Elmar went to bed dreading the talk he was going to have with Hades. He fluffed up his pillow one more time and let his head lay on it. It was stuffy in the room, so he didn’t bother with the covers.

But sleep didn’t take him. He hadn’t spoken with Hades in a long time. Elmar had thought that the God would pull him after the dungeon of lies disaster, to demand why Elmar had not interrogated the denizens of the dungeon more throughout.

Hades had left Elmar to be. Could he be understanding? Could he think that Elmar needed a bit more freedom when it came to his decisions? Elmar doubted it. Hades was controlling and liked to install, if not fear, then unrest in those who served him.

The boy closed his eyes stubbornly. He began to see pictures then. He opened his eyes and the pictures disappeared. Closing his eyes again, Elmar expected for the pictures to come back, but they did not.

That night, Hades did not call him. In the morning, he was woken up by the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof. The rainy season had begun. What was he going to do for four months stuck in this inn?

There were some interesting characters in the inn this morning as he got down for breakfast. It was packed with all kinds of creatures, all have something, and they were either playing cards or reading a book.

Gretta was behind the bar, and so Elmar went to her, determined to get some breakfast.

“Hi, Gretta. Can I have a serving of the special?” Asked Elmar, remembering that there was nothing else to be had.

“Sure. But you will have to eat at the bar. No free table to be had. Where are the rest of your group?” Asked Gretta as she kept cleaning a cup with a cloth.

“Sleeping. Say, what do people do around here during the rainy season?” Asked Elmar. Then he looked at the crowd. “Apart from reading and playing cards?”

“Well, that is pretty much it.” Said Gretta. “We used to have an archery range, but the roof fell during the last rainy season and no one fixed it, so now it is reclaimed by the swamp. You are really lucky to have come here when you did. Swelling sickness is a bad way to go. Not to mention contagious.”

The half-Orc, half-elf then went to the back, probably to tell Aleida that there was an order for food. Elmar wondered where they got all the apples for the special. He hadn’t seen a single apple tree in the whole swamp.

Gretta came back with a steaming platter with the food, and Elmar dug in. The apples were a bit sour, as they had been made without sugar, but they were still pleasant. Soft and aromatic, each bite was a delight.

He broke a piece of the ginger bread and ate it, then washed it down with some soda. He rarely had any of the bubbling drink, even when he had moved to the apple grotto it was still rare. Was there a mineral spring nearby?

He ate the rest of his meal in silence and left behind 41 mana crystals, 40 for the rent and one for the meal. Elmar had made 200 mana crystals last night and had given them to his companions to spend.

Surprisingly enough, apart from the entrance fee, this place accepted only mana crystals as currency. Which was strange. Elmar had the uneasy feeling that this could be a dungeon.

There were some irregularities with the space of the inn. The corridor had gone down, beneath the earth, and yet Elmar was woken by the rain this morning. He shouldn’t have been able to hear it.

Gretta passed by with a platter for another of the customers, and Elmar vowed to ask her if this was a dungeon when she came back behind the bar. Meanwhile, he observed the guests of the inn.

They were so engrossed in their tasks that they didn’t catch him staring. They looked like travelers, not dungeon mobs. Even Theanore’s animals had the echo of mana around them. A sort of layer that stayed on them and tied them to the apple grotto grounds.

These people had mana in their cores and nowhere else. A lot of it, too. Gretta came back, balancing three empty platters with crumbs on them, and went to go to the back when Elmar stopped her.

“Gretta, can I ask you a question?” Asked Elmar, and the woman stopped.

“Go ahead, human.” Said Gretta, and she placed the platters on the bar.

“Is this a dungeon?” Asked Elmar. He didn’t know if the rain outside could really bring about this swelling sickness, but if this was a dungeon, a violent one, then he will take his chances with it.

“Sure is. The Swamp Heaven in dungeon. A peaceful dungeon, before you ask. One without a core. We only have a system. No enchanted items pass through this swamp. Or if they do, no one wants to part with them. Hence, why we don’t have a core.” Said Gretta. Elmar looked at all the travelers who were so calm inside a dungeon. But wait, how was it a dungeon without a core?

“And you never had a core? Where did the system come from?” Asked Elmar. He had heard that Tania, the system of the apple grotto, had several cores before Theanore. But he had never heard of a system that didn’t have a core at all.

“We used to have one.” Said Gretta. Then she shuddered. “Back then, the dungeon was called the Death’s door dungeon. Nasty core, that one. Thought that we were slaves. When one-night, Aleida broke the crystal and the old wizard died, we were all relieved. Then, the rainy seasons with their poison rain happened. Old Warrick’s last revenge.”

“So, I have nothing to fear here? And do you need an enchanted item for a new core?” Asked Elmar. Dungeons produced valuable resources, but only if they had cores.

“Sure, you do not have. Aleida would make a nice core, but so will Garry. They have kept us safe for so long. If you give us, something enchanted, you and your friends can eat on the house for the next four months.” Said Gretta, and she picked the platters and went in the back. Elmar touched his dimensional bag. It was not as if he couldn’t spare the mana, but a good trade was a good trade.