My guests and I settle ourselves in the gazebo and before we start eating I fill the engravings on this table and set of chairs with silver. They all watch, mesmerized by the process just like before but the smell of the venison snaps them out of it much faster than last time. I imagine that most people don’t get to see stuff like that too often so it must be worth watching. Marvik pulls out a small leather holder with a few ceramic vials in it and uncorks one, pouring a small pinch of salt onto his venison before replacing the stopper and passing the vial around the table, unbeknownst to them I stole a single grain of salt that had missed and landed on the table. Evaren tries passing the salt to me but I respectfully decline and make a small trickle of the seasoning fall from my fingertips onto my food as I rub them together.

“Did you take salt off of one of our plates?” Asks Evaren, maybe sounding a little offended.

“Nah, someone dropped a grain on the table and I absorbed it. Which actually brings me to an offer I have been wanting to make since I got that tea from Marvik.”

“Ya can call me Marv Laddie, e’ryone else does, no reason to exclude you from it.” I nod my head in appreciation towards him as I continue.

“As you all can imagine It’s rather difficult for me to get new materials, especially food related items aside from wild game. I wanted to propose that if you are ever in the area and want to make some quick gold I am more than willing to trade for things.” As I say this I materialize a gold coin between my fingers and place it on the table next to Evaren who looks between me and the coin and I just shrug. “The same goes for knowledge and information, I still need to learn a lot of things about this world and have no way of attaining that information aside from what scraps my ants can bring to me.” The group mulls over my words as they chew and Rennie nods slightly.

“What about this laddie?” says the dwarf as he pushes the vials of seasoning across the table. “Oh, uh, I would prefer it if you didn’ dissolve the whole thing, It was a gift from my mum before she passed.”

“That's not an issue.” I say as I remove the stoppers and pour a few grains of each onto the table in front of me. Salt, pepper, powdered garlic, powdered onion, and rosemary. I slide the vials back to Marvik and then materialize five gold coins in a neat stack in front of his plate and he grins.

“I appreciate you taking my request into account laddie, I know it technically would have been exactly the same but it wouldn't have been the one my mum gifted me.” Says the dwarf as he slides the coins off the table and into his hand waiting below the edge.

“This trip is becoming more and more profitable for you master dwarf.” Says Darnell. “First you get your rival's shield, and now five gold from less than a coppers worth of seasonings. I should have brought a cart of vegetables from my tavern.” He says with a small chuckle.

“I’ll pay you five gold for some alcohol, I haven’t been drunk in forever and by ‘your tavern’ I am assuming you mean you own it. I’m starting to miss having a beer or five after a long day's work.” I say back to him and I can see him considering it in his head for a moment.

“Can a dungeon avatar even get drunk?” He asks.

“I have no idea, but I’ll still pay per different alcohol you bring regardless.” I reply, and he reaches his hand across the table and I reach mine out to shake it. I feel a slight burning sensation as my hand touches the ring I had given him and my skin blisters where it had made contact. I guess that means I won't be using the gear I get from my engram any time soon provided it has the same effect, thankfully nobody noticed.

“Always the shrewd businessman, putting aside your personal feelings to make some extra coin.” Says Rennie with a grin as he locks eyes with Darnell.

“What? Would you pass up that offer if you had the chance to make around 70 gold for bringing a bunch of booze and liquor for a half days trip down here and half day back?”

“I suppose I wouldn’t.” Rennie agrees before taking another bite.

“I had also been meaning to ask, But what exactly is the significance of these? I say as I materialize one of those medallions I had given to Rennie and Darnell. The whole table just looks at me flatly as if not knowing how to answer.

“You don’t know what a singing medallion is?” Asks Evaren between two mouthfuls of venison.

“Not particularly no, I know that it will keep my guardians from attacking you, and it costs such a small amount of mana to create I can’t hardly notice it which is strange itself. And when I use discern on the thing it just tells me it is a coin infused with my mana essence.” This time Erb answers after dabbing his mouth with a cloth he had pulled from the pocket of his off-white coat.

