Amelia POV:
Ahhhhh, nothing beats laying on the grass, along with the sun shining down your face. Especially after the ordeal at Kartnetsia yesterday. Speaking of, I skimmed through the system notifications, which there were a lot of and I am pleased to say that I levelled up! I’m now at 17 so that was pretty nice, at least I gained something out of that, it was painful being one away from leveling up. I also built a large steel vault in my Core Room where I chucked this freaky book I got from Chesterton’s house after which I peppered both the inside and outside perimeter of the vault with traps, and instructed my grenadier regiment to keep a very close eye on the vault. Lastly I added a warning sign in front of the vault.
Essentially I spent all of my mana on this vault which will house any artifacts of the Cthulhu Mythos for the foreseeable future. Well those that can’t be destroyed in any way whatsoever. I’d also like to add that the two grenadiers charged with safeguarding the vault doors look way too uneasy. Better safe than accidentally unleashing some eldritch horror because somebody dabbled in matters they can’t understand… I’m gonna move on.
Oh yeah, can’t forget about the blackmail material on Martin Rourke! Yes I fully intend to benefit from that whole ordeal, just not right now. Achem, moving on. I gained three new themes, being the Jungle and Swamp, and also Paris for some reason. Still it’s nice to have access to new themes, uh let’s see… oh yeah!
I also gained five new regiments, which are the: French Demi-Brigade and its light infantry variant, French Chouans, French Sans-Culottes, and lastly the Polish Winged Hussars. The last four explains why I have Paris as a theme, and I already have an Idea for my next floor because of it! No idea what I’m gonna do with the Winged Hussars, I think I’ll just add them to my sixth floor alongside the other cavalry.
I''m gonna step aside for a minute here and just ask. How did I get the Polish Winged Hussars when they were disbanded in 1776? The last four made sense, cause it''s related to the French Revolution and what not. But you know what, I''m not gonna turn away such a nice gift, besides their uniform is sick! The Revolutionary Infantry is going to be interesting, at least the light infantry variant is going to have some cohesion in the uniforms.
You know what I’m laying down basking in the sun, even if it’s artificial, and I’m in the mood for description reading! I’m gonna start with the Sans-Culottes. It read:
The Sans-Culottes were the common urban working class of France who were militant supporters of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Bourbon Dynasty. The term Sans-Culottes translates to ‘without breeches’ which refers to their clothing being trousers instead of the silk knee-breeches commonly worn by the upper and middle class.
They were judged as too “radical” by other revolutionaries for their advocacy of direct-democracy without any intermediaries. They were poorly equipped and organized receiving little or no support from the upper and middle class. However they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army, and were responsible for the many executions during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Due to their revolutionary fervour and zeal, they were a key instrument used by Maximilien Robespierre’s Reign of Terror and committee leaders used speeches to gain their support.
Pretty nice if I say so myself. Now if I were to describe the Sans-Culottes is that they were basically an angry mob carrying a wide array of weapons, including guns, that were out for blood. Also the term Sans-Culottes could mean a whole array of different things, it could mean ‘without pants’ or ‘without underwear’ etc. Now obviously these guys weren’t running around carrying heads mounted atop pikes without wearing any pants.
Alright moving on before the topic gets weird, time to read the French Demi-Brigade description:
The French army during the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars was characterized by their revolutionary fervour, poor equipment and training, as well as its great numbers. However by the mid-1790s and due to the constant state of war that the newly formed French Republic engaged itself in, the army had become well-experienced and organized thus enabling the army to comfortably fight their enemies.
After the dissolution of the Ancien Regime, the Republic abandoned the use of named regiments, instead organizing the new army into a series of numbered demi-brigades as an attempt to avoid the feudal connotations of the term regiment. By mid-1793 the revolutionary army had a total of 196 infantry demi-brigades.
