"Where do you think the core will be located?" Bob asked hoping we might offer a suggestion on where we should begin our search.

"In this type of Dungeon, there are no levels or floors, the dungeon is divided by zones, usually barriers and boss type monsters guarding the barrier all need to be navigated. It makes it easier because whatever direction we choose, eventually we will stumble across the core.

"Really it is a matter of luck. All zones lead to where we want to go, the only trick is to find clues and hints to a direct path. Otherwise, we need to clear every zone and kill every boss," Sieph answered.

"This dungeon style can be more time-intensive. The tradeoff is they also tend to be safer. We don't have to deal with traps or poisons. It saves us some time and effort. And we can usually see what we need to kill in plenty of time to prepare.

"In those Dungeons with more than one floor, the bosses scale in difficulty, with a variety of mechanics that can take countless attempts to learn the trick to conquer the boss and move on to the next floor.

"We will probably encounter mini-bosses for each zone, but they should all be about the same power level. The final boss will be the only one that may take time and a few attempts to learn attack patterns and the skills and spells that are triggered at certain milestones," Thutmose agreed.

"It is hard to say where the core can be found," I said answering Bob's original question. "King Teigh's research has found that about fifty percent of the time the core can be found in a place of prominence. A temple, a castle, or a grove.

"The other fifty percent of cores are well hidden. It can be concealed in the hollow of a tree, mixed in with the pebbles of a stream, or disguised as a gem in a horde of treasure.

"There was one famous instance where the core was disguised as a doorknob. The door that needed to be opened to gain entrance to the dungeon at the staging area before leaving the safe space at the entrance. It took decades of people clearing the dungeon with no luck before the truth was discovered," Thutmose informed us.

"That dungeon core was left unclaimed a lesson for those that came after, a testament that sometimes the long and winding road leads starts with that first door. Instead, a different dungeon core was used to claim that planet. And Coyote, one of the trickster Gods. took possession and claimed that planet for the People."

"Are there any fluctuations in the magic that permeates the air that might help us narrow down where the core might be?" Bob asked. "This might not have been considered a major city, what is left would barely register as a hamlet, but there are still a lot of areas to explore in this starting zone."

Sieph set up her sensors, spending moments adjusting the settings trying to understand the readings she was getting. "The dungeon is interfering, the magic is too saturated to determine what anything means," she said finally, not liking to admit defeat.

I had expected that result. The dungeons on Talahm gave the same type of confusing readings. It meant that we would have to put in the time and effort to explore the dungeon and discover its secrets the hard way.

A few of the buildings stood out from the rest. Not as damaged. Two were very well preserved, a building that looked like it might have been the actual Shrine this dungeon was based on, and a small Keep, a minor palace that was fortified well enough to withstand the ravages of time and the destruction that had resulted in this city sinking beneath the waves.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There were roads, buckled slabs of pavement, and dislodged bricks that gave a sense of order to the architecture. Obvious main thoroughfares, that bisected the town into quadrants.

"I think we should begin exploring slowly," I said looking at the ruins in our immediate vicinity. "Until we have a better grasp on what we will be fighting, slow and methodical is more important than skipping areas that might have creatures that will ambush us from behind.

"Thutmose doesn't have the same regenerative healing bonuses that we do," I pointed out. "So, we need to pay close attention to his health during every engagement. My class may be considered a druid, but so far I haven't gained any of the healing spells I would expect."

"We should be fine," Thutmose said disagreeing with me. "While I don't have the immortality or regenerative abilities of a Sidhe, the glyphs that I have tattooed on my body include a few that deal with healing. As long as I am not killed outright, my body will filter the ambient magic and heal me. Other than decapitation, I can repair even the most horrendous wounds."

It would have been nice to know this earlier, but Thutmose was still guarded when it came to information that touched on his abilities. He was more than willing to share general knowledge, as his recent story about the dungeon core disguised as a doorknob, but we filtered anything about System abilities or his culture was filtered through a lens of mistrust.

I was still hoping to bridge that mistrust, but I was coming to the conclusion that I would fail. Thutmose was completing an assignment, nothing more, and once we had defeated this Dungeon and claimed the planet, he would return to his world without another thought.

He would have no recriminations or regrets that this experience was over. His only goal was to do his best, so that we succeeded, because he had been given this task by his Gods. And this mindset meant that issues of trust and friendship were superfluous. He would never consider us anything more than an assignment his Gods demanded of him.

That was too bad, I had come to like him. And although he would never really trust us, I had faith in his honor. He would not be betraying us, and what else could you ask from a temporary ally?

We had barely moved before we ran into our first problem. One of logistics. Bob was well suited for a water environment, his stingray shape allowing him to traverse the currents easily. Sieph was just as adept, she was able to use the metal she controlled and magnetic fluctuations to steer with. With a helmet and armor equipped, modified and streamlined while submersed, she took on the semblance of a moving coral reef, at least for the few fish that schooled around her, adopting her and following her trustingly.

For Thutmose and me, swimming was too ungainly, we lost most of our mobility and were unable to keep up. Thutmose didn't have an answer for this problem, no hieroglyphic tattoo to allow him to remain mobile, and I had never trained to fight or move in the water. We barely began exploring when our flailing movement forced us to stop and devise a solution.

For Thutmose the addition of ballast to his armor allowed him to 'walk' instead of swim, most of the additional weight added to his legs and feet to keep his body in an upright position. I tried using armor, but the metal did something to my shadow abilities, applying a debuff that made the use of armor impossible.

Sieph created a tether, that could be tied around my waist and allow her to tow me, but that would only solve our speed issue. When it came time to fight, the tether would do nothing to help. That brought up another problem. Bob was able to fight as well in water as he was in the air, but the rest of us had to adjust.

The water slowed our movements, there was no way to make fast piercing or thrusting motions. Sieph's metal cubes worked, but even she needed to make allowances adjusting the shape to make them more aerodynamic and suited for water combat. The water also distorted images; the light reflected and bent as it passed, nothing was where it actually appeared to be, and we would need to learn to compensate for that distortion.

We finally settled on a pair of metal poles to help me to walk, something modeled on the type people who skied might use. Each pole was fitted with a jagged end that bit into the seafloor. It wouldn't help when it came to a fight, I would have to rely on fading in and out of the shadow to be effective, but the poles worked, even if they meant our speed had been reduced to a crawl.

I tried to send a chat message to Grandfather asking for gear that might help, but messaging was disabled for anyone not in the dungeon. And the Dungeon entrance had closed once we had been deposited inside, there was no way for me to leave the dungeon until we found the exit.