A Demon's Core

The three look unsure.

This is very important. I need to know if you were followed.

“Don’t know. Didn’t look back. Just ran.” Fifth says.

Even if they did follow the imps into the building, they wouldn’t know what floor we are on unless they were following right behind. But the imps would have known if that were the case. So if they are determined to find the imps, they will have to search the whole building floor by floor. That will take a while so we have some time to prepare. But I need to know more about them to know how to respond appropriately.

What did they look like? Tell me everything you can about them.

“They tall like vukra, but not vukra. They have pale skin and no horns or tail. They wearing clothes and have weapons.” He reports. If they are wearing clothes then that suggests they are intelligent. We are not dealing with animals. I have a suspicion of what they might be. But I can not be certain until I see them.

What kind of weapons?

“One has big shield. One has sword. Other has curved stick he holds in the middle. Last one has no weapons.” He explains.

“Curved stick is bow.” Seventh chimes in.

Quite a variety it seems. I am sure the one without a weapon probably still has something even if it could not be seen. And the one with the shield likely also has some kind of weapon to go with it.

Is there anything else noteworthy about them that you can remember?

“They all had backpacks.” Sixth adds.

Are they scavengers looking for supplies? Explorers perhaps or maybe just travelers. But how best to deal with this? They might not be hostile. But I can not assume they will be peaceful either. We should be prepared for a fight, but not trying to start one. The first thing to do is let everyone know what is happening.

We might have some visitors soon. Their capabilities are unknown as are their intentions. Be ready, but do not attack them without provocation. I would prefer to avoid a fight if possible.

I need to know if they are actually coming though. Which means I need someone to go out and check. Preferably without being seen themselves. The stairs would be the best place for that. If they are searching the building, that is the only way up. If I have someone waiting in the stairway they will be able to hear anyone coming up long before they are close enough to be seen. I will send First.

I want you to go scout the stairs. You do not need to go down looking for them. Just listen and come back if you hear them. With her bone spear in hand, she is out the door and beyond my perception in mere moments. I once again marvel at how fast she is capable of moving. Several minutes later and she is back.

“I hear them. Still a few floors down. But they are coming.” She reports.

It will probably still be a while before they get here, but they are coming. So everyone get ready. I say to everyone and they are soon all gathered together with their weapons in front of my chair. All watching the door. I think I should have Fourth stay out of this. It is too dangerous for her to be fighting in her condition and I tell her as much.

“No. This is our home. I will defend.” She protests, but the others all agree with me.

“Too dangerous. Don’t want you to get hurt. Too much risk for children. Please wait in room.” Third implores. That seems to convince her. Though she is clearly not happy about it. She allows him to lead her back to their bedroom.

I decide to wait in the hallway so I can see them as soon as they enter my perception. The waiting is tense, but after almost an hour they finally arrive on our floor. The first one I see is the one with the shield as he slowly opens the door to Room 3. Though I can not see his whole body since my perception in the hallway does not reach to the ceiling. I warn my imps of their arrival. It is only once he enters the room that I can see him properly. He also carries a spear. I wonder how my imps missed that, but they may have been too focused on the shield. It is quite large. A circular shield that is bigger than my imps. Mostly made of wood but with metal around the outside. He enters with his shield raised, on alert for danger. The rest follow in after him. They are searching each room together as a group instead of splitting up to cover more ground. That is probably the smart thing to do when they do not know what might be living here.

“-were people here, don’t you think we would have found them already?” The second one is saying as he enters. This is the one with the “sword”. More of a machete really. He is followed by the one with the bow and finally the unarmed one, the only female of the group.

My suspicions were correct. These are humans. And they are huge. I knew humans would be bigger than my imps from seeing their bones, but even that did not prepare me for just how big they would really be. Even the smallest of them is at least twice the height of First. As far as I can tell, these humans are young adults, perhaps even teenagers.

“If they’re children then they’re probably hiding.” The female says. Is that why they came? Did they see my imps from a distance and think they were human children? “Wait, do you guys feel that?” She asks, frowning slightly. They all stop moving and tense up. Machete guy turns back to her.

“Feel what?” He ask nervously.

“The mana is different in here.” Se says, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

“Different how? Is it dangerous?” Shield guy asks.