After the dismal performance of the volunteer battalions, Lazare Carnot ordered that each demi-brigade was to be organized into one regular (Ex-Royal Army soldiers), and two federe(Volunteer) battalions. The new formation was intended to combine the discipline and training of the old army with the enthusiasm and fervour of the newer volunteers. The new demi-brigades proved themselves successful at the Battle of Valmy 1792 and was later universally adopted in 1794.
The Revolutionary Army was formed from a hodgepodge of different units and thus had no cohesion on the equipment used. Royal Army veterans dressed in white uniforms and tarleton helmets, National Guardsman volunteers in their blue jackets and federe’s dressed in civilian clothes and a red phrygian cap, Due to poor supplies, any worn out uniform was replaced with civilian clothing.. The only semblance of cohesion was that all soldiers wore a red white and blue tricolor cockade. As the wars progressed, several demi-brigades were issued a specific coloured jacket. The Revolutionary Armee d’Orient which arrived in Egypt 1798 was issued pink, purple, green, red, orange and blue jackets.
Similarly the light infantry demi-brigades also lacked cohesion in their equipment.
Seeing these guys in action would be interesting to say the least, furthermore I’d like to add what the description left out was that revolutionary army also suffered from the lack of weapons and ammunition, an example was after the Battle of Montenotte in 1796, 1,000 French troops that were sent to battle unarmed were later equipped with captured Austrian muskets. Also during the early days of the French Revolutionary Wars soldiers really did wear civilian clothing to battle due to supply shortages, rapid expansion of the army, and the instability caused by the French Revolution. However as time wore on the military uniform became more standardized. In my heart I hope their uniforms are randomized.
Now time for the Chouans, I can already guess who these guys are, but I’ll read their description anyway.
The Chouans, named after the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau better known as Jean Chouan, who led anti-revolutionary revolts in Bas-Maine. Participants in this revolt and to the wider royalist counter-revolutions occurring in the western region in France, particularly in Brittany, Maine, and parts of Normandy became known as The Chouannerie 1794-1800.
The Chouans (Breton for Screeching Owl) were mostly peasants, emigres, smugglers, and salt dealers, who engaged the Republic in guerrilla warfare by ambushing military detachments and disrupting government operations. The rebels operated in small mobile groups as well as utilizing local knowledge, which in turn allowed them to outmaneuver larger Republican forces.
Not all Chouans were royalists, some were enraged by the government’s attempt at nationalizing the clergy in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790), others at the mass conscription undertaken by the Republic (Levee en masse). And in the case of salt dealers, the abolishment of the gabelle (The gabelle was an unpopular salt tax established during the mid-14th century which was repealed by the National Assembly in 1790, and was then reinstated by Napoleon in 1806).
What the description didn’t mention was that any anti-revolutionaries was to some extent referred to as Chouan, even the rebels in the Vendee region during the War in the Vendee 1793-1796 were called Chouans, though they were mostly referred to as Vendeans. I’m not gonna comment any further, so I’m just gonna move on. I think I’m gonna end my description reading for now, I’ll read the Winged Hussars description some other time.
I can’t wait to see all these new units in action! Especially the Winged Hussars and the Demi-Brigade, the latter purely because I wanna see the reaction of outsiders who got used to seeing uniformed soldiers and guerrillas as separate units until they encounter a regiment- excuse me a demi-brigade filled with a hodgepodge of soldiers with different uniforms and some just straight up wearing civilian clothing. Hopefully I get the early versions and not the later more uniformed versions.
Man, I want to get up, but I am just too lazy. This grass is just too comfortable! I can feel my body healing-err metaphorically speaking, in short my mind is telling me to get up but my body is saying no.
You know what? I’m just gonna close my eyes and slee- An explosion rang out from the core room entrance which startled me.
What the devil is going on?! I stand up, and see two guys wearing tattered hide armor and very bloodied might I add, standing or in the case of the other guy sitting on the ground clutching his right arm.
“That was close, Shasvaska.” The man who’s still standing said.
Wow I’m impressed these two are the first people to make it past floor six, not even the Manarias Party has managed such a feat!
