William sat at the bar, facing Paddy the Tavernkeep, who was wiping a wooden table with a cloth.

"...and so then I told her, 'Why purify the world when you can just blow it up?'" Durim the Demolitionist finished.

Both the Tavernkeep and Tony the Arms Dealer, who was sitting across from Durim, both burst out laughing.

"You are funnier than you look," Tony said to Durim. "Places like these are good for getting people to come out of their shell, just like with bullets."

"I'll drink to that, aye!" Durim said.

The two of them clinked their drinks and took a swig.

"In honesty, Nissa the Dryad seems nice," Paddy said. "Maybe, if I can find another portal, I should bring her back with me."

Both Durim and Tony laughed loudly again.

"As if! She's 500 years old!" Tony shouted.

"I wasn't meaning like that," Paddy protested.

Durim and Tony laughed once again.

"How is the Desert village?" Paddy asked.

"Ten times better ever since Luigi moved to the Jungle," Tony said. "Though even Akbar's kind of getting on my nerves too."

The Tavernkeep sighed. "Can't say I blame you. His eccentric and narcissistic personality really makes me want to smash a table!"

"You should do it, aye!" Durim shouted. "Let out all your inner explosives!"

"Not tonight, boys," Paddy said. "I'll save it in case any goblins from my world follow me through a portal."

"Speaking of goblins," Durim said, "Next time something invades our town, don't forget we need to gang up on Luigi so he doesn't get more kills than us!"

"Of course," Tony replied. "But I'm still going to beat you!"

"Not if I blast past the competition!"

"What do you think of Mrunok, barkeep?" Durim asked. "That goblin like which you speak?" He jerked a thumb behind him. William turned his head to see the Goblin Tinkerer sitting alone at a table behind them, seemingly listening in on their conversation.

"I like him," Paddy said. "It shows you can't always judge a person by their... origins. He's an alright sort."

Mrunok seemed to smile slightly upon hearing that, though William couldn't help but notice he'd been sitting at the table with his drink in front of him for the last twenty minutes without taking a sip.

What was he doing? Was he waiting for someone?

Right as he was thinking of that, a shock of red hair entered the bar. Kayla the Mechanic.

William had been feeling bittersweet ever since they'd rescued her from the Dungeon. She'd revealed that there were people... dangerous-sounding people... at work trying to bring Cthulhu back to life. The mechanical parts she'd been forced to build had been intended for that, though since she'd never finished Cthulhu's new brain it at least meant they weren't immediately in danger.

Locating and destroying these parts was a new thing on his list of priorities. But they'd explored practically all of the Dungeon and hadn't found anything else. If he had to guess, the cultists must have moved out.

The Mechanic cast a sidewards glance at Mrunok before stepping up to the bar.

"May I offer you a root beer?" Paddy asked.

Kayla shrugged. "Sure, give it to me in a square cup."

William didn't think twice about the odd request until Mrunok suddenly blurted out laughing behind them. She glanced behind at him again then stared directly forward.

Tony slid his seat closer to Kayla. "So I hear you are a Mechanic?"

"Indeed, I am."

"Would you like me to press your pressure plate?"

Durim practically spat out a mouthful of ale.

"If you want to order one, sure. They're for stepping on," she said.

Kayla was saved by Tony's advances when Paddy returned with root beer in a square cup. She thanked him, then stood up and went to sight out an empty table.

"What's with all the hitting on again, Tony?" Durim asked. "I thought you were seeing that Nurse?"

"We... had a falling out," Tony said.

"What about?" Paddy asked.

"Something about not liking the Desert heat anymore." He shrugged. "Why else do you think I'm here?"

Paddy nodded. "Fair enough."

William looked to the bar entrance just in time to see Sid enter. His head swivelled between Mrunok and then Kayla, who were sitting alone on different tables, before striding over to Mrunok. He whispered something in one of his big goblin ears, and then stepped over to William.

"Hey-ho. How's the night?"

William shrugged. "Just felt like I should check on how the citizens are doing, happiness-wise. Everything seems fine, aside from the usual internal squabbles."

Sid nodded.

"What did you say to Mrunok?" William asked.

"I told him he could perhaps start a conversation with Kayla by mentioning he was also imprisoned and outcast."

William looked back at them. Mrunok had moved over to Kayla's table and was standing over her table, seemingly asking if he could sit there.

"How come?" he asked.

"Well, basically it started the other day when I went to the Snow village to get some reforging done by Mister Goblin," Sid said. "And you know how the Mechanic wanted to live in the Snow village?"

"Yeah," William said. "I built her house near his and Durim's."

"Indeed. But when I got over there, I could not even begin to tell you how distracted he was, always making goo-goo eyes at her. He gave me so many crap reforges, dude. Then he asked me if I had ever... talked to her by chance. And something about her making his cadillac core function properly or something."

"Okay..."

