-monsters he’d remembered from his dream. The water rippled from the drips from above, making it even more difficult to see.

Then, something poked out of the water—an antenna. Then it was gone just as fast. Rhen held his breath, and all at once, a massive creature with a wide-set jaw and thousands of teeth rocketed out of the water at the aurora. It snapped at the light waves, four massive claws coming from either side of its face closing around the thin air, trying to shove the light into its mouth.

It smashed back down into the lake before Rhen could glimpse any more of the horrifying gigafish. The waves from its impact slapped against the walls of the cave, making it tremble. Stalactites dropped from the ceiling and crashed into the water, revealing a feeding-frenzy of smaller creatures that were still likely huge in their own right.

Some of the smaller fish had wide wings that they used to propel themselves out of the water, catching the crystals before they were swallowed up in the dark. Other silhouettes he could see beneath the water looked like oversized shrimp, thousands of little legs and antennae coming off them.

“Why is there always a giga-monster?”

“Because the dungeon is protecting itself?”

“Sorry, buddy, that was rhetorical.”

The lake lit up with bright purple from a point far below them, casting a glow through the water.

“The Nexus,” Rhen breathed in awe.

The ripples of light shone across the whole lake, revealing its gargantuan scale. It looked like an ocean.

Some of the smaller creatures near the dropped stalactites glowed with the nexus node, and all at once Rhen saw them grow in size. The stalactites fed the monsters anima.

“I’ve seen what I need to see for now. Ready to go up?”

“Very.”

Rhen pulled down on the other side of the rope, slowly raising them back to the surface. He braced his feet on each side, stepping up with every pull, slow and steady. When they breached the top, Jakira grabbed onto Rhen’s shoulders and hoisted him out. Her face was pale and hands shaking.

“You want to go next?” Rhen teased.

Jakira looked like she would throw up. “Killing monsters is one thing, dangling over a pit like bait is another.”

“You saw the monster?”

“Barely, but I heard it. Sounds like a beast.”

“It’ll have an incredible core, for sure.”

“Like we’re ever getting past that thing any time soon.”

Rhen tapped his chin. “With enough people, I think we could.”

“But why rush it?”

“The dream, the feeling… it said time was limited, twelve cycles. I don’t know what that means. Twelve moon cycles? Twelve years? Days? I don’t want to just sit on my haunches and let this opportunity pass us by. A nexus node to a new realm would be… we’d be kings—and queens,” he added hastily.

“You really think we can do this in twelve days?

“We have to,” Aki said.

“We can do it, but not alone. It’s time to grind.”

They grinned at one another, determined. Aki’s fins fluttered and his skin pulsed from yellow to blue. Rhen set each of them to task mining out the areas that were still profitable, while he went back to work on the inn. There was so much to do.

He cut down the trees closest to where he wanted the inn so that it would have enough space to grow when needed. Those trees became the foundation poles for each corner of the building, and the interior supports. Next, he ran the boat-cart back and forth from the river, collecting big, smooth stones that would make up the floor and base structure.

At mid-day, his brain was getting hazy, so he stopped for a deep drink from the river and a quick cooling splash. Jakira and Aki returned, buckets full of gemstones and ore. They devoured a quick meal of just edible berries and bread. Rhen looked at the wood poles and pile of rocks, resolved. He was going to get that foundation laid, gods and goddesses be damned.

Rhen laid the first layer of stones a few inches into the dirt, then mixed a big clay mud-puddle near the river. He carried bucket loads of the river mud down to the inn, then hacked and slashed at the tall grass, adding it to the mud. He applied liberal coats of the primitive mortar to the spaces between the rocks at the bottom. Then, blasted it with his fiery breath to harden the clay.

The sun was already getting low and Rhen finally stopped to review his progress. It was a large building, but he’d gotten every support and the exterior wall foundation started. He grinned, happy with the progress.

Jakira crawled toward the camp on hands and knees, her hair a mess and skin coated in layers of dirt. “I… need… bath.”

Aki was looking filthy too, his water clouded by black particles.

Rhen was exhausted, his throat itching from the use of his fire breath, but he knew they needed to relax. “Aki, you up to help me with something?”

“I would not be elated, but I will help.”

“I’ll take a reluctant yes. Let’s go.”

He led Aki down to the river. “When I was getting stones for the foundation, I noticed a closed off space where the water flows into and out of slowly. It’s clean, but cold. If you can pull the water out and move it around, I can heat it up. Maybe not bath temperatures, but warm.”

Aki hummed. “Let us try.”

Aki lifted the water from the little river outcropping in streams, pulling it past Rhen as he blasted it with fire. After a few minutes, Rhen dipped his hand into the pool. Certainly not bath temperatures, but warmer. “Just a little bit more.”

After another five minutes, Rhen felt it was sufficiently hot for bathing in. He still had a tiny nub of soap left that he offered Jakira. She crawled her way to the pool. She was so exhausted, Rhen feared she’d fall asleep and drown. At his request, she let Aki and Rhen stand guard not far off with their backs turned.

Rhen felt the inconsiderate urge to glance over his shoulder as he heard her clothes hit the ground, but kept it at bay. She was his friend, and that would be a friendship-ending glance if there ever could be one.

“Aaahhh yeah, that’s the stuff,” Jakira moaned, splashing water as she got into the pool.

Aki leaned closer to Rhen. “I could not help but notice you and Jakira argued yesterday. Is it resolved now?”

Rhen sighed. “It wasn’t important, I’m sure everything’s fine.”

