Was it hours or days later that I finished with the bars and cells? I was still in a dark, dank dungeon which, despite the fact that I removed a thin layer of stone from everything, I’m certain still smelled. Carefully I inspected myself. My core was three times its original size and now a globe rather than a faceted gem. I stretched my aura, it was more responsive and flowed easier. I started pushing it up the stairs and toward the next level.

Most dungeons start with only a single level, but they also weren’t meant for easy travel by sapient beings, which the literal dungeon I was in had been structured for. That meant it was only 33ish yards long with 10 cells on either side and my Core Room at the end. Unfortunately this castle wasn’t big, which meant the two floors of cells above weren’t really any larger. I pushed my aura up the stairs, claiming the grime and grit as I went, scouring stones clean on a level impossible for mere mortals and then polishing them to a mirror shine. Comedic as it may seem, a slip down the stairs can be horrifically deadly, and when you’re playing for keeps anything goes.

As I expanded my aura upward I also began to push it outward and downward into the rock surrounding the worked stone of the prison. I needed to know where the river intersected the isle so as to prevent flooding my dungeon. Though the idea of being underwater did appeal somewhat, I didn’t want to be alone for all my eternity. What was the point of living forever if you never got to meet or speak with anyone ever again? Nix didn’t count. Maybe this whole dungeon core thing wasn’t such a hot idea.

My aura quickly encompassed the two floors above and began to work its way up into the cellars as well, meanwhile pushing out I found the edges of the island all too soon. The river, it seemed, was deeper than I had expected and the base of the island had barely broadened out to a modest 160(ish) yards in width and 200 in length. By the time I’d finished scouring the cellars and cells I’d gained wood, vinegar, two new kinds of mold and one very sickly moss. In addition I’d found a single unbroken bottle of wine and a keg full of what had to be the world’s oldest mead. I promptly absorbed all of them and then turned my eye to my new domain.

It wasn’t terrible, narrow halls, narrow rooms, a good bit of storage space and a few bugs I couldn’t overwhelm with my aura. On a whim I created a golden mote. It floated serenely above a spider scrambling to craft a new web (Its old one having mysteriously disappeared). The spider didn’t react. The mote didn’t react. I made a frustrated noise and ordered the mote to attack.

For a moment nothing happened, and then the glow of the mote dimmed, and went out. Suddenly light burst forth from where the mote had been, the beam was condensed and directional, burning the spider like an ant under a magnifying glass. A moment later the mote recoalesced and hung in the air as it had before. I absorbed the spider (a golden orb weaver) as I considered the mote. I had thought them useless because of their passivity but this changed everything. I set to work populating my dungeon with the little wisps of light until they floated in a thin`1 layer just under the ceiling. Dim light now filled every room, reflecting off the perfectly polished surfaces, and I gave the motes a new order. Defend.

Within moments the few remaining bugs within my domain were dead and I’d gained a half dozen webspinners, a beetle, and several hundred flies, pupa, and maggots. It wasn’t much to be going on with, but it was more than just motes and slippery floors. It was time, I figured, to begin altering the layout of my floors, even as I continued to expand my aura into the ruins of the castle above.

First I removed all the walls separating the cells from each other and the hallway, leaving me with a big room about 33 yards long and 9 wide. I repeated this for the next two floors and then started partitioning the three large rooms into smaller ones. Creating 3 rooms on each floor 9 meters long and wide with 3 meter hallways between them, the short halls themselves were only 2 meters tall and wide. And because I was feeling rather clever I staggered the hallways left right left so that people couldn’t just walk through in a straight line.

It was at this point that I felt my aura stretch as far as it could. I checked and found it’d reached the top of the stairway that lead down to the wine cellar, three floors higher than my first three rooms. It was annoying, but not surprising, I’d need to grow my core before I could claim a larger area. Finally I settled down and began considering how to defend myself.

While I knew a lot of the theory behind dungeon cores I’d never actually been one, and thus wasn’t really sure how to go about what I wanted. I began by creating a spider. It was normal sized, hooked legs, mandibles, large abdomen. A terrifying creature to be sure, if one has arachnophobia or is particularly small. It wasn’t what I needed.

