No Need for a Core?

Kazue hummed softly to herself as she stood at the beginning of the fourth-floor 'puzzle path’, her tails swishing softly. She knew what she wanted to do, but this one felt like she really needed to get it right, because it was going to be her biggest build yet, and it would probably be hard to ‘fix’ anything. So she decided to start with a rest stop. Unlike the upper floors, she wouldn’t be able to increase the number of groups going through and it might become a bottleneck.

She had this main part of the corridor simply grow outwards into a fairly large room with some seating and tables, placed a simple hearth along the wall and some other accommodations for a basic kitchen, then grew two side rooms, one for a barracks-style sleeping area, the other for a set of washrooms.

Add some more simple but comfortable furnishings, and it was mostly done. The archway leading to the rest of the corridor was fancied up a little and given a door, then to the side of the door she created a plaque, listing some rules.

Library Rules

1. Be respectful of other patrons.

2. Do not make unnecessary noise.

3. No eating or drinking in the library,

except in designated areas.

4. Do not damage library property.

5. You may write on appropriate provided materials.

6. Gain better rewards for not talking through the trial.

7. The Head Librarian may remove you at his discretion.

She double-checked the waiting area and decided to add a few things. To one side of the kitchen area she altered the wall to produce several built-in planters growing hearty mushrooms and a reasonable selection of herbs, and placed a sign saying ‘You can eat me’ above them. On the other side of the kitchen area she created a small waterfall with a free-falling section so that people could collect the water easily, and a matching sign above that saying ‘You can drink me’. And rather than have people trying to mess with an actual fire, she decided to produce a steady flame in the hearth via magic, with a valve that would adjust how much of its heat would be directed to the cooking surface.

OK, enough delaying. On with the project. She added a conditional lock to the door, as it would only open if the library was clear, with a default setting allowing 1 party at a time, and an alternate setting to allow 3 parties. At the end of this section, the corridor expanded into a small chamber with three doors. In normal mode, this would put the party in one of three separate zones that would occasionally connect. In competition mode, the zones would be isolated.

Now, for the library itself. She had a week's accumulation of energy plus everything they had gained from their visitors, and she was going to use it. She formed a large cavern 150 feet wide and long, and 75 feet tall, then imposed the concept of ‘five stories tall’, every 15 feet representing 1 floor. She then designated three strips 50 feet wide for the different zones.

The first zone she designated ‘Stack Maze’. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves started to grow in a labyrinthine maze with aisles only about a meter across, creating a cramped, slightly claustrophobic atmosphere. To enhance this effect she made the entire ceiling faintly glow to create a dim, almost sourceless lighting, and made the air very slightly hazy from the paper dust. But the haze came with a benefit, at least for true book lovers: that wonderful, musty scent of gently aging books. And though the shelving itself was made of wood for proper atmosphere, behind the wood was a backing of layered dungeon stone and steel. Brute force was not a realistic option here. Throughout this zone were scattered alcoves just big enough for a single desk and chair, which would be part of the challenge.

The second zone she designated ‘Library Museum’. Slightly brighter lit and with more open space, this was a deceptively open seeming maze of slightly curved corridors connecting oddly shaped and sized rooms at unexpected angles. While books were still a large part of the displays, there was also artwork, sculptures, glass cases containing various ‘artifacts’, centerpieces of fossilized skeletons, mineral collections, and more. The deliberate awkwardness of the layout was disorienting, especially without any windows for an external reference point. There were small, office-like rooms set aside here, similar to the alcoves from the first zone.

And the third zone she designated ‘Grand Library’. The central area of this zone was a wide open area with a grand staircase leading up to the balcony-like second floor, with multiple broad staircases between each further floor. At the top of the grand staircase was a large window pane with ‘sunlight’ streaming in, and a wild seeming sprawl of green vines grew around it and on the floor in front of it, with smaller vines growing along the edges of the stairs and balcony. This setup was repeated in miniature throughout the zone.

From this central area spread several corridors into smaller rooms, which in turn interconnected to form a meandering sort of maze, often interspersed with comfortable benches and cozy reading nooks, all designed to tempt visitors to sit and take a little break. However, the designated writing/puzzle area was condensed into a few large tables on the first floor of the central area.

The bright sunlit windows were not simple illusions, Kazue had a better idea. The warrens had larger, artificially lit areas with plants and water, in addition to the cozier sleeping spaces the rabbits could cuddle in. So she took advantage of that and drew some of those closer, enlarging them as necessary, to create idyllic glades to look out upon, with the horizon always fading into peaceful woodlands and clear blue skies. Those last two were illusions, though she did her best to back them up with appropriate materials to help support the illusion.

Now, for each area two more additions to make the setting more entertaining. First, each had a small, well-hidden little shop. Finding the shop was much its own reward, for here one could eat and drink, and speak at higher than a whisper (though still quietly).

