“I suspect that this dungeon collapsed completely as opposed to sticking around and probably rebuilding itself because it was created in a single burst of mana,” Jeremy said, putting his hands out to one side to gesture as he spoke. “It got enough mana from the storm.”
He moved his hands over a bit. “Then we cleared it out.”
His hands ended up on his other side. “Which meant it tried to regenerate stuff but didn’t have any mana source and collapsed.”
They were sitting in a semi-circle at the edge of the garage still. Jeremy had just gotten through his descriptions of all three dungeons he had experienced, with input from Zanie and Caleb about the ones they had gone into. Hazel listened with rapt attention. His lemonade had warmed, untouched, in the cupholder of his chair.
“That would make a lot of sense.” Hazel sat forward excitedly to whip a notebook and pen out of his pocket. Jeremy raised his eyebrows as he waved the pen around animatedly and continued, “I know this dryad that was nearly killed in a storm once because its trunk was severely damaged, and it was able to regrow, but the effort of regrowing used up all of the resources that it had stored in its roots and it almost was not able to create a large enough canopy the next growing season to replenish its stores and live through the next growing season. A lot of the trees around it were not so lucky and died slowly over the next few years as they tried to keep up with the strain of growing new canopies, but they could not.”
He clicked his pen and started scribbling, bent over his knees. “This is the same concept, I believe.”
“Sure.”
Caleb leaned over and whispered into Jeremy’s ear, “Is it like looking into a mirror?”
“I do not know that much about trees,” Jeremy whispered back.
“But wouldn’t it take longer for the dungeon to collapse in that case?” Zanie asked. “You said it took the trees years to die, but the dungeon went away immediately.”
“There might be more to it, but this is a very good observation and hypothesis,” Hazel kept scribbling his notes. “And the fact that the more stable dungeon was still building the environment, while the other two did not supports it.”
“Well, I don’t really know if the nightmare dungeon was or was not still building the environment,” Jeremy pointed out. “The field boundaries could have been expanding into the blank space.”
Caleb shuddered beside him, likely sending out prayers of thanks to whoever was listening that the dungeon he had gone in was an enclosed cellar where nothing reminded him of the fact that they were in a literal mini dimension of sorts. Hazel hummed and added a small note.
“I’d like to visit this more stable dungeon,” he said, “Will you tell me where it is.”
“Benton Hill State Park.”
Zanie was still thinking about why the hell the dungeon would collapse so quickly and said, “What if it is because the dungeons are suddenly pulling from their last reserves to create the rewards?”
Caleb snapped his fingers and looked around at them, “That’s a good thought.”
“Yes,” Hazel nodded. “Do you mind showing me the rewards you’ve received?”
Jeremy reached into his pocket for the crystal they had just received while Zanie popped up to rifle through their bags for the other crystal and the life-sense spell. Like all the monsters and interior environments were different, there did not really seem to be any pattern in what they got from which dungeons. Except the crystal from the nightmare dungeon, which did not have a ring, had no spell graved on it like the one from the electricity dungeon, which did have a ring.
Jeremy debated whether or not to say anything about the rings. He had not yet, but it would probably be important information for Hazel. He seemed to know that they were created from mana somehow. This was pretty intuitive if you knew about its existence since they had to come from something, after all. But knowing that Jeremy could literally see their array confirmed that there was a concentration of mana at the least and hinted that they might be a type of life form. Which would certainly interest the elf.
“There is one other difference between some of the dungeons.” He said while holding out the crystal for Hazel to take. He turned it over in his hands, not seeming surprised by such an object. He did, after all, have several similar crystals woven into his jewelry.
“Two of the dungeons. The one with the imps and the one with the electricity elementals had what I am calling rings, while the nightmare dungeon did not. And all three of them had a couple of different runes in their overlays.”
Hazel’s head whipped up from his inspection of the runes engraved on the crystal and he stared at Jeremy with a befuddled expression, so he explained his unique personality trait. “I am able to see…well, essentially, mana. You and I and everyone else had an overlay of different colors depending on how practiced a person is and there are runes in it that indicate unique personality traits and other things which I have not figured out yet. And when you gain enough experience, you gain a ring, and the colors reset themselves again.”
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Hazel’s expression had morphed from befuddlement into downright confusion, perhaps mixed with a little bit of awe. His brow was creased, yet his eyes were wide. The crystal lay forgotten in his hands as his gaze swept over Jeremy like he was looking at him for the very first time.
“So,” Jeremy waved a hand awkwardly, “The dungeons also have those.”
“You have the sight?” Hazel asked, and his voice was definitely tinged with a bit of awe. “You can see runes?”
“Yes.”
“That’s…” Hazel shook his head and looked from Jeremy to Caleb to Zanie, who had retrieved the other dungeon rewards and sat back down in her chair. “What is your gift?” he asked her.
“Um…I’m good at heat magic, I think?” She glanced at Jeremy. “I can make electricity and heat stuff up.”
The elf rested back in his chair and tilted his chin back to shake his head at the ceiling in apparent utter disbelief. “Another advanced form of magic. You are quite the group."
