Grundy is happy. He is exploring the second floor of the Maze with his friends. Plus, he is about to succeed in becoming a Citizen. He doesn’t understand the full extent of what he will gain. Or what he will lose. There is always something to lose after all. But he knows that he needs to do this, for his friends.

He is strong and sturdy, so he always puts himself on the front line. Today, the little woman - she’s a Dwarf, he recalls - is fighting at his side. She’s always at his side, but today she’s different, there is something in the way she fights. Grundy is not smart enough to understand everything, but he can see that she’s putting herself in more dangerous situations than usual. Is it because the little monsters here are stronger? Did something happen to her in the last two days? He doesn’t know, but he will protect her, like he is protecting all of his friends. Standing on the front line, thinning the flow of small monsters, so that the others can take out the rest more easily. Jack and Mililara stand behind him on one side and the brothers on the other side of the Dwarf.

It’s with those thoughts in his head that Grundy takes the left side in the corridor’s corner and stops. In front of him is an entrance to a small room, the kind of room with treasure chests and fiercer creatures protecting it than those commonly found inside the dungeon. Grundy silently signals his friends of what is in front and they tap on his shoulder, letting him know he can advance.

The group enters the room and Grundy immediately locates a chest, it is resting on one side of the small room, waiting for them to draw closer and open it. But Grundy and his friends know better than to go straight to the chest, they look around for monsters to come out and attack them. And after a few seconds, the creatures do what the team expects and rush at them.

Grundy’s friends assume the position they worked out to confront the enemies in the same kind of room on the previous floor. The fight starts and as usual Grundy does his best to stomp and kick at the animals going for his friends. Sometimes one of the critters jumps at him, then he can throw a punch at it.

It takes only three minutes for Grundy and his friends to kill all the little monsters, but they are all panting heavily after the fight.

“Huff… There were more than usual.”

“And they were bigger too.” Say the brothers.

“But, look at the chest. It must have better loot than on the first floor too.”

“Yep bro, it must.”

The group gathers itself around the chest and Jack opens it. Grundy likes Jack, he is a good Dogman. No, a Gnoll! He doesn’t like to be called a Dogman, he says it’s rude. But Jack can be rude too sometimes, especially with women.

Once the chest is open the group inspects its contents. Grundy looks at this with mild curiosity, the loot process is not really interesting for him, he really prefers the adventure with his friends. So he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to the chest’s contents, it’s the two brothers that go through it, as they really like such looting.

“The usual rags and other small stuff.”

“Some coins, as usual, but a few more. Oh look, this one is bigger, and it has a five on it. Does that mean the Dungeon deems this one as being worth five times the other ones?”

“Hey, there is three of those water tokens in it, great.”

“So that’s all of the small stuff, here’s the bigger ones.”

“A sword and a helm.”

“Who wants the sword? Seeing the size of it, it will be of no use to Grundy, neither does it fit his fighting style.”

“Plus, the charming Dwarf lady already has her little hammer, Jack got one of those too.”

“That leaves the beautiful Mililara, my stupid brother and me.”

“I think the smarter of us should get it, and our father always said ‘ladies first’. So Milady, do you want this sword?” Asks one of the brothers to Mililara. Grundy is always impressed by the ability those two men have to talk so much about almost everything. It is mesmerizing.

“Well, while I do appreciate the attention, I must refuse. I wouldn’t hope to know how to use it, so keep it, you will be able to use it to a better extend than I ever could.” Grundy is also amazed by the way Millilara can respond in kind to them, getting in their little game of wording and beating them at it.

“Thanks a lot, Milady. Brother, the usual?”

“The usual.” Grundy looks at the two brothers as they are looking intently at each other and throw a hand in front of them at the time. One of them has his hand open and the other shows a closed fist.

“Paper beats rock. The sword is mine.”

“Then that only leaves the helm. How does it suit me?” He asks putting the helm on his head.

“You’re ugly as fuck.”

“Anyway, it’s too small for me.”

After a bit of time testing, it turns out that it only fits the Dwarf. Something to do with the shape of her head, if Grundy understands it right.

“I think we should head out, we’ve been down there long enough.” Announces Jack. “Anyone wants to keep going?”

Nobody objects and the team starts to retrace their steps back to the entrance of the Maze.