Shasvaska, if the guy still standing is to be believed, spat out blood after coughing fit. “Man the guild never said anything about going up against cavalry.” He coughed some more, “Used up my last bomb, which also got me good.”
Well to be fair to the guys at the guild this floor is relatively recent so cut them slack, besides they’ve got more important things to focus on than little ol me.
“Come on.” The man knelt down, gently lifted Shasvaska to his feet, with the man using him as a crutch. “Core should be here somewhere, we reach it and we’ll be on our way home in no time.”
That’s when I revealed myself to them, “Actually you don’t have to go that far, besides the two of you look like you''re gonna crumble at the slightest shove.”
The two men tensed and stared at me with wide eyes, “Oh heavens no, it''s the Dungeon Avatar! Please ma’am we’re in no condition to fight.” Shasvaska begged, wincing in pain.
I raised my hands in a mock surrender, “I’m not gonna do anything, besides I would hope that my girls would have the decency to not attack anyone who’s injured and obviously can’t fight back. RIGHT!”
The bushes to my left rustled revealing two uniformed high elves, one of them chuckled as she nervously met my stern gaze, the other innocently whistled all the while making a terrible attempt at avoiding making eye contact with me.
I facepalmed, seriously these girls… then I returned to face the two men still standing in front of me, “You two are free to leave, your rewards will be with you momentarily.” Without waiting for a response, I snapped my fingers and the two men disappeared.
I redirected to face my mischievous Grenadier elves, “Anyways I’m gonna head out to the first floor, you two… just try not to cause any unnecessary trouble.”
“No promises ma’am~”
You know what that’s good enough.
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Amelia PoV:
When I arrived at my first floor, the strange thing was that there''s a crowd of people gathered at the Shrine to Utar. At the front of the crowd is Cerelia behind a makeshift altar, dressed in what looks to be a Catholic nun’s habit, reciting a prayer. This is the first time I''ve seen the shrine have a large crowd gathered around it. Prior to this there’d be only one or two that would pray there at a time. Speaking of the shrine, I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to Cerelia the Shrine’s Priestess. Well I mean she looks very busy maybe later, I guess.
Well uhh now what do I do? This day has been slow going, or could it be that I am just so lazy today… How about hearing some gossip and the latest news at the tavern? That does sound nice especially since I need to be keeping up with the latest events.
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Alright it’s settled, time to pay a visit to Jackie! I snapped my fingers and I suddenly found myself inside my dungeon’s tavern. I immediately spot Jackie by the counter wiping a mug.
She looked up and smiled as I approached her. “Hey mom! How can I help?”
I sat down on a stool, “Eh, kinda lazy right now. I just wanna see if the papers have anything interesting.”
The girl nodded, “I understand we all have those lazy days inside the dungeon, even Ellen has them. They all come here to relax.” She set the mug with the cloth rag still inside, then disappeared into the backroom.
Wow Ellen and the word lazy, that''s a combination that I never would’ve expected to hear in the same sentence. Considering just how hard she drills her Landwehr.
Jackie reappears carrying a newspaper, “Here ya go this was printed yesterday.”
“Thanks.” I said, as I took the paper off her hands, as the girl continued to wipe the mug.
Okay, let’s see… wait hold on, the headline reads ‘Incident at Karnetsia’, man the papers were fast! Gonna skip that one since I was there. Alright second page, oh what’s this?
13th Legion lifts century-long siege on Convaeltica!
If you’ve read your history books, then you will know of General Marcus Avenarius Octavius leading the Abercellian 13th Legion to conquer the young breakaway Kingdom of Mythaeraeia and return it under the control of the empire. His short reign and the subsequent rise of the Methyr Theocracy. Well beginning in 1182 after the General fled Dorminicum, the city of Convaeltica rejected the new government and rose up in rebellion.
The High Theocrat at the time Laenas, ordered her zealots to surround the city and completely starve the residents, and cut off access on land and by sea. Over the years prior to the 13th Legion’s relieving of the city there had been small-scale skirmishes on both sides. Frankly it is a complete miracle that Convaeltica held out for this long, and there are many factors that contributed to the city holding out for a century. Below are some of the major factors.
