Dave is a young man, who has short, brown hair and the beginning of a beard. He had passed a lot of time examining the practice weapons and furniture in the gymnasium, and what he saw was quite strange. He may not be a masterful craftsman, but he is quite good when working with wood.
In fact, before he was captured by the pirates and arrived in the Dungeon, he had been amongst the best apprentices of a renowned cabinetmaker. To be fair, except the master and his two journeymen - his son and step-son - he was the best. If he hadn't been so young, he could have left the workshop to practice and better his craftsmanship with other masters and eventually founded his own workshop. Or if he could slow down his drinking habits a bit, he could perhaps seduce one of the master’s granddaughters and become one of his journeymen.
But nooo. He had to drink away his salary every night. And that led to him being captured by those fucking slavers as a good craftsman. The way he had been captured was not too much different than most of the people in the Dungeon’s cave. He drank more than usual that night and was kidnaped while exiting a pub after drinking too much.
Anyway, what is attracting his attention right now is the craftsmanship of the wooden objects made by the Dungeon. He cannot see any traces of it being processed with a chisel, a saw or any other tool. In fact, the more he examines the dungeon made stuff, the more the strange idea grows in his mind that it’s as if the Dungeon grew the wooden parts directly into their intended form.
He could also add what the women said about the clothes to his observations. Every ‘day’, the few groups diving into the maze bring back all kind of fabric, simple blankets or real pieces of clothing to wear. From what Dave heard, the quality of that stuff is strange, they are obviously of pretty bad quality, but the way they are weaved together puzzles the seamstress present amongst the former slaves.
Like the wooden tools, the fabric seems like its fibers were directly grown woven together and that no hands were used in their fabrication process.
Like everything else that can be found in the Dungeon. The more Dave looks at them, the more he thinks the Dungeon can simply reproduce objects and even create new ones, but that it is incapable of any real craftsmanship. He also wonders why there is absolutely no leather in all of the dungeon made objects. And that makes him think, that he has to find a way to use those facts to his advantage.
All of those thoughts, plus a natural curiosity, are the reasons why he decided to join the crowd surrounding the Dwarf home this morning. The rumor says that she is a Citizen now and he wants to learn more about that.
“What do you think it feels like?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not sure I want to do the same.”
“I want to know if the Citizens’ areas are that interesting.”
“I’m wondering what’s the catch.”
“Why her?”
“Yeah, I thought Grundy was supposed to be the first to try.”
“I’d love to take a bath in hot water.”
“I can’t believe there is no price for becoming a citizen either.”
“Yeah, but maybe it’s still worth it.”
“I’m not sure. But I want to know more.”
“There are almost no areas reserved for Citizen.”
“The Dungeon will build more of them. I’m sure of it.”
It seems like the crowd is as curious as Dave about the whole affair. Multiple conversations are taking place, making it hard to make some sense out of it. None of the groups are trying to be discreet about their talks, making Dave certain that the Dwarf knows the crowd is here.
Dave also notices the presence of several persons of interest in the crowd. Especially the members of the groups regularly diving into the maze are gathered on one side of the crowd, talking to each other. Only those from the Dwarf’s own group are missing.
Dave can also see a Gnome in the crowd. It’s not the first time he notices this woman in particular, as it seems the other women are quite wary of her. He cannot figure out why she is being treated like that, despite his questions on the matter. He knows it’s not because she’s a Gnome, there are other Gnomes in the cave and none of them are avoided by the women.
The last person of interest is Lucia. The young girl that managed to open their restraints on the first day inside the Dungeon. He actually remembers her name, despite his bad memory for those kinds of details, as he feels like he owes her for removing his shackles. She is standing on the other side of the crowd from the adventurers. Next to her stands the young woman that Dave always sees with her. While he can’t remember her name, her magnificent body, marred by the scar below her left eye, makes her stand out a lot in the crowd.
After a bit of time, the crowd starts to grow quiet. Dave looks around in search of the reason for the sudden change and spots the group of adventurers, who usually dive with the Dwarf, on the end of the street. They are accompanied by Melinda and her monstrous breasts. Usually, Dave enjoys a woman with a big chest, but this one has it too big for his liking. They almost hypnotize him each time he sees her.
When the group reaches the crowd, everyone moves back to let them pass, walking on each others' feet in the process. Grundy, Mililara, the Gnoll - John? - and the two brothers whose names elude Dave’s memories knock on the door, then enter the Dwarf’s house while the big breasted woman joins Lucia and her friend on the side of the crowd.
