The next day, late afternoon, all five appeared in the return ring. Everyone was smiling and joking, and they had backpacks full of golem parts.

  “Just like it should be.” Dungeon Mistress surprised them. She was sitting on a stool and smiling.

  All of them immediately get stiff.

  “Good afternoon, Dungeon Mistress.” Selphie bowed slightly. She knew how to act because she had met the Dungeon Mistress a few times and even talked to her.

  “Good afternoon to you all,” Naomi replied. “And judging by yours earlier smiles, you are back together.”

  “I think we are, Dungeon Mistress.”

  “Splendid. Then it’s time for your photograph.” Naomi said.

  “Photograph?” asked Billy.

  “Instant painting,” Selphie explained.

  “Exactly. You've probably already heard what to do, but I'll say it anyway. You will need to stay motionless for twenty minutes. Many choose rather to sit than stand, because of that. After that, I will take out the photo and engrave your names on a label attached to the frame. Then it will be hidden somewhere in the dungeon. In the future, you could hire a painter if you want a copy of it.”

  “Understood, Dungeon Mistress,” Selphie replied.

  Twenty minutes later, they watched their photo with amazement.

  “Thank you, Dungeon Mistress.” All of them bowed.

  “Stick together and believe in each other like true friends do.”

  A week later, Eriser and Selphie finished their first golem heart clock. They immediately brought it to the tavern and presented it to Naomi. When she saw him, she started looking around at the clock and laughing like a kid. The clock was large and heavy because the spring had been removed from the golem. Mine difference compared with the Earth clocks was that there wasn’t a shield with numbers and an arrow pointing to the hour. Instead, there was a set of gears with numbers. The number on the top shows the time. Each rotates at a different speed depending on what unit of time it measures. So the biggest wheel with sixty marks was for an hour. Next to it, also with sixty numbers counts seconds. There was one more with only four marks to show a fraction of a second. There was also a small lever on the side that Selphie had asked for, which was used to stop everything and read the time.

  “Congratulations to both of you!” She laughed happily.

  “Apriciete, Dungeon Mistress. It was a great endeavor. We even got skills for building it.” Said the Grand Forge Master.

  “I understand why the Master of the Great Forge is given the skill. But You, Selphie?

  “While helping, I started measuring gears and tried to apply mathematics to predict how fast different-sized gears will move when put together. That probably was enough to get a clockmaker skill.”

  “You don’t use mathematics while building watermills or something?

  “Not that precise calculations.” Eriser shakes his head. “Every artisan or builder who works with gears knows that when a bigger wheel is connected to the smaller, the smaller wheel will rotate faster. But for now, if it was fast enough, it was good enough. Machinery in any mill should be sturdy and easy to repair, mostly because it’s built from wood.”

  “I guess. However, this won't work with golems. For them, you will need every gear precisely measured.”

  “I suspected that. Now, thanks to the Sorceress' help, we can easily understand the purpose of each gear.”

  “I’m looking forward to when you, Grand Forge Master, will repair your first golem, or maybe even build one?”

  “Don’t plan on building one. Repairing is challenging enough.”

  “Maybe try doing something similar to this clock. Take a part of the array and try to use it for something.”

  “Don't hurt trying. In the end, I probably would do that anyway.”

  “Great. Congratulations once again. Later, when I have the money, I'll order one.”

  “Can you just build a copy, Dungeon Mistress?” Asked Selphie.

  “I can. But I want to have yours, not mine.” She shakes her head. "I plan to purchase many similar items and put them in my core room. Maybe sometimes in the future I will organize exhibitions to show people how their ancestors lived and their achievements.”

  “Well. Knowing history is important.” Eriser shrugs.

  “Yes. And now both of you are part of it.”

  Dwarven priest and elven sorceress froze. It was one thing about dreaming of becoming famous. But hearing that your name will be written in the chronicles is another thing entirely.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Naomi didn't wait idly until she had enough mana for the next floor. Grand Merchant Venancijs was planning to return south with the next caravan. Now that the dungeon provides a lot of valuable resources and many more promising ones, he needs to find official trading partners. Naomi heard that expensive and rare items are sold in auction houses. She decided to try her luck and build something. If she's lucky, she might earn some extra gold. It needs to be something small and simple, also somehow representing her. She chose a toy with a spring just like her monkey. However, she decided to create a set of miniatures representing her golems. First was a golem rat. Designing it was easy, she used dungeon magic. Building was another matter altogether. Hammering a piece of iron was easy compared to precise clockwork. And she needs to cast a lot of parts, and she never did that in real life. Building it takes her whole month.

  “Thank you both for coming.” She said to the Grand Forge Master and Venancijs. “I finally finished it.” She placed something wrapped in a piece of cloth on the table.

  “Splendid.” Grand Merchant smiled. “I promise to personally take care of organizing the auction.”

  “Thank you. But first, I want to know the real value of my work.” She unwrapped her miniature golem rat. “Grand Forge Master, if you please.”

  “Sure thing. I’m interested in your work, Dungeon Mistress. It looks very promising for your first official work.” He said, taking gently a toy still wrapped in cloth. He turned the figurine a few times, carefully checking how well the surface was polished. “Solid work on the master level.” He finally said. “Great care for details, surface is smooth and even. There are a few scratches, but that happens. However, inside are gears. It’s not just a statue.”

