Dreams are a funny thing, they can show us all manner of unexpected but fun ideas. Be a trip down to the most fun experiences you have always wanted to try, or they can be a gateway to your worst fears. All to help your mind make sense of the day’s events and stress.

It was as such rather unexpected when my sleep came with a surprise to me that night; I was asleep; I knew that but even so; I was aware. I had, of course, heard of lucid dreaming, but this was the first time I had experienced it myself. It was an interesting experience. In the dream I was sitting on the hill that Alessa had scouted from, watching the night sky.

However, I was not in my Sphinx body anymore; I was human once again and wearing the same outfit as I had been using when trying out adventurer early on in my Dungeon Masters career. It fit this place rather well, all things considered. Though it was somewhat jarring to see everything from a human perspective when I had always had a Sphinxes view of things since I came to this place. I was not alone either, Indella was there too, looking as she did before she cast the transformation spell. Her shoulder-length brown hair framing her drop shaped, pale face. Her almost gangly and thin body was draped in the same brown cotton robe she had used that day. She sat at the burning campfire, looking somewhat dour.

She looked at me as I sat down; she didn’t really seem to react to my human form. Probably because she was part of the dream. Instead, she asked straight out of the blue. “Do you think the Core hates me?” That was… random, I took a moment to look at her, even as she looked at me with a saddened expression, her eyes miles away. “I mean, I haven’t been the most supportive bond partner since I learned what has been going on and I bound her against her will. On top of letting my stress and frustration get to me and behaving rather… childishly as a result, so do you think she hates me?” I honestly didn’t know what to make of this question. I didn’t hate her and I could actually understand her behavior, seeing as everything she knew had been upended and thrown away from under her by events beyond her control. In fact, I would say that her behavior given the circumstances was, if not acceptable, at least understandable to some degree.

There really only was one answer. “I don’t think she does, your life has been literally torn up and left in utter shambles, you have had to flee your home. Your daily life left behind completely in ruins, I am certain that she understands that you normally would not behave like that. Given she too has had her own share of life altering events.” I smiled reassuringly to her, man my voice was so different when I was in human form. Rather than the quiet, calm and slightly mysteriously coy tone that my voice got because of my differently shaped teeth and larger throat. It was now more energetic and more high-pitched. It was actually unnerving to hear my old voice again. And given I could hardly recognize it, I would fault no one else for not getting it at all if they ever heard it…

Indella looked at me now, now seemingly contemplating my words. “I… guess you are right. She would understand that having your life torn to shreds out of nowhere would be stressful. I mean, I was there when she told her story.” She took a deep breath before releasing it as a sigh before she started to speak again.

“You know, my first thought when I learned that she wasn’t tamed was disappointment. I didn’t think of her as anything more than a beast at the time, a clever beast, but a beast all the same. It… shames me to say that I didn’t stop doing so until I heard what she said as we approached the Kobold village. “Of course you didn’t. Everyone in this world seems to have a rather shallow view of what dungeons are. What Cores are and what dungeon inhabitants are. We are all people, Rael.” When I heard those words, it… scared me. It was as if I had been asleep and suddenly someone had splashed cold water in my face. It put me out of sorts in all manner of ways, making me focus even more on myself.” She actually started to cry, and I rose up and sat down beside her, hugging her close.

Slowly but surely she calmed down, and when she looked up at me next she had a slightly more energetic look on her face. “I need to pull myself together, need to do better, be better. I have been too focused on my own misery to even though this concerns more than just myself. This is about more than just my own wants and desires, from here on out my actions might mean the life and death of not just me. It affects my friends, and my new family, who have taken me in and let me stay in this strange yet wondrous place.” She seemed calmer than before, more focused, if still concerned.

I was glad she had realized on her own, even if this was just a dream version of her. That assumption was shattered as soon as I thought about it, as her next words were what put me off guard completely. “I know you are just a figment of my imagination, but even so talking to you has made me feel better, thank you. I… I only hope I haven’t squandered what little goodwill and trust that the core and my friends might have had for me with my childish behavior.” She was actually smiling sadly now before she rose out of my hug and walked to the edge of the campfire, looking up at the starry sky.

The bond had us sharing dreams as well now. Well, this was getting awkward. How should I handle this development? Well, a bit of a push and some assistance with getting her to snap out of her funk might help? I tried out the whole “Seem Wise” thing that had worked on Ssatassha, couldn’t hurt. At worst, I sound like an idiot, and she cheers up that way.

