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While Moriko and Avatar Kazue were settling into a visit at the Azeria Clan, Mordecai was working with Kazue Core on the wetlands zone. They split it in half using a tangle of trees and swamp vines, including plenty of mildly toxic plants with a variety of fast-acting irritants. Then they crafted a floor-specific mantle for the faeries: Any fairy that traveled through this floor had a chance of glowing for a random time of up to three hours. Cheap will-o-the-wisps that wouldn¡¯t be trying to lure adventurers to their doom.
There were no directions for the fairies, of course, the flighty creatures didn¡¯t need them to be effective in this role. Just them being their normal helpful selves should suffice. They were just encouraged to help any visitors they met.
Overall, the basic appearance and function of both sides were the same: Twisty paths, heavy fog and mist, slowly drifting patches of trees and shifting areas of solid to deceptive land, all the things needed to make navigating it difficult. And Mordecai showed Kazue a new trick as well. They¡¯d already gotten lodestones as a sample, and Mordecai already knew how to manipulate their properties. The entire zone was covered in twisted magnetic fields, with each of the shifting ¡®islands¡¯ of trees carrying enough lodestone to bend the fields near it some more. Compasses would be of no use here.
Once they had done that, Mordecai could set about making his combat challenges. The feathered serpents migrated in quite easily of course, though they were larger now and tended to rest by twining themselves around the top of trees instead of making a nest near the ceiling. He made sure they were a little faster as well, and gave them the ability to spit their poison at range, plus he empowered their echolocation, giving them the ability to unleash a bone-rattling, nauseating sonic scream in a cone before them.
The river drakes needed more modification. For one thing, he needed to have channels of water available deep below the surface of the wetlands for them to travel through, as the above-ground waters were often too shallow, and then they needed the ability to cope with the increased levels of salt and mud as well as be able to sense their targets without a clear line of sight. He decided to give them the ability to sense electric fields as well as sharpen their sense of smell. Mm, they were almost the right amount of dangerous, but he felt he could push a little more. Let¡¯s see, ah, yes, if he put it on a slow recharge, he could give them a powerful electric blast and in the process give them resistance to electricity. Perfect.
Now, for the new inhabitants. First up, the squirrels. He was amused when Moriko reported back Kazue¡¯s comment about them being evil, as he¡¯d already had this lot planned. It was a fairly straightforward modification; he made them charcoal gray, gave them the same shadow blending and shadow jumping abilities as Umbrowl, and then added the ability to fling bolts of void energy with a flick of their tails. As a backup, Mordecai also hardened their teeth and strengthened their bites, but it would never be their primary attack. The tiny little snipers didn¡¯t really need more than that with their ability to scamper up trees and leap between branches. And naturally, they were called shade tails.
Kazue had to browse through their older books and cross reference an old language to get that one, and she promptly booed him.
Next up, Mordecai wanted to work on some crustaceans. The base design was not terribly different from Crios, but they were mud colored instead of being crystal-blue and they were only a little bigger than human-sized. He also had them grow another set of legs behind the others that had some increased articulation on a ¡®forward¡¯ orientation. These legs tucked up out of the way when the crab-like creatures were moving normally, but they could hit the ground quickly for a quick jump forward, or be used for the creature to rear back on and become bipedal. Naturally, these legs required proper feet to maintain balance, and some internal structural modification, including improved musculature and some limited internal skeletal support in addition to the exoskeleton.
The improved muscles and the overall shape of the rear legs gave him some more ideas, and he made sure to give them the ability to jump both high and far in this stance. The small legs simply folded across the torso to provide a little more protection, while the powerful arms were enhanced with some hydraulic segmentation, giving it further reach than its size would suggest. Combined with a bit of innate power, this gave their punches a shock wave as well, which both enhanced their normal attacks and enabled them to perform air punches.
With traces of more mammalian-like muscles where needed, a faster metabolism, and the ability to leap far and high, it was time to match form to function. He modified the exoskeleton on its head, making it grow out into the facsimile of a rabbit¡¯s face, and took the opportunity to grow out the normal pair of antennae into several ¡®whiskers¡¯, and made the rabbit ears still act as sound funnels to sections of modified setae, effectively giving them mammal-like hearing as well.
Of course, the face was effectively a mask. The eye stalks simply retracted to nestle into the ¡®eye sockets¡¯, and when it opened its mouth to spew its sticky blue fluid, one could still see the moving crab mandibles inside. Mordecai¡¯s avatar smirked wickedly as this inspired a final touch. There was enough space in the ¡®skull¡¯ to create several sets of small plates that could grind against each other, much like certain insects do, tuned to harmonize into a complex note of unearthly beauty. The contrast of the horrifying glimpse of mandibles inside of the open mouth with the nearly perfect sound was great for creating confused reactions, and for a final touch, he made sure that the grinding process released the sharp, tangy scent of lightning.
There was no actual electricity involved beyond the normal functions of life, it just amused him to create the jumbled set of sensory signals to leave adventures jumpy and distracted.
And with that, his crabbits were made. Mordecai¡¯s smugness drew Kazue¡¯s attention, and her fascinated horror was a sublime pleasure to enjoy.
He started teasing her about it when something caught his attention. One of the fairies had pried open a crabbits mouth to peer inside, and another fairy was poking fingers into her own mouth before opening wide to waggle her tongue about. They took turns, and he could feel the little pulses of shape-changing magic as the fey creatures worked on being able to transform the inside of their mouths into the same mashing mandibles. It was easy to predict what was going to happen when they mastered it, they were going to compete to see who could create the more horrifying mouth, like little kids making faces at each other.
Their nature would probably leave them mostly harmless, but their continued alterations of the initial shape-changing power that turned them into flowers for the first-floor challenge was becoming a touch worrying. The mushroom rings some of them could turn into didn¡¯t actually do anything yet, as far as he could tell, but it was still concerning.
156: Carmilla
Mordecai shook off his thoughts about the fairies, he was in the middle of showing off the floor-building process to some of their guests after all.
His part was almost done. First, he gave bunyips a nudge: If any of them started to feel their current zone to be confining their strength, they could travel down to the wetlands. They were still new to their roles for it to come up anytime soon.
A new type of drake: swamp drakes. Unlike the modified river drakes that were adapting to silt and salt, the swamp drakes were going to be surface creatures, capable of dwelling and traveling in water, on land, and up trees.
The body plan was simple enough, making large reptiles that were about as long as crocodiles but that stood four to five feet tall at the shoulder. Unlike crocodiles and alligators, the drakes had longer, more flexible necks and a much higher metabolism. Their feet were webbed and had powerful, hooked claws; this would enable them to both swim and climb with alacrity.
Their tails were slightly flattened from side-to-side, to be used to aid their swimming, but they also had small, sharp spines along much of their tail. The spines were designed to snap off easily and regrow, and carried a small amount of a paralytic toxin each. The toxin was also present in the drake¡¯s saliva and could be injected from their claws as well.
After a little more consideration of the results, Mordecai gave them three more abilities. The first was a breath weapon that blasted thick, viscous mud over its targets and the ground. It clung with disturbing tenacity, but shearing force made it instantly thin out, rendering it incredibly slippery.
The next two abilities were appropriately scaled minor magics. In contrast to the slippery mud of the breath weapon, the first spell fired out a web of sticky vines that could tangle or even immobilize a foe for up to a minute before the magic faded. The second spell simply conjured and flung a small glob of acid.
And of course, the swamp drakes needed to be able to find their prey in the swampy environment. Enhanced vision, hearing, and sense of smell covered the basics, plus a sensitivity to vibrations in the water and ground nearby.
Now, bosses. Mordecai was going to let himself do something he wouldn¡¯t normally do for a boss at this dungeon tier: he was going to make a true dragon. It would be a young one, just barely old enough to be considered mostly an adult, but a dragon nonetheless. The reason he wouldn¡¯t normally do this is that it would trap the dragon at this stage of growth unless he had another young one take its place and migrated it down to a lower floor.
But with this new growth plan Kazue had formed, they were going to be slowly making this zone deeper. If anything, this would accelerate the dragon¡¯s growth rate, compared to a non-dungeon dragon. So he started looking over all the river drakes that had been ready to migrate down, examining them to get a feel for which ones would adapt best.
In the end, he selected a mated pair. He¡¯d originally been thinking of either a mud elemental or a swampy version of a treant for the second boss, but having a matching pair of bosses like this would be a nice change and they both had suitable personalities.
The pair made their way to the small, briny lake at the end of the level to prepare for the transformation. Once they were settled, he began his work. Finding the vestigial nubs to regrow into their legs wasn¡¯t difficult, but it was significantly more complicated to grow their wings. Their bodies slowly bulked out during the transformation and they gained a distinct neck and tail, though their final build was still going to be relatively sleek.
Now, for a breath weapon. He was building a variant of a brine dragon to make them suitable for the salty environment, so he kept the attack the same: A narrow, caustic blast of salted water. While normal salt wasn¡¯t terribly corrosive to flesh, some salts were and this blast used a concentrated amount of them. Their saliva was of a similar consistency, causing their bite and even their spit to be corrosive.
And like all true dragons, they needed some proper magic. He started with the basics, allowing them to manipulate water into blasting upward, creating a dangerous geyser that could batter those caught within, or create blasts that could knock foes away. As water-based dragons, the ability to call upon deep mists to cover the surface was a natural fit too. For a final touch, he added a spell that could create fresh or salt water in small amounts, and another that could destroy all the water in a small area, which would also attempt to sap the moisture from living creatures.
He threaded his attention through their bodies again, making small adjustments and fine-tuning their metabolism until he felt a subtle vibration as everything synergized and the menacing aura of a true dragon began to manifest around them. Perfect.
He¡¯d even been able to keep the senses and abilities of their river drake forms, and had been able to give that as a form that they could change into, in addition to elven forms with aqua-blue hair that matched the color of their scales, and faded to an almost frosted white to match the scales of their undersides.
They would be more powerful physical combatants if he hadn¡¯t given them quite so many abilities, but he felt this was the better choice for now. Their physical combat prowess would increase slowly as the dungeon grew outward, and the extra breadth of power would slow down their effective age as they had to catch up to the proper depth of power. It wasn¡¯t the way it worked for normal dragons of course, but giving them more time to grow into the wisdom of older dragons seemed like it would be a good thing.
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Hmm, he should give them a slightly different species name. Electrobrine dragons? If he translated that mash into one of the islander languages, they would be eletsima dragons. Yes, Mordecai could work with that.
As for their personal names, he suggested Nezha for the male and Ysi for the female. It took them only a moment to confer and agree; like many of the inhabitants who hadn¡¯t become part of more complex social structures, they hadn¡¯t really felt a strong need to decide on a name before now. Over time, Mordecai expected that to change, but sentience alone does not always imbue a strong desire for individuality. That usually takes exposure to enough social interactions.
Now it was Kazue¡¯s turn.
Kazue¡¯s attention had been wandering from her husband¡¯s work as she prepared for her own, so it took her a moment to re-examine everything he¡¯d done and make sure they were on the same page, though she still wasn¡¯t entirely sanguine about his crabbits. Moriko had promised to help her extract some sort of revenge later.
And back to the fairy that had been the focus of her attention. She¡¯d finally nailed down how to sense the little shadow fairy, who was squirming guiltily now that Kazue could see her properly, ¡°Now, why have you been trying to hide from me?¡± The fairy hadn¡¯t actually left the dungeon at any point, just stepped slightly sideways into the shadow realm. But Kazue was still new to figuring out how to see into the adjacent layers of reality, even when they overlapped her territory.
The fey creature huffed, ¡°You keep giving us boring things to do. I¡¯m not one of those ditzes, I don¡¯t want to be stuck as a flower or selling stuff to idiots.¡±
If Kazue had her avatar here, she would have smirked. She already had a position in mind that would be perfect, she just hadn¡¯t figured out her candidate until now, ¡°Oh, I only come up with boring jobs? I guess you wouldn¡¯t be interested in being a wicked and clever swamp witch that messes with travelers then?¡±
After a moment of silence, the shadow fairy responded, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±
¡°My game for this level is going to be that the townsfolk tell visitors that the only way to get through the swamp is to please the capricious witch of the swamp. The witch lives on an island that slides through the swamp waters, making her notoriously difficult to find, and there¡¯s no telling what she might ask of strangers.¡±
¡°Hmm,¡± The fairy thought about it for a moment, then asked, ¡°Does that mean I would get a big form? I don¡¯t want to be a normal human or elf either, I want to be a tall fairy. Oh, I want to be a really tall fairy, like, taller than your new orc lady friend.¡±
Taller than Bellona? Yeah, Kazue was pretty sure she could manage that, ¡°I¡¯ll have to give it a try to make sure I can make you quite that tall, but if I have trouble, I will at least make you as tall as I can. And I think I can give you the ability to change to any size in between.¡±
¡°And I get cool magic spells? And a familiar? Yes? Then I¡¯m sold! Show me the way, boss lady! Oh, and my name is Carmilla!¡±
Kazue was kind of amused, this was absolutely the most irreverent of their inhabitants, but she also found it kind of endearing, ¡°Alright, here¡¯s where you need to go.¡±
After some discussions, Kazue modified three wisteria trees to grow in the swampy environment of the slow-drifting island, growing them at equal distances around the edge of the island. The bright purple colors of the tree contrasted with the surrounding dark foliage, but the ¡®weeping¡¯ structure of the tree gave it the right atmosphere.
Several wooden walkways meandered between the trees and the various buildings, which were themselves built in odd shapes and strangely proportioned. The soft, muddy ground beneath the walkways was home to moss and fungi that made it look significantly more solid than it was.
With the basic design of her new home completed, Carmilla was eager to get her new abilities. Kazue started with the size-changing ability. She left the flower-shape aspect alone, it had already mutated into enabling a variety of purple flowers, and naturally, this included nightshade.
Keeping the fairy¡¯s ability to fly when she was fully sized required a little extra effort, but it wasn¡¯t difficult since she wanted to keep the wings too. Carmilla also wanted the ability to freely change her hair color and length, a demand that was easy to meet. For the moment the fairy settled on black with streaks that faded from swamp-green on the edges to a bright, almost-glowing green at the center. Kazue felt a little confused about how she felt about the colors. Part of her said it should be awful, but it was also fascinating and kind of just worked for the shadow-touched fairy.
Carmilla also got a dress she could alter on the fly, and quickly settled on nearly-black purple with dark red fringes and a bright red lining that would flash occasionally from the inside of the sleeves or through the carefully ¡®slashed¡¯ hem. Also a pair of long boots with extra thick soles and a slight raise on the full-width heel. Kazue was beginning to suspect that this appearance was related to Li¡¯s influence; Mordecai had previously explained that Li¡¯s shards existed in very different realities as well, but to the divinity, they all seemed like the same world so he made no differentiation. This was why he sometimes referenced nonsensical seeming things.
Now for actual witchcraft. ¡°We¡¯re going to be filling the role of your patron, so your witch magic will only work in dungeon territory until we¡¯re much larger.¡± Only very powerful entities could normally act as a witch¡¯s patron and empower their familiar, though a strong enough witch could become their own patron, no longer requiring outside aid. Or become a patron in their own right, but Kazue only knew of one example of that, albeit a terrifying example. ¡°Do you have any ideas for a familiar?¡±
¡°A cool dragon of course,¡± Carmilla said, ¡°And I don¡¯t want it to just be a tiny familiar, I want to have a big dragon I can ride around on. Oh, and umbral of course. I gotta be able to shadow-jump with it!¡±
Uh-huh. Kazue considered that for a moment, this seemed more complicated than anything she and Mordecai had previously gone over, ¡°Love, is this doable?¡±
Mordecai¡¯s presence filled the witch''s hut as he considered the question, ¡°I think I can do something similar. Mind if I take over for a moment?¡±
157: The Swamp Witchs Job
Mordecai considered his options. The individual pieces were quite doable. Evolving a creature into a very young umbral dragon of no more than human size would be easy enough, at that age it would still be notably weaker than the dragon bosses.
Umbral drakes, which were actually a type of lesser dragon, were of the right size and power to be suitable for an advanced caster¡¯s familiar much like some other lesser dragons.
Creating a creature with the power of even a young umbral dragon but that could be tied to a familiar¡¯s bond was more difficult, and adding the ability to become that tiny didn¡¯t actually make it easier. Hmm. Conditions could restrict power, so what would make this interesting? Aha.
¡°I can make that happen, with a limitation. Only one of you can be full-sized. So when you are human-sized, your dragon would be fairy-sized, and the same in the opposite direction. But you can both be about gnome-sized at the same time.¡±
¡°Yes! I¡¯ll take it!¡± The faerie woman danced about happily, ¡°What¡¯s next, what¡¯s next?!¡±
Mordecai let Kazue take back over from here, it was her show for this area after all. He¡¯d find a candidate and evolve them while Kazue worked on the rest.
¡°Well,¡± Kazue said, ¡°Your familiar will act as your grimoire, so we need to give you some spells. Your job is to challenge visitors and make them exert themselves, so you will be given a selection of spells to either hinder or aid delvers as you see fit, but nothing that can harm them. Some, however, may greatly inconvenience them. We¡¯re going to do this right, so in order to study your spells and prepare which ones you are ready to cast without notice, you have to work with him, and if he¡¯s not available then you don¡¯t have a grimoire until he is available.¡±
¡°Oh, right. What sort of challenges do you have in mind?¡±
¡°Well, you get to be creative, but we have several ideas and will offer up more if we think of them. You get to decide which ones to give, and are free to choose harder options for people you don¡¯t like, you just can¡¯t cause them any harm unless they get violent first. Now, some of the easier ones are simple tasks like finding a batch of herbs or finding some bit of jewelry that has been ¡®lost¡¯, or otherwise having them go out to find and fetch something for you. To go with the theme of some old, traditional tales about witches, you can also have them do tasks like cleaning and cooking, or perhaps entertaining you with a song or a story.¡±
¡°Okay, yeah, those are pretty easy I think,¡± Carmilla said, nodding along.
¡°Slightly harder than that might be for the delvers to go and find a missing pet, who could be ¡®afraid¡¯ and actively avoiding strangers or otherwise more difficult to obtain and bring back to them. I¡¯ll also be bringing in some other inhabitants, so they might need to convince someone to loan something to you, or maybe they have to win a game of cards or dice against a particular group, or maybe they have to find a way to pay off a favor that you supposedly owe someone. There¡¯s a lot of options here. You can also have them pay you with scrolls and books or whatever else you like. And instead of singing or telling a story, you can have them make a work of art for you, or compose a new poem.¡±
Kazue wanted to also make sure Carmilla knew the limits, ¡°Now, we¡¯re also going to give you the ability to sense how much a person or group has exerted themselves in your area, including the minimum amount to be allowed to pass up to the limit where you have to allow them to pass without further interference. The challenges here are a lot more fluid than in other locations, so enumerated task lists don¡¯t really work, we just need to have them push themselves about as much as people going through the combat route would.¡±
¡°I can do that,¡± The faerie said, looking thoughtful, ¡°Any challenge I like, right? Can I seduce them?¡±
The question caught Kazue off guard, and it took her a moment to reply in a flustered tone, ¡°Er, what do you know about, ah, seducing people and such?¡±
¡°Oh, I¡¯ve spied on the people in the inns topside, most of us have. The other faeries mostly thought the big folk looked and sounded funny, but I thought it looked fun and interesting,¡± she grinned impishly, ¡°Though I admit it was often funny too.¡±
¡°Right, I¡¯m going to have to do something about that. Now, um, hang out and explore or something, we¡¯re going to have to talk about this before we give you an answer.¡±
She, Mordecai, Moriko, and through Moriko, Kazue¡¯s avatar spent almost an hour discussing the ethics involved, with Mordecai¡¯s avatar occasionally asking questions of some of their more trusted guests to get a gauge on how others might feel. When they were done, Kazue presented Carmilla with their answer.
¡°Yes, with caveats. First of all, it can never be a demand, it must be an option, and you can¡¯t press the person hard or punish them for saying no. Second, if there is a group that is together, then you can only offer the option to the entire group, not including ¡®companions¡¯ that don¡¯t count against the party size limit, and you have to treat them equally enthusiastically. So you probably shouldn¡¯t offer if you aren¡¯t interested in one or more of them. Third, if they initiate without a hint or prompting, then it doesn¡¯t count unless you want it to. Also, it counts as entertaining you, so if you aren¡¯t entertained, then they failed. And finally, you can¡¯t make it a challenge for more than one in ten people or groups that come through the level, though once a person or group has reached their goal and you have officially told them that they are free to pass through to the end of the zone, you can still offer anyone you like to stay with you. This doesn¡¯t have the other restrictions, that¡¯s just you on your free time. But no matter what, you have to be available to offer challenges to other delvers, even if you have to interrupt your other activities. Oh, and only with full adults.¡±
Kazue was a little dubious about Carmilla herself on that front, but Mordecai had previously noted that her fairies were sparks that had matured in the Other Side, and Carmilla had an adult mind and body to go with that age. The other fairies did not seem to be as fully cognizant despite being technically old enough, so Kazue and Mordecai were going to make sure they didn''t get into trouble before they were more mentally mature. Not that all adults were particularly mature, but there was a lower limit that was acceptable.
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¡°Eh,¡± Carmilla scratched at her nose, ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair. I just gotta figure out who is worth offering it to.¡±
¡°Ah, yes, um, so from what you said before that, you aren¡¯t exactly experienced,¡± Not that Kazue was much of one to talk, less than half a year ago Kazue was just as inexperienced, ¡°As long as no one is around, you can head top side and meet people and such, but you have to shape away your wings and be disguised as a visitor for now. Then, you know, fewer mistakes when being the swamp witch and all. I mean, it sort of depends on what you want people to think of you, but scary swamp witch and novice seductress sort of clash.¡± Honestly, Kazue would be happier if Carmilla wasn¡¯t going this route, but she also didn¡¯t want to interfere too much with how inhabitants led their lives or did their jobs. And she had to admit that sultry seductress did fit the scary witch image too, it just wasn¡¯t what she was imagining when she came up with the idea.
They weren¡¯t entirely done, but Carmilla wanted to get to know the area for a little bit before they spruced up her home more, partially because she didn¡¯t entirely know what she wanted yet. So Kazue shifted her attention to the barrier separating the two parts of the zone, having already handed off the task of keeping the faeries from spying on their guests to Mordecai. She copied and continued the growth, but this time she grew it along the edge of the lake until it reached the cave wall, completely closing off her side from the end of the zone. She then grew a large patch of the impassible growth in that corner against the wall, then set about constructing the dungeon magic that would attach the creation of a passage to Carmilla¡¯s acknowledgment of a party¡¯s success.
However, the winding passage wouldn¡¯t go all the way through at once. It would open with just enough room for the group to comfortably fit while leaving a couple of meters of pathway behind them. Then the path would start closing up behind them as more opened up in front of them. Kazue was mindful of Mordecai¡¯s advice that there was always someone who would decide to try and cheat if it looked easy to do so, so it was generally best to not let them cheat to begin with.
The path led to a narrow ledge at this end of the lake, and the growth here thinned enough to let travelers see the lake and any fights that might be taking place while also protecting them from it. And that ledge ended at a doorway that opened up to the same chamber that the ¡®boss door¡¯ led to, which then led to the corridor headed to the arena and the feast hall.
Throughout the zone, she started creating small huts, hidden tree houses, and the occasional homey burrow in the roots of a tree large enough to have created solid, if damp, ground, and other little places to be occupied. She didn¡¯t designate any particular creatures to these areas, instead, she created a special sort of role for whatever inhabitants were taking a turn here. It was a package that included telekinetic ¡®hands¡¯, the ability to speak magically for those few creatures they hadn¡¯t managed to make good voice boxes for, and a few other utilities to make them operate in a rough approximation of how most people on the surface lived. Throughout the various abodes she now scattered some waterproof card packs, dice sets, bags of brightly colored marbles, and the boards and pieces for various popular games. They were probably also going to want a lot of things like pots and pans and most certainly furniture, but a lot of that could be easily crafted by other inhabitants and fill out more naturally. Kazue just wanted to get enough stuff to create the image of ¡®monster¡¯ people kicking back and playing games or otherwise doing social stuff when delvers approached them to fulfill whatever tasks the witch had given them. And it would be a good place for some of their inhabitants to relax outside of the warrens.
Also, she wanted to eventually have this suite of abilities available to everyone who could use it, but it tied up a lot of mana just making it a role-specific mantle for the zone. So for now she just had to be satisfied with what she¡¯d created.
And of course, she needed to create natural treasures to be found, in addition to rewards for tasks done. As usual, plants with useful properties were an easy one, but she needed more. Thankfully, they also had some other resources to put in place, for those with a good eye. The areas of the wetlands closest to the walls were drier and a little higher, and she chose a few sections to make into different rare colored clay.
And in that clay could be found various uncut gems and minerals: tourmaline, iolite, malachite, jasper, and opal. Nothing quite as fancy as the dwarven opal they had received, but these were all minerals that could form in clay and mud. Especially the opals, which could form in any sort of wet, sedimentary environment.
Now, to the town at the start of the zone. Mm, it was time to get creative. They had bunkin from the dire rabbits, rabkin from the rabbats, now it was time to make buzzkin from the bunbees. She had considered beekin, but that sounded too much like beacon.
There were not a lot of them interested in the role. The way that they had been designed early on made them still inclined toward group behavior even now that they were sentient. But there were a few who were a little discontent with their role in the hierarchy, and neither she nor Mordecai had done much to create a path for them to advance on. It was time to change that.
She started working on the evolution process while those bunbees who were interested gathered together in Swampton. When she was done, the dungeon had a third clan of laganthros. Their overall design was much like the bunkin and rabkin, but they retained the black and yellow stripes and some other bee features such as antenna, and instead of a rabbit tail they had a small bee-like bulb, complete with a stinger. Kazue had altered them to live and breed like mammals again, including restoring milk production instead of honey and they could not secrete wax.
They were not limited to this town, and were in fact free to work in any of the positions that their kin occupied, so long as all the necessary roles were covered by people with the appropriate skills. But this gave them a starting point.
Now for the roles and rules. This was to operate much like the lakeside town in the river zone, but with some differences. While swamp boats and other such services were available for the combat side, part of the challenge here was to navigate the wetlands. You could build your own, forage or buy materials, etc., but the townsfolk were officially under a ¡®geas¡¯ that would ¡®curse¡¯ them if they provided vessels or guides into the witch''s territory. Those who sought to curry her favor so that they might pass through the wetlands must do so through their own resourcefulness.
Mm, and one final touch: Kazue took advantage of the fact that the faeries were already prone to forming mushroom circles, and recruited Sarcomaag to help her. Whenever a circle formed on this half of the zone, stepping into it would trigger a teleport with just enough delay to potentially catch an entire party, depending on the size of the ring. The default was to teleport them to another, random ring, and both rings would become inactive for an hour. Where Sarcomaag came in was to create directional teleports. The mushroom boss already had tendrils throughout the wetlands, so he could simply grow an extra, crystalline mushroom at the edge of the ring that pointed at another ring, however distant, and that would direct the teleport there instead of making it random.
She also added a rule that let him reactivate rings whenever he liked, so long as no delvers were within ten meters. For that matter, no ring could become active if there were delvers within ten meters, they had to have some chance to spot and avoid the ring.
By the time Kazue was done, Carmilla had her familiar, an umbral dragon/drake named Udup.
158: Clash of Axes
Bellona eyed her opponent as she settled into her stance on the arena sands. Mordecai appeared to only be wielding an axe in one hand, of a design similar to her own, but he¡¯d already demonstrated that his bracers could form a shield of force on command. Those tended to be less sturdy than a properly built and reinforced physical shield of equal cost, but had the advantage of being self-repairing and leaving the user¡¯s hand free until the moment they needed a shield. He¡¯d also shown her the one bit of shape-changing he was allowing himself for this battle: his skin would transform into scales as needed. Scales that he claimed were as resilient as her own armor.
This could be dangerous enough with an experienced warrior, but she was aware that Mordecai had many martial talents available to him. She was satisfied with the restriction of this spar being martial skills, but removing spells from his repertoire did not make her foe much less dangerous.
Kazue¡¯s illusion called out the countdown, and at ¡®begin¡¯, the two of them clashed.
Bellona did not try any fancy footwork, she knew Mordecai was faster than her. She needed to bring this fight into her strengths as much as possible. The two of them exchanged opening blows, their respective shields deflecting each other¡¯s axes, but even as her axe arced away, Mordecai¡¯s shield flickered back off and he snatched at the handle of her axe.
She swung it out to avoid his hand, then flicked it back in to slash at his leg even as she shoved back with her shield, forcing him to choose which to defend against. He took the shove, stepping back to avoid her axe, and Bellona tried to take advantage of the moment by using the swing of her axe to channel an arc of electricity.
Mordecai took this hit with a slight smile, and she scowled as she felt the electricity fade with little effect. He didn¡¯t even have to shift his aura to match the element; he just could resist it. Bellona could not say the same, a point hammered home when he retaliated. His first attack led with his axe, but it was mostly a lure to give him the chance to grab her shield and keep it out of the way as he snapped out a fast pair of kicks, the first laden with cold aura and the second with fire. Bellona only had the time to shift her spiritual aura to match the elemental ice, mitigating its effects but leaving her open to almost the full impact of the scorching heat of the second kick, though at least her armor soaked most of the physical blow. She did have some constant resistance to all the elements, but it was clearly lower than his.
The orc champion growled as jagged metal erupted from the surface of her shield, forcing him to let go, and she took the opportunity to swipe at him with it before she stepped forward to continue her momentum with an axe strike, increasing its weight temporarily by filling with the essence of earth. Mordecai dodged backward with a flip that he turned into a roll that gave him distance before she could shift her stance and chase his movement. Once he was back on his feet, Mordecai settled into a stance that she didn¡¯t recognize, but felt familiar. It made her wary as she studied him, and it was only her new sensitivity to the elements that let her puzzle it out. He¡¯d somehow combined several monk forms, and though she couldn¡¯t feel his chi, she could feel the effect it had on the elements.
Bellona charged as she used her shield to deflect the electrically charged air punches, her own aura shifting to protect her from the electric charge. Her shield and axe had already returned to normal, but she also knew how to put all the weight of her body and will into a strike, and she held nothing back as her axe came down at a sharp angle.
She¡¯d been expecting him to dodge again, but instead, his shield flicked back into existence, tempered with an aura of metal and backed by his own will. He took her full-powered strike into his shield and his arm didn¡¯t budge, though she at least saw the shield shimmer from the force it had to absorb.
His next attack was almost unfair, but her recognition of his monk stances at least made her aware of the possibility so she was not taken completely off guard. Shadowy, clawed hands reached out from his shadow to grasp at her, seeking to pin her in place and attack her with the deep cold of the void. Bellona wrenched herself free, stepping to the side before coming back in at an angle to bring a fast series of attacks, finishing with a low, backhand swing of her axe that allowed her to follow up with the edge of her shield aimed at his face.
While she didn¡¯t get a clean hit in, Mordecai was at least forced to take her shield¡¯s impact on his unshielded forearm. This would have been more satisfying if she didn¡¯t feel the resistance of armor-strong scales.
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This was pretty much the pace of the battle. She could land hits, but he was resilient against everything. Her spiritual connection with the elements was matched by his own, and he could call upon the elements via chi as well. She had a slight advantage in being able to call upon Amirume¡¯s blessing to heal some of her injuries, but that was a well that was quickly dried up and wouldn¡¯t be replenished until she had the time to meditate and pray. In contrast, Mordecai seemed to have a natural if slow ability to restore his wounds. She wouldn¡¯t win in an endurance match against him.
His shield broke first, the energy flickering out, but for him, that was a minor change in his combat style, and he simply tossed his axe aside to focus on his stances. When her shield became too cracked to be trusted and she had to discard it, her combat options became drastically reduced. It wasn¡¯t long after the loss of her shield that Bellona conceded the fight, and sat down in exhaustion as she tossed her helmet to the ground next to her. ¡°Holy light, you are a tough bastard.¡± She felt that by skill alone, limited to an axe and shield, she had a slight advantage. But even without magic, he had access to a lot more skills than she did, or anyone else she¡¯d ever had the chance to spar or fight against. Being able to merge all those monk techniques into a single stance and chi flow was just unfair.
Mordecai bowed to her and then sat cross-legged on the sand. ¡°Thank you for the spar, that was a good workout.¡±
Bellona was pretty certain that he was trying to not be smug, but there was a slight sense of self-satisfaction to him, not unlike a content cat. Or a dragon, from what she¡¯d heard. To be fair, however, he had earned it. ¡°I think I want to see you go up against one of my seniors. Or maybe a couple of us here could team up.¡±
He snorted with amusement. ¡°Even two people is a lot harder to keep up with than one. I get to start using all my tools if you guys start ganging up on me.¡±
She grunted, then closed her eyes and sat there in silence for a little while as she cooled down and cleared her head for a short meditative prayer. Bellona was mulling over not just what she¡¯d experienced here, but what she¡¯d seen from the war room while Kazue and Mordecai built up the wetlands floor.
