The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Sylvia POV

Sylvia had settled rather comfortably in the dining hall, enjoying some kind of herbal tea that Virtisa had gathered the other day, the smell of food in the air as Remi, Luna, and Mina worked on getting breakfast put together for the group.

The sound of chatting people and children playing among themselves filled the air, though as Sylvia sipped some more of her tea, she was approached by Miriam, who had a worried expression on her face. With her curiosity piqued, she spoke up before Miriam got the chance to get a word out. "What's the matter? You look concerned." She said plainly as she set her cup down.

Miriam settled at the table beside Sylvia as she looked around the longhouse before looking outside from where she sat. After not finding what she was looking for, she sighed and looked over at Sylvia. "I haven't seen Isaak since we measured Vitmori for his clothes and equipment."

Sylvia looked vaguely surprised by that as she looked around curiously from where they were sitting before looking back over at Miriam. "Now that you mention it... Trisha didn't come back last night either." She considered as she took up her cup of tea and sipped at it. "I'm sure they're fine, those drakewardens disappeared as well yesterday, so it shouldn't be too much of a reach to think that Isaak is with them right now." She reasoned, yawning quietly before setting her cup down again.

Miriam had to concede that at least as she appeared to relax a little bit. "I suppose that makes sense." She said as she ran her fingers through her hair, getting a few strands out from in front of her face. "So how is Vitmori's armor coming along? Have you gotten started on the leather?"

Sylvia smirked at the question, snickering to herself as she remembered the conversation she had with the man. "Nope, apparently he had it in his head that the leather would be ready in a couple of weeks. So I told him I'd prepare something else."

Miriam couldn't help but smile a little bit in amusement as she listened. "I see, so what are you making for him?"

Sylvia tilted her head a bit as she considered what she started already. "I'm preparing a black gambeson for him using all the black fabric he left behind, though I'm going to be lining it with some of the red fabric that the wolf brought us." She explained, taking another sip of her tea before continuing. "I'm still deciding whether or not I should take the time to prepare him a chainmail shirt or if I should just line the gambeson with some tiles of metal."

Miriam nodded intently as she looked at her hands, massaging a thumb into the palm of her other hand before looking back over at Sylvia. "Sounds like you're on top of it, did you even sleep last night or are you really just that fast a worker?" She asked curiously.

Sylvia looked over at Miriam, wondering what she was getting at before smiling kindly. "Don't worry about taking your time. I've got decades of experience on you, and a dwarf at work cannot be matched. Besides that, I suppose I did manage to squeeze in a couple of hours before the sun came up." She mused cheerfully enough.

Miriam smiled, though before she could speak, she suddenly looked horrified by something approaching. "Oh gods..." She said softly while getting to her feet and making her way over to the longhouse entrance where the drakewardens were half dragging, half walking Isaak inside. "W-what happened to him, is he okay? Where have you all been all night?" She asked, struggling to remain calm as she looked over Isaak.

The young man was utterly drenched in water, his eyes wrapped up with multiple layers of cloth, and his ears and nose plugged up with some sort of wax. He looked ragged and exhausted, unable to properly stand on his own two feet. Joli pulled away to address Miriam as Lars finished dragging Isaak over to a table, plopping him down along a bench as the teen slumped over with exhaustion. "He's fine." She stated simply. "While I can't tell you how we did what we did to him, I can tell you he'll be fine. He's just undergoing some changes right now and is extremely sensitive to a lot of things... In fact..." She mentioned as her eyes narrowed at Miriam, taking a sniff of the air and glancing over at Isaak before shaking her head. "You especially need to keep your distance for his sake." Joli said firmly, circling around Miriam to stand between her and Isaak as she crossed her arms.

Sylvia watched on curiously, looking over at Isaak who had been plopped down beside her. He looked like a wreck, but on closer inspection, his stature and overall build had slightly improved. He was a little bigger and his shoulders were more defined than yesterday. She was definitely going to need to take his measurements again and Miriam was going to need to resize his clothes. She watched the drakewarden known as Lars go off and start talking with Remi and Luna about something before turning her attention back over to Miriam and Joli, Miriam looking rather flabbergasted by what Joli just said.

"W-what? Why? Why do I have to stay away from him?" Miriam asked defensively, not getting what was going on.

Joli kept her firm stance, looking down at the teen girl before tilting her head a bit as she flashed a mischievous smile. "It's because his senses are all hyperactive right now and he can smell you; even with his nose all blocked up like that. His body is developing and changing because of what happened and if you're around, he's gonna get far too excited when he needs to be resting." She explained, looking far too pleased with herself as she watched Miriam.

Miriam for her part, was rather red in the face at that explanation, at first thinking she smelt bad perhaps; but as Joli explained further, she quickly understood what she meant. "I... I see..." That's all she could get out before taking a few steps back and hurrying out of the longhouse, surprising some of the others as they were making their way inside for breakfast.

Joli then looked over at Sylvia and smiled a bit. "Do you mind telling me where I can get some spare clothes for Isaak here?" She asked pleasantly.

Silvia nodded intently. "Yeah, he's set up near the entrance of the men's sleeping area, bottom bunk, he'll have a crate with his name scratched into it." She explained before looking over at Isaak, the teen human currently fast asleep against the table. "So what's the plan with him?" She asked as she looked back over to Joli.

Joli thinks about it for a few moments before jutting a thumb over at Lars while he speaks with Luna in particular, getting bundles of grains and meats from her, "We just brought him over to get some of his things and some food for the day. He's gonna need to be isolated for a couple of days after this, at least until his body settles." She explained before running her fingers through her hair. "Do you happen to know where we can find a good cave? It's not necessary, but it is helpful for the process."