“A singing medallion is as you stated, a coin or token that is infused with your mana essence, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. They are considered taboo among adventurers and are generally only given to those who make contracts with a dungeon through the use of spellwork similar to shackling. Only instead of forcing you into your avatar, you are drawn into the mind of the one casting where you can strike a deal or leave with no harm done to either party. The same thing can be achieved if someone physically touches your core, however as you may be able to imagine, that is much more dangerous than simply lighting a candle from outside the dungeon. The saying higher risk higher reward does come into play, as from the safety outside of a dungeon, neither side has the upper hand in their argument for benefits, but if you can make it to the core you could leverage the dungeon's wellbeing for a better deal, often ending in the subjugation of the dungeon. And while they aren't the only object that can be used to perform a consultation they are by far the most potent and give the best overall image of the dungeon core and its avatar.”

“What is a consultation?” I ask, now having my interest piqued.

“It is a form of scrying used to determine factors related to dungeons and certain kinds of conjuration.” Says Rennie. “For example, when I returned to Hoagen after meeting you I had Erb here perform a consultation on you using your medallion. We learned your aspects and their level, the shape of your core, your attunement color, and what your avatar looked like. And your miscellaneous attunement trait which none of us had ever seen before.” He said while eyeing me slightly before returning to his food.

“Ah yes, I have been wanting to ask about that, but I didn’t want to seem too forward.” Said Erb, already taking out his notebook.

“That seems a little… Invasive.” I say looking at Rennie who just shrugs. “I mean the consultation thing, not the question doc, I'll get to you in a second, although that may also be a slightly touchy subject."

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“Doc?” Asks Erb, genuinely perplexed.

“Well, what was I supposed to expect? You are the first sentient dungeon anyone has ever heard of let alone one that knows how to be civil and can talk, not even mentioning the fact you can leave the confines of the inside of your dungeon. I was just being cautious and covering all my bases.”

“That’s fair I guess.” I say as I scratch my chin through my beard. “Now as far as your question goes Erb, I’m not really sure if I should tell you or not. It seems like the type of thing that I would be hunted for if it ever got out.”

“Hmm, well that is disappointing, however, if you ever decide to share I have an entire blank page for it in my notebook.” He says tapping the leather binding of his book at the end of his statement before closing it and slipping it back into his coat pocket. We continued on for some time just chatting, small talk here and there, and a few good laughs at each other's expense, and then Cardinal came out of the entrance and stopped next to me. It was probably the first time she'd been outside since she and Onyx did the deed, but there wasn’t really any other way for her to come talk to me other than her nudging the bond.

“I have news of their prey, a small encampment circled by fallen trees has sprung up relatively nearby. It is guarded by beings matching the description from the little one.” Says Cardinal as I hand her a portion of my deer steak.

“Any particular direction.” I ask while watching her scent the air with her antenna and look around at the new courtyard from her spot by my chair.

“The scouting party relayed that it was about halfway between us and a soft shell clan hive over the mountain heading away from the river, however, that is all the information I was given.”

“That is plenty helpful, thank you Cardinal.” I say before turning to the group whose attention is now focused solely on our conversation. “Cardinal says there is a barricaded encampment of goblins around halfway between here and a human or orc settlement past the mountain headed away from the river. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you specifically If it’s humans or orcs, my ants refer to both as ‘soft-shell clansmen'.” I say as they think about what I had said.

“Well there aren’t any orc settlements around these parts as far as I’m aware, and over the mountain from the river would be south..” Says Rennie as his words trail off and he begins digging through his bag and pulls out a somewhat large piece of parchment and lays it out over the center of the table, placing his mug over the corner closest to him to keep the light breeze from whisking it away and Darnell does the same to his own corner. He taps on the map somewhat close to the middle and then draws his finger a couple inches down the map to a black circle with something written in a rune-like language I can’t read but the mist forms over the word and seemingly translates for me and apparently the village is called Felwen. I assume that is where Rennie had been traveling from when we met the first time. At this point, Rennie pulls out a charcoal pencil and draws a rectangle between the village and what I am guessing is my mountain, annotated by a triangle but it doesn’t have a name. “Well, we have our heading.” He says thoughtfully as he stares hard at the newly drawn rectangle.

“Cardinal, are there any other defining features in the vicinity of the camp that the foragers might have taken note of?” I ask turning back to the queen as she cleans an antenna with her little grasping appendages.

“I am unsure, I will call the scouts who discovered it to come speak with you directly.” With those words, Cardinal disappeared back down the entrance to the dungeon.

