James travelled through Astral Space in as much of a Zig-Zag pattern as he could. But it was hard to know where things were in relation to each other, so he travelled toward the monolith for an hour and then changed direction towards Milgarden. Once in the area, James wanted to lay the second Anchor, so he had Rocky spend the 50 Advantage points. Once the purchase was made, James saw that he now had the option of moving his Primary Anchor or laying down a Secondary Anchor. James went with the second option and lay down the Secondary Anchor. A moment later, an alarm sounded in his head. A creature that looked like a giant earthworm burst from the clouds of white not four meters in front of him.

James immediately launched a barrage of PSI Bolts at the creature. He saw the bolts strike and punch through the armour like tissue paper. The beast writhed around, probing the area around it with its mouth. It had no eyes and probably was only to sense James if he moved. James had not moved since arriving, but the PSI Bolts were directional. The creature might be able to figure out where he was that way.

The giant worm rolled around, trying to roll over him, but it was still more than a meter away. James used Inspect to learn more.

Name: ? Race: Astral Worm Level: 8 Damage Range: 3d8 +42 Damage Type: Bludgeoning/Piercing Armour Rating: 5 Special: Devour

James looked at the Damage Range and cringed. It could hurt him if it hit. The worm moved closer to him each time he struck it with a PSI Bolt. Not risking the chance of being detected, James took out an iron dagger from his satchel and and threw it off to the side.

As soon as the dagger landed, the worm twisted its body and launched itself in that direction. James waited until it was at the dagger to start attacking again. The creature dove at the dagger, its maw opened wide. Before James knew it, the dagger was gone.

James resumed his attack with the PSI Bolts. At one every two second, he could sustain the barrage for awhile before having to tap the crystal in his Glrick Sword. Fortunately, the worm didn't make it halfway before it died to the bombardment.

James waited a few minutes to calm his heart rate and ensure there were no other creatures around. The Astral Anchor did its job, alerting him when a creature came near it. James wasn't expecting something to be this close. This was the second ambush predator he had encountered in Astral Space.

Moving over to the worm, he checked it out. It was almost 5 meters long and about half a meter wide. He wasn't sure how to search it for loot, so he just looked to see if he could find his dagger. The dagger was bent and halfway to the first stomach in the worm's body. Using a different iron dagger, James cut open the worm and checked its stomach contents. This would be where the treasure would be found if there was anything.

Luck was not with James; he found nothing but gore and half-digested body parts.

&&&&& REAL SPACE &&&&&

James stepped into real space and noticed he was only a few hundred meters from the cave. It was late at night, and he was confident that the sisters had cleared the goblins. But what he was not sure about was if anyone was waiting for his arrival. Moving with practiced stealth, James made his way to the cave entrance. It was nighttime, and the area was in total darkness. His Darkvision was only good for 20 meters, which far exceeded that limit. Keeping to the shadows, he continued his cautious approach. Pausing several times to make sure that no one was near, James finally made it to the cave and could see past the entrance. The goblins lay dead on the ground and had been looted. Keeping a careful eye out for their traps, James moved around the cave and into the back of Cave #12. He was glad to see that the cave was empty, no one was waiting for him, and all the traps had been disabled or made evident in the case of the pit trap. Stepping through the portal, James found himself in his private Dungeon.

James examined the layout of the new Dungeon. He had three rooms in his new home. A wooden screen separated the main room. On the other side of the screen were a bed and some dressers for him to keep some items. At his request, Glezda had duplicated some of the clothes he had in his backpack. This gave him several close chances, even if they were all the same. The main room had a table with a couple of chairs, two armour crosses and an over-stuffed chair facing a fireplace. This was a safe area, and Glezda had agreed not to absorb anything left in this room.

The next room was a bathing room. It had a large copper tub, a chamber pot and a washstand. It wasn't fancy, but the water was always hot, and there were fresh towels on a rack. The last room was the exchange room. James would place everything he was giving to the Dungeon on the table, and she would absorb it. In return, she would deposit everything she had created for James on another table. This separated the exchange and made things easier for James to know which. It was nice that each trade included a leather sack filled with five hundred gold.

At the back of the room was a glowing blue portal which would take James out of the Dungeon at any time. If he needed to speak with Glezda, he could call her name, and she would appear. That was the reason for the second chair in the other room. James also discovered that this room was considered part of the Dungeon Core, so Rocko could not appear in it. It also meant that random gods could not eavesdrop on him. However, her Patron did not have that limitation. It took a particular concession, but she could remove the restriction for Ignatius. James thought getting to know his Patron better would be a good idea.

James picked up a bundle of steel-tipped hunting arrows. He knew these would be better than the arrows he was used to but was also aware that they had a higher cost. Deciding that now was not the time to skimp on buying the good stuff, he placed the bundle in his Backpack of Holding. He was pleased to see that it took only one slot instead of being broken down into twenty. The next item he picked up was a box filled with ten vials. These were the poisons that Ferdinand wanted to test before committing to mass production of poisons. The only other items on the table were five steel daggers. That completed her allotment of items for the day. With the items he gave her today, she would produce another batch of items tomorrow before he left.