“It’s definitely stronger here than it was out in the hallway. But I don’t think it is enough to be dangerous. We shouldn’t be at risk of mana poisoning.” So she can sense the mana here, but the others can not. Is she just more sensitive to mana than they are? And what is mana poisoning?

I am then struck with a startling realization. These humans are not speaking the same language as my imps. Yet I can understand them just as easily. Though, now that I think about it, I realize that while I have always spoken to my imps in their language, my own internal thoughts have been shifting between the imp’s language and these human’s language quite fluidly. Both languages use the same basic phonetic sounds so maybe that is why I did not notice. How am I able to understand the human’s language when this is the first time I have heard it. Though I suppose I could ask the same question about the imp’s language. I knew their language from the start as well. What an intriguing conundrum.

“Should we search for the source of this stronger mana? It could be something valuable.” Bow guy speaks up for the first time.

“It may be worth looking into. But stay on alert. Dangerous animals can also be attracted to areas of higher mana density.” Shield guy declares. He seems to be the most vigilant of the group. Maybe that is why he chooses to use a shield.

“What if this is a dungeon? I’ve never been in one, but I have heard they are usually identified by areas of higher mana density than their surrounding.” The female states.

What is a dungeon? A place to keep prisoners. But what do prisoners have to do with mana density? No. From the context, it seems like it means something different here.

“If this is a dungeon then it must be pretty small. It doesn't even cover this entire floor and I don’t see any dungeon crystals around.” Bow guy replies. Dungeon crystals? Now I am even more confused.

“If we have wandered into a dungeon, then we need to be extremely careful with how we proceed. Entering a dungeon always extracts a cost and they usually have monsters or demons defending them.” Shield guy warns. They slowly start searching the room. Not that there is much to search or anything to find.

“Is it just me or do the rooms on this floor seem cleaner?” Machete guy asks

“Now that you mention it, yeah. It’s much less dusty in here.” The female replies, running her hand along the table top and then rubbing her fingers together. “It’s looks like the place has actually been cleaned.”

“If the rooms are being cleaned, doesn’t that mean that people actually live here?” Bow guy adds, looking more relaxed now.

“Don’t let your guard down. Even if there are people here, there is no guarantee that they will be friendly.” Shield guy commands gruffly.

An excellent observation. I like this guy. He is smart and cautious. Good traits to have. But that also makes him dangerous. I might even think he is the most dangerous of the group except that I still do not know what the female can do. The fact that she seems to have come here unarmed makes me more nervous than if she had actually brought a weapon. She can also sense mana. Who knows what else she might be capable of.

“Hey Jenna come check this out.” Machete guy calls out from the bathroom door. The female, apparently named Jenna, walks over to the bathroom and Machete guy points to the hole in the wall. “Think you can fit through there?” She looks at the hole hesitantly.

“Hmm, I dunno. I might be able to squeeze through. Wouldn’t want to try it though. Not without knowing what’s on the other side. Besides, we’re checking that room next anyway so it’ll be easier to just use the door,” she says and they both move on to check out one of the bedrooms.

Finding nothing of Interest in Room 3 the group heads back to the hallway. As each one steps out of my perception I gain a sudden burst of mana. Not an insignificant amount either. Only Jenna sticks close enough to the wall to not leave my bubble of perception. Though she does step out once and then back in immediately after and I gained more mana. She then stops and crouches next to the wall. I hear a muffled sound that I assume is one of the others speaking.

“The unusually strong mana extends a little into the hallway, but it does not reach the ceiling. It only comes out about this far and about this high.” She remarks. Indicating quite accurately with her hands the limit of my perception in the hallway. Her precision is both impressive and a little alarming. She stands up and they continue towards the door.

They are at the door now. But do not attack until I tell you to. I warn my imps.

They quickly position themselves between my chair and the door. Nothing happens for a while and if it was not for Jenna still standing within my perception, I would have wondered if they had left. I can hear the faint sounds of a muffled conversation. Are they discussing strategy? Or maybe they are discussing leaving. That is probably wishful thinking.

