No Need for a Core?

By the time Moriko was finished explaining everything, it was late enough that her father started serving up dinner. Her other siblings were all out of town, so for the moment, it was just the five of them. Those times when it was a full house of eight often got hectic, so the mild chaos she caused upon her arrival still felt almost calm in comparison. Eventually, all was done and everything was cleaned up, so for her it was time to go out and relax. After she took a quick bath, Moriko chose a knee-length green dress that displayed a fair amount of toned back and featured an intriguingly high thigh-slit, then grabbed a few things to tuck in a belt pouch.

There was one errand to run before she hit the tavern, and that was to drop off a couple of letters, one to be delivered to the Azeria Forest, the other addressed to a certain traveling merchant. The second letter might take a while to find Kazue’s father, but both letters to her parents said pretty much the same thing. Moriko could only imagine how awkward it was to write a letter basically saying ‘Hi, this is your dead child. I did actually die, but I got reincarnated: I’m a dungeon now!’ The letters were much longer than that, and the kitsune had made several drafts before she was done, but in the end that was the core of them.

Once she’d paid for the delivery of those letters, it was time to get a drink or three. She knew most of the locals in the tavern and greeted the ones nearby as she passed their tables, but she didn’t feel like joining anyone just yet. She took a stool at the bar and smiled at the bartender. “Start me off with a hard shot, then switch me up to a strong mead or ale, and keep that filled.” She slid several coins across to cover her tab for the evening. While Brongrim and Nainvil got their coins back, the rest of the gang’s cash was handed over to Moriko, since Mordecai and Kazue had no use for it. The extra coins made her feel extra generous.

Hmm, thinking of them made her realize that the pair had made themselves discretely distant on the soul bond. That was considerate. And probably wise. The monk was off duty and in about as safe a location as she could imagine, so by all the passions, she was going to indulge. She was starting on her third mug when an orc slid onto the stool to her right, his deep voice rumbling “Would you mind if I covered a drink or two for you?”

“Hello Yambul,” Moriko replied warmly, her gaze thoughtful as she turned to her friend and occasional lover. “It’s been a while. Looking to keep me company tonight?” The words rolled off her tongue out of habit, but even through the pleasant buzz of alcohol her thoughts were beginning to chew at the actual choice before her. For any previous visit it would have been easy, but things were different. How different though? And the choice was hers, which made her feel a certain amount of responsibility.

She could see the fire light up in his eyes at her words, bringing back warm memories of that tall, powerfully built body. She crossed her legs at the thought, the slit of her dress exposing a touch more of her thigh. Moriko only faintly noticed his response though, her mind comparing memories and experiences that caused her skin to flush pleasantly, but then a detail snagged her thoughts. She nearly laughed, catching herself barely in time to avoid insulting Yambul by accident. She made her choice, though it was by a hair's breadth.

The half-elf bit her lip to gain her composure, raising her hand to make him pause, and it was only after she’d collected her thoughts that she realized his hand was on her thigh. Ah damn, she really would have enjoyed a night with him, but “I’m sorry, you’re going to have to forgive me.” There was conflict in her, even with her choice being made, but she had made it. She gently removed his hand, placing it on the counter and not meeting his eyes when he looked at her with confusion.

“Looks like I’ve got some habits to break my friend. You’re wonderful, but my life has changed rather radically lately. I’m off the market, but to be fair, it took a nigh immortal man and an adorable kitsune woman together to do it.” She grinned, though it was a little forced, and she looked up again as she showed off her ring, which she couldn’t have removed anyway given its enchantments. “It’s complicated, but that is my decision.”

The orc looked stunned, and she took advantage of it to quickly down the rest of her drink and shout to the barkeep “Give the rest of my tab to this guy!” She slapped Yambul on the back and then slid off her stool before the orc could gather a response. “Night!”

It was an escape of sorts, she knew herself well enough to know that with a couple more drinks she’d be thinking too short term for even the strength of her decision to keep her from enjoying a night with the man. Crap, this meant she was going to have to curb her drinking until she’d adjusted her thinking enough. She gathered up her mix of emotions and shoved them down the link, startling the dungeon minds from whatever they were doing and bringing their attention her way.

“Really?” Mordecai sounded happy, self-satisfied, and amused all at once. “Well, I have an idea on how to celebrate that good news.” He wrapped her mind with warm affection, then drew his attention back to work on whatever crazy idea he’d come up with. Kazue couldn’t even form words and was just a buzzing presence of happy energy until Moriko finally pushed her back, gently.

“I’m already a little drunk, you’re screwing with my focus, let me walk back home.” She muttered, unable to focus enough to make the words purely mental. “I’ll talk with you guys tomorrow.” Moriko ignored the occasional glances being cast her way for talking to herself as she made her way home. She also ignored her parent's surprised looks as she passed them downstairs, but instead of heading straight to her room, she went to Hainako’s room, knocking on her sister’s door. Hainako cracked open her door and then stared suspiciously at Moriko.

“You’re drunk.”

“A little,” she replied, her speech a bit sloppier and more casual than usual.

“And you’re home?”