1: Lack of manpower; When the order by High Theocrat Laenas to siege down the city, the zealots who arrived lacked the manpower necessary to completely encircle the city, thus allowing gaps that were exploited by the residents to deliver critical supplies, to skirmish with the zealots wherever possible, and bring in reinforcements from neighboring regions.
2: Overstretched Military; Before the proclamation of the Methyr Theocracy, the newly conquered province of Mythraeia was garrisoned solely by the 13th Legion, serving to maintain the Empire’s control over the province. As a result, the Theocracy had to build its military from the ground up especially since the High Theocrat rejected the use of the already existent town militias as part of her policy of “De-Imperialization”. The newly formed military initially relied on untrained religious zealots. Over time, the military was gradually professionalized. However, despite these efforts, the Theocracy’s military faced not only the highly disciplined and battle-hardened Legion but also widespread rural uprisings across the country. These internal conflicts prevented the Theocracy from fully committing to the siege as the forces were spread thin, despite the wishes of the High Theocrat who wanted, quote “Swift Divine Justice” upon the city. Even now with the inclusion of the Theocracy’s otherworlders fighting for them, the military is still spread thin across the country.
3: Underground Network; Along with exploiting gaps in the siege, residents utilized the city’s sewer system to ferry supplies in and out of the city, even going as far as to construct new tunnels for use alongside the sewers. This forced the already outstretched zealots besieging the city to play a sort of cat and mouse game in the underground tunnels.
4: International Aid; Many nations around the world sent aid towards the city, such as the Griffin Riders of Lazir airdropping supplies, supplies to disguised Succubi from Azrathal charming their way past the siegeworks carrying supplies. We here in the Union sent supply wagons utilizing the aforementioned gaps in the siegeworks. Even now the Grand Council are considering an increase in aid to the Legion as well as to the various uprisings in the Theocracy after the scandal occurring in Dragdville with their otherworlders.
5: Last but not least, Constant Skirmishes; Residents of the city over the years sallied forth and engaged their besiegers in small scale skirmishes designed to disrupt the Theocracy’s siege efforts including the construction of siege towers and engines, as well as destroying Theocrat camps.
Of course the factors listed above, as we previously stated, weren’t the only ones involved and there were many others at play, but all of the factors combined with High Theocrat Victoria Laenas continued insistence on conducting the siege against Convaeltica an act followed by all future High Theocrats of the Theocracy had resulted in the longest siege in recorded history, overtaking the 38 year long Siege of Eguard between one of the many wars between the Kingdoms of Earthia and Grire in one of their many wars.
General Maximus, the 187th commander of the 13th Legion, has resolved to take a bold and desperate gamble following a string of crushing defeats at the hands of the Theocracy’s so-called “Heroes.” His objectives are one, to strike a decisive blow against the Theocracy, and two to send a clear message to the rest of the nation that the 13th Legion is far from being, as he put it, “defeated.”
After six hours of brutal fighting from both the Legion and the Theocracy with no results from both sides. The city’s beleaguered defenders launched a daring sally out catc-‘
Skipping that section, ah here the second to the last paragraphs of the article.
As the Legion triumphantly marched through the city greeted by cheering crowds, one individual among the Legionnaires, who eyewitnesses claim to have an ‘Otherworldly’ and ‘Divine Aura’ around them was claimed to have been magically handing out cheesecakes to the masses, with some residents jokingly refer to him as the ‘Cheesecake Legionnaire’. Unfortunately dear readers we were unable to verify the veracity of the claims.
I stopped reading the article there, what’s with this ‘Cheesecake Legionnaire’, this absolutely sounds like propaganda produced by the 13th Legion. I mean seriously magically handing out cheesecake? Even the guys who wrote the article couldn’t verify the claim. Then again I am in a fantasy world with achem, extra elements, so there’s a real possibility that this is legit and not made up.
