At the same time, four gods appear in the oasis: The Lady, The Smith, and two more. The woman wears a beautiful dress with intricate embroidery, and the man looks like a scholar or mage. He even carries a box with a scroll.

  "Hello, little one." The Lady greeted Naomi with genuine happiness in her voice.

  "Hello," she responded, a little scared. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked.

  "Ha, ha, ha. On the contrary, young one." Laugh The Smith. "Allow me to introduce my wife, goddess Iliana, goddess of arts and everything that is beautiful just like her."

  "Nice to meet you, mam," Naomi said.

  "Likewise," Goddess responded. Her smile, nod, and voice are full of grace.

  "And this is the god of knowledge and secrets, Junos." The Lady introduces the scholar.

  "Nice to meet you too, sir," Naomi said.

  "Nice to meet you, too." He responded, his voice serious but also with a hint of happiness.

  "And about your question. No, you aren’t. You just exceeded our expectations." Goddess smiled. I will start. I was expecting just a little more greenery, some shade for travelers, a few trees with fruits, and a reliable water source. Of course, not for free, because it all should be on your first floor underground. And then you build above-ground, eight warehouses full of supplies for caravans, stables, places for tents, lovely orchards, and everything protected with stone walls. And you build me such a beautiful temple in the middle. You do not stop there. You declare this floor a safe zone and make it secure. And your last floor, I don't even know where to begin. You built it from my most deadly creations, but you were able to fight your fear and apprehensions. Yes, as dungeon mistress, not one of your creations will harm you, but you play with them. And your champion? You made him powerful, but you didn’t change his body. You don’t add even the smallest spike or horn. And you created a companion for him so he wouldn't be lonely. And you apologized to them for their faith. You are the first dungeon master who does that." The goddess can barely contain her emotions.

  "And I'm just proud of you." Said The Smith. "You indeed know how to build things. You understand that not only is the final product important, but also how to create it. You know the importance of a good foundation. You did that with your towers and walls. You didn't just bury some stone and let magic do the rest. No, you build those stone columns reaching solid bedrock, and only then do you build towers and walls on top of them. And those domes like roofs? You don’t need to design anything that complicated. Your tower stands on solid foundation, and you have plenty of magic. But again, you don’t do that. You design this intricate, complicated steel construction, and your construction uses only a little magic. Tower dungeon masters can’t build too high because they use a lot of magic to keep their towers intact. At some point, they can’t afford more and stop growing. With your skill and knowledge, you are, indeed, capable of building much higher. Then your floor with my shrine. Build from metal full of mechanical traps. As simple as it is, you tell every smith and artisan how important precision is and what they can achieve."

  "I, goddess Iliana, recognize your love for beauty. Your lapis lazuli tiles and golden domes on your towers are a fine combination. You don't plant trees in an orchard in a regular pattern. You planted them so that the grass got plenty of sun. This gives you a bright, beautiful place where everyone can appreciate the beauty of nature or be inspired by it as an artist. On the floor dedicated to my husband, with different metals to create subtle patterns on the walls or blades. You don't do that for every corner of your floor. That means that you understand how important moderation is. Even on your final floor, you paid attention to the details."

  "And I, Junos, thank you for introducing the metric system to our world. Your average yard is great and can potentially influence kingdoms to unified measurements. However, the metric system will help scientists and magicians reach new heights of knowledge about the universe."

  "Thank you," Naomi stammered. "I don’t break any rule or cross line?"

  "Ha, Ha. You did indeed cross some lines, but that is your task as dungeon mistress." Laugh The Smith.

  "And I will add stepping on some toes," Adde his wife.

  "Oh yeah. I can’t wait to see some stupid nobles who think everything should be made from gold. I bet that potters and alchemists will be swamped with work after news of your work here."

  "And I have been waiting a long time for something like this." Added goddess Iliana.

  "And about breaking the rules, as god of knowledge, assure you that you don’t break any. You correctly deduced that there isn’t any ban for building at the same time above ground and underground. And you also correctly understand that the floor above ground will be counted as zero, which means it must be a safe room because it's the fifth floor, too."

  "And now it's time for gifts." Said the goddess of life.

  "Gifts?" Naomi somehow was able to accept praise for good work. But gifts?

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  "Yes. Every dungeon master gets a blessing from their patron. And sometimes, if they attract the attention of another god." Explained the god of knowledge.

  "So, from me, I declare you as my stepdaughter. This blessing helps you better understand living beings."

  "And I declare you as my student. Well, it’s mostly for show because I can't personally teach you anything, but it should help you understand the properties of materials you will be using in your creations."

  "And I give you a keen eye. It will show the flaws in your work and help you create more beautiful things."

  "From me, you will have the gift of a sharp mind. It will help with concentration."

