Mitchel was rarely at a loss for words for as long as Myles had known him. The man was pleasant, good-humored, and just generally an all-around socialite. When he spent the next three minutes or so gawking at the inside of Myles’s barn, walking in and out, and trying to put his feelings into words, Myles found it hard not to do the same since someone didn’t inform him of what they’d been up to.

Thankfully, Ashra filled him in before he arrived, but it still wasn’t quite enough.

Finally, after he’d exhausted all other options he could consider, Mitchel gave up trying to find the answer.

“Myles…”

“Yes?”

“Why is it larger on the inside?”

Myles just shrugged. “I’ve learned there are some things I just have to accept, or I’ll start overthinking it.”

Mitchel’s mouth gaped for just a moment before his hand closed it for him and he considered things. “You’ve… just learned to accept that your barn is at least three times the size on the inside than it should be?”

Myles nodded. “I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to like what I think.”

“And that is?”

“You’re going to meet her soon.”

“Her?” Mitchel asked incredulously, his eyebrow nearly part of his hairline in the process.

Myles groaned as the brows waggled. “I’m not starting a harem.”

“I didn’t say it.”

“No, but everyone else I’ve met has.”

“Then they don’t know you well.”

“Exactly!”

Ashra looked at the two and shrugged. “I have tried often to have him accept more potential mates. He has said this is not his way.”

“Ashra.”

“It is the truth.”

Mitchel laughed as the tension broke, and Myles had a sneaking suspicion Ashra had intended that as he cleared his throat. “Ashra, make sure your home is intact. I know Silpha said she can’t do anything with it…”

“She has assured me that it has been untouched.”

Myles nodded and began to walk, waving for the two to follow. “Alright then, let’s go meet our architect.”

Is she in her avatar?

“I think that…”

~Nope! If you’re teams going to trust me, they need to understand just what I am. That way, there are no… accidents. I recommend Kendra last.”

Myles sighed. The interruptions were getting a little bothersome lately.

~Sorry, Myles. I’ve been thinking faster than usual. Must be the new access to mana or my new abilities. Either way, I’ll try to wait until people finish speaking to interrupt them.”

That’s still an interruption, Silpha.

~But it’s less of one!~

He ignored that and focused himself back to the task at hand as they approached the final stall and the smells of salt and sea air began to grow stronger. “Mitchel, you know how we broke a dungeon you were going to a few weeks back?”

Mitchel fell into step next to him as he spoke. “Yeah, Sindra was pissed about losing access to the slime dungeon for the [Alchemist]s. She still doesn’t know how you managed it when the core was so well protected.”

“I still don’t know either.”

He got the distinct feeling of concern at that, but Myles brushed it off. Mitchel would have his answers soon enough. Still, the walk was longer than it should have been and the silence a bit heavier. The event was still vague, like a dream he couldn’t quite remember. He thought it would come back to him after a while, but it never did. A lot of things from that time were still a blur, and it concerned him more than he’d admit.

As they walked, Myles made note of a few changes since his last visit. New stalls lined the walls on both sides of the barn now, pushing him from a handful to ten stalls as large as his living room across each wall. Somehow, Silpha had managed to change things but make the outside of the barn look just as small as it had.

Nope, there was nothing concerning at all about that…

He was so lost in thought that he nearly missed it when they arrived at the final pen. Even Myles was taken aback when he looked in.

Last time, it had been the picture of an ocean with a beautiful beach and an eternal sunset with Silpha’s core as the sun. It was beautiful but compact, like a picture he could walk into.

Now?

“By the Pantheon…”

He had to agree with Mitchel.

Twilight had set on the pristine white sand of the beach as small green crabs scuttled along the shore and other animals Myles didn’t recognize moved through the water. Waves lapped against the bone-white sand regularly, leaving shells and the occasional strand of seaweed that would be taken back with the next wave. More concerning, Silpha’s core no longer hovered against the back wall of the pen. Her light was missing against the darkened sky, but there was something new to replace it. Voices seemed to call from within the water, tugging at Myles’s thoughts and beckoning him closer before he shut them out and called out.

“I don’t know what you’re doing Silpha, but stop it.”

The voices stopped and a meek reply came across the link.

~Sorry, I think I put too much into the song.~

“You did,” Ashra stated simply as she caught her breath a few paces back.

Myles agreed and for just a moment hesitated to open the pen door. There was no going back now though. “Mitchel, we didn’t break the dungeon core for that dungeon.”

“You didn’t break…” He was quicker on the update than Myles expected as the ocean breeze passed over them. He looked from the sea to Myles and then back. “You’re kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

“You have to be.”

A voice as sweet as honey seemed to echo from within the sea as a rainbow of blue and green lights pulsed below the water, and Myles fought not to smile at the nature of it. Even with bracing himself from the earlier voices, he wasn’t ready for the strength it held.

What had she been up to? He’d find out soon enough.

“He is not. I am the Dungeon Core of the Purifying Wake currently in service to the [Monster Tamer] Myles Chase.”

To his credit, Mitchel took the answer in stride and took his time processing the information.

He then promptly turned tail and walked a step slower than a run out of the barn.

