Tyla tried not to let it get to her as she watched the servants of the Duke prepare the carcass for the feast that night. Different people had different customs, and these were not her people. She had been snatched away from her tribe, and now she could never go back.

  She had committed acts that were unacceptable to her tribe. Even if she set the Numenstone aside, her Path had been marked by her choices, and they would know. If she brought her stone, brought her magic, she would be strong enough that they would not speak out, but they would know.

  She could help her people and be hated for it, or she could follow where her Path led. Travelling with Kelsey and with Anton—Lord Nos.

  She wondered if she should tell him. Not that she would. It was far too embarrassing. What Kelsey had done, and how she had responded, was a secret that she would take to her grave. The only question was whether she should feel guilt over not telling him.

  Kelsey’s words had been true. There were no physical effects, unless you counted Kelsey’s knowing smirks. It had just been a dream.

  Tyla’s position in Lord Nos’s retinue was high enough to place her above most servants. That did place her in view of the petty nobility, those of noble birth who did not have titles. Jaded and bored, many of them were interested in an ‘exotic experience’ with a mystical elf. Fortunately, while the hated ‘Doxy’ in her path drew them, the ‘Dungeon Wife’ in the same place repelled them much more effectively.

  Tyla’s elven senses kept her aware of what the thwarted lordlings were saying about her. Somehow, her habitual taciturn manner was transformed into a mysterious demeanour, and her hunter’s gait became ethereal grace in their eyes.

  As long as they didn’t talk to her. Tyla knew she wasn’t supposed to stab anybody, but she had been thinking about potential curses.

  Her duties on this trip were to stand in the back and stay silent, both activities that she excelled at. Occasionally, she was called on to confirm something that Lord Nos or Lady Suliel had said. When she did so, about half the room looked impressed, a quarter scowled, and the final quarter showed no reaction whatsoever. Tyla chose to take this as success.

  After an afternoon of discussion and an evening’s worth of feasting, Tyla was starting to miss the days when she had spent hours meditating on her Numenstone. She thought about getting a few in, but she was just too tired.

  When she woke up, she wasn’t in the unfamiliar bed that she’d fallen asleep in. She was in a dank and dripping cave that was surprisingly well-lit.

  “Greetings, Dungeon Wife,” the slick-skinned monster in front of her said. “I see that you have mated.”

  Tyla leapt to her feet so quickly she might have levitated. The heavy robes and cloak that she had been wearing were gone, replaced by her familiar leathers. Her bow was in her hand.

  The monster in front of her was the avatar of the Hungry Depths, a giant sligg. Which was to say, about her size.

  “This is a dream,” she said flatly, looking around for threats.

  “Not exactly. Our minds have touched before, and you are linked by the items I gave to you,” the sligg said. “I reached out and found you, and here you are.”

  Tyla stared for a moment before making the connection. The cloak that she had received from the dungeon, Winter’s Grasp. It kept her warm and dry. More importantly, its hood let her evade the gaze of others and added to her mysterious air. It was lying on top of her sleeping form right now, better than any blanket.

  “Have you always been able to do this?” Tyla asked. “Just… talk with anyone who holds your items?”

  “Not anyone. You are a Dungeon Wife, and we have spoken before.” The sligg spoke flatly, staring at her with empty eyes. “Congratulations on mating.”

  “What? I haven’t… mated,” Tyla said.

  “Oh. My apologies. I must have misread the signs,” the sligg said. “It is not important. I have a message for the Kelsey.”

  “Wait, what signs?” Tyla asked. She desperately tried to think of what she had just been dreaming, but drew a blank. “Were you looking at my dreams?”

  “Yes,” the dungeon confirmed. “Dreams are also a link, and also a part of how I was able to manage this.”

  “Dreams aren’t real life, though! Even if I—even if I happened to be— that doesn’t mean I mated!”

  The Hungry Depths stared at her, long enough for it to blink with its clear eyelids. “I am aware. May we move on to the message?”

  “Please.” Tyla looked down, desperately trying to regain her composure.

  The Hungry Depths paused, as if waiting for her to say something else. When Tyla stayed silent, the dungeon spoke again.

  “The wizards have started a raid on me. They are coming for my core.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Tyla’s gaze snapped back up. “Anton—Lord Nos said that they would. Can we help? We can’t…”

  The Hungry Depths nodded. “I remember. The Heroic Liberator said that you would be far away and could not come. The wizards… may not succeed. They are strong, stronger than before. But so am I.”

  “Then… there’s nothing we can do. Except wish you good fortune, I suppose.”

  “That is a common practice among adventurers,” the Hungry Depths replied. “However, from my observations, it makes little difference to the chances of survival.”

  “Do you think they will kill you?” Tyla asked nervously. “I thought…”

  “I think not. What they want from me, they cannot get from a young dungeon, and there is no guarantee that the core will spawn in the same place. They will shackle me again, I think.”

  “I’m sorry. To be enslaved again after being freed… what do they want from you, anyway? We never asked before.”

  The sligg avatar made a slurping sound that Tyla thought was supposed to be a snort. “Magic,” it said. “By concentrating my aura, I could provide crystals that could improve their corpse-gems. It was a slow process, but it saved them from having to feed more corpses to them.”

  “Oh.” Tyla wondered if she should ask Kelsey for some of those crystals.

  “To return to the point of this connection,” the Hungry Depths continued. “While I do not wish to reveal your party's involvement in my freeing, I will soon be compelled to do so.”

  “Oh. Of course.” Tyla winced. “I think we all knew that was going to happen eventually, but thank you for warning us.”

