The Heart Grows

There was a lot to focus on in any given day. Travis had so many people living in his dungeon that the obligation he felt toward ensuring they all had something to do if they wished to work meant his heart room was full of lists of jobs.

He also ran through his stock numbers. Travis hadn't noticed, but a small upgrade had appeared, with requirements that put it as an early Tier One upgrade, that gave him unlimited storage of certain basic commodities. Instantly his warehouses full of stone and gold had emptied, but his reported quantities didn't change.

Not food, though. His mushroom farm was getting a bit carried away, though learning that he could simply give food to a city had revealed the links with two huge cities to be even more useful.

He hadn't missed an option—not one like that—so he was forced to conclude that his recent run-in with the god of dungeons and cities had been responsible. He didn't want to risk making them feel uncomfortable again, nor did he want to test fate and risk being dumped into a different dungeon. Instead, he sent off a little thought, perhaps a prayer, to thank them for their gift.

"I have everything I need to level up," he said to the other occupant of his heart room.

Felna, laying on her back and stretched out, asked, "Are you going to do it now?"

"No. Look, I trust Northridge, Breeze, Home, and Polfay—but if this process holds true, I'll be unconscious for over a week and probably closer to a month. I don't think I could do it without either Fife or Pen here. What if something goes wrong? What if some asshat noble leads a small army in here?" Travis shuddered mentally at the thought. He trusted everyone, but Fife had become such an entrenched heroic fighter to him that knowing she was in the dungeon made him feel invincible. "Fife should be done in that dungeon soon. It's been a few weeks now."

"Still getting resources from their delving?"

"Slowed down recently. Haven't gotten anything but a little experience today." Actually, Travis had to admit, he hadn't received any experience either in the last hour. "I guess that means they're on their way out?" To distract himself, Travis narrowed his personal vision down to a single point and focused. With no other medium but the mana he seemed to breathe, he began drawing in the air with it.

"They've probably turned around. You'd know if they got in too deep, and Fife is good enough at her job to know that limit. If they head back now, there will be a short path of monsters back toward the entrance that haven't been respawned yet. You'll probably start getting a trickle as they fight back through the dungeon."

"Being a dungeon, I don't have a lot of experience fighting them," Travis said, flowing his mana more and more into keeping the pattern he was building. "I hope Pen comes back soon."

"You're telling me. A girl has needs, you know? Despite you being a wonderful partner so far as conversation goes—and an excellent provider of warm places to nap—this cat needs some cuddles." Mana swirling around the room wasn't unusual. Felna had experienced such plenty of times. The amount and the delicate way it seemed to keep folding over and over made her curious though. Cracking an eye open, her jaw dropped.

"Don't move. It's not done yet," Travis said, relying on Felna's ability to ignore his commands. "I used to draw stuff here and there back home."

"The more I learn about you, the more I desire to learn more. An accomplished thinker, planner, and artist? What other talents do you have hidden?" Felna spoke to cover her curiosity. She'd only caught the slightest glimpse of the work he was doing, and it left her itching to roll over and look. "Not a weapon-smith per se, but definitely a lot of untapped knowledge in that direction. What about cooking?"

"Unless you plan to starve, I wouldn't get your hopes up. Grace is your best bet if you are hungry. Oh, and I hear Ogmera has opened her own bar and dice hall." Travis wasn't going for perfect lifelike work. He sketched, mostly, and all the details of Felna's equipment and clothing were more than he was interested in right now. "Almost done."

"It's drawn in mana, right? How will you make it more permanent?"

"Anyone with mana sight can put a canvas up behind it and copy it down. I could get Wild or Kelvin to do it for me…" Travis could appreciate the blush growing in Felna's face. It wasn't easy to see, but through her fur she was turning quite red. "So you did catch a glimpse of it?"

"Enough to know you shouldn't show it off to others."

"I thought catkin were open about such things?" It was a rare day when Travis got to flirt back from a position of power. "Perhaps I should transpose the mana so that it is printed on the entrance doors to my tower?"

"Magic patterns can be imprinted on gold." Diverting the conversation, Felna only realized her error after she spoke.

"Perfect! I'll ask Katelyn to help." When Travis noticed that Felna hadn't grown more anxious, he sighed for her. "Normally I don't get to do the teasing."

Stolen story; please report.

Felna purred softly, the sound growing as she reflected on their actions. "Which is how I prefer it… But it is fun once in a while to have you get one up on me. Etching mana patterns onto gold shouldn't be hard. If you can maintain the pattern, we can test with some other sheets first. Axel—"

"He's already hammering out some gold for me. Don't worry, he doesn't need to see this." Travis kept rotating the mana in the air, finding it almost as intuitive as using a tablet to draw on. He wanted to do more, but shading was beyond what he could manage. He let loose a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Concerned she'd strayed from teasing-target to butt-of-the-joke, Felna pursed her lips.