  "Thank you," Naomi bowed her head. "I promise to use them to create good things, even if I’m somehow destined to kill people."

  "I'm sorry, my dear, but it cannot be avoided."

  "I understand," Naomi said seriously. "But I don’t like that part of my job."

  "It's because you have a pure heart. Your harsh past didn't break it and most likely made it stronger."

  "Thank you," Naomi said, embarrassed.

  "Ok. time for us." Said The Smith. "You will have four days until the nearest caravan reaches you. Try to rest for those days. You don’t have mana for anything serious."

  "I will do that."

  "Take care, little one." Said The Lady and the gods vanished.

  The sandstorm was long, and no one managed to get any sleep, but the caravan got relatively unharmed. A few crates got broken, and there was a risk that they would need to slaughter one or two camels for meat, but that always happens. The journey through the sands is harsh, and not all animals can survive it. Sometimes, even humans can’t make it.

  Commander Lucius was supervising preparations for the afternoon march when he saw a priestess acting strange. She stood with her eyes closed and smiled.

  "Priestess? Everything alright?" He asked her.

  "Take a deep breath, Commander." She answered, still smiling

  Commander curiously did that, and he immediately took the second one because he couldn't believe what he felt in the air.

  "Near us is an oasis." He stated.

  "Oh, I don’t think so, Commander. Your scouts should have reported that long ago to you."

  "True." He agrees. He decides to check if someone is not slacking anyway. "Then the nearest oasis should be On Taram."

  "And there is the shrine of The Lady, and the air smells of trees and life. And there is one more thing that can trigger an elemental storm."

  "It was more than one hundred years ago. It would be too much of a coincidence."

  "I agree. And I add that I'm just a master-level priestess. Freshly leveled one. So I don’t feel worthy to witness something like that."

  "We will see in four days. A dungeon dedicated to The Lady could be a great boon. But remember that nothing in the dungeon is for free, and price is always paid in blood."

  "I know." Schewa smiled, touching her sword. There were two orders in the church of The Lady. Both care about stray cats and chicks that fell out of the nest. They tend to orchards and help farmers. The difference is that one order travels a lot, and the second prefers to stay in one place. That is why the priests and priestesses of the first order knew how to fight, and Schewa was one of the most fearsome warriors.

  The commander agrees with the priestess that something happens in On Taram oasis. A faint smell of oasis lingers in the air. It could be the wind, but they were still far from the oasis. The second sign was camels. Someone who doesn't spend his life in the desert and with camels will not see it. They march steadily, one step after another, without haste. But for Lucius and his men, it was obvious. They were in a hurry. Animals can't wait to get to the oasis.

  When they were two days away, they saw what happened in the oasis. They saw a mirage.

  "So dungeon. Yes?" Shewa asks the Commander, who looks unperturbed by the strange illusion.

  "New tower dungeon." He nods.

  "Correct me, but masters of tower dungeons are strange."

  "They had that opinion." He agrees. "For strange reasons, they are more concerned about building new floors than creating a proper maze."

  "So there is a chance we can relatively easily procure some extra supplies?"

  "There is always an exception." He poured cold water on her hopes.

  One more sign appeared at night when they were one day away.

  "You were calling me. What happens?" Commander asks one of his sentries.

  "On the horizon are three new stars, they don’t move." He pointed to the horizon. In the southern direction were three stars in line very close to each other. The commander doesn’t know every star in the sky, only those necessary to find the right direction. But observation of the sentry was easy to check.

  "Fires on towers." He said after almost one hour of watching. Sentry nods in agreement. "Tomorrow we will know."

  That was strange. He can accept that a dungeon appears in the oasis. Unbelievable coincidence, but it happens. But three towers? What does that mean?

  "Ok, everyone. Listen!" The commander gathers all the people after daybreak. "Today, we should reach On Taram Oasis. As you all know, something happens there. It's Most Likely Tower Dungeon. We'll do it like this. The caravan stops when we see Oasis. Then, Arthuros takes command of the caravan. You remember the alternative route?"

  "No problem here."

  "Good. Priestess Schewa and two more will come with me to check what happens there. Keep an eye on us. If something happens to us, you must move the caravan as far as possible, even if that means moving through the night. You must ensure that the guild gets news of what happens, so if you think that runner can safely reach the nearest city, send it."

  "Understood commander."

  Shortly after midday, they reach a point where they see what happens with the oasis. All stood in silence, trying to understand. It was a city surrounded by walls, with towers built from deep blue stone. On top of the towers was a golden roof, looking like a bulb of tulip.

  "Ok. Priestess, Horrath, and Techiro with me. Arthuros change of plans. You need to wait until sunset. Everyone should be rested and prepared for the night march if we don't return."

  "Yes, commander."