Violet had been sleeping when Tobias's party first came through her dungeon. However, she had immediately felt the effects of their return to the dungeon. Every day that they came through, she would have additional mana to spend on upgrading her first floor as well as a few extra dungeon points to save up.

It was rather reassuring to see them return to the dungeon as she had been genuinely worried that she had scared everyone away. Having to wait until spring arrived for new adventurers to show up was bad enough without having to worry that those who were already patrons of her dungeon were avoiding her. Violet's worry about causing them to disappear was so bad that she couldn't seem to bring herself to approach them quite yet.

However, today would be different! Violet had psyched herself up and now she was ready to try talking to them again. She wasn't sure what she had done to scare them away in the first place, if it was even her fault at all, but she was going to do her best to be extra friendly and accommodating this time around!

Since Tobias's party wasn't really sure where Violet would be, they took their time walking from the entrance through the left side of the dungeon. By the time she ended up reaching them, they were still just hanging out inside of the tribute room. Clearing her throat, their attention snapped over to her right away. This group must have been less skittish than Avorn's as they didn't even bother brandishing their weapons against her.

"Uhm... hello! It's been a while since we've talked. I hope I'm not bothering you?"

While Mirabella had always had a feeling that Violet was less of a threat than most Dungeon Masters, their party had done some talking during their time away from the dungeon and they were now convinced they shouldn't act so warily towards Violet. Acting hostile towards her was more likely to cause harm than good and it wasn't like they had ever met a human Dungeon Master before this anyhow. So, Mirabella was quite excited as she greeted Violet warmly.

"It's great to see you again! You're definitely not bothering us at all! We were actually looking for you."

Violet blinked her eyes in surprise as she hesitantly asked

"Oh, you were?"

Thodin laughed in a warm and friendly way before smacking his hand across Violet's back in the customary way he might among his own people. Violet flinched in pain, finding it rather unpleasant, but saying nothing, as she listened to him speak.

"Of course. We couldn't exactly leave without showing you our thanks!"

Now Violet felt even more confused and a bit frightened herself. This sudden change in attitude and being treated in such a friendly manner was more than a bit disorienting. Tobias took pity on her and explained

"Yes, well, unfortunately we have finished our job here. We have to return to Elesfield, a small city near here, and turn in our reports to the adventurer's guild there. Then we will likely return to our families until the winter season ends and we are assigned a new job.

Still, you've been quite cooperative and friendly during our time in your dungeon. We really appreciate how easy you've made our job. So, we wanted to give you one last gift before we depart."

They had actually just gotten confirmation that they would have a ride out of here as early as the next morning. Apparently, a merchant wagon had been sent over to collect herbs from a local alchemist shop and would be heading out towards Bramouth the very next morning. Since it would be passing through Elesfield on the way, they had agreed to act as extra security in return for hitching a ride.

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Violet felt a little disappointed as she replied

"Oh... I was kind of hoping you all would stick around for a while longer. You were gone for so long and now you're leaving for good..."

Mirabella frowned, hearing the sadness in Violet's voice. Giving her a hug, she reassured her

"Well, we didn't really want to stay away for so long. There are restrictions about entering a dungeon for the first month after it unlocks a new floor. While we're sure you wouldn't purposely harm us, we have to follow protocols. Besides, we will likely end up getting another job mapping your dungeon in a year or so. Might be longer, though, hard to know."

Violet felt like her head was reeling. So it wasn't that she had done something wrong, necessarily, it was just, once again, something she didn't know about this world and how it functioned. That still didn't explain why Elivyre had yet to visit the dungeon again. Surely her friend would want to visit now that sufficient time had passed...

Pulling out a scrap of paper from her bag, Mirabella explained

"I don't know how useful you'll find this, but I drew up an extra copy of the current map of your dungeon. I figured it might be a nice keepsake for you, if nothing else. If you want, I can draw you up another one the next time we visit? It might be a nice way for you to track the progress you've made over the years."

Violet's heart warmed at the kind gesture. Looking the map over, it was clearly hand-drawn, but a lot of time and care had been taken to ensure the lines were straight and as much information as possible was included. Despite the fact that a map like this was unlikely to provide any useful resources for her, Violet was still more grateful for the thoughtfulness of the gift than words could sufficiently describe.

"Thank you so much! I'll definitely cherish it. I'm actually not that great at drawing maps myself, so it will be nice to have a proper one to look at."

Violet laughed awkwardly as she confessed the last part. Mirabella smiled in reassurance as she said

"Well, map-making is a skill like any other. I'm sure you can improve with time. I'm glad you like it, though."

Tobias rubbed the back of his neck as he admitted

"The rest of us also wanted to get you something, but it's been a bit difficult. There still haven't been very many merchants coming through. The local alchemist's shop had some basic potions and herbs, but it's mostly just things we've given you before or have already seen in the dungeon. I'm guessing she is having a hard time getting new herbs due to the snow. I'm sure it's likely all she can handle just trying to keep health potions in stock right now with a whole town depending on her to keep them healthy."

Violet nodded in understanding as she reassured them.

"That's alright. Despite how much storage space there is in my tribute room, I don't actually have such high expectations. I know things must be rough on everyone right now."

Thodin laughed in amusement before noting

"It's actually not bad. I wish more Dungeon Masters thought like you. It's really a shame it's so dark in the hallways, though, it makes it hard to find this place."

Violet frowned in concern. She had put up a sign, but she tended to forget that everything looked dark for others. As she was bonded to the dungeon, she barely noticed light levels. It was just one of the many perks, she supposed. Still, she was apologetic as she said

"I'm sorry about that. I haven't really gotten the tributes needed to create any form of light. I think I'd need a fire or light magic crystal, a lit torch, or a magic lantern. I'm not entirely sure, but that's my best guess anyway."

Tobias's eyes widened at the information. He now had the perfect idea for what they could give her as a tribute. Sighing, he unclipped his own magic lantern from his gear. It would be a bit expensive to replace, but he'd still rather make the sacrifice than to expect one of the others to.

"Here, you can have mine."

The others had been just a touch slower and almost seemed disappointed when they couldn't offer their own. Well, Matthias was a bit relieved. He was only going to offer his because he was still a bit afraid of Violet and wanted to remain on her good side. As far as he was concerned, she may as well have been demanding they give her one of their magic lanterns with that statement. However, Tobias gave it in good faith and, when Violet tried to turn him down out of concern, he reassured her it was fine.

Soon enough, they were on their way, leaving Violet once more by herself.