It was late afternoon, and the tavern was full.

  “You seem nervous,” The Grand Forge Master said to Lisusa.

  “It’s like a third day after Dungeon Mistress started working to build a shrine to my goddess.” She sighted.

  “Oh. That is normal for our Dungeon Mistress.” He answered.

  “But, according to the stories, dungeon masters just wave their hands and things appear.”

  “True. But this dungeon mistress was chosen by The Smith. And she does everything with her own hands.”

  The rest of the discussion was interrupted by someone's shouts.

  “Dungeon Mistress is back!”

  “Yes, I’m back.” She laugh. She also carried a wicker basket, covered by white fabric.

  “Good day, Lisusa, and you, Grand Forge Master.” When she approached a counter.

  “Good day, Dungeon Mistress.” Lisusa nervously answered. The dwarf priest nodded and started looking suspicious at the covered basket. His instincts push him to see what is under cover. “Something happened with the shrine?”

  “Everything is all right. Have you decided where you want to place it?”

  “I think next to the stairs to the underground will be a good place. It’s slightly on the side, but you can still see the whole tavern. Also, it’s next to the counter.”

  “Alright. So first let's place a small postument.” Naomi nodded, and a small pedestal appeared in the place mentioned. It was made from wood, and pictures were made from thin metal wire on three visible sides. The surface has been polished so everything looks like one whole. The engravings showed people worshipping the Goddess of Fun. There were jugglers, storytellers, jesters, and tavern keepers.

  “Oh my goddess.” Lisusa gasped. “That is so beautiful.”

  “Thanks, but it’s nothing special.” Naomi shrugged.

  “That is nothing special?” The tavern keeper couldn't understand.

  “You forget that we are in a dungeon. Dungeon Mistress did something similar on the walls of the shrine dedicated to The Smith.” The Grand Forge Master laughed. “But what about the basket? I have funny feelings about it.”

  “Let me show you.” Naomi nonchalantly placed the basket on the table. Some people shivered thinking that the dungeon mistress disrespected the goddess. She even placed two silver bowls in front of the basket. One was filled with water, and the second was empty.

  “I guess everyone is ready,” Naomi said as she saw everyone looking at her. She makes a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to being in front of a crowd. I’m so nervous right now. So, time to show you a sculpture of a white fox.” She gently takes off the cover from the basket. There was a curled porcelain golem fox. After revealing it, he opened his blue gem eyes and stood to watch all gathered. After a few moments, he yawns, stretches his limbs, and curls again to pretend he is asleep.

  There was silence in the tavern. All gathered stood shocked, not knowing how to react. Then Paoli started laughing.

  “Dungeon Mistress, that was so hilarious! I can't wait to see other people's reactions when they see it. It will be so much fun!”

  “Dungeon Mistress.” Dwarven priest steps forward. “I officially congratulate you on your first masterpiece.” He respectfully bowed. Other crafters also followed him.

  “Thank you, all. I indeed built something special, but remember that I built it with the help of dungeon magic. In reality, I lack some skills necessary to build it.” Naomi answered.

  “Dungeon Mistress, this is too much.” Lisusa managed to regain her voice after a moment. “This shrine should stand in some grand temple.”

  “You are out of luck here!” Naomi laughed. “Goddess chose it, and she liked the outcome.” She pointed to the forehead of the fox. There was a fine golden mark in the shape of a cat paw.

  “Understood.” Lisusa immediately stopped arguing.

  “Dungeon Mistress. Why did you place a bowl with water next to the golem? It’s not alive, yes?” Pinera asked.

  “It’s not. But need water and mana stones to move. The second bowl is for stones. When the golem needs to replenish them, he will grab a stone or drink water. Hard to say how frequently it will be. I guess someone needs to keep an eye on the bowls so they aren't empty.”

  “That won’t be a problem. People give tips in taverns as an offering to the goddess. Here will be mana stones.” The tavern keeper answered.

  “And about offerings. I'd better go and bake something for the goddess.” Robur added and returned to the kitchen.

  Slowly, all guests return to the benches, and soon a merry atmosphere returns.

  The next expedition started as planned. After two days of gathering anything useful from the sixth floor, four mine teams descended to the seventh floor. Leading them were Nurmela, Jilax, Achille, and Crall. Building a camp takes them the whole day, because they need to make a short wall from dirt. Whatever those traps are, they shots could be deadly. A stray ball can reach camp and kill someone accidentally.

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  “That is the best we can do for now. I guess.” Crall said after they finished stacking turf and dirt up to half a meter high.

  “For resting, it should be enough. And mages should have their protective spell active while the rest search the ground.” Nurmela shrugged.

  “We will see how it works tomorrow. Time for something to eat. At least catching fish is safe, although it can be a little unsettling because of that golem.” Jilax said.

  “Grilled fish is fine, but rabbit will be better,” Crall grumbled.

  “Scouts managed to place traps nearby. Who knows, maybe tomorrow we will have some rabbit too.” Achille laughed.

  After breakfast, Nurmela’s and Crall’s team were the first to enter the tall grass. They all were wearing metal armour and kept their shields up. They also trampled grass to create a space for fighting whatever would jump on them. Just like the first time, after a few steps from the direction of the nearest rock, they heard a muffled bang, and something hit Nurmela’s shield.