Also the fact that the siege has been going for a century is mind boggling. I cannot even comprehend what the people trapped in that city had to go through. Entire generations were born and raised under siege. If the siege started in 1182, then hold on… what’s the exact date of this paper’s print?
Ah it says so at the bottom. The date is 12/10/1320, and the siege started in 1182. That would mean that the siege has been going on for around 130+ Years! The longest siege that I’ve ever read up on is the Siege of Candia which lasted for about 21 years! Wow I agree with the writers. It is a miracle that the city has lasted for so long, then again it sounded like this ‘Methyr Theocracy’ conducted some really sloppy siege work. I mean seriously why continue to commit to a siege if you don’t have enough troops to fully encircle and prevent supplies from reaching the city.
I shrugged, “Wow that paper sure was a doozy. Anyways I gotta get going, see ya later.” I waved the girl goodbye, as I snapped my fingers and I found myself back at the first floor. I Immediately made my way to the shrine and yep the crowd was still gathered there, it had shrinked in size.
It seems like Cerelia is finished with her recital. The priestess flashed a radiant smile, “Ah welcome Child of the Goddess. How can this humble servant assist you?”
“Child of the Goddess?” I briefly asked, before shaking my head. “Wait nevermind, I came by to y’know check in.”
She bowed, “I am doing very well myself, thank you.” She replied.
I gestured to the crowd, “I noticed these guys around the shrine, if it''s no trouble. May I ask who these guys are by any chance?”
Her once radiant smile was then replied with that of sadness, “These poor souls have wandered far from home seeking guidance and forgiveness from the gods.”
“Ah, I see.” I said with a nod, “Well I’ll uh let you be I guess. See ya.”
“If it’s no mind, what was that sinister aura that I detected when you returned yesterday?” Cerelia asked, before I could turn around and leave, then she continued. “I must say it’s completely different from dark magic.”
Right forgot, priestess equals divine magic, and can in turn sense magic just like my elven regiments. She’s referring to that book I brought with me. “Uhh yeah about that. Look I’m gonna be real with you, what you sensed is a dangerous book completely out of this world that will unleash untold horrors. So if you sense something similar please do not hesitate to either destroy or toss it into my vault located in my Core room.”
She frowned, “I-I see, I suppose I’ll have to keep a vigilant eye for the same sinister aura as that ‘book’ you describe.”
“Anyways I’m gonna go. I’ll pop right back when the shrine is less busy.” I said, waving her goodbye. Huh, maybe I could improve the shrine? I’ll have to discuss with Cerelia on that front.
And now I suddenly find myself with nothing to do… okay that’s a lie there''s absolutely a lot I can do especially around the dungeon, but I’m hit with this wave of laziness, even now I could feel my posture slouching. How about relaxing on the beach on my fourth? Hold on, that sounds rather nice actually!
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Amelia PoV: Two hours later.
This is the dream folks, me sitting on the beach, sun shining down on my face, listening to the gentle waves hit the shore, while sipping on coconut water. Yep nothing can ruin this! I asked some of the settlers if they wanted to join, but they all declined. What a pity I suppose.
I suddenly heard an explosion behind me, as bells began ringing and the loud shouts of Macy barking out orders. I lifted up my sunglasses and scanned around me, oh I see why. The pirate ship is docked in the harbor.
What? Ships floating close to shore, and cannon balls flying overhead? They’re absolutely part of the relaxation experience! Here comes a rowboat filled with British Marines beach itself on the shore- scratch that, somebody cast magic on the rowboat killing the marines along with destroying the rowboat.
One of the frigates, I think it was the Nuestra Senora Gabriella, got lit up in a fiery explosion. Lucky hit on the ammunition storage. Fortunately for her surviving crew the Jeune fille arrived to rescue anyone lucky enough to have survived.
Honestly pretty solid entertainment, well that was until I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I found Jackie Blunderbuss in hand. “Hey mom, somebody from the outside wants to talk to you.”
Well shucks, the battle was starting to get good, surprised that the Kraken hasn’t shown itself… Yet, alright time to see what this person wants. I got up from my lawn chair, and asked. “So any ideas on what this person wants?”