Aki hummed and looked across the camp. The sun last vestiges spread red and pink across the cloudy sky, giving the whole camp a warm hue. Rhen eyed the inn, thinking of everything he needed to do tomorrow. He’d need to build a ladder, and a smaller step stool, cut more trees—saplings too. He’d have to start roasting the bone for the stronger mortar, and collect even more river rocks. Was he going to have enough time to do it all?

“Is it because she likes you?” Aki asked.

“What?” Rhen said a bit too loud.

“I’m fine!” Jakira called from the pool.

Rhen lowered his voice. “We weren’t arguing because of that.”

“Well, perhaps the content of the conversation was not her affection for you, but I believe the intent was. She is very taken with you.”

“You’d know all about it, wouldn’t you?”

“There was not much to do while mining. We talked.”

“What about?” Rhen asked a little too eagerly.

“How you met. She said she noticed you for many weeks before you ever truly spoke to one another. A clear indication of her interest.”

Rhen rolled his eyes. “Give it a rest, Aki. If she wanted anything more than friendship, she’d tell me.”

“Are you so sure? You have a very… confident presence. I too was nervous to reveal myself and ask for your friendship.”

“But you did. And she will too, if it matters enough to her.”

“I suppose that is valid.”

They stood quietly for a few more minutes, listening to Jakira splash and enjoy herself as the sun set. A chill settled in once the sun was gone, and Rhen’s discomfort—though he wasn’t sure of what—intensified.

“I’m going to go start a fire. You’ve got her, right?”

“I believe she has herself, but yes, I will continue to stand watch.”

Rhen retreated into the woods, looking for felled trees. His muscles ached, and the mud caking his legs and arms was starting to sting, but he chopped away at the dry wood he could find for what felt like forever. Jakira emerged between the trees with a wave. Her hair was wet, but she was dressed in fresh clothes. She’d been smart enough to bring a second set…

“Your turn, Smelly,” she said, reaching for the axe.

Rhen took a whiff of himself. Licorice and earth were all he could smell, but he relinquished the axe and helped collect the wood. He set a fire for her before he left, and brought his sleeping blanket with him to the pool. He hadn’t brough extra clothes—something he’d remedy in the days when they went to get Jakira’s club.

He stripped down and slid into the warm water with a sigh. That was the stuff. He cleaned himself, and then his clothes, all the while Aki fished for their dinner. Finally, he was sitting by the fire with his clean clothes hanging to dry over the bone crane he’d built, stuffing a roasted fish in his mouth.

He’d gotten used to eating the same thing over and over, but there was something better about repeat roasted fish in the camp outside his own dungeon. Maybe it was the setting, or the company, or the father’s fennel, but it made him feel less stuck than the years of monster soup he’d consumed to survive.

It was hardly twilight, but Rhen and Jakira agreed it would be better to sleep early and rise early for work.

“What can I do while you sleep?” Aki asked Rhen.

“Do you think you could move some river rocks?”

“Alas, rocks are heavier than water. It would be quite difficult for me to move ones of the size you require.”

“Okay, could you… collect some straw for the thatching? Can you braid? I’ll need a lot of twine for the rafters.”

“I see this is not where I am best suited to help you. Jakira would be. I can continue to mine out the small chamber with the mastery stone. We will need a lot of profit to hire help.”

“Sounds good, buddy. We’ll see you in the morning, bright and early.” Rhen checked his clothes, still a bit damp, so he went to bed wrapped in his blanket.

The next morning, Rhen put a hash in the dirt beside his tent. He didn’t want to lose count of how much time might be left. If only the gods, or the berries, whatever had given him the vision, had been a little clearer about what twelve cycles meant.

His body ached, every muscle sore from the work of the day before, but he refused to slow down. Aki blessed all of them with a cooling wave of radiative regeneration that seemed to help while they ate breakfast, and then it was off to work.

Rhen directed Jakira on how to braid the twine for the rafters, then helped her construct a ladder and stool. He roasted the bones for the mortar, then crushed them into a fine powder with a few good stones he’d selected.

Aki returned from the dungeon with a bucket only half full of Lafite ore. “It seems that room may be running dry.”

“No biggy. I’ve actually got something for you. Follow me.” Rhen lead Aki to the river again.

“Another bath?”

“Nope. I want you to help me cut these huge stones into flat flooring. I’ll use Tremor blast to crack them, you direct the flow of the water to cut them in half. How about it?”

Aki flared yellow. “This I can help with.”

The hours flew by, and by mid-day, they had enough stone for the entire inn floor. Jakira had collected all the roof thatching, made about two hundred feet of twine from the tender sapling bark, and helped crush the bones.

“This is doable. We can do this. In three days, we’ll head into town after finishing the rough construction, and we’ll stay at the Bustling Brood—with a real bath.”

Jakira shrugged. “I don’t know, the river pool was honestly pretty nice.”

Rhen smiled. “Glad we could accommodate. Hopefully soon we’ll have a nexus node and one of the busiest dungeons in the realm. We’ll be setting up river baths for all kinds of realm-renowned delvers.”

“I can see it now,” Jakira said, standing to her feet with excitement. “The Zephitz River Retreat! Restore your anima, revitalize your body!”

“Enticing statements.” Aki fluttered.

Rhen nodded appreciatively. “You’re really good at talking to people, too, Jak. We’re going to need your help convincing the delvers to come fight that insane monster with us.”

“I’m sure the coin will do more convincing than I could,” she said sheepishly.

“No, really. You have a such bright smile that people can’t ignore. It’s like you’re a magnet, or something.”

“Oh, thanks.” She sat, the gold in her cheeks sparkling.

Rhen sighed, tossing his fish bones into the fire. “Back to work. This inn won’t construct itself!”