The challenges were hard, and even dangerous at times, but they were fair. You always had the opportunity to turn back. More importantly, this dungeon was growing not just into a community, but a new and independent society and civilization. One with it¡¯s own sort of culture, but that was compatible with the growth and independence of other cultures.
This was exactly the sort of thing that Amirume desired, to see civilization being cultivated and elevated. And now she had a feel for how Mordecai fought: Enthusiastically, but not sadistically. He pushed and strove and desired to win, but it wasn¡¯t everything to him either. In combat, he certainly seemed like the sort of leader she¡¯d be willing to follow.
And then there was Kazue. Admittedly, Bellona had only gotten to see her through the illusion, but according to the princess, this was true to Kazue¡¯s avatar, and mostly true to her previous life, but with more maturity. The red-headed kitsune was adorable and sweet, but showed occasional flares of temper when it came to protecting others. There were a couple of flaws there; one had to be able to protect oneself in order to ably protect others, and her rare temper could be used to draw her into a trap; but they were acceptable in someone so inexperienced in the ways of battle.
And that was an amusing way to think about someone a full year older than her, but an orc¡¯s life was a much different sort of life, especially one that sought knighthood from an early age, compared to a sheltered fox who had lived inside of her books. If Kazue wasn¡¯t so clearly enamored with her husband and wife, Bellona had a younger brother she¡¯d have tried to hook Kazue up with. They¡¯d have been cute together with their noses buried in books. Ah well, matchmaking was never her favorite game anyway.
Speaking of spouses, there was Moriko. Bellona had a lot less interaction with the half-elf, but her impression had been favorable, and having awakened the blessings of being a priestess was a good sign to her character.
Bellona loved Ekuilance, but the capital city wasn¡¯t a bone-deep sort of home. Settling into a new one would not be a hardship, if she enjoyed it, and this strange dungeon seemed a nice enough sort of place. And she was already going to be the liaison here for an indefinite time. She saw no downsides to becoming a contractor, contingent upon her liaison status.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before opening her eyes again, ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision, I am interested in the position of contractor. What of you and yours?¡±
Mordecai smiled as Kazue¡¯s illusion started dancing in place, ¡°I think I can confidently report that Kazue is in favor, and Moriko already gave her approval a while ago. But we should go visit Orchid and have her write out the terms, so there is no chance for miscommunication when she brings the written copy to Ekuilance,¡± He rose and offered his hand to help her up, and she accepted gladly. She was perfectly capable of rolling to her feet while in plate armor, but that did not mean it wasn¡¯t a little bit awkward. Then it was time to collect her gear and get cleaned up while Orchid wrote the contract up. Even if there was no real ceremony, she¡¯d rather be clean and presentable for the moment.
159: ExperimentalLi
On his way to the war room, Mordecai was distracted by a conversation in the nearly empty main hall. There were currently no delving guests at this level, but Li was talking with several laganthros from different tribes, and he appeared to be teaching them something involving large floppy-style pointed hats. He held back a sigh when one of the rabkin reached into a hat and pulled out a dire rabbit that had been on the first floor a few moments ago.
Then a buzzkin reached into another hat and pulled out a bunkin. The ritual allowed the summoned rabbit to be pulled out by the ears safely, with that part of the magic dissipating as soon as the summoning rabbit let go. At least the magic seemed to tie into the dungeon¡¯s territory, though that was disturbing too, to have an external force manipulating the rules of your reality and power like that.
He shrugged and smiled, then gave a mental tug on Kazue¡¯s attention to make sure she saw what was going on as he approached the small group to applaud. ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick you taught them Li. I don¡¯t think I would have thought of that, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t have been able to teach it to them so easily.¡±
¡°Aww,¡± Li did his best to blush under his fur as he glanced down with a smile, ¡°It was fun Mordi they were all so interested in learning how to do it after one of them saw me do it though I started with one of the little bunbees as just a trick to show off but they really liked it so I pulled more of them through and then they all wanted to learn how to do it so I¡¯ve been teaching them for gosh I don¡¯t know how long but it must have been a while cause I¡¯m starving did I miss lunch? That means that I need to eat both lunch and dinner now what¡¯s going to be for dinner?¡±
Mordecai laughed, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure myself, why don¡¯t we go find out what¡¯s in the kitchen?¡± To Kazue he added, ¡°Hey love, pass on the word that my avatar won¡¯t be there anytime soon, but let them know I am paying attention if everyone wants to move forward when Bellona and Orchid are ready.¡± He probably could have found an excuse, but he liked Li and felt bad that he¡¯d arranged so much of the ratling¡¯s entertainment to involve others, ¡°So what have you been up to?¡±
¡°Well you know the super cool spooky swamp you just made well I¡¯ve been playing there a lot lately and I think its super neat the creatures you have there the crab bunnies are kind of funny looking and scary fun when they open their mouths like that, and then you got the neat squirrel cousins throwing shade like that I think I like them a lot but the best thing of all is the neat music that Carmilla came up with after I accidentally knocked over a pile of pots that she had a group cleaning it seems that there were a bunch of bards there and she put them to work figuring out how to make music that sounded like that with that sort of ¡®sick beat¡¯ which is a cool phrase she just came up with that I like a lot so she wasn¡¯t too mad that I knocked over all the pots and pans and stuff though she did ask me to go pick up the ones that fell into the mud which I started to do but then I slipped and skidded down a little hill into a quicksand hole where I was sucked down into a dark cave and I got lost but there were all these fairies and stuff down there and more slimes like Klastoria though they weren¡¯t as smart as she was and liked to play rough so we played a lot of tag until I found this tunnel that I scrambled up that suddenly popped open and left me at the bottom of a salty lake and I had to swim up and there were these two dragons there who I think are your bosses but anyway they were willing to play with me because no one had made it down to play with them yet which is a shame, I hope you get some people who can make it all the way down there soon hey what¡¯s that smell it smells great!¡±
While Li had been talking, he and Mordecai had been walking to the kitchens, and the chefs had pulled together a meal for them. The rabbit tribes had gone off to spread the neat new trick they had learned, and Mordecai was fairly certain that by the end of the day, every one of them would be able to do it. It was probably best that the ritual only seemed to work on other rabbit kin. ¡°Sounds like you have been having fun, I¡¯ll need to check out this new music that Carmilla is working on. I hope she doesn¡¯t work the bards too hard,¡± it was probably best to not find out what sort of muse the swamp witch was being for the poor musicians.
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¡°They didn¡¯t seem to mind the more she berated them the happier they seemed even which was weird maybe it was some sort of reverse game where the more she yelled the happier she was but I don¡¯t get it cause no one explained the rules to me still they were banging on all sorts of stuff to find out what sort of noise it could make to find which ones were going to be good for their new music. The tiny fairies liked it too and they looked neat bobbin up and down in time with the beat it looks like it is going to be a blast I gotta see what kind of parties they are going to have.¡±
All of this was said around mouthfuls of food as the voracious ratling devoured everything placed in front of him. The resources of a dungeon could feed him easily, but for others, it could be a sort of test. Those who tried to bring harm to the ¡®child¡¯ ransacking a castle¡¯s kitchens would often find misfortune befalling them in their attempts, while good fortune tended to come the way of those who did their best to feed the ¡®starving kid¡¯.
Mordecai didn¡¯t think that last particularly applied to them, feeding Li wasn¡¯t a notable drain and Mordecai was already well aware of Li¡¯s nature, so it didn¡¯t seem like it would be a fair test. While his friend ate, he decided it was a good time to shift the topic a little, ¡°I wonder if Bellona will like it. I hope so, she¡¯s decided to stick around and make a home here as a contractor. And I think she only wound up coming here because of everything that happened when you two were playing hide and seek. You are a pretty good lucky charm you know.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know if it was because of me so much but if it was then I am really happy to have helped you both out because she seems pretty cool even if she''s more serious than you are sometimes but still nice you know? And I saw you two play fighting that was intense with the axes and shields and fire and lightning it was kind of scary in a fun way I wanna see you playing like that with more friends though it would be nice if there were more people who fought like me around even though the scary ladies have been fun to spar with they don¡¯t really fight the same way you know and miss Kazue keeps getting mad every time they feed the little clay tea dragon mead and stuff and they really shouldn¡¯t because its a tea dragon not a beer dragon or would that be a beer flagon hey do you think they sell tea by the flagon cause I think its normally sold by cups and pots but it would be neat if they sold it by the flagon I bet it should sell for like nine coppers a flagon that seems like it¡¯d be the right price cause a silver would be just a little too much I bet cold tea by the flagon would sell really well in the south cause its all hot and dry there do you think anyone has set up cold tea stalls down there I bet they have cause who ever did that would be super rich I¡¯m sure.¡±
It took the mention of the women feeding mead to Cimbu for Mordecai to be sure which ¡®scary ladies¡¯ Li meant, the rest was a little hard to follow but he felt Kazue latch onto the idea of a cold tea. She¡¯d noticed lukewarm teas were easier to enjoy if they were sweet, so now she wanted to experiment with the thought.
¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea Li, and Kazue likes the idea. She¡¯s going to see if she can¡¯t work out a nice sweet tea blend to offer to our guests chilled to quench their thirst. Do you want to be our first taste tester? Which ones do you like the best?¡±
Kazue started creating mugs of different blends, even mixing in a little fruit juice for some variety and to add a bit more sweetness. Too much honey would tend to settle out in cold tea, and the juice would add some flavors that could go well with certain floral notes. The ones that Li liked the best were going to be good for kids and adults with a sweet tooth, like Kazue, while Mordecai did his best to help with tasting the others.
The process delayed everything for quite a while with regard to finalizing the contract, but at least the people waiting got a chance to enjoy some new flavored drinks. Mordecai didn¡¯t rush Li despite the inconvenience to his other guests, but the god shard could only do one thing or be in one place for so long. Eventually, Li declared that it was time to play again and that he was going to go racing down the river with the bunyips. Mordecai wished him good luck and then stretched as he gave himself time to refocus.
While he¡¯d been spending time with Li, he¡¯d also been paying attention to the conversation in the war room. It had turned quite interesting, and it seemed that Xarlug would be sticking around while the other three traveled. This was partly because of a blossoming interest between Xarlug and Bellona, and Kansif was amusing herself by threatening to stay behind and play chaperone for her cousin.
160: The New Contractor
After agreeing to the final contract that Princess Orchid presented, the actual contract formation went mostly smoothly. Mordecai and Kazue could feel a slight hesitation in the magic as it started to form around Bellona, but when Mordecai focused on the agreed-upon condition of the contract, whatever rules governed the contractor magic seemed satisfied, settling into place. He still wasn¡¯t sure if similar conditions could work with another dungeon¡¯s contractor, but it coped with the Mark well enough.
He and Kazue had a job for her to deal with very shortly after the contract was complete. They¡¯d actually been putting it off for a couple of hours, looking to get into the habit of delegating some tasks. ¡°So, a first job for you. One of the parties on the combat route is clearly not from around here. While harvesting materials from the bodies left behind by inhabitants is to be expected, we insist on a certain amount of respect, and this group isn¡¯t behaving well.¡± As he spoke, Mordecai led Bellona out of the war room and to where the entrances to the shortcuts were clustered at the edge of the main hall.
¡°They are in zone three right now, so they will be hitting the library soon,¡± Kazue said over the contractor¡¯s link, which worked much the same as their link with inhabitants but more stripped back: only formulated thoughts could be sent in the structure of language; images and emotions could not be directly sent.
¡°What we want you to do is convince them to behave properly. Your methodology is up to you, but Kazue has something to tell you first.¡± This knowledge he wanted to keep completely secret.
¡°Not even the princess knows this, so super hush, and we¡¯re pretty certain she¡¯d agree that she shouldn¡¯t know if she doesn¡¯t need to. Anyway, with our latest zone, we gained a limited ability to intervene in the death of a guest, but we don¡¯t want to let people be too complacent yet, or think we¡¯re too soft. So if you really have to, you can be risky, but we¡¯ll have to create excuses if anyone dies. These guys are weak enough that we can intervene easily, but just so you know, it would be an effort to do the same for you if you weren¡¯t a contractor. And risky with someone as strong as any of the people with the princess. They are all about her strength, though Xarlug feels like he¡¯s lagging a touch, while your cousin feels a touch stronger than Orchid or Paltira. Guess that¡¯s why she¡¯s been training him so much?¡±
Bellona frowned and took a moment to focus her thoughts to ¡®speak¡¯ purely mentally, ¡°Wait, you can prevent people from dying, or you can resurrect them? I¡¯m not clear on which you are saying.¡±
¡°It¡¯s kind of both,¡± Mordecai replied, ¡°If a wound is absolutely fatal, but they aren¡¯t dead yet, we can instigate an instant heal right at the cusp. If something brings them over the threshold immediately, then it¡¯s an instant resurrection in a safe location,¡± he hesitated a moment, partly because he wasn¡¯t sure if Kazue was aware of this part, ¡°We can also choose to not intervene in a fatal wound, and wait for them to die in order to resurrect them in a safe space,¡± and to preempt a predictable question, ¡°Also, if someone or something is hostile enough, we can remove that protection altogether.¡±
¡°Like the wolf,¡± Bellona said, ¡°Hmm, what is meant by a ¡®safe space¡¯?¡±
¡°If we were being open about the power, it would usually be the entrance to the dungeon. But something like our prison will suffice, provided that they will not be endangered before they leave. We have to be careful about how we use it; all dungeons can develop custom sets of abilities as they grow, but this is the only one I know of with the potential to be lost. And from examining the patterns of it, I think it would malform into a useless tangle, rather than unraveling and freeing up the potential to develop a different ability.¡±
¡°So, it¡¯s a useful safety net, but comes with requirements and becomes a burden if you fail to live up to what it requires of you. I can see wanting to keep it as a hidden resource if you don¡¯t need to use it,¡± Bellona waved off her thoughts to refocus on her given task, ¡°Alright, show me the way and I¡¯ll see what I can do about this lot. What do I have in the way of other resources?¡±
¡°Um,¡± Kazue said thoughtfully, ¡°Well, we are playing fair, so they are getting only a standard challenge for the zone, but if they actually attack you when you are acting on our behalf this way, and not as part of their challenge, that counts the same as attacking us. So if that happens, then other inhabitants on the floor will gang up on them, and Mordecai can always head over there too.¡±
Bellona was satisfied with that and followed the shortcut to be in position to intercept them at the boss room. Which gave Mordecai the opportunity to focus on Princess Orchid, he wanted to talk to her alone for a moment. She conceded to his request easily enough, though with several curious looks from the others. Thankfully, Mordecai had kept his office intact despite little need to use it. A brief consideration of where to lead the beautiful kitsune had made him realize there were some bad options, even if there was no bad intent. Optics are important for others, and additionally, Kazue had no idea what he was up to, so her curiosity was focused on him right now.
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Once they were alone in his office and she¡¯d taken a seat, Mordecai moved straight into the topic he wanted to ask about, ¡°So, as you should already be aware, dungeons can read a person¡¯s aura, it''s part of our awareness of our territory. There is skill and experience in interpreting auras, however, and there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been aware of since the three of you entered our territory. At the time I considered it none of our business, so I haven¡¯t mentioned it to Kazue or Moriko yet. But if Xarlug and Bellona are working toward the start of a relationship, I think it becomes our business, given that she¡¯s our contractor and loyalty needs to be a mutual thing,¡± He shrugged slightly, ¡°On the surface, I have no objections to them working out whatever, but there are some secrets that might be damaging to a relationship. I¡¯d like to be sure there¡¯s nothing she needs to know.¡±
Orchid considered him for a long moment with her lips pursed, considering her reply, ¡°I will tell you the most basic parts, which should suffice. If things progress enough, I will be telling her the entire story myself, but I think it is best to not influence her thoughts right now. In short, Xarlug is a new-soul clone of a dangerous person, with implanted memories. He¡¯s bonded to me for his own safety as well as for others, because of modifications that would otherwise make him vulnerable to external control of a more malign nature. I believe that this should be transferable, given that things progress enough with the two of them, though I admit I wouldn¡¯t mind some help working out the custom ritual. And I would in fact be quite happy to release us both from the bond, there are certain aspects that make both of us uncomfortable at times given the lack of a relationship. This particular bond is not designed for non-intimate companions.¡±
That didn¡¯t tell him quite enough to satisfy all of his curiosity, but it was enough to assuage his concerns, and he now explained to both Kazue and Moriko, ¡°They have a bond that has marks suggesting intimacy, but it also appears to be strained, which is reinforced by her final comment there, they are not being intimate. She has a similar bond with Paltira, but that one is stronger and has more reinforcement. I didn¡¯t feel it was my place to say anything, but now it potentially affects us.¡±
To the princess, he said, ¡°Thank you. I admit to more curiosity, but that suffices to reassure me that Bellona is not at risk of getting caught up in something that could create a conflict of interest. I think she would avoid Xarlug if she thought he was involved with you, and I needed to be sure I understood the situation.¡±
Orchid smiled slightly, ¡°And thank you for your discretion. Mm,¡± She bit her lip before continuing, ¡°To be clear about something, in case there was any confusion from the point I made when Bellona arrived. While I absolutely will use myself in any way needed to forward the interests of Kuiccihan, what makes me happy is being with Paltira alone. I have managed that for quite a while now, and I do intend to keep it that way. Xarlug has become a much more decent person than the man whose name and memories he shares, and I would be glad to see him happily attached to someone else. Honestly, I thought that Kansif and he might hit it off, but she has taken a rather big-sister attitude toward him.¡±
After she¡¯d departed, Mordecai checked on Bellona briefly before focusing on Kazue¡¯s and Moriko¡¯s questions. Kazue was satisfied the quickest as he could show her the markers on the auras that he¡¯d been talking about, but they had to be vaguely described to Moriko, since the effects didn¡¯t translate exactly to normal vision descriptions. They both understood the reason he¡¯d not said anything, and agreed with it, but needed to talk about it to get over that initial emotional reaction to having a ¡®secret¡¯ kept from them. He¡¯d had similar experiences from their side before, so he understood where they were coming from.
As for their new contractor, Bellona was doing quite well. She was being stern, and just a touch intimidating, but also very calm as she gave her warning and short lecture. He wouldn¡¯t have thought to focus on reminding them that this was a unique culture and civilization, and about Amirume¡¯s expectations that one treat all other persons with due respect. His approach would have been focused on the rules they¡¯d agreed to by entering the dungeon, and his willingness to extract a price from oath breakers.
But that was why people with different skills and points of view made for a stronger team, and he was happy to have her aboard.
The next day, Mordecai took advantage of the supposition that his avatar was invested the way Kazue''s avatar was. He went out with Bellona to the trading post town to introduce her, and spread the word that the Azeria Mountain Dungeon had a new contractor, who was a champion of Amirume and a liaison from Kuiccihan. It helped improve their reputation, and would probably keep away a lot of those people the dungeon didn¡¯t want to deal with anyway.
Still, even with Bellona helping to take care of some of the social things to keep the dungeon running smoothly, Mordecai was feeling busy. There were constant tweaks to be done to their massive wetlands floor as everything settled in, including the introduction of the winged ursavianes as relatively minor threats until they got bigger.
It was a couple of days after Bellona became their contractor that the dungeon felt a weighty presence approaching. ¡°What is that?¡± Kazue practically shouted into Mordecai¡¯s mind, ¡°Okay, scratch that, it¡¯s a who, but wow, that¡¯s got to be the tallest person I¡¯ve ever seen. And I thought Bellona was tall!¡±
This wasn¡¯t the extreme pressure they¡¯d felt when the divine avatars had arrived on their first day together, but it was just as intense as Aia¡¯s or Traxalim¡¯s, if not more so. But it was far more obvious, just because the person to whom it belonged was far more careless with his presence.
¡°Oh, what in the frozen hells is he doing here?¡± Mordecai muttered, ¡°And what poor soul has he dragged into a mess this time?¡±
161: A Shy Wolf
¡°Wait, you know him?¡± Kazue asked, ¡°How old is he?¡±
¡°Older than me, by a good amount,¡± Mordecai replied as he sent his focus to where the two had paused, ¡°He was a king once, but that kingdom was only known to scholars and archaeologists long before I came into existence. Now, what I am curious about is why that girl is wearing the gear I crafted. That¡¯s the set Traxalim commissioned.¡±
His focus picked up on an interesting bit of conversation, as Gil told the girl by his side, ¡°Huh, that¡¯s strange. It feels like we just crossed between dungeons. We shouldn¡¯t be in any dungeon right now.¡±
Mordecai swore, of course the man could feel the change that well. He might be unsubtle with his own power, but someone doesn¡¯t become that old without being able to pick up on minor changes in your environment. Being aware of when to shut up is a different matter. He quickly located an unoccupied rabbat and transferred him to the branches of a nearby tree with a message.
The rabbat swooped down to a level where they could talk to the pair, ¡°Hey, the boss man says -woah! Watch it girly!¡± Gil had snatched the thrown knife out of the air before it could actually be a threat, but the tall girl was clearly on edge, ¡°You aren¡¯t in a combat zone, you won¡¯t be welcome if you keep that up. Ahem. As I was saying to the big one, boss man says you are about as subtle as a ship on fire at night, and to meet him at the inn. And to be clear, the dungeon entrance is the cave. Yes?¡±
Gil frowned slightly as he handed the dagger back to the horned, wolf-eared girl, ¡°Fuyuko, your reflexes are good, but be sure to know why you are attacking, being nervous is not a good excuse,¡± the girl had the grace to blush and look down as she gently sheathed her dagger, ¡°Now, what do you mean that the dungeon entrance is ahead? I can clearly feel-¡±
Fuyuko elbowed him to interrupt, ¡°Yeah, this creature¡¯s boss knows ya, he has ya dead ta rights. Ya shoved your pressure down on anyone who looked to give us trouble. I mean, made things easier, but good thin¡¯ no one¡¯s tryin¡¯ ta track us or somethin¡¯. Agree with the strange bunny bat thing and let''s get this over with.¡±
The rabbat made a loop in the air above them, ¡°I¡¯m a rabbat,¡± Gil winced at the pun, Fuyuko took a moment longer to get it, and then looked incredulous, ¡°And they want to know what you want to eat, they¡¯ll get some food and a private room ready. Also, boss lady says the girl is adorable.¡±
¡°Oops, I must have thought that too loud,¡± Kazue muttered, then focused on the rabbat, ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to say that, I was just thinking it!¡±
Fuyuko looked like she wanted to be struck dead on the spot, and the rabbat hovered in place as he apologized, ¡°Er, sorry, Lady Kazue says I wasn¡¯t supposed to say that. Um, anyway, food orders?¡±
Gil shrugged, ¡°Anything hearty for me, I just want lots of it. She likes meat, so whatever is up I guess? Just make sure she gets her greens too. And -er, no, I guess I should wait to ask about that too.¡±
Fuyuko made a face at him, then looked at the fuzzy flying critter, ¡°And, um, sorry about the dagger, I got nervous about this whole dungeon thing. First time, ya know?¡±
¡°Yeah, bosses understand it was an accident, but to be sure you know, there¡¯s no surprise combat. Well, if you go down that path, then you can be ambushed or whatever, but you know what you are getting into. Anyway, it ain¡¯t too far up the road. My job is done!¡± And with that, the messenger rabbat flew up the road as he gained elevation.
¡°She¡¯s adorable and loves meat. I think I like her,¡± Kazue commented.
While the pair made their way to the town proper, Mordecai made his way to the inn while giving instructions to greet the new visitors properly. Which mostly meant making sure they were pointed the right way, the layout of the trading post was becoming a little haphazard as it continued to grow to accommodate the constant flow of aspiring delvers.
When they entered the private room in the back of the inn, Mordecai rose and bowed to them, ¡°Welcome to my home. It¡¯s good to see you again Gil, and a pleasure to meet you Fuyuko. I am Mordecai, and represent half of the dungeon¡¯s core, with my wife Kazue representing the other half, and our wife Moriko as our first contractor. Unfortunately, Moriko and Kazue¡¯s avatar are on a trip, so you can¡¯t meet them directly just yet. But before we get into further conversation, please, take a seat and dig in while I give us some privacy.¡±
Gil scowled slightly as he took a seat at the food-laden table, ¡°I liked you better as an elf.¡±
Mordecai snorted as he closed and locked the door and began setting privacy wards, ¡°You preferred me as a woman, though at least you aren¡¯t as bad as the green bird brain. But you are out of luck, I am keeping this avatar for a long time thanks to present circumstances.¡±
¡°Mm,¡± Gil said as he started filling his plate, and Fuyuko followed his example, ¡°Speaking of your circumstances, how are you doing my friend?¡± He paused to look at Mordecai, his expression somber.
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¡°I¡¯m doing surprisingly well actually,¡± Mordecai said with a small smile, ¡°And I can thank my wives for much of that. And since we now have privacy, I can show off a small trick Kazue figured out. You can¡¯t meet her avatar, but you can meet a projection by her core,¡± In a corner of the room, Kazue manifested one of her projection platforms, her image jumping to life above it.
¡°Hello! I¡¯m Kazue, the original core of this dungeon and wife to Mordecai and Moriko. A pleasure to meet you both.¡± She curtsied to them with a smile.
Gil gave Mordecai a narrow-eyed look.
Mordecai smirked and produced a short-lived illusion of Moriko, pulling on a memory of her at the start of one of their spars, her challenging grin on her face, ¡°This is Moriko, should you have the opportunity to meet her. She¡¯s a monk and priestess of Sakiya,¡± He didn¡¯t normally lean into showing his wives off like this, but it was fun to tease an old friend.
The giant of a man shook his head slowly, ¡°Seb will turn even greener with envy. I have to be sure to tell him as soon as I find him again.¡±
¡°Let me guess, he got distracted by a pretty face and wandered off? Preferably one who had shiny jewelry. Or is shiny. I remember that one poor dragon-scion girl with the beautiful pattern of silver scales. Seb was absolutely obsessed. Most tengu aren¡¯t actually as bad about shiny objects as crows are.¡±
Kazue rolled her eyes, ¡°Guys, you can stop measuring now. And Mordecai, I am keeping Moriko up to date with everything,¡± she gave him her best frown, but that just made her look cuter.
¡°I¡¯m showing her off when she¡¯s in her element, I¡¯m pretty sure she doesn¡¯t mind that I think she¡¯s hot when she¡¯s raring for a fight,¡± Mordecai replied, making sure to send that out over their link to Moriko as well. The reply back was a pulse of smug satisfaction, and Mordecai grinned as Kazue sighed.
¡°Fine, fine, you two are weird anyway. Now, back to our guests. Um, Fuyuko, right? Mordecai noticed that you are wearing some gear that he crafted on commission, and we¡¯re kind of curious about how that came full circle to bring you here.¡±
The oni-horned wolf girl looked between Mordecai and Kazue¡¯s illusion for a moment, ¡°So this really wasn¡¯t your idea at all? You had no idea?¡±
Mordecai shook his head, ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about. I knew nothing of your existence until you walked in. Well, aside from the measurements, but honestly I thought it was being made for an older teen male.¡±
Fuyuko sighed and began her long tale while she and Gil ate. Mordecai had a little of the food and drink as well to be social, but mostly he listened and asked the occasional question. It was an interesting story, and it gave him a piece of a pattern, ¡°Looks like someone wants something done and has stacked the deck a touch. With your arrival, and assuming you decide to stay and become part of our team, we have someone with some level of devotion to five of the empyreal pillars,¡± He pointed at the rat-coin pendant hanging from Fuyuko¡¯s necklace.
¡°Which reminds me,¡± he continued with a sigh, ¡°I am guessing one of our other guests is leaving soon, probably with Gil in tow,¡± The man in question froze briefly as he processed that statement, and Mordecai couldn¡¯t keep a bit of his amusement from showing, ¡°I mean, he and Gilly are such good friends too, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just been ages since our good friend Li went on an adventure with his friend Gilly.¡±
The girl looked confused, but Gil understood and tossed back the last of his food and drink with unseemly haste. Then the door popped open; locks, wards, seals, and barriers be damned. ¡°Hey Mordi, did I hear you say Gilly¡¯s name I did! Hi Gilly, long time no see my man, how ya been?¡± Mordecai had no idea where the ratling had picked up this particular slang, but it was amusing to hear it come from the small one. ¡°I¡¯ve been hanging out with Mordi and Kazue Since Moriko and other Kazue left and making lots of new friends oh you should see the cool stuff they made and he has dracobits and stuff again but no kobolds this time instead it''s these adorable bunny people you should really meet Zushi he¡¯s an awesome ball of floof called a void bunny, and I made friends with a slime girl and a mushroom king and showed a princess around the mushroom forest and it was lots of fun even if she seemed confused a lot, princesses should know about stuff like that shouldn¡¯t they? Oh hey, it¡¯s Yuyu! You were the girl living with Yvie, right? Last time we talked she said you¡¯d left on a journey so when I see her again I¡¯ll let her know that I saw you safe and sound with my friend Mordi are you staying? He¡¯s really cool but he already has two wives though there is a princess but I think she likes the monk and then there¡¯s the scary cool orc lady with the giant axe you should meet her she¡¯s awesome but anyway I can show you all the cool places to hide and stuff later oh but I have to show Gilly the cool faerie swamp witch and the two new dragons hey Gilly come on you gotta hear this awesome new music she¡¯s come up with.¡±
Li had walked in stuffing one roll into his face and two more into his pockets, and during his rambling conversation he¡¯d hopped up onto the table to help himself to even more food, and even now he didn¡¯t stop talking, he just jumped down and tugged on Gil¡¯s pants while continuing to talk about all the cool things he wanted to show Gil.
Moments later it was just Mordecai, Kazue, and a stunned-looking Fuyuko. Mordecai got up and closed the door, and tried to not think about how reality had warped enough to keep all his magic unbroken despite the door opening. ¡°Well, that¡¯s about what I was expecting,¡± It was hard to keep a note of melancholy from his voice at the idea of Li leaving and only getting to see Gil for so short a time, ¡°Li¡¯s touch on the world feels light even when its heavy, but with Gil here now it''s far too much.¡±
Bringing the two together had actually hurt, but he¡¯d anticipated it and was buffering the effect to keep Kazue from feeling the brunt of it, ¡°One of the reasons I always retired my avatars when they¡¯d reached peak mortal skill was to keep from developing that sort of effect on the world around me,¡± He glanced down at his current body and shook his head ruefully, ¡°I think that¡¯s going to change this time around. I wonder what that will be like? Well, I¡¯ve rambled enough I think,¡± He sat down and met Fuyuko¡¯s wide-eyed gaze, ¡°So, have you pulled your thoughts together yet?¡±
While his avatar had been talking with the girl, he¡¯d also been bringing Kazue and Moriko up to date. The short version of the issue is that reality would react to too much power gathered where it neither belonged nor was needed, and Mordecai had no desire to feel the impact of that sort of bad luck. An interesting life could be good, but only in moderated doses. Besides, Li wouldn¡¯t have been able to stay here much longer anyway, and Mordecai suspected his instincts had kept him here waiting for Fuyuko¡¯s arrival.
162: Envy
Fuyuko¡¯s thoughts were scattered as she tried to recover from the shock of seeing her god so casually chatting with the people around her, and that name he¡¯d said, he¡¯d been talking about caretaker Yvonne. She could just barely hold on to the name and a vague memory of the face, but it was more than what she¡¯d been able to remember before.
Mordecai¡¯s question made her focus on him, which helped, but her emotions were a confused mess, ¡°Um, I¡¯m not sure. I wasn¡¯t expectin¡¯ ta see Li here. Or, ever, I guess, this side of life.¡±
He looked amused at that, ¡°The gods step in more often than people realize, especially that one. They have limits to what they can safely do, and sometimes they push those rules, but Li¡¯s limitations are very different. And he¡¯s been wreaking havoc with the dungeon since his shard arrived.¡±
¡°Er, ya don¡¯t seem ta be too bothered by that.¡± Really, this whole place seemed rather strange to her.
