Dungeon of Doors

~ Vivian, Woodrin ~

My disembodied consciousness floats through the earth, circling around a sphere of silver metal I've created. I've decided to call the new material obscurite. With the power to obscure my gaze—something no other object has accomplished thus far—it deserves such a name.

The material itself isn't very remarkable. It's a greyish silver color, with a matte not so shiny look to it. Staring at it for too long makes it difficult for me to remember my goals… like it doesn't want me to see it. The effect is freaky, and I worry it might be too powerful to put into my dungeons anytime soon.

As for getting through the obscurite shell and into my legendary weapon growing chamber? I've not found a solution. This stuff is impossible to brute force my way through with my mind. Instead I've created a small hole at the bottom so I can access the interior. Hopefully if something goes awry nothing bad will happen since the hole is pointed toward the dense interior of the planet.

Anyway, with the obscurite in place it is time to begin the experiment. My objective is to create a time dilation chamber capable of growing my legendary forest weapon at a more practical speed. I need this thing within days, not decades.

I start my work by creating four obelisks surrounding the room near the edges. Each one is equidistant from one another. With these obelisks in place I begin to carve. My mana chips and cracks the stone, inscribing my intent upon the rocks. Strange circular symbols and roman numerals form as I pump my mana into the runes I'm etching. I don't know where these symbols come from, my subconscious? Something greater I am unaware of? I can't say.

Rather than etching all the runes onto one singular obelisk I place them on all four obelisks equally. The inner face of each obelisk grows more and more cluttered with the dizzying pictograms. Something shifts as I work, my focus waning as I grow bored during the process. It hasn't been that long, so why does it feel like everything is moving so slowly?

Oh no.

I move my consciousness away from the obelisks and a strange feeling of vertigo tickles the back of my mind. I look around for any signs of what might have happened. Sure enough, there is a visible sign that time is being bent here. At the center of the clearing the sapling I planted has shot up. It's growing at a rate visible to the naked eye. The grass around the tree has gotten thick and bushy, unlike the grass outside the circle.

How much time did I experience in that circle?

That probably isn't important. Since the circle is speeding up time within itself I didn't miss much of anything elsewhere, just a few seconds that felt like hours for me. Come to think of it, I didn't specify the ratio of time outside to inside the circle.

My mana reaches out like a hand to touch the runes inscribed in the obelisk. My mind and my mana have a strange disconnect, where the mana bleeding into the circle is moving way faster than the mana connected to it. Even with that effect I can feel hints of information entering my mind. Not quite words, but something adjacent to them.

Currently this obelisk is speeding the passage of time to a factor of six hundred—meaning one second is one hour inside the circle. That's not bad.

I move around the circle and try touching a different obelisk. I notice it is the same, its information reading as it having a factor of six hundred. But now that I'm thinking about it I realize something is amiss. This shouldn't be fast enough for a tree that grows so slowly with mana to grow visibly. I do some mental gymnastics, attaching my mana to each obelisk simultaneously.

Oh my god… This circle isn't moving one hour every second. Every second four hundred years pass. That is way too fast! I was intending on pumping some mana into the sapling and letting it grow until maturity, but at this rate the tree might grow out of control!

My gaze settles on the grass. It is not just bushy within the circle, it is dying and regrowing over itself in an infinite loop. The tree I planted isn't a sapling anymore, it has branches spreading out and its trunk is gradually moving toward the false sky. There is more than enough material to make the weapon I want.

I reach out and use my mana to send a spike of energy through the obelisks maintaining the circle. Each one cracks, falling apart like mud drying in the hot sun. With the runes broken time moves normally within the circle once more.

The grass is a jungle around the tree. I look past it and inspect the tree closely, finding its bark to be far denser and more complex than any other tree I've observed with my mind's eye. The wood beneath the surface flows with a sap that's a brilliant golden color. The strength of the tree meets my expectations. What surprises me is the mana, an abundance of it is flowing through the tree as it grows at an imperceptible pace.

This is the kind of material worthy of a legendary weapon.

I turn my mana into delicate scalpels and knives. Various implements suited to carving and shaping wood. One chunk of my mana is used to absorb the wood as I go, turning it into more mana while keeping the unnecessary parts of the tree out of the way.

