Raz felt helpless as he watched the spellcasting. He was supposed to be the one saving Aki, yet he sat like a lump watching two other people take care of finding her a place to live. His feelings didn’t get better when it was over; Rissa pulled a small book-without-pages out of her pocket and started reading off something that had to be locations, even if Raz didn’t recognize them at all.

Not that he should recognize them in a completely different city, but still.

Out of habit, Raz slipped his hand into the pouch with Aki. Even if she couldn’t talk to him, at least he’d know-

:Raz:

You’re still there! We’re trying to find you a place, a nexus that isn’t near another dungeon!

:Give up on me. I told you to.:

No. You’re my only friend from home left. This is for you, I’m not going to just give up.

Raz could almost swear he heard Aki laugh. :Fine. I will sleep and wait but you must hurry.:

I will. We will.

The others were picking up the taped-together city map. Raz didn’t understand why they’d used such small sheets of paper, but he wasn’t about to complain; they were helping him, and without the promise of being paid back! Most of his own Clan wouldn’t have done this much for him and Aki without payment, never mind complete strangers.

Life had been strange ever since he met Serenity - no, got to Tzintkra - no, ever since he’d heard the explosion from Stallet Center.

“We have three options,” Serenity told him as they walked back to the magicless and entirely too small nonflying transportation. “At least, three options that we are pretty sure don’t have a dungeon, are at a leyline nexus, and are somewhat accessible. Two of them are on City land, in parks; the third looks to be in a parking lot. That one looks to be privately held land, so I don’t recommend it.”

Raz nodded. He hadn’t thought about land ownership where he intended to set Aki up; he’d assumed that he’d need to take her far from inhabited lands, because any good spots would be taken. That clearly wasn’t true here, though. In some ways it didn’t matter; if that one ended up being the only way to revive Aki, he’d take it. He was willing to check out the others first, but he didn’t intend to give up the option if they didn’t work out.

As he was thinking that, Serenity stopped abruptly and the slight glow emanating from him subsided. It was far less than he’d seen the last time they’d been in a ley line, when they’d headed to the wasp dungeon the first time or for the few moments on that smelly underground transport. Those had seemed similar to the glow as they searched for dungeons on Tzintkra, but this was far duller. “You know, you just stopped glowing. It wasn’t nearly as strong as before.”

“Wasn’t it. That’s interesting.” Serenity didn’t seem that interested, so Raz went back to the topic that interested him.

“Only two good places, then? What can you tell me about them?”

Serenity started walking forward again and nodded. “The one with better access is also the closer one - it’s in Bryant Park. The problem with it is that better access is…” Serenity seemed to think for a moment about the best way to say it. “Well, it’s an understatement. Bryant Park is busy. At least, it always is when I’ve been there.”

Raz could sort of follow that reasoning. A dungeon needed to have space around it. It didn’t need to be that much, but all of the references Raz had seen said that dungeons didn’t form if anything else was too close. “You think adding a dungeon may be too much?”

Serenity nodded. “I think we should still check it out, though. It’s quite a bit closer. The farther one … well, there’s lots of room, but it might have the opposite problem. I’m not sure where in the park the intersection is, but Pelham Bay park is huge, and some of it’s hard to get to. So it’s going to be a matter of which one is better.”

Raz nodded, but he didn’t entirely agree. If the first park was good enough and would let Aki recover, he didn’t think he’d wait to see if the second park was also good enough.

When they arrived at Bryant Park, it was busy. It wasn’t easy to find parking, so Phoebe dropped Serenity, Raz, and Rissa off; Russ chose to stay with his wife. It was after dark, but the park was well-lit. It didn’t feel like a park to Raz; it felt more like a fair. The merchants were oddly quiet, not continually calling out their wares, but other than that it was the most familiar space he’d been in since he left home.

It was not the sort of place he’d expect to see a dungeon.

The itching was getting worse. It felt like it’d spread from his shoulderblades to his sides. Scratching helped a little, but the cloak made it awkward, especially since he was supposed to keep it mostly closed.

Raz’s eyes kept being distracted by oddities as he walked around - was that man really on a floating board with a handle coming up, of all the strange things? No, there were wheels. Still, how did it move on its own? Was he pushing it with his magic, or was there an enchantment on the wheels?

Why did everyone keep looking at their books-without-pages? He even saw Rissa do it a few times. Oddly, several of them were right before she suggested heading a slightly different direction.

Raz kept swearing he heard music; a number of the merchants seemed to have musicians, though Raz was never able to find where they were. It was strange, but then everything here was strange. The dwellings were so close together and didn’t have walls! Raz was pretty sure Serenity’s parents were important somehow, but they didn’t even seem to have resident servants.

The similarity of the park to fairs at home combined with all the many differences brought home the realization of just how far Raz was from his home.

And that he’d never see home again. With the death of his Clan, it was truly gone.

Raz wasn’t sure how long he stopped and just stood there, but Serenity and Rissa were waiting on him when he gathered his wits again. Aki was all he had, yes, but that meant he still had Aki. Home wasn’t all gone. Not if he could save Aki.

