Gormkar raises his head. He’s panting after having kept his breath for so long, the things the water thrown at him didn’t help either.

He knows there is something strange with this dungeon, usually, there is more simple traps and monsters, not a big trap and few animals. If he had more knowledge about dungeon Gormkar could make hypotheses, but alas all his knowledge is empirical and from a brutal warrior point of view. The rest is too complicated for him to care about.

He pulls his hands and feet out of the rock and starts to walk where the water went. Gormkar reaches for a small stone in his pocket, he channels a bit of mana in it and the stone starts to glow. As an Orc he can see pretty well in the night, but not in a completely dark place, but he’s smart enough to have something to light his way in this sort of situations.

His thinking is simple, Hruin isn’t as physically strong as him, so she must have been blown by the water, therefore he needs to go where the water went and he will find her, or at least a track to follow further. He has too much trust in her strength to think she could be dead. But he needs to hurry, he doesn’t know what kind of surprise the dungeon have in reserve.

---

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

That Orc resisted my wave of water! What will he do? How can I kill him?

Every time I close the way, he punches his way through the walls. I could completely shut the place down, but that would cut down my ability to track his movements and he would punch his way upwards and reach for help, for now, he’s alone, I should be able to deal with him. And I can’t drown him either, I don't have enough water in reserve.

I send my two biggest crabs, with some other smaller crabs, on his way to try and stop him. They’re hiding under the water in the next corridor.

The Orc walks in the corridor, he goes through the water without checking it for traps or monsters, like previously. Once he’s just on the side of the crabs I give the order to attack and kill him.

The crabs jump at the Orc and throw their pincers at him, but he moves and dodges them easily despite the water slowing him. He sends his left fist between the eyes of a crab. The crabs’ shells are sturdier than the rock, but it doesn’t prevent this one to explode. In a few second the Orc kills all the crabs and resume his walk without care for the crabs' bits all over the walls and his upper body.

I don’t have a choice, I fill all the tunnels in front of him with stone and hope for the better.

---

“A dungeon?”

“Yes, captain. That what’s Gormkar said.”

“Interesting, I’ll go see by myself.”

On those words, Lo - the infamous Blood Ram, captain of his own pirate’s fleet - gives some orders to this men and enters the forest.

He has enough trust in his second to take care of the local and calm situation while he himself goes deeper on the island.

He doesn’t run, but he infuses his mana in his legs, allowing him to walk faster than most running men. His skin s also hardened enough to breaks all branches that could hit his face.

It’s been a long time since Lo has seen a dungeon. He doesn’t know yet what to think of it, but he’s sure it will present him with an opportunity to make a bigger fortune than planned with the slaves.

---

Just outside the range of the dungeon’s domain, a green hand gets out of the ground, shortly after, a second hand pierces the ground, and right after two ars, then an Orc’s head.

Gormkar finishes climbing out of his hole. The dungeon tried to bury him alive, but he’s too strong to die like that.

The Orc has enough wisdom to understand that he can’t take a rogue dungeon like that head on and alone, so he turns himself in direction of the east and start a frantic run through the forest, breaking branches and bushes on his way.

One hour later something harder than him takes his ankle and make him roll on the floor.

“Slow down Gormkar. What’s happening?”

The Orc looks in the direction of the voice and sees his captain, a smile on his face.

“Cap’! T’is a dungeon. He take Hruin. He rogue. T’is more strong and smart that I, need you. Follow.”

“A rogue dungeon? And it dealt with Hruin and the others? Then you’re right, you’re not strong enough to take care of it, but I may. Lead the way.”

The Orc resumes his run through the forest but on the other way, and the Ramor walks just a meter behind, easily keeping the pace.

When the two pirates reach the hole in the dirt let by Gormkar two hours before, his captain makes a sign for him to stay silent. Lo looks at the hole, all his senses on alert, searching for traces of mana in the area.