They must have come to a decision though because Shield guy steps up to the door and enters the room with his shield raised. The others follow quickly behind him. They look a little more worn out than they did before. In front of them they see my six imps, with First at the front of the pack, glaring at them with weapons raised.

“I think these are the “children” we were looking for. They even have friends.” Machete guy says with a nervous chuckle. For a while the two groups just stare at each other. Though Machete guy’s gaze seems intently focused on First more than anything else.

“Is that the dungeon core?” Bow guy asks, gesturing towards my chair. The motion eliciting an aggressive hiss from First, causing him to flinch.

“Looks like it. But I don’t think we’re gonna get close to it without getting past them.” Jenna replies. Shield guy takes a step forward triggering various hisses and growls from my imps and First similarly taking a step forward.

“Do you think we can take them?” Bow guy whispers. Looking more nervous now. Shield guys steps back. First does not.

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk to try. We don’t know that this is all of them or what their capabilities are. They’ve not attacked us yet, but they clearly don’t want us here. We should leave.” Shield guy commands and the others do not argue. Jenna is the first out the door followed by the other two. Shield guy backs out slowly. Keeping his shield raised towards my imps the whole time. Smart guy.

I receive another burst of mana as each of them leaves. Is that what Shield guy meant about dungeons 'extracting a cost'? Does that mean I am a dungeon? They did refer to my orb as a “dungeon core”. I actually like the sound of that. ‘Orb’ accurately describes it’s shape. But ‘core’ is like a description of it’s function. The heart of my and my dungeon’s existence. I will refer to it as my core from now on and instruct my imps to do the same.

The mana I got from the humans is nice. I am almost full now. More importantly, this means I can get mana from humans without having to kill them just by having them enter and then leave my domain. That is good. Humans generally do not like it when others of their kind are killed. And they can be extremely aggressive to those they deem enemies. It is better not to earn their ire if I can avoid it. I wonder if it works with other creatures besides humans. I do not gain mana from my imps leaving, but maybe that is because they are connected to me.

Jenna and her friends hastily descended the stairs. They were all exhausted. Exiting a dungeon’s territory takes a lot of energy out of a person and they had all experienced it twice. Despite their exhaustion, they did not want to stop until they were at the ground floor.

By the time they finally reached the building’s lobby Jenna could barely stand anymore. Mark and Seth looked just as tired as she was. Not Johnathan though. Despite having gone through the same as everyone else and carrying that huge shield the whole way, he barely looked half as worn out as the the rest of them. How does a person even develop that kind of endurance, Jenna wondered.

“We’ll take a break here. Make sure to eat something. We need to regain our energy. But make it quick. I don’t want to stay here longer than necessary.” Johnathan ordered.

Jenna sank to the floor gratefully. The others soon followed suit. Seth placed his bow beside him and Mark laid his machete across his lap and they searched their packs for their travel rations. Not the most appetizing of meals, but quick, easy and convenient when exploring the ruins. While Johnathan did drop his spear, he never laid down his shield. Even though it made it harder for him to get into his pack. He never let it go. Jenna wasn’t sure she could remember a time when she had ever seen him without his shield.

“So, those were demons right?” She asked, hoping to lighten the mood with some conversation.

“I don’t know. I’ve heard most demons are at least as big as an average human or larger. Those things were less than half our size.” Seth replied.

“Maybe they were demon children?” She suggested.

“That one in the front certainly didn’t look like a child. If you know what I mean.” Mark said grinning, while cupping his hands in front of his chest. Jenna gave him a disgusted look.

“Trust you to notice something like that.” She chided.

“Come on. I can’t be the only one who noticed.” He looked imploringly towards Seth and Johnathon. Johnathan just ignored him.

“Believe it or not, most of us were more focused on their weapons and clearly hostile attitude than ogling the breasts of the tiny red demon.” Seth retorted.

“You can’t deny she was kinda hot.” Mark said, a little dejected. Seth gave him a blank look.

“You’re seriously weird man. Please stop.” Seth said, shaking his head in dismay.

“What are we going to do about the dungeon?” Jenna asked. Trying to steer the conversation to a new, less disturbing, topic.

“We report it. We know where it is, where it’s core is located, it’s approximate size and what kind of creatures defend it. We should be able to get a decent reward with that much information.” Johnathan declared.