"Well, that sounds absolutely reasonable," Lacrima sipped her tea calmly, "if we've accepted the premise of dark sorcery, that is."

Scratch, on the other hand, was already packing things into a suitcase on the manor carpet. "Ya thinks so? Cause I think it's wacky tabacky."

"Scratch, stop." Lydia put her hand on his shoulder.

"We gotta get out of here," he hissed at her under his breath.

"This is our home! Do you really think you could keep your protection from the realm without controlling the area."

"We hardly control it now. The fairies are wrecking the outer colonies you know."

Noss interjected, he had adopted the witch's posture and was likewise sipping tea, but on a smaller chair. "It is not unprecedented, for a dungeon to constrict its prey via temptation. I must show you one soon."

Scratch dropped his shoulders, "fine... what the hell are you talking about now?"

"It is simple, once an adventurer abandons zheir gods, zhey become vulnerable to intrusions in zhe mind and body." Noss said.

"Or if their gods abandon them." Lacrima said.

They both laughed at each other.

"I don't like how chummy they're getting." Scratch whispered to Lydia.

"Take our former knight here," Lacrima put her cup down, "you have already lost the protection of Benesant."

"W-what? But I have never rejected her."

"Rejection is done not just with words, but with actions as well. When you consorted with her sworn enemy in the most profane way. It is not easy for a knight of the realm to lose the blessing of Rhada as well, if you had, I would be able to put you to sleep with a flick of my wrist."

Lydia looked at Scratch in shock, but he was becoming intrigued by the story now. "So if we want the Nightshade hero to become vulnerable to your magic, what does Youthere need to get him to do?"

"Zhere are party members from different realms in the party," Noss said, "each vill need a different vice. Zhose blessed by Rhada must disavow honor and strength, zhose blessed by Dower must reject mercy. But all are blessed by Benesant, and must reject zhe concept of justice itself."

Scratch frowned a bit just by mention of the word. "Is that a reasonable expectation."

"Not for Youzhere to bring about by himself, no," said Noss, "but zhen, zhat vasn't our strategy. Ve have used zhe bloodmark of Laurus, zhat Lacrima had stored, to summon one of his siblings."

"A second incubus?"

"Nay, quite the opposite. A succubus."

"I see," Lacrima nodded, "so that what it was for. A succubus. Opposite of an incubus... I suppose it is. In every way."

Both laughed, leaving Scratch and Lydia out of the joke.

----------------------------------------

"Don't you dare walk in there like that." Kiko hissed at Margaret.

Both were dressed in nothing but a towel, and both were standing in the entrance to the men's bath.

"I wasn't! I was just- Hey, you're here as well."

She sputtered, "no, I was just... I saw you, so..."

"Ladies..." the elf that had welcomed them to the establishment joined them in the hallway, "the women's baths are this way."

"Uh, yeah."

"Of course."

-

The bath was a natural hot spring, bubbling up from the underground.

It was surrounded by nature, in the form of smooth rocks, moss, and bamboo, and an intoxicating sweet air.

A thin wooden wall divided the men's and women's section.

"So what's the idea here?" The mage, Tina, asked, she was the only one that had not fully dressed down and kept a modest layer of water resistant undergarments to cover her shame. "We simply soak in the hot water? Produce a thin person-flavored bouillon perhaps?"

"You sit in the water, and you be grateful for it," Kiko said, and smacked her on the butt, "finally loosen up that tight ass."

She was the first one to settle down in the water.

"You are familiar with this shared bath concept?" Margaret asked.

"They're all over the place in the mist isles. Those are magically heated though. It's good, it's a good experience."

"I just worry... about us being vulnerable." Margaret lowered her foot in the water and found it amenable, lowering herself in. "Can we leave our weapons behind like that?"

"You worry too much, it's a low ranking zone, right Tina?"

The mage nodded. "Any of us would be able to defeat a troll or ogre trivially, even while... uhm... naked. The warrens doesn't have anything to throw at us stronger than that."

"Speaking of vulnerable," Kiko said, "where is the little sl- the little elf?"

"I thought you were watching her."

"No! I thought you were watching her."

They both looked at the divider.

But all three women were suddenly splashed with water when Elma, the tall and broad martial artist jumped in the water balled up like a cannonball.

"Dammit Elma! That's not how you're supposed to use it!" Kiko sputtered.

"Is in the bedchambers." Elma said.

"What?"

