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A merchant stumbles on a grotto, lost. He eats his last apple. The merchant plants the seeds the next day to provide food for future lost travelers. 

And so, the nymph Theanore is born.

She would grow from a tiny seed to a splendid apple tree. She would meet many friends. Theanore will try her hand at being a merchant like her father. And she will get to know her lifetime companion, the merman Marinus.

But as every farmer can tell you, apple trees live only for about 150 years and so, with her tree dried up, so will Theanore die.

 But before that, she will live.

The Apple Grotto Nymph (Dungeon Core Fairy Tale)

The illusion took a closer look at Theanore. It smiled and reached out an illusionary hand to pet the little girl.

"You are everything I hoped for," the dungeon core of the dungeon of illusions said. "A perfect decoy for the core room."

That made Theanore blink. She was supposed to be bait?

"Mommy, I am a dungeon core, but I would like to get to meet you in person! Can you please come over and say hi? I don't think I can make it all the way to where you live," Theanore said, and the other dungeon core smiled.

"Well, if you are inviting me, then how can I say no? To be a mother… I suppose I am that to everything I create. But for you, I will take the role gladly. Who looked after you until now, dear heart?" the woman asked in a sweet tone.

"My father, Crassus, and Mari the Merman. He and I are going to get married one day! He keeps saying it," Theanore said.

To her, this meant something like a fancy pledge of eternal friendship.

Chapter 67: A mother’s love