The snow started to fall, quietly. El was glad for the cover of the clouds for he felt as if that black giant buzzard was following them from high above, and it was a good feeling to have something between them, even if it meant clouds.

So, he pulled his shoulders in and crouched next to Alice, covering himself with a thick woolen blanket, and dozed off again.

When he opened his eyes again, the daylight was almost all gone.

“You let me sleep,” El said, thankfully, shaking off the snow that covered his hood.

“You seem you needed it,” Alice commented. “And I love to drive this sleigh. Although, I do not know for how long we’ll be able to go now. Doesn’t the horse need a break?”

“Yes. I bet he does. I think we’ll have to stop soon enough.”

“Why are you smirking like that?” Alice asked him, casting him a quick glance.

“I think I know what was bothering me earlier. Now that I’m rested, I can see it clearly.”

“And… what was bothering you?”

“I know I need to go and fight this dungeon, I mean, there was never any doubt about it. But somehow I could not see us win against it.”

“No shit? And you tell me that now?”

“Would it help if I mentioned it earlier?”

“Probably. We could have talked about it. So… Is it that bad?”

“Yes. Imagine all these crazy monsters it can spawn. Imagine it playing with you, making it into a game.”

“That is scary. But… You seem smiling?”

“Yes. I will not be able to win by fighting it with swords only. I was ready to do it, but that would not be very smart.”

“I agree. But so, what then?”

“We have to outsmart it.”

“Okay. I see how that makes sense.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Clearly. Like a game I used to play back home in which you had to anticipate what your opponent would do next. Then make moves from which they will be impossible to defend against.”

“Exactly. That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. We have to anticipate what is going to be its next move and have an answer for it while we work on weakening it, making it use its Energy while it has nothing else to throw at us. That is the secret. Then, maybe we will have a chance.”

“Sounds reasonable although I can’t really comment about dungeons since I know nothing about them,” Alice admitted.

“What I know, is dungeons are like you and I. They have a system and levels.”

“Okay. That’s good to know.”

“They just don’t work for the same entities as we do. But they are part of the same system, just a different company.”

“I understand. And if it is like us, it’s bound by the laws of limited resources.”

“Yes. I could not say it better. It can only have so much Energy to use up, and whatever else it needs to spawn monsters. But, it also can consume everything that comes in touch with and regenerate its Energy faster.”

“That is a reasonable thing to assume,” Alice commented. “So, you do know a bit about them.”

“No, not really. Just a theory based on a few books I read. And, even that goofball of a Prince there knows not to trust everything you read in books. Does not matter if they were written by Elves or Humans. I think probably Trim and Holgar know more about dungeons than me because they faced them and fought then.”

“Maybe talking to them then might be helpful?”

“Yes. I was just thinking the same”

“The great minds think alike.”

El again looked at Alice as if he was seeing her for the first time, thinking about those words and only finding to say, “Exactly,” to her.

The road had turned into a trail, and the trail turned up with the slope that prevented the poor horse from pulling all of them, so they all got off and eased its burden.

Soon, Alice found herself walking next to Trim as he approached El.

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In a hushed voice, meant only for El to hear, Trim said, “I have not asked you yet, and I will understand if you do not want to tell me… But, I’d like to ask you now, who are you?”

El stopped an urge to repeat his name, but then thought that this man deserved a better answer. Not just because he offered them his home every time they needed one or showed courage when most men would flee. There was intelligence in him, charisma, and integrity. He could clearly see his aura glowing green from time to time around him.

Alice heard it all and knew right away what the question was all about, and she figured, El knew it as well. It was not just Trim’s life anymore. His wife was there, sharpening her arrows, looking to fight. And, it was a fair question to ask. So, before offering her own answer, she waited patiently to see what El was going to say.

“I used to be a man not much different than you. Family and friends. Fought for them the best I could. Then came the evil that should not even exist, and took it all away from me. All gone now. Killed. And burned. I should have died there with them. Defeated. But, higher powers decided against it. They saved me and put me here. To fight again.”

“I see,” Trim muttered.

“So, here I stand. Trying to do better. But I will not stop until I defeat that evil or I die. That is,” El said and then looked deep into Trim’s eyes. “Who I was and who I’m trying to be.”

It took Trim a moment to consider what El said and then he answered, “I guess that is a more honest answer than I expected to get. So, you are not a holy warrior who came to save us all?”

