“Hmm …”

“What, you don’t believe your own eyes?” Eric turned his head to look at the woman behind him, but his neck could go only so far.

“Hmm …”

“Don’t you see that the arrows are moving?”

“Yeah, I see that … and it’s not magic, all right.”

“It’s a machine.”

“But machines need energy to work.”

“There’s an energy unit inside of it. I can open it and show you.”

“And you say your people made this?”

“Yeah. We’re making them by millions every single day.”

“So it’s nothing special?”

“Well, this one is. This one is specially made for the government personnel.”

“You’re working for your government?”

“I was a diplomat. I mean, I still am … if I find a way out of here …”

“Hmm … that could explain why you’re so naïve …”

“My job is making friends, not enemies.”

“So, your people are weak?”

“What do you mean?”

“You need friends to survive.”

“No, it’s … we’re not weak. We just think that solving things peacefully is the way to go.”

“That’s exactly what weak people say.”

“Being aggressive doesn’t make you strong. Strong people don’t feel the need to strike others down because they know nothing can hurt them.”

“Until something does, and then they end up tied up and with lumps all over their head,” she said while standing up and getting in front of him.

“I never said I myself am strong. Actually, I’m not. That much is obvious. But I never had to be. My society always did a good job of keeping me safe, so my time was better spent learning some other skills.”

“Sounds like a weak society to me.”

“How can a society be weak if all its people are safe?”

She kneeled in front of him again, face to face: “It’s the mindset, dummy. Tell me, do you think people should rely on their society to keep them safe?”

“In a high-trust society, yes.”

“High-trust society?” She gave him a skeptical look.

“A society where people trust one another. It’s rather self-explanatory.”

She shook her head with closed eyes: “And this trust is earned how?”

“Well … people just trust one another. That tends to happen when the laws are fair towards everyone, the society can provide for everyone, and corruption is kept to a minimum.”

“Do you have any idea how you sound right now?”

“Yeah, I do! I sound like a normal, rational person that can be reasoned with.”

“You got that one right. You can be reasoned with and then taken advantage of.”

“Like you’re doing right now?”

“Like I’m doing right now.”

She started ruffling his hair gently, but the lumps on his head made it painful nonetheless.

“You’re learning at least,” she said.

“I’m doing my best.”

“I decided to spare your life because I was certain you’re cubus like me, but no cubus can be this ignorant or stupid. Especially in front of someone like me.”

“Oh, are you special somehow?”

She gave him a twisted smile: “I’m not going to explain myself to a maggot like you. You’re way too dumb to understand.”

“But how in the world did you manage to confuse me with one of your own? Clearly, I don’t have the horns.”

“So?”

“You pointed at your horns when you said you’re cubus.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Yes, I did. Horns are a mark of cubus for my people.”

“But I don’t have them.”

“Do you really think I missed that?”

“No, I’m just curious. Why did you think I was one of you?”

“You really don’t know anything, do you?” She sighed, “There are different races of cubus and each has its own mark.”

“You think I have one?”

“I thought it was your body hair.”

“My … body hair?”

“That’s right. I noticed that your hands were hairy as I carried you here. I thought that’s your cubus mark because the rest of you does look like cubus. An ugly one, but cubus nonetheless.”

“Why would my body hair be a mark of anything?”

She lifted her head to look at the ceiling in annoyance briefly, “Oh, my god! It’s as if I’m talking to a child!” She looked back at him, “Because we cubus are perfect in every way but one! That’s the mark of cubus! Some races have horns, like mine, some have fangs, while some may have a tail! I thought your race has body hair as its mark, but I was clearly wrong! I should’ve known such a mark would be way too disgusting even to contemplate.”

“But other races have body hair too, like timkiks for example!”

“No shit! But don’t you know that timkiks have tails and animal ears too? Or that some races have horns even though they’re not cubus? Listen, I’m not going to argue with you. Stop asking questions if you are unwilling to accept the answers.”

“I’m just trying to understand, that’s all.”

“You’re terrible at understanding, so you might as well stop trying. You only need to do what I tell you from now on.”

“Listen, I have nothing against following your orders if you know how to get us to the surface. I’m not trying to argue here or be in charge. I just want to get out of this cave.”

“Hmm … that’s the first, no … the second smart thing I’ve heard you say. Keep it up, and you may live long enough to escape this place.”

“Speaking of which, do you know where we are?”

“In a dungeon, obviously.”

“Dungeon … not a cave? Aren’t dungeons supposed to be … like prisons? Built by people?”

“This may look similar to a cave to someone who is completely blind, but to others it’s blatantly obvious this is something completely different. Haven’t you realized just how convenient this place is?”