His attention is attracted by the grass on the west, it seems more green and fat. The Third walks there and at the exact moment, he crosses the borders the quality of the mana in the air changes. It becomes denser, it’s obvious to him that there is something strange there, the dungeons he went in didn’t have such condensation of mana in the air of their tunnels, so having so much mana os this quality in the open air is remarkable and a proof to him that the dungeon has indeed turned rogue.

“You didn’t say the dungeon was so powerful.”

“Wha’”?

“Come over here and feel the air.”

The Orc follows his captain orders and walks into the dungeon area of influence. The air is indeed more charged with mana, but he had felt air like that before.

“Do you feel this? the mana in the air?”

“Ya, I feel. I feel now, I feeled before. What we do? We need save Hruin.”

“You felt a mana like this before? In a dungeon?” The captain his quite surprised by the nonchalance of the Orc about that statement. “It’s surprising to hear that. Where was it?”

“Home. How we save Hruin?”

“At home? You’ll have to talk to me about that one day. But you’re right, we have other things to do.” Lo doesn’t really think that the woman is still alive, if a rogue dungeon able to infuse so much mana in the open air have taken care of her, she must be dead. In fact, the situation is mostly raising his opinion of Gormkar, the Orc had managed to evade the dungeon.

But there is still something off in Lo opinion. A dungeon of this power should have powerful monsters. Monsters far stronger than the big crabs it sent against Gormkar.

---

Shit, shit, fuck, fuck, shit, shit, fuck, fuck.

The Orc escaped and now he’s back with the pirate captain.

The moment the Ramor walked into my domain, I could feel that he’s really powerful. The bubble around him looks even more sturdy than for the other sapients or the few Seconds that entered my land.

I have nothing to fight the Orc, the crabs are useless and my other creatures are weaker. So now that he’s accompanied by an even stronger presence Whatever I send to them will be more than useless.

I have only two choices if I want to survive this. Hiding long enough that they will leave the place. But they are pirates and have smelt the opportunity to make fortune by using me, they could decide to look after me for months. And that leads to the second option, bribing them.

I’m a dungeon, I can make treasure and prove that I’m more valuable alive than dead. Maybe I can convince them to let me be in peace here. If I play it right I could even get a profit of the situation.

I’m a rogue dungeon like they’re saying, and I’m also a sapient one.

---

Lo keeps examining his surrounding and points to the mountain.

“I think the dungeon’s core is in this direction, the mana in the air seems to come from that mountain.”

“We attack.” Declares Gormkar.

“No my dear, we go cautiously, the dungeon could have some surprises for us.”

As if those words were a sign the ground starts to shake around the two men. In front of them and in direction of the mountain, a big stone tablet rose from the ground. It’s rectangular, two meters wide and three meters hide and completely black. On its surface are written white words.

The pirates are taken aback by this incongruity. A dungeon that wishes to talk...

“Greetings mortals.

I have ascertained your strength and have decided to spare your lives.

I will provide you great wealth in if you leave the island and let go of the slaves you’ve captured willingly.

If you refuse I will unleash my wrath upon you.”

After a necessary time to read the message three times and accept the fact that the dungeon has sprouted a stone tablet to talk the captain asks his first question.

“You’re the dungeon?”

New words appear under the first sentences. “Yes, I am.”

“And you can write?”

"Yes, I can.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m sapient.”

“How?”

“It is not of your concern how I’ve come to sentience.

Now begone and release the slaves.”

This situation was so unexpected for the captain that it took those few questions for his brain to start functioning well again.

“I don’t believe you.”

“What? Don't you believe I’m a sapient dungeon?

Or you don’t believe that it’s not of your concern how I come to be?”

“No, I believe you of those points. But I don’t believe you when you say you’ll ‘unleash your wrath upon us’ if we don’t leave the place. You’re trying to scare and bye us at the same time. Only desperate people do that. I think you’re afraid of us and want us to leave as soon as possible so you can prepare for when we’ll come back, or for who will come after us. Because it’s obvious that if we’re leaving people will come, either us, to capture more islanders, or one church or another for destroying a rogue dungeon like you.

No, you’re desperate. And smart. You know we can easily beat whatever you can send at us and that we won’t leave this place before making fortune now that we know there is a dungeon there. You can even guess we’ll come back to scavenge you. So you took a gamble and try to spook us away, but it doesn’t work.