"Sylphie is making her bed in the bed chambers."

"There's bedchambers?"

-

Meanwhile, in the men's section, Laurus was already thoroughly de-stressed, soaking in the warm water.

He was gently wafting between consciousness and sleep, letting the arguing of his companions soothe him. When he noticed a figure walking in through his eyelashes.

"Who's there?"

"It is me," the bathhouse overseer said through a smile, "Rubelle."

"Oh, hi." He was immediately awake and sat up straight.

From where he sat, he would be able to quickly kill her using fire magic if she tried something.

"As a service we offer at this hot spring, I thought I would give you a massage." She gestured towards a cushioned table.

"Oh, I don't know if I sh- shou..." he stammered as she began to loosen her hair and took off her sarong.

He was enchanted by her beauty.

"I don't think I can leave myself prone like that." He blushed and looked away. "I've been adventuring so long."

"Oh? How about you sit right there, and let me massage you as is." She purred, walking into the water and up to him.

A paralysis came over him, as it had many times before, where the forward affection of a woman left him dumbfounded and self conscious, unable to do or say anything at all.

"My, so much stress..." she rubbed his thigh, "it must have been exhausting, traveling, and battling, non-stop, for so long."

"Oh, you know..." he audibly swallowed, "we don't mind. The realm needs us, you know, haha." He laughed nervously.

His body had shown its arousal to her by now, and he hadn't backed away. Instead, she came closer, pressing her body against it. "And what do you need?"

"I? What do... I... need?" He lost his train of thought as his eyes focused on her approaching lips.

She pressed her mouth against his and his entire body tensed up, but she didn't relent, gently pushing him down against the rocks.

-

"What!?" Kiko jumped out of the water. "What is that moaning?"

"Laurus is in trouble!" Margaret said, "Elma!"

The large woman took her fist and punched a man-sized hole straight through the thin divider.

The group was stunned.

Tina quickly averted her gaze.

Laurus threw the elf off of him.

They had been caught in flagrante delicto.

----------------------------------------

After the incident there was a short commotion, and it came to shouting.

Margaret and Kiko admonished Laurus for letting his guard down around an enemy, but Tina double-crossed them and took his side to get into his good graces.

Feelings were hurt, and Margaret had ended up isolating herself in the guest room.

"Stupid. Stupid." She slapped her own temple with an open palm. Losing my temper. Now he thinks I'm some controlling bitch.

She bit her thumb. Tina made well with it too. 'It's your fault for barging in like that.' Making us the villains, huh? Oh I bet she's with Laurus right now-

"Oh my, a lovers' spat is it?" The demon familiar purred sadistically from his corner of the room. They had tied him up with shackles of elemental steel, but that didn't obstruct his speaking.

Margaret conjured a sword of light and pointed it at him, without looking up or even folding out of her self-pitying huddle.

"It's not at all strange for you to feel betrayed." He said, unfazed by the threat.

Betrayed. That's the word for it. "Right? Isn't it though?" She vented.

"You've traveled together, you've shared your moments together. Didn't you say out of all members you knew him the longest?"

"I did! You know, it was just Laurus and I fighting the thunder dragon Bromm. We saved each other's lives so many times, and when we were at the peak... oh... he told me to close my eyes, and then he gave me this necklace."

He nodded, "these moments are more than time-killing. They are the language of romance. How could you not feel like a lover, betrayed, seeing him in the arms of another woman?"

"Right~? Wait, no. You're a demon. I'm so stupid, I-"

"Alarm! Monsters! Alarm!" Rubelle's voice rang through the building.

In a swift and single movement, Margaret donned her paladin armor and ran out the door.

In the corridor Laurus told Sylphie to stay put, and the two ran out.

-

Outside, the other party members were already facing the approaching threat.

Dryads, tree women, were clambering over the rocky incline towards the bath-house.

The pegasi had escaped their bindings and were circling over top in a panic.

"Wind Bullet." Tina instantly sniped two of the plant monsters with a medium powered spell, blasting their amber cores apart.

"Okay, this seems doable." Laurus and Kiko were already leaping forward with their blades.

"Wait for me!" Margaret ran after them.

During the fight, they had each other's trust, and the spat from before had faded into the background.

The largest monster they had to face was a poison ent, which Laurus was able to hack in two after being thrown into the air by Elma.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

When she caught him, their faces were close together for several seconds, where they gazed into each other's eyes and basked in their collective strength.

