Nathaniel turned the pages of an encyclopedia he had found in one of the caverns. He had duped this section of the dungeon, the library cavern.

As dungeons went, this one was quite strange. There were no traps and there were plants everywhere. And strange, intelligent animals. Nathaniel, who was an axe warrior by trade, had come here expecting to find an ancient core that was in need of destroying.

What he found was the most alluring creature he had ever seen. The Naga was sculpted like the statue of a God and, when he put his clothes on, looked like a doll.

Not delicate, per se, but alluring all the same. All those bows, on the big belt, on the ropes that hanged down the robe. And that neck warmer that left the man's chest exposed. It was all too perfect. Nathaniel wanted to have this being for himself.

Something told him that, by the virtue of getting the blessing of the necromancer to be here, he had gone a big step towards winning the nameless Naga. He wanted to know the dungeon core's name so badly, but the Naga avoided him.

What heartened Nathaniel was that the handsome man was not trying to chase him away. Because, if he had, Nathaniel would have left. He was not a creep.

So, here the axe warrior was, attempting to find the perfect plant to bring the man of his dreams. He flipped another page absentmindedly and found something that would be just perfect. A dragon cluster weed.

Reading the description, he found that it was a fast-growing crawling weed that could cover vast distances out of a single root. With such a plant, the dungeon core could easily spread all over the forest.

There was one problem, however. Dragon cluster was seen only around dragon lairs. Sure, it could grow about anywhere, but the original plants, the one that could breed,  sprouted only around treasure hordes and fed on the magic of a dragon.

But, Nathaniel was eager to prove himself. He got up, stretched, and went to find the dungeon core.  After a bit of searching, Nathaniel found the Naga outside, sitting by a patch of mint and just staring at the cottage that was opposite the dungeon with longing.

"Hello," Nathaniel sat by the man, leaning on the giant snake tail. The axe warrior placed a hand over the azure scales and noticed that they have been warmed by the sun. How he wished he could touch the exposed chest of the dungeon core instead.

"Hello. Are you leaving now?" Asked Adam, distracted. Nathaniel's eyes tracked Adam's gaze, and he looked at the cottage, from which chimney purple smoke rose.

"I will be bringing you dragon cluster," boosted Nathaniel. That got him a sideways glance and a nod.

"You don't need to," said Adam, and his eyes found the cottage again. 

"If I bring it to you, will you tell me your name?" Nathaniel moved his hand higher up the tail, enjoying the pleasant feel of the scales. They were smooth like silk.

"Why would you come back? You don't seem to want my herbs," Adam turned to look at the warrior, and he finally noticed the hand that was on his tail. He moved his tail away from the hand, and Nathaniel sighed.

"Maybe I want to see you again? Spend time with you?" Suggested, Nathaniel and Adam looked at him in confusion.  Why was a complete stranger having a crush on him?

"My name is..." there was a finger pressed to his lips, and Adam blinked.

"Let me earn the privilege of knowing. But, I wouldn't say no to your favor," Nathaniel said with a wink. Adam had read about favors that women gave the knights they liked. He became thoughtful. After a minute, he undid one of his silk ropes that dangled from his robe and tied it around Nathaniel's wrist.

"I was thinking something along the lines of a kiss," Nathaniel pouted, and Adam chuckled.

"I am going to let you earn the privilege,"  Adam very much doubted that he will ever kiss the warrior, but he didn't mind giving him false hopes. It was fun. Nathaniel patted his new wrist ornament and stood up.

"Well, my fair prince. I am going on a quest," Nathaniel did an extravagant bow and turned around after picking up his backpack from the ground. Adam waved and then returned to staring at the cottage. Onyx slithered next to Adam and the Naga petted it.

"Tine is tricky," Adam informed the snake, who nodded. "I might just bite him on the neck again as punishment."

Adam chuckled at his own words. For a minute, he entertained the thought that he could be with Nathaniel instead. Because the warrior desired him and, surely, Adam could be happy with him.

But Constantine was as much of a part of Adam's dungeon as Adam himself. His other half. His protector and friend. Maybe he could ask Agatha about his dilemma? He just needed to wait for her to come home from Waldstadt.

Adam decided that he had stared at the cottage long enough, and he stood up. With flowing movements, he went back inside the cave. He had this idea to make stone golems today.

Everything he needed was already gathered in his storage cavern. Now, he just needed to wait to get at least twenty mana points back. In the meantime, he was going to make the golem out of mud and stone.

For that, Adam undressed and folded his robes by the entrance of the pool cavern. He didn't want to dirty them. Then, he went the rest of the way and used one of the pipes to get some water on the soil, so he could get mud.

Building a golem was like building a snowman, Adam decided. The stone had to be stuck in the mud. For the eyes, Adam had chosen embers he had found not too long ago. For the nose, a snail's shell. For the ears, two twigs.

By the time he was done, he had the points he needed. He poured the mana in the golem, and it stood, the mud drying quickly around the stones and  the whole creation becoming sturdy.

"Your task is to dig down, through the ground, and make a series of stone and wood reinforced tunnels," the meeting of Nathaniel had taught Adam that he needed more fail saves. If he could hide underground, then the adventurers were welcomed to take a stroll around his dungeon. They would surely not find the tunnels.