Three by three by three.
In yellow. In blue. In green.
Six for one. Seven for two. Eight for me.
In light. In dark. In between.
Three by three by three.
“What do you think it means?” Lynnria asked.
I hesitated in answering, instead opting to reread the note just to be certain I had not missed anything.
Lynnria had found the clue sitting in plain sight. It was just a simple, folded card, written on eggshell-colored stock and artfully placed on an end table right next to a steaming mug of apparently nothing. And I mean that literally.
The mug was releasing a steady stream of vapor into the air, but there was nothing in it. It was as though it had been placed there to affect a lived-in feel to the place without actually leaving food or drink lying about. Or just to taunt me. Either way, the mug was glued down, so even if I could have found a use for a perpetually steaming cup—and I definitely would have tried—the Dungeon was a step ahead of me.
The end table was situated between an elegant divan and matching reading chair with a decorative throw tossed over it just beyond the two staircases. I probably would have seen the card immediately had I not opted to first seek out my lilim. But I have my priorities.
Which is not to say that the message itself helped all that much. Truth be told, I was never totally certain what any of these ‘clues’ were supposed to mean until after we had already solved them. Even then, they remained a little murky, leaving me with the feeling that I only ever managed to bumble my way through these Dungeons by trial and accident.
That said, this clue did bear a certain semblance to the one I had found ringing the clock on the upper balcony. I would need to reread it to check, but I seemed to recall certain reoccurring themes involving numbers and, specifically, the color blue. That left me with the impression that there might be still more clues out there, each dealing with the other colors in the trio.
“Hard to be sure,” I admitted finally before relating what I could remember about the clock. “I think we may be dealing with a branching puzzle design. Uh… that is, general clues leading to more specific ones along the way.”
“Makes sense,” Lynnria agreed with a nod. “But who… or what is the ‘me’ in the clue referring to?”
I hesitated again, but for a rather different reason. There were quite a lot of things I had yet to explain to the girl, many of which I was loathe to bring up. But like it or not, she was here. It would not do either of us any good to hide the truth.
“I’m not… completely certain, but I did find another note when I first arrived. I’m supposed to eventually meet someone by the name of Xhinn,” I explained.
“Xhinn?” she repeated. “Who’s that?”
Damn. I had been hoping she would know already to save me the explanation, but it appeared the Lady of the Dungeon was just as anonymous as Her sister. For whatever reason.
“Well again, it’s hard to be totally sure…”
Lynnria rolled her eyes. “Stop quibbling. Out with it.”
I sighed reluctantly before admitting, “I think that would be proper name of the Demon Queen. She sort of uh… invited me to dinner.”
She stared at me, apparently more than a little non-plussed, for a moment before finally bursting into laughter. Or more accurately, guffaws.
“Lynnria—“
Wheezing snorts began interlacing through her otherwise tinkling yet boisterous mirth.
“Lynnria, I’m being serious here.”
“Oh, sure!” she chortled. “First the Lady of Power and now the Demon Queen? What kind of fool do you take me for? The next thing you’ll tell me, you’ve been getting Hand-jobs from the Hand of Mercy herself.”
“Insufferable girl,” Mia opined primly into my ear. “How dare she laugh when you have spoken nothing but the truth. Besides, Maeve would die of shame just from looking at an erection, never mind a—a Hand-job.”
That last bit was accompanied by a guilty little chuckle. Then I distinctly heard some pen scratchings. I decided to ignore whatever that was about in favor of the more pertinent question.
“How do you know I’m not lying? You weren’t here when I got that note,” I observed under my breath.
She sniffed. “That is perfectly—dried cum! Uh… perfectly obvious. Neither of my youngest kin have any need to introduce themselves to the kinds. That you would know the name of the Fifth is telling.”
“Still… it’s weird She invited me to dinner,” I persisted. “Especially now that I know about this dream… fabric or whatever. She could just visit me there.”
“She almost certainly has already. And knowing you, something likely happened there to upset Her. I would expect some degree of appeasement is in your future.”
“Ah man… I was afraid of that,” I groaned. “Can’t you stick up a sign or something? Danger: Human dreams are freaky and unpredictable. Owner cannot be held responsible. Something like that?”
She chuckled. “I’ve tried, but most of them—crammed a horse cock up my ass and spun me like a—uh-bub uhh… that is, they didn’t believe me. And that was before I became your Faen. They would only brush me off now. What you are talking about is unprecedented. Only Ahnbe is beginning to suspect your true nature, and She seems to think it’s fun.”
“Figures,” I murmured, briefly wondering whether I should ask her to finish that analogy before thinking better of it. Instead, I turned my attention back to my braying companion. “If you’re quite finished…?”
“Sure, sure…” Lynnria replied, wiping at her eyes. “Can’t have you late to your date with divinity, now can we?”
I smirked but decided to let it be. She would find out for herself eventually. “Yeah, keep singing. You’ll hit a pitch eventually. Now, come on. Back up the stairs. And step where I step. There’s traps everywhere.”
“I’ve noticed,” she replied dryly. “And I can sing quite well, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure you can, princess,” I returned. And only slightly sarcastic.
“What’s a princess?”
“Never mind.”
“Donum!” she shouted, doing her best to chase me up the double steps with her injured leg. Of course, mine was too, so it was not that difficult to keep up. “I will not suffer insults in ignorance!”
“Doesn’t seem like you have much choice in the matter.”
“Donum!”
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
Each chapter is now being personalized with some... passable chapter-inspired AI generated art. I try. But it gives things a bit of color. And you can read ahead!
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
Three by three by three.
In yellow. In blue. In green.
Six for one. Seven for two. Eight for me.
In light. In dark. In between.