He was the one to break it off. "Rubelle! Thank you for warning us, I knew we could trust you."

"Milord," she bowed for him, "I am only in awe of your strength. If the Baronet will send these creatures after his own citizens, please eradicate him for me."

They went on to praise each other, and Margaret proceeded to draw blood from her thumb biting it.

"Hey," Kiko said to her, "does Laurus seem... weaker to you?"

"Huh? No, he's the strongest of all of us, as usual."

"When he slashed that poison ent in two... I couldn't help but feel like... it wasn't as clean of a cut as usual."

"If Laurus is weaker, it's because of you," Margaret said venomously, "distracting him with your nagging."

"What? Me? You're the one who's-"

And soon they were in each other's hair again, like they had been many times.

-

"Mar- Kiko? Are you done fighting?" Laurus asked. "I'm going inside to check on Sylphie.

"Oh, sure."

"Mhm."

Both were red in the face after having acted childishly in front of their love interest once again.

When they followed him inside, Rubelle was having a talk with Elma. "These aren't just moments," she said, "this is the language of romance. A promise to you, he still hasn't made true on."

----------------------------------------

The girls would prefer to move on, but Laurus wanted to stay at the bath-house a few nights.

He wasn't officially the leader, but they were so eager to please his will tended to be done.

And he had received a good justification by Rubelle: once it became clear that the fairy army wouldn't be able to conquer the bath-house, the

Baronet would be forced to march his personal army towards them. Then they would get the personal battle they needed.

So there was nothing to be done but enjoy the relaxing amenities of the hot spring.

The sweet air of the bath-house flushed their faces, and a glossy skin. It was intoxicating in a stimulating way.

There were more fights with outside attackers, but none as strong as the poison ent. Only fairy beasts and belligerent pixies.

And Margaret did notice it now.

Laurus was getting weaker.

His broad back had become slender, his skin smoother and softer. The change was slight, but the masculinity he had attained during his adventures with her was leaving his body.

-

On the third night, Laurus was laying face down on the massage table, when she put her hands on his back.

"Rubelle..." he gasped, "we can't keep doing this..."

"It's me." Margaret said.

She had drunk in some courage and was now slightly tipsy, but her voice was clear, without slurring.

"Margaret, I-" He tried to get up, but she pushed him down.

Their positions put her at an advantage, and she put more spirit in it than he did, but still, it was easier than it should have been.

"Laurus, let me massage you tonight. Kiko and the others are still cleaning up after the battle." She began rubbing her oiled up hands up and down his back without much technique. "We haven't been alone for months, you know, just the two of us."

He stopped struggling, but didn't relax. "I'm sorry about that. It's just... we've had so much to worry about recently. With the village being destroyed, and..."

"Why did you let that Rubelle woman fuck you, Laurus?" She said with her liquid courage.

He tried to turn to look at her, but she kept him pinned. "Rubelle isn't our enemy, she's also-"

"I said why did you fuck her?"

He winced.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and flipped him on his back. "Why do you freeze up when I get close to you, huh? Do I disgust you so much?"

"No! I... I- I-"

She cupped his taint with her hand, it seemed ready to accept her, but the rest of the body was tense and trying to push her away.

He didn't have the strength.

"Say that you love me, Laurus. Say it out loud, like you've done so many times without words."

He was tearing up now, clearly unhappy, but unable to speak.

So many times had this happened, where the natural reaction of his body scared him, and he would distance himself from a woman, in fear of sullying her with some immaterial corruption.

She swung a large thigh over his body, now straddling him. "Say that you'll let me do this."

He pawed at her, some token resistance, it didn't really count as a rejection.

"If you won't say yes, just don't say no..."

"Margaret..." he looked near to crying, but he didn't say no.

So she rode him.

And she received the satisfaction she had craved.

Not as romantically as she had envisioned, but a relief none-the-less.

----------------------------------------

After that encounter, Laurus had trouble looking her in the eyes.

When they were to have dinner, he excused himself and went to his sleeping quarters.

Normally, Margaret would have followed after him, but she ran hot with shame and just stared at her lap as dinner was served.

It was Sylphie that went after him instead.

"Well... I do want to thank you heroes, for saving me from those horrid beasts." Rubelle cooed, as she stocked each of their plates with a hearty stew.

She sat down at the head of the table, and gestured at them to eat.

An awkward silence ruled the evening.

"You won't be eating with us again, Rubelle?" Tina eventually asked.

