"In my previous life, Beatrice Dichtershire was a dating sim character." Beatrice said while sipping her tea.

Scratch raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"There was this game that I loved... Romance of the Four Kingdoms it was called. You would play as a peasant girl allowed into a prestigious academy. Beatrice Dichtershire was the fiancee of one of the capture targets."

"Capture targets... we're talking about a video game here."

She nodded, "mhm. A dating sim."

"And you liked this character so much you decided to take on her name."

"No." She stood up to face the window, but there weren't any in the basement layer, so she stared silently at a row of candles in an alcove. "The thing is, when I regained the memories from my previous life I was in the world of my favorite game. In the body of the villainess character." She looked at her balled fist. "I swore that I wouldn't let the events of the game happen to me, so I broke off the engagement and became an adventurer..."

Scratch leaned in, "that makes sense actually."

Beatrice turned around, "it does?"

"Nothing about this place is authentic, everything is some surface level imitation of the real world. The earth, the creatures, the political systems. None of this came about naturally, it's engineered. Some organization sinking in the resources to recreate your video game is as good an explanation as I can think of."

She nodded. "Only it isn't just 'Romance of the Four Kingdoms'. It's 'Four Realms' and 'Path of the Primal Lotus'. Every Second Chancer I've met has played a game or read a manga that showed his current lift before he reincarnated. What about you?"

"I- Hmm."

She pointed at herself. "I won't accept my Destiny as the Villainous Duke's-Daughter.' That is the light novel showing my life. A friend of mine was reincarnated after reading that novel, not Beatrice Dichtershire, me! It tells the story of my reincarnation."

After the many wondrous and impossible things Scratch had seen in this new world, he had resolved never to be surprised again. That any feat of magic and impossible biology would be taken in stride.

But now, he was speechless.

"I... uh. Wow, what?"

Beatrice took note of how her words had finally pierced his aloof exterior. "It's the truth," she said. "Every new second chancer has read a new version of events in the four kingdoms. Before I was reincarnated, Beatrice Dichtershire would have been disinherited as an immoral woman at the magic academy. And before my friend was reincarnated, I would have died as an adventurer fighting the dragon king Balreus. But I didn't. By reincarnating, we're changing the future of this world... That's why I need to know, what was the version of events you saw in your previous life?"

"I'm not really a fantasy fan," Scratch said apologetically, "more into true crime, really."

She gave a little frustrated sound. "The most recent version of events we have is from 'The Reaper of Darkness Never Wants to Die Again'. In that story, 'Kato Ken' is reincarnated alongside his entire class. He kills them all end ends up destroying the world."

"That's... worrying."

"It is. Tell me, what did that god tell you?"

"God?"

"The strange dark god that has no temples or statues in this world. Every second chancer so far has met him."

Scratch weighed up whether he should tell the truth. "Nothing useful." He decided to say.

She nodded understandingly.

-

Before leaving, Beatrice told him about Laurus, the Nightshade Hero.

"Every hero in history of this world was a second chancer, Hayato was reincarnated just after me. We think his story is the RPG 'Four Kingdoms', but that game never explains that the protagonist is reincarnated. He is just here to visit the village he grew up in. You should try to get along with him, since he's also a second chancer. He's really powerful you know."

"Can I have a list of these... reincarnators somehow?"

"I will arrange for it."

When in the doorway on her way out, she suddenly turned around and bowed deeply. "Please! Do not judge us too harshly."

Scratch jumped back. "W-what?"

"You are the first foreigner among the second chancers. I wanted to say... please do not think too lowly of our people from what you see among second chancers. You must understand... most of us are unemployed shut-ins. We are not representative of the Japanese population."

"Alright, alright." Scratch laughed jovially, "I won't, don't worry. I'm not a judgmental person, I promise."

"Goddammit. Two nukes weren't enough!"

Scratch cursed and flailed and began to rinse his mouth above the gravel.

He and his advisers were in the middle of an arid hamlet in the middle of nowhere.

The local cuisine didn't agree with him.

"Oh my," Youthere purred as he joined them, "what darkness has transpired here?"

"I ordered him zhe omurice. Told him how it's a recipe left to us by a hero from another world. I zhink he didn't like it." Noss said.

"Who the hell puts ketchup on an omelet?" Scratch spat onto the ground. "That culture is evil. Evil, man!"