Kazue¡¯s illusion snorted, ¡°It¡¯s a mixed blessing to be sure. I had no intention of having faeries all over the place. But I got one of them to play the part of a swamp witch. That¡¯s where Li¡¯s taking your friend. That noise is something special.¡±
She had so many questions, but where to begin? Well, ¡°So, ya really are the friend Gil was talkin¡¯ about, but ya used ta be a girl?¡±
The man shrugged nonchalantly, ¡°Technically, a dungeon¡¯s core has neither gender nor sex. That said, I¡¯ve had more male avatars than female ones, and I tend to think of myself as a man.¡± Mordecai suddenly smiled wickedly, ¡°Oh, I have an idea. Would you like to see the form Gil was talking about? As much as I like the man, there¡¯s just something about him that makes me want to tweak his nose.¡±
Was he going to show her another illusion or something? That seemed fine, ¡°Um, sure, I guess.¡±
Mordecai proved her assumptions partially wrong. He started his transformation by stretching and running his fingers up through his dark purple hair, which fell back down as long, almost lilac-colored hair. A rippling change followed the motion, smoothing Mordecai¡¯s face and reshaping his body until a tall, gorgeous elven woman was looking at Fuyuko with a smile. ¡°What do you think?¡± She practically purred out, ¡°It¡¯ll annoy him to know you got to see what he won¡¯t.¡± The sculpted female body was a nigh impossible blend of soft curves and toned muscles, shown off by a small top that left her well-defined abs visible and a knee-length skirt slit up both sides to show off long, smoothly muscled legs. ¡°This avatar was a dancer for much of her existence. I didn¡¯t focus on a wandering life for that part of my existence, I wanted to see the life of a more normal citizen for a change. Mind, she still trained to use her skills in combat as well, but she very rarely had any use for them.¡±
Fuyuko fought back a surge of seething envy, she wanted to have a body like that! ¡°You¡¯re stunning,¡± she replied, ¡°An¡¯ I can see why he talked up your looks so much. But, um, you keep switchin¡¯ how ya talk about yourself there. Why¡¯s that?¡±
Before Mordecai could reply, Kazue recovered from her own shock, pointing at Mordecai accusingly, ¡°That, that is so unfair! And Moriko agrees with me! I sent her a very clear image!¡±
Mordecai looked over at the kitsune¡¯s illusion, licking her lips with a mischievous glint in her eyes, ¡°Well then, when she and your avatar get back, maybe the two of you can explain in detail what you find so unfair love. Of course, that will require you to examine this form in detail¡¡± Fuyuko wrinkled her nose at the flirtation, she didn¡¯t really want to see or hear it.
The elven woman turned away from Kazue¡¯s stunned expression to answer Fuyuko¡¯s question. ¡°While my wives are occupied discussing that idea,¡± Mordecai shook her head and changed back to his previous form, ¡°It¡¯s complicated. The form I just took was what my avatar looked like, but I don¡¯t feel like the person I was while that avatar was incarnated. Oh, I can assume some of the same mannerisms, but if I do so, it¡¯s closer to playing a well-studied part in a play. For her, they were part of her personality,¡± He spread his hands wide, ¡°While my personality here is essentially the same as the baseline personality of my core, which in turn has accumulated at least a little bit of influence from each avatar that has been reintegrated when I retired them. That was a deliberate decision when I designed this form, it did not seem to be the time to risk experimenting with my avatar¡¯s personality, especially as I did not know at the time if I would have a core again.¡±
The girl blinked at that, ¡°Erm? You didn¡¯t have a core? How does that work?¡±
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He waved her question off, ¡°It¡¯s a bit long to get into right now, but the events leading up to that situation were also what led to my marriage to Moriko and then Kazue. Moriko was my host for a while, for lack of a better phrase, and I didn¡¯t know about Kazue or her situation at the time. I basically ¡®moved in¡¯ to her core, which we now share.¡±
¡°Wait,¡± Kazue said, ¡°I just realized this means I basically took a homeless man into my home. Where, I might add, he promptly took advantage of my kind generosity. Oh, woe, whatever is a maiden to do when accosted so?¡±
It took a second for Fuyuko to realize that Kazue was teasing Mordecai, she¡¯d needed that last, over-dramatic sentence to make the connection. They were kind of weird, and she didn¡¯t know what to think about it. Oh, she¡¯d seen adults flirt before, but it had been, mm, more subtle? More careful? At the least, not so carefree. Of course, everyone down here seemed a little more relaxed, so she wasn''t sure how out of the normal they might be. Moriko¡¯s parents were kind of flirty too. Oh, right, she should probably say something about that.
Fuyuko coughed nervously, ¡°Um, somethin¡¯ I figure I should mention, don¡¯t want ta seem like I¡¯m hidin¡¯ anythin¡¯,¡± The pair stopped their flirting to look at her, ¡°I kind of skimmed over this bit earlier, but I really wasn¡¯t sure what was up with ya, and Trax mentioned that the alchemists were Moriko¡¯s family, and since the inns were full, Gil got us rooms there. They were nice, but we didn¡¯t tell them why we asked them specifically. They thought it was more normal dungeon delvin'' on our minds.¡±
Mordecai nodded, ¡°I understand, and that makes sense. Mmm, she seems fine with it, though we should find a way to tell her family.¡±
Kazue¡¯s illusion eyed Fuyuko speculatively, ¡°Though she is wondering how well you got along with her little brother.¡±
She made a face at that, why did the adults keep thinking about such things? ¡°She sounds like her ma. But I ain¡¯t interested.¡± It was really weird to be talking to someone she¡¯d never met through a pair of people she¡¯d just met.
¡°So, what do you want to do from here?¡± Mordecai asked.
¡°I¡¯m not sure. I mean, it seems like someone wants me ta work for you guys, and ya seem decent enough, but I dunno where ta go from here.¡±
¡°Mm,¡± Mordecai tapped his chin thoughtfully, ¡°Well, the obvious step would usually be to make you a contractor, assuming you are interested and prove yourself, but given your age, that might not be a great idea. Contractors stop aging while in a dungeon, and will even have their health restored if they are old, so long as they stay in the territory. But it also means that your body and brain wouldn¡¯t continue to mature.¡±
He shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s leave that thought for another day. Right now, you are our guest. Why don¡¯t I show you around a little, let you meet a few other guests, and maybe some of our cuter inhabitants.¡± He smiled slightly, ¡°And we have a shrine I think you¡¯ll want to visit. I showed Kazue the trick to hiding them.¡±
¡°Yeah, alright, that sounds good I guess,¡± Fuyuko said as she stuffed a few last mouthfuls of food in before rising. She almost always felt like she could eat more, but she¡¯d eaten enough to at least not be truly hungry for now. And she did want to see Li¡¯s shrine.
Kazue waved from her illusion, ¡°I¡¯ll talk through Mordecai if I need to say anything, these illusion platforms aren¡¯t mobile.¡± Then her image flickered out and the floor restored itself to its previous condition. This place was weird. Possibly fun, but definitely weird.
The tour of the tradepost was interesting. She wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d been expecting, but the two fighting rings for testing newcomers were not on her list, nor the dungeon¡¯s own store selling everything from dolls and engraved mugs to camping supplies, tools, weapons, and armor. ¡°Most of what is sold here is crafted by our inhabitants, from either materials brought in for trade by visitors or manually extracted from the dungeon. Generally, the rewards for challenging the dungeon are mana constructs that are made real by being claimed by outsiders.¡±
¡°Wait, now that I think about it, does that mean yer rich?¡±
Mordecai shrugged, ¡°It depends on what you mean by rich. We own an autonomous territory where we live in as much comfort as we desire, so in that sense, yes, we are rich. If you mean by immediately liquidatable physical and fully real goods, we are probably about at the level of a reasonably successful merchant. I am pretty certain Kazue¡¯s father is richer in that sense still. Most of the coinage we collect is earmarked for expenses for contractors and travel expenses for our avatars. So a rich noble wouldn¡¯t consider us rich in the same way they are. But we have our own sort of power, which is often the most important thing about being rich, so which would you rather be? Independently powerful, or traditionally rich but dependant upon the society that made you rich?¡± He smiled at her, ¡°I like what we have, and Kazue and Moriko seem pretty satisfied with it too.¡±
That gave her something to think about as they continued the tour. There were several small taverns and inns at this point, and a field that was open for outside merchants to open shop as well. The dungeon seemed just as happy to have people operating independently out here, but given the exchange earlier between the bat-rabbit thing and Gil, this seemed to be part of their territory as well, so she guessed it was good for them in some way.
After showing her around, Mordecai brought her inside the dungeon proper, where Gil and Li had long disappeared to. The giant entry hall was impressive, and the number of shrines was surprising. Every pantheon she¡¯d ever heard of seemed to have its own hall, and several she knew nothing of.
And down the hall for the Empyreal Pillars, she found Li¡¯s shrine, tucked in a twist of shadows between the shrines of Mericume and Ozuran. Mordecai left her alone to give her time to offer her prayers and thoughts, for which she was grateful. There was a lot to think about.
163: AdventerousLi
While Mordecai¡¯s avatar focused on Fuyuko, and his core monitored the dungeon in general, Kazue chose to focus on following Gil and Li while passing along a running commentary to Moriko, who was relaxing while Kazue¡¯s avatar was off communing with spirits. The little ratling had led the large man to the combat path, which just so happened to not have anyone waiting in line at that exact moment. She chose to not follow that path of thought, following Mordecai¡¯s example and his warning about mental health if she thought about Li¡¯s luck too much.
Unlike the god-shard¡¯s normal adventures, this time he was easy to track. This was partially because he was with Gil, but it was also because he was treating it more like most visitors would treat the combat path, and was fighting through the normal challenges. She hadn¡¯t seen him actually fight since the first day he¡¯d arrived, and it was interesting to watch.
Li was fast, and naturally wrapped shadows around himself in brief spurts, but not as deeply as he had that first fight. Attacking broke his cover, rather than remaining effectively invisible in the darkness. From what she could pick out from his endless chatter with Gil, Li saw this as a game, and based on what Mordecai had told her, that meant that he¡¯d be adjusting himself to the challenge. He was a type of divinity, nothing here was more of a challenge to him than he thought it should be.
As for Gil, well, it was more obvious that he was ¡®slacking¡¯. The power that he emanated was rather scary, and the way he mowed through their inhabitants without actually slaying them showed his skill as well. They had moved through the first two floors without ever looking like they were taking things seriously; even Zushi found it difficult to cope with Gil¡¯s powerful fists while Li was effectively playing tag with Ryuhoho, and winning. Kazue comforted Zushi who was complaining about how the hits seemed to land past Zushi¡¯s defenses and just ignored his ability to absorb energy in any form.
The only part of the second floor that bothered them was the maze tunnels, and they only bothered Gil. The giant man grumbled the entire time he had to crawl through them while Li led the way, chattering away the entire time. Kazue wasn¡¯t entirely surprised that this part took them an excessively long time, Li wandered almost as randomly as his thoughts did.
As for Hildegard and Crios, they didn¡¯t have the advantage of a raid boss¡¯s power, and the fight ended with Crios retreating after both of his claws were cracked along with several places along his main body. The carbuncle had been tackle-hugged by Li and was now squirming ineffectively as a delighted Li hugged her tightly like a child with a favorite doll, but he eventually let go with a verbal prodding from Gil.
Kazue took comfort in the knowledge from Mordecai that this was the top end of the power they should ever see in an individual, barring things like very, very old dragons. He was in essentially the same tier as Aia and Traxalim, which made her rather glad that neither had challenged the dungeon. Her husband had promised that their raid bosses, and eventually their deepest floor bosses, would eventually be able to match that power, but they weren¡¯t quite halfway there and growth was going to be a lot slower.
She hadn¡¯t realized how powerful Aia was before she had this direct comparison. Sure, she knew that her matriarch had been terrifyingly powerful, but when you have no magic or combat prowess to speak of, that¡¯s not a high bar. But now that she was getting a better idea of how strong people could actually be, she had a better grasp of how large the gap actually was.
The third floor caused Gil to snort with amusement. ¡°Bunny soldiers? I know Mordecai too well to think they are soft, but they are still sort of hilariously cute.¡± Just for that, Kazue mentally encouraged the bunkin to send as many soldiers as they wanted. Gil tilted his head and then looked toward where her focus¡¯s point of view was, ¡°Oho, we are being watched. By the young mistress of the dungeon, I think. And I would guess that the rabbits are her influence.¡±
That, that was sort of terrifying. She¡¯d never had anyone do that before. Were Aia and Traxalim capable of doing that too? Had they just been too circumspect to reveal it? Well, Aia had noticed them communicating before, but the way she¡¯d said it suggested that she¡¯d picked up more on body language. Maybe it could be both? Kazue went through several iterations of possibilities before she remembered to pay attention to her guests.
While her thoughts had been running, the duo had focused their attention back on the bunkin troops, and she realized only a moment had elapsed. Time was weird without her avatar to synchronize with. She could think so much faster when she was focused, but if there was nothing she was paying attention to, she could kind of drift, and time would flow by instead. At least she didn¡¯t get the gray head-fuzz clouding her thoughts.
Even with reinforcements, the fight didn¡¯t last a lot longer than the ones above had. Li was never quite where any attack landed, and even explosive spells cleared to find him somewhere else. Gil just seemed to barely sway enough to dodge attacks, and even batted the occasional projectile out of the air with little care if it was an arrow or bullet. He didn¡¯t even seem to have any sort of fighting stance in place as he moved through the battlefield, slinging aside bunkin easily, and tossing the polecat cavalry mounts at the flying dracobits to take them down.
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Kazue¡¯s description perked Moriko¡¯s interest, ¡°That sounds like formless form.¡±
¡°Formless form?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not an entirely accurate name, but anything accurate would be too long. The grand master of the monastery has mastered it, but I¡¯ve only seen him demonstrate it in spars against other grandmasters. It¡¯s more accurate to say that it is the compilation of all forms, mastering them so completely that you are always in a stance without actually having to be in the form of a stance. I can¡¯t explain it better than that. But the way you describe him doesn¡¯t sound like a monk otherwise. Didn¡¯t the wolf girl describe him as a weapons master?¡±
¡°He¡¯s both,¡± Mordecai interjected, ¡°Or more accurately, he diversified when he couldn¡¯t find a way to directly improve his swordsmanship and general battle prowess. This makes him more of a true weapons master than most who claim the title, but it¡¯s a little unfair to compare against someone who has limited himself by the refusal to become a demigod.¡±
¡°Wait, what?¡± Kazue and Moriko exclaimed together.
Mordecai¡¯s amusement was clear in the tones of his mental voice, ¡°I suppose I should have mentioned it before, I was rather taken off guard by him showing up. But yes, he has turned away from that path. He could have promoted his own legend, built himself up more, and started gathering hero worship and then true worship. He would have been able to take on that sort of faith. But he didn¡¯t think he¡¯d make a very good god. And to be honest, I agree. He was not a great king, from what I know. His battle prowess was great on the battlefield, but diplomacy, well, let¡¯s just say that this is a more mature and wiser version of the man than when he was a king.¡±
¡°So, we have a nigh-demigod just wandering our dungeon?¡± Kazue asked incredulously.
¡°Aia and Traxalim are touching that edge as well. Traxalim has already turned away from immortality, but I suspect that once Aia does abdicate and is certain her heir has solidified her rule, Aia will become a wandering immortal too. I think she enjoys life in this world too much, and I don¡¯t think she has the same level of longing to join others who wait in the afterlife.¡±
That was a lot to think about. But perhaps when the immortal in question wasn¡¯t so casually leaving a trail of half-broken inhabitants in his wake. Judging by the way the mana flowed, Gil was putting in more effort in not actually killing them than in defeating them. Wait, ¡°Um, Mordecai?¡±
He¡¯d apparently noticed where her attention was focused, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s doing that deliberately. He¡¯s not really gaining anything but entertainment by being dragged along, so expending the effort to not kill them both ensures that we retain the resources to host other delvers properly, and gives us more mana by his expending more effort.¡±
That was rather considerate. Kazue wondered how much of Mordecai¡¯s gripes with the man was just the result of being old friends who feel the need to complain about each other. She¡¯d never seen this side of him before.
The battle with Betty and Umbrowl was strange. Gil actually shifted into a stance to match Betty¡¯s own and he gave her pointers to improve herself. It was the painful sort of pointers, to be sure, but Betty didn¡¯t seem to mind. As for Umbrowl and Li¡
¡°Ahhhhhhh!¡± Screamed the little ratling as he ran from the cat-owl hybrid and disappeared into another shadow. Umbrowl seemed a little confused but game to keep chasing the god shard through the shadows, though no matter how fast Umbrowl flew or dove, Li was somehow always just a little out of reach.
The boss fight for the floor ended when Gil plucked Umbrowl out of the air and held him up by the scruff of the neck. Betty was sitting on the floor, panting and bruised but grinning widely. Li appeared from a shadow and attached himself to Gil¡¯s calf. ¡°Oh, thank you thank you thank you, you saved me from the cat owl monster thing.¡± He glared up at Umbrowl and stuck out his tongue.
It was kind of appropriate that a little ratling would be scared by a combination of two major predators of rats and mice, which seemed to be how reality often tended to work around Li. And she knew that; Mordecai had said as much, but it was still weird to see it in action sometimes.
By the time they reached the library, the group that had been down there before had already cleared out. Kazue didn¡¯t even have to tweak anything on this level, Gil¡¯s own booming voice and laughter brought down the wrath of all the bunbrarians on his own, and he seemed amused when a biting word tried to chew on his finger, ¡°Oh, Mordecai, having fun with the puns again already?¡± A bookwyrm swooped by to blast him with paper flechettes, but Gil flicked his hand, deftly breaking the animated book¡¯s grip on his finger and sending it into the dragon-like construct.
The library boss fight was just sort of odd. The interaction between Gil and Biblios was a pretty straightforward battle that left damaged reams of paper everywhere, as the man demonstrated his strength by throwing the reams back at the paper dragon hard enough to make the reinforced bindings explode on impact. But as for Horace and Li, well, Kazue would judge Horace as having won that ¡®battle¡¯ if it was just the two of them. Li was humming happily as he messily colored in outline drawings that Horace had provided, having hemmed in the little ratling with lots of coloring and painting options.
Once Gil had subdued Biblios, he made his way over to Li to observe what was going on. Horace just shrugged and held out his hands, palms up, ¡°Ook.¡±
Gil snorted, ¡°Yeah, that works. Alright Li, I think it¡¯s time to go. Other people need to be able to play too.¡±
Kazue was really curious about how the mushroom kingdom was going to go with these two running through it.
164: Flower Power
After Fuyuko was done with her prayers, she went out to the main entry hall to find Mordecai talking with an armored orc woman who was a little taller than him, and a little shorter than the luponi, ¡°Er, hi,¡± She said, raising her hand in a small greeting.
Mordecai nodded and gestured toward the orc woman, ¡°Fuyuko, I¡¯d like you to meet my contractor Bellona. Bellona, our newest long-term guest, Fuyuko.¡±
Bellona gave a small bow, which Fuyuko did her best to hastily duplicate. She wasn¡¯t used to the formalities of Kuiccihan yet, bowing and stuff was normally for nobles and stuff in Trionea. ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Fuyuko. I understand the gods have a hand in your presence here?¡±
¡°Um, maybe? I¡¯m not sure, and I feel weird sayin¡¯ it.¡± She shifted uncomfortably and glanced down to avoid the woman¡¯s gaze.
¡°Hmm, don¡¯t worry about it so much,¡± Bellona said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m a champion of Amirume, Mordecai is a priest of Ozuran, Moriko has newly become a priestess of Sakiya, and Kazue used to be a shrine maiden of Mericume. We are more used to interacting with the touch of the divine than most, and hopefully we can provide some guidance if you need it. Although,¡± she hesitated, then shrugged, ¡°Your god is a bit, ah, different.¡±
That surprised a brief giggle out of Fuyuko, ¡°I can¡¯t deny that. I¡¯ve been told a lot of stories,¡± wait, she had? She felt certain she knew plenty of them, but it seemed to be part of her fuzzed memories, ¡°But meetin¡¯ him earlier was somethin¡¯ else.¡±
The older woman nodded, ¡°I understand, I had no idea who I was dealing with during my early interactions. Well, while Mordecai shows you around, I¡¯m going to be the face of the dungeon if needed. I should see you again at dinner, if all goes well.¡± They exchanged bows again, and the orc went to ensure order was kept.
Fuyuko turned to Mordecai, who gestured for her to follow, ¡°I¡¯m going to take you down Kazue¡¯s route, while our friends are making their way down my combat path,¡± He shook his head with an amused look, ¡°We¡¯re not nearly deep enough to provide a challenge to even Gil, let alone Li when he¡¯s playing with Gil.¡±
¡°Um, about that,¡± She started hesitantly, ¡°You call Li your friend, but I¡¯m not sure what to think about someone calling a god a friend.¡±
Mordecai chuckled, ¡°I understand, but he and I became friends long before I realized that he wasn¡¯t just Li, he was Li Zarb. And holding him in the normal sort of reverence would make him uncomfortable at best. I like him as a person and I treat him with respect, and I only take advantage of his nature in ways that keep him happy and entertained, and never cause harm. He wouldn¡¯t like that very much. And he pretty much does the same with me, even if he is going more by instinct. Given that you arrived with Gil, I expect both of them to be leaving soon, and I think the primary reason he¡¯s been at one location for so long is that he has been waiting for you to arrive, which lets me know that he approves of you.¡±
Li, approves of her? The thought made her flush with embarrassment, and she cleared her throat awkwardly, ¡°Why do ya say that?¡±
Mordecai had demonstrated how the selection pedestal worked while they talked, and she was taking in the garden maze while he replied, ¡°Li showed up here when I needed his luck to help me not kill some hostile intruders when subduing them, and I appreciate that, but he¡¯s been here far too long for his nature, and I am comparing to my original self, where I had a much larger dungeon to entertain him in. He had to be waiting for something, and you arrive with Gil, an event that is going to prompt his departure. He didn¡¯t need to wait for Gil, a shard could have found him anywhere, so he was waiting for you. Now, would you like to be shown the sights, or would you like to work your way through the puzzles and claim prizes? However, some potential prizes will require that you be able to recognize them. Some of the plants are useful herbs.¡±
Hmm, ¡°I think I¡¯d like ta try it.¡± It also gave her an excuse to be quiet for a while before replying during their conversation. She felt at a bit of a disadvantage and wanted to be sure of her questions. ¡°So, if I¡¯m supposed to be here, what am I supposed ta do?¡± Keeping herself occupied with figuring out the puzzles and matching flowers to the impressions also made her less nervous as Mordecai considered his answer.
¡°There are many possibilities. We have some troubles with a set of people in Trionea, so maybe there is an intention of you being a guide or a connection of some sort. Perhaps there is an insight or tidbit of knowledge that could be useful at a critical moment. It could be something as simple as being a reminder of who could be negatively impacted if I am not more controlled in facing this threat again. Or perhaps it is not we who are to benefit, maybe any benefit we gain is tangential to your learning and growing here, in order to affect something far in your future. And it could be some combination of any of those, or something I¡¯ve not thought of. They won¡¯t tell us, not really. You are a devoted follower, but not a priestess or champion, so their touch will be very light on you. But even for Bellona or myself, they will only offer so much guidance. We¡¯ve taken the steps to actively dedicate ourselves to our gods, so they will tell us a bit more, but the more, mm, personal it is for us, the less they will say or do.¡±
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While he¡¯d been talking, she¡¯d gotten the first puzzle figured out, and they¡¯d moved on to the second room. There had only been a few plants she¡¯d recognized, and they weren¡¯t exactly rare, but she¡¯d also found a few boxes of incense hidden in various places, which caused Mordecai to chuckle, ¡°You¡¯ve got the nose of your lupine-related ancestry it seems. Well, it balances for the plants you missed. Now, as I was saying, if there is, say, a developing monster problem, a champion might be given a vision that gives them enough information to get started. That is part of what the devotee agreed to. But something more personal, the things where their emotions run the deepest or the events have the most impact on their private lives, the gods hold back more there. It¡¯s a consideration of free will, even the free will of those whom they oppose. It is what makes life messy. Free will makes us people, but it is also what gives us the opportunity to be bad people.¡±
Fuyuko chewed on that thought as she worked on the next puzzle. Mordecai seemed content to just let her work on it in silence, with an air of unbothered patience. That was something he and Gil had in common. Hmm, ¡°So, if I stay, what exactly would I be doin¡¯ anyway?¡±
He shrugged as he watched her search for another matching flower in the hedge maze, ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, but I did have one thought about you becoming a contractor: we could have you spend a good amount of time each day outside our territory while you train or practice, and when Moriko and Kazue¡¯s avatar come back here on their loop, maybe you can travel with them as well. Get some more worldly experience under your belt while letting your body mature. That could fulfill one of the common duties of a contractor, accompanying an invested avatar out in the world, though in this case, you would not be doubling as a normal bodyguard to the same extent. But a group of three is usually stronger than a group of two, and we can train you on some complementary skills. You are using Li¡¯s own favored fighting style already,¡± he gestured at the pair of daggers on her belt.
¡°Before that, I think the most direct benefit you can likely provide is being another face of the dungeon. But we would still need you to fulfill the requirements of becoming a contractor: acquire something new and valuable for the dungeon on your own, spar with me to show your potential and spirit, and be approved by all existing contractors in addition to Kazue and me. Which is only Moriko and Bellona at this point. It would be unfair to skip the requirements we already set out for others.¡±
She didn¡¯t want to be given special treatment, but she also felt she¡¯d gone through so much to reach here that it didn¡¯t quite seem fair to her either. She¡¯d even¡ now there was an idea, ¡°Would peryton horns ¡®n¡¯ hide count? Cause I think Gil still has them.¡±
¡°Maybe. Let¡¯s see, on the gathering part, the kill was certainly solo, but you would have died alone. On the other hand, a fourteen-year-old killing such a monster on her own is certainly quite a feat. However, you¡¯ve demonstrated bravery and resourcefulness, which is the point of the test. I¡¯ve brought it up with the others, and we¡¯re discussing it."
This whole mind communication thing was weird, and she ignored him long enough to complete the matching puzzle for this room. These two rooms had been entertaining, but not exactly hard. The only challenge had been memorizing the flowers and then finding them. She wondered what the next challenge was going to be to make matching flowers more difficult, like how the hedge had been harder to navigate and examine than the garden maze.
As the door opened, Fuyuko was greeted by a cacophony of high-pitched voices chattering away as fast as Li did, and in a disharmonic chorus of multiple conversations going on all at the same time as they all talked over each other to make their point or tell their story first. She slowly stepped forward, eyes wide as she took in the bright faeries flitting about the room. They were pretty little things, but the inane chatter did not leave a good impression of their intelligence.
Then the giggle of pixies noticed her, and it was impossible to tell which one was speaking, ¡°Oh we got another one hey she¡¯s being escorted by the boss man is she the princess no way she¡¯s tall like the orc I bet they are sisters nah they can¡¯t be sisters this one isn¡¯t green enough and has fox ears those aren¡¯t fox ears they are wolf ears like the tenti-wolves that Bellona brought in oh yeah they kind of like that I think they are cute and her horns are so small and shiny I want to touch them.¡±
Fuyuko had been so caught up in trying to parse what they were saying that she hadn¡¯t noticed that they were all flying toward her, full of curiosity about the interesting new person. This was a dangerous mistake, as she suddenly found herself swarmed by the tiny creatures who had no sense of personal space or boundaries. There were tiny hands touching and tugging on her ears, and more of them poking at or petting her horns. She had sudden images of finding pixies tangled in her hair, despite how short-cropped it was.
The teen clamped down on the urge to flail at them, she was afraid she¡¯d hurt the tiny, if annoying, creatures and forced herself to stand still as they examined her. She couldn¡¯t even open her eyes or mouth for fear of one of them poking her eye or crawling into her mouth. And still, they would not stop talking, commenting constantly about every ¡®discovery¡¯ they made and random tangent that bounced out of their heads.
Standing still long enough proved to be enough to let their curiosity die down, and when she no longer felt swarmed, Fuyuko opened her eyes to find herself festooned with ribbons and garlands of various flowers. The fourteen-year-old street rat glared at Mordecai, daring him to let that laugh escape his tightly pressed lips.
165: Of Horns and Homes
Mordecai managed to keep a smile from his face as the teen glared down at him. She was adorable, which Kazue agreed with enthusiastically, but he was pretty certain she wasn¡¯t likely to appreciate that as a compliment. ¡°They are gifts, you should keep them on for the rest of the trip.¡± Fuyuko¡¯s look was skeptical as he continued, ¡°The pixies are the way they are because of Li¡¯s influence. They were originally part of the puzzle but weren¡¯t much more than that. But Kazue¡¯s preferences and actions caused all our inhabitants to awaken to sapience, and when Li arrived they began to change. Some of our flower faeries are now mushroom faeries, and a few have become shadow faeries or otherwise changed and evolved outside of our normal control. And Li has spent many, many hours having long conversations and swapping stories with the fairies.¡±
He gestured at a pair of pixies who were arguing over whose turn it was to be a blue rose and who was supposed to be a red rose, ¡°And they are going to be ever so eager to ¡®help¡¯ you solve the puzzle. And remember, you have to convince all the correct faeries to be in flower form at the same time.¡± It wasn¡¯t quite as hard as it sounded, the evolution of the faeries had made it so the real challenge of the puzzle was getting the right number of faeries to coordinate being flowers that were close enough to the intended flowers. But he wasn¡¯t going to tell her that part, no one else got that clue.
Fuyuko sighed, then shook her head and smiled, ¡°I guess it is sort of like some of the stories told about Him.¡± She then turned her attention to start working out exactly how this puzzle was supposed to work. The arguing pixies gave a clue about how the faeries are the flowers, but finding the proper match by getting them to transform long enough to examine them, and then keep track of which one was which, and getting five of them to be their proper flower in the proper location at the same time was much trickier.
While Fuyuko worked on coaxing the pixies into a semblance of order, Mordecai took the opportunity to discuss an idea with his wives, and then they brought Bellona in on their thoughts to make sure she would be okay with her role.
Once the luponi girl had completed the puzzle, collected her prizes in the form of small shiny gifts from the pixies, and the door opened, Mordecai got her attention, ¡°We¡¯ve been talking about the contractor idea and have decided that, pending the results of the spar and a few more days of getting to know each other, we will probably offer you the contract. However, we have a couple of stipulations, because of your age. My wives and I would act as your guardians or foster parents, depending on how you want to look at it, until you are eighteen, and Bellona could act on our behalf much like an older sister or aunt. While you are our ward, we would expect a reasonable amount of obedience to our decisions regarding your personal life. Taking you on as our contractor is also taking in a teen child, and this feels like a proper balance of the increased responsibility, partly because it enables us to act upon the responsibility better.¡±
He smiled slightly at her dubious expression, ¡°I know, that sounded rather formal, but sometimes that is needed so that everyone is clear on the intent. We like what we know of you, and the others are trusting in my judgment of trusting Li and Gil''s opinions, who both seem to like you, so we¡¯re pretty sure we¡¯re compatible. It just feels better to be officially taking care of you as our ward for a few years, rather than have you as just a standard contractor.¡±
¡°Yer a bit short ta play the part of my daddy, don¡¯t ya think?¡± Fuyuko retorted. He was pretty certain that she was deflecting to give herself some emotional space and time to think, which was fine, but he decided to play with her as well.
¡°Well, if that¡¯s your concern, allow me to alleviate it,¡± he said as he began shifting into his ambassador form and growing taller until he topped even Gil. He grinned down at her, ¡°What do you think? This is one of my specific alternate forms.¡±
The girl¡¯s expression became such a mix of different feelings that her face became effectively unreadable. Mordecai wasn¡¯t certain what he¡¯d just triggered, but he decided his best course of action was to relax into a slight smile and just wait patiently for her to start working through whatever was going on.
Fuyuko¡¯s mind was such a whirl that she couldn¡¯t think coherently at first. It wasn¡¯t just the height, it was also the horns and the offer to act as her guardian by someone who was trusted by and friends with her god. She wasn¡¯t even sure what she really wanted when she asked in a near whisper, ¡°Yer horn, can I touch it?¡±
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She watched as he knelt and lowered his head to make his horn more reachable. Her fingers touched it hesitantly at first, feeling along the surface. It wasn''t exactly like an Oni''s horn; it was too sharp and almost crystalline in its smoothness. But it was about the right size and shape for a one-horn to have. ¡°Not Oni,¡± she commented as her thoughts drifted uncertainly.
¡°No, or at least, not entirely. I combined a lot of different traits in this avatar, and there are some oni aspects to my body.¡± His voice in this form was a little deeper, but he was speaking softly now, creating a comforting rumble.
Fuyuko hadn¡¯t realized how much she¡¯d been hurting, having no one near her who shared this prominent trait. Even with the friends she could only vaguely remember from the sanctuary, there was a sense of distance, of being different. This was the first time she¡¯d been able to experience this touch of familiarity in years. ¡°How?¡± She asked, not certain what she even meant by the question.
¡°I¡¯ve lived many lives in many different forms, some of those lives have been as Oni. This isn¡¯t superficial shape changing, this is as much an aspect of me as fox forms are for kitsune.¡±
Oh. The full weight of that missing feeling of connection came crashing into her, and her body started trembling as her vision began to blur. She saw his head raise and his arms spread, and she threw herself into that embrace as she began sobbing. Warm, strong arms encircled her and held her close, just tight enough to comfort.
Time lost meaning as she cried, losing herself in the flood of emotions. She knew that she had been loved at the sanctuary, but having someone more like her, right here in front of her, was different somehow. But eventually, she began to regain control and pulled back slowly while sniffling. Mordecai handed her some soft cloth that he seemed to pull out of nowhere, and she started cleaning up her face while very carefully not looking at the wet area of his shirt, ¡°Um, sorry about that,¡± Fuyuko managed to mutter in her embarrassment.
¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± he replied, and a bit of magic danced over his clothes, cleaning and drying them, ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡±
¡°Ya, I think so.¡±
¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡±
Did she? Fuyuko wasn¡¯t certain, and thought about it while she finished calming down. After a while, she shrugged, ¡°I guess. It¡¯s just, I haven¡¯t had a chance ta be around many people with horns too, ya know? Not since my parents died. I didn¡¯t realize how much that meant ta me. And it all hit at once. Er,¡± she coughed uncomfortable, ¡°could we not tell Gil? It¡¯s embarrassing enough as it is.¡±
Mordecai smiled and nodded, ¡°We can do that. Do you want me to stay like this for the rest of your delve?¡±
¡°Um, yeah, I guess that might be nice. Ya don¡¯t mind?¡±
¡°Not at all. And it¡¯s not a bad idea for me to practice anyway, it¡¯s good to be used to walking around casually like this. I¡¯ve only really used this form for spars.¡±
The way he said that prompted a question from her, ¡°Just how many forms do ya have?¡±
He grinned in response, ¡°Three primary ones. That I am willing to admit to. Plus the ability to blend on the fly, but that takes more deliberation than taking on a form I¡¯ve developed.¡±
So at least one more ¡®primary¡¯ form that he was teasing the existence of, but also kind of endless forms. Fuyuko felt amusement bubbling up inside of her, ¡°You¡¯re sorta weird, but I think I like it. Makes me the normal one around here, and I kinda like that change.¡±
Mordecai ruffled her hair, which hadn¡¯t happened while she was standing in a long time, and it made her weirdly happy. But she didn¡¯t feel like admitting that right now and rolled her eyes at him before moving on to check out the next puzzle room. It couldn¡¯t be worse than dealing with the faeries, right?
Well, she was partly right. The puzzle itself didn¡¯t involve the faeries, she had to figure out this water channel contraption to make the correct flowers bloom instead, but doing that without accidentally drawing water away and causing flowers to wilt was hard enough on its own. Doing it with pixies flitting about and offering advice about which levers to pull made it much harder to stay focused. At least some of them were distracted by his current form, as they were busy decorating his horns and wings instead of decorating her.
The idea of living here was growing on her. The pixies were only a little annoying but harmless and kind of cute, and the bunny people seemed friendly. If the trio were going to be her guardians, she¡¯d have to put up with more rules than she did at the sanctuary, but given how the faeries were acting, it didn¡¯t seem like they made a lot of random rules without reason. It would be a crazy place to call home, but that didn''t mean it would be a bad place to call home.
Yeah, it could be fun, but that was part of what made it scary too. Of course, was there such a thing as a good adventure that wasn¡¯t at least a little bit scary at times?
166: Its a Kind of Magic
While Moriko was occupied keeping tabs on what was happening with the dungeon¡¯s new visitors and gathering all the gossip, Kazue¡¯s avatar was meditating in a small clearing a little bit away from the densely inhabited areas; she was focused on taking a new step in her spiritual abilities. Whereas her psychic magic was a manifestation of her will upon reality, communing with spirits to gain access to their magic was about coaxing reality to choose to work with her.
There was a certain amount of overlap, she still needed to focus and direct her will to manifest it, but it was a very different mind state for each act of magic. Ironically, her issues with staying focused on one train of thought made it easier to switch her state of mind quickly as needed.
And right now, she was calling for the strongest spirit manifestation she had ever deliberately sought out. It was her power and mana, carefully controlled and sent outside of her body, shaped into an invitation. An invitation that was accepted, her mana claimed and reforged.
¡°Hello stepmother,¡± came the mildly amused voice, ¡°You¡¯ve been progressing well.¡±
Kazue opened her eyes to see the spirit¡¯s avatar sitting across from her, and gave a slight greeting bow with a smile, ¡°Hello Norumi. It¡¯s good to see you again.¡± Kazue kept her voice low as she couldn¡¯t guarantee no one was nearby. Unlike the meeting several weeks ago, the spirit¡¯s manifestation was not fully solid, as Kazue wasn¡¯t strong enough to power that entirely by herself yet, so Kazue¡¯s words would be the only ones most would hear. Norumi had used some of her own power to manifest so fully before, and it had still taxed Kazue¡¯s power.
¡°How has your visit been going?¡± The forest spirit asked.
¡°It¡¯s been great. I¡¯ve gotten to see all my friends, and I¡¯ve missed it so much, it¡¯s just nice to be back here for even a little while.¡± She¡¯d also dealt with visiting both where she¡¯d died and her own grave, and on a lighter note taken Moriko to a few locations where she¡¯d long imagined having a lover¡¯s tryst, but none of that was stuff that she wanted to discuss here.
¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it,¡± Norumi replied, ¡°And I am glad that the spinning coin of your awakening fell this way, though I suspect our patron deity may feel a touch differently.¡±
Kazue blinked in surprise, ¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°I was curious, and used a little scrying to figure out when you had awoken your spiritual powers, and found the traces leading back to your first night after leaving your dungeon¡¯s territory.¡± Norumi chuckled, ¡°Do not worry, while it was easy to guess what had just happened, I did not witness the prelude. But examining the traces of mana, you were teetering on an edge, able to fall in a few directions. You might instead have bonded with the primal physicality of nature and become a druid like your mother, or gained a deep enough understanding of the primal aspect of even the most civilized people to awaken as a priestess of Mericume. Instead, you resonated with the spirits of nature around you, making it easy to have this conversation.¡±
Huh. Kazue thought about that for a moment, ¡°Are those things I could still do?¡±
¡°No, at least, not in full. You are far too young to delve deeply into other paths, and it would hinder your current growth to spread too thin. Do not look to myself or my father as examples of what to aspire to in power, such strength comes from ever-growing in ways that are true to yourself. But, in time, you might. In truth, the ability to retire an avatar and begin again, having to develop your powers anew, makes that easier, but an avatar won¡¯t be able to do everything at once. Unless, of course, you do what Father did, but that is a long way off for you. Now, how can I help my summoner?¡± She smiled with a shrug, ¡°I accepted your call, and though the bindings are soft, there is an itch to help you do something.¡±
Oh, she hadn¡¯t thought about that. Um, ¡°Well, I was mostly just practicing, to better understand my limits. But, well, I guess there are a couple of questions you could answer. Can I create a temporary bond with you like I can with the common spirits?¡±
¡°No, at least, not yet. The ones you have formed bonds with have a weak sense of self and lack a fully formed soul. A stronger spirit, whether a mortal turned spirit like myself or an older spirit that has formed a strong sense of self and a soul, is much harder to bind with as it requires the spirit to temporarily surrender a portion of their free will, in order to respond to your will and not just your words. When you grow strong enough, you might be able to call upon me for a brief period, but such a bond will be an exhausting few minutes in the heat of battle while I grant you my power in addition to your own.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Disappointing, but not really a surprise, ¡°Well, on a different topic, what can you tell me about this Gil person who just showed up? Moriko didn¡¯t have a chance to pass on much information, too much was happening for her to pass it on coherently while it was going on, and I had this exercise already planned.¡±
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Now the kitsune-dryad grinned, ¡°He¡¯s quite the character. I¡¯ve never been certain how serious he was in pursuing Mordecai¡¯s female avatars, I think it was more of a game or in-joke for them. I remember being slightly miffed that he never seemed to notice my beauty and trying to flirt with him, and seeing a hint of fear in his eyes before he made a poor excuse and fled. I suspect Father had threatened him in some way, though I never did ask. He didn¡¯t treat other men in my life like that, I think he just didn¡¯t like the idea of his best friends and me being that close, and when you look at it that way I can¡¯t say I blame him.¡±
She tilted her head thoughtfully, ¡°Other than that, I know he was good friends with my father, and based on the stories I was told, the two of them would meet up late in the cycle of an avatar that had almost reached its peak and head off to pursue more challenging explorations and adventures. He¡¯s a bit much to really be an equal companion with if you aren¡¯t strong yourself, so his presence would have stifled the growth of a freshly formed avatar. Oh, Kuiccihan mentioned that he was traveling with a young luponi girl, I take it that he was escorting her to your dungeon?¡±
¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a lot of story to unpack there. I can tell you more tomorrow after I make sure to extract all the details from Moriko later tonight. I guess she felt it when he crossed her borders?¡±
¡°Oh yes, and it''s quite clear he felt the border of the territory, so he knows there is a dungeon covering the kingdom, but he¡¯s not investigated or made an issue of it so she¡¯s left things alone and not introduced herself.¡±
Kazue frowned, ¡°If it¡¯s so easy to feel a territory, how has Kuiccihan not been found out about more publicly?¡±
A new voice chimed in, ¡°I thought I heard my name being used personally. Allow me to answer that,¡± Kuiccihan¡¯s avatar stepped into the clearing and waved, ¡°I can mute my territory¡¯s pressure to an extent, so most people who are slightly aware of such things don¡¯t notice me at all. But a brute like that man puts out his own pressure, and I can¡¯t really not push back. He doesn¡¯t mean it as an attack, but it would be like letting a giant porcupine casually lean against you and fill you with quills. It hurts too much to let a presence like that invade what is part of you.¡± She shrugged slightly, ¡°I am sure there are a few others who are more subtle than him who had also noticed, but the truly powerful usually have the good sense to not butt into the affairs of other powers without good cause.¡±
Well, she hadn¡¯t been expecting this second visitor, but it was quite nice to talk with both of them again. ¡°Hello Kuiccihan,¡± she said with a smile, ¡°I take it no one else is nearby at all?¡±
¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± the avatar said as she joined them in sitting on the ground, ¡°And I¡¯ve added a little bit of extra privacy warding to ensure that it stays that way. So what is going on in your territory?¡±
¡°Well, as I was telling Norumi, I don¡¯t have the full details yet, so if you really want to know then you might want to meet with me tomorrow. But it looks like Fuyuko, that¡¯s the oni ¨C lycan girl, was guided here with a bit of divine assistance. Mordecai doesn¡¯t know exactly what for, but seems inclined to roll with it and see what happens. Gil ran into her when she was nearly killed by a peryton, and they have been traveling together to get her safely here. I¡¯m guessing Gil isn¡¯t staying, and Mordecai thinks that Li will be leaving soon too.¡±
Kuiccihan winced slightly, ¡°Oh, that means they are going to tromp through here together. Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and they¡¯ll head south instead. I think I prefer it when Li¡¯s shards just appear in places and then disappear. When he actually travels he seems to create even more havoc.¡±
It made Kazue feel much better to know that they weren¡¯t the only ones affected by Li¡¯s aura. ¡°Anyway, it turns out she¡¯s dedicated to Li and was living in some place called a sanctuary, and last I heard, Gil and Li had set off to travel the battle path, and Mordecai was going to show Fuyuko around. That¡¯s when Moriko started getting really distracted keeping up with everything, and I decided to pick her brain later and head out here to practice by summoning Norumi.¡±
The dungeon and the spirit exchanged thoughtful glances before turning back to her, ¡°Kazue,¡± Norumi began, ¡°I know you¡¯ve been enjoying your time here, but I think you should push on with your journey soon. We know each other well enough that you can call upon me in this form while you are just close to the woods, so you could call upon me at night, when you are camped, instead. And Kuiccihan can join us then.¡±
That sounded worrying. ¡°Why? Is something wrong?¡±
¡°Not as such,¡± Kuiccihan replied, ¡°But something must be brewing somewhere. The gods can help nudge things a little and can provide a little extra power to their most devoted followers in the form of divine magic, but even that is limited by the personal strength of their priests and champions. Your choices matter, including the choice to become stronger, whether personally or through connections with others. And not taking action, well, that¡¯s a choice too.¡±
¡°And to be clear,¡± Norumi added, ¡°We don¡¯t know what choices will be best. But personal growth has never been the wrong choice that I have seen, unless it comes at the expense of others.¡±
That was a lot to think about, and maintaining Norumi¡¯s avatar, even in a non-physical state, was becoming tiring. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head back home and talk with Moriko.¡± She rose and bowed to both of the other women, ¡°Thank you for visiting me here, I look forward to talking with both of you again.¡±
Watching how gracefully the other two rose made Kazue feel a little awkward, but that was something she could get better at too. After they returned her bow, Kazue released the spell holding Norumi¡¯s avatar in place, and Kuiccihan disappeared right after the kitsune-dryad did. Pleasantly exhausted, she turned back toward the home she¡¯d grown up in to go snuggle with her wife. She planned on taking a nap before she brought up the details of the conversation.
167: Minor Tribulations
Bellona strolled around the little trading post town that was pretending to not be a part of the dungeon itself, despite being run by the dungeon inhabitants. In retrospect it seemed obvious that something was up, being outside of the dungeon territory meant there was a risk of real, permanent death if something happened. Then again, she hadn¡¯t thought about that when she¡¯d first seen the trading post, and the rest of the world lives with that as their normal state. So maybe it wasn¡¯t so odd that no one had caught on yet.
Well, almost no one. From what the cores had told her, the kobolds who were descendants of Mordecai¡¯s previous dungeon-born clan and Gil had both been able to tell they were in a dungeon¡¯s territory. But not everyone was going to be able to notice it, Bellona certainly hadn¡¯t. Oh, she could tell now, at least for this dungeon, but that was due to feeling the slight change as her benefits of being a contractor went away or came back. Being able to mentally communicate with the cores and the inhabitants was useful, but kind of weird.
She wished that she could communicate directly with Moriko that way, she rather liked the woman from their brief meeting, but the monk was only able to talk to the cores because of her unique connection. It didn¡¯t let her talk to the rest of the dungeon when she wasn¡¯t in the territory.
The late summer sun felt good, and she was glad she was only lightly armored. She had swapped to her chainmail and had opted for simple bracers for her arms and greaves over sturdy boots instead of gauntlets or armored boots. Her normal shield had seemed like overkill as well, but she felt uncomfortable without something available, so she had a buckler instead. It might seem comically small compared to her axe, but it would do in a pinch. The tight, 6-in-1 weave chainmail would normally be rather stiff, but she¡¯d had this set made in mithral when she could afford it.
Though she had to admit, she was rather jealous of the armor that the dungeon could produce via loot. Having neither rivet nor solder, each ring was a perfectly formed piece. The lack of a weak point in the rings made them much more durable. Technically, she could be wearing a suit of that right now, but if she had to step outside the territory it would dissipate, as she couldn¡¯t claim loot like delvers could.
Bellona was enjoying a stick of roasted meat and vegetables when a commotion near the lines caught her attention, and she quickly finished off the food as she turned that way. The source of the commotion turned out to be a rather richly dressed elven woman. Bellona quickly pegged her as spoiled and possibly noble; while she was wearing leather armor, it looked a little too supple, and decorating it with gold plating on the rivets as well as using some sort of silver-infused thread for the stitching was just spending money to show off. Of course, Fuyuko¡¯s armor was even more supple, but hers wasn¡¯t actually made from normal hide either from what Bellona had been told.
And even more to the point of this woman being spoiled, she had six guards who had clearly been chosen in part to be decorative. Three elven men, and three elven women, all physically beautiful and wearing well-polished armor and shields. They stood quietly behind her as the woman berated a bored-looking pair of laganthros: Kuni, the bunkin mistress of arms, and Seon, the rabkin mistress of magic. ¡°How dare you demand to test me! I¡¯m here to prove myself in a proper fight, not play with a pair of bunnies. And I saw you let that girl go by, it was clearly her first time here as well. Or does your master play favorites with his preferred type?¡±
The sneer in the implied insult brought a reaction from the two bosses, and Kuni¡¯s hand dropped to her blade while Seon¡¯s power gathered in preparation for casting a spell. Bellona intervened before they could act, a growl in her throat as she closed the last of the distance to interpose herself between the elf and the rabbits.
¡°Watch your tongue, lest you lose it,¡± she wasn¡¯t normally given to such threats, but the woman¡¯s words had riled her blood. ¡°In one breath you¡¯ve insulted no less than four gods, one of them your own.¡±
The spoiled elf narrowed her eyes at Bellona, ¡°And now an orc interferes. What do you know of my gods, oh tribal one?¡± Behind her, the six guards had loosened their own blades, their eyes wary.
Bellona ignored the attempt to insult her ancestry as she replied, ¡°You insult Ozuran by insinuating one of his priests would act that way; you insult Amirume by implying that I, one of her champions, would allow such a thing; you insult Li Zarb by implying that he would allow such harm to come to a young one who is dedicated to him; and you insult Danu by implying that one of her high priests, Traxalim, would encourage that young woman to come here for such a purpose.¡± Her tone was cold and hard.
¡°Wha-? Champion? You? And how is the old man possibly involved? You lie, orc.¡±
Bellona¡¯s lips curled up to show her teeth, and it could not be called a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not privy to all the details yet, and the cores are both busy with things more important than a petty thing like you so I won¡¯t be bothering to ask right now, but I swear an oath on Amirume¡¯s honor and in Ozuran¡¯s sight that I speak nothing but the truth here. The girl is here as a guest by the request of others, and Traxalim knows and approves of it. Now, stand down or be taken down.¡±
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Various bunkin shopkeepers had drawn weapons from their stalls, many of them bows or guns, and the nearby visitors who had been preparing for battle anyway had formed a circle around them, focused on the elven group.
¡°You dare insult a noble with a threat of violence? I¡¯ll bring the wrath of the kingdom upon you if you try to lay a hand on me!¡± The woman¡¯s own mana was gathering tight, and that slight tug of power was enough to let Bellona know she faced a mage of some sort, though clearly one untested in battle.
In response, Bellona lifted her left hand to show the back of it, willing the Mark to come to life and display the elemental symbols around a protective shield. ¡°If you feel insulted, then know it comes from Kuiccihan¡¯s liaison to the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, who also officially acts upon the dungeon¡¯s behalf as their contractor. Oh, and I have a title as well. Lady Bellona, at your service. Now, stand down and back off, you¡¯ve lost your privilege to delve the dungeon without being considered a hostile invader.¡±
She paused in thought as she watched the shocked woman, who had stepped back and was looking around at all the gathered and very hostile faces. ¡°But Mordecai and Kazue have a vested interest in keeping up diplomatic relations. So a compromise: your guards may explore, but only all of them together, and without you. As for yourself, hmm, you can only go down the non-combat path, and only with a group of at least three others who are willing to help you, other than your guards.¡± Bellona gestured to one of the bunkins, who dashed to the official entrance and crossed the supposed threshold before making a show of listening to something before returning.
¡°The Master and Mistress both agree with your proposed penalties, Lady Bellona.¡± The display had been just for show, Bellona had already checked with them after she¡¯d come up with the idea, but she felt better making sure it didn¡¯t look like she was acting unilaterally.
The noble ground her teeth angrily, but the reality of the situation had cut through her arrogance as she clearly realized that there was nothing she could do. After a moment, she turned on her heel and stalked off, headed back to the inn. Bellona didn¡¯t know if she was going to stay or was just picking up traveling gear, but either way, the immediate issue was solved.
Bellona sighed and rolled her neck as she allowed herself to relax, then turned to their other guests. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the interruption folks,¡± She really hated what she was going to say next, but it felt like the responsible thing to do, rather than let rumors run rampant, ¡°And I imagine a lot of you are very curious about the dungeon''s newest guest. I can talk about the little I know, within the limits of privacy, but I don¡¯t feel like being swarmed and we need to let the lines reform and go. So I¡¯m going to go take a table at a tavern and will entertain three people at a time with questions. Anyone who needs to know right now, you figure it out amongst yourselves who is going to be buying me food and drink.¡±
She really wished Xarlug was up here with her, she could use his company, but he seemed to be uncomfortable with being in this sort of public socialization. Bellona was pretty sure that part of it was his fiend-touched bloodlines, as there were always some people willing to assume the worst, but there was something else too, and she wasn¡¯t quite sure what else was bothering him.
To a certain extent, he was a puzzle she wanted to figure out. He wouldn¡¯t talk about his past beyond some of his travels with Orchid and Paltira, and he could vacillate between being bold and brash one moment, and being uncertain and shy the next. He was rather cute when he was like that too, though she certainly hadn''t told him that!
He also seemed quite content to take things slowly, which she didn¡¯t mind at all. Mysteriousness was intriguing, but she only wanted to go so far with someone she didn¡¯t know better. Really, if it wasn¡¯t for the company he kept that clearly knew Xarlug¡¯s past, Bellona would be much more suspicious. Instead, she felt more content to wait until he was ready to share more.
When she took a seat at the tavern, she dismissed those thoughts to dwell upon them later. It was time to deal with people who had questions, not that she had a whole lot of answers. The few groups that she had the patience to deal with got pretty much the same information: ¡°The girl¡¯s name is Fuyuko, she¡¯s an orphan who took up a suggestion that she come here, she met Traxalim on her way through Riverbridge, and traveled most of the way with a wandering weapons master she met on the road. The cores are considering taking her in as a ward until she reaches her majority, but nothing has been decided yet.¡± It wasn''t a long story, and most people were a little disappointed that all this fuss was over something so mundane, but that was life sometimes.
Really, no one would have been so interested in the luponi girl if it hadn¡¯t been for that damn brat of a noble making such a fuss and then insinuating those sorts of motives just because she was upset that she wasn¡¯t getting her way. The bloody woman had shown her nature by trying to insult Bellona as well. Sure, it was only a few generations ago that her own family had been part of one of the nomadic tribes to the south, but she had no personal issues with that and found it weird that some of her kin were ashamed of it.
Of course, the ones who were over-proud of it were pretty weird too. They didn''t live in the tribes, why did they feel the need to put on the trappings and pretend to be living like the tribes did?
When she''d reached her limit of repeating the same facts to new faces, Bellona rose from the table and thanked them for the food, but insisted she had to get back to ''patrolling''. There wasn''t really anything so specific waiting for her, she was just present to be the face, voice, and/or hand of the dungeon as needed, but she wanted the excuse to escape the questions.
168: A Rouged Rogue
The final room on the first floor was a slightly frustrating experience for Fuyuko, though more fun than she was quite willing to admit out loud. Matching leaves to figure out which plants need to be watered, arranging water paths to water all the correct plants at the same time, figuring out which pixie is supposed to be the correct flower for which plant, and coaxing the pixies to be in their flower forms while on the correct plants, all at the same time. This wasn''t easy, but she felt rather satisfied when she was done.
She was also rewarded with a double handful of small shiny rocks, given by the fairies after the final door opened up. Fuyuko thanked them, and then waited until she and Mordecai were halfway down the stairwell before asking, ¡°Um, are these actually valuable or just shinies?¡±
He shrugged slightly, ¡°They have some value, if mixed, but they would not be considered particularly rare or valuable unless one judges them by subjective beauty alone. Kazue or I can go over them in more detail with you later if you like.¡±
Fuyuko nodded thoughtfully, ¡°Um, there was also a slight, I dunno, tugging sensation maybe, when I put them in my pouch. It was kind of weird.¡± It had also been vaguely familiar, but she wasn''t sure how.
That caused Mordecai to smile. ¡°That was you ''claiming'' the items, making the rewards real. It''s one of the major things we offer the outside world, we can create almost anything we have encountered, but they do not truly become tangible and real until a person who has earned the reward has claimed them.¡±
Oh. That gave her something to think about as they continued their journey down to the second floor. The stuff she''d collected had been just magic stuff until she had taken them. She frowned slightly, ¡°So, they are really real? Like, they aren''t going to turn into leaves or something after a day or whatever?¡± The stones had been given to her by faeries after all.
¡°No, nothing like that,¡± he replied, ¡°someone could take iron from a dungeon reward and smith it with iron mined in the outside world, and the resulting sword or other item would be no different than if all the iron was mined or dungeon reward. The minor act of creation is part of our special magic.¡±
They''d reached the second floor, and Fuyuko took his words into consideration as she considered the rules listed for the first challenge, ¡°So, until I earn the reward, the silver stick isn''t real? Is that how ya can make it keep shrinkin''?¡±
¡°Exactly,¡± He said, ¡°Though it can be a little more complicated than that. But even with the presumption that you become our contractor, it''s not something you will need the details for. I''m always happy to talk about it if you are truly curious, as is Kazue, but I don''t want you to feel obligated to learn the details either.¡± Mordecai chuckled, ¡°Moriko certainly cuts us off when there''s more than she wants to know being said.¡±
Fuyuko tossed the rod into a spin and caught it as she considered it, ¡°Eh, maybe another time.¡± She was uncertain if she wanted to know. It seemed like the sort of thing that might lead to learning magic, but she didn''t know if that was something she wanted to learn. ¡°Let''s try this game out.¡±
Overall, Fuyuko found this floor to actually be easier. The notes were distinct enough for her to pick out without really trying, and training with Gil made finding the simpler timing and beats relatively easy. Figuring out what the pantomiming rabbit people wanted was the hardest part of the last two rooms.
At the very end, the rabbits gathered into a huddle where they seemed to be whispering to each other, and then they turned to her to present two items: A coil of rope, and a small onyx statue of a rat. ¡°Er, thank you?¡± Fuyuko said, trying to be polite as she accepted them, though she felt a little confused about the items.
Mordecai looked mildly surprised as he looked over the items, ¡°Interesting, those aren''t in our default rewards for this section, but I guess our normal items wouldn''t have been ideal for you. Some of it is very oriented toward rewarding a team, and the rest would be hard for you to sell if you are staying here. The rope is enchanted to be animated for a short duration once a day, and it can tie itself to objects before the duration runs out. The rat can come to life once a day as well, turning into a dire rat companion you can command.¡±
She gave him a confused look, ¡°Don''t you two decide what the rewards are?¡±
¡°Yes and no. We can always deliberately choose exactly what to give, and we have a default set of what sort of things to give when we aren''t choosing, but within the range of suitable things we can create, any automatically given reward can be influenced by a number of factors. Kazue and I decided to not interfere, we don''t want to show any favoritism, so this was decided by, aha,¡± Mordecai finished by pointing at the rabbits who had given her the items.
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One of the rabbits spoke up as he rubbed at an ear, startling Fuyuko, ¡°Ya, we know the little miss is doing this solo, with Master Mordecai just keeping you company, and it was passed along that you are dedicated to Li, so we decided we wanted to make sure you got stuff that you might find useful or at least nice.¡±
¡°Er, um, I didn''t realize you guys could speak too,¡± Fuyuko said awkwardly.
¡°Yep! It took a bit for all of us to catch up, since we couldn''t talk when the mistress made this puzzle, and pantomime is part of the challenge, so we don''t talk during it. But almost everyone can talk like this now, and the few who can''t have figured out other ways to talk.¡±
¡°Well, thank you again. I really like the little rat.¡± Knowing that it had been given to her because she followed Li made her happier than just having been given it randomly. And the rope, she really wished she''d had a rope like that before, that would have been great for getting over walls and into all sorts of trouble.
Then again, maybe it was a good thing she hadn''t had it before. ¡°So whatcha got next? Er, and is all this magic stuff really alright? I don''t get how it pays off for ya.¡±
¡°You are expending effort, time, and energy by completing the puzzles," Mordecai explained, "you push yourself to get the timed ones done quickly, and you focus on being precise. When people do this, they are not just spending the physical energy of their bodies, but spend a bit of their mana and life force. In the outside world, this would just join the natural flows of energy through the world, but here, it becomes ours. Even just simply being inside the dungeon means you are leaking a little bit of energy. In addition, your body wants to replenish its mana. Some of that can be done through the food you consume, but your soul instinctively also tries to draw in fresh mana from the world outside. It can''t claim the dungeon''s mana, but this creates a little bit of a tug, accelerating how much mana flows in across our border. Some of it even reaches you before it becomes part of us.¡±
Something about the way he described that made her wrinkle her nose, ¡°So wait, you guys are basically eating my leftovers?¡±
¡°If you want to look at it that way. Now, as for what is next, this is a different sort of challenge. I can give you a bit of advice: Commit to the part as sincerely as you can. I''ll be watching from the balcony.¡±
Balcony? Before she could ask Mordecai what he meant, he had disappeared, and the door behind her had already closed. With a bit of trepidation, Fuyuko crept forward until the tunnel opened up into a room that she quickly realized was the backstage of a theater. She''d never seen anything this fancy, not even when she''d broken into an old abandoned one to see if there was anything useful or fun there, but the basic props and ropes and winches were similar enough to be recognized.
¡°Alright, everyone to your places!¡± A voice shouted, and a bunch of bunkin started rushing around, getting things lined up or touching up their makeup or costumes. The bunkin who was doing all the shouting pointed at her. ¡°Get into your costume already! Who has her costume? Stuff her into it already! Makeup! Where is Makeup?¡±
¡°What? Me, why are you-¡± she was cut off as the bunkin costumers swarmed her and started shoving a tube of fabric over her.
¡°Remember,¡± one of the costumers said, ¡°you are a willow tree, so you have to bend a lot.¡±
Willow tree? Bend a lot? What? A very confused girl found herself being shuffled onto the stage and herded into a spot with several other ''trees''. There was an audience of bunkin spread out before her, and up on a small balcony she could see Mordecai sitting, and Kazue apparently had an illusion platform up there as well.
She''d never been in a play before, well, not a real one. She and some of the other kids had done little skits, but that was just them and the caretakers. Fuyuko barely knew Mordecai and Kazue and didn''t know the little rabbit people at all. The thoughts swirling in her head made her miss what was being said, and she only realized she''d missed a cue when the other trees started shaking and swaying, bumping into her in the process.
¡°Cut!¡± yelled the director, ¡°Let''s try that again, and pay attention this time!¡±
Fuyuko started pulling her thoughts together and actually listened to what was going on. Part of her wanted to be angry at being shoved into the part without warning, but she wasn''t sure if that was what she should be feeling. This was supposed to be hard, right? It was a dungeon after all. That little knot of emotions remained confused for now, but she shoved it into the back of her head for now.
This time she caught her cue ¡°¡ and upon wild winds did the Storm King descend to pay homage to and court the Lady of Lightning, facing off against his rival in love, the River Wolf.¡± Mordecai had said to commit sincerely, so Fuyuko held on to that thought as she focused on her memories of trees battered by a winter storm. It was hard to do it without feeling a little embarrassed, but she swayed and rustled her ''branches'' as convincingly as she could. This time the director did not call cut, and the short act continued on with only a couple more times where she and the other trees had to respond to the sudden winds of the Storm King.
It was surprisingly exhausting, coping with the heat trapped inside the tree costume with her as she flexed and swayed and shook her arms to make the branches rattle. Then the act ended and she shuffled up to the edge of the stage when the other trees did, copying them as they bowed to the applauding audience along with the rest of the cast, and then shuffled back to let the curtains drop.
Being out of the costume was a pleasant relief as the cooler air washed over her, and when it seemed they were done with her, Fuyuko started heading uncertainly toward the door that had opened on its own. The director called out before she quite reached the door, ¡°Good job kid, I''m sure you''ll do great in the next four!¡±
Next four? She had to do four more of these?
169: Playing with Appearances
Mordecai watched with some amusement as Fuyuko proceeded through four more plays. For one scene she was an extra for a ballroom dance, and a trio of bunkin were stacked inside of a rough framework with the costume nailed to the frame to keep it in place. As the bunkin couldn''t dance like this, and Fuyuko clearly had no experience dancing, the results were entertaining. It took several takes, but eventually, they made it through without falling over or knocking anything else over.
In another play scene, she was part of a trio of heroes setting out to find a gift left in the world by a goddess, but she was separated from her friends during a stage battle and found herself wandering alone through a wasteland, her friends nowhere to be found. Passing this one required her to figure out that she needed to bemoan her fate with proper melodrama, and when she passed, the scene ended with her being captured by the enemy army.
Next came the same play that Nainvil and Brongrim had gone through as their first play, only she was playing the part of the princess who was being saved from her father. She gave it a new ending by tossing both her father the king, and the prince hero coming to rescue her, over the ''walls'' of the castle and declaring herself queen of both countries by right of conquest. Watching the bunkin on the stage floor yell out a slowly fading scream as if they were falling down a cliff was great, and he was amused to see the rest of the actors scramble to finish the suddenly revamped scene and get a crown to put on her head.
For the final play, she was the daughter of Yamaraja, the Judge of the Dead, and was trying to sneak her way out of her father''s realm and into the mortal world. Unfortunately for the other actors, they had not accounted for how much her gear was going to help her blend into shadows when setting up the stage, and her ambushers found their positions reversed as they failed to keep her from escaping.
After that last play, Mordecai found her sitting on the ground with her arms around her knees, her head down. Fuyuko looked exhausted, and he suspected it was as much mental as physical. It was a lot to deal with in a short time, with so much that was very different than she was used to. So he sat down a short distance away, facing her, and simply waited for her to recover.
When Fuyuko felt rested enough to raise her head and wave at him weakly, Mordecai gave her a smile, ¡°You did well. Taking over the scene like that for those last two was great. You worked to create a new story and made them respond to it. But I think you''re done for the day, so when you have caught your breath we can collect your prize and then I''ll show you to our shortcut on the next level.¡± Easy access to the nice side of the library was important to have available for their long-term guests after all.
¡°Yeah, alright,¡± she said before she rocked up onto her feet, ¡°let me see whatcha got.¡±
The director had been waiting for her to rest, and now approached with a soft, paper-wrapped package, ¡°You seemed to have a bit of fun with some of the dress-up, so we put together a few sets of clothes you might enjoy. They are lightly enchanted to resist wear and prevent staining.¡±
Fuyuko took the package and bowed slightly, ¡°Um, thank you. I''ll try them on later.¡± She was talking a bit slower than normal as she made herself enunciate more clearly. Mordecai appreciated that she made the effort when she was trying to be specifically polite. After the director left, she stowed the package in her pack, and then looked at him questioningly.