Myles, Ashra, and Silpha watched him go as Myles followed after him a moment later, ready to stem any damage he’d just done to his team, leaving Ashra and Silpha to their own devices.

“Mitchel!”

Mitchel didn’t stop until he was outside the barn and turned to look at Myles, every feature as furious as he’d ever seen the man.

“What in the Mists was that?”

“Silpha?”

The name seemed to put the missing ingredients in place and twice-baked his features. “That nymph? The one who came with us to help Ashra? The one that has been missing the past few days that no one seemed to question? The one I’d never seen since Ashra returned?”

He really paid more attention than Myles gave him credit for. Had the others noticed too?

When he didn’t respond, Mitchel added a final question to the list. “That’s a dungeon core?”

Myles nodded, and Mitchel started pacing.

“Dungeon cores can talk.”

Silpha’s voice rang true in Myles’s head and processed faster than the [Monster Tamer] thought possible. ~Of course, we can talk. Well, most of us can. The younger or soulless ones are sometimes more feral than what’s good for them or adventurers. It’s just rare we decide to talk to anyone.~

Even though Mitchel’s words were more a statement than a question, Myles answered with what he knew all the same. “She says it doesn’t happen often, but that some are very intelligent.”

If anything, the pacing got faster.

“Sket! You’ve had the dungeon core this entire time? You’ve tamed a dungeon core?”

“Yes?”

Mitchel stopped and stared. “That doesn’t sound like you’re sure.”

Myles held up his hand, showing the brand Silpha placed on his hand that night that seemed so long ago. “I’ve been marked as a Dungeon Keeper. She can’t do anything to harm me, and she’s bound to me by my Empathic Link ability. Except for not having a normal body, she’s no different than Ashra.”

~I’m plenty different. Thanks.~

Myles ignored her as Mitchel continued his barrage.

“First, how in the Mists didn’t I notice that before?”

Myles shrugged. “I assume it has something to do with Silpha and the link in general.”

“Second, has this ever happened before? Did you know you could do it?”

The achievement he’d gotten for it said otherwise. For a moment, Myles considered telling a lie, but he was a terrible liar. The last thing he needed was to lose Mitchel’s trust when he was leaping with it. “Not in the Kessivian Dungeon, and no.”

That got his attention, and Mitchel stopped.

“What do you mean?”

Myles resisted the urge to sigh and took a moment to gather his thoughts. “When I checked my log in the interface after it happened, some information was missing. I think it’s linked to whatever happened down there when I fell into the mana vent.”

“You fell into the mana vent.”

Myles nodded. “It’s a long story.”

Mitchel scratched the back of his head and looked both annoyed and sympathetic at the same time. It was hard to make both look so sincere, but he managed it. “I think we need to go over it. Is it long?”

“Long enough.”

He sighed. “Let's go back to the house.”

“So, you’re not going to leave?”

Mitchel looked surprised. “You have a small army of slimes…”

“I wouldn’t call the Supply Team an army.”

He continued, ignoring the statement. “You have two monsterkin that are frightening in their own right, and a dungeon core capable of the Pantheon only knows. Can you blame me for freaking out a little?”

He hadn’t looked at it that way. Silpha, Ashra, and Squishy were just… well, family? Friends? Something for sure but they didn’t frighten him.

~I’ll try harder in the future.~

Not now.

~Fine, but can you wrap this up? We still need to talk. I didn’t think he’d take so long to accept me.~

Myles drifted off far enough to be noticed before snapping his attention back to Mitchel’s concerned stare. “Silpha was just concerned about how you were taking it.”

~That’s one way of putting it.~

“Really?” Mitchel looked back into the open barn before walking over and closing the door. It moved easily as he walked back to Myles. He took a breath, let it out, and put his thoughts in order as he spoke. “Your team trusts you, and you’ve done everything you can for everyone on it. You even put your life on the line for your monster. You’ve built up a lot of credit in my ledger, and I’m willing to listen with an open mind. But if you’ve got a dungeon core, and if it becomes public in here, there’s going to be trouble. No question about that.”

He’d already considered that and let the words hang in the air as he began walking to the house. “We’ll talk inside.”

Mitchel didn’t waste a moment as he took the offer. Myles closed the door and blocked the world out as the two talked. As they did, Squishy busied herself trying to make the bed and playing with the other slimes before she got tired and settled into one of the chairs for a nap as Myles talked of dungeons, mimics, accidents, and the restrictions he’d been explained by Silpha.

When he was done telling the story in its entirety until the end of their run with Shardking, Mitchel sighed, put a hand on Myles’s shoulder, and gave him a sad smile.

Silpha would have to wait.

“We need drinks. You’re buying.”

***

As the humans left, Silpha didn’t mince words as her avatar took full form. She walked out of the water and used her own words rather than telepathic communication.

“Humans are strange.”

Ashra had seen her sylph form before a few times when Silpha first was testing the weaker form of her avatar, and then again when she came to help her. This was not that form.

What once looked like a simple sylph was a fully formed nymph now. She was taller, bluer, and no longer had proper legs, rather she had what looked like a fish’s tail. Her clothing was made of form-fitting scale and woven plant matter, and she looked like she could take on a horde with her confidence alone.

