Raising Wonders

Chapter 15: Dungeon (Part 2)

The dungeon descended deeper underground, going past what was once part of the city. At times, aside from the snow, it was almost impossible to tell it hadn't always been there. The architecture even down to the weathered stone was the same. But then out of nowhere, crossing through the arch of a passage, the rooms would change. An earthen cave, a chamber of ice, a room of wooden walls and rot.

"Rooms like these appear in younger dungeons who haven't quite decided who they are. Though there are some eccentric dungeons that tend to shift and change a lot as well." Mask had answered as such when Chloe had asked for the reason. From his words Chloe was beginning to understand more and more that the dungeon wasn't some inanimate phenomenon or even a kind of slow growing life, but something much more. It had a personality and was living on a scale much grander than a simple creature.

"Trap ahead," the Handler said unconcerned. "We must be getting close."

"I see it," Mask nodded. They were once more in the ordinary stone passages, though more snow had piled up.

"Where?" Chloe looked around but couldn't see anything.

"Right here," Mask leaned closer to the ground and brushed away the snow. Unlike regular snow however it moved too easily and revealed a missing block in the floor about a foot deep.

"What does it do?" Chloe asked excitedly. "Does it drop a boulder form the ceiling? Or does it shoot arrows from the walls!?"

"Ah sorry to disappoint you but it's exactly what it seems like," Mask laughed.

"You mean it was just a hole covered by snow?" Their smiling expressions was all the answer Chloe needed. She rubbed her head. "But all that would do is make someone fall over.... And there's even snow everywhere, it wouldn't even hurt. It would just be a surprise."

"Yes indeed," Mask stood back up. "It is quite the innocent trap. Even for a young dungeon it's not very harmful."

"Hmmm," the Handler frowned in thought but said nothing more. "Let's move on."

Two chambers further and down a flight of stairs, the dungeon suddenly opened up to an enormous hall, bigger even than the City Lord's mansion. The circular hall lacked any sort of decoration. Its stone walls very much the same as before. There was however one glaring difference. In the back of the room several metered from the wall was a glowing white crystal surrounded by icy structures that connected it to the roof and ground.

"The core," Chloe gaped in awe at the sight of it. It was unlike anything she had seen before. The chill in the room had gone to an unnatural high, but the light radiating from the crystal was oddly warm. "It's beautiful. Can I touch it?"

"That's a big no," Mask chuckled. "It's safe to observe but keep your distance."

"Why though? I bet I'd never get another chance to touch a dungeon core," Chloe looked at it with wide curious eyes. "It's definitely smooth."

"Again no," Mask stopped approaching the core and made sure his hold on Chloe was firm. "While chances are touching the core will do nothing, there's an incredibly small chance that it would react to you instead. If it does, it could choose you as its Master and you wouldn't be strong enough to say no."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Chloe commented.

"A Dungeon Master is rewarded with power. They are able to somewhat manipulate the goings on of the dungeon but it also mean their fate is bound to it. If the dungeon dies, they would to."