¡°Clothing isn''t an uncommon reward here, but your gear already covers most of the special items people might get here, so it seems they decided to just give you something to enjoy. I checked, the outfits are a bit more colorful than what you have, but not too bright. Most of it should be able to go over your armor, but some of it is really meant to be worn without.¡±
Once she was satisfied with understanding what she''d received, they headed down the stairs leading to the rest area before the actual level, which got her curious about how large the next floor was going to be, but seeing a giant library open up in front of her caused the girl to step back with a shocked, slightly fearful expression. ¡°Ya jokin'' yeah?¡±
Mordecai was amused to hear her street accent getting worse when confronted with books. ¡°This is one of Kazue''s favorite places, and she put a lot of work into making the puzzles and riddles for the library. We''ve been adding to our collection as fast as we can, and we have started to gather the occasional scholar. We don''t have the waiting list that the libraries in the capital have, but we also do not have the depth or breadth of them either, so it''s usually more junior people wanting to do some private research for a project.¡±
Fuyuko muttered something under her breath and then sighed, ¡°Alright whatever, where''s the shortcut ya were talkin'' about?¡±
¡°It''s a little way in, Kazue connected it to her favorite section, and I think you''ll like a treat we can pick up there. Now, this is a library, so keep your voice down and follow the rules that Kazue posted. And don''t let the head librarian startle you.¡±
She tilted her head, ¡°Why would I be startled by a rabb-¡±
¡°Ook.¡±
He watched her bite down on a startled scream as she jumped and spun to face the hairy orange primate behind her. Horace waved then adjusted the pair of glasses on his face, looking amused. Mordecai raised an eyebrow, ¡°Where did you get those? I know you don''t need them.¡±
¡°Ook,¡± Horace replied with a sniff.
¡°Hmm, I guess they do give you more of an educated demeanor. Well, as long as you like your ''smarty glasses'', I''m fine with it.¡±
Fuyuko pointed with a slightly shaky hand, ¡°Ah, I take it, this is ya librarian?¡±
¡°I''m sorry, I forgot to introduce you. Fuyuko, this is Horace. Horace, I would like to introduce you to Fuyuko. She may be joining us as a contractor, and as our ward for a few years as well. Assuming that happens, I''m hoping you''ll be willing to take on the responsibility of her formal education in the basics; reading, writing, math, and history. We can work out the details later.¡±
Horace scratched his chin as he examined the girl, then nodded. ¡°Ook.¡±
¡°Excellent. Kazue will tackle religion and philosophy, while Bellona and I will work on her combat skills.¡±
The girl in question looked dizzy at the sudden rush of information. ¡°Wait, ya mean proper schoolin'' like a rich kid?¡± She asked rather dubiously.
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¡°It''s not just rich kids who get a proper education, and if you are going to be my ward I am going to do my best to see you as educated as any of my children have been.¡± Mordecai replied, then shrugged, ¡°That said, we''ll be customizing it to your needs. History is best told as stories, not lectures, and reading is a good way to find even more stories on your own. Math is a little trickier at first, which math you need depends on what you want to do with it, but at the least, I want to make sure that you will have the knowledge needed to handle money properly and make a budget. It''s important to know how much you will need to pay to buy the equipment you need for a trip.¡±
Fuyuko shook her head, ¡°It''s kinda strange, you figurin'' out all this stuff so soon. Why do ya care so much anyway?¡±
¡°Two of my oldest friends care, which would be enough on its own. But from what we''ve seen of you so far, Kazue and I like you too, Bellona''s seen less but got a positive impression, and Moriko likes what she''s hearing from us. So why shouldn''t we help you out to the best of our ability?¡±
They had begun walking again as they talked, and Horace waved goodbye to them before heading back to a pile of books he''d been sorting. Fuyuko used this as time to think before she responded, ¡°And ya all just talkin'' in ya head while we''re doing all this? Is that gonna be part of being a contractor?¡±
¡°Only the way that Bellona can. You would have to focus your thoughts to be able to send them, and you aren''t going to send anything you couldn''t communicate by just talking. And only when you are in our territory, our bond with Moriko is fairly unique.¡± There were other ways to create similar mental bonds, but a connection with such range and depth was difficult.
While she was thinking about that, they arrived at the hidden shop with the cold drinks and frozen desserts, ¡°You can have a drink and treat of your choice, you''ll have plenty of time to try out more later.¡±
Fuyuko was uncertain at first, but quickly fell in love with the sweet creamy desserts, ¡°Ya just tryin'' ta bribe me,¡± she muttered halfheartedly before shoveling another spoonful into her mouth.
Mordecai tried not to laugh, that was pretty much the reaction he''d expected. ¡°It''s one of our more popular spots for visitors, but we''ll be able to provide it anywhere. Come on, I''ll show you the shortcut now.¡± Letting a guest use a shortcut always took a bit of effort and will, and even then it was usually hard for them to find the entrance on their own.
Once they arrived in the main hall, he took her on a brief tour of the more public areas, including the kitchen where she picked up a meat and cheese roll, before leading her to her room. ¡°Gil''s room is across the hall, I am not sure when he''ll get down here though. Right now he and Li are having a party in the mushroom forest.¡±
¡°A party?¡±
Mordecai nodded, ¡°Yes, after they beat the two factions on the floor, they insisted everyone gather for a big feast and party. They haven''t hit the final chamber yet though, so they still have some work in front of them. So you should take some time to clean up and maybe take a nap, and try out your new clothes.¡± He paused as a new thought came to him, and he briefly consulted with his wives, ¡°Do you want Kazue to make a projection platform in a corner of your room? We can add a button for you to be able to call on her if you want to talk about anything.¡±
Fuyuko seemed pleased with that idea, ¡°Yes, thank you. That could be nice.¡±
Once that change was completed, Mordecai let her know she could go wherever she wanted in the public spaces he''d shown her, as long as she didn''t interrupt anyone who was working, and they''d let her know in plenty of time before dinner.
Then he was off to visit Betty, who had let him know she wanted his attention. It felt important enough to be face-to-face, rather than just his core''s focus. He appeared in his standard form a few feet away from her. ¡°Hello Betty, is everything all right?¡±
Their boxing bunny was looking contemplative as she slowly petted a purring Umbrowl. ¡°Yes, nothing''s wrong, I just, well,¡± she looked nervous, but she finished gathering her thoughts and practically blurted, ¡°Look, I like what you guys did for me, and I''m happy really, but I think I might like a change.¡± She glanced down and said more quietly, ¡°I was hoping you might be able to modify me a bit more. I don''t really want to give up being a rabbit, but I''d also like to try out having a body a little bit more like a human or elf''s.¡±
Huh. He''d actually been considering something along those lines, specifically to be a runner''s build to take advantage of a rabbit''s speed and a human''s cooling sweat and endurance, but he hadn''t really worked on the idea past the concept. ¡°I think we can manage that, but what brought this on so suddenly?¡± To Kazue he sent, ¡°Do you think you could design a dress for her, once we have finalized the changes?¡± She''d seemed content with her gi and its copies before, but if she was changing up her appearance this much, he suspected she''d want something new.
¡°Mhm, I''ll see what I can do for now, she and I can talk more about ideas later,¡± Kazue replied.
¡°Well,¡± Betty began, looking rather shy, ¡°None of the others are as tall as me, and while I hadn''t really been looking to be, um, close to anyone specific, I realized earlier today that I could find humans attractive too.¡±
Mordecai was about to ask what she meant when realization hit. Oh. That could be tricky. ¡°Ah, I think I see. You know that he''s probably leaving in a couple of days? It might be several decades before you have a chance to see him again.¡± If she chose to follow Gil, Mordecai wouldn''t stop her, but he didn''t get the feeling that was what she wanted.
¡°I know, but, I just, I want to explore the option. And maybe nothing will come of this, but at least I''ll have a better idea of what I like and what I want.¡±
Well, he saw no reason to deny her, and as long as she wanted to pursue this idea, ¡°Do you want me to help you fit what I know of his preferences?¡±
He was pretty certain that Betty was blushing under her fur as she mutely nodded. They talked for a little while to get the details finalized, and then he got to work, using kitsune biology for some of his design choices.
Excluding the ears, Betty ended up just a little bit shorter than Gil, and as fur receded to the normal light fuzz of human hair, Mordecai used a template of toned muscle and soft curves like the elven avatar he''d shown to Fuyuko earlier.
Betty''s hair remained the same light blue as before, though now her hair and the tips of her ears were frosted, fading to a bright white color. Her newly revealed skin was a rich, medium brown and her eyes had been lightened to a tawny amber.
She kept her tail as well, and the proportions of her height masked that her feet were jointed differently than a human''s. While she could comfortably rest her heels on the ground, coming up to a running pose left a slightly longer section of her feet on the ground than most humanoids have when their heels are up. She could also soft-lock her joints in that position to stand like that indefinitely.
The dress Kazue designed was fairly simple, ending slightly above the knee and with most of the focus being on fitting Betty flatteringly and complimenting her coloration. The fabric was a light gold color and decorated with a scattering of pale blue and green flowers, and she also gave Betty a few pieces of turquoise jewelry as accents, along with some gold earrings for each of her long rabbit ears, and as a final touch, Kazue gave her lightweight sandals made of leather with a gold sheen on top of the natural brown. The sandals had straps that went over her calf, and they were designed to not interfere with her ability to run.
When they were done, Betty looked herself over in a mirror that they conjured for her, then bounced happily as she gave him a hug. ¡°Thank you, I look beautiful!¡±
Mordecai smiled as he disentangled himself. ¡°I am glad you are happy with our work. But you might like to know I also worked in some other options for you. Since I used kitsune biology to help shape this form, you should be able to learn to change back to your previous form, or even to a bunkin or dire rabbit shape with practice. I just wouldn''t do it immediately, you might want to wait until you don''t mind the risk of not being able to get back to the form you want immediately. I assume you want to join us for dinner tonight, when Gil gets down that far?¡±
That was exactly what she wanted. Mordecai wasn''t certain how he felt about setting up one of their bosses to help her seduce one of his oldest friends, but he would always do his best to help his people pursue their happiness. He was also going to have to work on a new training regimen for her; while rabbits weren''t suited for forward kicks, her new body was much more flexible in that regard.
170: The Power of Cheese
Kazue mentally hummed a tune as she set about a few self-assigned tasks, starting with giving the cooks some instructions on what to make for dinner. Next, she sent a buzzkin over to where Li and Gil were enjoying their party. The messenger landed in front of them with a small bow and addressed Gil, ¡°Lady Kazue and Lord Mordecai wish to let you know that they have a small surprise awaiting you and that you may want to clear the dungeon by dinner time. As for Mister Li, I have been informed that should you successfully deliver Mister Gil to the feast hall by dinner time, and have cleared the dungeon on the way, then there will be some special treats for you. One of your dishes at dinner time will be a savory cheese pie, and when dessert is served, there will be a sweet cheese pie as well.¡±
The ratling had been splayed out on his back with a rather full-looking belly, but at this announcement he sprang to his feet, bloated stomach suddenly back to normal, ¡°Did you say cheese pie? Wow that''s awesome I love cheese pie well I just love cheese but everyone loves cheese right Gil come on Gil we gotta get going we can''t miss out on the cheese pie it''s very important you know to get all the cheese pie that you can eat come on Gil stop being so slow we need to stop wasting time because it''s time for cheese and you should never make cheese wait for you though sometimes you have to wait for cheese because cheese can take a long time oh I wonder what type of cheese it''s going to be?¡±
As the two headed for the end of the zone, Kazue prompted the two bosses to go full out. The ''trap'' would be sprung with all four gems lighting up and all three of Sarcomaag''s ''trees'' spawning, followed by Klastoria falling down a few moments later. These two were going to be the first to clear the combat path of the wetlands, and they''d be skipping past a couple of groups who were currently in the relevant villages, resting up.
Part of her was disgruntled with the fact that the nature of her path effectively made it ''easier'', though that wasn''t exactly true. The difference was that her challenges were the sort that you could retain progress on. Some things were pretty much impossible to do in a single day, such as building even a small boat that could be considered reliable. That meant that steady work could get you across the hurdles eventually.
The combat path was more binary; either you could overcome the challenge or you couldn''t, and if you lost the battle, you were escorted up through a temporary tunnel back to the entrance after your wounds were taken care of. That sort of situation rarely happened on her path, though there had been a few occasions such as when a boat capsized hard. Most of the people who didn''t reach the end of her path were either on a time limit and wouldn''t be able to continue quickly enough, or they were just feeling too frustrated and gave up.
Well, that and a few of the frustrated people had become angry and aggressive, requiring that they be physically escorted to the entrance. She didn''t tolerate any violence on her path, not even between party members. She and Mordecai tried to only kick out the instigator, but sometimes the situation was too messy and they had to kick the whole party out.
Only once had someone tried to resist with real force, and that''s when that person learned an important lesson: The various rabbit clans worked on trading positions between various posts on both paths, and all were combat-trained. Kazue was grateful Mordecai had thought to make sure that happened. Really, his presence made it so much easier for her to be nicer; he was the one who made sure that there was a backup plan if someone broke the rules of her path.
Her musings were interrupted by a signal from Fuyuko''s room, and Kazue shifted her attention there, creating an illusion on the platform they''d built earlier. ¡°You rang?¡± she asked, in a faux-formal tone. She only held the pose for a moment before grinning at the girl.
Fuyuko took a moment to parse what had just happened and then smiled at the silliness. ¡°Hey, ya. Um, I figured out the bath and stuff, and the robe is super comfy by the way, thanks fer that. Anyway, I wasn''t sure what I wanted to do from there. I don''t know how you guys do dinner and stuff.¡± She really hoped the woman could help her out here. She knew that matching colors was supposed to be a thing, but it had never been something she''d worried about and didn''t know how. She''d just been happy to have new clothes, and Gil wasn''t really someone to learn about colors from. His outfits always seemed to have a color theme, often in bright colors, but that didn''t mean they''d been good themes.
Kazue''s image looked thoughtful as she swished her tails and then nodded, ¡°Alright, I have an idea, but first we are going to begin with a new rule for you: No black outfits at dinner. While black looks fine on you, and it can be so much more, this will be training so that you know what to do with more options. Now, spread that bundle out you got earlier, I am going to show you the outfit in the package that I think we want to start you out with.¡±
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She''d already torn open the package to get a look at what was inside, but she''d left it like that when she realized she wasn''t sure what she wanted to do from there, so now she took the clothes out and put the pieces that had similar colors near each other.
¡°So, I think we should have you wear this one,¡± Kazue said as she created a bit of extra illumination on her selection, ¡°This will be pretty on you, but not too spectacular. I don''t think you want to be the center of attention right now, and one of our people wants to be very eye-catching tonight, so it wouldn''t be fair to have you accidentally competing when I know what is happening.¡±
Well, she wasn''t wrong about Fuyuko not wanting to be the center of attention, but the rest of what she''d said was a little confusing, ¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°Ah, well, Betty, who is one of our third-floor bosses, has decided that she wants to snag someone''s attention, and Mordecai and I have helped her get ready for that. But as I just realized, the two of you have similar height and builds, though you don''t have her muscles yet. So it''s best that you contrast her a little, and you are already much paler which gives us a good starting point. Oh, and Mordecai moved Gil''s room further down the hall as a precaution, depending on how things turn out.¡±
Fuyuko was examining the clothes in question when she figured out what Kazue was saying and turned to look at the image in the corner, ¡°Yer friend Betty is trying to get Gil''s attention?¡± She asked with disbelief. She''d traveled with Gil for weeks, and while she liked the man a lot he didn''t strike her as the sort of handsome, dashing man that women chased after. But she''d never felt like she understood what those rules were anyway.
¡°I don''t get it either, but it seems he made an impression when he and Li went through the third floor, and she had fun during their fight.¡± Kazue shrugged, ¡°Maybe it''s sort of like with Mordecai and Moriko, they get worked up when they spar. And unlike her previous fights, she''d been fighting Gil solo while Li played with Umbrowl, so it was a new experience for her.¡±
Ugh, well, whatever. She shook off those thoughts and focused on the clothes she was holding. The first piece was a pair of wide-legged pants in flowing fabric. ¡°Those are called Palazzo pants,¡± Kazue let her know as Fuyuko examined them. The legs were made of wide rectangles of soft, pettable, sueded silk in indigo with a delicate four-pointed star-like motif woven throughout.
With them was a tunic top of shot silk in matching indigo, shot with threads of deep red. Whereas the pants were almost clingingly soft, the fabric of the tunic was just a bit stiff, which would keep her from feeling overly displayed, and Fuyuko was pretty certain it would obfuscate her armor if she wore the tunic over it.
When she started to put the outfit on, she found it also came with a red, sleeveless undershirt, a little bit of which showed in the V at the neck of the tunic for a pop of color.
The tunic''s side vents allowed for ease of movement despite the slightly stiff material, which let the tunic be long enough to cover her front and back down to her upper thighs. It also came with an indigo and deep red belt for her waist, and thin, soft leather slippers that Kazue said were perfect for dancing in.
Fuyuko wasn''t sure about that, but she also didn''t know how to dance, so maybe? But it felt weird to wear something so light and thin, shoes like these would have been destroyed in a few days in her old life. Well, ones that were not enchanted at least.
She was suddenly struck by a memory of a conversation earlier that day, ¡°You guys are rich. I mean, I love it, but no way could I have worn something like this before.¡± She idly stroked her hand over her thigh, petting the soft fabric. It was hard to stop touching the silk, it was just so nice to feel. ¡°I ain''t never had anythin'' like this before.¡±
¡°I guess. I mean, you are right, it''s certainly a luxury, but it''s not as much of a difference for me as it is for you, so it''s harder to see it the same way. And I''ve been a dungeon for months now, so I''ve kind of gotten used to how things work.¡±
That caused Fuyuko to frown, there had always been something she was missing about the stories she''d heard, ¡°How do you become a dungeon?¡±
¡°Oh. Ahem,¡± Kazue''s image blushed a little, ¡°I guess no one told you that part. Well, I might as well get it out of the way. Um, I was a shrine maiden, and last winter solstice, I had too much rice wine and fell into the moon pool when no one was around, and, um, well, drowned. And that might have been that, but Lady Mericume took pity on me and said that she could have me be reborn as a dungeon. And then at the start of spring, I woke up here, as my new dungeon self. This was a couple of weeks before Moriko and Mordecai arrived, that part kind of requires more detail, so maybe we should go over that later. For now, why don''t you come out to the main hall? You can meet Betty and talk with her while we wait for Gil and Li.¡±
That sounded more like Kazue just didn''t want to talk about it anymore, and Fuyuko could understand that. She''d be pretty embarrassed too. ¡°Yeah, let''s do that. And, thanks for the help.¡± She petted her pants one more time before she turned to leave her room.
171: Showdown at the Wetlands Lake
Mordecai''s core watched with some amusement as Gil cautiously approached the small, brackish lake at the end of the wetland''s zone. The dungeon had shown them a selection of the challenges available but hadn''t challenged Gil or Li as hard as they could have.
Li had at least had great fun chasing the shade tails about in a game of tag, and was totally oblivious to any reason why he should be suspicious about how easy the floor had been so far. When Gil came to a stop and frowned at the figure on the far side of the lake, Li simply waved cheerily, ¡°Hi Mordi! You came all the way out here to say hi does this mean you are going to play with us I know you and Gil haven''t had a chance to play in a long time that sounds like fun what''s the game going to be today?¡±
Mordecai''s avatar smiled at Li, ¡°I think this game might be best played by Gil alone, but to make up for it, the arena has snacks and a big illusion that is going to show the whole thing. You should head down the hall and hang out, I think you''ll enjoy the show.¡± The doorway behind Mordecai had a tiny secondary door built into it now, and it was currently open.
As the ratling divinity happily scampered across the surface of the lake as easily as any monk, Gil''s face deepened into a scowl, though the reality of his mood was given away by anyone who knew him well enough, ¡°And what sort trickery do you have planned for me, dungeon?¡±
Hah, well, if it was melodrama Gil wanted, melodrama he would get, ¡°I''ll not reveal my plans so easily, invader!¡± Mordecai replied with a grin and downed a potion before tossing the bottle to join the rest of its empty brethren. As Gil''s eyes widened slightly, Mordecai announced, ¡°Have at thee!¡±
The potions were not the only buffs he''d been preparing, but for someone of Gil''s caliber, enough of a warning had been delivered. Mordecai''s form blurred as he dashed across the lake, and he shifted into his battle form mid-strike. Claws sharp and strong enough to bisect a bear were parried by Gil''s forearm, and the warrior''s counter strike was powerful enough to crack several of Mordecai''s dragon scales.
But the parry and the counter came with a cost, as Mordecai had channeled a spell strike into his attack, which left ice biting at the shallow wounds he''d inflicted, and one of the elixirs he''d drunk had charged his body with electricity, creating a backlash when Gil had struck him.
None of these had harmed Gil in any significant way, which was why Mordecai didn''t let up. Two of his tails whipped around to launch attacks as Mordecai stepped back. The first blasted Gil with a cloud of spores, while the second launched an explosive ball of foxfire that was only enhanced by the spore cloud.
The combo attack barely singed Gil, who came flying out of the cloud with a kick aimed at Mordecai''s head. Mordecai ducked his head as he folded both wings over himself to protect against the attack, providing cushioning on top of his horns. The impact still hurt, but drawing Gil out to charge him had been part of the plan. The kick would have hurt worse if the man hadn''t been forced to change his focus, using the moment of contact to change his momentum and dodge two streams of corrosive brine launched from beneath the lake surface that Mordecai was standing on, thanks to the floor bosses, Nezha and Ysi.
Mordecai wasn''t surprised that the corrosive liquid barely touched Gil, but that hadn''t been the only point of the attack. The two streams had been aimed to cross each other, and the collision had created a heavy mist of brine. ¡°Gil,¡± he called out, ¡°remember who you are actually fighting here,¡± and he rose from his crouch, revealing why he''d used his wings instead of his arms.
A crackling ball of charged lightning shimmered between his hands, and it flew at Gil even as the warrior touched the ground again from his second leap. The muck provided poor traction even as it tried to pull down on Gil''s boots, and a weaker man might not have been able to move at all in time. Instead, Gil managed to throw himself most of the way out of the explosion, but with the brine mist in the air, it was nigh impossible to avoid every tendril of electric energy reaching out for him.
Which was when the first volley of arrows was launched from just over a hundred feet away. For the first time since he''d stepped foot inside of this dungeon, Gil drew one of his weapons, whipping a halberd in a fast circle as Gil himself spun, creating a whirlwind to deflect many of the projectiles and manually blocking or dodging the rest. But there was no time to rest for the wicked, for a gun volley had been fired immediately following the arrows, and were in turn followed by a smaller volley of ballista and small catapults.
Forcing Gil to adjust to the attacks gave time for several bunkin casters to cast healing and protective spells on Mordecai and the bosses involved in this fight, and for Mordecai to add another spell of his own. Gil focused his attention on the largest source of volleys, and swung his halberd in an arc, the sweep creating a cutting blade of air. Halfway to his target, the attack was interrupted by Kazue''s core throwing up a wall of mud and stone from the swamp ground, the large distance from Gil''s powerful presence allowing the dungeon to act directly.
Mordecai took advantage of Gil''s distraction to throw himself back into the fight, space rippling with mana as he simply appeared behind Gil while slashing upward.
His claws were intercepted by Gil''s nodachi, and Mordecai smirked at the small victory of having forced Gil to draw two of his weapons. The warrior''s size had grown by over a foot more in response to the increasing danger, and both oversized weapons were being easily wielded in one hand each. Gil''s answering thrust destroyed one of the illusory images Mordecai had conjured but still managed to slice through shoulder scales and pierce one of the wings beyond.
Mordecai took the hit and breathed out a cloud of energy-absorbing shadow around them, healing his own wounds while lightly touching the blazing source of vitality that was Gil. And in the moment it took for the shadows to dissipate, his two dragon bosses had flung themselves out of the lake and flanked Gil, attempting to rend with claw and fang.
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Both were parried and dodged, Gil''s weapons lacerating face and hands, which gave Mordecai''s core a chance to act in concert with his avatar. The cores might not be able to directly interact with the environment near Gil, but he could always interact with his own avatar. And the moment that the two dragons were forced to step back, a blunderbuss loaded with a double charge and an over-capacity amount of shrapnel, including several small flecks of adamantine, fired at point-blank range. Not even a warrior this mighty was going to escape completely unscathed.
Gil roared in pain, and his blades turned into a whirlwind once more. The three of them were sent flying, their bodies covered in cuts and bruises and having lost several scales, along with some minor fractures. But it was not Gil''s victory yet, as he was forced to dodge and parry several boulders dropping from above, his blades cutting through them as he knocked them aside. But the boulders themselves had been cover for three more attackers, as three wild-eyed women followed them down from the hole in the roof.
This wasn''t part of their contract, and Mordecai hadn''t asked; the Einherjar had insisted that they be allowed to fight this mighty warrior too. Swords, spears, and shields clashed in a mighty cacophony as Gil was forced to contend with another wave of attackers.
The ranged combatants had taken the time to adjust their positions, and as soon as the three women started pulling back, the next set of volleys was fired. When Gil began to move into another countering spin, one of his feet suddenly stuck to the ground, both of Enki''s hands grasped tightly around it. With a growl, Gil planted his other foot and kicked upwards with his grabbed foot, and the power of his kick forced Enki out of the ground, sending him flying toward the arrows while his halberd and nodachi continued to weave a protective barrier around his body.
Kazue hastily deleted the arrows that would have struck Enki, and then manually moved the elemental back down to the ground.
By now, Mordecai and the dragons had been fully healed, but they held back from melee this time, casting spells instead. Lightning and Ice blasted around Gil, forcing him to either defend or take the hits if he wanted to attack.
Gil''s halberd proved to be an effective spear when thrown with enough force, and Mordecai fell to one knee, an inch of steel protruding out of his back as red stained the water beneath him. Then a rune activated on the halberd, returning it to Gil''s hand. More bunkin healers went to work even as his core gave him a healing potion and Mordecai activated his own reserves of healing power.
But before Gil could take the opportunity to try and keep Mordecai out of the fight or take out one of the dragons, Zushi landed, the hole in the ceiling having also been an exit for a tunnel from the very first floor. Gil managed to deflect most of that meteoric impact, but the blast wave of mud and soft earth still forced him back several yards. The cores hastily created a ring of stone that was sloped to force the wave upward, protecting the nearby combatants who had been pulling back already, and then dismissed the ring again.
During that time, two more figures had lept off of Zushi''s back. Bellona and Xarlug looked a little shaken from their trip, but Zushi had absorbed any of the impact shock that would have hit them and they were already forcing themselves to get their weapons drawn. Xarlug fell in on Bellona''s shield side, allowing her to cover either of them as needed, and allowing Xarlug to stay slightly behind and take advantage of any openings with the long reach of his Naginata.
Nezha and Ysi had the opportunity to rejoin the fight, the pair of them working side by side this time, forming a triangle with the two orcs on the second point and Zushi on the third. The battle raged for another hour as Gil''s opponents continually rotated in, and even more joined them. Kulle and Jasi, the kelpie and naga bosses of the river zone, had enough time to recover from their encounter with Gil and Li, and Klastoria certainly wasn''t going to miss the chance to get payback for having had to draw most of her body back together after Gil had shattered her hardest defenses.
Kazue and Mordecai''s cores did their best to support everyone, especially the ranged attackers, but Gil started pulling out all the stops, cutting through the distance between him and the catapults before the collapsing space drew him directly to them, where he rampaged through the machinery. Nor could they block every ranged attack of Gil''s in time, and the dungeon lost some of its inhabitants temporarily. Pushing him to the point where Gil couldn''t hold back enough to not kill any of the bunkin was its own sort of victory too.
But in the end, Mordecai had to concede victory to Gil. The wetlands were shattered terrain in every direction and the only caster on the field who had any significant mana left was Mordecai himself, and even he was running low. Mordecai bowed his head as he shifted back to his normal form, ¡°Victory is yours this time, warrior.¡± The handful of other figures still on their feet wavered and then collapsed, panting for breath
Gil started laughing, his voice booming through the floor, ¡°Bwahaha, that is the most fun I''ve had in ages! You pulled out nearly every possible trick I think, shy of actually trying to kill me.¡± The man''s clothing was a wreck, his hair a mess, and there was a mixture of mud and blood coating most of his body.
Mordecai chuckled, then groaned as he stretched slowly. Even without active magic, his body was healing slowly, but it was going to take a while. ¡°I''m glad you enjoyed it, and I think everyone else had a good time too.¡±
Bellona halfheartedly threw a chunk of broken shield at him, ¡°I''ll admit no such thing, the bastard broke seven of these despite my reinforcing them with metal and earth.¡± The orc woman glowered at him in order to suppress the smile he could see twitching at the corner of her lips.
¡°And that''s why we made sure to equip you guys ourselves for this fight.¡± Mordecai retorted with a grin. Bellona had done good work today, not only in the fight but in making sure all the delving parties had been willing to forgo any progress past the river for the rest of the day. Mordecai had been busy making sure he had all of his desired potions and elixirs ready, and he''d had to buy some from their visitors to make sure there were enough for all the other combatants as well.
Glowing mushrooms began sprouting near all the injured people, their auras promoting slow, gentle recovery. Sarcomaag would have had trouble coordinating with the rest of the attackers, but his ability to spread throughout the rest of the dungeon had other uses as well. Mordecai switched his attention back to Gil as the man returned to his normal size and put away his weapons, ¡°You need to go get cleaned up for dinner, we''ve got some company you should meet,¡± well, meet again, but Mordecai kept that thought and smirk buried deep, ¡°And part of your prize for victory is a new set of clothing. We made you really work for this win, you''re getting some appropriate loot.¡± As Mordecai spoke, the boss door opened, but the tunnel beyond had a small branching corridor and a glowing arrow on the ground. ¡°Follow the temporary side path and it will lead you to the door to your room.¡±
Honestly, they were all a mess, but getting Gil going first was important, the rest of them could take advantage of dungeon magic to still get there first, and be witness to Gil being ambushed for a second time. Which was another layer to this fight, a small bonus that Mordecai was taking advantage of. Gil would be a little tired and more emotionally open and off guard after the thrill of the fight and his victory. Everyone wanted to celebrate a hard-won victory with a celebratory party, right?
172: Dinner and a Show
Fuyuko was in awe as she watched the spectacle unfold via the giant illusion cast in the arena. She had realized that she was traveling with someone immensely powerful, and Mordecai''s shape-shifting indicated a hint of his avatar''s strength, but she hadn''t grasped how far the gap was between her and Mordecai, and the idea that Gil might currently be as far above Mordecai as the avatar was above Fuyuko was overwhelming.
The comparison wasn''t exact; Fuyuko was pretty sure that an entire army of street rats like her couldn''t give Mordecai the challenge that he and his dungeon had given Gil, but that was the best estimate she could make. And yet, these were the people who''d chosen to help her out, Gil escorting her here and Mordecai being one of the ones willing to take her in. ¡°It''s incredible,¡± she whispered as more magic flared around Mordecai. He was using another duplicating image spell, but this time the images exploded when Gil''s attacks destroyed them.
¡°Isn''t he though,¡± sighed a voice next to her. Fuyuko glanced over at the blue-haired woman next to her to find her leaning forward over the railing, her eyes locked onto Gil''s form. Betty confused her. Okay, a lot of what people did regarding ''romance'' and stuff confused her, but Betty seemed even more extreme. She''d had her body radically changed for the chance at a passing dalliance with a man who was not going to be around for long.
Also, ¡°Er, shouldn''t ya be cheerin'' fer Mordecai and yer friends here? Not the guy beatin'' them up?¡±
Betty shrugged slightly, ¡°If it were a matter of an actual threat, I''d be doing my best to ensure the dungeon won, and if it came down to it for some reason, well,¡± she paused, her gaze distant, ¡°The decision wouldn''t be hard, but the memory would be. I''ll defend this home against anyone, for any reason, and in any way necessary.¡±
In the arena below them, Gil shattered a pillar of ice that had tried to form around him.
¡°But this is a friend, and I think it will do Master Mordecai good to push himself like this. The last time we had challengers who were too strong for the dungeon alone, it would not have been appropriate for him to join the battle. And right now I do not care so much about who actually wins so much as enjoying the spectacle.¡±
River drakes and feathered serpents had joined the battle as well, darting in and out of range every time there looked to be an opening, and throwing lightning or poison attacks when there wasn''t one. Most of the openings were mere illusions, costing the attacker more scales and flesh. How did a man that large move so fast?
¡°I guess,¡± Fuyuko replied, though she wasn''t entirely certain she understood.
