"Flight's really useful though! I mean, for the person who has it, it causes so many balance problems if adventurers get it..."

Professional dungeon designers hate this one simple trick!

"Traps, monsters, even the aesthetics - I love putting in chasms where you can see deeper parts of the dungeon, they make great vistas and let people appreciate the work, you can even use them to give explorers clues, but they aren't supposed to let you skip entire levels."

"There are ways to deal with it. Wind traps, powerful flying monsters, invisible walls. But designing around it makes everything more complicated."

It's not that easy to hire a full-time dragon just to keep people out of a vertical area...

"Oh, I watch the Hero's party really closely, and I control everything they find!"

In theory, at least...

"So I can design around what they can do. But if I wanted to open something here it'd be a lot more work to try to make it a challenge for everyone."

"Probably. That or really micromanage everything. Which, you know, I feel like it'd detract from the experience if people could see my hand stage-managing everything all the time. And it'd have to be closed most of the time. Not how I'd want things."

"I could try to block spells but I don't even know if it works on the season magic. And it's a lot of effort just to stifle someone's plans... I don't like to use that kind of element if I can avoid it. A good design doesn't feel that arbitrary."

Sweaty nerds. He's getting so into it he's almost not thinking about her swimsuit anymore.

Was almost not thinking about it. The motion draws his eye, and... well, it really shouldn't make any difference, seeing under the strap, when she's already showing so much skin, but the subtle movements that come with gesture don't feel very subtle at all to him.

"Yeah... poison gas is more of a... of a..."

What were they talking about again? He suddenly feels like if he doesn't get up and distract himself now it's going to be a problem...

"Oh! Want to see the demon realm style loyly?"

He rushes over to the stones a little too hastily to demonstrate, pouring a bottle over the stones. Enjoy the literal magic of healing potion steam!

"Right? It's great for soreness. I always like to come after a hard workout or a battle."

He reseats himself on the first tier, in front of her. Out of sight is safer... probably.

"I'm not embarrassed. I use the spa at home all the time."

He's just trying to avoid being embarrassed. Totally different. Which of course means he has to agree, for credibility's sake.

"If you want to go back in after that's fine by me."

He crosses his arms. Looking a little sulky there.

"I'd..."

He trails off. Yeah. As great as his powers of self-deception can be, he's not quite up the task of imagining that scenario and then saying it wouldn't affect him at all.

"Well. A little. But I could handle it."

"If I ask nicely it's not going to be in public."

Sorry Eva, not everyone can wear their heart - or other organs - on their sleeve that easily.