Ina’s eyelids trembled a little, her breaths picking up the pace a little just before she finally opened her eyes. She was staring at a grey stone ceiling supported by a few wooden beams. Confusion and disorientation overtook her somewhat pale face. Her body twitched and she rose up, the unused muscles of her torso aching under the unfamiliar strain.

She frowned in response to the unusual pain and started to move around to relax the stiff muscles and tendons. Meanwhile, she took a look around, trying to understand what had happened and where she was right now.

She still faintly remembered what had happened. The fight, her injury, the male voice that had bargained with the dryads. But that did not really help her to find out how she had come to lie on a comfortable bed in a small chamber.

Even more importantly it did not explain how she was suddenly capable of moving!

She moved her hand back to her neck and touched the skin and tried to feel the bones beneath. There seemed to be nothing wrong with them. As she did that, the impossibly white blanket that had covered her slipped and uncovered her upper body.

It was only now that Ina realized that she was completely and utterly naked. A thick blush immediately covered her face and she was about to pull up the sheet again before noticing a weird greyish sign that was drawn on the skin between her two breasts. She blinked twice and run a finger across it, trying to rub the paint off.

To her dismay, the symbol did not show any signs of fading. It had quite obviously been tattooed onto her skin.

She stared at it for a while, wondering what else might or might not have happened to her body while she had been unconscious. But then she dismissed those scary thoughts. Whoever had tattooed the symbol on her chest, was the same person who had saved her from the dryads and somehow healed her broken body.

She wanted to believe that this somebody was a good person and must have had his reasons…

Just as she thought that the door to the room opened and a man stepped inside. He was of average height with short black hair and a pair of vibrant green eyes that gently looked at her. His clothes were quite extraordinary, a short black robe adorned with silver threads and elegant silver chains. It was clear at first glance that this was, without doubt, a mage.

“You have awakened.”, the man said with a friendly smile and stepped into the door before closing the door behind himself. He walked closer and sat down on a wooden chair opposite to the bed Ina was laying on.

“I..”, the girl’s thoughts raced, her surprise giving way to an unending flood of questions. She took a moment to sort her thoughts and calm herself down.

“…Who…are you?”, she finally asked while simultaneously bashfully covering herself with the blanket.

Theon replied with a small grin.

“My name is Theon Mingral. Though you are free to address me as Theon. I am the one who saved you from those pesky dryads.”

She nodded and lowered her head.

“Thank you for saving me, Sir Theon. My name is RinalieTorquel, but you can call me Ina if you would like.”, even in her still bewildered and vulnerable state she did not forget to be polite and returned the introduction.

“May I ask…what happened to my comrade?”, a hopeful look mirrored in her eyes as she asked him.

Theon averted his eyes and sighed. He knew that this question would come, but it still felt uncomfortable to answer.

“Sadly, I could only bargain for your life.”, he replied in a regretful tone.

The girl was silent for a bit, her grey eyes staring off as she felt sadness rise inside of her. Micha was her childhood friend and they had adventuresadventured together for many years now. There was no way she could avoid mourning for somebody who at some point had even become a love interest for her. But she knew that this was not the time for tears. She could cry her heart out later, once the magus had answered her questions and left.

“Then… how…”, she began, her eyes a little wet and her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat and suppressed her feelings as well she could.

“How… did you heal me? I…was paralyzed….”, she blushed again and pointed at the spot between her breasts where the symbol was tattooed.

“Does this… symbol have anything to do with it?”

Theon looked her in the eyes and smiled again, a faint sense of pride being visible in the green of his iris. He did not mind her bashful actions and the underlying question. To someone like him, seeing some nude skin was not worth any mention.

“Yes, I healed you, which even for me was quite a feat. After all, you had lost far too much blood not to mention the state of your spine…”, he saw her bashful grin and could help but feel some amusement.

“And yes, the tattoos are part of the spell that is constantly channeling ambient mana into your body and manipulating it to repair your tissue. It is… quite the masterpiece to be honest.”, he was honestly proud of his work. It had been years since he had employed anything that was not a simple illusion meant to entertain himself and even to masters of magic a formation spell like the one he had created, was considered a very advanced form of sorcery.

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Her face paled and she gasped. Ina immediately looked down on her body, staring at the blanket as if trying to somehow look through it.

“T-tattoos?”, her startled expression made the mage burst out in laughter.

“You can take a look in the mirror while taking a bath.”, he said, still suppressing the chuckles rising in him. It had been too long since he had last interacted with any human being and he thoroughly enjoyed this girl’s embarrassed reactions.

Ina just stared at him, her red face showing signs of anger as she thought about the possible locations on her body for the tattoos that she had not yet found. She could not believe that this strange magus had not only undressed her, most likely touching some inappropriate places, but also permanently marked those places with strange tattoos which she didn’t even know the purpose of!