Youthere chuckled. "Master, I assure you it takes more than sugar in a savory dish to achieve the abyssal depth of evil. In fact, rice based dishes such as these are very popular with the high nobility."

"Is that so?" Scratch sighed.

"Oh yes, a delicacy."

"Enough of zhis." Noss tossed some coppers on the table to pay the proprietor. "I've brought you here to see zhe Maze of Millene. Ve still have a few miles to walk."

"You boys shouldn't be visiting the dungeon after dark," the old owner said, "it's not a playground you know."

"Huh? You want a taste of my bloodrise form, do you?" Noss said threateningly.

The old man recoiled and Scratch grabbed his vampire helper by the chin. "We went through all that trouble putting me in this elaborate disguise, and you start talking about bloodrise forms? What d'you take me for, an idiot?"

"Argh." He pushed him off, "he's disrespecting me."

"Yeah? Get used to it."

Scratch dug into the depths of his full body coat and retrieved a gold coin.

He grabbed the old man's hand and put it in. "Nobody needs to know we were here."

"Or else." The vampire added.

As they left the owner clutched the prize in his fist.

'Nobody needs to know'? Why would he even tell? What would he tell them?

Easy money though. Although it was below average for a tip.

-

The Maze of Millene was situated underground.

The opening was a large winding staircase around the edge of a deep black pit, of which the bottom wasn't visible on a clear day, and whose width was more than most bridges were long.

To Noss' surprise, there was an adventurers' camp encircling it.

"I vas here only ten years ago. Zhere was no township here then." He murmured.

Scratch felt that calling it a township was a bit generous.

Although it was a semi-permanent community like a bandit camp, it didn't have any stealth or defense measures in place like a bandit camp.

There were no barricades and the night was opulently lit by their many sources of light.

The place was simply a collection of tents adventuring parties and healers for hire had set up to properly prepare before expeditions.

So there was no guard outside.

But making their way towards the dungeon entrance the boys were stopped by a permanent resident anyhow.

"Hey. You kids can't come here. This is a level B dungeon." A burly man wielding a giant mallet grunted at them.

"Huh? You got a problem vith me?" Noss threatened, "you vant a taste of my bloo-"

This time it was Youthere grabbing him by the chin in Scratch's stead.

Scratch sighed and took out his purse. "So how much do you need to let us through? Two gold? Three?"

"Huh?" The adventurer snarled, having taken offense.

"You are so right sir," Youthere pouted, still holding Noss' chin. "What are three soft young boys such as ourselves to do against the Maze of

Millene, which took our beloved mother and our inheritance? We would feel so much safer if we had a big, strong man such as yourself to escort us."

The man straightened his back, but cut right past the flattery. "You're looking for an inheritance?"

"Oh yes, sir. An enchanted dwarven cuirass worth sixty thousand gold. Our dearest mother took it with her to conquer the maze. I'm afraid the family fortune is completely tied up in it. Sir- if I may ask your name?"

"Y-yeah. Rufus."

"Oh mister Rufus," he grabbed the man's hand, "will you not help us retrieve our mother's treasure? For an equal share of the resale."

"An equal share? A fourth of sixty thousand?"

"Yes Rufus. Will you?"

"Yes. Hang on. Wait here while I get my stuff. Don't talk to anybody else."

He quickly hurried off to grab his other equipment.

"Rather gullible." Scratch murmured.

"So?" Noss asked. "Do ve continue zhen?"

"No, let him escort us. We don't want to be stopped by anyone else. Plus, it's good to have a body around." He turned to Youthere. "So you can be diplomatic."

The demon beamed. "Of course master! As long as I have the sins of greed and pride to work off of. Though naturally, my expertise is lust." He struck a little pose, showing off a body that only a person with highly unconventional tastes could feel lust towards.

-

Not much later they were lead down the spiral by Rufus.

"Hey Rufus, where's your party?" A spear man at the entrance asked.

"On a solo quest right now. Escorting these boys." He said.

The spiral staircase led down a long way, and it was becoming progressively darker, but Rufus had a magical belt that emanated a stark white light.

It projected their shadows onto the stair as inky blotches of blackness, and exposed the occasional missing step.

Eventually they reached the bottom of the stairwell, the night's sky now a tiny circle far above.

"You know where the cuirass is?" Rufus asked.

Before them were two gates shaped like mouths led to different parts of the maze.