After the passage of the group the talk of the crowd resumes even louder than before and most of the questions are aimed at Melinda.
“What do you know about the situation?”
“What was the price she paid?”
“Did she talk to you about the Citizens’ bath? Is the water really hot there?”
“Please calm down!”
After rebuking them in this way, she starts to answer the questions of the crowd’s interest. “I don’t know much about all of this. I know that she's named Franziska and that she struck a deal with the Dungeon. Something about finding better stuff in the maze. Also, it seems like she can talk, she just doesn’t seem to like doing it. But I’ve been told that she agreed to talk to everyone in a few moments. You just need to be patient.”
After this small declaration, the crowd resumes making theories about the situation. Dave keeps on listening to the crowd as he slowly moves closer to Melinda, in an attempt to eavesdrop on her conversation with Lucia and the golden blond woman.
His attempt is cut short by the door brutally opening and slamming against the wall with a loud crash. Walking out comes the Dwarf woman that the crowd has been waiting to see. Following her is the group she’s used to exploring the maze with. The Gnoll doesn’t seem that happy about the situation, while the brothers are visibly enjoying themselves. Mililara and Grundy are just silently waiting with bored expressions.
“So, you lot have questions? Go on, I don’t have all day!” Those are the first words that the first Citizen angrily spits out to address the crowd in front of her house. Dave doesn’t know exactly what he should have expected, but something a bit more formal obviously.
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The rest of the crowd seems as puzzled as him, but one of the women regains her senses faster than the others, whom Dave recognizes as the leader of one of the adventurer groups, and asks the first question.
“I’ve heard you’ll get better stuff in the Dungeon’s maze. Is that true?”
“Yes.” Once again, the informality of the Dwarf’s way of speaking strikes the crowd as odd.
“Care to elaborate?” The other woman asks.
“I’d like not to, I don’t like to talk. But you lot deserve it, so here I am, talking to you.” The Dwarf addresses the crowd before turning her head to look at the questioning woman. “The maze is like the village, there are parts reserved for Citizens, some treasure chests or shortcuts that only us can open or access. Additionally, the Dungeon will give us better quality loot, even from normal creatures.”
“Why?” Asks an anonymous voice in the crowd.
“Why? You’re seriously asking this? It’s to encourage more people to become Citizens, you dumb fuck.”
“Hey! No need to be mean.”
“Then don’t ask stupid questions.” The crowd seems a little taken aback by the Dwarf’s words, but Dave is not as surprised, that’s more like how she talked to them since the beginning of the conversation.
“Is it true that the water is hot in the Citizens’ part of the bathhouse?”
“Yes, it is. It feels really good. There are even some plants to scrub your skin with. They’re not as good as soap, but they smell quite nice.”
“What does it looks like?”
“The decorations seem a bit lacking, but I think the Dungeon will improve those in time. Particularly if someone has a good idea on how to do it.”
“Are you saying that the Dungeon is willing to listen to our demands?”
“Yes. It’s willing to do a lot of things for its Citizens.”
“Why does it want us to become its Citizen?”
“It sounds weird, but if I got it right, it has to do with how dungeons feed.”
“What?!” A good part of the crowd starts to exclaim their worries at this declaration.
“Yes, it seems a Dungeon feeds on the energy living beings extrude at any time and absorbs it as its own. As far as I understand, the most energy is released at the time of death for sapient beings and that’s why dungeons usually try to kill people. But this Dungeon is special, it is sapient itself and doesn’t want to kill us. It believes that being sapient will make it a target for powerful people and it needs us to defend itself.”
“Defend itself? What are you talking about?”
“For now, I’m talking about the pirates, stupid. It is not strong enough to take them on only with its creatures, so it needs our help. In exchange, it offers us a whole bunch of advantages for the future.”
“Is it planning something special for the future?”
“I think it planned to build a whole country that could take on any army so that it can live in peace.”
“And what would be the role of the Citizens?”
“They would be something like a last line of defense in time of need, and the first few of us will be its nobility.”
“Will we need to fight?”
“Only as a last resort, if the enemy comes too close to the core. Of course, being a Citizen means it will try its best to keep us alive. Citizens are more powerful than normal people, not quite as strong as Seconds, but I can still beat Grundy here at arm wrestling without breaking a sweat. And look at this.”