With a thought I reabsorbed the spider, gaining back a portion of the mana I’d spent making it. I concentrated carefully this time, thinking about what I wanted, and began to form the spider once more. As the mana left I pushed, forcing as much mana out as I could, feeling my reserves rapidly dwindling. The spider began to take form as before but it started to grow, and grow, and grow, soon it had passed the size of a rat, then a small cat, then a dog, and finally it exploded.

Frustrated, but also strangely elated, I cleaned my core room, removing the gore and spider bits, reclaiming a small portion of the mana I’d expelled. While a failure this had taught me that I could affect the creatures I created so long as I was careful.

I tried again, and again, and again. Finally on the fifth try I succeeded, I now had a guardian, an orb weaver spider about the size of a small dog. It was… well, disturbing, came to mind. Nothing with eight legs should be that big. I watched as it crawled aimlessly around the core room and considered my options. I had almost no mana left, certainly not enough to create another mutant creature, and I had no idea how long it would be before Nix returned, or what he’d bring with him.

With an internal sigh I began to grow moss and lichen on the walls and ceilings, and populate them with the bugs I’d absorbed earlier, creating a rudimentary ecosystem. I wasn’t a botanist, or an entomologist, or any of the other ists you’d need to be to create a functional ecosystem. But I could do something crude. Moss, Lichen, Bugs, Spiders. Bugs eat moss, spiders eat bugs… something something life finds a way. The point is I could make one, so I did, because the first Law of Magic is that Life Creates Mana, with the second law being Mana Begets Life.

What this meant was that even this small, broken food chain would create (miniscule) amounts of mana for me to feed on. In theory I could sustain all creatures of my dungeon out of the ambient Mana that concentrates around my core. I wasn’t going to do this because it meant less mana income and that meant less mana to spend. Needing all the mana I could get, I couldn’t afford to spend it on anything non-essential. With that final task done, I settled down to wait.

***

Jake huffed as he scrambled along the broken road after the dragon that had stolen his orb. The damn thing had swooped out of the sky and plucked it from his hands before he could even react. Lila had almost been fast enough, but her arrow had fallen just short of the little bastard. So now She, Francis, Hugo, and he were running down a pocked road in the middle of no where chasing a dragon carrying a magic orb. And not even an expensive one.

“Isn’t,” Huffed Hugo. “There some kind of spell you can cast to retrieve the damn thing?”

“Can’t” was all Jake could gasp out. His lungs and side were burning. He wanted to explain he needed a focus to cast spells, and his focus was the orb, without it he was just a person with a fancy degree in Practical Thaumaturgics. Or, to the layman, wizardry.

“Less talking, more running.” Francis said as he clanked alongside them. He didn’t sound the least out of breath, despite being in a breastplate and chain. Lila didn’t say anything.

They continued the run, and Jake started to drop behind as they climbed a particularly steep hill. He arrived at the top to find everyone else stopped. He gasped for air and looked to the sky. There was the dragon, but instead of flying in a straight line it seemed to be circling, and under it was a large, foreboding keep. The creature swooped downward and disappeared behind the walls of the structure.

“Guessing that’s where it lives.” Lila said after a moment of silence.

“Great,” Jake huffed between gasps of air. “I’m just gonna… sit down for a minute.”

“Nope.” Francis said as he grabbed Jake’s arm and hauled him back to a fully standing position. “You need to walk off a run like that. If you sit now you’ll stiffen up.”

Jake groaned, allowing himself to be righted. Francis was right, as he always was when it came to things like exercise, armor, horses, weaponry, and cooking. But the ground looked really inviting, and it’s not like they didn’t know where the dragon was. Quashing his uncharitable feelings he started to stagger forward. Behind him Hugo groaned and got up as well. Jake noticed that Francis hadn’t tried to stop Hugo from sitting. Then again those two didn’t get along so well at the best of times.

The quartet made their way down the road at a more sedate pace, and within 20 minutes were at the lowered bridge of the castle. It seemed to sit on an island in the middle of a large river and despite its age seemed to be sturdy, with most of it’s stone work still standing.