The colour of the stone was washed out in the belt's clinical white light, but they could make out their shape. The walls consisted of man-high cyclopean bricks.

"Zhere are zhree levels to zhe maze." Noss said.

"Mother is said to have died on the second, Rufus." Youthere said.

Rufus sighed, the second level was where the dungeon earned its threat ranking. "In that case we should stop by the underground camp." He chose the left mouth.

-

The maze followed a grid layout. Every turn was at a 90 degree angle and evenly spaced, so that the passageways could fit three people walking next to each other. The ceiling was impossibly high, five stories at least, giving the place a vertical character.

"It seems zhe layout of zhe maze is vell documented," Noss said, in reference to Rufus' brisk pace. "Ve call zhis a 'tamed layer'. You might see some animalistic monsters around, fed by zhe magical energies. But zhere are no minions of zhe dungeon master here. She can not build new zhings here, or station guards or vorkmen. Zhe adventurers simply control zhe territory."

Unexpectedly, a spider the size of a large dog dropped down from high up on the wall.

It had the appearance and thin legs of a black widow and landed right in front of Rufus.

He crushed it in one his with his hammer.

The body immediately released a flood of tiny arachnids, but he had foreseen that and summoned a ring of elemental poison around his hammer swing upon impact, killing them.

"If the adventurers control this layer, why haven't they knocked down the walls for a straight path yet?" Scratch asked unperturbed.

"Zhat is a good question." Noss nodded. "Zhey may have in places, but a vell designed dungeon forces even zhe adventurers to respect its flow.

Vhen magical streams are zhrown off-course and collide vith each other, zhey may cause swirling rifts of magic, or unpredictable effects."

Rufus' face twitched slightly, catching fragments of the conversation behind him. It seemed ominous that they were discussing the dungeon so academically when they were supposed to be orphan boys looking for their inheritance. But his doubts were soon crowded out by thoughts of what he would do with fifteen thousand gold pieces.

-

Not too long after encountering the spider, they came upon a chasm with spikes.

A wooden beam lay across it, providing access to the other side, more than thirty paces for a fully grown man.

"Ah, an example of a tamed trap. You see zhe seems in zhe lower wall? Zhis use to be a pit trap, but zhe adventurers have disabled zhe sanctum crystal, so zhat zhe floor is permanently retracted and zhe spikes visible."

"We can't proceed unless you cross this chasm," Rufus said, "but if you tell me the exact place your mother's party saw her die I can retrieve it for you and you can stay here."

"I suppose we have no choice but to brave the beam then." Scratch said with a lazily faked trepidation.

The beam was more than wide enough for him to put his feet next to each other. And without a fear response, balancing on it was as easy as balancing on a beam laid on the ground.

"It was a scheme to claim the treasure for himself," Youthere said as they walked together on the beam, Rufus too far back to hear the whispers.

"I was wondering why we weren't following the central stem. How wonderfully devious."

"It's only to be expected," Scratch said, "as far as he knows there's forty thousand bucks up for grabs. He has no ties to us. He'd have to be insane not to try to betray us... what do you mean with a central stem?"

When they reached the other end and grouped up again, Noss could reveal that his superior senses had picked up on their conversation.

"A central stem is a vay to refer to zhe strongest path of magical energies in a dungeon. Vhen a flow has been established from zhe outside to zhe core, it vill form a continuous line of magical current, from one end to zhe other. Dungeon path finding spells expose zhis current, and zhe

Escape spell transforms zhe user into a ball of light zhat travels backvards zhrough it. But vhen a dungeon uses zhe maze layout, zhe current can split. Ve call zhe shortest and strongest path zhe stem, zhe others are branches."

"Yeah, we took a slight detour... to avoid facing more dangerous monsters." Rufus said.

"That's nice." Scratch said to humor him.

-

At the end of the tamed layer there was another adventurer camp.

Rufus secretly gave a sigh of relief seeing not many people were there for the boys to tattle to.

The entrance to the second layer was a sealed off room, sporting alcoves with feathery cushions and a pit trap that had been taken apart.

Thick rope nets hung into the hole in the ground, for adventurers to climb down towards the second layer.

"Hhm, a disturbance in the intended architecture..." Noss pondered. "They have indeed created a shortcut. This will engender more aggression from monsters in the main stem in the long run."