Franziska jumps, surprising the crowd at how high she can jump, as she reaches higher than Grundy is tall with a single jump, then she begins to descend again and lands on the ground. Dave can see her left foot does not touch the ground properly making the Dwarf crash face first in front of the puzzled crowd.
Dave is as surprised as the rest of the crowd by the Dwarf’s jump, but he is more surprised by the way she gets back up to her feet with a laugh, just shortly dusting herself off, before she turns her attention back to the people in front of her with a smile and a bleeding nose.
“Ha! I still need to practice the landing part, didn’t expect to jump that high.” She mutters, before addressing the crowd again. “And now a final demonstration.”
She takes out a knife and in a swift move cuts deeply into her own arm. The crowd gasps at this and some even look at her as if she was crazy. But she simply raises her arm into the air in response and everyone can see the cut healing rapidly before their own eyes.
“See? The Dungeon can heal its Citizens’ wounds this fast.”
“Why doesn’t it heal the few people still in a coma?”
“‘Cause they’re not it’s Citizens, moron, so it can’t heal them.”
“Why did you became a Citizen?”
“For power.”
“Power for what?”
“Power for beating your sorry ass, if you keep pestering me with such personal questions. I’m willing to answer questions about the Dungeon, not about me.”
“Are we trapped here?”
“For the moment yes. At least until the pirates are defeated.”
“Defeating the pirates? Why they’re not here.”
“You’re stupid or what?” Someone else in the crowd answers instead: “They’ll come back for sure.”
“Yes, they’ll come back, expecting to find a bunch of docile slaves willing to obey every order, and if you don’t want that to happen, you’ll need to fight them. The Dungeon is willing to train and arm us. After the pirates are beaten, we will be allowed to leave its Domain.”
“When will that be?”
“In several months, maybe a year.”
“How can we become strong enough to beat them? There are several Seconds in their crew and the captain is even a Third. A fucking Third!”
“Well, the Dungeon thinks, that with its guidance, I can become a Second in a few months. And with his help, I should be able to take on a Third.”
“You’re sure it can be done?”
“If enough of us are willing to train and fight, then yes.”
“Isn’t being a ‘Citizen’ like being a slave to the Dungeon? You became one of its creatures, like a monster.”
“No, I still have my own free will. I’m not a slave.”
“Seems to me like you sold your soul.” Retorts another man in the crowd.
“Think what you want about it. The Dungeon treats us better than the pirates and that’s enough for me. I had it quite easy on their ships, but even I would rather stay here. I would rather be a powerful creature of this Dungeon than a powerless slave again. At least, here I can choose my master and it’s a good one, after all, it allows me to keep my free will. I see this more as pledging myself to a king instead of being enslaved and sold to an owner.”
“It’s still selling your soul.” Repeats the man, attracting the attention of the crowd to himself. After noticing the attention he is drawing, he haughtily smiles and defiantly rubs his short, blonde hair
“Better that than being the fucktoy of a crazy collector that wants a Dwarf in his harem.” Says the Dwarf with the approval of a big part of the crowd judging by the approving murmurs, downing a bit the arrogance of the blonde man.
“Hrmpf.” Dave can see that the Dwarf, Frances - what a strange name for a Dwarf - believes every word that she’s saying. It makes quite some sense to him. He too would rather pledge himself to this Dungeon than being reduced to a slave for a cruel master. Fortunately, as a man and a good craftsman, he would take far fewer risks in refusing the Dungeon’s proposition than the women. And he could see that some of them were already thinking of accepting the Dungeon’s offer if it means that they could be strong enough to fight back against the pirates.
“Will it really protect us if we become its Citizens?”
“It needs us to protect itself, so it will protect us, while it can.”
“Can’t it grow monsters to do that?” Wants to know the blond man.
“Not fast enough, no.”
“Why does the Dungeon want to forbid abortion?” Shyly asks a pregnant woman.
“I don’t know.” replies the Dwarf, while she shakes her head helplessly.
“What will happen to our children?”
“I have no idea, but I know it’s going to treat them well.”
“And what is that fate worse than death it talks about in its law?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Does it know what makes the difference between animals, monsters and sapient beings?” This strange question comes from the lonely Gnome, who is intently looking at the Dwarf while awaiting her answer.
“I think it does, at least it knows more than me on this subject. Now if you want to know more, you’ll have to ask it some other way. I’m going to train in the maze.” After those words Frances starts to walk in direction of the maze’s entrance, shoving the crowd aside and ignoring any further questions, her adventuring group following her hastily.