¡°Hmm,¡± tawny eyes studied the luponi girl as Fuyuko shifted her weight, ¡°I think I need to work on how to understand people from the outside better. I do not remember my time as a true rabbit very well, but still, I was an adult before Mistress Kazue was born here and already had several litters, though I could not tell you how many or who here might have been them. But I am fairly certain I had my first by the time I was a year old. How your kind survives being children for so long confuses me. Though, I guess that is ''my kind'' too now, I''ve been told that this form would have a life span much like a kitsune''s if I wasn''t dungeon-born.¡±
She turned back to continue watching the battle. ¡°And yet you are still a kit, uninterested in adult games. Well, perhaps it is for the best, a rabbit''s life is much simpler, though I would not call it easy, and we do not have to worry about learning such intricacies. The blessings of our dungeon give us much knowledge that would not come so quickly and easily to those born outside. But at least you are not forever caught at the cusp.¡±
Fuyuko glanced over to where Li Zarb was sitting with Carmilla and Udup. The faerie witch had shifted to a smaller form to enable her familiar to grow, making them both about the same size as Li, and she had invited the ratling to join them for some tea and snacks. Li had been too lured by the food to find an excuse to leave, but being near the pretty woman clearly made him nervous and he''d taken a seat that put Udup between him and Carmilla. The witch was amused by this and often teased Li, calling him cute and adorable.
She wasn''t sure how she felt about her god being teased like that. Part of her felt like it should be blasphemous, but everything she''d been taught also told her that he should be mostly treated ''normally'', and what she''d seen so far bore that out.
Bah, it was all so complicated. Fuyuko decided to ignore it and turned her attention back to the fight. Glimmering barriers of light and shadow had formed around Mordecai, working to intercept Gil''s attacks. They couldn''t stop every strike of the blades, but every bit of help was useful.
Gil was not coming out of this exchange unscathed, his clothing and skin were scorched, seared, scoured, corroded, cut, ripped, battered, and more. But nothing seemed to penetrate deeply enough to be truly hazardous to the giant man, and there was a wild grin plastered on his face. It was clear to her that he was having the time of his life. It was no wonder that he''d not used weapons when sparring with her, Fuyuko''s little blades were no threat to him and it made it easier for him to not hurt her by accident.
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A powerful stomp blasted a wave of mud and earth outward, pushing away the latest wave of attackers, only to have Mordecai''s form flicker past the wave and launch twin lances of ice and fire at Gil. She shook her head at the exchange, it was incredible to think that she was now living amongst such mighty people.
It was enough to have her reconsidering the idea of joining them, what use could she possibly be here? Mordecai had dragons working for him, however small some of them might be. Yet, those same doubts held a thread of hope, the idea that anything was possible and that maybe, just maybe, she might someday be able to stand on the same battlefield as people like Gil. It sent a faint thrill through her and made her palms itch. She''d not considered before whether or not her training could be fun, it was just something that obviously needed to be done. Fighting was a matter of survival. Now there was a hint of eagerness in her at the idea of pushing herself harder and she wanted to find out what she could really do.
¡°Oho, now there''s a nice fire in your eyes.¡± Betty''s comment broke into Fuyuko''s thoughts, and she turned in surprise to find the woman watching her again, ¡°Hold onto that heat when you spar with Mordecai, and he will be quite happy I think.¡±
¡°Er, thank you,¡± Fuyuko murmured, not sure what else to say.
¡°Oh great, another one,¡± said an amused voice. Kazue had created an illusion platform near them, and her image flickered to life briefly. ¡°Betty, that means you get to work with her too. Am I the only one around here who isn''t infected with the need to fight? Speaking of,¡± The image flickered out as the core''s attention shifted back to the battle, and a new wall of earth rose to block one of Gil''s attacks against the archers.
Fuyuko couldn''t suppress a giggle, and Betty winked at her. Kazue might not find quite the thrill others did in the fight, but it was clear that some part of her enjoyed the challenge at least. But Fuyuko got the feeling that the kitsune would be just as happy with any other sort of challenge of equal difficulty, so it was admittedly not quite the same thing.
When the battle was over, Fuyuko joined the others in heading to the main hall. She was really glad she''d asked for Kazue''s help early, her normal clothes would have felt out of place. Not that everyone was dressed up, Li was simply himself, but there was a generally celebratory air that lent itself to dressing up. She hadn''t had many opportunities to do that for the past six years, but she did have faint memories of family holidays when she was younger.
The initial spread was lightweight snacks to give people something to eat while waiting for the combatants to clean up and join them. There wasn''t enough room for all the people who''d been involved in the battle of course, and room had to be made for the delvers who had cleared Kazue''s path earlier, so the floor bosses were the only ones joining in the feast hall, and the long room had an area set aside to be comfortable for those who couldn''t sit at tables.
Mordecai was one of the first to show up, his natural regeneration speeding up his recovery, and he proceeded to introduce her to the others as they arrived. The last to get to the party was the main guest, as Gil had to get ready without the aid of dungeon magic.
His outfit was something out of an old storybook; he wore a one-shoulder, sleeveless blue tunic that fell almost to his knees and had a wide trim of red and gold embroidery, with a red sash for a belt, and he had what looked to her like a hybrid of boots and strapped sandals. Heavy gold bracers with a lion motif adorned his forearms, while a golden circlet inlaid with turquoise sat upon his head, and a cord of braided black and gold silk around his neck carried a cylinder seal made of a bright green gemstone. The cylinder seal was the only thing that didn''t look brand new.
¡°Fuyuko!¡± he bellowed upon seeing her, ¡°You''ve been cleaned up for their party too I see. It looks good on you kid,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°So, have you been having fun? Did you see me wallop this guy here?¡±
Mordecai gave Gil a sardonic look, and Fuyuko chuckled, ¡°Yeah, ya looked like ya were havin'' fun. I only got through the third floor myself before I was too wiped, but I got these as a prize from the rabbit theater.¡±
¡°Rabbit theater? I remember hearing someone talk about that back in Riverbridge, I am going to have to check that¡¡± Gil''s words trailed off as something behind Fuyuko caught his attention, and she turned in time to see Betty finish rising from her seat, a suspiciously well-placed shaft of light helping to show off the contrast of her blue hair and bright gold dress against her dark skin. Mordecai tugged on Fuyuko''s sleeve, and she let herself be guided a few steps away.
¡°Hello again Gil,¡± the tall rabbit woman said softly, ¡°I greatly enjoyed watching your fight with Master Mordecai, I just wish I had been able to provide as great a challenge for you when you and Li visited Umbrowl and me.¡±
¡°Ah, Betty? You look, um, different, but it''s a good look!¡± This was the first time Fuyuko had seen Gil look so uncertain, and she had to admit it was entertaining. ¡°I didn''t know you had shape-changing skills too.¡±
¡°Mmm, I''m glad you like my outfit,¡± she replied as she slowly walked forward, a mischievous smile on her lips, ¡°I like yours as well, it suits such a mighty warrior as yourself. And when you sparred with me, I did not yet have this ability. Master Mordecai helped me upon my request.¡± She said softly as she laid a hand upon his bare arm, ¡°I wanted to be able to greet you tonight in this form.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Gil said, glancing at Mordecai, who made a shooing motion before leading Fuyuko toward where Bellona and Xarlug were seated. The last she heard from behind her was Gil asking, ¡°Well, would you be kind enough to join me for this feast? I would like to know you better.¡±
Mordecai leaned over to whisper to her, ¡°I made sure to enchant the circlet to aid its wearer in reading social cues.¡±
Well, that certainly seemed like the sort of thing Gil could use.
173: Dinner Talk
Bellona ached everywhere. That Gil hit like a giant, and she was glad she''d followed Mordecai''s advice to treat every attack like it was the only attack she''d need to block. Elemental power and divine protection had imbued her shields every time she''d moved to block one of Gil''s attacks, and they''d made her bones reverberate anyway. There was one thing that bothered her though, and as she reached for an appetizer she sent a question Mordecai''s way, ¡°Hey, when we were fighting Gil, there were a few times I could have sworn his sword sped up after I''d reinforced my shield.¡±
¡°That sounds probable, he''d have held back less if he thought you could take the hit.¡±
That was Gil holding back? Wait, ¡°You set me up. You knew he''d hit harder if I was fully prepped.¡±
¡°Huh, what a great idea you have there, that sort of thing would make for a great challenge and training, don''t you think?¡±
She shook her head in exasperation and cut off the conversation. Beside her, Xarlug chuckled, ¡°Talking with Mordecai? Kazue doesn''t get that sort of reaction.¡±
¡°Yeah, I figured out he was setting me up a little by telling me to prepare so hard for Gil''s strikes. That just encouraged the man to hit harder. ''Training'' Mordecai calls it. Hah. Though it''s kind of terrifying that Gil could increase the weight of his strikes mid-swing.¡±
¡°Yeah, that one''s a monster. I have old memories of stories about him,¡± he replied before taking a swig of his ale.
Bellona glanced at him in confusion over the odd phrasing but was hesitant to say anything. She found him interesting, and her taste in partners had always leaned toward those who could match her strength and had a physique to show it, but there were some things about him she didn''t understand. His confidence and strength in battle were contrasted by his uncertainty about so much in the rest of his life, and he''d seemed to be embarrassed the few times she''d ''caught'' him reading. She didn''t want to push, but she also didn''t want to commit until she knew him better.
Her moment of silence was noticed, and he sighed, ¡°I said that weird, didn''t I? Um, I don''t really want to talk about the details yet, but I know I act strange sometimes. I guess I can say this much; some of the memories in my head aren''t mine, and it makes it harder to know who I am, so I am trying to figure stuff out.¡± He gave her a small smile, ¡°So, ya know, thanks for being patient with me and such.¡±
Oh. Well, that sounded difficult. ¡°That sounds like the sort of thing I should be understanding about,¡± she replied, trying to offer support without making the moment any heavier than it had to be in the middle of this party. ¡°And, well, if you want to talk philosophy or theology, whether to figure things out or just to talk, I can do that. You don''t become a champion of Amirume without becoming a little cultured.¡±
¡°Hah, I might just do that.¡± They toasted and drank to that future conversation, and switched to talking about the battle itself until Gil made his entrance. Watching his reaction to Betty was just as entertaining as Mordecai and Kazue had promised. It also demonstrated part of the power of a dungeon and caused Bellona to muse briefly about one of the more interesting things about the various sapient races.
Though most holy texts did not go into detail, there was a promise expressed at least once in the primary text of every primogen, if with variants in wording: Once a sapient species sufficiently matures, love can be fulfilled with children of any other mature species. Some of the other phrases are ¡°come into their own¡±, or ¡°become fully self-realized¡±, and other, similar phrased. No matter how you parse it, it seems to read pretty clearly that it is thanks to divine will that almost all people are able to have children, no matter their origins. Which makes the obsession of the purity cults even stranger.
An example of this blessing was walking toward them now; Fuyuko''s luponi clan and its history was something that Bellona had read a book about once, though she''d never met one before. The lycan clan that formed part of Fuyuko''s ancestry had been descendants of various people cursed with lycanthropy and had sought refuge by forming a clan in lands inhospitable to most. They were somewhat similar to the shifters that her cousin had studied with, but that clan had more diverse origins.
An avalanche that turned into a true landslide had trapped both them and a small oni clan in the same valley when they had each been looking to find new homes. Neither had the physical or magical resources to leave, and their efforts had turned toward survival. Such stressful situations in close quarters usually led to one of two results; fighting or having children. Fuyuko''s existence spoke of the path that had been taken.
By the time they had established a settlement together that could build resources beyond surviving the next winter and they managed to clear the road exiting the valley, they had effectively become a new species. The reactions to their existence had been mixed, to say the least, and the rest of the world had only known about them for about a century.
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¡°Hello again Fuyuko,¡± Bellona said, putting aside those thoughts as she rose to greet the girl, ¡°have a seat. This is Xarlug. I guess this is the contractors'' and guests'' table for this party.¡±
¡°Friend and family is what we''ve been calling it,¡± interrupted Kazue''s voice as an illusion flickered into existence at an empty spot near the table. ¡°Especially as guests technically include the people who are here because they cleared the floors,¡± her illusion gestured toward the table with the adventuring party in question. ¡°I considered having more of our floor bosses join us, but I also wanted to keep the tables small enough to talk with each other.¡±
While she''d been talking, Mordecai had taken a seat next to the illusion and Fuyuko sat between him and Bellona, looking a little nervous. ¡°Um, thanks. I''m not really used ta all this, so small seems good ta me.¡± Her accent clearly marked her origins in Trionea, and was littered with the marks of having spent much of her life on the streets.
¡°Well, why don''t you get to eating and put some meat on those bones while I fill you in on my experiences with this crazy place, give you another view that came from the outside,¡± Bellona said as bunkin began to distribute the main dishes now that all the guests had arrived. It was rather nice to see Fuyuko''s wide-eyed expression while she regaled the girl with the story of the events that had brought Bellona here, most of the other people she''d talked with about her adventures had been a little more experienced and inured to the excitement.
Kazue and Li had been notable Exceptions, both of whom were watching with rapt attention once more. Wait, both? When had¡? Bellona deliberately dropped that thought, it wasn''t worth trying to figure out when the ratling had joined the table, for all she knew he''d been there all along without being noticed. It caused only a small fumbling in her storytelling before she continued on.
¡°I''ve heard some stories ''bout these marks,¡± Fuyuko said as she stared at the back of Bellona''s hand, ¡°but, well, a lot of ''em said different things. Some people don''t like you guys down here, you know? But really, they just show up when some enchantment decides you should have it?¡±
Bellona made a mental note to play poker against Kazue if she wanted to win, the little fox''s expression was so carefully neutral that it was clear she knew something that was not being said here. Mordecai''s expression hadn''t made any notable changes, but Bellona suspected that was more due to experience than ignorance.
¡°As far as I know, yeah,¡± she replied, putting a very slight emphasis on the ''I''. Mordecai glanced at her with a hint of amusement and shrugged slightly. Bellona was going to try to get more out of them later, but she wasn''t sure how much she was going to be told if it was a secret. ¡°The only factors that are known is that you need to be loyal to Kuiccihan and for it to be useful to the kingdom for you to have it. I didn''t know for sure at the time if that meant I was going to be helping these guys or if I would need this power to defend Kuiccihan. I was pretty certain I was going to be helping, especially after meeting Moriko, but there had to be a little bit of doubt until I knew for sure.¡±
¡°So only someone born there can get the mark?¡±
¡°Technically, no,¡± Bellona said musingly, ¡°it''s happened to people who came to the kingdom later, but it''s rare.¡± It was also easy to guess part of the girl''s line of thought, ¡°It also requires swearing loyalty to Kuiccihan above all other worldly-powers. Making the contract with Mordecai and Kazue was conditional upon their alliance with Kuiccihan, I don''t think someone loyal to them first would qualify.¡±
Fuyuko blushed at having been caught out, ¡°I guess I was kind of obvious. It just, well, I saw ya all during that fight, and that sort of strength seems so far away.¡±
¡°Don''t worry about it, it''s natural for the young to look for a faster path. But the Mark is rarely gifted to someone not already strong, it''s a boost to someone who has already found their path. And those exceptions have been in truly exceptional circumstances, moments that in retrospect were emergencies with no one else in a position to respond.¡±
¡°Wow, that''s so cool, Kuiccihan must trust you lots,¡± Li said, standing at her side, ¡°she gave you absolutely killer ink. Mordi! You should come up with some wicked magic tatts too.¡± Bellona had to spend a moment processing his sudden appearance at her side along with his strange use of language.
Mordecai, however, took it in stride, ¡°I don''t think I can make anything quite that special, those are kind of unique, and even if I could, I don''t think I should. But we might be able to come up with a design if enough people want something like that.¡±
Li seemed satisfied with that and snagged a drumstick off the table, ¡°I''m sure you''ll make something rad Mordi, you make lots of neato things,¡± he said while eating the drumstick, a second one already in his other hand. But he''d lost interest again and wandered off toward where the people who didn''t fit at tables were gathered. He had made friends with most of the dungeon''s bosses after all.
Kazue sounded amused, ¡°Oh, I''m sure my husband will come up with some ideas about the magic, but I bet that I''ll be the one making the visual design. Alas, I am forever consigned to be his artist slave.¡±
He made a surrendering motion toward her, ¡°You are better at that. I can execute a design fine, but you have shown a flair for artistic creativity beyond my technical skills. And I am sure I can find more uses for you than just your artistry, my love.¡± He gave her a too-innocent smile.
As Kazue''s illusion blushed, Bellona leaned in toward Fuyuko to stage whisper, ¡°Yes, they are always like that. And from what I''ve been told, they were worse when she had her avatar here.¡± The silly woman didn''t even have to make her illusion blush, she''d gotten so used to puppetting it to mimic how she''d act that it gave away things that it didn''t have to.
174: Geometric Geology Games
Kazue had enjoyed helping out in the battle, though she had to admit she was a little shaken by Gil''s raw power. She had been able to feel his aura the whole time he was here, but seeing it unleashed was different.
But now the party was dying down, and they had a glut of mana. Oh, some of it went into repairing the wetlands, and there were a few other projects to spend it on like making the changes Mordecai had done for Betty into a template they were calling Usagisune, which they would be making available to all the rabbit based clans.
And Mordecai was off making some final tweaks to what were now hex-wolves. Four of the tentacles had been migrated to put two under each wing along the center line of the hex-wolves, and two had been moved to the upper back, right at the shoulders. Any tentacles in excess of those six were suppressed and the tentacles were granted the ability to inflict random curses when they hit, though they were immune to curses from their own kind and inherently resistant to curses from others. The curses were all minor with a limit of a day, and most of them were mere inconveniences or embarrassing, but there were a few bad luck and clumsy type curses in the mix too.
The number and variety of curses that Mordecai knew was a touch disturbing, but Kazue decided it was probably best to not think about it because then she might be tempted to ask about what other curses he knew, and after consulting with Moriko they both agreed that this might fall under the category of things she didn''t actually want to know. And Mordecai would tell her if she asked.
Once the hex wolves were finalized, they were added as roaming predators to the wetlands. The mushroom forest seemed like better terrain, but a pack of these guys was very dangerous now that they were smarter and able to learn pack tactics. Their wings were only good for short flights right now, but as the species matured under the guidance of the dungeon, Mordecai expected older ones to be able to gain full flight.
And a bit more mana could be spent incorporating more minor life forms that had either been brought in deliberately or were small things that had come in incidentally with travelers. The ecosystem of the warrens was thriving and there were constantly new plants and fungi to add to the appropriate floors.
But even after she had stretched to bulk out all the options and variety of the early zones, they still had a lot of mana, which meant it was time to go for their next zone. And they had agreed to continue to grow out. But this was conflicting with their dedication to maintaining two paths, and failing in the spirit of that would collapse the node that increased their capacity beyond the doubling they already had from having a dual-core. Now that she was aware of the structure of the boons, she could see why Mordecai had guided some of their decisions the way he had.
Their Zone Zero managed to intermingle the two paths and still had a selection process for only combatants being challenged for combat, so it fulfilled the intent of dedicating to a dual path if barely, but it was proving harder to find a way forward with their upward expansion, and it was further complicated by organizing the power levels of the zones and their current desire to not advertise how far their territory extended.
And unfortunately, Mordecai could only help her so much. In all else their power over the dungeon was equal, but establishing a new zone was reserved for her alone, he couldn''t do more than provide suggestions, so it was on her to figure out the correct concept to imbue the zone with.
Kazue was fairly certain that their desired configuration for power levels would work; they wanted to keep the town at the lowest mana density and have a minimal amount of increase spreading into the next outward zone, which they had mentally labeled "Zone Out 1", along with the lower zones being redesignated as "Zone Down 1" through "Zone Down 7" for precision in addition to being named ''wetlands'' and such. The strange labeling was Mordecai''s idea, but while it was weird she had to agree that it added a certain sort of mental clarity.
She wasn''t sure if keeping Zone Zero at a minimum strength would work for a ''normal'' environment dungeon, as the information they had suggested the outer most zone was always the weakest, but that town was supposed to be the primary entrance to the dungeon and abutted against Kuiccihan''s territory so they couldn''t spread radially anyway. It didn''t seem fair to have people who were following the proper course of things to be forced to start in the more difficult zone.
One of her ideas had been to try and have ''safe paths'' marked through the outer zone, with warnings that leaving the safety of the marked paths could allow dangerous animals to attack. But playing with the idea felt awkward and it didn''t seem like it suited the dual path of combat and non-combat very well.
A suitable concept finally clicked into place along with a design for the bosses. It was going to be a bountiful hunting and nature preserve. All of the ''animals'' would be passive unless anyone tried to hunt or trap them, which would allow people disinclined toward fighting to partake in the rest of nature''s bounty. In the meantime, the creatures would make tempting targets for those already inclined to seek a challenging fight, especially the most tempting game here: the mysterious silver and gold bats.
Belle and Freya were game for this role, and Kazue could finally feel her mana rolling out from their current borders to claim the land beyond. Interestingly, their base zone around the town spread out as well, rippling out in a stretch along Kuiccihan''s border in a strip about a hundred yards wide, preventing their more powerful zone from touching the border. Their new zone was otherwise a semi-circle spreading along the foothills and approaching the mountain proper.
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And the mana kept pouring out, flowing beyond her control as she was forced to claim the territory caught in the ''V'' between the upper zones and the lower zones. The sudden emptying of their pool left both cores stunned and unable to react until they were only left with the small amount that she''d already marked for evolving the two bats.
¡°What was that?¡± Kazue asked once she''d finally recovered enough.
¡°I''m not sure,¡± Mordecai replied as he examined the new territory that she''d not intended to claim, ¡°but it felt like there was a pressure differential that was equalizing. Mm, it seems to be still drawing a trickle of mana here on the edge. Let me measure the geometry of our territory relative to the outside.¡±
As soon as he created a diagram of the situation, Kazue was able to see the problem. When she''d expanded their territory, there had been unclaimed land caught between two pieces of their territory. You could draw a straight line across it that began and ended in the dungeon''s territory. They didn''t have enough mana to fill out the cone, but thankfully the demand seemed to drop off as the distance and the angle between the edges grew.
Now that she was looking for it, she could feel a faint pressure that wanted to fill the entire area in a line from the highest point of their territory down to the farthest point of their current zones, which was their own private area that they had been moving with each zone down they''d grown. Really, it was like a misshapen cone whose vertex was their private chambers and whose edge was defined by any other point of their territory that a direct line could be drawn to.
That was a lot of empty space that wanted to be claimed. ¡°Um, Mordecai?¡±
¡°Yes, I see it. That''s not something I''ve noticed before, I think we''ve been instinctively modifying the outer edges of our zones to create a smoother line, but growing this way made too sharp an angle to be automatically compensated for and we had to pay the price to start filling it in.¡±
¡°What are we going to do? We''ll be unable to do anything with our primary pool for quite a while buying up all that space.¡±
¡°Well, with the sharpest need met, I think we can regulate the flow, so long as we don''t cut it off. I, erg, never mind, you have to do it because it touches claiming new territory. But you should be able to reduce the outflow to a steady and more sustainable rate. Maybe think of it like a promise of regular payment or a tax on our mana? You''ll have to find the concept that works for you, but the point is to keep paying while controlling how much. I don''t think we can claim more zones until we''ve got this fixed, so we don''t want to reduce it too much.¡±
Kazue got to work while Mordecai turned his attention elsewhere. She could tell that he was working on something related to their glut of unwanted territory, but getting this flow under control was taking up a lot of her concentration.
That was when Moriko asked what was going on, which Mordecai also took care of answering. Kazue was glad their wife knew to not interrupt while they were working on a sudden problem, but it also made her feel bad that they couldn''t involve her more in the process.
Eventually, she got it under control and automated so that it wouldn''t eat at her attention so much. It was going to remain a minor nuisance until that debt was paid off by claiming all the proper territory, but now she could ignore it.
Once her attention was free, Mordecai showed her what he''d been working on and talking with Moriko about. While Moriko didn''t have the logistical background to directly help his plan, she did know the dungeon and its inhabitants and made a good sounding board for him. Kazue liked his plan and gave her approval, but let him handle it. She felt tired now.
Mordecai''s voice went out to all of their inhabitants, ¡°I hope we didn''t worry you with the abrupt mana flow. We discovered the hard way that we needed to claim some odd territory before we could create another zone. This is proving to be a little bit taxing on our mana, but I''ve come up with an idea where you can help. We''re marking all of this new area as ''warrens'' unless anyone comes up with a better idea, but we aren''t going to spend mana to reshape the space or create tunnels. Instead, I think it would be interesting to challenge you to expand your skills to mining and new forms of construction, and leave it open for you to exploit any materials or spaces as you like.¡±
He paused to let that sink in before he continued, ¡°Now, while some of the hazards of mining are effectively negated by the nature of being dungeon inhabitants, I''d like anyone who takes up this challenge to treat it the way outsiders would have to, and take precautions against all the potential hazards. Any resulting wealth is yours to do with as you please.¡±
They both knew that the innate loyalties of inhabitants would incline them to take up this project anyway, but they also felt better making this offer and giving them at least the benefit of claiming personal wealth.
Conversations sprung up and the hum of all the talking and planning created a nice background to relax in while she recovered from the mental fatigue of wrangling the outflow of mana. Eventually, pieces of conversation drew her back into a more focused state and she joined in on an interesting idea.
The consensus was that they were going to start up by mining into the hillside from the exterior near the trading post. This would allow them to move materials conveniently, rather than trying to shuffle them through the dungeon. As neither time nor money were high priorities, they were going to focus on the efficiency of materials instead. Every bit of earth and rock that they pulled out was going to be put to use in any way that it could. Even just loose dirt could be used, whether to level a piece of land or to be packed into insulation around smaller buildings. The insulation wasn''t entirely needed as the buildings were well constructed, but it would be a nice boon to have in place when winter eventually came.
There was also some thought about earthen work fortifications, but in the end, it was decided that it would go against the appearance they wanted. And the real defenses were deeper in the dungeon anyway. They might have trouble finding use for all the materials eventually, but as they were not going to be digging quickly it was a problem that could be worked out over time.
It also provided an opportunity for a new sort of challenge, which was what had snagged Kazue''s attention. Any delvers who wanted to help dig a hole would be able to get paid for their troubles while providing mana to the dungeon through their sweat and effort. Dwarves had already come through before, and Mordecai was certain that an official delegation would eventually be sent if for no reason other than to discuss the dungeon''s ability to duplicate GOME, so they might get some enthusiastic experts eventually.
Kazue was feeling better now and was ready to turn her attention back to Belle and Freya, as the mana to evolve them had been set aside before the issue with claiming territory had begun.
175: Going Batty
Before she began working on Bella and Freya with the mana she''d thankfully set aside for evolving them, Kazue sent out a mental reminder to their inhabitants to be careful with the delvers, the amount of available power was going to increase for every zone other than the trading post.
Now it was time to potentially sow confusion for poor hunters. The two bats were going to have matching abilities and colors, but over the course of a full day, they might appear to be four bats. Their fur color was going to match the time of day: gold for daytime, and silver for nighttime. She restricted the color change to only occur when the boss had been unobserved by guests for at least ten minutes, she didn''t want to give away the game by having someone see the change or catch a silver one leaving a tree hollow that a gold one had just darted into.
She also made them significantly larger, increasing their weight to almost fifty pounds and their wingspan to about nine feet across. Their physical weaponry Kazue mostly left alone outside of scaling them up and increasing the durability of their teeth and claws. They really weren''t designed for stand-up fights.
Instead, she focused on amplifying their screeches, empowering them to let loose a conical blast of ultrasonic sound that could affect targets up to thirty feet away. This was going to be their primary attack, though it would take several seconds to recover the power to do so again. This was also designed to attract other creatures to the battle, but she would have to work on making those creatures later.
Their second special ability was to let loose a blinding flash of light and energy. The light could dazzle and disorient, or even temporarily blind someone who didn''t shield their eyes in time. A bat in golden form would sear their foes with the heat of the sun, while the silver form would unleash moonlight that burned with cold.
Kazue had learned enough about how divine magic worked to imbue holy energy into these blasts of light, invoking Amirume and Mericume for the gold and silver forms respectively. Not that this would be obvious, as it would take a sort of deliberately heinous person to have imbued themselves with the sort of vile magics that would make them vulnerable. But a true demon or devil would be affected.
That sort of limitation was what made it possible to imbue divine magic into Belle and Freya in the first place, along with requiring at least ten minutes to recharge the necessary energy to unleash the blast of light again. She''d also traded off range for power with both forms of attack to better enable their escape should they get caught at close range; they were open-air skirmishers and they did not want to get into a pitched battle.
The blinding blast had another trick to it as well. The two of them would glow softly when fully charged, but releasing that energy caused them to stop glowing. This gave them a better chance at running away and hiding in a cave or in a hollow high up in a large enough tree. And the glow wasn''t necessarily as much of a giveaway as it seemed, especially during the day. Belle and Freya were both smart enough to hide in the light of the sun when they knew they were being hunted. Hiding in the light of the moon was more difficult as it wasn''t blinding to look at, but their own soft glow would keep them from being highlighted sharply. However, it did not prevent them from casting shadows on the ground for the sharp-eyed hunter.
Hiding instead of fighting might seem unfair, however, even a combat-oriented person didn''t have to defeat them to progress. Hunting game was an option, an unspoken path that you had to choose. Running away and hiding was a fair tactic for hunted prey. Though Kazue did not doubt that they would be hunted, she''d made sure that the gold or silver luster of their fur came in part from traces of the relevant metal.
It had hurt to do that, she didn''t want to think of her friends'' bodies being turned into pelts, but this was how to achieve the proper level of reward for a successful hunt, especially while they were disguising how much territory they had.
She''d considered asking Mordecai to take care of this part after she''d come up with the initial idea, but this was her home and her people, she needed to hold herself responsible and not just hand off anything she found unpleasant to her husband.
Kazue ran into a different issue now. Normally, she''d start seeding the area with appropriately valuable plants and herbs, but even just moving stuff around cost mana. They were recovering their pool, and it was very little mana, but the idea of spending anything she didn''t absolutely have to spend hurt. So she took a different, if slower, path to the same goal, and sent out a message to their inhabitants.
¡°So, the recent mana issue is also making it more difficult to prepare our new zone for visitors. Um, I was hoping some of you might be willing to do part of it manually. We kind of need some of our plants, mushrooms, and trees seeded throughout the zone, and maybe some other things you can think of that wouldn''t give away that they are dungeon prizes. We''ll eventually be able to add some small outcroppings of crystals or such, but we''ll need to figure out what won''t encourage too much digging first, in addition to recovering our mana. Oh, and you''ll want to do it late at night, when no one is watching.¡±
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This wasn''t going to be as big of a project as the mining project Mordecai had come up with, but it was going to have to be even less obvious. But it would be a good way for some of their more druidic-inclined inhabitants to practice their skills. Gotta find the positives, right?
Now to think about what else would be living here. She couldn''t evolve anything, well, she could, but she didn''t want to spend that mana either right now. That didn''t mean she couldn''t design a few things, and before that, she kind of wanted to get to know what new creatures had joined the dungeon.
The small things had been incorporated the same way they were when they expanded through the ground below them. But this zone had a lot of new animals, whether new as a species or just as individuals. Thankfully, their capacity for inhabitants was a separate thing from their main mana pool, and inviting most of the creatures was rather simple. While a lot of them accepted, a lot also rejected the idea of being bound to this strange ''herd'' or whatever the concept in their mind was. The more intelligent of these began moving slowly toward the border of their territory, instinctively understanding that this area was claimed by a new entity. Some of the less intelligent, or more belligerent, animals stayed despite rejecting the offer to join the dungeon.
And for those who had accepted, well, as long as she didn''t alter them in any way, they would ''only'' be intelligent animals. She was stuck with that option, so there was no reason to fight it. Slowly ''mutating'' the newcomers into different versions of themselves would want to be done gradually anyway, and they were going to need to not be obviously dungeon creatures. Until they were evolved, they didn''t take up much of their capacity; a deer and a dire rabbit felt about the same, although a large buck was closer to a magical or flying dire rabbit.
The biggest advantage that the dungeon gained was an endless supply of ''game'', though that made her uncomfortable to think of them that way. The new inhabitants didn''t seem to mind the trade-off of becoming effectively immortal, knowing that they wouldn''t actually die was a huge reduction in how stressful their lives could be. Not that they were exactly eager to become someone''s dinner, but with their awakened minds they''d at least be better at noticing and escaping hunters looking to ambush them.
Two more problems arose from making all these new friends. The first was a small, personal tragedy as Kazue struck venison and various small game off the list of specific meats that could be generated to serve guests or themselves. At least beef was still available. It didn''t matter to her directly right now, but it would impact Kazue when her avatar came back home.
The second problem was with one of their contracted celestials, as they hadn''t directly given him a chance to offer his own form of awakening the animals. Mordecai was in a very polite argument with him right now.