Rufus ignored their talk. He turned to the only other adventurer there, a thin man with a large brimmed hat sat on one of the cushions. He had an abacus-like instrument in front of him. Ten strings vertically strung in a wooden frame with glowing and inert beads suspended within them. Some of the beads moved ever so slightly by their own.

"Umbra." He said.

"...Rufus..." The thin man said with a pained rasp. "I have foreseen your arrival, but not of your comrades."

"It's a solo mission this time. I'm escorting these boys to find their mother's... body."

"And will... these boys be leaving... a blood mark?"

"Eh... no. If we die they die next to me, so it's all fine you'll be able to find us."

"I don't need to remind you, the price is the same for all participants."

"You don't."

"What's this about dying?" Scratch asked.

"If we die, Umbra will be able to retrieve us and heal us." Rufus explained.

"If you come close to dying." Umbra said. "My witch harp shows the location of individuals whose blood I've stored." He pointed at the beads.

"Ah," Scratch put his finger to the side of his nose, though it wasn't so clear with his disguise, "sympathetic magic."

"Indeed. Rufus, you said these were boys?"

"Boy, Rufus." Youthere said, "that sure is special. Can he help us find mother's treasure?"

"Uh, I don't think so." Rufus quickly ushered them towards the hole, not eager to let others hear of his prize "let's not waste any more time, huh?"

"The manwitch is too observant." Youthere whispered into Scratch's ear, "it is best we separate from him before our dear friend gets, as you would say, 'a clue'."

-

The nets deposited them neatly onto damp soil in a dark open area.

"Zhe previous layer was already far underground," Noss said, "into zhe depths of the undervorld. But now we've plunged into even zhe lowest of zhe low, touching zhe abyss."

"Oh, I can feel it." Youthere giggled. "The reality of the surface world is breaking down, this is the home of demons."

"Stop it. Stop talking." Rufus cursed. "I've been here many times, okay? There's no demons here."

Youthere smiled.

"Just... point me in the direction of your mother okay?"

Noss held up his arm, and circles of magic appeared around him. Soon, a glowing line appeared in the air, leading from the hole they come from into the darkness. "Zhat is zhe direction of zhe core. It's vhere she must have gone."

"Stop." Rufus said. "How do you know an advanced spell like that?"

"Stop?" Scratch asked. "We didn't want to waste any more time, did we?"

"Let's not stop now, Rufus," Youthere licked his lips. "The sixty thousand gold are tantalizingly close by."

"Now is not the time to turn back." Scratch said.

"Now is not the time to turn back." Youthere echoed.

"Well... let's make this quick so we can grab the cuirass and leave. But after that I have some questions for you."

-

The guiding light led them into a maze of mirrors.

Reflective shards of glass sticking out of the ground in a seemingly random pattern, forming branching footpaths between them. They were bunched together so tightly, that the openings between shards looked like shards themselves.

The shardss would have given them the runaround if it hadn't been for their guide, there were reflecting and non-reflecting ones. What seemed like openings could be glass and what seemed like mirrors could be openings.

"Easy to vandalize." Scratch commented. "Bring a bucket of paint, no more mirrors."

"Zhese are magical mirrors, obviously." Noss said.

"Right. Obviously. A sanctum?"

"Nay, too big. A sanctum is a focused stream. Zhese are monsters."

Scratch stopped in his tracks. "The mirrors are monsters?"

"Doppelgangers. Zhey're animated reflections."

"Don't lag behind." Rufus said over his shoulder, "and don't go near the glass. You'll be snatched up."

Scratch's reflection held its finger to its lips before returning to a perfect mirror.

"We are, of course, invited guests. Zhey von't harm us." Noss whispered.

Eventually the light ended in a swirling scribble. In the middle of an empty section.

"Huh?" Rufus asked, "is this the end?"

"It isn't, zhe stream has been cut off." Noss said, he turned to Scratch. "Zhis is zhe most important zhing zhat I vanted to show you. Vhat happens vhen a room is locked."

Rufus was walking back but found that the entrance had turned into a mirror.

"Eyes in front mister adventurer." Noss said. "You have an opponent."

Rising from the black earth came a gaunt black lizard, tattered and useless wings hanging from its back.

It was the size of a two story building, pushed up and outward by coiling dirt.

A deathly screech erupted from its gullet.

The guiding light had dissipated now and only Rufus' light giving belt revealed its front.

