Several days had passed since the most recent run-in with the Dragonlord, and while Xenia hadn't started yet on her design for Floor Eight, that didn't mean she was spending her time idle. As a matter of fact, she didn't even spend all of it engaging in autophilia, although there may have been a second bout of that once her guardians had had a few days to recover. Mostly however she had spent her time working on mimic crossbreeds, with the aim of using them as the main feature of the new floor. Unlike her experiments with the divine sprites, mimics seemed to take to crossbreeding more readily than any other monster type she had attempted it with so far, and in just four days she'd already accumulated a decent-sized list of mimic experiments.

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CUSTOM MONSTERS VIA CROSSBREEDING:

BOOK MIMIC - C- - MIMICS/PRINTED GOODS

COIN CHEST MIMIC - C - MIMICS/CURRENCY (RAINLANDS)

BOTTLE MIMIC - B- MIMICS/POTIONS

SANDWICH MIMIC - C - MIMICS/FOOD AND DRINK

BUNNY MIMIC - B- - MIMICS/LAGOMORPHS

HANGMAN'S ROPE - C- - MIMICS/ROPE CONSTRUCTS

STRANGLER SCARF - C+ - MIMICS/CLOTHING

LOST SOCK - B - MIMICS/CLOTHING

CLONER SLIME - B- - MIMICS/SLIMES, NON-SAPIENT

SARCOPHAGUS MIMIC - B- - MIMICS/UNDEAD (MORTAL)

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While many of the mimics made for excellent traps and were giving Xenia many ideas, the cloner slime in particular proved to be uniquely interesting. If such a slime came into contact with a person it became capable of taking on their form, and even imitating their voice. They were far from sapient, however - they could only parrot words they heard the original say, and at best they could only mimic physical attacks they saw the original use. For the most part they stuck to the 'cover their target in acidic slime' mode of attack most slimes used, but they did become far more mobile when in a humanoid form, and could even dodge attacks sent their way.

As for the mirror, they had eventually been installed in the Fiver's Lounge at Em's repeated request. That had been the nickname the reflection had taken, short for Enchanted Mirror, although they would occasionally go by Emma or Emmett depending on the gender of their current target. Not that they would get any of those in the lounge - not only was the mirror installed behind the bar, oriented sideways, but the frame of the artifact had been solidly encased within the wall's bricks. This had the benefit of concealing the non-thematic skeleton design of the artifact, and it also prevented any drunkards or bored barbunnies from putting their hand on the triggering mechanism to summon Em forth. That didn't entirely prevent Em from playing a bit of mischief, but they did at least keep it to minor pranks on Challengers drunk to the point where half the time they didn't even notice they were having a conversation with their own reflection.

Several Challenger parties had made some advancements of their own in the past few days as well. The Dungeon Fuckers successfully cleared Floor Six, and for the first time they hired on some additional help to do so. The trio were experienced Experts, but they weren't fools, and they were well aware that three Challengers with no dedicated healer was a poor team composition for higher-difficulty floors. Although some of the mercenaries were hesitant to work with a team with their reputation, particularly on such a difficult floor, others were eager to sign up for exactly the same reason, and the team had quite a celebratory party for their latest floor clear.

The House Perlin expedition had been rather dismayed to discover that the dungeon was disputing their Floor Seven record, and even more so to find out that Deylia had been punished for her part in their floor clear. Xenia didn't allow them to meet with their former Maid, but the acolytes Fay and Lin did let them know their friend wasn't in any particular danger, and so instead they decided to focus on clearing the black mark from their record. Unfortunately, their second attempt at Floor Seven perhaps confirmed that mark in the eyes of those paying attention to such things. They were unable to locate any secret paths on their next attempt, and on top of that the party faced Trush and his full squad in an ambush for the first time. They did survive the ambush, but both Priest Redbeard and their Protector Taylim took enough injuries that they decided not to push on to the floor bosses.

To add insult to literal injury, the next day the Domain party made their own second attempt at the floor and succeeded at it despite another ambush by Trush. This was in large part thanks to a trick discovered by Passy, their kobold Solar Arcanist. She'd been experimenting with a spell variant since their last defeat at the Champion's hands, and a few quick tests in one of the floor's smaller chambers confirmed her theory. When they entered the main crystal forest chamber, the Mage generated a large burst of magical light above the tree line - at a particular spectrum, intensity, and magical frequency to resonate with the mana crystals that made up most of the 'trees' of the forest.