Ashra approved.

Knowing she was in no danger, the monsterkin gave the avatar little heed and nodded her agreement. “They fear power when they should embrace it.”

“Though,” Silpha smiled, “I think I’m starting to understand why the misfits, present company excluded, flock to him.”

Ashra’s nose twitched. “Why?”

“Because he’s the strangest of them all, and they feel normal in the eye of his storm.”

Ashra considered that for a long moment. “He is unique.”

“Nicer words than I had,” Silpha laughed. “I don’t think Myles will be coming back. He listens to you, so make sure he does tomorrow. Okay?”

The monsterkin gave her word and then considered something. Almost as an afterthought, Ashra pulled a trinket from her inventory and handed it to Silpha.

She accepted it and examined it as she spoke. “For me?”

“I do not have the skill to identify it.”

Silpha held it up to examine further in the light of her pen. It was a rough-looking ring and seemed small in the nymph’s hand. One thing was clear, it wasn’t the usual work the dungeon provided. It was sloppy and lacked the artistic nature of the Overseer or the other cores. If she were being honest, it seemed more like it was a reshaped link from a chain or some other utensil from its thickness and the rough work done to it to make it encircle itself. It was too light to be metal though. She barely felt the weight of it as she held it in her deft fingers.

“It’s a ring,” she declared before offering it back to Ashra.

“Can you tell me what this does?” the monsterkin elaborated, having no time for Silpha’s games. The item nagged at her since she’d gotten it. It had to be more than it seemed.

“Oh. Sure.” Silpha’s attention focused on the object. Ashra wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, so she did her best not to pry as she studied it.

“Huh. It’s wood, not metal. That’s not strange though for its weight and density. I’ve not seen anything like it before. Huh, it’s not properly stained either. Well, it is stained, but wine gives it the rose gold color… there’s a core of crystallized mana, too.” Her eyes flashed white, and she immediately handed Ashra the ring, almost dropping it in the process. “Where did you get that.”

“It was my reward when Myles helped me to defeat the nightmares that plagued me.”

“I see.” Silpha nodded as if that was enough of an explanation, only leading to more confusion for Ashra. “Only use it in the direst of circumstances.”

“Why?”

Silpha gave her a surprised look and shook her head. “Because that ring wasn’t issued by the Overseer, and I doubt he’d be happy at another’s intervention again so soon after the last one.”

Ashra eyed the trinket again before returning her gaze to Silpha. “I do not understand.”

“You will.”

With that, Silpha used their link through Myles to show her just what she meant. The script was familiar, like reading her interface or the signs of her home, but it was little comfort as the description hit home like a hammer of kinetic steel.

Ring of the Last Tavern’s Grace

Value: Personally, a lot.

Accessory - Ring (Soulbonded - Multidimensional - Ewer)

Description: It’s a ring made of polished wood stained with wine from the bar top of the Last Tavern infused with a touch of my power.

Detail: Look, I’m not good at this.

Where I come from, you have to do things the old-fashioned way. Nexus magic is strange enough as it is. I feel like telling you a ring is a ring should be obvious enough without me detailing the story of it. I’ll play along though.

Anyways, Somniums isn’t the kind of place that’s gentle for dreamers that were never meant to tread there. Reality, dreams, and nightmares have a thin line for those of you aetherborn species and can leave permanent scars without the proper training in soul projection, which is nearly impossible for your kind, so it probably already has on many.

Still, your ‘Overseer’ is skirting the rules by incorporating realms under the control of Others with only the vaguest of permissions, but since it is for a good cause, I won’t call him on it unless something violates the Accords.

His heart is in the right place even if he’s misguided. He reminds me of someone I once knew.

I know you don’t understand a lick of what I’m talking about, Ashra Snowpelt, but this isn’t for you. Modifying a codex entry is the best way to raise the hackles of a know-it-all Core, after all. It’ll put him on watch. He won’t find this entry since it’s being projected rather than inscribed, but it’ll be fun to watch him try.

Anyways, put the ring on to request a single boon from me, and I will do what I can to make it happen.

Primary Effect: Contact the Last Tavern to request a boon. If possible, the boon will be performed for an equal cost. The cost is equal to the request. All payments are due at the time of the request.

No free drinks.

Note: Keep this to yourselves. This isn’t for Myles, and The Purifying Wake has already agreed to stay quiet. I don’t like getting involved outside of my duties, and though I hate saying it, I have more to worry about than a corrupted world core.

It’ll all work out, I’m sure.

For a long moment, Ashra was silent. The impact of the detail was hard enough, but the terms and tone of it were distressing. She tried her best to piece it out, but she knew too little of the outside to make heads or tails of it.

Why did it matter she stay quiet?

What was a world core?

Why was it corrupted?

What was the Last Tavern?

Myles was from the outside world. Should she ask him? What if he got suspicious and confronted her? She didn't like keeping important things from him.

In the end, Ashra decided to do what felt the most natural and turned to the creature she’d once revered as a god and, more recently, a friend.

“Silpha, I have questions.”

The nymph smiled knowingly, sadly almost, as she answered. “I’ll do my best.”