"Cave dragons are blind." Noss explained, "they were evolved from worms in the dirt. If they have any chance of defeating an adventurer, he must be prevented from leaving. So invaders are locked in vith zhe monster."

"So the stem is redirected then." Scratch said.

"It is blocked off." Noss said. "Zhe core vould lose its power if it vere not for zhe pull of zhe dragon's divinity."

Rufus quickly downed a potion and charged at the dragon. At this point he was moving too much for the belt to give a comprehensive view of the battle.

"The dragon? That thing? It's divine?"

"All things are divine in their small way master. Divinity is nothing more than a measure of power, or potential power." Youthere said. "In fact, it is the incubus' privilege to-"

"Zhe strength of zhe monster guides zhe flow of magic, so zhat zhe dungeon maintains a zhin trickle of magic. It is zhe same phenomenon zhat makes us place zhe stronger monsters closer to zhe core. But it cannot be maintained forever, and if zhe monster is defeated..."

Rufus landed a lucky hit and smashed the megadrile's head against the glass. Killing it.

"...zhe room must open up again, and let zhe adventurer zhrough."

A wall at the far end began to sink into the ground, swallowed up by rolling soil, and so was the dragon.

Rufus sunk to one knee, panting.

"In that case, what's the point? All you're doing is forcing people to fight your guard, when they might have fled." Scratch said.

"Zheir fleeing is not equivalent to our victory in zhis situation." Noss said, zhey might come back in stronger numbers, or attack your monster from a distance. And even a defeat can be beneficial, if you can sap zhe strength of an invader."

"Give me a moment..." Rufus gasped, but the three were already walking ahead.

-

The mirror maze ended in another stone gate, shaped like a mouth.

It led downward.

"I've never been out this far..." Rufus said.

"Then what use are you as a guide?" Scratch asked.

The rude comment filled them man with a shot of adrenaline and he stepped ahead. "If we don't find the cuirass within twenty minutes, we're turning back," he said, to regain a sense of control.

As they descended down the ancient steps, tiny specks of light began to float through the darkness. They looked like the stars one sees after spinning too fast.

They were formless demons like the ones Scratch had negotiated with before summoning Youthere, and they were whispering seductive thoughts inaudibly softly.

"Now zhis staircase is a sanctum." Noss said. "Zhough you vill not be able to see zhe crystal, it is vell hidden."

"What's the eff-"

"Zhe effect is a curse. Or an unending stream of curses, really. Cast into nothing until one finds a host. Look."

Rufus' pace was slowing, he began to stoop over and leaned his arm against the wall while walking.

"Having used most of his stamina in zhe fight, he is now more vulnerable to zhe curse of aging."

The man's burly figure had thinned out and his skin was hanging loosely over his face. His hair had gone stark white.

"Why aren't we affected?" Scratch asked.

"Well zhe demon is timeless. I am too powerful. As for you... I suppose you must not have any mana for a curse to feed off of. Zhat is an interesting vay to gain immunity."

"...And you knew that beforehand, right?"

"..."

"Noss. You knew I wouldn't be killed, right?"

Noss said nothing, and they arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

They had left the layer of black soil above them, and were now standing on a stone bridge over infinite blackness.

The lights were legion now, swirling around them like curious fish.

Rufus sank to his knees. "Cursed... I've been cursed. Must... lift... curse."

"Easy now Rufus." Youthere took him by the hand and led him onwards.

Less than lucid, the man let himself be taken along.

Noss muttered some spell and they were lit up by the flickering light of half a dozen floating orbs.

"This must be the abyss." Scratch not so much asked as stated.

"Zhat's right. Zhis core has long since found its culmination and linked the overvorld to zhe abyss. Underneath us is nothing but endless emptiness until hell."

"Then what are these pillars resting on?"

"...They're magic?"

"Was that a question?"

"I don't know. I assume zhey're magic."

The bridge passed between the legs of a giant cave dragon. Five times as large as the previous, but with three heads and powerful lifted wings.

"Zhere. Zhe boss monster. It is strong, but defense is not its main purpose. Its divinity focuses and attracts zhe magical current to zhe core."

"I've been getting pestered about getting a boss monster. Seems like a lotta trouble to me." Scratch said.

The dragon brought its heads low, sniffed them, and looked straight ahead again. Pacified.

"You should. It's vorth it. A boss monster vill make your sanctums more powerful, and allow more magic at your devil altar."