“Yep. Wanna tell you something.” Moriko pushed her way into her sister’s room and closed the door behind her, ignoring Hainako’s yelp before she dragged the younger woman to sit on the bed with her. “I just realized something, and it’s kind of funny but it makes me happy and you are the best person to share it with.” She continued on, ignoring her sister’s glare. “So, I want you to imagine a guy who’s a shape-changer, and knows how to create his body with exactness. And make sure this guy has a pretty decent ego. Got this?”

Hainako nodded while still looking dubious.

“Okay, so most guys, you’d expect them to give themselves a little, or not so little, something extra, right?” Moriko grinned. “What would you think of a guy who didn't do that and decided to make himself just a tiny bit on the high side of average instead?”

Hainako blinked in confusion for a moment before she put all the pieces together. “Wait, your dungeon guy?” At Moriko’s nod, Hainako’s expression became thoughtful. “I had been feeling a bit sorry for you. Now I’m wondering if I shouldn’t be jealous. He have room for more wives?”

Moriko made a face and leaned away to give her a light swat on the back of the head. “Ew. You didn’t listen earlier! And you’re supposed to be the smart one. Kazue and I aren’t sister-wives, we’re each other’s wives too. And that’s the way it works for us.” Hainako’s face became horrified when she realized what she’d accidentally suggested, which made Moriko break into a laugh. “Yeah, so that ain’t going to work, dummy.” She leaned back over to plant a kiss on her sister’s forehead. “I’m off to bed. Oh, and for the record, yeah, that means I’ve decided to try and be a dedicated wife. Try and help keep me there if it looks like I’m distracted, right? I got habits to change.”

She waved as she swayed back onto her feet as Hainako shook her head in disbelief. “What, just cause he can keep his ego in check?”

“Nah, not just that. It was just the final piece. I decided I need to give this my best try, they both seem worth the effort. And I can't call it my best try if I don't commit to it.” She wasn’t as drunk as most people would be after that much alcohol, her training had seen to that, but it still affected her some as she made her way into her room, where she ditched her clothes on the floor before sliding into bed.

“Welcome home,” whispered a voice in her dreams.

...

When she awoke in the morning, she was feeling rather well, though her mental state must have affected her dreams, because she could remember them in vivid detail. They normally weren’t that clear. Or detailed.

“Did you enjoy our dream time sleepy head?” came Mordecai’s voice into her head, with Kazue’s giggle following.

“What?!” It took Moriko a moment to process this, and by the time she did she also remembered to focus on her mental voice alone. “Wait, what did you do?”

“Ozuran’s domain includes dreams, I said a prayer, and he granted my wish. I suspect our rather unique bond made it easier.”

Well, that made sense. Sort of. And she’d certainly enjoyed those dreams. Huh, that was a neat trick. Wait, “But you guys don’t normally sleep, right?”

“Yep!” Interjected Kazue’s thoughts. “But we wanted to spend the time with you, so we put ourselves to sleep so we could dream with you.”

That was sweet, if strange in the way that everything with the dungeon was a little strange. It made her happy. “Thank you both. But I have to go figure out the rest of my day and arrange a meeting with a bunch of important people. Off with you, go do your dungeon-building stuff.”

Smiling and humming to herself, Moriko set about getting ready for the day. It didn’t take her long to decide on the dress she’d been meaning to wear home in the first place. In addition to getting to finally show it off, the enchantment on it might become a talking point.

Even with the heads up from her talk with the guard and the bandits being interviewed, it took a few hours for everyone to be available, but eventually, she was seated in a room with the three most important officials in Riverbridge.

The mayor of the city was a gnome named Jexim, a retired soldier. His natural hair color was a vibrant green, but he had a habit of dyeing streaks of other colors through his hair. Today he was sporting streaks of a deep, dark red.

The captain of the guard was a Tengu named Pasu. Most of the raven-like bird folk kept to their mountain clans, but her family had migrated down here before Pasu was born. Her feathers were a bluish purple so dark that most of the time they appeared black, their true colors showing clearly only in sunlight or other bright light.

Riverbridge only had one temple, but it included shrines for all the gods commonly worshiped in either kingdom. The head of the temple was an elf named Traxalim, who was old enough for it to not only show but to leave his hair completely white. Even Moriko as a danger-chasing teen had never dared ask him exactly how old he was. He primarily followed the elven goddess Dana, but his devotion and piety had been acknowledged by many other deities as well, and he was well-versed enough to often guide their followers when a priest devoted to their deity was not available.

It took even longer to tell them the story, as they had different concerns and focus, and were more willing to drill into topics she’d rather not go into. But eventually, they ran out of things to ask, and the room fell into a thoughtful silence. After a moment, Moriko spoke up. “So, I’ve got a request and an idea. For my request,” She turned towards the ancient elf. “High Priest Traxalim, would you please contact my temple on my behalf? I am officially on leave already, but given the circumstances, it might be best to either make it indefinite or to officially give me some sort of roaming position.” She smiled in relief at his nod. The temples could use magic to communicate faster, so she should have her response in a day or two.

“Now, for my idea,” Moriko paused to make sure that she was keeping her thoughts to herself. It was going to be hard to be secretive for so many days, but the surprise would be worth it. “So, obviously they intend to be a friendly dungeon, but if you want to make a really big diplomatic overture, I think I know a way for you to offer up some gifts without costing the city much.”