That triggered a chain reaction which sent a wild burst of intense light and heat throughout the chamber, echoing in waves of different colors as different crystals were activated. It had the effect of blinding and stunning virtually every monster in the room at once, with some falling to the ground entirely, and many of the others making enough noise to give away their positions. The Domain's agents had to move quickly to take advantage of the moment, but it was sufficient to allow them to defeat Trush's group before they could recover and with the rabbits down, the remaining monsters on the floor were relatively easy pickings.

Perhaps the biggest news for the dungeon however was some it wasn't aware of quite yet. Down at the Church of Bounty's chapel in Grassbrook, Bountiful Mother Elance was disturbed from her clerical work by the sound of a new arrival shouting out from the chapel's entryway. "Hello! Is there a Mother Hammerdown here? We were told this was the place to find her."

Poking her head out of her office door, the dwarf spies two figures looking around. One, presumably the source of the shouted greeting, appears to be a human man in perhaps his late fifties. His brown hair and beard frame a face starting to show the signs of age, although his pale blue eyes still seem clear and intent, and what she can see of his frame and movements through his thick winter clothing seems to indicate a wiry strength. Standing next to him is an elf woman, whose age is accordingly much more difficult to place, but who pulls back her hood to reveal long, pale brown hair and light green eyes. She seems reserved in comparison to her louder companion, but the slight smile on her lips seems to indicate that she's used to his noise.

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Speaking up, Elance grabs both of their attentions easily enough. "Aye, that's me. No sermon today but we're open for business if you're requiring our services. I'm Mother Elance Hammerdown, feel free to call me Elance, in service to her divine Kahlia. If you're looking for assistance of a more floral nature, Priestess Fullblossom should be around in another hour or two."

The man shakes his head. "Actually, we're here about, ah...applying to the dungeon? Just me, that is. I understand that Cleric Seamcracker's been in correspondence with you?"

"Oh?" Elance's eyes go a little wider as she realizes who this is, and she gives the man a second looking over. She's briefly surprised for a moment by the man's beard now that she considers it, although on second thought, it's really not so unusual - hair growth potions of all sorts are easy enough to come by, far more cheaply than a Change for certain, and would likely also explain the lack of gray in his hair. "Oh! Yes, I have, although it's been a week or two since I last heard anything, I think. She never did actually tell me your names or much else in the way of details, though."

The elf nods in a slight bow. "I'm not surprised, we have tended to be rather private with our concerns. My husband here is Parker Reeves, and my name is Laeniel. Would now be a good time to discuss our application?"

"Well, I'm hardly about to make you wait after coming all this way! Though if you need time to rest from your journey, by all means, I imagine there's no rush."

Parker shakes his head again. "We've already gotten ourselves a room at the General for the night, but I think we'd like to see this done as soon as possible. At the very least, if it's not going to work out, I'd like to know right off."

Elance pshaws. "Feel free to have a little more optimism, aye? But sure, sure, come into my office here and we can have a chat." She leads the way and takes a quick moment to clear off some desk space and pull over two chairs, before pouring out some tea for her guests. "And how was that journey? Not too much of a trouble, I hope, I know it's a terrible season for the roads."

Laeniel chuckles as she slides into a seat. "Aside from the chill and a minor encounter with a graybear, it wasn't too awful. It is nice to be indoors again, though."

The dwarf raises an eyebrow as she passes out the cups. "And just how do you define a 'minor encounter' with a damned magical bear, eh?"

Parker scoffs before sipping on the tea. "Three swings or less, I suppose I'd call it. That's my field, after all, so it wasn't anything particularly new for me."

"Oh?" Elance refreshes her own cup before reclaiming her chair. "And what exactly are your careers? I'm afraid I've really heard very little about you two."

"Headsman." As the Mother gives him a look, Parker grins and continues with a clarification. "That's my Challenger class, not my job title. Level thirty, to be specific."

