The rabbit hole lets out next to the top of a spiral staircase, at one end of what seems to be a large cave. Occasional shafts of sunlight illuminate the space, revealing a flat cobblestone path built on the cave floor, leading away from the entrance. It soon splits into two paths, one heading left, the other right.

The left-hand side of the path quickly ends at a firepit surrounded by rough stone benches, some of them with flat cushions for seating.

The right-hand side continues into the distance, winding between rock formations toward an unseen source of rising steam that clouds the cave's far walls in a slight haze.

How cozy! Though rather lacking in fire compared to home... Perhaps the steam will correct that? He heads down the right fork after a few moments' contemplation.

The steam proves to be rising from a natural hot spring. There's a wooden building next to it, its door slightly ajar, and after a few seconds a scaly blue head pokes up out of the water.

"Hello!" says the dragon. "My name is Luna! What's yours?"

"Good day! The Big Guy called me Ankle Biter! But I'm not sure I like it. I kind of do and kind of don't. Say, that water looks nice and warm- May I have a soak?"

"Of course! There's towels and things over there," her tailtip rises from the water to point at the building, "for drying off afterward."

"Why, thank you. I love fire, but hot water probably is a pretty close second?"

Ankle Biter paces around the hot spring, sniffing for anything out of place.

Luna slips back under the water, and is visible mostly as a sinuous shape circling under its surface.

There are a few places where the rock formations make a shallow ledge to sit on in the water, some of them narrow and more like steps for getting down into the deep part, some of them broad and more like a shallow spot for smaller creatures to soak in. There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, or anything hidden near the pool.

He picks a shallow spot and dips his tail in, feeling the temperature. Then, he hops in with a tidy splish.

"Ahh! The warmth hitting all at once is nice. I kind of expected to have to fight something, to be honest."

Luna's head pops back up, nearby but not crowdingly close. "This isn't that kind of dungeon! We don't fight here. If you want to go down to the next floor, the stairs are right by the entrance."

"Hihihi. Ember Field rather is that kind of dungeon. To people who seem mean anyway. If you wanted to visit I'd let you pass. It's pretty, as long as you don't disturb the flowers."

"Do the flowers not like to be disturbed?"

"They burn up in a glorious conflagration if disturbed! It's really pretty. It's fine, it's part of their cycle and they grow back quick enough, but anyone who's not good with fire might be in trouble."

"Oh, that does sound pretty! I bet Ember would like it." Tailtip-point back along the path. "She's my little sister; she's trying out being a campfire at the moment."

"I'll have to go say hi! In a minute, when I'm done soaking."

"There's no rush," Luna says agreeably.

He just relaxes in the hot spring for a while. Eventually he pads out, shakes himself off and is seemingly quite rapidly dry again, and starts to head away. "Have a nice day, Luna!"

"You too!" she says cheerfully.

He goes down the other path to meet this dragon's sister.

In the firepit, half-buried in a pile of dimly glowing coals, a small dragon with glittering red scales appears to be taking a nap. Wisps of smoke issue from her nostrils, accompanied by rumbly little snores.

Hmm will she wake up if he just walks sort of loudly, paws clicking on the stone? Seems a bit rude to say something!

Alas, the snoozle continues.

"Hello," he says, somewhere between a whisper and normally.

A bright golden eye opens, and a small yawn ensues.

"Hi there!" the dragon says sleepily. She sounds younger than Luna, though maybe it's just the lingering effect of her nap. "Do you want to sit by me? I'm very warm."

"Sure. Actually, miss Luna thought you might like something back at my home- We call them Phoenix Flowers. Occasionally, they'll all burn up at once in a big burst and then grow back. It's really pretty."

"Aww, that does sound really nice!" She stretches out a wing, with a clatter of displaced coals, then tucks it back in again. "Do you think I could visit sometime? I hear other dungeons usually want people to fight them, and I don't want to do that..."

"If you just wanted to see the flowers and leave, I think that would be fine? I don't think we're going to be entirely peaceful, but we don't want to be always super mean either? The Big Guy told me I only have to fight people who seem mean."

"Well I definitely don't want to be mean!"

"If you want to visit some time I think it would be fine and not mean at all."

"Okay! I'll ask La Patissière about it."

"I'll look forward to your visit! I think I'll keep heading down for now though."

"The stairs are by the entrance!" she says helpfully. "Have fun!"

He waves goodbye, then goes back to the start of the cave zone and down the stairs.

The next level down, there is a small room, more finished and furnished than the cave above it.

A round purple teapot stands on a lacy paper doily in the middle of a small round table. Around it are three teacups sitting empty in their saucers, each with a differently sized chair for a visitor to sit at.

