It had officially been a month since Tobias's party had last been to the dungeon, but they were all excited to get back into the swing of things. It had been difficult to wait things out, but the wait was finally over! They had been disappointed to see the dungeon had unlocked a new floor since tradition called for everyone to give the Dungeon Master an entire month's worth of space to build afterward. Part of this was for their safety, but the other part was due to respect for the Dungeon Master.

It wasn't uncommon for a new Dungeon Master to want to completely overhaul the dungeon's layout and change things up when they unlocked a new floor. Many didn't, but plenty of others did and that tended to become a safety hazard. Those who were used to the dungeon's old layout could be caught by surprise and end up getting themselves killed. Other times the Dungeon Masters would purposely make their dungeons more dangerous to discourage adventurers from visiting because they wanted space to work. Regardless of the reason, Tobias wasn't about to let his team get hurt by neglecting the traditions.

"Now remember, we have to be extra cautious this time around. I know Violet seems friendly, but that doesn't mean that she won't put up [Traps] and whatever else to protect her dungeon. We'll likely have to remap everything and re-complete all of the challenges to ensure that we have everything done properly. However, we aren't going to step a single foot onto the second floor. We need to get this done quickly so we can wrap things up before the winter ends and we can take a new job in the spring. Alright?"

Tobias looked each of his team members in the eyes to get their nods of confirmation. Thodin didn't have much to say, so kept it simple with a grunt and a nod. Mirabella reassured her brother by saying

"I've already got some fresh paper and ink ready to take notes. I've kept the notes in case the guild wants them, though. It might be good to establish a pattern of behavior so they can better classify what sort of dungeon it is."

Tobias nodded, replying

"Good thinking. I'm sure that'll make it easier when I have to write up the official report on everything."

Turning to Matthias, he asked

"Can you cooperate a bit more with the challenges this time? The sooner we can complete them, the sooner we can all take a break. I know you said your mother has slightly recovered during your visit, but I'm sure you're still anxious to be there with them."

Matthias glowered at Tobias, he didn't like the death flags he was putting up, especially just before they were about to enter a dungeon. Still, they had all been respectful about him taking time off to visit his family, so he tried to muster up some positivity for their sake.

"I'm not going to do that parkour challenge, but I'll help with whatever else I can."

Tobias nodded, reassuring him

"That's fine. The others and I have been practicing with the makeshift course we set up, so we'll likely have better luck with it than you would."

Matthias felt like that came across as an insult, but he knew Tobias didn't mean anything by it, so he just let it be. With everything confirmed, the group headed into the dungeon.

Instantly they could tell that things had indeed changed since they were last here. There was no longer a path in front of them, instead two paths branched out to either side of them. As one of the paths had a sign stating there was a tribute room ahead, they decided to go that way first.

The hallways were still dark, so they had to use a magic light each time they traveled through one. Otherwise, they likely wouldn't have even been able to see the sign in the first place. Upon entering the tribute room, the group was a bit surprised to see it was more like a small storage room. It was crowded with shelving and barrels and there was light just barely coming through the thin cloth covering that served as a roof.

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"Well, this certainly isn't what I was expecting."

Tobias noted. Mirabella laughed as she interjected

"I suppose it certainly doesn't fit the otherwise whimsical nature of the dungeon. By the way, did you notice the dungeon has a name now? Apparently, it's called "Thornkeep Sanctuary". Perhaps Violet is trying to change things up from how it used to be? Such a carefree and peaceful dungeon wasn't likely to last long, but it's still a shame."

Matthias was easily swayed by his party member's words and felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It wouldn't be good for the dungeon to have switched strategies so quickly like that., people could get hurt. Well, his party would likely be fine, they knew better than to let down their guard and they had Mirabella to scout out any [Traps]. However, it was still problematic since the dungeon already had a reputation for being one of the more beginner-friendly dungeons.

Tobias hummed in thought before replying

"Well, it might be a little too early to tell. This is only one room, after all. Let's go ahead and leave our tribute here, as it says, and then we can move on."

Despite his hopeful comment, he still planned to take his time moving forward so that he could watch out for any problems that might arise. Luckily, since the dungeon had a second floor, they could now afford to spend several hours in the dungeon without any issues. Well, Violet might still be working on the first floor, but they'd certainly clear out before the sunset.

They dropped a silver coin into a barrel before moving on to the next room. They had been wanting to buy something decent for a tribute this time around to celebrate Violet's recent success, but they had been out of luck. The merchants seemed to be having some difficulties, so there hadn't been very many, if any, coming through the area over the last month. Then, to top it all off, the tavern owner and grocers started raising prices as well as setting limits to how much they would sell people. It would seem the town's supply lines were cut off and this was going to be a rather harsh winter.

The next room they came across was the new altar room. Religion in this world was a very personal affair with most adventurers choosing only a small handful of deities they were willing to pray to. Those who were devoted only to a single deity tended to be either part of a holy church or part of a cult for one of the darker gods. Neither of those things were really ideal for the average citizen, though, especially since all of the gods with temples in dungeons were very much so real.

Mirabella was curious and went up the stairs of the altar to take a closer look at the statue of the goddess displayed on it. Reading a small placard at its feet, she read off

"The goddess of love and beauty. Huh, that's an interesting one. I'm not sure I've heard of her before. Have any of you?"

Thodin stroked his beard in thought before slowly replying

"No, I haven't. Do you think it's a new one?"

Well, there were no 'new' gods or goddesses per se, but any deity who hadn't been showcased in a dungeon before could certainly be considered new to them. Tobias felt a little unsure of himself as he said

"I think most dungeons end up with deities that relate to the nature of the dungeon themselves. For example, a dungeon filled with the dead might have an altar to the god of death. If that's actually the case, then perhaps this dungeon is the only one that has qualified to represent this particular goddess up until now."

Mirabella felt that made sense, so she nodded before declaring

"Alright, well, I think I'm going to pay my respects. It isn’t every day that you discover a new deity and I could probably use some help from a goddess of love."

Tobias looked away awkwardly. His sister had been talking about how she wanted to meet a strong, handsome adventurer to settle down with one day ever since they were kids. However, as her elder brother, it was a bit embarrassing to constantly have his sister's lack of a love life brought up around him. While he was sure their mother would much rather he thought similarly so someone would be able to pass down their family name, he just wasn't ready for that quite yet.

Thodin's laughter made him grimace and he quickly hurried the others out of the room to give his sister some privacy. She could meet up with them at the entrance to the next room when she was ready. Until then, they would just have to wait.