"Oh, no. I won't be."

"Is it because you're a succubus?"

"Yes, indeed."

She confirmed the accusation as if it were the most natural thing.

A demon, with the ability to steal men's power.

"Eh! What!?" Kiko was the one to yell out, but they had all kicked their chairs out from under them.

Only Tina and Rubelle remained seated.

"I was slow to entertain the possibility," Tina said, adjusting her glasses, "as a succubus requires her victim's touch to take form. Somehow, they were able to make use of Laurus' body remotely to create her."

"Margaret, use your light magic, she's a demon!" Kiko shouted.

But Margaret sat there, stunned.

Rubelle chuckled, and leaned back. Her innocent demeanor made way for a sadistic glee. "You must be grateful to me, delivering to you what you could only fantasize about for so long."

Kiko leaped over the table, drawing her katana from its sheath, but Elma stopped her with her powerful arms.

Tina adjusted her glasses. "All three of you have exploited this situation. What you did was rape. You raped him."

"No!" Margaret sputtered, "I... it was a wordless consent. Laurus and I... we were promised to each other, we-"

"You!?" Kiko pushed Elma away to turn to Margaret. "I was the one he had an unspoken connection with."

"Laurus has led us all on," Elma said, "he would never reject or accept any of our romantic advances. His interest was to bask in all of our attention and never commit to a single person. Even to the last moment, he never wanted to deny the affection between us, just never close off the alternatives. And this has turned us against each other. Sisters in battle, who by all rights should have been friends, reduced to endless strife over a price they could never possess."

"Not anymore," Rubelle said, "the prize, and your friendship can both be yours."

Kiko and Margaret looked each other in the eyes and their expressions softened.

Only Tina was still unhappy, she was fidgeting with her glasses. "I see how it is, you are all under demonic influence. The law won't be merciful on this. I'll take Laurus and-"

"Oh Tina, you think you can have him for yourself now." Rubelle said, she took position behind her and began to massage her tense shoulders.

"Can his opinion of you be saved when he finds out you were spying on each encounter with your familiar?"

"That's... No, I was collecting evidence."

Margaret dared to give a guilty smile, "your new familiar doesn't do recording does it? It's a 'live feed'?"

"I think you were collecting something else." Kiko said superiorly.

"You will always be one of the women that went mad over him," Rubelle said, "you could never compete with his childhood friend."

Her face went flush up to the tips of her ears.

Rubelle leaned in to whisper in her ear. "My form is that of Laurus' desire, isn't it? I am an elven woman. In fact, Sylphie's fully grown form."

"Well I- I..."

"Tina," Kiko extended her hand, "will you loosen up that tight butt and subdue Laurus together with us? As a team?"

"Give me just a few more nights with him," Rubelle purred, "and he will be weak enough that even you can hold him down.

The thought of it made her rub her thighs together.

She grabbed Kiko's hand. "No more infighting," she said, "we're allies in love now."

"Yes! Tina!" Margaret cheered.

And they all celebrated together.

----------------------------------------

After that, the dynamic changed in the bath house.

Nominally, the plan was still to defeat the incoming monsters and lure out the Baronet, but Margaret and the others had other priorities.

Every evening, Rubelle would take one of the girls to Laurus his room, and they would have him carnally.

He became thinner and thinner. A slender, effeminate boy.

Until even Sylphie noticed.

"Laurus, what becometh of thine promise to me?" She asked him right out. "Of avenging our village. Doth that hold no meaning to thou anymore?"

"I... Sylphie. Once the Baronet comes here, we..."

"Look at thine self!" She shouted. "Thou art but a shadow. What doth saps thine strength such? Defeat the Baronet? Couldst thou still defeat a dryad in this state?"

A look of deep shame crossed his face. "That's- I'll get better. I'll train right up and I'll stop with this..."

"Laauurus..." Tina's voice came around the corner and she jumped him, pushing him against the wall. "It's my turn with you tonight, we'll be sapping your strength again."

"Thou art..." Sylphie looked at the demonic influence coloring her eyes.

"Sylphie, it's not what you think." Laurus said in a pleading voice.

"Why..." she nearly sobbed, "why didst I ever trust a human?"

And she ran off.

"Sylphie!" He stretched his arm out at her, but Tina had him thoroughly pinned.

-

Not stopping to grab her things, Sylphie ran right out of the building and down the cobble path.