Sylvia smirked a bit as she tilted her head. "You're asking me when you've got a man around here who is also the nearby mountain? I'm afraid I can't help you with that."

Joli looked confused for a moment before chuckling a bit. "Ah! That's right, I suppose I'll have to go ask him then. Well, thanks for your help." She said politely, bobbing her head before stepping away towards the men's sleeping area. Soon enough she returns with a bundle of clothes, packing them into her bag before taking on the foodstuffs that Lars' gathered; Lars then comes over to collect Isaak as the trio makes their way out of the longhouse.

After breakfast, Sylvia gets Remi to pack some food to go, along with a skin of water. Making her way out of the longhouse, she spots Zasutir, who spotted her in turn as she approached. "Good morning Shepherd." She said politely.

Zasutir flashed a fanged smile, bobbing his head at her approach. "Good morning Sylvia, are you heading out?" He asked curiously as he noted the bundles of what he could smell was food.

"Yes, I'm going to go check up on Trisha, it seems she never returned from her new forge last night. I'm just making sure she doesn't forget to eat." She explained as she lifted the bundle to emphasize her point.

"Would you like an escort?" He asked politely, knowing that she was stronger than him, but simply being polite.

The dwarven woman flashed a grin as she shook her head a little. "I don't think I need one, no. Besides, with Jack's birds flying about, I have no doubt I'll be safe regardless." She enthused cheerfully. "I'll see you later Shepherd." She said pleasantly before dismissing herself, Zasutir watching her go off as she crossed the treeline.

It was the first time Sylvia actually left the clearing of the Haven, not having any real need to go beyond the safety of the longhouse. Yet here she was, pushing herself to do just that. It was nice, and almost relaxing as she listened to the birdsong. She did nearly jump with surprise as she came across one of the spitter wolves during their patrol, but after causally sniffing at her and eyeing the food bundle for a moment, it quickly made its way away without bothering her much more than that.

A few of the birds here and there also approached her, flitting close and watching her curiously, among them were an indigo swan and a rather homely and old-looking owl. She was vaguely disappointed she didn't get to see Jack, but before she knew it, she had ended up at the base of the mountain. Taking a few more moments to look around, she eventually came across a rather well-built staircase, much to her surprise. She had heard Zasutir talk about the system of staircases that littered the mountain, but to actually see it was a different story as she started to ascend the winding path.

She spotted a trail of smoke along the way, following the staircase that seemed to be heading in that direction. After a few more moments, she came across the mouth of a distinctly carved open cave, and within she could hear the rhythmic thrum of metal on metal and smell the intoxicating scent of mana-enhanced forge flames. Almost excitedly, she picked up the pace, making her way inside as she spotted Trisha hard at work.

The teen blacksmith wore a heavy apron, along with thick, blackened gloves that went up to her elbow. Her hair was tightly tied back in a ponytail, which was then tucked under a bandana she tied over her head. Another bandana has been tied over her mouth and nose, accompanied by an odd-looking pair of tinted goggles with lenses too big for use by fliers. As Silvia looked around, she soon spotted Hephtio, dozing nearby on a workstation, sleeping soundly despite the sounds of the forge.

Despite herself, Silvia ended up waiting patiently as she watched Trisha work the forge, the dedication and focus she displayed were almost dwarven in their intensity, and Silvia wouldn't dream of doing anything to disrupt an artist in their flow.

Several more hours passed as Trisha meticulously folded and drew out a wicked-looking dagger with a wavy blade, finally quenching the dagger as she drew it back out and looked it over in the forge light. Trisha turned to take the blade over to her whetstone at her workstation only to notice Sylvia standing there for who knows how long, letting out a surprisingly shrill shriek as she jumped upon seeing the dwarf. "S-Sylvia?! Uh… Err… How long have you been there?" She asked, curiosity plain in her voice as she then looked to an equally startled Hephtio who had woken up thanks to Trisha.

Sylvia chuckled a bit as she held up the now very cold bundle of food. "A few hours perhaps, I came by to bring you breakfast, though I'm thinking it's closer to lunch now." She mused as she stepped closer, while Trisha made her way to her workstation, laying the unpolished and unsharpened blade by the already set up whetstone.

"Wait… Breakfast?" Trisha asked after taking a moment to take off her goggles and pulling down the bandana she had wrapped around mouth. "What time is it?"

Sylvia walked over, carefully setting the food bundle down on Trisha's workstation. "It's the next day, you've been up here for nearly twenty-fours, maybe a little less." She mentioned almost cheerfully as she took another look at Trisha and smiled a bit more. "You've got a stronger mana heart now, don't you?" She said more than she asked as she looked up at Trisha.

Trisha looked vaguely surprised by how long she had been working, looking herself over before flashing a bit of a smile as she looked over at Sylvia. "I've actually got a mana ring now."

Sylvia let out a low whistle, looking genuinely impressed. "That's how you managed to work for so long without feeling the effects of hunger or sleep. All that mana is sustaining you, not to mention you're working within such a mana rich environment." She mentioned as she gave a look around the cave as if that would make her point before looking back to Trisha. "You need to learn to manage yourself a little more, but you can afford to be careless with your time. Just make sure to pace yourself, your body is still young and no doubt adjusting to your newfound power. So remember to eat and drink at least half as often as you used to."

Trisha looked both proud yet mildly embarrassed at the realization that so much time had passed without her noticing as she took up Hephtio after pulling off her gloves, cradling the red prowler in her arms while tickling his throat. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks." She said with a smile.

Sylvia flashed a toothy grin before clasping her hands into each other and rubbing them. "Now then, twenty-four hours of nonstop smithing, show me what you have to show for it."

Trisha grinned in response as she set Hephtio down. "Of course! Take a look." Trisha enthused as she led Sylvia down the hall to the storeroom.