The streets opened into a wide, circular plaza.
At the center stood the Knight's Monument—a tall, marble figure in a long, sculpted coat, sword at his side, watching over the city.
My eyes fell on the jaw, the posture, the hair, the way the coat fell in elegant lines from his shoulders, subtly tense as if ready for movement…
Even from a distance, the resemblance was unmistakable.
It was Llewellyn.
I snorted out loud.
"Nice statue," I said, laughing. Well, he was the System's favorite after all.
Beside me, Llewellyn looked like he wanted to be literally anywhere else. I, on the other hand, liked this place more by the minute.
"Seems the locals are fans. Should I ask if they sell miniatures? I could start a collection."
The statue stood tall and elegant, looking at once at rest and ready for combat. It was uncanny how they'd captured that exact look he got when he was about to obliterate something.
I would totally buy a miniature, who was I kidding? I should look for one when he got distracted.
"Look at the bright side. At least they don't seem to recognize you."
Llewellyn didn't seem to think that was the bright side.
"Focus on finding the riddle," he said gruffly, hiding behind a sip of coffee.
"We should take a photo," I suggested, reaching for my phone. "For posterity."
The look he gave me could have melted steel.
Now that I thought about it, I was curious. Did phones work inside a Dungeon?
The screen lit up normally. I opened the camera app and the interface loaded smoothly, no System interference.
"Huh. Everything works."
I raised the phone, framing the shot.
Damn, the statue really looked great. The craftsmanship was exceptional.
Llewellyn looked displeased, but apart from stepping well away from the shot, he didn't protest.
I snapped a few pictures of Mondwyn Harbor too, then put my phone away as we approached the base of the monument.
A scroll rested on the plinth, just above eye level. I leaned forward and read it aloud:
"I fly though I have no wings.
I cry though I have no eyes.
Wherever I go, darkness flees.
What am I?"
"Mmh." Llewellyn looked pensive.
He stood there for a moment, then drifted toward the low rim of the fountain facing the statue and sat down, going back to his bun.
I dropped down beside him, setting my coffee on the stone and munching on mine, the heat from the plaza stones soaking pleasantly through my jeans. Somewhere nearby, the smell of fresh pastries drifted from unseen stalls.
For a moment, we just sat there, eating, eyes drawn back to the monument.
From the corner of my eye, I caught the faint tightness in Llewellyn's shoulders, the way he was frowning at the statue, like he couldn't believe his eyes.
I lost it.
A short, helpless snort slipped out before I could stop myself.
Llewellyn just bit into his bun with the air of a man determined to pretend this wasn't happening.
Which, honestly, was probably his only real option.
I took a sip of coffee, still grinning.
Paths spread out from the plaza, leading toward the gardens, the upper town—and who knows where else.
Under the bright blue sky, banners fluttered in the breeze above the people moving around—merchants carting goods, children chasing each other along the stones—but it never felt crowded. The whole place breathed with light and movement.
"Wind," I guessed eventually.
"Light," Llewellyn said, without even glancing up.
We stared at each other.
"Better odds than expected," I said, shrugging. "Why do you think it's light?"
Llewellyn finished his bun, brushing crumbs from his fingers. "It flies without wings—light travels. It cries without eyes—think of sunbeams breaking through clouds. And darkness always flees from it."
Well, when he put it that way…
"Why do you think it's wind?"
I leaned back. "Wind flies without wings. It cries without eyes when it howls through buildings or trees. And darkness..." I paused. "Okay, that part doesn't work as well for wind."
Llewellyn nodded once, then stood and approached the riddle scroll again. He placed his hand over the scroll and said clearly, "Light."
The scroll glowed.
A small panel slid open at the base of the monument, revealing a folded piece of parchment tucked neatly inside: another fragment of the Dungeon Map.
Llewellyn carefully extracted it and tucked it away with the first fragment.
"Two down," I said, finishing my coffee. "One to go."
We tossed our coffee cups and wrappers, and crossed into the next square. Water splashed in gentle arcs, catching sunlight and throwing rainbow fragments across the stones.
This town was full of fountains. Together with the salt in the air coming from the harbor, they made the place feel open and fresh.
We slowed near the fountain's edge.
A handful of festival stalls had been set up around the perimeter—bright cloth awnings, tables crowded with little prizes and colorful paper tokens. Vendors with dog and fox features waved and called to passersby, their voices mixing with the sound of lute music and the clear splash of water.
A cheerful-looking raccoon merchant caught sight of us and waved an oversized paw.
"Adventurers!" he called. "Fancy earning a few festival tokens? Easy work—prizes too!"
Llewellyn gave him a look usually reserved for monsters that almost set me off again.
I looked around. Bright flags, delicious food, a fountain throwing clear water into the sky… It was easy to forget why we were here.
"Come on," I said. "How bad could it be?"
The raccoon beamed at me as I stepped closer, pressing a handful of bright, blank tokens into my palm. The surface of each token glinted faintly, waiting.
"Three simple tasks!" he announced. "Win a toss, light a lantern, and tag the bouncing barrel! Each task lights up a token. Light up all three and trade them in for your prize!"
Across the square, a barrel with tiny legs was running frantically through a laughing crowd, narrowly avoiding a fox-woman trying to catch it with a net.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said.