“A bit too much?” Rissa asked sympathetically. “The crowds can be a bit overwhelming.”

“It’s not that,” Raz stated. “It’s - it’s how far I am from home. I’ve never been away from home for this long before.”

“Ahh. Yeah, that’s tough, the first time. Probably worse for you.” Serenity sounded like the voice of experience. Raz supposed he was; Rissa lived with her parents, but it’d taken hours to get from Serenity’s parents’ home to Rissa’s.

Raz nodded and pulled the cloak tighter about his shoulders. He suddenly felt cold.

They continued through the park for a few minutes, and it wasn’t long until they found the ley line, obvious to them all by Serenity’s slight glow. Raz wasn’t sure how Serenity knew where it ran, but he followed it for another fifteen minutes, then stopped. “We’re here. This is the nexus.”

It was an open area covered in grass, probably ten feet to each side. It looked positively pitiful when Raz compared it to the space around the Giant Wasp Dungeon.

That didn’t matter. Only Aki mattered.

Raz tucked his hand inside Aki’s pouch. Aki? Is this somewhere you can use?

Raz was not reassured by the length of time it took Aki to answer, and the answer was not any better. :No. There is something already here. I would have to fight for a place, and I am too weak.:

Raz looked at Serenity, near panic. “Aki says something is already here, this won’t work. She says she’s too weak.”

Raz couldn’t read Serenity’s expression, but his voice sounded sympathetic. “Then we’ll have to try the next spot. Let me see if I can find the ‘something’.”

Serenity walked around the nexus for a few minutes. Raz couldn’t see what he was looking for, but Aki’s laughter at the sight made him feel better. Aki couldn’t be that weak if she was finding entertainment in Serenity’s wanderings.

Serenity finally found what he was looking for near the edge of the grassy area by stepping on it. He jumped backwards, then hopped on his uninjured foot a couple of times before taking a good look at the other foot. Nothing had penetrated his boot, but he still stepped carefully when he put his foot down and limped a little when Rissa wasn’t watching.

He didn’t seem to care if Raz was watching or not.

Raz touched the item carefully. It was a spire of crystal that stuck no more than three inches out of the ground; it had a smooth top, but was only about half an inch across; Raz wouldn’t have wanted to step on it either. When he touched it, it told him what it was.

[Bryant Park City Node]

[Main City Crystal Inactive; City Unclaimed (Ownership Contested)]

[Node Inactive. Main City Crystal Activation required]

Raz had never seen an “inactive” City Crystal before.

“It’s good to know that’s there, but I didn’t know City Nodes could form on their own.” Serenity sounded worried. “Do you think it’s possible someone put it here?”

“If they can’t form on their own, then probably.” Rissa sounded just as worried as Serenity. “But was it someone on our side or someone with the Hegemon Worms? Or are there more factions?”

Her question hung in the air as they left the park.

Pelham Bay Park was completely different from Bryant Park. Instead of a place full of activities, it looked like a place of mostly-tamed nature.

Raz thought he should have felt more comfortable in Pelham Bay Park, but the nature was completely different from the near-desert scrublands he was used to. It was rich and green and full of animals. More than once as they walked down a paved trail, Raz started at the sight or sound of an animal he’d never seen before. He hadn’t expected so many to be out after dark.

It was strange, yet convenient. Why would people pave roads that didn’t lead anywhere? Yet perhaps they did lead somewhere; if nothing else, they led closer to the leyline nexus. It was definitely a longer walk than the walk to the Great Wasp Dungeon, but at least it was a nice walk.

When they reached the first ley line, they had to leave the path to follow it instead. It led towards the water, down a hill, and onto a strip with grass taller than Raz had expected next to the water.

It was beautiful. Raz expected it would be even more beautiful in the daytime.

“We’re here.” Serenity’s voice interrupted Raz’s thoughts. “The site’s better than I thought. Not as close to the path as I’d prefer, but close enough the path could be extended. Will it work?”

Raz reached into Aki’s pouch and pulled her out. There was no one to see who didn’t already know why they were there. Will this work?

:I think so. There’s nothing blocking me, and it’s a beautiful triple nexus. Put me in the ground over there.:

Raz followed Aki’s instructions, including moving :a bit farther to the right, no, the other right, now take a step forward:

While he was still trying to find Aki’s perfect spot, he looked up at Serenity. “Aki says this is a triple nexus. I don’t think you mentioned that?” If he had, Raz would have suggested trying here first.

Serenity seemed surprised. “The map only showed two. Maybe because I ran out of sand colors?”

:There. Yes, that’s it.:

[Path of the Dungeon Complete]

[Path Choice Quest Complete]

[Conditional Reward granted: Dragons’ Lair Dungeon Theme Available]

The Conditional Reward surprised Raz; it wasn’t one he’d seen on the list. He was happy with the idea, but he’d have to ask Aki what she thought. He doubted she’d mind, but it was better to ask.

[Finding a new home for a dying Dungeon Core has been Noticed]

Raz couldn’t remember when the last time he’d had something Noticed was. Was it really back when he’d talked to Aki the first time? Surely there’d been something since then?