“No, we are not,” Alice said before El could offer his own answer. "And you deserve to know that."

“She’s right. We are here because we have a job to do. Like you have a job to protect your family and your wife. We… Have to find the creatures that do not adhere to the law of time. The creatures who can live forever. We are here to find them. To judge them. And if we find them lacking, to bring their existence to an end. That is why I think I still exist. And that is why I will fight this dungeon. Alone if I have to.”

“I understand. And, no, as I said before, you will not be alone.”

“I cannot give you any guarantees.”

“Only people that lie and want to sell you pipe dreams speak in those manners. No, I guess you said enough.”

“Now, I have a question for you, Trim Fastfinger, the man who gave up his career in King’s Army to have a family and give love rather than kill and obey.”

Trim let go of a fast chuckle and then said, “You almost make me sound admirable.”

“Well, it does not matter what I try to make of you. You already made yourself. Still, I need to know. What do you know of dungeons? Because, I think you have practical knowledge about them, something I may be lacking.”

Alice listened to El and Trim talk about dungeons, pondering what a new dungeon might be like and what it might, or might not do, and she figured they did not know nearly enough to figure out its weak points, the thought scaring her enough that she wanted nothing better than go someplace she could be warm and safe.

But then, she breathed in the crispy winter air, shook the snow off her hood, and said to herself that she already lived one life full of shelter and that now this was something new and worth exploring, no matter what.

El’s words still in her mind about their purpose here gave her courage and a sense of belonging to something so much bigger. Sure she read the Agreement before they sent her here, but the way El spoke those words, gave them a special meaning. She wondered if he said those words so she could hear them and find solace in them.

The Prince also dropped by and said that he was ready to light up some torches and push through the night, tracking them down further into the hills before the snow blanketed all the tracks.

“No, we should make a camp now for the night,” El suggested. “Look at those ravens there on those trees, observing us. I bet the dungeon knows exactly that we are here. It will not sit still and wait for us to knock on its front door.”

“Maybe we should just put some arrows in those birds then?”

“You may get one or two, but the rest will fly away.”

“Still, better than nothing.”

“No,” Alice said. “That would let the dungeon know we know it is watching us. So, we should let them be. Let the dungeon think we are clueless.”

“You think it is that smart? We haven’t had a single engagement, and have not even seen any of the beasts everyone is talking about. It’s almost as if she is hiding them.”

“Yeah, might be. Might be that she is just trying to suck us in, make us feel relaxed before she tries to kill us all.”

They made the camp inside the forest. But before they were pitching their tents up, Trim again came to talk to El.

“It might not be wise to make the tents and spend the night in them,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“The dungeon we fought before loved to attack during the cover of the darkness. I don’t see why this one would be different.”

“So, what do you suggest?” Alice asked.

“Climb up the trees. Look at them. They grow big in this area. The ground is not safe.”

“Well, that seems like a good solution and something the dungeon might not expect. Let’s put the tents up anyway. Divide us into groups and pick the trees, close by, all next to each other. Then we’ll wait for the darkness to settle. And then, we’ll sneak out of the tents and climb them.”

“That… seems reasonable. You think ravens would still watch us?”

“Maybe, but if we move quietly and away from fire, they don’t see very well in darkness, so, they will not know exactly what is going on. Also… I think it might be good to let Prince Kerwin know about this. He may listen or he may not, but if we get attacked tonight and we don’t tell him, I bet we will be blamed for it.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll see our old buddy Rewin right away. Besides, he should know this about a dungeon as well. He was with us.”

As his trio of mutes were helping with the camp setting, El decided to load both of his staffs with Mana, hoping that he would be able to cultivate more before the beasts attacked.

Two hours later, the wind came and chilled them even inside the tents. But it was time to go out and climb a tree.

El found that it was Trim’s wife who was to keep him and Alice company on a nearby ancient pine whose branches had sagged toward the ground. Trim led them there quietly, without a single word.

While he let Alice and Elma climb up first, El turned around and saw campfires burning high around the King soldiers' tents, saw a few guards, and wondered if they listened to Trim's advice or not.

And just as El was ready to lift his foot off the ground, the alert sounded in his head about the blockage of the unusual sound.

He turned to Trim who was ready to go to another tent and slowly bring the other people out and said, “You better hurry. They may be here soon.”