There were dryads there, but they did not target her. On reflection, they never had.

"Flying steeds, where art the flying steeds..." Sylphie looked at the gate and in the sky, but the pegasi had absconded days ago.

Making the trek through the forest and plains would be dangerous, and who would she even run to. More humans? Humans she didn't know?

As she was considering this, she heard the playing of music behind her, at the bath-house.

"Come on Virginia, don't let me wait.

You catholic girls start much to late.

Sooner or or later it comes down to fate,

I might as well will be the one~

Honey only the die young!

Only the good die young~"

On top of the entrance building, protected by two hobgoblins with spears, sat a goblin with an eye-patch.

He was playing a bulky lute and supplying percussion with his thumb ring.

"That's what I said.

Only the good dieee young.

Only the good die young."

"Scratch." She said, "art thou here for the hot spring."

"I'm just here for my familiar. We don't go in there," Even after having stopped singing he hummed the lyrics to himself while talking. The hobgoblins remained silent. "we're already quite raunchy naturally, and not as resistant to the aura of lust as you lot."

She balled her tiny hands into fists. "'Tis a trap then. It always were."

"Come on Virginia, show me a sign." Scratch sang.

"Send out a signal, I'll throw you the line.

The stained glass window you're hiding behind,

never lets in the sun.

Only the good die young!

Only the good die young."

"Virginia is not my name." Sylphie said.

"What is your name?"

"Sylphie."

"The way I see it, Sylphie," Scratch said, "you have two options."

"What ultimatum art thou giving me?"

"I'm not giving you these options, I'm pointing them out. You have one future, and that is with the polycule in there. It's your choice how you face that future. With despair, or with love."

She nearly laughed at the absurdity of it. "Lo-ove?"

"Is that so strange?" He didn't look directly at her, focusing his attention on his strumming fingers now. "You love Laurus, don't you? That's the info I have."

Any other day she would have gotten flustered and vehemently denied it. But she was tired now. Tired and broken. "I do. Yes."

"This place is a gift to you. In here, you will forget why you ever needed to hide it. You and Laurus will have a future here, together... plus a few others."

"What else will I forget?" She asked, "will I forget the loss and guilt I feel after you hath destroyed everything I ever knew?"

He deemed her worthy to look at now. "That is the other option, despair. If you want, you can hold on to that weight forever."

It took a moment for Sylphie to swallow the lump in her throat, and by then the tears were streaming down her face. The people she had lost stood clearly in her mind's eye. "How could I ever let it go?"

He smiled. "You breathe like a singer, and the winter winds will carry it out of your lungs."

She breathed in the painfully cold night air, and then breathed out again.

Her tears were already drying, and Laurus was inside.

"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints." Scratch sang.

"The sinners are much more fun~"

Laurus sounded panicked seeing her barge into the room. "S-Sylphie! Don't look-"

"Well done Sylphie," Rubelle said.

"Only the good dieeee young.

Only the good die young."

----------------------------------------

"Zhen, in zhe end, zhe warriors zhat came to kill you, became dungeon guardians zhemselves." Noss concluded.

"It's not like they swore fealty to me, the succubus never did," Scratch sighed, "in fact. One may argue that I lost one of your boss' prized dungeon shards to a sex cult."

Youthere nodded, he hadn't lost his shackles yet.

"Och," the vampire shrugged, "vhat matter is zhat it is protected, and not in zhe hands of a rival magic user. Such as..."

"...yeah, it's a concern."

They were standing inside the other quickly developed sanctum dungeon. A ball of wood and moss with a single entrance facing the witchwood.

The green glow of the sanctum's crystal had granted Lacrima the form of a fairy queen, and she was manic with the power.

The three boys were looking at a beautiful ethereal woman, laughing maniacally as she floated amidst a cloud of pixies.

"I can see everything!" She roared. "Finally, I catch a glimpse of your power."

"Is she talking about me?" Scratch asked.

"Vhy vould you zhink zhat? Her rivalry is vith zhe fairy queen of zhe witchwood. Zhey have been fighting over control of zhe river for days now. I trust you've seen zhe dryads zhat passed zhrough?"

Scratch nodded, "then you and the other fairy queen can both 'see' through the fairies."

"Partly," Lacrima said, her voice sounded like many speaking in unison, "she knows there is a rival queen near her territory. She could never guess it was the lowly mortal witch she had struck down so many years ago."

"If that's the situation, I want you to arrange some sort of tête-a-tête. Peace negotiations."