When Grundy and his friends are almost at the exit, the small woman suddenly walks in front of the group and motions them to stop.

“What is it?” Asks Jack. “We’re almost out and I can’t smell anything between us and the exit door.”

The Dwarf opens her mouth, as if she was about to speak. But she can’t speak, at least Grundy thinks so, she never said a word. She takes a deep breath and looks at the group with a serious expression on her face.

“I… I have something to say.”

The group stays silent at the announcement, looking shocked at her.

“My name is Franziska Kon Ironknuckles…” After taking a deep breath she continues “and I’m already a Citizen of the Dungeon.”

“She can talk!” Exclaims one of the two brothers, Grundy doesn’t know which one, he is too focused on what the little woman is saying.

“Shut up dumbass! Don’t you see she has something important to say?” Reprimands his brother.

“Yes, I can talk. I’ve always been able to. I just don’t like to do it. But now I have too. I have made a deal with the Dungeon. It will help me become a strong warrior and take my revenge. In return, I have to be one of its Citizens and protect it. The pirates will come back and at this time either we can fend them off or we will become slaves, again.”

“For revenge? What kind of revenge? Do you plan to take revenge on the pirates?” Asks Jack.

“I do plan to take revenge on them, but they are not my main target.”

“Then who is it?”

“None of your business.” She responds in a voice that does not leave place for contestation, even Grundy can see this.

“How does it feel to be a Citizen?” Inquires Charles.

“It feels good. I’m stronger, sturdier, even my senses are sharper. I have more endurance and strength and I’m healing faster too. I almost feel like I became a Second.”

“That’s why you refused to let my brother treat your wounds.” Asks Mickel.

The only answer, she gives this time, is a nod.

“Did you test the hot baths in the bathhouse?” Asks Mililara.

Another nod.

“Are they good?”

This time the nod is accompanied by a smile.

“What did you trade for it?” Jack asks a difficult question there. An obvious one, but a difficult one, according to Grundy.

“Nothing, I wouldn’t throw away for my vengeance.”

“So, the Dungeon has his Citizen. Does Grundy still need to become one or can he stop trying?” Asks Mililara.

“He can do whatever he wants. But the more Citizens there are, the more chances we have to win against the pirates.”

“That does make sense.” Says the tall woman. “Now I have one last question, I know a bit about dwarven customs and from what I understand the ‘Kon’ in your name is a mark of great dishonor. Why should we trust you?”

“It’s right, I’m banished from dwarven lands. My clan betrayed my parents. I won’t tell anything more. Trust me or don’t trust me, I don’t care. I’m strong enough to reach the second floor of the Maze by myself if I want.”

“Fine, I won’t force you.” replies Mililara. She turns to the big and silent man in the corridor and resumes talking. “Did you hear that Grundy? You don’t have to do it anymore, you can stay yourself and do not have to pledge yourself to the Dungeon.”

“Yes man, you don’t have to force yourself anymore.” “You’re free to do as you want.” echo the two brothers.

“I will still do it.” Insists Grundy.

“But why? You want to take a bath in hot water?” Asks Jack mockingly.

“Yes, I want hot water.”

“Haha seriously?!” Exclaims Charles.

“Also, I want to become stronger. To beat the pirates. I need to be stronger, so I can protect you all. You are my friends.” Explains Grundy.

“Makes more sense.” Says Mickel, throwing a light punch against his brother’s shoulder.

“Anything more that you can gain by becoming a Citizen?” Asks Jack.

Franziska takes off her helm, and taps on it, showing it to the others. Then she puts it back on her head.

“You’re saying the Dungeon gives better loot to its Citizens?” Asks Mickel.

A simple nod is his answer.

“Neat. You’ll get personalize stuff.” happily says Charles, patting Grundy’s back.

While the group exits the Maze and goes to the bathhouse to wash themselves from the sweat and the blood covering them, Grundy thinks. He thinks hard. He is a bit sad that his Dwarf friend did not trust them enough to speak before now and that she still refuses to speak about her life from before the Dungeon - a lot of people don’t want to speak about their life before the Dungeon. The fact that she wants vengeance is the saddest in his eyes, he thinks that nothing good ever comes from vengeance. But it is her choice and Grundy will not stop her, on the contrary, if she needs his help, he will help her. She is his friend and he is also glad that she finally talked to them and that she is not mute as he feared.