For the Grand Library, there was a set of clues that if followed correctly had one turn a set of corners in the right order and directions to cause one to walk into a slightly displaced space containing a tea shop, with both hot and cold drinks available with a small selection of snack food and small sandwiches.

The Library Museum had a store with many goods available, ranging from small curios and mementos, to wrapped foods and small drink flasks, to minor potions of both alchemical and magical origin. Finding this one required identifying a particular set of objects that should be in a collection together, and visiting them in proper order to complete a story. The area around the final display would rotate in a large circle centered on the wall to bring one inside.

In the Stack Maze, the first clue led to a book with a minor riddle, which gave a clue to the next book, until you reached the final book in the chain. Pulling this book off the shelf caused a nearby shelf to slide open, revealing a starkly lit shop with cool, slightly moist air drifting out as a refreshing breeze. Here were sold chilled drinks and frozen desserts, perfect for quenching a parched throat.

The second addition to all three zones was simply the fact that the maze-like layout was not static. Generally, the library would not shift while patrons were inside, but one could not expect to map out the library and have it be the same the next time one returned. There was one important aspect that would shift as needed: an entrance to a washroom could be quickly found whenever there was a need.

And of course the library was not unoccupied. There were laganthros throughout, whether as librarians who could help a patron find books (if you can find the librarian), fellow patrons, or the clerks at the three shops.

The rules posted outside needed to be enforced, and that would be done initially by these same laganthros. If a patron made too much noise, they could expect to immediately be ‘shushed’ by the nearest rabbit, which was much more effective than normal, as it inflicted a silence aura on the misbehaving patron, making it so that they could no longer create sound nor hear, and the silence would last so long as they were in the library.

Similarly, the moment one purchased ‘open’ food, or opened a package of food, in one of the shops they would find themselves being openly watched by several of the rabbit people. The longer they took to finish their food or drink, the more gathered to watch in silent judgment.

Additionally, while none of the library occupants were strictly speaking combat challenges, they had advanced abilities of stealth and speed. Were one to attempt to break one of the rules, they would probably find the tool or item they were going to use missing from their hands. These would not be returned and were considered forfeited to the library.

Finally, for rule breakers who somehow were not deterred, there was the Head Librarian. Should some poor soul be judged to be undeserving of the library, the last thing they would hear would be ‘ook’ before powerful, orange-furred arms grabbed and threw them, which immediately ejected them from the dungeon entrance. This utterance was the only sound allowed to penetrate the silence aura.

But as important as all of this was to have the library function the way Kazue wanted, none of it was her challenge. Scattered throughout the library for a single group, or limited to your zone in a three-party challenge, would be a series of tests. Some would require logic and math to puzzle the way through, others would be riddles that might require clever thinking to guess the answer to, some would be jokes missing the punchline, or other short works that would require creativity to complete satisfactorily. These puzzles would be written out on a piece of parchment that was a part of a writing desk or table, and answers needed to be written on that same parchment. Correct answers and creative responses that fit the prompt turned the ink on the page to a lightly glowing gold, and incorrect responses briefly turned red, flashed, and faded from the page.

Naturally, not everyone would be able to complete these on their own, even in a group. But this was a library, and libraries held knowledge. If one learned the sectional organization of their area, a person could simply try and find proper books themselves. But it was generally more efficient to quietly and politely approach a librarian and ask where books on a particular subject could be found, and begin one’s research from there. For some puzzles, the exact answer might even be available, but only if you found the right book and searched through it diligently.

The minimum number of puzzles was going to be five, the rules governing a dungeon required at least that many challenges. But this was a flexible environment, and if Kazue or Mordecai had taken a disliking to a person or group before they got here the challenge could be increased. They weren’t sure what the maximum allowed actually would be, but after consulting with her other dungeon, Kazue settled on 10 for the maximum number of puzzles for fairness, as this was mere dislike and not someone having done something worth a worse fate.

Completing all the puzzles caused a shining doorway to open up near where the final puzzle was completed. The doorway was filled with an almost liquid-looking silver aura, and stepping into it transported a person to the landing for the stairwell leading down to the next floor.

Finally done, Kazue felt exhausted. The dungeon wasn’t out of mana, but both her avatar and her core had been focused on this task for a while, and only when she was done did she realize that it had been nearly three days. Even the mind of a dungeon core needed breaks, and she had taxed herself with this. The kitsune relaxed into her exhaustion and mentally asked Mordecai and Moriko to take over. She felt Mordecai despawn her avatar and reform it at their baths, where she could enjoy the comfort of being pampered and cleaned by the two of them. That night was the closest Kazue had come to true sleep since she became a dungeon, with even her core dwelling in a near stasis as her mind recovered. An older, larger core would not be overloaded so easily, but she wasn’t there yet.