“A wise man once said; He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.” I paused for effect before continuing. “If you wish for the Core to trust you, you should probably start by trusting her as well. You clearly are questioning if you can, given that you can’t seem to let go of your worries about being accepted.” Great work me, quoting famous people from back home. Not to mention I have no idea how Indella will react to that. Heck, why did I even say it in the first place?

Indella for her part looked at me now, rather than the stars, before she started to chuckle, then laugh. Though it was a laugh without any mirth behind. It and more the type you laugh when you run out of rebuttals in an argument you didn’t want to lose. But your opponent cornered you so well you cannot do anything but laugh helplessly. “It’s so easy when you say it that way. Trust is, indeed, about both give and take, and as much as I hate to admit it you are right. I cannot expect her to trust me if I do not trust her, I need to seriously clean up my act. I’m an adventurer, not a damsel in distress who can’t do anything to change her fortunes. It’s time I act like it in order to support everyone and show I can be more than a liability.” She was now looking far more confident. The earlier cloud of doubt was gone.

She then paused and tilted her head, and seemed too, for the first time, really look at me. “You are… not just a dream… are you?” I shook my head, “No, I am not.” She rose and took a step closer, studying me intently, “Who… are you?” I gave a small friendly chuckle, “I am…” I paused, before I chuckled again, this time with a mischievous smile as I spoke.

“My house was broken into, I was taken by force, and sold for money without any remorse. I was purchased and chained with others like me, and our owner now exposes us for all to see. Yet no law was broken, no complaint was filed, for I am neither man, woman, nor child”

Indella looked at me with a completely deadpan expression, as though she must have recognized something here. Either the fact that I asked her a riddle, or maybe it was my facial expression. Her eyes widened as she looked at me. However, before I could say anymore, I woke up. A Duergar was really insisting that I had to get up. I was about to snap at the poor fella until I saw his worried expression. Then I sensed it, intruders, but something was off about them.

Shit, how in the world did they break the hard limit of 4 intruders at a time? I looked at Indella, who nodded. *Go, I will help shoring up defenses down here and work my way up. We’ll meet on the 2nd floor.* I nodded and dissolved, while Indella quickly followed the Duergar back towards the Fort. I had little doubt her druidic magic would enable her to help out in some way shape or form. It would undoubtedly improve the defenses even more than what the Duergar already had.

The state of the 1st floor was chaotic, to say the least. There were currently two parties of four rushing around up there. They kept a good distance to cover more ground, but were oddly in sync as they were trying to get through. A third party was already doing battle with Unguul and the Eyes down on floor two. How in the blazes had this happened?

. Well, how was not too hard to guess. Probably some kind of new blessing she gave her followers that somehow let them bypass the requirement. Question was, what exactly had she done and did it have a limit?

So far, it seemed to let Inlas send in groups of four multiple times without setting off my limiter, which was weird. I knew Inlas had a decree saying she could not mess with dungeons themselves. And I would have known if she had given me a skill, and so would undoubtedly Rubolg. Could it be because of my guests or Indella?

.

That sucked, that meant I had no way to figure out what was going on. . I’m sorry, what? .

Huh, nifty, well then… “Indella?” I asked and promptly got a reply. *I heard the Archives. Spell casting with druidic magic isn’t that hard, really. You just focus on the spell you want to cast and the rest just comes to you on its own.* I smiled. “Thanks.” Through our bond, I could sense that Indella felt… relieved. *You are welcome.* I could sense she was busy, so I resumed focus on my own little tidbit. I had to corner one of the groups of four long enough to cast Discern, well; I knew how, just had to find a good opportunity for this…

It was easier than intended to get that opportunity. I just triggered Magical Labyrinth, that split one of the parties and I just jumped the Healer and Tank, who lacked the damage output to really stop me. The healer I knocked out with a simple backhanded strike, or that was my intent. The attack sent the poor lass flying into one of my Spiked Wall Crushers, who, as any good trap, didn’t hesitate to trigger once it was tripped. Bit more brutal than intended but... wait… no points, figures… bloody fanatics.

Having pinned the tank to the ground, I took the time to puzzle out how to do this spell casting business. Indella was right, all I had to do was just to focus a bit on the spell I wanted and the rest just came on its own. Nifty, no need to memorize silly chants, the spell essentially cast itself.

About a minute later, I crushed the tanks’ skull with the same Wall Crusher that sent his partner hurdling out of my dungeon. There was no point in it rather than improving my mood, Inlas had pulled a fast one all right. Luckily it was a far more limited one, but one that could spell problems if she was calling in fanatics from far afield. I needed to inform the others and hold what would essentially be a war council. This invasion would not end anytime soon.

