“I think it looks nice!” says Fresh excitedly as they all stand together just outside of the house that Jubilee had pointed out to them. They are inside the mountain tunnel by the dungeon, along the left-hand path. Water, from the stream that runs from the dungeon-gate towards the entrance of the city, flows a few steps past the tightly closed door of the building. The entrance to the house juts out halfway, as if it were carved from the inside of the mountain from one solid piece of rock. Fresh walks up to one of the two large windows on either side of the door as she stares inside of the darkened room.

“Apparently, it has two floors and a basement,” says Jubilee. “That could be useful for your… uh… workshop.”

“Mm!” nods Fresh excitedly, rubbing her face against the glass that is dusty on the inside. She turns her head to the right. She can see the dungeon-gate from here. It’s probably not any further or closer than the old gate used to be from their old store. Turning her head around, she looks at the tunnel street that they’re on. Dozens of adventurers walk along the double-sided road, coming to and from the dungeon with all manner of expressions on their faces, but none of which seem all too sour. “The location is perfect!” she says excitedly.

“How many rooms does it have?” asks Basil.

“The downstairs is a living space. Basement is one plus the washroom. Upstairs I forget, but it has a balcony.” Jubilee shrugs. “The guy who owned it apparently died.”

“Huh?!” Fresh looks back at Jubilee as she quickly steps away from the window. “Does that mean -”

Jubilee cuts her off. “No, dumb-ass! There isn’t a ghost. He didn’t die inside.”

Fresh sighs in relief. “Oh…” She looks back at the house and then looks at the others. “I like it! I think we should try to get it. What do you guys think?”

“Sounds good to me. What else is there to do?” shrugs Jubilee.

Basil nods in agreement. “I think so too. We need a property and the stars really aligned for this one to be here right now.”

“It’s close to the dungeon,” says Shamrock as he stares over towards the gate. Fresh supposes that’s a yes.

She nods. “Okay! Then let’s go to the dungeon!” calls out the girl excitedly, clenching her fists.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jubilee waves her off and turns around to start walking towards the gate. “Why are you always so excited?” they ask, shaking their head.

Basil runs after Jubilee, sparing a moment to wave back at her. “I think it’s endearing.”

Fresh purses her lips, looking up at Shamrock who stands next to her, looking back down to meet her gaze.

He nods to her once. “Let’s go.”

Fresh smiles at him, happy that someone shares her enthusiasm. Leaving the house behind, the two of them head after Basil and Jubilee. Though Fresh does stop once as they are halfway there, as she turns around to look back at the house, having had the feeling for just the briefest second, that someone was watching her.

But there is nobody there.

The four of them head inside of the dungeon.

“I-it’s so cold!” shudders Fresh almost immediately, clutching herself as she walks on behind Jubilee and Shamrock, who now take the lead as they enter through the dungeon portal together. They’ve barely managed to leave the nebulous fog of the barrier behind before the icy chill begins to assault them. “We r- really need to buy some coats!”

“Toughen up,” barks Jubilee back at her. “Make sure the goo in your head doesn’t freeze solid.” They point at Basil. “You! You’re in charge of babysitting.”

Basil blinks once and then looks at Fresh before turning back to Jubilee and nodding. “Okay.”

Fresh wants to argue and say that she doesn’t need a babysitter, but she’s too cold. The dungeon itself is cold, but it’s a different cold than what she had experienced outside. It’s more than just a chill. It’s absolutely frigid and biting. Water runs down alongside them, following on the side of the path that they follow. This dungeon is different. There aren’t any stairs right away. Rather, there is a rounded, winding path from the entrance which snakes down along the way, as if it and the tiny river were two serpents coiling around one another.

The floors are made up of a light, almost-white brick-work. Small piles of soft dirt and broken off bits of stone rubble have collected together, almost deceiving her eyes into believing that they were mounds of fresh snow. A tinkling can be heard all through the air, it is almost silent, but constantly audible. Yet it’s not like the ticking of clockwork. It’s out of sync and without any form of rhythm or melody. The sound is sharp and clean, as if tiny hammers were striking against the vibrantly colored crystals that jut out of the walls on either side. Some of them are small, just the size of her fist. Others are giant enough to form bridges over the tiny stream, the water of which reflects the pastel light of the crystals back out in all directions, painting the white cavern with an array of colors.