The teapot is making a quiet sound that goes something like fweet fweeeeet, but quickly stops when she hears footsteps on the stairs. Her ceramic belly sloshes with tea as she abruptly straightens into proper teapot posture.

He wags his tail. "Oho what's this? Is there another new friend to make here? Or just refreshments? My, how kind this place is."

The teapot leans questioningly towards a cup.

"Oh, thank you. I'll have some tea. Please forgive me if I don't know the right pleasantries!"

She pours, then hops back onto her doily. A pleasant fruity smell wafts from the cup.

Ankle Biter carefully, neatly laps at the tea.

It has a pleasant fruity taste, slightly sweet but not too strong. It's quite warm, but comfortably drinkable.

"This is lovely. Hihihi, I hate to be a critic as a guest, but have you considered something cinnamony? Chai, perhaps?"

The teapot considers this request, shakes herself slightly with a decorous slosh, then pours a second cup of tea into a different cup. This one has a more cinnamon-based flavour profile.

"Oh! That's a wonderful ability."

He moves the cups carefully and closes his eyes to enjoy this new batch of tea.

"Is there anything I can do in return?"

The teapot serenely rotates back and forth in a headshaking gesture.

"Ah. Well, the tea is delicious. And the hot spring was good too! I'll have to be careful not to spend too much time away from home!"

Ankle Biter finishes his cinnamony tea over a few minutes, then stands again and stretches. He looks for a new path.

Past the table with the teapot, there is an archway veiled by a heavy curtain.

Onward! Only very slightly expecting a sudden, 'aha, you let your guard down!'!

As he pushes the curtain aside, the smell of fresh-baked cookies hits his nose, followed shortly by the sight of an aproned woman piping icing onto a cookie the size of a large pizza. There are more cookies all over her kitchen: cookies cooling on wire racks, cookies baking in ovens, cookies waiting to be put into ovens, cookies stored tidily in those tall wheeled conveyances with many slideable trays that show up in bakeries. Heart-shaped cookies with fruity toppings and circular cookies with beautiful mountainous vistas painted on them in icing; square cookies with scalloped edges and hexagonal cookies topped with chunks of honeycomb. All of them are at least ten inches across.

"Hello!" says the baker. "Would you like a cookie?"

"Hello! You must be La Patissière. One of the dragons up above mentioned you. I would love a cookie. This place is so nice!"

"I try! You can take your pick of the finished ones, or wait for one of the fresh ones to be done cooling if you want it decorated especially for you."

He looks around for one themed around flowers and/or fire.

There are several flower-themed cookies: landscape-painting cookies with fields of wildflowers, or flower-shaped cookies with their petals drawn in brightly coloured icing. As for fire-themed cookies, there's just one, an irregular polygon with black and grey and reddish icing decorating it to look like a lump of coal.

"Ooh, clever," he says of the coal-lump. "I'd like this one, please? Maybe if I-forgot-her-name visits our place after all you can do one of the phoenix flowers later."

"Ember?" she guesses. "Go ahead!"

The coal-lump cookie has a strong, sweet flavour that seems to call to mind echoes of pleasant or satisfying meals from the past.

He goes slowly and savors the experience, just like everything else the dungeon has to offer!

"That sounds likely. My Big Guy is probably about a three on the nice-mean scale? We've got puzzles and the puzzles can sometimes hurt you, and I'll get bitey if intruders get mean, but we've also got permission to let them pass peacefully if they seem nice."

"If Ember wants to visit you, I'd be happy to send her!"

"Mm! I'll look forward to it. I can only assume you like baking cookies? I could enjoy baking, maybe. Mostly as an extension of my appreciation for fire..."

"I enjoy providing a warm and welcoming atmosphere! And baking cookies."

"Hihihi! I think you've succeeded. The hot spring is a nice touch."

"I'm glad you like it! That floor is new, and Ember and Luna aren't sure yet what they want their rooms to look like, but Luna wanted to try a hot spring so I built one for her."

"I think we're all going to grow somewhat quickly. It's exciting. There's a lot of creative things to come."

"Yes! I'm looking forward to more visitors."

He nibbles on the cookie.

"If you offer food on other floors you may even defeat them via gluttony!"

She giggles. "But I don't want to defeat anyone! I want to feed them delicious cookies!"

Chomp!

"Oh noooo... My stomach... I am outmatched..."

"Alas! I should have served you a smaller cookie! It's just so much more fun to make them enormous..."

"I should probably go get what I came here for. The Big Guy has lots of ideas. But if I ever come visit again... I'm partial to cinnamon and raspberries!"

She smiles. "I'll remember that! Here you go."

A tap of her enormous piping bag against the side of a cabinet opens a secret panel, and the dungeon's core descends, round and white and faintly luminous like a big glass pearl.

Ankle Biter bows, hastily, then eagerly retrieves the delicious Treasure!