  “Dungeon Mistress stopped being nice. That hit could kill you.” Nurmela said.

  “Better hurry. The sooner we destroy this trap, the better.” Crall answered.

  “Yes. Press forward. And keep an eye out for an ambush.”

  When they reached the supposed rock, they stopped, surprised.

  “It’s fucking giant turtle!” Nurmela started laughing, and some adventurers joined her.

  “That is a good joke, but how do we destroy it?” Hemir asked. “Golem hides his head inside, and that shell looks solid.”

  “And turning it upside down is also out of the question.” Crall shook his head.

  “Better hurry. One of those turtles started moving in the opposite direction.” Said Iason.

  “I think the second one is also preparing, too,” Thora added.

  Nurmela hits a shell with her hammer.

  “Interesting.” She said, scraping paint and moss from the shell. “You, big guy with that ridiculous hammer.” She pointed at two two-meter-tall humans from the Crall team. “Try hitting this shell. It’s cast iron. There is a chance it could crack if hit hard enough.”

  “Balki, you finally got a chance to swing your toy.” Crall laughed.

  “And you all were saying it’s useless. And again and again it’s me who rescue your asses. Move away and watch my back.” He answered, preparing to smash the golem. He grabs his humongous hammer with both hands and swings it. When the hit lands, they hear a loud bang, and the golem turtle shakes from the hit. After a few more, they saw a crack.

  “Yeah. It works. But we need more people with sledge hammers, or another method.” Nurmela said.

  “This golem is broken, so the usual method of hitting hard work.” Crall shrugs.

  “The catch is you need to open this shell to get anything.” Jilax shakes his head.

  “And other golems are slowly approaching us,” Iason added. One of the golems shot at them, almost as if understanding his words.

  “Fuck! That shot almost broke my shield.” Nonisa shouted. “Get ready! I can only take one more.” Next shot was heard, and a dim flash of broken spell was seen.”Fuck!” Nonisa started frantically casting a spell anew. However, her effort was in vain because her new spell was broken immediately. “This little piece of shit is deliberately aiming at me!” She complained.

  “Retreat!” Nurmela ordered. “We need to rethink everything. Maybe others had some good idea.”

  The others, however, didn't have any other idea. In the end, they decided to see the golem turtles for themself, and try to find some weak spot. They face the same problem with cracking the hard shell, and other golems slowly but steadily approach them. They resign from attacking the golems for the rest of the day. Instead, scouts scatter and try to find something useful to fight with them, or at least make a map of the floor. They didn’t go too far. The golem turtles were everywhere, and even if some could be outmaneuvered, the risk rose with every new golem encountered.

  The next day, adventurers decided on a different approach.

  “I propose we go all at once,” Jilax said. “That way we will have enough shields and mages to protect four or five of us who will crack this fucking turtle.”

  “Agree.” Crall nodded. “I was telling the same thing yesterday. The important thing is to hit hard enough.”

  “I don’t have any better idea.” Nurmela shrugs.

  They found one golem slightly separated from the others. Surrounded by a wall of shields and the mages stood behind to help. Then, they started bashing it until a crack appeared.

  “Stop. Now we use spikes on normal hammers to widen a crack.” Nurmela said.

  “Like, how do you split large logs? Yes, good idea.” Crall nodded.

  “Better hurry up. Thous fucker are presistant and smart. They stopped approaching us and started shooting from afar.” Nonisa hurried them.

  “Then shoot them back.” Jilax qiped.

  Nonisa did that. They heard a loud bang and then a shout of joy.

  “Who would guess. It worked!” Nonisa laughed and immediately shot at another golem. Other mages join her.

  Nurmela shrugs.

  “Let’s get back to work.” She said.

  After some time and a lot of banging and arguing on where to hit next, they managed to crack a shell. Jilax, with a swift move, severed a head now fully exposed.

  “It’s not a crossbow, that is sure,” Crall said, seeing mysterious machinery hidden under the shell.

  “Yeah. Old man will be delighted.” Nurmela said.

  “You mean pissed off,” Achille said.

  “That too. Let's gut this golem and come back. It won't be much gold for this one golem, but we need sledge hammers.”

  “And we break two hammers anyway.” Jilax agrees.

  After returning to the camp, the scouts try to map the floor again. After finding that the golems hide in the shell if hit hard enough, moving around the floor becomes a little easier.

  Despite that, they don’t find anything useful. The next day, they pack everything and return.

  “It’s junk.” The Grand forge master said after examining parts from the golem turtle. “I can’t learn much from this.”

  “Gutting that golem was tough,” Nurmela complained. “And we lost some of our weapons just for that one golem. We need heavy sledgehammers, with one spiky end, preferably.”

  “I will make you one for all this junk,” Eriser answered.

  “Can’t you make two? With only one, we can't do much.”

  “You will take Aki, my assistant, with you, and you will get the second one. For more, you will need to pay.” Eriser said.

  “Deal. How much for any extra hammer?”

  “Three golds. Making a mold for something like that and smelting a metal will be the pain in the ass.”

  “We need to see how much money we have. Tomorrow we will tell if we want more.” Nurmela said.