15 minutes later and Mordred stared at me in utter disbelief. “Repeat that again, just so I can be sure I have not lost my mind.” Erem, Garana and Oran all looked physically ill and Pavol was furiously adding the information I had given to his book. He too looked out of sorts. Indella for her part accepted the news stoically, though I could sense she was affected too. Same with the rest of them, all were in various states of shock. “The limiter to my dungeon cannot affect these intruders because they are no longer technically living entities, but soulless puppets controlled by Inlas or her servants directly. They willingly sacrificed their souls to become puppets she could command. Their souls are essentially sent to whatever afterlife Inlas offers. She gets to puppeteer their still living bodies around, that’s the reason the limiter isn’t triggering. It is because the limiter does not count physical bodies, but minds and souls entering my dungeon, and the only one entering are Inlas herself. Or whatever high ranking servant she has that can puppeteer the soulless husks of her fanatics. It’s also why they give so little, the essence comes from the soul, no soul, no essence. I bet the only reason I am getting anything is because Rubolg would throw a fit if I didn’t get SOMETHING for defeating her puppets after the stuff she pulled.”

Rael shook his head, “Just what in the world could Inlas have told them to make them do that?” I responded with a surprisingly emotional voice for me. “That’s the worst thing. Discern gives a bit of background information on the subject it’s cast on. And when I did, the description said the following. “A Hero who sacrificed his soul to serve Inlas as her eternal warrior in order to save the world.” I paused to let that sink in, now everyone looked at me as if I had gone mad, can’t say I blame them.

“That can’t be true.” Garana piped in. She was sitting next to a small cooking fire and was busy frying some mushrooms for breakfast. She quickly continued after grabbing one from the pan. “What part of murdering or capturing so many dungeons would save the world?” I shrugged. “Beats me, the main issue is, I know the spell tells the truth. But truth is something that’s subjective and can easily change with perspective or knowledge. So who can really tell what it means without seeing the full picture.”

Mordred nodded to that statement. “Well, at least we now know how she can remove them safely. But we now face the problem of what to do now. If that can trick the limiter then there is only a matter of time before she has an army at her disposal.”

Erem shook his head at that statement. “I doubt that. Inlas might be a powerful goddess. But there must be a limit to how many she can make into those puppets. Splitting her attention into so many bodies must become confusing at some point. Even to her and I somehow doubt the ritual can be used on the unwilling. If she could use it on those who were not willing. She could have just forcibly turned the adventurers like these four, rather than send them in to die. Besides, even if she used them as her puppets, they lose all their skills and abilities aside from the base levels. So they will be little more than chaff, isn’t that right?”

I nodded, only saving grace about it was that upon becoming puppets they reverted to level 1. It was only a small consolation though, since the puppets could still gain EXP, it was just that they started from scratch.

Worse still, even if the ritual could not be used on those who were not truly willing, that still left an army of fanatics. *If push comes to pull, we will have to prepare for an actual war to be fought throughout the dungeon. I don’t know about you. But I am not gonna sit idly by and watch and Inlas destroys everything we hold dear because of some obscure and insane goal she thinks will save the world.* That got loud cheers of agreement from the party. It seemed like Indella had really snapped out of her funk alright.

I looked at the lot of them. “I wanted to introduce you to everyone today. But because of Inlas that’s off the table, I have to work on strengthening my defenses. Luckily Inlas has been sending her puppets in at a rather steady clip, I guess they need neither food nor sleep in their state. So I am getting somewhere, at a snail’s pace, but I am getting there. I will be using the points I gain to improve our defenses as much as possible. In the meantime, Indella, do you think you could lead the party down to the Duergar, they should have finished arms and armor for you all by now.” Indella nodded, I had taken a pit stop on my way down the day before to get the Duergar to make some arms and armor for the party. Size wasn’t an issue, they could simply use magic to make the armors “one size fits all” quite easy. In fact, they apparently were even in the process of making me armour as well. Not sure if that would work or not since I didn’t have a class, but it would be interesting to experiment with that.