“Sturdy looking.” Francis grunted. “If the dragon is the only thing here we can clear out its nest and suggest this as a new outpost.” Lila nodded her agreement. Hugo and Jake just enjoyed standing still. “You guys know the drill, stay behind me, watch for traps, no bickering inside.” Francis continued after a moment, giving Hugo a particularly long look as he said the last part. The priest just gave a surly grunt.

This wasn’t their first time delving. Though mostly they’d only gone into ruins already picked over once or twice. Still, they’d trained as a team and each knew their role and duties while inside. Francis was defense, carrying his longsword and kite shield, Lila stood at the back with bow, arrows, and occasionally throwing knives. Hugo could call on blessings of Light, Healing, and Protection, and Jake usually set things on fire, though without his orb that was unlikely to happen.

Slowly they crossed the old bridge, which held despite ominous creaking, and entered the yard of the old castle. It wasn’t spacious, given the confines of the river, however it had been enough to squeeze in the essentials. A small stable, forge, barracks, a great hall, with presumably kitchens, a bake house, and various other sundries. They carefully looked around, taking in the broken doors and smashed windows. Overall the structure seemed sound, though anything made of organic materials had rotted into uselessness some time ago.

Slowly Francis lead them in exploration of the buildings, there were indeed kitchens, just to the side of the great hall, and a small chapel as well. In addition, all the buildings seemed to connect to each other in a maze of rooms and passages through the thick walls of the castle. Finally they made their way into the great hall, it was filled with the remains of tables, where the residence had once eaten, and at the very end was a raised dais, upon which sat a modest throne, overflowing with trash.

Atop the mound sat the tiny dragon, orb in claws, cackling at them as they made their way in. “Stupid.” It chirped at them. It then dropped the orb and skittered out a side door. Hugo huffed at the insult, while Lila stalked forward and examined the pile.

“No traps that I can see.” She informed them after several moments of careful examination, poking, and prodding. Francis nodded to Jake, who carefully retrieved his orb from atop the pile.

“We should follow the little bastard and teach it who’s the stupid one.” Muttered Hugo. Francis just shook his head.

“We explore as we have been, continue hugging the right hand wall and leaving chalk sign.” He admonished the priest. Hugo just looked surly.

Continuing they made a full circuit of the small castle, finding the grand chambers and examining the single large tower, all of which Jake marked down on the map he’d been keeping. “Alright,” he said, “It looks like there are two sets of stairs down. One under the Kitchens, and the other under the tower.” He looked pointedly at the tower stairs they were standing near.

“Kitchens first, it’s likely just a wine cellar.” Francis said, and the group started out once more. It took only a minute to reach the kitchen and francis once more took point as they descended the stairs. Strangely, the room they exited into was not only empty but also lit by small motes of golden light, no bigger than a pea.

“What the hell are those.” Hugo muttered, breaking the silence. Francis didn’t take his eyes from the motes, which had started floating slowly in their direction, but he still grunted in annoyance.

“Motes of light.” Jake said. “Mostly harmless, they can cause burns if agitated, but you’d need thousands of them to do real damage. That said, they’re really hard to make angry.”

As if on cue all five of the lights when out, and then coherent beams shot out and blasted against Francis’ raised shield. After a moment the lights reappeared.

“I think that means they’re angry.” Lila said raising her bow, but unsure of where to actually aim.

“No. Really?!” Hugo said snidely. Francis rolled his eyes.

“I’ve got this.” Jake said, raising his orb he focused on the five motes and carefully drew the Rune of Dispel with his left hand. The rune flashed, the orb glowed a pale blue. Five thin lines of light shot out from the orb, impacting the motes, each of which swiftly unraveled, dropping their tiny mana stones to the ground and plunging the room into darkness.

“Good job, you put out the lights.” Hugo commented dryly.

“Hey, at least they’re not shooting us anymore.” Lila rebutted.

Jake focused again, this time carving the Rune of Light into the air, his orb flared with white light, and he touched it to Francis’ shield, transferring the glow.

“Anyone else notice anything weird about this room?” Lila commented as they all looked around. “There are no remains of broken furniture, barrels, even wine racks, it’s empty… and there’s no dust, mold, or grime of any kind.”