“Ah, yes, I did! I never thought I’d see a small forest in a cave or find some fish in it.”

“That’s because Dungeon Master created this dungeon. It doesn’t want us to die from hunger or thirst. We’re meant to entertain it and its friends, so it would be rather boring if we’d die right away.”

“Who is Dungeon Master?”

“One of the gods,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Gods? You mean, this cave was created by the gods?”

“Just one. Dungeon Master is creating and managing them for its amusement. Some other gods like watching the spectacle, too.”

“Watching as if it’s some kind of sport?”

“Exactly! Dungeon Master creates the dungeons and then fills them with champions who are guarding the treasures from the adventurers. If they manage to guard it long enough, they get to keep their share.”

“This Dungeon Master, does he have a bad habit of teleporting people to his dungeons?”

“That’s how we all end up here. It happened with me, it happened with you, it happens with everyone who’s meant to play a role here. The adventurers come on their own though, no one invites them, but the champions are teleported here to guard the treasure.”

“But I’m no fucking champion!”

“That much is obvious.”

“I’m a diplomat! I’ve got no business being here!”

“Champions aren’t the only creatures Dungeon Master is teleporting to the dungeons. Other creatures are also needed. You were probably meant to be nothing but prey.”

“Then couldn’t he get himself a proper lamb?”

“Look, I’m not going to argue about the whims of gods. Try to stay alive, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get an opportunity to ask it yourself.”

“I was trying to do exactly that, but then you decided to club me in the head.”

“You’d die sooner or later on your own anyway, that much is obvious. Hmm … wait a moment …”

“…”

Eric waited patiently. Observing her facial expressions, he couldn’t help but notice just how human-like his new acquaintance appeared to be. Back in the embassy, he and his colleagues have always been fascinated with timkik similarities to humans. Pure logic would dictate that life that has evolved in a different world, in different conditions, and under the influence of a magical force would be completely different than life on Earth. Yet timkiks turned out to be so human-like, they were essentially humans with some wolf traits, as if the same evolutionary path that had happened on Earth repeated itself in this world but with different species.

Still, if a human spent enough time with timkiks to get to know them, they’d start noticing subtle differences in behavior and mannerisms. Timkiks were far more naïve than most humans, much more trusting, and were far more eager to jump to conclusions. They also had different gesticulations. For example, timkiks are always surprised at how passive humans appear to be when lost in thought. It’s as if humans shut themselves away from the world and stop paying any attention to it, looking through the objects and people as if they aren’t right in front of them. Or they would start looking at the ceiling as if they could see through it. To timkiks, it seems as if humans aren’t capable of managing both their body and mind simultaneously and can focus only on one thing at a time.

And if a timkik observed the female in front of Eric, they’d reach exactly the same conclusion. Her mannerisms were no different from those of humans. She stared up, at the ceiling, scratching her chin idly while mumbling something to herself. Eric realized that if she had no horns on top of her head, there’d be no way to tell her and a human apart, either by their looks or behavior.

“Hmm … maybe that’s it?” She finally said.

“You’ve figured something out?”

“Not really figured out, but maybe I’m onto something. When did you come here? When were you teleported?”

“Uhh … I don’t know for sure, but I could tell you if you’d let me look at the machine on my wrist. Its entire purpose is to track time.”

“Give me your guess.”

“Uhh … maybe a week?”

“Weeks are different in different places. Tell me the number of days.”

“Five to seven days?”

“Hmm … so you got here only recently.”

“Yeah.”

“That could mean that …” she stared at him scrutinizingly, “Clearly, you’re not sent here to be a champion. So maybe, just maybe, you’re sent here to tempt me.”

“Tempt you? With what?”

“I was planning on getting out of here. And while I do feel honored to be invited here, it’s too boring for me. I don’t need any treasure, my mom is filthy rich anyway! I accepted the invitation because I thought it would be interesting and fun but, alas, this turned out to be an extremely boring experience. Most of the time, I’m just sitting on my ass doing nothing, waiting for the adventurers to show up. That’s just not my kind of fun.”

“You were invited here?”

“So, maybe … Dungeon Master has sent you here to entertain me for a while … to dissuade me from leaving … it would make sense to … motivate a cubus in such a way, but …”

She got closer to him, her face just an inch away from his.

“But couldn’t he find someone hot? Certainly, he could’ve found some younger, better-looking male. Or is he trying to insult me on purpose, thinking I’d be satisfied with someone as unimpressive as you? Is he messing with me to see how low I’ve fallen here? Or, maybe …”

Grabbing his shoulders, she pressed her weight on top of him, forcing him to fall on his back.

“Or maybe you’re hiding something good beneath those clothes? Well, let’s find out, shall we?”