Moving back into his room, he took out a bag of Enchanted Items he purchased in Port Ashmoor and placed them in his dresser. With that done, he sat down at the table and called out Glezda by name.

It only took a moment for her to fade into view, "Senior Chief. I am pleased to see you well."

James pulled out a chair for her, "Please, have a seat. I was hoping to do a bit of business with you and talk with you about Xander."

Glezda took the seat and sat motionless until James sat down across from her. When he was seated, she twisted her wrist, and two tankards of ale appeared on the table.

James smiled, "Are all Dungeon Cores alcoholics?"

Glezda cocked her head to one side, "No. Alcohol doesn't affect us. Some just like the taste."

James tried the ale and found it to be the same as the one he had earlier. He would have to bring her new flavours, "And you?"

Glezda's face went from no expression to a smile in a millisecond, "I am trying to learn social behaviours."

James took another sip before putting the tankard down, "You should speak with Xander. He seems to have a good grasp of some of them."

Glezda blinked and then continued speaking, "He reached out to me earlier today. He seemed to want to know the extent of our relationship."

James nodded, "He mentioned that. He said you told him about me helping you with the layout of your Dungeon."

Glezda looked up at James and nodded again, "Yes. I felt it was the safest approach. I did not think bringing another Dungeon into the agreement would be beneficial."

James had to smile at that. What she meant was that it was not beneficial for her. "I don't disagree. Besides, Xander didn't seem to have developed anything towards iron or steel weapons or armour."

Glezda frowned, "Some Dungeons feel that going the route of animals or creatures is better than going with a sentient race. They don't spend as much on items and researching the progression of weapons and armour, but researching different types of creatures is very expensive."

James followed along, but he wasn't sure what to make of it. It seemed that Dungeons had a lot of choices when it came to their development. Maybe if he learned more about how that worked, it would help him defeat future Dungeons. "I went through a Dungeon not long ago, where they were mostly skeletons. A few ghouls and even some rats. But they possessed armour and weapons of the iron level. Is that common?"

Glezda shrugged in a very human-like manner, "Depends on the creature. Undead are considered monsters and don't always have weapons or armour. However, Dungeons can research the development of weapons and then outfit their monsters. Most don't go past bronze."

James considered this information, "The one I went through had mostly iron weapons, but they were poor quality and very low durability. Does that affect the cost?"

Glezda nodded, "Yes. It doesn't change the cost of research but reduces the cost of equipping your monsters. Most Dungeons will only give their monsters or creatures low durability items so that the Champions can't use them. I tended to have extra Mana, so I created better equipment."

James set down the tankard and leaned his elbows on the table, "Ferdinand gave me a couple of different poisons that he was hoping you would be able to replicate for him. I included them in the items I left on your table."

"I noticed," Glezda confirmed, "I can replicate them. Would you like them in tomorrow's batch?"

"Yes, please," James smiled.

"You said you had business to discuss?" Glezda inquired with a quirked eyebrow.

James couldn't help but smile, "Yes. Recently, I was given a gift of a ring which regenerated my PSI at +4. Could you create something similar for Mana?"

Glezda nodded, "Yes, what do you have to trade?"

James reached into his Backpack of Holding and pulled out his Steel Sword of Flames.

Glezda shook her head, "That would not be enough."

Reaching into his Bag of Holding, he pulled out a stack of Scroll of Flame bolts this time.

Glezda shook her head again, "That is too many." Reaching over, she removed seven scrolls and handed them back to James. "That is enough for an even trade."

James smiled, "Great," then he added the two scrolls back to the pile, "then consider this a bonus."

Glezda flashed James a quick smile, "I accept. Please place them on the table in the other room, and I will absorb them."

James got up from the table, "Give me a moment." They disappeared when he placed the sword and scrolls on the other table. On the other table, a ring appeared. James picked it up and Analyzed it as he walked back to the main room.

Name: Senior Chief's Silver Ring of Mana Regeneration Quality: Good Rarity: Uncommon Durability: 13/13 Special: Enchanted - +4 to Mana Regeneration

James laughed as he sat down, "You can name the items too?"

Glezda looked down at the table with a shrug, "A minor tweak I can make to items."

James leaned forward, "Thank you. Thank you for the conversation too. I enjoyed it."

Glezda looked up and smiled, "I did, too."

After Glezda left, James pulled out a glass and a wineskin. It was expensive wine, costing him a total of two gold, and he wished Veronika was around to enjoy it with him. Sitting in front of the fireplace, he watched the flames lick the heavy logs. Glezda had lit the fire for him before he left, and he was amazed at how much control she had over the environment of the Dungeon. It was a hit hope that he would talk to Ignatius tonight. The wine would relax him, and the fire would be the conduit for the connection. At least that was his plan.

After an hour, he had not connected with his Patron yet, and the wineskin was half empty. The fire still burned merrily, and the room was warm and comfortable. With a sigh, he got up, headed to the washroom, and used the chamber pot. Upon his return, he was shocked to see he had a guest sitting in his chair.