"Anyway, so after I was done with reforging, I went to check out what Miss Mechanic was doing," Sid continued. "She was trying to put blinking lights all over her house, making it look kinda like Christmas. Believe it or not, she asked me if he said anything about her, by chance."

"Oh."

"So I thought, 'Hey, these two have the hots for each other, but neither are really trying to initiate anything.' So I decided I'd..." He cast his gaze over at Mrunok and Kayla, who were now sitting and chatting, "Give them a push."

"Oh."

"Yup. Love is in the air."

"So what are you then?" William asked. "Some kind of matchmaker?"

Sid shrugged. "Perhaps. But it's not just them I've been noticing."

William sighed. "Who else? Did someone else try hitting on the Dryad?"

"Luigi, I think," Sid said. "But he's having about as much luck as Tony did." He cleared his throat. "But that's not who I was meaning. The people I've been noticing are..."

"Yes?"

"You and Robyn."

William stared at him.

"What?"

"You know... you built a whole house for her, and when she got lost in the Dungeon, you sounded so genuinely worried for her... especially when we found her again." He smiled. "You can be honest with me, I promise I won't tell anyone... do you like-like her?"

William kept staring at him.

Honestly he'd never once thought of Robyn like... that.

But could he?

Did he?

He cared about Robyn like a friend. Almost like a sister.

But at the same time... He cared about Sid like a friend too. They all came into this world together and had gone every step of the way together. Their friendship was bound by being mutual allies in their quest to survive this world.

But Sid was implying that to him, Robyn was... special.

Was she?

He wasn't sure. He built the house for her as a gift, as a thank-you. Nothing more. Right?

"Well, no pressure, you don't have to tell me," Sid said finally. "The other thing I want to mention is the Jungle."

William nodded, grateful he was changing the subject. "What is it?"

"I explored a different area of it, and... there's something I found."

William stared as Sid told him.

"You're kidding," he said.

***

"Robyn."

"Hi James," she said. "How is the Ocean?"

"It's certainly a nice change of pace from the freezing, dingy Dungeon," the old man said.

In the days since she, Sid and William had freed James from Skeletron's curse and rescued the Mechanic from the Dungeon, two new villages had been constructed by William – one in the Jungle, and one on the beach neighbouring the Ocean close to the Jungle.

There were two other inhabitants of the Ocean village. Roxanne the Stylist had arrived at some point after Sid had found her webbed up in a spider cave. The other was Bart the Angler, who Robyn had found floating asleep on the Ocean after she had helped James settle into the village. He was a kid who didn't sell anything, but instead tasked Robyn with fishing up rare, unique fish from a variety of different biomes. She'd again found the fishing quests a welcome distraction, not just from her feelings for William, but also from the Lunatic Cultist.

The being that she believed she had seen in the Dungeon before blacking out.

The same being who the Mechanic had said had been the one to force her to create the mechanical recreations of Cthulhu's body parts.

Robyn had told William and Sid what she'd seen, but upon leading them to the room where she'd encountered him, they'd found nothing. Neither Sid nor William had had any idea on how to open up the locked crimson chest, but they wondered what could be contained inside.

"Ever since moving in here," James said, "I've enjoyed just living and enjoying the simple tasks. Things like painting my house, tending to my garden, and decorating my house with the warm glow of orange torches."

"I can relate to that," Robyn said.

He gave her a kindly smile. "You do fish a lot, young lady. Is there a particular fish in the sea you're looking for?"

Robyn felt her cheeks flare up, wondering if he was referencing to the 'plenty fish in the sea' metaphor and how it related to... to love.

"I fish for the process," she said.

He nodded.

"I've come back to terms with my profession myself," he said.

Robyn raised an eyebrow.

"I am a Clothier," James said. "Mama always said I would make a great tailor. I don't think she ever thought I'd be cursed to guard a Dungeon. It was... I remember it being lonely. I once made a friend out of leather. I named him... Wilson."

Robyn smiled. "Wilson."

"Every day, more vague memories come back to me," James continued. "Including ones that include you. I remember you being kind and concerned for me. Very few people would be that way to a man in my state. For that, along with that you were one of those who freed me from my curse... I cannot thank you enough. I trust you with my life, Robyn."

Her smile grew. "Thank you." She hesitated. "Can I trust you to keep a... a secret?"

"Of course. If I tell anyone, I deserve to be cursed again."

"Okay. Um..." Again she hesitated. "You know how you asked if there's a fish in the sea I'm looking for?"

The Clothier nodded.

"There is one... fish that I have my eye on."

Before she could say any more, there was knocking on the door behind her, making her jump.

She spun around and opened it.

It was William.

Oh, god! I almost told James I liked William right in front of him!

"Hi," he said.

"H-Hi," she stammered. Her heart was racing. Fast.

"Sid and I are going to head into the Underground Jungle," he said. "Because of something he found."

"What did he find?" Robyn breathed.

"He found an abandoned hut, a cave lit up with torches, some dug-out mining tunnels, and looted chests." He leaned towards her. "There's another human in the Jungle."