“What’d she say laddie?” Asks Marvik as he finishes off the last of his meal, looking much more jovial now than he had earlier.

“She is going to send the ants who discovered the camp directly to me to disseminate any further information.” I say getting an eyebrow from Erb.

“The worker drones also have the intelligent capacity to speak?” He asks as he once again pulls out his notebook and pencil.

“Yes, however, it’s like talking to a rock. There is no real emotion behind anything and most of what they say is driven completely by instincts or logic unless there is some form of excitement going on, and even then it's still broken sentences. The royals have emotions and opinions because they were already leaps and bounds more intelligent even before bonding to my core or receiving a name.” I say as I also finish my steak and polish off the last of my tea. As Erb fervently writes his notes Rennie refolds the map and stows it back in the depths of his bag as a pair of female workers appear from the entrance and wait patiently for me to finish another one of Erb’s questions. I turn to them and the closer one begins tapping on my thigh with her antenna and it translates through the bond.

“Small loud green prey creatures built fallen tree encampment in dense forest over mountain away from river. Half way between nest and soft-shell clans hive.” Says the ant who just looks up at me and waits.

“Were there any other defining features or details of the surrounding area?” I ask and the two look at each other with a few chitters before the speaker turns back to me.

“Grass in area extremely thick and camp built around big-big twisty tree with droopy vine branches and thin leaves.” After this, the ant sits almost akin to how a dog would and waits expectantly to see if it did a good job or not.

“She says the grass and foliage around the camp was very dense, and the camp itself was built around a… very large twisted tree with vine-like branches and thin leaves.” The group thinks over my words before Evaren speaks.

“Are there any Well Willows in this region? I haven’t come across any since I moved to Hoagen.”

“There are eleven or twelve in the province, and three of them are in the Greywood.” Says Erb while holding his chin in his hand and examining the quartz skylight or possibly the great stone tree behind it.

“Fortunately, I know exactly where this tree is.” says Rennie as he unfolds the map again and marks a small X close to the edge of the previously annotated rectangle before folding it once more and placing it in his lap. “Perks of living and hunting in these woods for forty years is you get to know the area pretty well. We all appreciate the information, and as I had said I wanted to barter for it so name your price.” He says as he makes eye contact with me.

“Getting a copy of that map would be more than enough compensation in my opinion. Knowledge for knowledge, that sort of thing.” After I say this he places the map on the table and slides it over to me and I consume it then reform it and slide it back to him, I materialize a new map and partially unfold it to make sure it isn't just a blank piece of parchment then place it in my left lower cargo pocket before turning to my ants who were still patiently waiting and an idea strikes me. “How would you feel about taking some ants along with you to clear out the goblins?” I ask, and the group all collectively blinked as if I had spoken a different language.

“I mean, I’m sure it would help laddy, but I don’ think we could ask for any more help than you’ve already given us.” Says Marvik as he fiddles with his bag's straps.

“It would be a win-win for both of us, you all would get assistance in your fight, and my ants and I would gain experience towards our next levels, granted when they kill something outside my domain I only get a small percentage of what they get in total but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Ordinarily I would say yes to that offer but I was considering bypassing the encampment and heading straight to the village to pass on the information on the spiders and goblins encampment, and then, the next morning, head out for the extermination. If they are smart enough to stop and stay out of sight outside the town and wait for us until the next morning then I can say yes but otherwise I’m afraid I will have to reject your offer.” Rennie says then chews on the inside of his cheek thinking about something.

I turn to the ant still sitting and waiting for me to let her go back to her duties and close my eyes focusing my mana, then in my best commanding tone, I say “Scout” and a soft orange glow surrounds the ant and she begins to sway slightly on her feet as she stands from her pseudo-sitting position before the light fades. The ant next to her begins tapping her frantically and then scurries off into the dungeon in an excited way I haven’t seen before. Shortly after a group of five more ants emerge and begin tapping her and chittering. When she finally had enough she chitters loudly and they all stop and bow their heads.

"Can you get other ants to follow your orders to a "T" and keep them in line as well as follow orders from someone outside the colony as long as I or the royals have told you to do so?” I say to Scout, not really asking so much as telling and she nods her head vigorously before returning to her sitting position, and the other ants behind her mimic her posture. I turn to the party of befuddled adventures and ask Rennie, “ Is that smart enough?”