The dungeon core was in the middle, floating above the Blue Bells. There was a strong barrier around it and chains connecting to the ceiling going out of it.

"What is with the chains?" Dorian whispered. Could it be that the dungeon core did not want to stay here? They heard crying, and they turned to stare in the direction of the sound.

"That must be Arog," Valerie made a couple of cautious steps towards the sound of wailing. She blinked. Why was the ground so...bone-like? Then, the ground shifted under her feet, and her answer was given to her.

There was a turtle under the Blue Bells, and they were growing on its shell. The turtle looked at them, lazily, and then went back to sitting on the floor. Hiding its head and limbs in the shell.

"Something is not right here," Alklair spoke. A dungeon core with a peaceful boss? What about the dog, lions and the dragon? He broke formation and went and tapped the barrier of the dungeon core. It did not retaliate.

"Hello, can you hear me? My name is Alklair and I would like to ask you a couple of questions," the dungeon core pulsed, and a screen appeared with text on it.

Please get me out of here. I don't want to be in the dark. I miss the nice, white room. Not only that, but I have too much mana now. It hurts. Why was I brought here? I made the flowers grow. So, why am I not at home?

"It misses the lab?" Florifel stammered. She had never heard of such a thing.

"The dungeon core has poor control of itself. And, too much mana. It says it hurts it, and I believe it," Morris spoke. Leander nodded. But, then, the blonde wavered.

"This is our chance to learn who is letting the dungeon cores out," Leander mused and then cleared his throat.

"Hello, dungeon core of the Blue Bells. Could you please tell us who let you go from the...nice white room?" The dungeon core pulsed again, and the text changed.

I couldn't feel their mana. It was almost like their connection to it was severed. But the hand had claws on it. Sharp claws that nearly cracked me open. I was so scared; I created a dragon to guard me from the thing and a dog to keep me company.

The adventurers shifted uncomfortably. They had stolen the dragon and killed the dog. Oh, the dungeon core was going to have kittens.

"You see, about the dog. We are sorry, but it attacked us," Dorian spoke, voice low. He had no idea if the giant turtle could fight. If it could, they would need to pull their punches, seeing as the precious Blue Bells were on top of it.

I know. I am sad, but I know you had no choice. Please — get me out of here. You have two dungeon cores with you. It doesn't have to be the nice white room. But somewhere where my mana can be sucked out by something more than flowers. I want the pain to go away.

"We can set...uhm, dungeon core, what gender are you?" Leander asked. He did not want to call someone who had been kidnapped from their home an it.

I am a girl, I think. At least, I consider myself to be a female.

Leander nodded, and continued.

"We can set you up in the forest next to our farm. There is already another dungeon there, but he doesn't have any dungeon borders. He won't mind you coming to live with us. In the forest, there is an entire village full of leprechauns. They can welcome you creating them fruit trees and vegetable groves in the forest," Leander felt like this was akin to exploitation, but, if it would help the core to lose some mana and not be in pain anymore, it was a win-win for everyone.

Thank you.

Was the simple answer, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Dorian went and gently picked up the core, which had taken down its barrier. The turtle stood up again, and moved them, and baby Arog, in a slow pace out of the door.

"Wait, we have to take that," Morris reminded them, pointing at the golden double door.

They all hopped down and began looking at the hinges. Finally, Morris took his axe and brought it down on the hinges, cutting them up. One side of the door fell with a crash, and Jean took out his featherlight device.

"I still think we shouldn't have done this," Alklair tried again, just as Jean was stretching the bottomless bag around the fallen door and Morris was preparing to break off the other side.

"The taxes must be paid," Leander reminded him, gravely. The door ended up in Jean's back, split in two parts. It was going to be a nightmare, getting it out. But, with Leander's levitation spell, it might get them just an hour of waiting for the door to come to the front, when it was now being pulled down to the nonexistent bottom of the bag.

"We will be known as the Greedy Guild, one day," Valerie shook her head.

"If we use the moniker to our advantage, we might get away with calling ourselves the Dragon Hoard Guild. With Ebony as a battle companion to the party of the guild master, it won't be too unexpected," Jean mused and got back on the turtle.

"Dungeon core...wait, do you have anything against me calling you Belle?" Leander asked the dungeon core, which had been silent for a while. Filling up Leander with its extra mana, which Leander then forwarded to the hourglass.

Belle sounds lovely.

"Belle, what gender is the turtle, and, can the flowers be grown on a field?" A new screen appeared to answer Leander's question.

Blue Bells only grow on Ethereal Turtles. I can make a male one and, when Gabrielle lays eggs, you can have an entire colony of the turtles. But, please, take good care of her. I created her and she is dear to me.

That explained why the lions and Norrix had been starved, while the dragon, dog, and turtle were not. The dungeon core had not taken care of those she had not created.

"Belle, did you take some of Norrix's, the vampire mini-boss that guarded the surface floor, mana?" Valerie asked. She still did not believe the vampire one bit.

No, but the thing that placed me in here did. But the thing is gone now. Probably off to torture some other dungeon.

That both annoyed and calmed the adventurers. They would have liked to catch whoever it was that was letting dungeon cores out of the labs. Yet, also did not want to fight it now. As they were tired.