As Indella led the party away to get geared up, I took wing and went to inform everyone in the dungeon about what had transpired. Then there was planning to do. I had a decent idea of what we were currently facing, but I also knew that was only for a limited time. Sooner or later those puppets would start to gain levels, I needed to strengthen my defenses to slow that process down as much as possible. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Having talked to everyone on the 2nd floor and sent a Kobold runner to inform the creatures that were alive on the first. I sent out a telepathic call to everyone on the 2nd floor. “Keep away from the lake until further notice.” It was time to wake up whatever was in there. Either the Thing or Things would help defend this place, or I would have to get rid of them. I could not afford to have any unknowns right now. Not with what was essentially an army at my doorstep.

I flew over to the lake. Once there, I contemplated spending some essence on another Star Lily. But thought better of it. Instead, I directed my mind into the dark depth of the lake. I could sense… something down there. Something ancient and powerful. “I know you are there, show yourself.” I sent to the presence telepathically. The lake immediately started to ripple, the ripples turned into waves as something gargantuan made its way to the lake surface.

Trying to describe the creatures in front of me would be… difficult. There were five of them in all, and even scaled to me they were gigantic. They had serpentine black-scaled bodies, long thin arms that looked disturbingly human like with dark blue-gray skin in place of scales. They had long, sharp talons in place of nails. The same blue-gray skin covered their vaguely humanoid faces, that had three deep sitting, milky white eyes. They had long black mustaches that grew from where their noses should have been. Sharp fangs protruded from their absolutely massive lower jaws. Jaws that were far larger than they should be. Protruding from their foreheads were the same lantern-like growths you see on Angler Fish. They glowed so strongly they cast a light across the entire massive cavern housing the lake. If these things turned out to be hostile, my dungeon was doomed. From their sheer size alone, they would destroy everything on the 2nd floor with ease.

Then the first spoke. “WhAt DoEs It WaNt?” Its voice was strange one moment loud the next barely a whisper. It was painful to listen to, and I got repeated warnings that I had negated the “Madness” condition. The voice of the second was not much better. “WhY hAs It CaLlEd Us HeRe?” It sounded… irritated, great.

The third then took the word. “It WiShEs SoMeThInG oF uS.” It stated as the fourth continued. “We Do NoT cArE fOr ThE CoNfLiCt In ItS dOmAiN.” The fifth, the one closest to me slammed an enormous hand down on either side of me and leaned down towards me, its expression one of curiosity and disgust.

It was such a huge creature I was about the size of one of its larger fangs. Its white eyes reflected me as it stared at me so closely, and I could feel its presence prodding my mind. Oh no you don’t, STAY OUT OF MY HEAD.

It recoiled as if slapped, then looked at me once more. This time it seemed… amused. “MoThEr HaS tOuChEd ThIs OnE bRoThErS. tElL mE, lItTlE sIsTeR, wHaT cAn We Do FoR yOu?” This caused quite a bit of ruckus among the other four, who also leaned in uncomfortably close to eye and prod me. Before they started to nod among themselves, seemingly satisfied and far more friendly now. Phew, that could have ended badly. Good thing Mother helped out, even if indirectly.

I explained the situation to them as quickly as I could without having to go into too much detail. Their expressions slowly changed from one of friendly curiosity to indignant rage when I explained what Inlas had done to Mother. When I finished explaining their eyes had literally started to glow red from sheer anger. Woe be to Inlas if these five ever got their hands on her, that was for sure. The fifth who I suspected was the leader of the group leaned in close to me again. “A bArGaIn, We WiLl PrOtEcT sIsTeRs DuNgEoN aNd SiStEr WiLl PrOvIdE uS wItH a BiGgEr HoMe. ThIs LaKe Is ToO sMalL fOr Us AlL.”

I looked up at him. “I have no access to another floor right now, so I cannot give you a new floor to live on, not yet. But will an expansion of the lake serve as a good enough reward until I can get you a floor of your own?” The five pulled further into the lake and started discussing with one another. Clearly debating among themselves whether my offer was acceptable before Fifth returned. “We AcCePt YoUr TeRmS sIsTeR. OnE YeAr AnD a DaY iS tHe LiMiT fOr FuLl PaYmEnT.” I nodded. “Agreed.” . Something told me that when your own dungeon warns you not to forget about the payment. You really, really REALLY shouldn’t.

I started to expand the lake almost immediately, nearly doubling its size in depth, width and length. My new allies seemed happy, I also showed them mental images of the party and Indella. Then informed them they were not to be harmed under any circumstance, as they were allies who had risked much from me. They nodded in understanding, I could sense a simmering disdain for humans from them. But if they were allies, they would tolerate them. Hopefully, these five would prove to be an asset rather than a hindrance. Especially since it had cost me 100 essence to finish the lake expansion.