"Yeah but I'm not building traps I- oh hi."

Behind the dragon was the wyrm shard. In the abyss it had unfurled into a horrid sea-creature like form. And in its center sat a throne, with the dungeon master.

"Hi." She said.

She was a fat woman with veins of pulsing energy breaking up her skin, and blacked thorns growing out of them.

"Fleeeeder. I've been expeeeeecting you... What have you brooouuught wiiith you?"

"Millene." He bowed and she gave a slight nod. "Another vassal of our master graces our presence," he said, "it is zhe master of-"

"I know Scratch." She cawed, "what's thaaaat?"

"Oh, zhe man? An unvitting collaborator in our incognition. I suppose."

Youthere released Rufus and he stumbled forward towards the throne.

Millene put her hands on the papery skin of his head and drew him close.

Then she put her mouth on her eyeball and sucked out its fluids.

Rufus was too weak even to scream properly. He gasped and died. When she dropped him onto the stone floor not a single drop of blood came out of his gaping head wound.

"I consume soouuls." Millene said, answering a question nobody had asked. "But hiiiis... I leave."

"Millene here is a dark sorceress," Noss explained, "she has tamed zhe core and can control it directly."

"I doooo. I have seen you through the miiiiiror."

She moved her arms as if to get up, but changed her mind and leaned back again.

"Is the speech impediment a side effect?" Scratch whispered, "or..."

"Lady Millene has enhanced her innate potential with demonic power." Noss said out loud.

"Of the sort that you have refused, master." Youthere said. "For worry of corruption."

"The corruption is worth iiiit." Millene smiled, "for the power it has granted me."

Scratch looked around at the empty void. "What do you do here all day?"

"Zhat is not vhat ve're here to discuss." Noss said impatiently, he smiled at Millene. "I have shown Scratch zhe fineries of your defenses. So zhat he may be inspired for his own dungeon."

She nodded, "then you must show him my most valuable minion."

She held out her hand, and for a few moments, nothing happened. Then an orb of light whisked towards her and disappear in a flash.

The thin witch from the safe room now kneeled before her.

"Riiiise, Umbra." She gasped, "your client requires your services."

"Yes, my lady." He stood up and bent over Rufus, dispelling the aging curse.

"Uuuumbraaa supports the adventurers' foooolish wandering throuuugh my maze, and wins their truuuust. They willingly grant him their blood, so that I may knooooow exactly where they are."

"I see." Scratch smacked his lips. "That's very clever. All of this. Is very clever. For giving adventurers the runaround." He gazed at both of them with a serious expression. "There are no adventurers in our dungeon, adventurers can't even reach the Promise."

Millene threw back her head and laughed, a thunderous guffawing was swallowed up by the silent nothing.

Noss put her face in his hand and shook his head.

Even Youthere had the corners of his mouth twitching up and down.

"Master..." he said, "all dungeons across the six planes and four realms are geared for combat. Not because none have thought of the peaceful strategy before, but because only the combative dungeons survive."

"Maaany years ago," Millene said, "this maze was the underground passageway of a wealthy metropoliiiiis. Did you see any sign of civilization on the surface?"

Umbra left with Rufus in order to revive him.

Scratch thought deeply. "That hamlet... it was build on ruins just like-"

"All our works on the surface will be torn dooooooown. It is the land kissed by Benesant's star, her will prevails."

"Zhe Promise vill eventually be destroyed." Noss said, "it is inevitable."

Scratch was still considering their words when they returned to the warp circle underneath the Promise.

The had to wait for the gate to be unlocked to exit the armored dome around the place.

"Vhy did you build it like zhis?" Noss asked, "it's like a prison."

"Yeah." He said absentmindedly.

"Yes. So-"

He was interrupted by the loud mechanical clanking of the gate sliding open.

Behind it stood Alpheba, Lacrima's young apprentice.

Her expression was grave.

"Our master is about to receive some dire news." Youthere said to the vampire.

"Your master." He hissed back.

The dire news was delivered by Lacrima herself.

Passing through the metalworking industry, anvils, beam-rollers, and the giant forge, it was only a twenty minute walk from the circle to her hut.

"Look at this." She said, "do you know what this is?"

Scratch looked at the wall of wires and beads that now cut the home it two. It moved just like Umbra's instrument had.

"A witch harp." He said.

"Oh..." she looked disappointed, "yes. That's true."