  “That is not all. There is another raid party coming for the Kelsey.”

  Tyla swallowed. “How do you know?”

  “The wizards that are raiding me have spoken of it. They know better than to say things of tactical advantage in front of me, but they do not know that I can communicate with the Kelsey through you. Wake now.”

  “I—” Tyla said, but she was already awake. She gasped and sat upright in the bed. Her heart was beating wildly.

  That was… abrupt, she thought. She heard soft movement on the other side of her door. Then a gentle knock.

  “You okay in there?” A voice said. It was whispered, but even on the other side of the door, it may as well have been a shout.

  “Yes. Come in, Kelsey.”

  The door opened, and Kelsey came in, dressed as she always was.

  “You heard me wake up?”

  “Mmn. Nightmare? You never woke up from them before.”

  “When did I—” Tyla stopped, unsure of whether she wanted to know. Kelsey continued as if she had finished the question.

  “Most nights, you have some sort of bad dream. Crying, whimpering, that sort of thing. Not as bad as nightmares can get, and they always passed before you woke up.”

  “I—I don’t remember them.”

  “Most dreams don’t get remembered at all. The ones that do are the exceptions. If it wasn’t a dream that woke you, what was it?”

  How do you know that?

  Tyla couldn’t help wondering. Kelsey never slept, of course, which meant that she never dreamed at all. Did her knowledge come from watching those who slumbered under her ever-watchful gaze? Tyla wanted to ask, but she had a duty to fulfil.

  “It was a message. The Hungry Depths contacted me in my dream.”

  Kelsey’s eyebrows raised, in a not-often-seen expression of surprise.

  “You’re kidding me! Are you sure it wasn’t just a normal dream?”

  Tyla considered. “I think I’m sure. It didn’t feel like a dream, any more than Communion did. And I remember it clearly.”

  Tyla told Kelsey what the other dungeon had said.

  “Deppy’s got some tricks up her sleeve,” Kelsey murmured. “Her social skills need some work, though.”

  “I can’t disagree, but are you sure you should be the one saying that?”

  “Was that a burn, Tyla?” Contrary to her words, Kelsey looked absolutely delighted at Tyla’s quip. “I have excellent social skills, I’ll have you know.”

  “If you say so, Numen,” Tyla said, retreating back into formality. Kelsey grinned.

  “You forget. I am the sort of creature that men should flee screaming from. I look strange enough that people have mistaken me for a corpse. And the things I want from people are strange, new things that they would never think of on their own. And yet.”

  Tyla thought about it. Thought about the times when Kelsey had gotten her way. Thought about the things she had gotten Tyla to do.

  “I concede the point, Numen,” she said resignedly.

  “Now, I wonder if I can copy this trick,” Kelsey mused.

  “You hardly need to,” Tyla pointed out. “You have your avatar, and you can contact Lady Suliel at a distance while she is awake.”

  “Ah, you’re not thinking with portals,” Kelsey childed. “What I’m wondering is, can I contact the Hungry Depths through your dreams?”

  “That’s not the same thing at all, and I can see several problems with it,” Tyla said. “Are you intending for me to Commune with you before falling asleep?”

  “Definitely the second or third thing I want to try,” Kelsey agreed. She touched Tyla’s cloak. “I can sense that this thing is connected, but I can’t do much with that connection,” she confessed. “Let’s see if that changes when you’re inside my mind. Then, if that doesn’t work, we can put you under and see if that changes things.”

  “That would require us to share this bed,” Tyla said levelly.

  “That’s the easiest way, yeah. Is that a problem?” Kelsey asked innocently. “Or, if that’s an opportunity, we can spare a few hours.”

  Tyla flushed and looked away. “I am not that way inclined,” she said flatly.

  “Speaking as someone who isn’t in any way inclined, those feelings are just instincts that can be pushed aside. You’re a thinking being, why should you let your feelings override logic?”

  “What manner of deranged logic states that I should sleep with you?” Tyla snapped.

  Kelsey shrugged. “You’ve got a problem with guys who aren’t Anton, so why not switch to girls? Or there are a few other options…”

  “I don’t want to hear them. Can you at least agree to leave me unmolested while I am unconscious?”

  “If that’s what you want,” Kelsey said. Tyla glared at her. “Okay, fine, yes.”

  “Then let us get this over with,” Tyla said. “Holding hands will suffice, yes?”

  “Sure,” Kelsey said, taking Tyla’s hand. “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?”

  With a final warning glare, Tyla lay back and called on Commune. The transition was…

  …exactly like before. She was back in Kelsey’s control centre.

  “Take a seat,” Kelsey said, pointing at the strange couch that—

  “Don’t worry, we had it steam cleaned,” Kelsey said with a wink.

  Tyla sat down defiantly. “What do I do?” she asked.

  “Just… think about what it felt like in the dream,” Kelsey said. “I may not look like I’m doing anything, but I’m pulling out all the magical stops here.”

  She pointed at one of the windows, which changed to a view of what must be Kelsey’s core. A shining core on a pedestal, just like Tyla had seen in the Hungry Depths. As Tyla watched, shimmering bands of colour formed around the core, shifting and changing.

  “Almost got it,” Kelsey commented. “Just… no, maybe… that?”

  The view suddenly changed, replaced by a familiar dripping cave. A human-sized sligg stared out with dead eyes.

  “Ah,” it said. “I should have expected this consequence.”

  “Hey, good buddy,” Kelsey said. “We need to have a chat about what constitutes actionable intelligence.”