Wendy lowers her sword to appear less threatening, but placing it in a position that will still allow her to engage it quickly, should combat suddenly arise. Then she turns to the fellow adventurer, and pointing to the slime, says, “I’ve never met anyone who could communicate with slimes before.”

The man rises to his feet, observing her for a moment. Then, he shrugs. “Oh, neither have I,” he replies, shaking his head.

Huh? “Wait, what do you mean? I just saw you speaking with it a second ago.”

“Oh, sure. I speak to Cy, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what he says back. So it’s not really communication, you see…”

Okay…. “Then why do it at all?”

“Well, it’s kind of like that movie, with the volleyball, you know? Talking to him is… cathartic.” After responding, the man appears to turn inward, lost in his own thoughts, dropping the cavern into silence. Still trying to execute her plan of becoming acquainted, however, Wendy forces it to break.

“Volleyball? Movie?”

“Ah, I guess you wouldn’t know about those,” the man replies with a disinterested wave of his hand, not looking up.

A pause. “So... why was the slime-”

“Cy.”

“-um, right, why was ‘Cy’ carrying you around on a wooden board?”

“Well, ever since I summoned him two days ago, I’ve been using him as a makeshift vehicle, as a means of conserving energy.”

“I see…” I really don’t. A longer pause. What’s with this awkwardness??? I’m usually pretty good at keeping a conversation going, but I have no idea what he’s talking about! Think, Wendy, you have to break the ice somehow...

“So, um, about this dungeon,” she tries again from a different approach, “it’s pretty tiny, isn’t it?”

“Well, sorry it’s below average,” the man grumbles, apparently taking offense, “but size isn’t always the only thing that matters, you know!”

Why is he being so defensive about it?! All I said was that the dungeon itself is small! Why should he care?

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“Um… so…” But this time, she is at a loss for words, and another long silence fills the cavern. To her surprise though, it is ultimately the man that breaks it.

She hears him mumbling to himself, saying, “No, that’s right, I should really do this first… This should have my undivided attention, I guess… even if I really, really want to go back to working on the smelting system…” Then he turns to her, continuing, “Apologies if I seem a bit… distracted. There’s this bug in developing my smelting system, you see, that I just can’t quite figure out. Something to do with the temperature control as it relates to the composition of the iron ore, I think, but it’s got me on my wits end and-” She must appear confused, for the man abruptly stops, shaking his head as he continues, “I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Okay-” He takes a breath. “Let’s start from the top. My name is Franklin, and you are-?”

Finally, a question she can understand. She offers a nod. “Wendell.”

“I see. Wendell. And given your attire, you’re an adventurer, I presume?”

She finds the question odd, for what else would she be, but she responds anyways with a nod of her head. The man, Franklin, seeing this then proceeds. “Good, good. Well, Wendell. Congratulations, you are the first adventurer to arrive at my dungeon.”

His dungeon? Is he laying claim to the entire thing? “Wait, hold on, I know you may have discovered it first, but I think we can work out something to share the experience and loot and such-”

“Oh,” Franklin interrupts, “I think you’ve misunderstood. I’m not an adventurer.”

Huh? “... What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is my dungeon. Or rather, I should think it more appropriate to say that I am the dungeon. Surely you know about dungeon cores and such?” She shakes her head, prompting the man to raise an eyebrow as he continues, “Oh… well that in itself is interesting… Let me ask you this then, how do you think it is that these dungeons persist? Where do the monsters come from? Or the loot?”

“I,” Wendy begins hesitantly, “I’ve never really thought about it…” And this is true, for she has always assumed that dungeons just are. She has never once given a thought to how they come to be. Still, what does he mean, he “is” the dungeon? Isn’t he just an adventurer? And what’s a “dungeon core”? This guy… I wonder if he has a few screws loose...

She sees Franklin give her a pondering glance, saying, “Hm, I wonder if this is the consensus in this world, or if you’re just particularly ignorant?”

“Hey-!”

The man laughs. “Sorry, I was just thinking to myself.”

“That doesn’t make it any better…”

“In any case,” the man continues, like nothing has happened, “As I was saying before, since you are the first adventurer to arrive at my dungeon, I suppose this is a grand opening of sorts, which means a celebratory prize is in order. One second, let me just go get the… Hm, that’s weird. I thought I left it right here. Did I misremember? Well, not that I can but… Weird…”

“Are you looking for something?”

“Yes, there was a clay jar here, shaped like a potato-”

“Oh...” Wendy begins slowly, the words drawing a memory to mind. She points to the far wall, where the shards of pottery lie. “I’m sorry, I broke it earlier, by accident.”

She watches as the man goes to pick up the fragments, inspecting them one at a time, and as she nears, she hears him say, “It’s quite alright, Wendell. It was an accident, right? I mean, sure, this was a one-of-a-kind heirloom, passed on through my family for seven generations, worth at least several dozen gold coins, if I had to guess. And I mean, sure, I had treasured it like a son, like a creation of my own hands, of my sweat, blood and tears. But, you said it was an accident, right? So, there is naught to be done about it, I suppose…”

The man’s melancholic tone dampens the mood of the cavern, and Wendy feels her face grow somber in turn. Softly, as is proper to do in such situations, she says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it meant so much to you. If there’s something I can do to make it up-”

Before she can even finish, she sees the man leap to his feet. The sadness from his face appears long gone, replaced by an excited grin. “Oh, I’m so glad you offered! There is, in fact, a few things you can help me with!”

Taken aback by the sudden reversal, Wendy only manages, “Uh, sure, what is it-?”

She sees the man hold up two fingers, saying, “First, I’d like for you to tell me about The Outside. You came in from the portal, yes? And second, I’d like you to help me run a few tests.”

“Tests? What kind of tests?”

She sees Franklin give a mischievous smile. “Well, don’t worry about that for now. How about you start with telling me just what exactly lies beyond these dungeon walls?”