  “No. It’s a mechanical toy.” Naomi answered and took a toy. “First, you need to turn it upside down and with one hand catch its legs. Doesn’t matter which one. Then you need to use this key.” She showed something like a small sampling of a tree with two leaves. Its end was rectangular. “This hole,” she pointed to the belly of the statue, “is a place where you put in the key. You can turn it up to five times.” She demonstrated how to do it. “Then you place it on a long table. When you take away your hand, it will walk.” She took her hand, and indeed the statue started moving. After a few steps, the rat stopped and moved its head left and right as if looking around. Then everything repeated two more times.

  “So?” Naomi asked when the toy stopped. “Is there a chance for some nobles to be interested?”

  “I’m not quite sure how to say it, Dungeon Mistress.” Grand Merchand answered hesitantly.

  “You can buy a small kingdom for it.” The dwarven priest starts laughing.

  “Tiny one and rather poor one.” Grand Merchant precise.

  “But why? Shouldn't it cost a few dozen gold pieces at best?”

  “Only when someone like our Grand Forge Master, or someone of a similar level, would build it.”

  “Right. I’m an envoy of the gods.” Naomi slumped on a bench.

  “That is only half of the picture.” Eriser shakes his head. “Most important one, this is the first object, built by any dungeon master.”

  “But surely others don’t just sit and do nothing.”

  “Yes. Most famous is the mistress of the Citadel. She is an assistant to the archpriest. Master of the Dungeon of Adventurers is a great strategist. He helped design fortyfication on the north. But all their works are part of their dungeons, and sometimes could be your prize. However, not even one does something like this. This sculpture was built by hand from start to finish. You, Dungeon Mistress, don’t use dungeon magic to build it. Don’t you?”

  “No. If I do that, it will become part of the dungeon. I only use it for designing it.”

  “Don’t worry, Dungeon Mistress. There are ways to limit how far a price can be inflated.” Venancijs said. “But I will need to venture to the capital. There are enough wealthy nobles, and the local auction house has enough authority to do that. However, I will not be able to return with the next caravan. Most likely, I will be absent for half a year.”

  “No problem for me. But what about your plans?”

  “I was already thinking of traveling to the capital. There are more opportunities.”

  “Ok. I will need a lot of gold to sponsor people who want to build their new homes here. But I don’t want to harm anyone in the process. I’m also in no hurry, even if I’m excited about how this town will grow.”

  “I promise to fulfill your wish the best I can.” The Grand Merchant bowed.

  Two days after Naomi's show, the caravan from the south reached the oasis.

  “Oh my, they already started building the town.” The leader of the caravan shakes his head. “I think your knights, Commander, will have a lot of work much sooner than anyone could guess.”

  “Good. That is exactly our mission.” Said the lieutenant who commanded almost fifty knights and a similar number of priests with various specialties. The walls and towers of the dungeon citadel were stunning. However, the most important part was the gathered knights and some adventurers waiting for them. That means they saw them from afar. It took some time to check everyone, but it was done efficiently and without incident.

  “Lieutenant Neldor, once again, let me introduce myself. I’m Commander Serator. I’m very grateful for you and your men coming.” Serator said as the knights started setting up camp after entering the oasis. “With so many people, the dungeons will finally be able to be properly guarded.”

  “That is the reason why we were sent. The Grand Marshal told me that more will be coming, but that will take time. For now, we need to train our men and find recruits. Also, Commander, from now on, you are General Commander.” The elf gave him a scroll with seals of the First Marshal.

  “Despite my initial failure, I was still promoted.” He sighed after reading.

  “It wasn’t failure. Dungeon still stands and grows. Moreover, according to your account, this lesson was necessary, even as harsh and brutal as it was. Dungeon Mistress wasn’t aware of how real life looks.”

  “She never experienced or witnessed anything like that, to be exact. She knew and understood that people suffer daily, but it was always a story from afar for her.”

  “Something similar told me, Dungeon Mistress from the Citadel of Light. And about learning, I see that your men, especially mages, are somehow different.”

  “Ah, yes. You see changes after learning the grand magic. We rediscovered it thanks to our Dungeon Mistress. We sent a letter two weeks ago, so you missed it.”

  “Grand magic?”

  “I will present it in detail after you and your men have settled in. Two hours, maybe?” Noldor nodded in agreement. “Then, in two hours, we will have a debriefing. For now, a short version is that for anyone on a grand level, the divide between visualizing an object or process for casting a spell is not true. You need to do both simultaneously.” Serator presented him with a new version of the typical Fireball. Neldor's eyes went wide, feeling heat from it even when they stood in the scorching sun. “Maind you, Lieutenant, I’m not a mage. I only know this one spell. Tomorrow we will start teaching you all. I expect results in a week.”

  “Yes, sir.” The elf officer saluted with great respect for his new commander. He doesn’t question his assignment. Guarding the dungeons, especially with so many gods watching over them, was a great privilege and an important responsibility. At the same time, this oasis was one of the most remote and difficult to access places. And that means not a lot of work. Just guarding because someone could try something, and exploring a dungeon. Turns out there was much more.