“Aren’t these those magic-crystals? From outside?” asks Fresh. “S- should we collect some?” She raises her hand to touch one of them. There is a loud, sharp crack. “OW!” yelps Fresh as she jumps back, bumping against Basil as she shakes her hand out.

(Fresh) [ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE: {5}]{Magical Shock}

[5 HP remaining !]

“Don’t touch anything!” scolds Jubilee as Fresh looks at the burnt spot on her hand. “Keep her on a short leash, carrot!” yells Jubilee, pointing at Basil.

“Ca - ?” Basil shakes her head. “Sorry.” Basil looks at Fresh and raises a hand, white-magical energies collecting around her fingers.

(Basil) uses: [Minor Healing Touch] (Fresh)

Fresh shakes out her hand as she feels a warm tingle run through her body. The gentle warmth pushes through her blood and it almost reminds her of the feeling of washing her hands under warm water after they had become extremely cold. They tingle. “Thanks Basil,” says Fresh, looking back towards the priestess. But she sees Basil looking at the fading window next to her instead.

“Ten?” She blinks a few times. “Somehow I didn't notice before. Huh. I had no idea that you were so… fragile?” says Basil in quiet surprise. Fresh watches as a cloud of warm vapor leaves her mouth and floats away.

“Well… the thing is… you see…” Fresh scratches her cheek, not quite sure how to explain to Basil that she’s cursed. Will it just make things more awkward? Basil accepted her being a witch and apparently has done so surprisingly well. But she doesn’t want to push her luck. What if this is too much for the priestess to hear? The girl sighs and just says one thing. “Yeah…”

She had promised Basil that there would be no more secrets between them. But maybe just this one? She’ll tell her when the time is right. Maybe? Probably.

“Light,” says Shamrock, nodding to her once again before he turns to walk on ahead.

Jubilee points back at her as they follow after the man. “No touching ANYTHING! Gods know what kind of fuckery is in this dungeon.”

A minute later, the path comes to an end already, as a larger chamber begins opening up before them and there, they encounter their first enemy here.

Fresh gasps as she looks at the little thing in delight. “It’s so cu -!” Before she can finish her sentence, a glass spire shoots out of the ground. The small humanoid creature flies into the air as it is skewered through the head, apparently dying immediately. “Ah…” she lowers her hand.

You got [4/260 Experience] ! (Party)

They all stare up at the dead thing that hangs in the air. As they all look at the glass, it shatters a second later and the body flops down against the stones. “What the fuck is it?” asks Jubilee, walking over to the creature.

“Couldn’t you have asked that before you killed it?!” cries Fresh, distraught as she looks at the little, bubbly-faced creature that, apart from the gaping wound in its forehead, she would call adorable. It’s a small thing, about the same size as Mr. Mushroom and has soft, gray skin and has an extremely fluffy outer layer. It almost looks like a goblin that turned into a walking dandelion.

“Huh? What the fuck do you think we’re here to do?” asks Jubilee, shaking their head as they walk over to the body and kick it unceremoniously. It flops over, blood sprays out and stains its face. “I think it’s a kobold?”

“Does it have loot?” asks Basil, staring down at the thing.

Shamrock grunts, walking past them to keep going on his own.

“Maybe the teeth?” guesses Fresh, wiping her wet eyes. “Sorry Mr. Kobold.” She thinks for a second and then she realizes. Most of the adventurers here had a fluffy trim on the edges of their robes and coats. “Ah!” she points to the round, fluffy body of the creature. “It’s the fluff. The fluff is the loot!”

“Great, then you know what to do,” says Jubilee. “You two catch up with us when you’re done.”

“Huh?!” asks Fresh, watching as Jubilee walks off after Shamrock, raising their hand to wave back to them somewhat lazily as they go. Fresh and Basil exchange a glance and then look back down at the bloodied corpse at their feet. “Nothing ever really changes, huh?” mutters Fresh to herself as she stares down at the mangled monster.