"Your career's Challenging, then? I'm not familiar, I assume that's a Master class, then?"

The man nods. "I actually spent a fair bit of time as a level thirty Wilds Woodsman, my Expert class, but we decided to spend the funds to get myself trained up before we came down here. In case it might help with the application, or...well, the job duties I assume I'd have if everything works out."

"It might, at that. You're experienced with dungeons, then?"

At that question, Parker frowns a little. "Somewhat - not much, though, and not in years. I spend most of my time fighting wild monsters, like graybears and whatnot. Earning bounties, selling the skins and other parts, that sort of thing."

"Providing a valuable service, as well." Elance turns to face Laeniel for her next question. "And you, lass? Just for curiosity's sake, I understand you're not applying yourself."

Her slight smile returns as she answers. "Accountant." Elance nearly spits out her tea at the response.

"As - as a Challenger!?"

The elf's laughter is light and easy as she watches Elance's expression. "Aha, no, not at all! I provide freelance accounting and other scribe-related services for my town. I understand Grassbrook isn't particularly large right now, but I have hopes it might expand to the point where I would be able to work here. We haven't sold off our old home as of yet, but we have made all of the preparations to be able to move down here in short order if things work out."

"Ah, well, that makes more sense. And you're right, but I bet you the Challenger's Association might have work for you, with all of the money they've got running through the place right now, doing expansion and all that. Perhaps the Church eventually as well, down the road. But ah, back on task, eh? Now, I understand this may be a private, sensitive topic for the two of you, but I understand your interest in Worthy Dungeon comes down to...fertility-related concerns, shall we say?"

Parker nods. "We heard a few months ago about the dungeon where Challengers could supposedly be reborn, and I suppose I was briefly amused by the thought of what sort of monster body a fellow might end up with - it was a common topic of conversation at the taverns on some nights. But then recently we heard that the dungeon had invented some sort of fertile monster? And was looking for volunteers to use it?"

Laeniel adds on an additional comment. "That part's not public, by the way. But Cleric Seamcracker's familiar with our...'family planning' concerns, and made us aware of the news."

"Aye, that's about the long and short of it. The dungeon's been experimenting with a few types of beastie and found one that can do the job, and I confirmed the fertility test results myself. You should be aware though that there is currently only one working monster option, and that would be a big hulking rabbit-man type of thing."

The man sitting across from her doesn't seem entirely thrilled with that description. "Just...how monstrous are we talking, here?"

Elance snorts as she remembers the current setup of Floor Five. "Well, let me put it like this - the dungeon's using similar types of rabbit-folk to add some sex appeal to its rest floor, and they've acquired quite a few fans. I can say for myself, they sure ain't hideous to behold. The theory is that their offspring will look similar to a half-beastkin, but unfortunately there's no way to know without someone trying it out."

The elf smiles, this time widely enough to show some teeth. "I can just imagine the cuddly little toddlers now! Personally, I don't see a problem with that. I believe at this point we'd accept almost any option."

Parker seems a little more hesitant, but not much so. "I would like to see it for myself, but I think we can probably live with that, yes. Of course, I've heard this application process has a few requirements, but ah, that money wasn't one of them? What do we need to do, exactly?"

The Mother chuckles. "This is all on behalf of the dungeon, and it has no need of coin, aye. For starters, it's only open to those without children, which you obviously qualify for. Other than that, there's two main things we do here before we send you up the mountain. First, something of an interview to determine both your suitability, and whether or not you fully understand what you're signin' on for. Which technically we've already started here, though I may come up with more questions for you later, and the dungeon will probably want to do a round of its own. Second, we do mean to test your battle skills, as I'm afraid there ain't many slots open for dungeon monsters who can't fight...although possibly not none, if it comes to it."

On this point at least the man is far more confident. "Well, as I said, I'm now a Master-class Challenger, so unless the dungeon has something against axes I think I like my odds. How do we prove it, though?"

"We'll need to set it up, but swing by the Association training yard...tomorrow afternoon, say? I'll have Greenie - ah, my associate Paladin Bluehair take charge of that task."

Parker smiles, in a way that implies he hasn't had as many opportunities to do so in his life as he might have liked. "I'll be looking forward to it."