Jackie shrugged in response, “I don’t know, he was really cryptic, wore shiny plate armor and his chestplate has this blind folded guy holding a scale engraved on it.”
I can make some guesses as to what that engraving represents, but I’ll see for myself. “Hold on, we don''t have to walk back there and risk getting caught in the crossfire.” I said, causing Jackie to stop in her tracks, before I held Jackie close to me and I snapped my fingers.
Jackie and I soon found ourselves back inside the tavern. Poor girl clinging onto my waist like her life depended on it.
And true to her word, there was indeed a tall man, I’d say in his mid fifties, he had a long scar on his face with a long white beard, and wore plate armor with a blind folded man holding golden scales. He was leaning on the bar counter.
Jackie had calmed down enough for her to let go of me, as the man noticed our presence, and approached us. “You must be the Dungeon Core’s avatar, correct?”
I nodded in response to the man’s questions, as he offered a slight nod, “Then I will cut straight to the chase. I am Sir Artos Danyau The Unassailable, and a Justiciar of Avdar, the God of Law and Justice.” Artos declared, “It has come to Avdar’s attention madam that you possess a dangerous otherworldly artifact, a scripture to be specific. Usually what I’d do is confiscate it by force and deliver the artifact to him. However you being a Dungeon Core complicates things a bit. So I would like you to kindly ask to relinquish it. If you do not comply, well there’s really nothing I can do as Dungeons are out of our domain, and a certain goddess will get angry if she inevitably finds out.”
“Normally I’d say yes, I don’t want that book here. But there’s just too many variables, too many ‘what if''s’.” I replied, a frown forming on my face, “What if on your way to hand it over you get ambushed on the road? Or it gets stolen why you’re fast asleep? Etc. Now, unless your god Avdar comes to pick it up himself, then I’m afraid the risks are just too great for me to hand it to you, it’s safer with me. Don''t ever underestimate the lengths deranged cultists will go in order to obtain an item or to achieve their goals.”
After I finished speaking, Artos sternly stared at me and after what seemed like forever, he sighed and opened his mouth to speak, before suddenly he clutched his head tight, like he received a really bad headache.
Then after a couple of seconds or so, he rapidly shook his head and he returned to face me after nearly falling over. “Apologies for the display, my patron god sent me a message. Avdar has agreed to allow you to store dangerous otherworldly artifacts as you present a solid case as to why you refuse to hand your artifact to the custody of his Justiciars.” Artos said, “Furthermore he will assign a small squad of disguised Justiciars to monitor the dungeon entrance. Regarding the suggestion to arrive himself and collect the artifact, he will need to ask permission from the Goddess of Dungeons.”
I felt a great wave of relief. I really don’t want to have beef with a god, especially one whose domain is law and justice. Also wait, there’s a deity for us dungeons? Well that certainly explains a lot of things, like the sudden options I received for my floor themes, and Cerelia referring to me as a ‘Child of the Goddess’. If I had known that earlier, I would’ve dedicated that shrine to her… wait, hold on! Why does he need to ask her for permission just to enter my dungeon? God politics maybe? I’ll have to ask Cerelia later. Oh my god, Amelia focus! Now’s not the time to get sidetracked!
“That sure eases my heart, and yeah that book being here does place a target on my back if and when cultists discover it. Even so, it’s much safer here than outside.” I replied, earning a nod from Artos.
“Well Madam Yokakko, I’ll be out of your hair now, enjoy the rest of your day.”
I nodded, “Yeah you too.” Artos said nothing in response and walked out the door, vanishing. Well now that''s sorted, time to resume spectating the battle.
I teleported myself back to my lawn chair, aw man the battle is over. At least there’s some peace and quiet now, aside from the waves hitting the beach coupled with the smoldering wrecks of the ships. Good news is that the adventurers have survived and are now braving Waterloo. Meanwhile I continue relaxing on my impromptu beach vacation, minus the extra entertainment.