"Miss Lacrima has gathered the blood mark of dozens of heroes," Alpheba said, "and one is approaching us now."

She pointed at a glowing read bead rattling against the edge of the frame.

"The Rose hero arrived at our doorstop without my knowledge. The Nightshade hero we can prepare for, what do you know about him?"

"The Nightshade hero?" Scratch nodded, "that's Laurus. Travels with a party of only chicks. He owes a favor to an associate of us who bailed him out of jail. I've recently learned... he might be wise beyond his years."

"Whatever he is, he is a rank A hero. He and his parties have defeated monsters bigger than this entire dungeon."

"Bigger than... pfff." Scratch scoffed at the hyperbole, but Lacrima's face remained stern, "wait, you're serious?"

"There can be no doubt. If Laurus' party comes to attack us, we will all be killed."

"Well he won't." Scratch said calmly, "both his guild and his realm have brokered a peace with us for now. So he has no reason to-"

"He comes from the elven village." Alpheba said.

Scratch stared silently into nothing.

"That's the village you massacred and burned down." She clarified.

"Yes... I know."

"Well... zhat prediction came true earlier zhan expected." Noss sighed. "Ve should build up some dungeon defenses for after zhe Promise is leveled."

"Not so fast." Scratch said, "everybody has a price. We just need to make peace more attractive than war for this guy. If we can't do it by stick, we'll do it by carrot."

"You think you can bribe the man whose hometown you slaughtered and burned to the ground!?"

"Uhm, yes?"

"Master," Youthere interjected, "I do believe I have a solution. And it will grant sir Fleder here to demonstrate the utility of his expertise."

"Youthere," Scratch said calmly, "I keep you around specifically to demonstrate how I don't need you."

"Oh master, don't be like that. If your plans work, mine will never come into action. What if I promise that? If the power of money succeeds, I shall admit that it is greater than the power of evil. But if the power of money fails, you must let me demonstrate the power of evil."

"This dungeon is under my control," Lacrima stated, "and I say we need as many defenses as we need. Both against the fairy queen and against the hero."

"Let us not forget zhe liege." Noss said.

All stared at Scratch.

He sighed, "what do you need?"

"Master!... Only a dungeon core."

In the past two months troll garden had carved itself out of the desert of the underworld and become a place of greenery and life.

The fertile runoff from the region's sewers now clattered through a series of small irrigation canals, and the swamp grass had layed the foundation for a spongy soil, on which grape cuttings and young trees were planted.

Seen from up high in the cable car, it seemed like a miniature forest, occasionally disturbed by enormous trolls.

It gave Liorin a wistful sense of belonging, sitting on Will's lap and looking out over their home.

"Liorin." The oldest elf silently hissed, trying to be authoritative without making a scene. 'Get off of there' her eyes said.

Liorin started to giggle, and so did her friend beside her.

Farith was losing her authority over the other elves.

"We're about to arrive." Lydia Harkness said. "Ada. Please help me dock."

Ada clicked her tongue as she passed by the elves climbing out the window.

The two women secured the vessel using rope, so the occupants could safely leave onto the lower arrival platform.

There were twelve of them in total, five elves, five hobgoblins, Lydia, and Second.

"How wondrous!" Farith exclaimed, "is this truly the same house?"

The lush garden that surrounded it was now fenced off, and a hedge of azaleas provided privacy against the trolls.

A small tower peeked from behind the bushes, build on top of the newly renovated home.

The elven home was nearly as large as the surface manor now.

Where they once had had a box of thin planks, they new had a wooden villa with large glass windows onto the garden and a second floor for private quarters.

Not by accident, the private rooms were all accessed from the outside from different angles.

"We felt it appropriate. To be more accommodating. While you're here." Lydia explained.

"A golden cage is still a cage." Farith said, furrowing her brow at the new drinking water dispenser in the garden, which now was shaped like

Scratch, spewing water from its mouth.

Will tugged on Liorin's hand. "Come see the staircase. I helped with the staircase."

"Don't you take her anyw-!" Farith stopped herself from getting angry in front of their captors. Ada especially was itching to discipline her. "...I'll go with you."

Second whispered in Lydia's ear.

"That's right." She said. "The house tour will have to wait. We have something to show you."

-

The something was Cyclophan's dungeon core, which was now at the end of a long sandstone path into the unshaded desert of the underworld.