Three by three by three.
“What do you think it means?” Lynnria asked.
I hesitated in answering, instead opting to reread the note just to be certain I had not missed anything.
Lynnria had found the clue sitting in plain sight. It was just a simple, folded card, written on eggshell-colored stock and artfully placed on an end table right next to a steaming mug of apparently nothing. And I mean that literally.
The mug was releasing a steady stream of vapor into the air, but there was nothing in it. It was as though it had been placed there to affect a lived-in feel to the place without actually leaving food or drink lying about. Or just to taunt me. Either way, the mug was glued down, so even if I could have found a use for a perpetually steaming cup—and I definitely would have tried—the Dungeon was a step ahead of me.
The end table was situated between an elegant divan and matching reading chair with a decorative throw tossed over it just beyond the two staircases. I probably would have seen the card immediately had I not opted to first seek out my lilim. But I have my priorities.
Which is not to say that the message itself helped all that much. Truth be told, I was never totally certain what any of these ‘clues’ were supposed to mean until after we had already solved them. Even then, they remained a little murky, leaving me with the feeling that I only ever managed to bumble my way through these Dungeons by trial and accident.
That said, this clue did bear a certain semblance to the one I had found ringing the clock on the upper balcony. I would need to reread it to check, but I seemed to recall certain reoccurring themes involving numbers and, specifically, the color blue. That left me with the impression that there might be still more clues out there, each dealing with the other colors in the trio.
“Hard to be sure,” I admitted finally before relating what I could remember about the clock. “I think we may be dealing with a branching puzzle design. Uh… that is, general clues leading to more specific ones along the way.”
“Makes sense,” Lynnria agreed with a nod. “But who… or what is the ‘me’ in the clue referring to?”
I hesitated again, but for a rather different reason. There were quite a lot of things I had yet to explain to the girl, many of which I was loathe to bring up. But like it or not, she was here. It would not do either of us any good to hide the truth.
“I’m not… completely certain, but I did find another note when I first arrived. I’m supposed to eventually meet someone by the name of Xhinn,” I explained.
“Xhinn?” she repeated. “Who’s that?”
Damn. I had been hoping she would know already to save me the explanation, but it appeared the Lady of the Dungeon was just as anonymous as Her sister. For whatever reason.
“Well again, it’s hard to be totally sure…”
Lynnria rolled her eyes. “Stop quibbling. Out with it.”
I sighed reluctantly before admitting, “I think that would be proper name of the Demon Queen. She sort of uh… invited me to dinner.”
She stared at me, apparently more than a little non-plussed, for a moment before finally bursting into laughter. Or more accurately, guffaws.
“Lynnria—“
Wheezing snorts began interlacing through her otherwise tinkling yet boisterous mirth.
“Lynnria, I’m being serious here.”
“Oh, sure!” she chortled. “First the Lady of Power and now the Demon Queen? What kind of fool do you take me for? The next thing you’ll tell me, you’ve been getting Hand-jobs from the Hand of Mercy herself.”
“Insufferable girl,” Mia opined primly into my ear. “How dare she laugh when you have spoken nothing but the truth. Besides, Maeve would die of shame just from looking at an erection, never mind a—a Hand-job.”
That last bit was accompanied by a guilty little chuckle. Then I distinctly heard some pen scratchings. I decided to ignore whatever that was about in favor of the more pertinent question.
“How do you know I’m not lying? You weren’t here when I got that note,” I observed under my breath.
She sniffed. “That is perfectly—dried cum! Uh… perfectly obvious. Neither of my youngest kin have any need to introduce themselves to the kinds. That you would know the name of the Fifth is telling.”
“Still… it’s weird She invited me to dinner,” I persisted. “Especially now that I know about this dream… fabric or whatever. She could just visit me there.”
“She almost certainly has already. And knowing you, something likely happened there to upset Her. I would expect some degree of appeasement is in your future.”
“Ah man… I was afraid of that,” I groaned. “Can’t you stick up a sign or something? Danger: Human dreams are freaky and unpredictable. Owner cannot be held responsible. Something like that?”
She chuckled. “I’ve tried, but most of them—crammed a horse cock up my ass and spun me like a—uh-bub uhh… that is, they didn’t believe me. And that was before I became your Faen. They would only brush me off now. What you are talking about is unprecedented. Only Ahnbe is beginning to suspect your true nature, and She seems to think it’s fun.”
“Figures,” I murmured, briefly wondering whether I should ask her to finish that analogy before thinking better of it. Instead, I turned my attention back to my braying companion. “If you’re quite finished…?”
“Sure, sure…” Lynnria replied, wiping at her eyes. “Can’t have you late to your date with divinity, now can we?”
I smirked but decided to let it be. She would find out for herself eventually. “Yeah, keep singing. You’ll hit a pitch eventually. Now, come on. Back up the stairs. And step where I step. There’s traps everywhere.”
“I’ve noticed,” she replied dryly. “And I can sing quite well, I’ll have you know.”
“I’m sure you can, princess,” I returned. And only slightly sarcastic.
“What’s a princess?”
“Never mind.”
“Donum!” she shouted, doing her best to chase me up the double steps with her injured leg. Of course, mine was too, so it was not that difficult to keep up. “I will not suffer insults in ignorance!”
“Doesn’t seem like you have much choice in the matter.”
“Donum!”
Seleroan
Hey there, gentle reader.
Enjoying the content? Well, why not drop by my Patreon? It helps me keep this show running, and allows me to afford great things like editors, cover artists, and food!
Each chapter is now being personalized with some... passable chapter-inspired AI generated art. I try. But it gives things a bit of color. And you can read ahead!
Come on down! We'd love to see you.