But, despite her anger, she did not burst out. After all, he had still saved her. And if that had come at the price of her innocence and unmarked body…well, then that had been the price for her stupidity that had driven her to come to this place in the first place.

This…and of course…Micha who did not even have to chance to choose a couple of tattoos over death…

Thinking about the dead body that was still rotting somewhere in the woods, Ina sobered up and her anger dissipated.

“I…need to find my friend’s body… and bury it…”, she said in a low voice, her eyes pinned on the blanked in front of her.

Theon grew serious and massaged the back of his neck with an uneasy expression. Inwardly he cursed himself for not having thought about burying the boy himself. These simple human rituals were things he had become accustomed to in his long lasting solitude.

“I fear…that there won’t be anything to find… It’s been weeks since you have fallen unconscious.”, he answered while averting his eyes in shame.

The girl raised her head in shock and stared at the magician. It couldn’t have been weeks. How… how could she have been unconscious for such a long time? How… exactly how horrific had her injuries been and what means had this mysterious mage used to heal her?

Her thoughts reeled as she felt overwhelmed by the situation.

“I… would you like something to drink?”, the mage asked in a careful, sympathetic voice. The girl seemed like she could need some time to think and after weeks of laying in a coma, her throat was sure to be quite sore.

She did not reply at first, her absent minded eyes showing the turmoil within her. Then she suddenly snapped awake and shook her head.

“N-no need. I will get it myself. This body needs some movement anyway…”, she moved to get out of bed, but halted right in the motion as the blanket slipped a little, revealing some delicate skin.

Immediately she turned red and her hand shot up to cover herself. Averting her eyes she awkwardly moved back into her previous position.

“...some...water would be great….”, she finally pressed out in a small voice”.

Theon almost couldn’t keep himself from bursting out in laughter. But even his poor person skills kept him from doing this and he kept it to a small chuckle. Standing up from his chair he straightened his robe.

“I will be back in a bit. If you want to clean yourself, the shower is right across the hall and there are clothes waiting for you in the drawer.”, with these words he turned around, walked over to the door, and left the chamber.

Left behind was Ina, who after another few minutes of shock, started to sob. Emotions burst out of her and left behind a crying mess who was hugging herself.

Theon knew what was happening in the room. This was his dungeon, his domain. In a certain sense, everything around them was a part of his body. He did not have to be in the room to see the young woman cry her eyes out and weep for her best friend and her own miserable fate.

He could only sigh deeply, an expression of pity visible on his face. With a short spell, he made a looking glass and opened a small portal through which water flowed into the cup. Once it was full, he simply placed it in front of the room.

The girl needed some time to sort out her feelings and he was smart enough to let her have that time.

Having done all this, he walked down the long corridor leading to his own chamber. Looking around, he could not help but feel a sense of accomplishment. All of this, Ina’s room, the hallways, and the additional rooms had not existed until about three weeks ago. And unlike the golden throne or the orchestra he had summoned before, these things were no illusions!

Once he had cast the spell on the young woman, he had realized that it would be problematic for a normal human to recover in a dungeon that in truth was no more than a couple of stonewalls. For the first time in years, he had left the dungeon through its true entrance and gathered some materials.

While he had still used a great deal of magic and sorcery to construct the new living areas, they were completely real, made from real materials and permanent proof of his own work. It gave the mage a sort of fulfillment that he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

So much so, that he wondered why he had allowed himself to succumb to a state of inactive waning in the first place. There was so much to do. After all,…this was his dungeon. And even though he had never wished to live here, even though he had never wanted to choose a life as a dungeon master…. He could only make the best out of it.

Walking through another door, he passed through his own chambers, a small room similar to the one Ina was still laying in, before entering another hallway that led straight to the main hall.

It had long since changed from its former desolate and empty state. Instead of long empty stone walls, there were now numerous exquisitely carved sculptures that lined the entire length of the hall. Real, wooden chandeliers hung from the room, illuminating the room with mana fueled light while the illusory golden throne at the end of the hall had made place for a massive carved throne made out of incredibly dense and dark ebony wood. It was covered with beautiful elven and dryad symbols as well as small lifelike relieves displaying some sort of historical battle that the world had, without doubt, all but forgotten.

Theon smiled with the satisfaction of man who had finally found his calling. He walked over to the imposing throne and whirled around, facing the entire hall in front of him. An audible thump echoed through the area as he sat down, his green eyes staring down from his seat.

“It is time.”, he said with a soft voice that nonetheless rung through the entirety of the room.

“That I do what I should have done years ago.”, a confident smile broke out and energy congealed all around him, forming a storm of silvery-white light.

“Let’s start expanding.”, his eyes wandered across the hall. That was completely devoid of life.

The smile on his lips quivered and he couldn’t help but scratch his head.

“I should start by getting myself some subordinates though…”