"Huh? Peace?" In her manic mood, the false fairy queen seemed wholly opposed to the idea.

"An ambush. Their whole power structure is wacko. Cut off the head, and there's no follow up, you just win."

"Excellent thinking, master," the demon said sycophantically, "with the need to make an opposing people bend the knee, there is no need to demonstrate trustworthiness and honor. We can be as scheming and conniving as we wish! Hehehe."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay."

Youthere's praise tended to be of the kind that sounds like condemnation.

"Yeees~ I like it." Lacrima said, moving her hand through the pixie cloud, "an invitation from a peer, followed by a quick stab in the back. A fitting end! I shall arrange it at once."

Noss looked at Scratch and Youthere both. He had recognized very well how they had chosen the most opportune time to get the witch to agree to the plan, when she was intoxicated by her transformation.

It was, of course, not without risk to herself. If the conflict were to escalate to a queen-on-queen battle, the queen that relied on a shaky sanctum would be at a disadvantage.

But Lacrima dying would suit Scratch as well. It was only because of her that there was a war on with fairies at all.

The problem was this: Noss had come to like Lacrima now. She was a fellow magic enthusiast.

"She better live." He said.

"What was that?"

Suddenly, the sanctum light flickered out, and Lacrima shriveled up to her human form again. The pixies exploded outwards and nestled into the wooden framework around them.

"Agh! There's a poison ent that got through."

"Laurus' girls will take care of it." Scratch said. "Come, eat something. I've brought Quiet's bread."

-

"You may be dishonorable, Scratch," Lacrima said, as she eagerly devoured the buns and cheese, "but you have a caring soul. I had forgotten how long I'd gone without food."

"My master did not come out here purely for your sake," Youthere said, coming to the defense of his master's dishonor, "we are here to receive the new batch of broodmothers."

"A new batch?"

"The colonies used to be led by members of the bandit group. But the outer regions haven't been doing to well. Not enough food produced, massive casualties from all these wars. Now that it's a bit safer, and before the next sowing season, we're replacing the ones we lost."

"And vho are zhese vomen zhat are coming to replace zhem? Villing broodmothers?" Noss asked.

"Desperate exiles, send by the thieves' guild. Just like those from our camp. Their interests align with ours, there should be no conflict."

"Or so he says," Youthere straightened his back, "after my success with the harem, I have convinced the master to take in my counsel in this matter as well. These women have no loyalty towards the Harkness woman, so I am here, to detect the ambitious ones."

"Vell," Noss played with the bread he couldn't eat, then suddenly retracted his finger, there was garlic in it, "if you vant to send away zhe ambitious ones-"

"The ambitious ones are the ones we want to keep." Scratch said. "Women that see motherhood as an opportunity, not as a prison. But anyway... we ended up with neither. All we got was loonies."

"Vhat do you mean?"

"Every single one of them was a messenger." He retrieved a dagger from her sleeve and threw it on the ground, there was a note attached.

Lacrima recognized it. "The Liege's calling card! So they were shadow bandits."

"It's on the edge of the territory to," Scratch complained, "so we had to dispose of the bodies before somebody saw. Felix and Jasper are still busy."

"What does the note say?" She insisted.

"I dunno. It's some sort of call-out?"

----------------------------------------

Gild Cavern

Size: Medium

Threat Level: C

Realm: Reddington

The entrance to the gild cavern lies in the hinterlands of the Kinsey county. The dungeon was once a goldmine sponsored by the Kinsey count family, and still bears their name and insignia.

The dungeon consists of two floors: the mine, and the scales.

Immediately upon entrance, adventurers will find themselves in the mine. Where they must do battle with magibats, dazzlesnakes, and digger moles. There are no trap mechanisms in this dungeon, but the tunnels can sometimes cave in.

Having braved the mine, adventurers must pass through the scales.

All the treasures of the dungeon are stored in the scales, but no party so far has been able to retrieve all of it.

In order to grab gold from the moving platform, adventurers must stake the life of a party member on the counterbalancing platform. When doing so, adventurers are often overtaken my the aura of gold rush that permeates the dungeon, and become unable to stop filling their pockets, until their ally is destroyed. Adventurers that never stop collecting gold eventually disappear into the scales level, becoming one with its monstrous population.

In order to get to the core of the gild cavern, an adventurer must be pure of heart and without greed.

The dungeon has not yet been conquered.