Grundy also thinks about his other friends. The two brothers are nice and fun, even if they sometimes seem a little bit too focused on the loot and the money they can get from the Maze. But he likes them, like he likes all of his friends.

Jack on the other side is a slight concern for Grundy. Grundy does not care that Jack is not a Human. Hey, he is not one either. No Grundy is more concerned by the way Jack is talking to people. He talks to them as if he is the boss, which may be partially true, as Jack is kind of the chief of their group and of the all the former slaves. But he has a tendency to give orders without taking in account the emotions of the others. Grundy has known a lot a people like that and sometimes this attitude leads to resentment and could mean bad news for Jack. If he doesn’t learn to give more attention to other people emotions.

The last member of its group is Mililara. She is nice to Grundy and always has a smile on her face when someone is looking at her. But sometimes Grundy catches a different look on her face, one that is full of sadness and fear. Grundy only sees those faces when she thinks nobody is looking at her in the Maze. Grundy does not know what makes her so sad or afraid, but she is his friend, so he will not force her to talk. If she wants to keep this a secret, he will respect her will, but he will always be there for her if she needs help. That is what friends are for, after all.

Taking care of each other is what real friends do, his sister taught him that. But Grundy has to keep in mind that not everybody is his friend, which can be hard. Particularly nice strangers paying him drinks in taverns.

Grundy’s thoughts are interrupted by a conversation he’s hearing in the baths. There is still talks about his body and how life favors some more than others, but he usually tunes those conversations down in his mind. What is getting his attention is the talk about a new facility build by the Dungeon, some kind of training ground. It seems like it is encouraging peoples to train to fight and offering new advantages to Citizen in this new facility. They are talking about the quality of the stuff in there, and how if you take the weapons or furniture out the facility they start to weaken and the moment you stop touching them they disappear and reappear back at their original place. Grundy thinks he should go and take a look at it after his bath.

There is another topic that people are talking a lot about in the bath. It’s Franziska. Charles and Mickel told every man in the bath of the fact that she is a Citizen. And most of the men are considering meeting her and questioning her about her new condition. Maybe Grundy will not go look at this ‘gymnasium’ now, maybe he will help his friend deal with the crowd for the moment.

---

Franziska is relaxing in the warm water of the Citizens’ baths when she hears a voice in her head.

“Well played. You told your group about being a Citizen so they could tell everyone about it and shield you from the blunt force of the questions everybody is asking about you.”

She does not answer, reaching for some of the good smelling plants and starts rubbing her skin with them. She notices, once again, that she has almost no injuries from the fights in the Maze and that the few she suffered are already healing.

“You do know that the news is spreading like wildfire, right? It’s the talk of the town, even more popular than the gymnasium.”

Still no answer.

“You didn’t tell me, are you satisfied with your last dive in the Maze?”

“Yeah, it was nice.” She answers out loud. She finds it easier to convey her thoughts to the Dungeon if she speaks them than if she only thinks them, the only downside is that she can not do it in public. “But I was wondering...”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you tell me that I had to master how to open and close your little box, before being able to open the doors to the Citizens’ area?”

“I think I did, but I changed my mind on that. For the moment you are my only Citizen and my best advertisement. I’m taking care of you.”

“Like the healing?”

“No, that is your normal healing speed now. Judging by the animals I possess, you will heal quicker than normal. You will also live longer and catch a lot fewer diseases. And, if you ever decide to, you won’t need to bear your children as long as you should.”

“I don’t intend to have children. Not before taking my revenge, I refuse to curse them with this inheritance.”

“It is your choice. And look, this is what it looks like when I heal those I choose to help.”

A sweet warmth starts to spread in Franziska body, which intensifies on the few scratches left on her skin. She looks at them and sees them healing at an amazing speed, in a few seconds they are completely healed, not even leaving the faintest scar behind.

“Wow, that’s fast. And speaking of advertisements, I think that at least one of the women must have worked in some kind of bathhouse before, you should ask her for advice in how to improve the place.”

“And you think she will just tell me like that?” Franziska can ‘hear’ some kind of incredulity in the Dungeon voice.

“Offer her a good position in your future town, it could bring you more Citizens.”

“I have previously thought about offering positions in a way to entice more people to become Citizens, but maybe not enough.”

“Good. Now, let me enjoy my bath in peace.”