The sunstone ceiling shone down on them harshly as they crossed and they had brought no protection.

"This is torture." Farith complained.

"It's not supposed to be pleasant." Lydia said. "It is used to deter attackers."

"Then why art thou making us suffer through it?"

But Liorin had a different question. "What is there to protect after even us?" She whispered to will.

He was protecting her from the light with his arm, although it clearly hurt him more than her. "The dungeon core is where our magic comes from."

He said.

The path ended when the stone stopped and the sand suddenly caved into a hole.

The shard was at the bottom of a pit, about fifty paces in diameter.

Simple wooden supports prevented the sand walls from caving in and burying it.

"This is the object you have seen us transport using the cables." Lydia said, pointing at the organic looking crystal. "So there can be no more mystery. You must never again enter this place."

"This is a dungeon core, is it not?" Farith concluded.

"It is."

"Then it shalleth be guarded by an antediluvian beast. As we hath put aside fear of trolls, we must now fear the presence of a dragon, a giant, or other such beast."

"Not exactly. Second?"

Second hesitated. He was nervous to speak in such company.

"I'm- Me and some brothers are going to build a room here."

"A fortress." Lydia corrected.

"A fortress." He said.

"And you will be using... stone..." she coaxed him.

"Stone and bronze. And fir wood, which- we need to remove the resin first. And thatch... in places.... rope-"

"In any case." She took the floor back, "a defensive structure. I do not want any of you to interfere with it."

Farith crossed her arms. "Why wouldst we?"

"Yes? Your curiosity has been sated?"

"Of course."

"Then we can go back. You have a new house to explore."

Second stayed behind, measuring things.

It occurred to Lydia that he would be uncomfortable working in this light for the rest of the day, but it was too late to do anything about that now.

"Didn't I say so?" One of the elves whispered to Liorin. "It looks just like-"

"Shhh."

This is the third city I have passed by on my way back from Eston.

In every city so far there's been a fire, and someone important having gone missing.

"This is deja vu." Is the sort of feeling I'm getting.

[You wouldn't believe it,] I say to the woman manning the stable, [there was a fire and a disappearance just like this in Roeke and Plinth.]

The woman stares at me with tired eyes. [It's the thieves' guild causing trouble again.]

The thieves' guild is like the yakuza, only worse. They're criminals that work together not to get caught.

I hear there are heroes that catch criminals. I've only been fighting monsters so far.

[Have you seen them yourself?] I ask.

If I can get a description of what the thieves' guild members look like, maybe I can catch them.

She shakes her head. [But you just know. A while back there were a bunch of new gangs popping up all at once. They took over the pick-pocketing and extortion, and were always peddling potions in the slums. Now those same punks are being found dead everywhere. It's clearly two factions at war with each other.]

I think about it for a bit. [Oh. But if they're only fighting each other, then that's good. There'll be less thieves left over.]

[But there's still chaos!] She says. [Young people are still dying, and we're still afraid to go out at night!]

Then she turns away.

[Not that I expect a high ranking adventurer to understand.]

Uhm... I kinda don't get it. But also 'this doesn't have anything to do with me', is what I'm thinking.

Maze of Millene

Size: Unknown

Threat Level: C

Realm: Yellow Wastes

The Maze of Millene is a dungeon in the temperate biome of Kvatch, to the west of the desert mountains.

Despite the relative gentleness of its surroundings, this is a C-level dungeon, and a permanent watch has been established by the guild to prevent unsuspecting rookies from wandering in. There are accommodations and shops in this camp, and monster parts can be sold.

There are two known layers to this dungeon, but not all of it has been explored.

The first layer is called the Corridors. Adventurers must take measures not to get lost in an extensive maze of stone walls, and dodge pitfalls, flood chambers and crushing walls.

This page used to warn of minotaurs, but these are now considered exterminated. The layer still contains death widows, slimes, and cave harpies.

At the end of the Corridors a safe zone has been established, where adventurers can purchase healing or warpstones.

The second layer is called the Mirror Maze. This region is not yet fully explored, and the exit has not yet been found. Adventurers must survive in a maze of illusion while accosted by cave harpies, basilisks, and sometimes cave dragons.

Consult the quest board to find the going rate of a map to the third layer.

The Maze of Millene is built as a necropolis for the ancient tyrant Millene, who once ruled Kvatch. Any party able to retrieve proof of her demise may claim the region for themselves.