"I was thinking just now that I wish I was better at drawing like this."

"And?"

"Well, I have plenty of time to practice. I'm not going anywhere, and I don't think you are, either."

"I wasn't planning to." Relaxed fully again, Felna began purring again. "I'm doing that a lot lately," she said, more for her own benefit. At a curious sound from Travis, she clarified, "Purring."

"I don't mean to brag, but you know you have a whole dungeon dedicated to making you purr as much as possible, right?" When the purring only grew louder, Travis laughed. "And I think I'm done here. You can look if you want."

Sitting up, slowly turning her head, Felna's purr halted in her chest as she stared at the two-dimensional mana picture hovering before her. Travis hadn't really had to guess too much at her proportions, not with how she usually sunbathed, and the sultry catkin depiction made her shiver. "Wow. You—" she was momentarily at a loss for words. "You have been paying attention."

Worrying for a moment when she stopped purring, Travis was relieved to hear Felna tease him. He didn't care in the slightest. "I might be a dungeon and unable to hold you, but it's not for a lack of wanting to."

Felna purred louder than ever as she walked around the glowing mana construct, reaching out and running her fingers over Travis' heart when she was close enough. "If we ever find a way for you to touch us back, neither Pen nor I will let you rest for a month." She leaned closer and pressed her lips against the huge crystal.

Walking around the fiery red dungeon heart, Fife reached out to gently touch it. "I'm not here to hurt you, but offer you a proposition. I know you can hear me when I'm in here with you. I'm from another dungeon—younger, but more advanced than you. We know you can get stronger by sending minions into another dungeon and delving floors. I'm offering a deal, if you want it?"

The dungeon seethed. Not only had these invaders practically walked through all its toughest minions, their fighter had beaten its dungeon boss down like it was a puppy. Now, on the cusp of what it assumed would be its death, they offered a deal. "And if I refuse? Death?"

Leaning her head back, Fife laughed. "No! Of course not. Firstly, I'd be in soooo much trouble. Up there"—Fife gestured with her thumb in the upward direction—"there are rules and laws about harming a dungeon you don't have permission to. But, even if I had permission, you're awesome! All those wyverns were great! If I didn't have my new gun, it would have been a wild fight to deal with. Also, if your boss wants some tips on dealing with a shield tank, I'd be happy to help."

It was a lot of confusing notions, but even if there were rules that stopped this draconic warrior from killing it, nothing short of a command from its dungeon would truly make such an outcome impossible. "That's the deal?"

"What? No. That's just— Look. There's a Verdant dungeon in the city. If you send one of your minions with me, I'll make sure someone escorts them all the way to the bottom."

"How can you promise that? No dungeon would let you!"

"The Verdant dungeon is named Breeze, and she's a lot nicer than you'd think. Take it or leave it. Order one of your minions to come to the exit with me if you want it." Fife took one last look at the huge heart and shrugged. "Either way, there's no cost to you. You'll get stronger and I'll have more of a challenge."

"Don't think I'll let you just leave! You'll have to reach the surface the hard way. I'll have my minions take those fancy weapons from your corpses!" The dungeon barely got the monologue out before the warrior left its heart room. Much as it wanted to kick the invaders out and ignore their offer, one of its weakest minions was worth even a single floor of another dungeon.

Without another word, the dungeon revived its monsters and sent them after the group. The decision to spend the fractional resource to order a kobold to its entrance took a moment longer.

"This is the last one?" Penelope asked as they landed. She had gotten used to the kingdom buffering her from the anger of the cities they landed in, and didn't pay too much attention to the names of each. What she did focus on was acting the "impossible steed" for a king who wanted nothing more than to return home.

"Yes. A thousand times yes. If I could do so without losing the kingship to Honor, I would make use of a talisman and have you dive us both into a mountain." Sliding down from Penelope's back, Stewart wished for a healing spell to take care of his rump. "I am going to command the greatest leather workers in the kingdom to spare no expense creating an actual saddle for this."

"Hopefully," Penelope said, rising back to her full height after Stewart had dismounted, "you will never again need to ride me in either of our lives."

"I'll build ten new temples to every god if that's the case, and plate them in gold." Turning his attention from Penelope to the young nobleman who even now was on one knee, Stewart reached out a hand to the city's avatar. "Stand, please. It's been a long ride to get here and I'd rather not rest on tradition too much."

"Your Majesty is always welcome, sire, but I find I must ask, is it safe to have a dragon within my city's walls?"

Stewart looked back at Penelope, winked, and then paid his full attention to the noble. "Penelope is exceptionally loyal to the kingdom and will not harm one of our citizens without provocation. Please, pay her no mind while we discuss the details of recent events." There was a big difference between saying and doing, and Stewart knew that no one in the city would forget there was a huge predator within their walls—not that he expected Penelope's fierce reputation to last long if she played the part of climbing toy for children, like she had in the last city.

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.