Now I want you to know that I don’t want to sell you out to the authorities, I think I could make much more profit by working with you. You could even make profit for yourself. I’m ready to bargain.

So what will it be? Will you trade with me? Or will you ‘unleash your wrath?”

Silence. There is a deafening silence after the pirate captain’s speech. The dungeon is coming to sense with the fact that his ruse was so easily destroyed and Gormkar is looking strangely at his captain.

“You don’t want to kill me?”

“No, I want to work with you, and to prosper thanks to you.”

“And you won’t sell me out?”

“I’m a pirate, I won’t sell you out as long as it more profitable for me to keep you secret.”

“I can trust that, a pirate thirst for gold. But can I trust your drunken crew into a tavern?”

“No, you can’t trust them, they won’t be able to shut their mouth about your existence. But you can trust me to take care of that problem.”

“I don’t truly have a choice now that you know about me.

I should have stayed silent.”

“And I would have look for you inside the mountain, I can make my way through it if I want, I’m a Third.”

“That’s what I was fearing.”

“So here are my terms. You’ll create enough gold, silver and precious stones to fill my ships’ holds each time I visit. You’ll install a hiding creek in the mountain for my fleet, so I’ll be able to hide it there if needed. As long as we’re here you’ll provide us with quality products to eat and drink and refill our stocks. If they are survivors of my crew in your domain, you’ll free them immediately. The Marms will serve us when we’ll be on the island. And you’ll serve as training ground for my men. Oh, and I also reserve the right to add stuff to the list. On my side, I will provide you with some things I want you to be able to replicate.”

“Some of the things you’re asking are ok, but others are too much from me.

- Wealth and food. Ok.

- A hiding and resting place. Ok.

- Freeing the survivors. Impossible, there are no survivors.

- Enslaving the Marms. Not ok.

- Adding whatever request you want in the future. Not ok, we'll have to discuss each addition.

And you’re not providing me enough stuff. I want:

- All the slaves free, the Marms and those already on your boat.

- Keeping my cover with the Marms.

- Creatures and plants that I can’t naturally find on the island.

- As much secrecy as possible about me.”

“I’m certain that you have captured some members of my crew, and I’m willing to trade them for the Marms I’ve captured. Bringing you new stuff is a given if I want you to make more of them. But I can’t see why I should free the other slaves or why the Marms could not serve us? And what is that about a cover?”

“I’ve grown quite fond of the Marms and they think I’m their Goddess, I’ll need you to make them believe that a God - the husband of their Goddess would be a good idea - has trade with you, not a dungeon.

If you want servants, give me the other slave, and I’ll make them into servants for you and your crew when you’re here.”

“Don’t forget to free my men.”

“I won't.

Leave the village and the Marms there. Take your boats and come to the west side of the island, I’ll open for you a hidden creek, there we’ll exchange your captured crew members and the wealth I promised against the slave you still have on board.”

“Deal, see you soon.”

“Stop! Hruin! She alive?”

“Who?”

“One of my crew members, she’s a Human woman and a Second too. She’s one of my most capable officers and Gormkar here has a crush on her. Is she part of your captor?”

“Ho, her. Yes, she’s alive and well. She’s the smartest of the bunch.”

“That’s good news.”

After this impromptu bargain, the two pirates went back to their ships and started to keep their part of the agreement.

---

I destroy the stone tablet as I don’t want the Marms to stumble upon it one day.

I don’t know if I make good terms on the bargain. I could probably have been smarter, but I was not in a position of power there. I will have to wait what I will get fro it and what I will be able to do with that.

I’ll have to pay a tribute to a pirate and arrange a hiding place for him. I don’t really like that, but I think it could provide me with some interesting information on the world’s situation.

I also have to give away my test subjects, but I will have some other to take their place, so that’s good.

And the Marms will be free, lot of them have died, been raped or tortured, but none of them will be taken out of the island. I sent some birds to spy on the pirates and look as they’re leaving.