An image of the bow I want to create floats in my mind as I start. Wood is scraped away, shaving by shaving. I cut with the precision of a brain surgeon as I attempt to unearth the beautiful longbow I know is hiding in this hunk of centuries old wood.

Each scrape and cut is difficult, as the wood is so rich in mana and strength that I have to work to get it to break apart. Eventually I build a technique that allows me to cut through it cleanly.

Hours pass. My focus wanes and surges, my mana flowing into the work.

I've carved the shape of the weapon from the tree. A longbow, tall enough those who are too short may struggle to wield the thing efficiently. I can't compromise on the size—even if it means I could never use the weapon myself—because it is just too perfect to downsize. All that is left is the detailing and the bowstring.

I'm worn out from this ordeal, but I have to finish things in one go. If I leave them to sit I won't ever make the finished weapon. So I set to work again. I cut and carve patterns into the bow.

When I'm done the longbow is a thing of beauty, only lacking a bowstring.

While I could try and create some super material for the bowstring I have a much better idea. Why not use mana to create the string? I could add runs to the inside of the bow so that when someone wills it to have a string it creates one out of mana. That way the strength is based on whoever is using the bow rather than the item itself—to an extent. It is a legendary weapon, after all. Lots of mana in it.

I carefully add the runes, watching in fascination as they start to tug at my mana. When they're complete the desired effect occurs. My mana holds the bow in place and somehow the runes recognize me as its user, absorbing my mana and using it to create a vibrant green glowing string connecting the bow's two ends. I'm curious how strong it would be if I fired it, but that's best left to whoever claims the weapon.

Using some spatial magic makes moving the legendary longbow a cinch. I place it in the treasure chest at the center of Darkwick, atop the pile of traditional precious gems and gold coins.

The first to find this treasure will name the weapon, not I.

With everything in place for Darkwick to be added to the dungeon, I connect the doors. Now all five levels of Woodrin are accessible so long as they're traversed in sequence. Oh! Talk about timing, there are four adventurers entering the dungeon now. These look like one off my regulars.

Andy, a boy with a bow. Teddy, a spear wielder who is quite short. Will, who carries a mace and is exceptionally large. And… Some mystery girl. Taking a closer look at her doesn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. She's carrying the staff of life!

My eyes widen as I realize I completely missed this party obtaining the ultimate treasure of Wildwood. That's a shame, but to be expected when I have only one pair of eyes. Probably best to keep it that way. I'm not sure I want to try messing with my own mind, since my experiments always seem to go wrong.

I watch the party as they react to the new doors.

"Two more doors?" Andy mumbles.

"It's finished!" Teddy shouts, ecstatic.

Everyone gives him a strange look as he says that. I can see why, as they've had no reason to believe the dungeon wasn't already complete, or infinitely deep. Teddy has caught me red handed. He connected the dots upon seeing all the available space in the room filled with doors leading to different levels of Woodrin.

"See, there's no room for more doors! So the dungeon is finished!"

The others look around with thoughtful gazes. They come to the realization Teddy did after noticing the detail he pointed out. Of course what they're forgetting is that I can simply make more space, like I have in the past.

He is right, though. For now this dungeon is complete.

"Let's just try to find the next level before we worry about that."

Andy has a point. Just by poking them with my mana I can feel they've not yet finished Wildwood, despite completing the forest temple. They need to find the intermediary zone between Flathoof Haven and the Wildwood to move on.

I watch the party of young adventurers enter the Wildwood. Will leads the way with Teddy on his heels. Andy and the mystery girl follow up at the very back of the pack. I'm curious to see how this newcomer fares. The others have been learning and growing as they go, but I don't think I've ever seen her in my dungeons.

"Remember to watch out for any monsters, but don't attack unless it's something smallish like a spider or a big bird. Okay, Mary?" Teddy shouts behind him.

Apparently her name is Mary. I imagine Teddy was referring to the great hawks that live in the Wildwood, but there is a new much larger avian monster that may cross paths with them. Hopefully they don't attack the rok by accident.

The group moves deeper into the Wildwood. I'm anxious to see the staff of life in use for real combat for the first time. While I could be doing something productive, I think I'll take some time off to watch this delve. I'm sure it will be an eventful one.