Theo blinked. This was not his dungeon. He closed his eyes slowly and then opened them again. This was still not his dungeon. And yet, it felt like his dungeon. That ever present aura still enveloped him here. How could the second floor look so much different than the third floor of the same dungeon? The door behind him was still open to his floor, so he knew he hadn’t gone the wrong way.

This was the first time Theo had ever left the third floor, so he expected it to be different, but not this different. A strange barrage of aromas assaulted him as he stepped into a lush, tropical environment. He didn’t recognize anything. Gone were the smooth stone floors. Gone were the comforting stone walls that kept the adventures out. Instead, green things were everywhere. Tall green things, short green things and most of them appeared to have sprouted out of the ground. Dotted among them were purple and red blotches.

Stone corridors were all Theo had ever known. They had been his entire world up until now. Something pungent wafted near his face. He pinched his nose and breathed through his mouth trying to dampen the fragrant mix of odors. Instead of helping remove the smells, he could now taste them.

He felt a strong urge to return to the third floor. He could easily step back through the door and retreat to the safety of his third floor, but who would stop the adventurers? He paused for a long moment, looking back at his beloved third floor. However, his mission was clear so he took a step forward into the green unknown.

Tall brown pillars stretched up higher than he could see from where they rooted into the ground and oddly shaped green things sprouted from where the brown trunk branched off into smaller columns. They seemed to be alive, but he couldn’t understand their purpose. He placed his palm on one. It felt rough and irritating. A screen popped up.

Item: Wormwood Ash

Type: Tree

A common variety of the Ash tree found in tropical regions. The harvested wood is good for burning or can be refined for construction.

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So that was a tree. He wiped his hand on his tunic trying to rid himself of the odd feeling. Apparently trees made up a large portion of the green things on the second floor, but they weren’t the only things growing. He reached out and touched one of the purple things that dotting the landscape.

The screen popped up again

Item: Knell Flower

Type: flower

This small five-petaled flower is a staple medicinal herb. Its potent healing powers can be used to make a variety of salves and elixirs.

He pocketed the flower for later and dismissed the screen. The changes to his display were strange, but handy none the less.

He touched several more things. Vivid green ropes that snaked through the trees turned out to be Spotted Water Ivy vines and left his hand burning mildly at the touch. He moved well away from their location.

There were creatures here as well - small lizards scurried amongst the foliage. He chased after one of them, but couldn’t catch it. The door to the third floor was no longer visible.

The foliage was thick on either side of him, but underneath his bare feet was dirt. He hadn’t realized it until now, but he was walking along a path. A path meant there were other travelers and those other travelers were most likely adventurers. A smile crept across his face at this realization. He was on the right track.

He hurried down the path, anxious to get to the next floor and closer to his goal of eliminating the adventurers at their source. He skirted an oversized tree covered in Spotted Water Ivy vines and then froze. Something was watching him.

Theo looked around cautiously. Not being in his third floor, it was difficult to tell what might be out of place, but he knew the feeling of being watched. He’d experienced it many times as the foolish adventurers came looking for it. That was right before he dispatched them of course.

He summoned his trusty dagger and inched closer to where he thought the brush might have just moved. He pulled back the foliage with one had and prepared to strike with the knife. Behind the bush was more green. This time it was a small, green, blob-shaped animal with four legs that looked to be attached backwards.

Two eyes appeared on the blob.

They scanned left to right.

Then focused directly on Theo.