The others looked around and found, to their surprise, that she was right, it was empty. It was also quite long, and at the other end was another set of stairs going up. “Looks like the tower stairs also lead down here.” Francis said, finally giving up on the discipline of silence. “And there’s another set that leads down further.”

Taking point once more Francis lead them over to the other stairs, with a quick check they confirmed the ones going up lead to the tower. At the top Jake paused, even as they others turned to go back down. He looked down the stairs and frowned, then deliberately and carefully placed his foot on the step down. “That’s weird.” He muttered.

“They’re stairs.” Hugo said. “They allow you to ascend or descend vertically. I know that’s a foreign concept but do try to keep up.”

Jake pressed his lips together and didn’t respond to the taunt. By now everyone was used to the comments Hugo made at their expenses. The priest was a strange one, he was snide and rude, but he’d never once even hinted at withholding protection or healing. Shaking his head Jake followed francis back down. Hugo next to him yelped as his foot slipped on the stairs and he had to cling to the wall to keep from falling. Jake suppressed a snicker.

Now they stood at the top of the stairs leading further down. Once again Jake paused at the top and took a deliberate step down, this time he was certain. “The mana is thicker.” He said after a short pause.

“What?” Francis asked.

“The mana is thicker down here, I’m certain of it now. The density is increasing as we go lower.” Jake explained.

“And that means what?” Lila asked.

“Could be anything.” Hugo interjected just as Jake was about to answer. “a Ley Line, Energy Node, hells, even a dungeon.” He said the last one with a laugh.

“Well of course we’re headed to the dungeons, what does that have to do with mana?” Lila looked perplexedly at Hugo, who just laughed.

Jake shook his head. “A Dungeon is a semi-sentient crystal that controls a series of rooms or caves. They create monsters and try to lure people in with treasure to feed on the mana given off by living creatures, and their deaths.”

“Oh. Wait, why haven’t I heard of these before?” Lila asked.

“Because they don’t exist.” Hugo butted in again. “They’re fairy tales from before the Conflagration.”

Jake grimaced by nodded. “Not how I’d have said it, but yes they’re more myth and legend than reality. If they did exist they don’t now.” He explained.

“You still haven’t explained what that has to do with higher mana density.” Francis said.

“Dungeons were said to draw mana like a lodestone draws iron. It naturally pools around them and they feed on it. Or did. Maybe.” Jake continued as Hugo snorted.

Francis nodded, curiosity sated, and Lila looked thoughtful as they all once again took formation and began carefully descending the stairs. The next floor was a series of halls and rooms, clearly meant as storage, all empty save for half a dozen of the glowing motes which Jake once again dispelled.

“Someone must have cleared this place out already.” Hugo complained. “There’s nothing at all down here. Not even the doors.”

“We need to explore it anyway.” Francis said stoically.

“Look on the bright side.” Jake interjected. “Judging by the motes there’s got to be a Light Node or Ley down here, we can probably stay a day or three and increase our affinity for light mana. That’ll help with your healing, right?”

Hugo grumbled, looking miffed but after a moment he fell silent once more.

“The floors are weird.” Lila said as they found the next set of stairs.

“How so.” Asked Francis.

“They’re polished so much I can see myself in them, still no dust, and the stairs are a bit on the slippery side, and that’s not moisture. In fact, for being under the water line I’d expect this place to be a lot more damp than it is.” She explained.

The three men looked around, observing that she was indeed correct in her assessment.

“It almost sounds like someone is maintaining this place.” Jake said after a moment of thought.

Hugo snorted. “Who’d maintain the cellars but not the castle? That stupid little dragon? It’s probably some side effect of the mana.” His tone was both derisive and dismissive.

Jake just shook his head and shared a look with Lila, Hugo might have a point about the dragon, but it paid to be wary.

“If we’re done announcing our presence to everything beneath us.” Francis said with a gesture to the stairs. The others fell in line and they descended once more. It was another series of store rooms, with of course more of the wisps.

“I can’t keep this up.” Jake said as he dispelled them again. “If I have to do that too much more I’ll be entirely tapped. It doesn’t take a lot but we’ve gotten rid of 17 of them now. We might just have to endure a few burn marks.”

“Seriously, 17 little wisps and you’re out of mana?” Hugo asked derisively. Jake chose to ignore him while Lila rolled her eyes.