¡°You are being unreasonable. The animals have been there this entire time, you could have approached them at any point. Our contract never stated that you had to be here all the time, short forays would have been fine as long as you let me know first.¡±
The celestial scowled, ¡°I am not seeking to awaken every animal in the world, I simply wish to offer an alternative to those animals whom you seek to claim as part of your territory. That opportunity has been denied to me now.¡±
Mordecai sighed, ¡°Well, we seem to have a disagreement over the spirit of the contract, as the letter did specify those animals brought to us and made no mention of animals that were already present when we expanded our territory or even those who happened to wander through the edges of our border. My understanding cleaves close that wording, that the point of it was to intercede on behalf of creatures being brought to us as gifts or for trade. These creatures were completely free of any binding and could simply leave if they wanted to. In fact, many did. But you now say that you believe that this should give you the right to try to intercede with every animal, no matter the circumstances. We can seek adjudication if you desire, but I would point out a couple of things before we consider that option.¡±
He waited until the celestial gestured for him to continue, ¡°First, this would be an incredibly impractical endeavor on your behalf. Even though no animal would feel threatened by you, you would have to wander the newly claimed territory and seek out every single animal, just to be sure. Second, this would hamper our ability to function. We would have to delay the development of the zone while we waited on you to spend weeks or months wandering about, and we''d constantly have to delay accepting gifts or trades because we''d be waiting for you to return from a trip to make your offer to the animal. That seems a rather unreasonable interpretation of the contract to me. Now, if you want to insist that this is the way things should be done, we can use a ritual to contact someone in a position to judge the situation. But do you really think your position is reasonable?¡±
The expression on the celestial''s face changed rapidly, but after several long moments of silence, he visibly relaxed with a defeated sigh. ¡°You are right, it is unreasonable. I do not like it, I would greatly prefer to be able to offer a different option for every creature that might join you, but it is those whose options are more limited to begin with that I should focus on. I reacted poorly out of frustration.¡±
Mordecai nodded and then smiled. ¡°Thank you. And if I had considered it, I would have let you know first, but it did not cross either of our minds,¡± he glanced briefly toward Kazue''s focus when he said that. ¡°If, during the remaining time you are here, we are about to claim another territory where we expect to find animals that you might be interested in, we''ll let you know and discuss the situation before proceeding. Fair?¡±
Kazue felt guilty having been ''caught'' eavesdropping despite there being no reason to not listen in on this conversation. And then she felt amusement at her expense coming from his core. ¡°You know, there are times when I want my avatar back just so I can bite you. Maybe I should start making a list of how many times I need to bite you when my other self is back.¡±
¡°Mm, that sounds like a fun challenge. I wonder how many nips I can earn?¡±
¡°Grr, you are just impossible,¡± said the woman who would be blushing happily if she could.
176: Growth
Moriko finished packing their stuff into her pack as she kept an eye on her wife. Kazue had been looking somewhere between wistful and melancholic all morning, but Moriko had let it pass until they had finished getting ready. But with no sign that the little fox was going to shake off the mood, Moriko decided it was time to address the issue. ¡°So, what''s got your cute head floating off into the clouds today?
Kazue blushed at the phrasing, then sighed, ¡°Sorry love, I''m just,¡± she shook her head, ¡°the trip''s been nice, and I am really glad we spent time here, it really helped me out. But, well, I am feeling a little homesick and I really miss Mordecai and we''re about to travel even further away and it''s kind of making me sad.¡± That final burst of words left her a little breathless as her feelings poured out.
Huh. She shouldn''t be surprised, Moriko at least had the advantage of talking to Mordecai in her head, and she got Kazue on both sides. Kazue just had her. A little thread of emotion wanted to take prideful offense that she wasn''t enough for Kazue, but she snipped that thought off. She''d feel the same in Kazue''s place, they had each married two people, and Kazue''s avatar was the only one getting cut off from a leg of that relationship. ¡°I guess verbal ''letters'' don''t quite cut it, do they?¡± she asked softly as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kazue.
The shorter woman shook her head silently as she hugged Moriko back.
¡°Well, we could head back, get a little breather if you want, and give you some time to synchronize with your core again. We aren''t exactly on a schedule.¡±
The kitsune sighed before pulling back a little, ¡°I want to, truly, but I am not sure I am going to be able to make myself leave again anytime soon if we do that, I''ll keep finding excuses. And I think that''s part of what Mordecai wants for me, to get used to being able to forge on even when I''m homesick or if we get separated and I am alone for a bit. We rely on each other, and that also means being reliable. I have to be able to stand on my own as well.¡±
Moriko kissed her softly, ¡°Look at that, my little spirit shaman is growing into a wise old woman right before my eyes.¡±
That earned her an eye roll, ¡°That''s rich coming from the wandering preacher-lady.¡± They continued to banter while they double-checked their gear and clothes, and then Kazue locked up her mother''s house behind them. ¡°I have no idea if we''ll get a chance to cross paths with my parents during this trip, but I am going to keep an eye out.¡±
There were a few more goodbyes to say along the way, but venting seemed to have lifted Kazue''s mood. Moriko couldn''t blame her in the least; even with her link back to the cores, she missed Mordecai too. ¡°You know, it''s going to be days and days before you can have any more fried tofu,¡± she teased as they walked along the road.
Kazue stuck her tongue out, ¡°Hey, it''s only a third of my diet. I still have meats and sweets.¡±
Travel was going to be somewhat faster for this leg of the trip at least. Farmland had dropped off as they got further from the river, and there were fewer settlements for Moriko to focus her attention on. While this did mean there were more spirits for Kazue to potentially interact with, there was a limited number of types of spirits, and there was little for Kazue to learn from spirit types she already knew well.
Mordecai waited patiently on the sands of the arena for his opponent to begin. Fuyuko had been the one to insist on ''getting this over with'', but now she was looking rather nervous. ¡°You''ve sparred against Gil, I can''t be scarier than that man,¡± he said with a trace of amusement as he flipped one of his own daggers, armed to match his opponent as he had been with Bellona.
Fuyuko scrunched her face, ¡°That was before I saw the two of you go all out. You guys were kind of terrifying.¡±
He snorted at that, ¡°I may have gone all out, but trust me, Gil was still holding back, even if I did get him to draw two of his weapons.¡±
¡°That doesn''t actually make me feel better. Wait, ''two of''? How could he have drawn more?¡±
¡°You''ll just have to get strong enough to find out by making him do it. Now come, show me what you''ve got, maybe we can team up and make him show you in a couple of years.¡±
¡°Fine,¡± the luponi girl said with a growl, and then she charged. Before Fuyuko got within range, she suddenly dropped low with a spin that sent her cloak whirling, making it more difficult to see which hand was throwing and where they were aimed until the daggers were in flight.
Mordecai deflected one dagger and sidestepped the other before meeting her continued assault. Her foot flashed out at his knee, and he twisted as he raised his leg to kick her heel off to the side. Fuyuko refused to relent as she turned the momentum into another spin and came back with both daggers back in her hand, slicing high and low at the same time.
But her high dagger was slightly before her low dagger, and that allowed him to use only one blade to parry by forcing hers to clash into each other. With her momentum stopped and her blades briefly locked, Mordecai took the opening to slam the pommel of his other dagger into her side before stepping back.
He could see she''d learned some tricks from Gil; he''d well earned the title of weapons master and had taught her how to use her clothing as part of her armaments. For all that he had a straightforward and blunt personality, Gil did not believe such maneuvers to be ''dirty'' any more than Mordecai did. It would be interesting to see her spar against Bellona, their fighting styles weren''t terribly compatible, which might push them both.
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Though Fuyuko would still need more training before she could put pressure on Bellona. Two daggers thrust at him, but Mordecai knocked her attack wide and stepped forward with a half spin as his elbow slammed into her jaw.
The girl stumbled back a step before recovering her balance and growling at him. He grinned back, deliberately showing the same amount of fang she had bared at him. She hadn''t shown more than this early sign of shape-shifting and he wanted to encourage her instincts. For now, matching any signs of her change seemed like a good start to help her subconscious feel that this was okay.
¡°Not a bad start, though if you are going to use double attacks you need to work on your timing and spacing more,¡± Mordecai said as Fuyuko stepped back into range to attack him with a rapid series of slashes. Between his daggers and bracers, he was able to catch all of her attacks while he continued to give advice, ¡°Double attacks can be very useful against opponents not used to that sort of twinned threat, but only until they adjust. It''s also very hard to bring your full power into both attacks, so you need to be better at disguising which one is your strong attack and which one is the distraction.¡±
His calm discussion of her style seemed to provoke Fuyuko more, and Mordecai saw the metaphorical fire that lit her eyes as her speed and power increased. Her long limbs were constantly moving and she managed to keep her cloak flowing around her as she mixed in kicks with her dagger strikes. She hadn''t grown stronger, but she had breached an internal barrier and was committing to each attack more.
That was great for the power of her offense, but without more control, it left her more vulnerable too. Mordecai stepped forward past one of her kicks, sliding in toward her back as he dropped a dagger, close enough to grab her shoulder before his weight slammed into her, forcing her face first into the dirt with his knee dug into the small of her back.
The air was forced out of her lungs, and Mordecai hopped back off to let her recover her wind. He had no intention of stopping before she did, he wanted to see how far she could go. Which turned out to be decently far. She recovered her breath pretty quickly and suddenly rolled toward him, coming up on one knee as her first dagger flew at him and continued to spin to put just as much power in her second toss when she reached her feet, just in time for the first dagger to return to her hand. Not a bad way to recover and force your opponent to keep a bit of distance.
She was good at being aggressive once she got past her own nerves. Fuyuko hadn''t stopped when she''d gotten to her feet, she''d continued to move forward with only the one dagger before the second one returned to her. That was good, and she trusted her gear to do exactly what it was meant to do.
Now that she''d shown him her ability to maintain pressure and recover from setbacks, Mordecai stepped up his counterattacks. The first cut he left on her skin was on the back of a hand. A few moments later, the tip of a dagger entered her shoulder briefly, her armor serving only enough to reduce how deep the point sunk. A kick earned her a counter which taught her that his shins were harder than hers, a lesson that would have been even more painful if he''d been wearing metal armor.
The next time he slipped inside of her guard earned a slice across her cheek instead of an elbow to her jaw. Both attacks were replacements for potentially fatal counters, aiming high instead of at her neck. Honestly, he felt a little bad about the way he was slowly disassembling her, but at the same time, he could see her responding to the challenge. Mordecai could afford to push her more than Gil could; he had healing spells at the ready and he didn''t have to be as careful with holding back, it was easier for Mordecai to hurt her just a little bit.
Then she threw a knife at him from melee range, and when he dodged it she retaliated with a backhanded slash, her fingers now clawed. The claws tore open his shirt, but in a backslash, they were not nearly enough to penetrate the scales that reflexively rippled across his skin.
Perfect, he''d been hoping to see this, but he didn''t say anything yet. The girl looked to have gone past thinking about what she was doing and was now running on instincts. Thankfully, she wasn''t as dangerous to him as she might have been to someone else, so Mordecai continued to draw the fight out. It wasn''t much longer before her teeth had grown enough to make her bite a dangerous weapon, and more muscles slowly rippled into existence along her body, but the transformation never progressed so far as to keep her from wielding her blades.
He could see how she''d been able to take on the peryton, the girl had a solid combat instinct, but she was also lacking in self-restraint once she''d been pushed this hard. The match ended only when Fuyuko staggered weakly and began slowly toppling over with a surprised look as her limbs went limp. Muscle fatigue had caught up with her and surpassed her ability to fight it. Mordecai dropped his weapons and dashed in to catch her and lower her more gently to the ground.
¡°Easy now,¡± he said softly as Fuyuko''s body relaxed back into her normal form, ¡°you did well. Now, I''m going to heal you, okay?¡± She looked a little dazed still, and he didn''t want her trying to fight off the flow of vitality out of stubborn resistance. Her eyes focused slightly on him and she gave a small nod, so he took that as her having enough awareness to not try to fight off the magic.
While he was at it, he took the time to channel healing prayers into her armor as well. The self-repairing material was not truly alive, but it was close enough that it could inefficiently make use of healing spells directed at it, or potions directly poured onto it. Repair magic could be more efficient, but those spells generally were not as quick to cast as a healing spell.
With her wounds repaired, Fuyuko sat up slowly, wincing slightly. ¡°Ow. What happened? And I don''t think the magic worked completely, I still hurt.¡±
¡°General strain is harder to directly heal than specific wounds. But as for what happened, we managed to draw out a little more of your heritage. It was a beautiful balance, just enough changed to help you fight, but despite going into a battle fugue there was no hint of you going feral.¡± Mordecai grinned as her eyes widened, ¡°I''ll show you the battle later, but we are going to have to work on controlling that battle frenzy. It''s fine here, but you need to be able to know when to stop. Come on, let''s go get you some food. I bet you could go for a triple portion right now.¡± A rumble from her stomach as she blushed proved him right, and he pulled her to her feet.
¡°So, um, I guess I passed?¡±
¡°Honestly, I never had any doubts about that, but I needed to know exactly where you were at, and I think I got lucky with pulling the battle fugue out of you. When you were sparring with Gil he had to be more careful about hurting you, and when you were sparring with Moriko''s little brother, you had to be in precise control to make sure neither of you hurt the other. I could safely provoke you with small punishments for your mistakes, and you didn''t have to worry about holding back.¡±
177: Gils in a Pickle Now!
Fuyuko still felt a little dazed as she sat down at the table, but she didn''t have to think clearly in order to eat. And eat she did, it was like a deep pit had opened up inside of her and she needed to keep eating to try and fill that aching void.
Most of the things that were set in front of her were meat, though some of the dishes were focused around tofu or beans instead. It was hard to not shovel it into her mouth as fast as possible, but she was still eating with unseemly haste until there was nothing left on any of the plates around her. When she lifted her gaze to look around for more, she saw Mordecai sitting across from her with his arms crossed and a small smile on his lips.
¡°That''s enough for the moment, let your body register what you''ve eaten before stuffing it with more.¡±
She blushed at his words, feeling embarrassed about her gluttony. But it was easier to think now at least, even if it still felt like her stomach was trying to chew on her insides. ¡°Sorry,¡± she muttered.
Mordecai chuckled, ¡°Nothing to be sorry about, your body knows what it needs, but instincts can betray us occasionally. It takes time for your body to register when it has enough food, especially in situations like this, so you just need to take a break for a moment.¡±
¡°Er, okay,¡± Fuyuko replied as she tugged on a stray lock of hair. Then she paused and frowned before pulling the lock of hair forward enough to stare at it. ¡°Wait, what?¡± She couldn''t remember her hair being this long since she was a little girl.
¡°After effects of your partial shift, I think. Your skin started to grow some fur too, about the time that your teeth and jaws grew enough to be a serious weapon. It wasn''t quite a wolf''s muzzle, and the fur was more like puppy fuzz, but the hint was there.¡±
Fuyuko couldn''t figure out if it was more embarrassing that she''d shifted like that, or that her fur had been like puppy fuzz. She wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.
A booming laugh cut across her thoughts right before Gil''s hand slapped her on the back, ¡°Don''t worry about it so much, you did good. Lots of shifter types go nearly berserk during their first fugue, you were in remarkable control for a frenzy. Didn''t even stop using your daggers.¡±
Now her back hurt. Fuyuko rolled her shoulders to try and relieve the stinging sensation before she looked at the giant of a man who was taking a seat at the table along with Betty. ¡°Um, I really don''t remember it.¡±
¡°Master Mordecai can show it to you later if you like,¡± Betty said, "And I think you should watch it, you were fairly impressive. I''d probably have had to hurt you pretty bad in order to stop you, instead of letting you wear yourself out like he could."
Gil nodded, "That''s a fair assessment. She''s been growing fast, and she''s got the instincts and drive that makes her better than most guard and army recruits, but there are still plenty of sergeants who could put her in her place. Good enough to be dangerous, but there''s still a lot of people more dangerous."
Fuyuko rolled her eyes, "Jeez, pick a girl up then knock her down why don''tcha?"
Mordecai laughed at that, "They want to let you know that you did good, but don''t want you to be overconfident either. It''s a fine line to walk with most people, especially someone coming into their own as young as you are. There are adults who have been fully-fledged guards for years that would have trouble keeping up with you. But most of them also haven''t been under the same pressures or had the same sort of personalized training that Gil could provide."
"Um, thank you," she replied as she scratched at her neck, trying to not squirm from the attention. "So, um, are you going to be able to show me how to change my shape properly?"
Mordecai nodded, "Yes, and we''ll at least temporarily have a second trainer for you when Orchid comes back with Paltira and Kansif in tow. Kansif has been gifted with abilities from a shifter clan, which is not exactly the same as your own heritage but is close enough for training I think. She wasn''t originally planning on coming back with Orchid, but I sent a message out yesterday and got a reply back this morning. Bellona will be happy to see her cousin again too. I''ll want to consult with her on some training ideas for you, Bellona, and Xarlug to do together. You''ll be catching up with them, but they''ll also be getting better."
She bit her lip in thought before speaking, "I don''t mind the idea of training, it''s been kinda fun so far, but, um, I dunno, what else do you do for fun around here?" She had vague memories of playing games with others, but there had always been an edge of danger if they were running around the streets, and the hazy images she occasionally got of the sanctuary suggested things were a lot calmer indoors.
"Well, Kazue is hoping that you''ll take to reading; you did see the library we have. But what you haven''t seen yet are The Warrens. The bunkin have their own communities hidden away, and there''s plenty of crafting and art to learn and practice with them if you want. We don''t really have a good match for you age-wise, most of the rabbit clans became adults while they were dire rabbits, and the ones that have been born as bunkin or such are still babies. Both Riverbridge and Azeria visitors do bring teenagers along occasionally, I have no problem with those being extra free days for you to go and make friends."
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Fuyuko wasn''t sure that was exactly what she wanted, but, well, she wasn''t sure what else she might be looking for. "I guess. I don''t know." She shrugged, dissatisfied with her own answer.
"Eh, you''re young," Gil said "You don''t have to have an answer for everything."
"Yeah, don''t worry about that stuff. It''s boring." Li piped up from the seat next to her, causing Fuyuko to jump in surprise. She was pretty certain he hadn''t been there a moment before. "Hey after we eat, you should come play with me I can show you all sorts of neat places around here I heard you played in the theater while Gil and I were playing that sounds like a lot of fun did you get to be a princess like Orchid or were you a super cool monk like Moriko I bet whatever it was you were awesome cause I heard all sorts of good things about you from Yvie."
Li''s timing had been perfect, for another set of dishes were being brought to the table, and Fuyuko''s stomach rumbled at the sight. She glanced between Li and Mordecai as she tried to sort out the sudden rush of thoughts in her head.
Mordecai briefly spoke over Li''s continuous chatter, "Eat up, I''ll talk to you more after Li has fun with you."
That sounded almost ominous, but she certainly wasn''t going to refuse to eat, and it gave her the chance to listen to Li''s ramblings more. Or at least try, her god spoke very, very fast, but she was pretty certain he mentioned something about dolls of Gil and making money, which caused Gil to look at Mordecai with narrowed eyes. She guessed they were going to have a talk after she was dragged off to play.
What was she thinking? This was a god, you don''t just go play with a god, do you? But, the other heroes of Li''s stories were always the friends that he played with. Did this mean she was going to be a hero? That was a scary idea.
She was so wrapped up in those thoughts that she didn''t realize that she had started instinctively competing with Li to grab food off the plates first, the luponi''s hunger driving her to practically gorge as she fueled the power growing within.
Fuyuko looked surprised when she realized that all the plates near her were empty, and Li took advantage of that moment to grab her hand, saying, "Come on it''s time to play I gotta show you the mushroom forest if you changed like you did with Mordecai you''d look awesome and so cool stalking through the gloom like a pretty nightmare monster I bet you could-"
Mordecai watched the two of them leave and noted that this was the first of Li''s playmates in the dungeon that the ratling took through a shadow-jump. He wondered if the girl even noticed being dragged through the shadows that way. She had the potential to become one of Li''s blessed, which was rather similar to the champions of other gods. It just didn''t seem fit to say she''d been chosen, Li didn''t operate that way consciously.
His musings were interrupted by Gil clearing his throat. "So, if I understood our friend right, you are planning on making a profit off my visit and likeness?"
"Didn''t you notice our merchandise outside?" Mordecai asked, "All our fiercest defenders have stuffed dolls and engraved images. I think the right sort of advertising could make even your visage popular." He paused at a thought and held up a finger toward Gil as he turned toward Betty, "I just realized, we have two options for you. We can sell both if you want, but I think figurines of your current form might get a, ah, different audience."
Betty considered it for a second and then shrugged, "It doesn''t bother me, go for it."
Gil frowned at that, "I think that it might bother me though."
"Gil," Betty''s suddenly soft voice carried a warning note that affected even that mighty warrior, "this isn''t a topic you get to have an opinion on." She relaxed before continuing in a more normal tone, "You are very sweet, but we both know you can''t stay and assuming that you do visit again in a reasonable time frame, you won''t be able to stay for long then either. Depending on circumstances, I may welcome you back warmly, but I am not yours and you are not mine. I''ll live for a very long time as I am now, so maybe in some distant time something may happen to change that, but right now, I ask that you not mar what enjoyment we might find in the rest of your visit."
Mordecai couldn''t help but laugh at Gil''s discomfiture. "I think you and Moriko had a few conversations during your sparring sessions," he said to Betty, who nodded in confirmation. "Well, we can go over the details of your new figurine later," though the images flashing into his mind from Kazue''s core rather suggested that she was coming up with an entire product line, "but let''s get back to Gil''s question right now. I can give you a cut or such if you want, it wouldn''t be hard to work out some numbers, but we both know you don''t need the cash. So, open-ended favor, owed by us as the dungeon, recoverable as dungeon-forged goods?"
Gil looked thoughtful as he considered the option. Mordecai had just laid out a rather generous deal before Gil. Some things were hard to account for numerically, and an ongoing favor meant that Gil would essentially be able to show up and ask for custom items when he needed to, within the balance of the debt owed. Being able to claim customized treasure without any other sort of exchange was more useful than the monetary value alone.
"Done," Gil said, and reached over to shake Mordecai''s hand.
"Excellent. Now, speaking of time pressures, however, your presence interacts with Li, making him press on us a lot more than when it was just him. Has he said anything yet?"
"Yeah, he''s said he''s got an adventure for us to go on. Something about bitter green jerks harassing fairies somewhere." Gil sighed and shook his head. "I''m pretty certain it''s someplace on the Other Side, but I don''t think it''s even part of the Other Side near this world. Which is going to make getting there an interesting experience."
Mordecai winced in sympathy. Getting mixed up in something local with a Li shard was one thing, being taken somewhere else by Li was very different. Mordecai still wasn''t sure that all of those places were real outside of Li''s imagination. "If he''s being that specific already, you don''t have long. I''ll stock you up with potions as much as I can before you leave, but we''re busy so I need to take care of everyone and we may not be able to finish giving you a reward quite commensurate with the challenge we provided."
Gil waved it off, "Don''t worry about it if you can''t, consider it part of the favor."
"Alright, well, since Li is occupied for at least a few hours, I''ll leave you two alone. I should at least be able to catch you again in the morning." With that, Mordecai dispersed his avatar and turned his attention to Kazue''s ideas for a new line of figurines.
178: Tracts of Land
Mordecai watched a little bit of Fuyuko and Li playing in the forest, which was mostly Li encouraging her to find the best lighting to make scary faces in while Li rolled on the floor laughing, as well as showing her the best ways to sneak around quietly. They were adorable, and it was nice to see the girl relax. She kept going through cycles of being tense and worried before being drawn out, only to tense up again at some thought or concern.
When they came back, Mordecai made sure to let her know that she needed to tell Gil thank you, as Li was probably taking Gil on an adventure soon. He was proven right the next day when their presence simply vanished. Neither he nor Kazue could pinpoint exactly when it happened, nor where they were when it did.
This left Fuyuko with mixed feelings. Part of her felt like she''d been abandoned, but she also knew better. Gil was a hero of sorts, and he''d seen her safely to her destination. Was he not supposed to go off and help others? And Li was, well, Li. All of the stories she knew about him started with him arriving someplace and ended when he left that place. This Li story had ended. It did leave her wondering what it would look like if someone wrote it down.
And the people she found herself with, well, she felt strangely at ease, and that somehow made her nervous. Gil had been a protector and a friend, maybe a brother, but Mordecai was the one who felt somehow fatherly to her. He''d already discussed with her his plans if she became their contractor, and she was going to need to spend at least a week experiencing the schedule he wanted her to follow. She didn''t have to, she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but if what she wanted was to become a contractor and truly call this place home, this was what he required of her. It was fair and firm without being demanding, and it was hard to trust the warm feeling that this evoked.
Bellona was already slipping into an older sister sort of role with her. She was there and ready to help or listen at any time.
As for Kazue, well, Fuyuko only really got to interact with the other core when her illusion was present, and she didn''t always have one active. Fuyuko wasn''t quite sure how she felt about the kitsune. It was sort of weird knowing that Kazue was potentially watching over her at any time. Sure, the same could be said of Mordecai, but at least he seemed to usually use his avatar. Maybe she should use the platform in her room to ask for Kazue''s attention and just talk? But Fuyuko didn''t want to bother her either.
Then there was Moriko. She didn''t know the woman at all, but it seemed she had a strong influence on Betty. And Fuyuko liked Betty, so presumably, she''d like Moriko as well.
Really, everyone was nice to her. And she had the feeling if one of the dungeon''s visitors was mean to her, there would be lots of people ready to protect her. Which was nice that they cared and all, but Fuyuko didn''t want to have to be protected like that. There was just so much for her to think about now that she was actually here.
While Fuyuko was working through teenage worries and adapting to the schedule Mordecai set forth, Moriko and Kazue''s avatar were continuing to make their way toward the Ekuilance, the capital of Kuiccihan.
The day after Li and Gil departed, Moriko found herself frowning up at a distant speck slightly above the horizon and growing larger as it approached along the road they were traveling. "Kazue, heads up, split." The red-headed kitsune took a moment to process what was going on, but they''d trained enough that she followed Moriko''s directions and started heading to the opposite side of the road from Moriko before she could identify what had the monk on guard.
Both women had their staves at the ready by the time they could make out what was approaching them, but they relaxed as they recognized the person riding what turned out to be a small, sled-like aircraft, minus the beasts a snow sled would have drawing it. "Lord Paltira!" Moriko called out as the craft slowed and descended toward them, noting that he was wearing fancier garb than usual and that the craft had the royal crest on it. "I take it you are looking for us?"
"Indeed I am Lady Moriko, Lady Kazue," he said as the craft settled gently on the road, "Her Highness has noted that she''d like to have dinner with you and her family before we depart again. Also, she would like to speak to you about the conversation you had with her sisters. Something about spreading gossip?" Paltira looked amused as he hopped down from the front driver''s seat and opened up a door on the side. "I have to admit, I wasn''t paying a lot of attention to what she was saying, she''s rather cute when she''s ranting."
Moriko was confused for a moment before she recalled telling the other princesses about Orchid being caught off guard and punched in the back of the head by Enki. Oh. "I see." It seems she''d prickled the princess''s pride by passing that around.
Kazue grinned as she collapsed her staff back into a disk and jumped into the seat. "Oh, this should be fun." Moriko followed a touch less enthusiastically than her wife had, and mentally updated what was going on for the dungeon.
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"I wouldn''t worry about it," Paltira said as he climbed back into the driver''s seat, "it''s mostly sibling rivalry stuff, she''s not really angry. It''s just part of the game."
"Hey," Kazue asked as the craft began to lift off of the ground, "Why don''t you guys use this more often?"
"Even this runner is rather expensive, and it has a relatively short range before it needs to be recharged. I was only allowed to use it because I am officially arranging transportation for foreign dignitaries, and only after we confirmed that you had left the forest. It can''t quite make that as a round trip. Also, you can collect more information by meeting more people, and this is usually an important aspect for Orchid." He smiled wrily, "When it comes to this sort of thing, I am mostly the muscle I admit."
Well, there was a reason not everyone flew about in these things. Moriko remembered Kazue''s father commenting on the expense of airships too. "Hey loves," she sent to the cores, "what would it take for us to produce reliable flying craft?"
There was a moment of silence before she got a response, which told her they were having to do some work to figure it out. "We''d probably need to double our zones. Something smaller and less comfortable with an even shorter range could be done soon enough, and right now we could create one that would hover and could be pulled by the right sort of flying creatures. But that would require generating them outside of the acknowledged territory, otherwise there is no way to get them out of the underground levels. We have more flexibility for things that would only work inside our territory, but for actual prizes, it will be quite a while before we can reward with anything worth the effort."
"It doesn''t look like we can change that expense any time soon, that''s too bad. I''m sure Kazue''s father would be happy to break that market open and make a tidy profit," she reported to the others.
"Huh, well, maybe we can make him a proper gift of something fancy in a few years. Mmm, but they''d need to run the dungeon with some friends, wouldn''t they? Well, it would still be nice to offer," Kazue mused.
"I wonder if that is part of the economic strength of the Allied Nations," Paltira added. "They never seem to run out of interesting things to trade. I imagine that their dungeon helps with that, along with their fleet."
Moriko leaned back and looked up thoughtfully. "What about the southern dungeon? I don''t hear about as much trade with the tribes."
Paltira considered her question for a few moments. "I am not sure. At a guess, I think they may keep special luxuries for themselves; the nomads we met during our travels did seem to have a rather comfortable lifestyle. Most of the goods we saw in their trade city could be gathered from the plains or crafted from the same materials."
That seemed to tap out Paltira''s knowledge of the other dungeons, and the rest of the conversation shifted to more casual topics. It seemed that once they landed, Paltira was to escort them straight to Mistress Ula''s shop. A new dress had already been put together for Moriko, and two new dresses were waiting for final alterations for Kazue and were based on the rough measurements that Princess Orchid had given the woman.
Moriko watched her wife squirm happily, half expecting to have to keep her from falling out of the craft in her excitement.
"Oh, this is going to be great! I love Moriko''s dress! And I get two? Oh, I guess that makes sense, so that we have the same number of dresses from them. I can''t wait to see them, do you know what colors they are in? What styles are they in?"
Kazue was talking almost as fast as Li did, and the thought made Moriko laugh. Though, unlike the Shattered One, Kazue would eventually wind down and simply vibrate in anticipation.
The reality mostly met with her expectations, but Kazue did have one small complaint. "I think I am going to drown," she muttered as she glanced down. This particular shimmering, emerald green silken dress was gorgeous, and the corseting was designed to amplify assets that hardly needed help. Moriko allowed herself a more lingering look at the decolletage in question and rather approved of the view.
"I think it''s perfect for you, love," Moriko purred.
Their eyes met and Moriko slowly smiled, enjoying the blush that spread across Kazue''s cheeks. "I, ah, guess I don''t mind very much then. If you like it that much," Kazue managed to get out.
"I do," Moriko said before leaning in to whisper, "And I will greatly enjoy helping you out of it later."
Part of her said that it was bad to flirt with and tease her easily-flustered wife so much, but it was an absolute delight to see Kazue respond. The kitsune could be assertive when she''d plotted and planned, but tended to be much more responsive to Moriko making the advances.
The half-elf suspected that Kazue wouldn''t always be so easily caught off guard, and she would miss this reaction when that time came, but for now, she was going to enjoy watching the redhead become tongue-tied and unable to respond.
Mistress Ula coughed to get their attention. "If you are done making eyes at each other, can we wrap up? If you are satisfied, I can get the second dress started while you two head off. I''ll get it sent to you. Do you know where you are staying yet?"
"No," Moriko replied, "We''ve been rushed here actually." The sun was still up even, if not by a lot.
"Well, knowing that lot, I''ll get word soon enough. Off with you then, I imagine your escort is bored waiting for you."
Lord Paltira was out front while the two women were getting fitted and dressed, and when Kazue emerged he managed to only let his eyes start to dip before he caught himself and focused his gaze higher. Moriko collected that little bit of ammunition to tease the man with in the future, probably by using it to deflect Orchid when convenient.
For the moment, Moriko said nothing and simply smiled when he complimented their dresses and led them to the carriage waiting outside.
179: A Day in the City
The upcoming dinner had Kazue giddy with excitement, but it was also going to make for a long day and be a little stressful, and she really did not want to make a bad impression. While they were in the carriage was probably the best opportunity she would have to be discreet, so she nudged Moriko with her knee as she fetched the roll with her medication.
Kazue''s wife took the hint and engaged Paltira in conversation while blatantly ignoring Kazue, and that was more than enough to let Paltira know to do the same. Kazue fetched a pill out of the pocket designated for supplemental doses and made a quick note of the date and time before closing the roll back up and stowing it in their gear again.
She rather hated having to do this, and she kind of wished she had been able to alter her avatar. Kazue was fairly certain that Mordecai could have guided her into making the appropriate alteration, but she also knew her husband well enough to figure out why he hadn''t offered. As a person, she should know herself well before she did anything to make a drastic change to who she was. And as a core, she needed to learn how to do it herself when the time came, not have it spoon-fed to her. Mordecai had been very careful to step back more and more with how much he guided, and even before Kazue''s avatar had left the dungeon he rarely did anything other than hint or point the way and let her figure out the rest.