“Well, we’ve really only just started learning.” Zanie shrugged and held out the rewards for Hazel. He took them, stared down at the three objects in his hand, and shook his head again.
“That may be true, but you have already cleared a dungeon all on your own. And with such advanced gifts, you will be formidable in no time.” He looked at Jeremy. "And as for you, there have been others in our past who had the gift of sight.”
He paused as though choosing his words carefully and then said, “But they are always mad. Driven insane immediately upon receiving their gift. A few have remained lucid for long enough to impart some of their visions - enough that we have an understanding of many runes – but not for very long.”
Jeremy thought back to when he first saw mana back at Moira’s house when it had been completely overwhelming. Every little swirl of water or movement of wind through the particles in the air had been a visible burst of color that his brain nearly unraveled itself trying to comprehend. That could easily drive someone completely insane. It would have made him catatonic had the old god not narrowed his vision to only the arrays. It seemed like gaining a ring had broadened his vision by a slight degree. Now, he could see swirls of mana, but they were still manageable.
“I can see how it would drive someone crazy,” he said.
“Yet not you,” the elf narrowed his eyes contemplatively. He was curious about more than just the dungeons it seemed. “Interesting.”
Maybe he should just tell Hazel that it was because the old god blessed him since it had been in a good mood from being released from the spell and killing its jailers, but he also never liked to show his whole hand to anybody. So, he kept his mouth shut. And Zanie and Caleb, who knew exactly why Jeremy was not crazy, followed his lead. Hazel seemed to be taking a moment to process.
“This is your house?” He asked after a few beats. “May I come and visit you again in the future?”
“Oh, no.” Caleb looked over his shoulder at the door to the house and shook his head. “We don’t live here. “A couple owns this house and has been letting us crash while we cleared the dungeon. Julie is inside making a casserole for the potluck that the neighborhood is putting together to celebrate us getting rid of the dungeon. Then we are going to leave tomorrow.”
“I see.” Hazel nodded. “In that case, may I join your travels?”
All three of them looked at each other. Zanie shrugged, Caleb raised his eyebrows, and Jeremy thought they would be stupid not to bring along a companion who obviously knew about magic and could teach them.
“Sure,” he said. “Don’t you care where we are going, though? I thought that you wanted to go check out the other dungeon.”
“Where are you going?”
“At the moment, back to my parents’ house,” Jeremy told him. Then his eyebrows lifted as Hazel leaned to the side so he could reach into the front pocket of his jeans and pull out a phone. The sight of an elf unlocking and then tapping away at the screen of a phone was enough to make him rub his eyes and take a second look. Very strange. He would have thought there would be some magical form of long-distance communication already established between the elves.
“I will notify one of my associates about the dungeon in the State Park,” Hazel said without looking up from the phone. “You said it is in the hands of the Military, correct? I do not do as well as some of my comrades in formal diplomatic settings.”
Jeremy was a bit surprised at that, given how polite he seemed. But perhaps their little group was far less intimidating than officers in uniform and the high-stress environment of the command tent. If he was one of the elves who went to the white house, he must have been uncomfortable. He was about to ask if Hazel had been a part of that group, but Zanie spoke first.
“You have a phone?” Zanie voiced all of their disbelief on that count.
“Yes.” Hazel finished tapping away, then set it face down on his thigh. “Very convenient.” Then he tilted his head and scrunched his nose a bit. “When it works.”
“Do you see that, Jeremy?” Caleb nudged his arm, “Even the goddamn elf has a phone. It’s convenient.”
Jeremy curled his lip in distaste and rolled his eyes.
Just then, the door to the house opened, and Henry stepped out. He froze halfway down the steps when he spotted Hazel, then pursed his lips and inhaled deeply. “What’s this?” he asked.
“This is Hazel,” Zanie introduced him. “Hazel, this is Henry. He and his wife Julie are the ones who live here.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Hazel said pleasantly.
“Same to you.” Henry finished walking down the steps and walked to the fridge. He kept one eye on the elf while opening the door to grab a beer. Then he popped the can open with his finger and gestured with it towards them. “He a friend of yours?”
“I was in the area searching for the dungeon that had recently formed so that I could study it,” Hazel answered for himself. “The dungeon is, of course, gone now, but fortunately, these three were kind enough to describe their experience with it for me.”
“Huh,” Henry said.
Then the door opened again, and Julie came out, holding a casserole dish wrapped in a quilted carrier. She froze in nearly the exact same spot and posture as her husband had when she laid eyes on Hazel.
“This is Hazel,” Zanie introduced again, “He’s an elf who studies dungeons. Hazel, this is Julie.”
He nodded and exchanged the same pleasantries with her as he had with Henry. She climbed down the final two steps and smiled at him. “It’s too bad you got here after they cleared it out, then. They probably could have used your help with it, although they managed just fine on their own eventually. Will you be joining us for the potluck, as well?”
“What is a potluck?” he asked.
“Dinner,” Caleb said, smacking his hands on the arms of his folding chair and rising to his feet. “Are you hungry?”