“Perhaps you have a way to deal with them?” Francis asked the taunting priest.

Hugo glowered at Francis for a moment, then actually considered the question. “I… could try to protect us from Light?” He said finally. “I’ve never tried that before, usually the spell I’d use would be geared toward fire, or acid… I guess we’ll just have to try and find out?”

With that Hugo raised his scepter, more mace really, and began a short chant. Unlike wizards priests entreated their gods for magic, usually in an obscure tongue taught only in their churches. As he chanted a faint silvery glow covered each of them, then with a bright flash the light disappeared and Hugo ceased his chanting.

Everyone looked around, and for a moment they were silent. Finally Francis spoke. “Well?”

Hugo Shrugged. “No way to know if it worked until we test it.” He stated.

With a grunt and a nod they moved on, quickly scouring the empty rooms and moving down another level. This time however they were surprised. Instead of barren barred or doored cells they found an open room teaming with moss and lichen on the walls and ceiling. Lila’s sharp eyes could even see bugs and spiders moving through the greenery.

“That’s a lot of moss for a dry, empty dungeon. And where are all the cells, why is that hallway over there, offset instead of straight down the middle? I don’t like any of this.” She said, some trepidation in her voice.

“It’s just some bugs and moss.” Hugo said. “Though I’ll admit, it is weird.” Jake nodded along with both assessments.

Francis finally stepped out into the room and everything stopped for a moment, then in a wave the bugs and spiders leapt from every surface flinging themselves toward the warrior. With a decidedly less than stoic yelp Francis backpaddled, nearly crashing into hugo and Jake. Hugo himself was already moving back, while Jake had raised his orb once more, this time he carved the glyph for fire into the air, and envisioned what he wanted.

Flames sprang from the orb in a spray that barreled through the room in a wall of flame, flash frying the oncoming swarms. “That was not normal behavior!” He said, tension in his voice. “Bugs and spiders don’t swarm together like that, not without an outside force behind it.”

“What kind of outside force?” Francis growled as he swatted at himself, still not sure there were no bugs on his person.

Hugo and Jake went silent for a long moment at the question.

“It can’t be.” Hugo spoke first, his voice edged in denial.

“Well they weren’t mana constructs, you can still see their singed bodies.” Jake retorted.

“Some kind of compulsion!” Hugo retorted.

Jake shook his head. “Doesn’t work on bugs and spiders. Too simple.” He explained.

“But they don’t exist!” Hugo said, now slightly angry.

“If it’s not a dungeon, I don’t know what it is!” Jake shot back. Finally saying what was on both their minds, much to Lila and Francis’ relief.

Hugo huffed, but, not having a better explanation, didn’t retort. Lila looked at Jake. “Alright, if it is a dungeon, what does that mean?”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. Any creature created by the dungeon will fight to protect it, down to the smallest insect.” He gestured to the room. “Supposedly there’s supposed to be treasure? But I don’t know how that’s supposed to work. And traps, usually they have traps, according to the legends.”

“I can’t believe we’re seriously considering this.” Gripped Hugo. “This can’t be a dungeon, they do. Not. Exist!” He enunciated the last three words with finality.

“Then you figure out what it is.” Snapped Jake, locking eyes with the bigger man. There was a long moment before Hugo finally looked away, muttering under his breath.

“Whatever this is.” Francis began. “We need to know more before we can make an accurate report. So we continue. How many more times can you use that flame trick?” He looked to Jake.

The mage shrugged. “Two, three times, if I don’t cast any other spells. That said, a simpler solution would be a ward against insects.” He said with a look to Hugo.

“Oh now you want my help.” The priest said belligerently, but considered. “Yeah, I could do that, warding bugs away from crops is standard practice for most apprentices, shouldn’t be too much different.” Once again his scepter rose, and obtuse syllables fell from his lips. After a moment golden ripple of magic covered each of them. “There.” He proclaimed. “Now we should remain bug free. Don’t ask for any more though, two is the limit I can maintain on all of us at once, if you want something else we’ll have to give up the light protection or the bug protection.”

Francis nodded to that. Looked to the others. And then proceeded into the dungeon.