Kazue shook those thoughts away and joined back in the conversation, trusting that Paltira would mention this to no one but Orchid and that Orchid would not mention it to anyone else without need. She had no desire to talk about her medical situation with anyone she didn''t need to, and neither of them needed to know why she was taking medicine.
Everything continued smoothly from there, and Kazue quickly learned that their schedule for the evening was going to be different than what Moriko experienced. To begin with, Orchid had already settled on exactly what jewelry Kazue was going to be gifted with. The starring piece was going to be a gold circlet with a large aubergine pearl in the center and decorated with several small amethysts and diamonds.
A close second was the amethyst studded bib necklace that covered up some of her, ah, prominently displayed assets even as it helped draw the eye there. Kazue had to do her best to avoid thinking about that, and Moriko''s smirking leer did not help. She did not want to be blushing through the entire dinner!
Smaller rings, earrings, and earcuffs with aubergine pearls or amethyst completed the look, making her quite presentable for court. Kazue had been uncertain about getting the piercings, but Moriko had encouraged her with the promise that it would look really cute, and in the end, Kazue had to agree as she examined herself in the mirror. Her long fox ears did display the jewels nicely.
"Remind me to find some pieces appropriate for traveling," she told Moriko with a smile, "I think I like them and I want to try out a few options." Oh, what would her mother say!
Though come to think of it, there were a few spots along her mother''s ears where the fur had grown a bit more thinly. Hmm. Kazue was now suspicious and had some more questions she wanted to ask her mom.
"Gladly," Moriko said with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I think something with tiny bells would be fun, my pet."
Kazue managed to growl and blush at the same time, but their flirtation was quickly interrupted by the woman attending them. "I think her Highness will be very pleased with how you''ve turned out, but it may be best to not keep her or the others waiting, my ladies."
They took the hint and double-checked their dresses before allowing themselves to be escorted to the main hall. The introduction to the court went much as it had for Moriko, though as the newcomer Kazue received the most attention. Furthermore, as their relationship with the kingdom was well established, they were encouraged to spend time meeting with some of the other nobility present rather than getting to immediately retreat to the private dining room.
The meet and greet with nobles was a lot easier than it would have been without Moriko at her side, but as her initial nervousness wore off she found the situation exciting. She was being treated like a princess!
Okay, so technically she was a sovereign and as such was more equivalent to a queen of a very small nation, but the three of them had agreed they didn''t really want to deal with such titles and were satisfied with ''lord'' and ''lady'' as appropriate.
Still, she was happy when the court day ended and they were escorted to the private dining hall. With no official business to be dealt with, the royal children were all in attendance with their parents, though Princess Tiriana was visiting her elven fiance, and Princess Kitiara and her wife Catherine were at their home in the northern territories, attending to their duties there.
The dinner was a lot of fun, even if Moriko and Orchid worked together to monitor how much she had to drink. That was another thing she was going to fix in her next avatar, she wanted to not be such a lightweight! But she didn''t want to pass out or make a fool of herself either, so she didn''t mind having her drinks being kept light and interspersed with juice too much.
Of course, before they started double-teaming Kazue, Orchid had made sure to ''corner'' Moriko, and listening in on that had been fun. Well, until Moriko managed to work in how Paltira''s gaze had dipped briefly at the clothier''s. Kazue hadn''t even noticed, but it worked as Moriko intended, getting the tiny woman to direct her faux ire elsewhere.
It was pretty obvious to anyone who knew her that Orchid wasn''t truly upset at Moriko or Paltira, it was part of the game she played with her sisters. Kazue hadn''t seen this game before, but seeing it now made her feel included and trusted to see this part of their private lives. She wondered if it had something to do with large families; Moriko seemed to be adapting to the game perfectly like she already knew the rules.
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The dinner wasn''t quite chaotic, but with the children involved it had a certain level of energy that Kazue didn''t think Moriko''s previous dinner with the royal family had. And Kazue loved it, there was always someone to talk to and a constant whirl of getting to know new people.
Once the younger children were sent to bed, the dinner became much more sedate. Not that it was really about just eating a meal by now, this was a social event to get to know the royal family. Which they would have plenty of time to do, along with meeting other nobility; they were being given guest quarters during their stay in Ekuilance. Moriko and Kazue had both tried to protest that they could find their own way, but even the argument that Kazue was supposed to be experiencing the world failed to budge the royal family.
"It would not look good to let you stay in a standard hostel or the like, and you don''t have the right sort of finances to rent a manor or something, so you get to be our guests," Orchid said, "and being royal guests is certainly a new experience. As for experiencing the rest of the city," Orchid flashed a grin, "trust me, I know how to slip you out of the castle discreetly if you want to run about incognito. Moriko and I could compete in telling tales of the sort of trouble we got into."
Eventually, they retired and were shown the way to their guest suite, where Moriko proceeded to ''help'' Kazue with her dress. Kazue slept in late the next morning, only waking up groggily when her wife started toying with the rings in her ear. "It''s a good thing the piercings came with a fast heal potion," Kazue muttered. An instant curative might have sealed up the holes around the metal or rejected the metal, but a simple fast healing potion only accelerated the natural process.
"Mm," Moriko replied absentmindedly as she teased another earring, "Mordecai says he has a bit of easy training for you that you might want to try out right now. Start by simply shifting to your tailless form."
Kazue frowned at the sudden request, but she knew her husband well enough to guess that whatever he had in mind was going to work best if she didn''t know what was going on. Otherwise, he would have told her first. So she did as requested, "Now what?"
"Now a question: where are your earrings?"
"Huh, wha-?" Kazue reached up to touch her human ears, to find them bare and unpierced. She knew her clothes went away when she turned into a fox, but she hadn''t really thought about it. It happened for everyone, so it had never been a mystery, but now she found herself curious.
"Mordecai says that they count as different ''parts'', you can actually manifest both at the same time now that you can fine-tune your form. He''s willing to answer questions whenever you want, though you might want to experiment more first." Moriko grinned, "However, I am not willing to spend the rest of the day talking, we can do that later. I want to show you the city first! So you''ll have to hold your questions until later."
While the two of them got bathed and dressed for the day, Kazue spent a little of her time experimenting with her shape-changing. Previously she hadn''t really been aware of the presence of items that had been shifted away during her shape change, but now she was very conscious of them. They were sort of there, only there was no ''there'' for them to be, and she could only access them by retaking a compatible form. The piercings would be in her fox ears, whether those ears were attached to her fox form or her bipedal forms, but would not appear in not-fox ears unless she was very careful and slow in her shape-changing and made the fox ears migrate while they changed shape. It was awkward and uncomfortable to do it that way too.
They went out in the clothes Mordecai had commissioned for them; they were pretty and comfortable, allowing them to look good without being overdressed for the role they wanted to play. Neither one of them was terribly comfortable with being ladies yet, and as much as Kazue loved the new dresses, she didn''t want to wear them out in the city or anything like that.
Their shopping was limited today as they only had so much cash on them, and they didn''t want to exchange their special opal if they didn''t have to. But it did allow them to take some notes and begin creating a list for later.
While they were out and about, Moriko also dragged Kazue to meet a lot of her friends, with a promise to take her out to the monastery tomorrow to meet Moriko''s master. More than a few of said friends looked some combination of regretful or speculative, but most of them got over their loss quickly enough. Only one had to get a verbal smacking for trying to press the idea of a hookup despite their married status, and she looked emotionally singed as well as chagrined. At least she apologized after that and behaved herself from there.
Their day out also let Kazue start meeting entirely new types of spirits. A city had its own life and its own needs, even if that life was far different from the biomes of a forest or field. It also had a strange vibrancy that resonated differently from more primal areas, and Kazue had a feeling that a ''dead'' city would be very different from a ''dead'' forest. Dead wild lands were passing affairs, part of the natural cycle, and would soon be filled in with new life as it recovered from whatever disaster had passed.
A dead city was something that would stick. Oh, there would be life, and nature would make its way in, but a city would resist the change. And depending on how the city died, well, she had her first insight into how undead things could come into existence without willful action. That was not an insight she particularly enjoyed, and she fervently hoped she''d never meet that sort of spirit.
When they were feeling done with socializing and meeting new types of spirits, they simply made their way into the same neighborhood that they had walked out of earlier, though not to the same house. They''d been shadowed the entire day and when they got into the right area one of their escorts made a brief showing, gesturing down a side street when no one else was around.
The path that they followed from there allowed the escorts to double-check that the pair were not being followed. Once Moriko and Kazue had been cleared, they were led to what appeared to be a side door to a servant''s quarters but led into an underground tunnel instead.
When Orchid had told them to not expect the exits or entrances to this system to work twice, Kazue had to bite her lip to keep silent and just silently nodded. That earned her another suspicious look from the princess, but Kazue couldn''t keep from reacting. She had a feeling she knew exactly how these tunnels worked, they felt an awful lot like her shortcuts, if more fleeting.
Soon they were ensconced once more at the castle, and it was time to change and begin a different type of socializing. They were to attend a more public dinner this time. Not that they actually had to, it was technically only a request, but Kazue and Moriko were advised that if they wanted to maintain good relations with the rest of the nobles, they needed to learn to play their part.
180: Making Friends
The next day found Fuyuko trying to pay attention to what Mordecai was saying as she wolfed down another post-sparring meal. Bellona and Xarlug had both been part of this training session, taking turns with who was instructing and who was her partner.
"Any time a shape changer gains or loses mass," Mordecai said, "there is some sort of borrowing of that substance. When a mage or priest uses a spell, all of that is accounted for in the design of the spell itself. Any sort of side effect means that something went very wrong. Other types of shape-changing have different requirements."
He gestured at Fuyuko as he continued, "Your ancestors include a werewolf tribe, and that tribe had evolved in part from cursed werewolves. Such a curse is not meant to be nice, and the way you gain mass tends to create a ''debt'', and this is part of what leaves you and your kin so ravenous. Right now your body is also growing, so there is some competition for resources as well. As you get older and more experienced, you should be able to offset this debt preemptively. In short, you will always have a large appetite, and if you eat enough between shifts then you won''t be quite so hungry afterward."
She nodded and managed to pause in her eating long enough to swallow and ask, "Um, I never heard of kitsune or such having ta eat so much. They just hide it or somethin''?"
Mordecai smiled and shook his head, "No, at least, not usually. Kitsune generally becomes smaller when changing away from their base form. This shifts the debt in the other direction, though it does not offset their need to eat normally. Additionally, they are not born from a curse, so do not suffer the additional ravages thereof."
The man was a little harder to follow when he got into teacher mode, but it didn''t seem like he was trying to sound smart just to sound smart. Bellona had helped her understand it when they were talking yesterday, this was him being very precise. According to Bellona, a lot of the teachers and priests she knew from the temple tended to do something similar.
And rather than him trying to show off, it was more that he was simply expecting her to understand. He wasn''t talking to her like a little kid, and Fuyuko appreciated that. Though his last sentence made her frown, "Wait, does that make my wolf stuff cursed?"
"No, the primary curse itself is long gone. But it left its mark on your power, which is why it is harder for you to retain clear thought when you shift. It is something you can overcome with experience, and mastery will mean you can shift without being worked up or a change in your emotional state."
So, ''get good'', as Li had said to her when he had tagged her yet again when they were playing in the mushroom forest. She still wasn''t sure she understood exactly what he meant, but it sounded right for this.
After she''d finished eating, Mordecai asked her to head outside and hang out with Bellona. "Don''t worry about doing anything particular," he said, "I just want you to see how things work and get used to interacting with people coming through."
So Fuyuko spent the next few hours sort of wandering around near Bellona and people-watching, though there were a couple of times that she guided some lost-looking folk to their destination.
Late in the afternoon, she saw a boy and girl who had come in with another group make a bee-line for the dungeon, ignoring all the signs about testing at the arenas. There was enough going on that Fuyuko wasn''t certain if anyone else had noticed, so she strode up to intercept them. "Hey, guys, ya have to get checked out and come with a grown-up, ya can''t just go in."
The white-haired kitsune scowled up at Fuyuko, "I know what I am doing, but what do you think you''re doing?"
"Shizo," the boy who had been trailing her chided, "That''s not nice. We don''t know what''s happened since we were here." The three-tailed kitsune turned away with a huff, and the boy turned to look up at Fuyuko with a smile. "Um, sorry about that. My name is Derek. That''s my friend Shizoku. Er, we''re sort of expected? She''s been training me using a book Mordecai gave her, and Kazue said we should come back occasionally to check up on our progress."
Oh. Well, she wasn''t certain about that, it could be some sort of scam but it''s not like they were dangerous to the dungeon, but Kazue and Mordecai wouldn''t want them to get hurt either. "Ah, hold on. Bellona!" She called out to grab the orc''s attention. When Bellona looked over, Fuyuko just pointed at the pair in front of her.
Bellona nodded and raised a finger to tell Fuyuko to wait a moment, then finished up her business with a group of five delvers before she came over and addressed the two newcomers. "Hello, I''m Bellona, their most recent contractor, and this is Fuyuko, who is currently a guest but might become the next contractor. Kazue says you three should head in together, and she recommends taking her path at the next opening, and she''ll talk with you more directly later. But you have to wait in line for now."
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Shizoku scowled at the idea that she might have to wait, and then her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Did she tell you that? Here, outside of the dungeon? That''s interesting, maybe we can talk about that while we wait."
Derek sighed softly but Bellona spoke first, returning Shizoku''s overly-sweet tone, "She''d also like to point out that she knows your grandmother, and that ''Shizo'' is a very cute nickname."
The little kitsune blushed and cleared her throat, "Er, that won''t be necessary. I was just playing anyway."
"She really was you know," Derek said to Fuyuko. "Well, sort of. Shizo tries to be pushy, but she''s not actually the meanie she tries to be." He smiled slightly. "Once you know that, she''s a lot less confusing."
"Um," Fuyuko replied, glancing down at the three-tail who had just huffed and turned her back on them, "Okay, I guess we should sign up now. I only did this once before, and that was solo, so I don''t know what it will be like now." Once they were registered they saw that they had a bit of time before their turn would be up, "Um, I guess we should get something to eat? You guys have coin?" She asked.
Derek nodded. "Yes, some, but I wasn''t expecting to need to buy more food. It might be easier to go back to the wagons we traveled with and get some trail food."
Fuyuko was about to agree when Shizoku''s tails twitched and she growled, "Fine, I''ll buy us some fresh food." She eyed Fuyuko thoughtfully, "You probably eat as much as him. It''s a good thing Gran Gran decided I should have some extra coin for this."
"Huh?" Fuyuko felt a little lost as the kitsune stalked off toward the food stalls.
"Her grandmother is supporting Shizoku''s training of me," Derek explained as he began to follow Shizoku, "so Shizo has money for this. And she wasn''t going to spend money on me and not you if we''re going to be a team."
Their dynamic was weird. It looked like the bossy three-tail was in charge at first, but Derek seemed to be able to handle her when he wanted to. But hey, Fuyuko wasn''t going to turn down free food.
Once they had plates heaped with food from the stalls, they needed someplace to sit. Fuyuko would have been happy to find a grassy area, but Shizoku led them to a crowded area with some rough tables and gestured toward a small table with two chairs. "You two sit," she said, but with a smirk that made both Fuyuko and Derek nervous.
But they complied, if with some caution, and Shizoku nodded, "Good, now, Derek, this is your just desserts." And with that, she sat herself across his lap and wrapped her tails around him possessively as she gave an overly sweet smile. "You don''t mind, do you?"
Derek had turned a bright red and mutely shook his head.
Fuyuko took a moment to process what had just happened and then proceeded to just eat because she had no idea what to say. They were kids! Okay, she was too, but she was pretty certain they were younger than she was. And it was embarrassing to watch, even if it was pretty clear that Shizoku was having fun tormenting Derek by insisting on feeding him the occasional bite.
The kitsune eventually tired of tormenting her boy that way and turned her attention across the table. "So how did you end up possibly working for the dungeon? Mordecai and Kazue are rather responsible for adults, and I think you aren''t a lot older than us. I''m thirteen, and Derek''s twelve. I thought you were maybe sixteen or more at first, but now I am doubting that."
After finishing her current bite of food, Fuyuko nodded. "Yeah, I''m fourteen. Um, it''s a sort of a long story, but, well, my parents died a long time ago and the place I was staying can only help kids. And then I kind of got pointed this way as a possible safe place. It was a long trip, and I ran into this guy Gil who turned out to be a friend of Mordecai''s, and he made sure I got here safely. We''re still working things out, but if I stay, it''ll be as their ward. I think Kazue just wanted ta take me in, but Mordecai wants ta have it this way. He seems to like having rules, but not like really strict rules. But if I agree, it means going to school sort of. I never went to a school, but they''ve already worked out a plan and stuff. It''s not been too bad while I''ve been trying it out."
"Mm, that sounds like him," Shizoku mused, "he''s kind, but he''s not soft, and he won''t let you get away with stuff just because you get upset or pout." Her mouth dropped open in sudden surprise, "Oh! That''s why- um, never mind." She waved her reaction away and then asked, "What are you good at? I''m a witch and alchemist, and Derek has a rare form of elemental powers."
Fuyuko nearly choked on her food. Sure, she knew that being a witch didn''t mean you were like The Witch, but she couldn''t imagine anyone so boldly announcing that they were a witch back at her old home. Most people didn''t take kindly to witches of any sort. "Sorry, didn''t expect ya ta call yourself a witch, back north that''s an insult worth fightin'' over. Um, well, I mostly use my daggers in a fight, and when things get intense I can shift and get stronger and faster."
"North? Ah, that''s the accent. You came from Trionea? That is pretty far. Derek is from Riverbridge, and I''m from the Azeria clan, so we both live pretty close to here. I don''t know a lot about Trionea, what''s it like?"
They talked while they continued to eat, though Derek seemed to have been rendered mostly mute by Shizoku''s antics, and they made sure to finish up in time to be ready for their spot. Fuyuko wasn''t sure why Kazue wanted them to run that path together, but she was fairly certain that the cores had some plot in mind.
181: It Belongs in a Museum
Kazue was quite happy with the way the young trio was forming up. One of her biggest concerns with regard to taking Fuyuko on as a ward was making sure that she had friends who were peers, and this seemed like a great opportunity to set her up with a couple of them.
Of course, nothing was guaranteed. Derek was pretty easygoing, but Shizoku was often kind of prickly. Though Kazue was interested in a shift of Derek''s personality; he seemed a little more confident and he hadn''t become flustered when he met Fuyuko. Kazue suspected that he had figured out what Shizoku was up to, though she wondered what had clued him in, he seemed rather confused by her previously.
Now that they had started on the dungeon, she had plenty of time to finish organizing her thoughts about where she wanted to go from here. There were a couple of things that she needed to check in with Mordecai and Moriko about, but they both proved fairly content to let her go on with her plans.
And really, she didn''t have a lot she needed to do at the moment. Most of their mana was tied up in backfilling their territory to eliminate the geometric gap that their growth had caused. Mordecai had done some more work in measuring the mana demands and he wasn''t terribly happy about a prediction that his work created; now that they had breached whatever it was that normally compensated for imperfect shapes they were going to have to make every now zone fit without any ''indents'' and generally make it smoother, and they were going to eventually need to be more spherical. The only thing keeping it from eating at their ability to form rewards and respawn their inhabitants was that those two pools were tightly segregated.
This would explain why environmental dungeons tended to be spherical, and the two of them had committed themselves to becoming a hybrid design, so they had to pay the extra cost of more territory.
But with no other sort of growth to plan for, Kazue needed to entertain herself somehow, and even her illusionary pseudo-avatars only helped so much. She''d been able to tie the illusions to her mental state thoroughly, but they didn''t provide actual feedback and still took up her focus in order to know what was going on. Which could be embarrassing if she accidentally left one on while focused on the area of a different platform. Not that she would ever do anything like that of course.
When the three teens cleared the theater zone and had been gifted their prizes, Kazue had the director let them know to head down to the rest area of the library zone, where one of Kazue''s platforms waited. The trio showed a little bit of uncertainty but went along with the flow, even if their prizes had left them feeling suspicious.
Once they were at the rest zone and had approached the platform, Kazue activated her illusion and beamed at them. "Good job so far, but what sort of challenge do you think you are really up for? Because I think you three should try and push all the way through on this path."
"Which certainly explains our ''rewards''," Shizoku said dryly, "Survival and basic crafting tools don''t really fit for a theater level."
"Exactly! Now, I know that for the most part, Derek and Fuyuko have been training their combat skills, but Fuyuko also managed a good portion of her trip alone, and Shizoku''s patron is a forest spirit, so I imagine you can deal with the wilderness pretty easily. In addition, if you are here then Derek''s obtained a certain amount of control over his elemental abilities. This should give him the chance to practice to overcome new challenges. So, my proposal is that I drop off all your old gear here, to go with your current and future prizes. I''ll have to also get the okay for an indefinite travel time; getting through might take a lot of work, possibly even a couple of weeks. So first, are the three of you up for this?"
She gave them time to discuss the idea, and Fuyuko had a question "So, ta be sure, while I''m doin'' this, I don''t have ta do the rest of the schoolin'' you guys had in mind?"
Of course that''s what she was worried about. Kazue grinned at the girl, "No worries there at all. This sort of thing is important too. Additionally, a contractor can''t get the same sort of interaction with their dungeon''s challenges, so doing this before you become one is better for you and for us."
Derek was more uncertain, "Um, I don''t think my parents are expecting me to take that long, and the group we traveled with might be done before that."
Kazue nodded, "We were thinking of sending a messenger to your parents, and if they need any help while you are gone they could cover your work. It might be a good experience for a couple of our inhabitants." It was also technically more dangerous than anything they might do in the dungeon; if there was an accident when they were outside of the dungeon''s territory, they wouldn''t be coming back. Their souls would join the normal flow of life and death instead of resting in the dungeon''s core until they were respawned. But it wasn''t a risk any larger than every normal mortal faced in the outside world.
"Additionally, and we want to be clear that this is a separate offer, we were thinking of offering you three a sort of exchange program. You would spend a month here, working and training alongside Fuyuko, and then she spends the next month with one of you. There''s some concern about the long-term effects of a young contractor spending all their time in their dungeon''s territory, so this should offset that issue for her. Naturally, this requires getting permission from Derek''s parents and from Shizoku''s grandmother first, but I think she will be fine with some extra training for Shizo."
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Shizoku glared at Kazue''s illusion. "Really?"
"It''s such a cute nickname," Kazue said with a grin, "but I guess it takes someone special for you to let them call you that." Someone like Derek, apparently. But that part was best left unsaid. "So right now, you guys should settle in and get yourselves some food. It''s not quite up to the fare you had topside, but we have enough for you to cook something satisfying. And maybe if you are lucky, you can find your way to one of the cafes in the library tomorrow."
She sent some bunkin to collect the items, partially to maintain the charade that the wagons weren''t already inside their territory, and had them delivered by the time the trio had made their dinner. They were not the first and not even the last to arrive that evening, but the dungeon had been expanding the space as needed to accommodate the influx of people. Sure, there were some days when it was just empty, but those were becoming rarer.
With how busy the dungeon had become, they were also taking advantage of Kazue''s three-section library on some days, and the teens were going to face one of the useful aspects of that flexibility. Kazue made sure that they ended up in the exhibits section. This had been the hardest to flesh out, but now they had plenty of puzzles to solve. The other two sections would have been relatively easy for the book-smart witch to power through, the exhibits section was going to require all three of them.
It had become more of an interactive museum as Kazue had developed her initial concept, filled with displays ranging from historical value to pieces of art to educational pieces on magic, alchemy, or technology.
The trick was that some of these displays and interactive pieces were wrong or broken, with enough information to both notice that there was an error and to then figure out how things were supposed to be. Given the complexities involved, Kazue waived the normal limitation of needing to not talk to get the best rewards. Besides, that only really fit the normal library areas anyway, exhibits and displays were something you were supposed to talk about.
The first one was alchemy-based, though with a new formula and some exotic ingredients to ensure that Shizoku couldn''t just spot the problem and fix it immediately. The first part of the puzzle was that several ingredients were not in the correct locations. But as an educational display, there was of course a description of each ingredient, not just a name.
Following the instructions blindly would have resulted in a foul-smelling mess that would have spattered everywhere and been hard to clean off but was ultimately harmless. Shizoku''s experience and suspicious nature helped her notice that one of the ingredients was wrong, and they worked together from there. Derek''s elemental abilities were great at teasing out subtle properties of minerals while Fuyuko''s keen nose was adept at distinguishing all the subtle scents involved with the herbs that Shizoku was not familiar with. The result of this particular formula was several balls of strongly cinnamon-flavored, alchemically infused chewing gum, along with a copy of the formula.
The sharp scent and flavor could be used to ward of minor noxious scents and even reduce the effects of airborne toxins for up to an hour, but it had another use as well. If one carefully blew a large bubble until it popped, that thinning stretch would set off another reaction that released a small cone of fire in front of the one blowing the bubble, though it got weaker the longer you''d been chewing the gum and would no longer work about the time that the flavor faded. Not something they would give a normal young teen, but these three were also training for combat.
After they had claimed their prize, the trio had some exploring and reading to do before they discovered their second puzzle: A crystal and mineral display that had been ''vandalized'', complete with a bunkin playing the part of an overwhelmed and distraught curator. Some stones had been put in the wrong location, while others were simply missing. Derek was the best at finding the missing pieces, but there was a lot of area to explore. After that, they had to identify the correct stones. The twist was that some of the stones were dyed or heat treated to enhance their colors or mask their flaws, while others were samples of fakes. They had to become amateur geologists and gemologists to use the available tools and references to get all the samples into the correct displays.
As rewards for their hard efforts, they were given some small, semi-precious gems along with a pair of spectacles that could help decipher written languages you didn''t know, a hand-held magnifying glass enchanted to enhance its magnification, and a less powerful monocle-style eyepiece useful for examining small items while handling them.
A little while after they''d completed that puzzle, Fuyuko stumbled onto the ''gift shop'' without realizing that she''d been following clues when she''d been tracking down a story thread through multiple displays. But they were challengers right now, so nothing was free here aside from water from a drinking fountain. Taking the water with you required buying a flask.
Of course, Kazue liked to provide quality products. They were a little more expensive, but there were some flasks available that had minor enchantments to provide a light flavor to any water they held, while also being able to hold more water or other drinks than they should be able to.
Shizoku sighed and paid up; they did have some water flasks in their gear, but none of them were enchanted and it was a useful item to have, and the spiced packets of jerky and nuts were a fun treat, along with a few bags of candy.
The third display was a clockwork tellurion, or at least, the display for it. The pieces for it were scattered along with the remains of several crates that had been used for shipping the parts, along with the parts for some unrelated machines. There were assembly instructions, though those had been mixed up as well. Fuyuko took the lead on this particular mess, even if it was painfully obvious that she was shaking some rust off long unused and only partially remembered skills.
Assembling this monster took the rest of the day. It didn''t help that some of the shinier pieces were being played with by some faeries, which had not been part of Kazue''s design. The trio were exhausted by the time it was done, but were rewarded with some very nice pocket watches. The silver-plated timepieces were built to be both sturdy and precise and were enchanted on top of their quality materials and designs.
Of course, there wasn''t a proper place to rest in the middle of the zone, so the three of them found their way back to the gift shop and were able to talk their way into being allowed to camp out in the backroom of the store for the night.
182: Politics and Religion
The next two challenges were huge projects, far larger than they normally gave parties with seven adults, let alone three teens. The general objective was to have a group move through in about a day, but these last two projects were about a day each.
Kazue and Mordecai had good reason to ramp up the challenge, and the value of the rewards given was going to be a little under what they had earned, which would build up a bit of a debt on the dungeon''s side. And that in turn would allow some better prizes at the end.
And it was probably going to be the last opportunity to directly gift dungeon-craft items to Fuyuko, as she hadn''t accepted a contractor position yet. And some items required a dungeon''s touch to craft easily.
The first of the remaining two challenges on this floor was ''just'' a jigsaw puzzle, of a map of the entire continent. It was of course huge, and the pieces were not, but that wasn''t the hardest part. Every city and place name was on an identical scroll graphic, which Kazue had gone through some effort to standardize the size of through a combination of extra space on short names and writing larger names in smaller text. And the jigsaw piece that was removed for the names was identical for every piece.
Naturally, there had to be a solution to the puzzle, and that solution was to be found in the very, very detailed reference books that gave descriptive clues about all the labeled locations. While Shizoku''s general study habits would give her an advantage in searching through the books, her expertise was not in things like geography, and her base knowledge wouldn''t be a lot higher than the others. Aia would probably appreciate them hammering in a little more geopolitical knowledge into the stubborn girl''s head.
The prizes were straightforward. First, the linked communication rings that each of them had earned in the crystal puzzles were upgraded to include an indication of the direction and the rough distance to both of the other ones, as well as an upgrade to the distance the communication worked. The distance indication was simply the brightness of the representative dot, which hit its minimum at the edge of the communication range, though the direction range worked no matter the distance, so long as they were on the same physical layer of reality.
Second, they were each given a scroll case that was intended to be loaded with blank paper and had built-in wells for ink. When loaded and activated, the case would automatically map the terrain around them to a distance of about 20 feet if set in high detail. At the lowest detail setting, it would map out to about a mile, but this wouldn''t catch most buildings let alone their interiors, and no matter what the setting it could only add details that the person the case was keyed to sensed, and mostly this meant vision.
The three teens puzzled over their prizes on the way back to the store in order to curl up again for the night, and the group correctly surmised that Kazue and Mordecai were setting them up to learn how to be a team. While they were doing that, Kazue preserved the giant jigsaw and set it up in a gallery that listed the date, time to complete, their names, and their ages. She also added a transparent layer over the top that overlaid the place names with a blank scroll, so that no one else would have an advantage from their hard work. It was going to be the start of a bonus challenge rather than a regular challenge, but given the ego of some people, seeing the names of three young teens on such a massive piece would entice them to compete.
The final puzzle was a more creative exercise. They encountered an exhibit that explained the concepts of a tarot deck and the ways in which they can be interpreted, and included an example tarot deck using many of the primogen gods, such as Zagaroth for the Emperor, Amirume and Mericume for the Sun and Moon, Danu for the Empress, and Li for the Fool. This also gave an opportunity to demonstrate that when selecting specific figures to fulfill roles in a tarot deck, you based them on the individual role, and not the relations between them, thus Danu being Empress as it had no bearing on Zagaroth being Emperor.
The example deck delved into the fifty-six minor arcana as well, pulling from various pantheons. The dwarven god of brewing was in the cups/water suit, while the dwarven god of smithing was in the wands/fire suit, and so on. Naturally, the elemental lords of earth, fire, water, and wind took up the position of King of their respective suits, while other elemental lords took up the other ''court'' positions of queen, knight, and page.
This example tarot set also took up all of the gods that were well-known in this area. This was important because the challenge was to create their own tarot deck as a group, using only deities not currently represented in the sample collection.
They were given all of the art tools they would need to design and create their own cards, and of course, a compilation of all the religious knowledge the dungeon had. There was no specific correct answer, the task was to understand the gods that they studied and chose well enough to be able to choose something that would suit them and develop even crude artwork that was representative.
Kazue helped a little by making sure that there were stencils and such as part of the art supplies. The design was part of the challenge, not the execution of the design.
When they were completed, each of them was given a different but related boon. Fuyuko''s holy symbol was enhanced to help keep her obscured from the senses of the undead and other unholy things. Shizoku''s holy symbol of Mericume''s moon was enchanted to gleam with a hint of true, holy moonlight when brandished to ward off the undead. Derek''s was more difficult as he had not dedicated himself to a specific deity yet, and Mordecai manifested his avatar to have a discussion with the boy.
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In the end, they gave him a book detailing all the elemental lords and how their various edicts would interact with each other, weaving together a possible customized pantheonic worship that balanced the various elements, along with some guidance on how to construct a suitable holy symbol for the group.
It would be harder than following an individual deity or divinely decreed grouping, but Derek was only looking to find whom to dedicate himself to, and was not looking to become a priest or champion. The bar was much lower for lay followers.
This was not a dedication in itself, it was a possible guide if he chose this route, but there was no need for him to rush into the decision.
In addition to the above, they were each given three non-magical tarot decks: A copy of the original sample, a copy of the one they designed and crafted, and a third one that was their design as executed by Kazue''s own artistic skill. They were all high-quality materials, but in the end, they were more for sentimental value than for monetary value.
The teens were happy to collapse into proper beds in the next rest area and recuperate for the next floor. They had been passed by more than a few groups, so they didn''t know any of the people they met here. Kazue had kept their section of the library locked to them for the duration of their excursion through the exhibits.
The next floor was the mushroom forest/village. As each group was given their own quest objectives, there was no need to keep separate sections here, and the three of them were able to flex their talents a little more. Between Fuyuko''s sense of smell and Derek''s ability to sense slight vibrations when he attuned to earth, they were adept at finding anything alive once they were in the right area, and Shizoku was skilled at discerning minute details and differences when they had to find the exact right item or specimen.
It was physically exhausting but clambering through the mushroom forest and occasional deeper caverns or tall cliffs didn''t exhaust their minds in quite the same way as the previous floor did. It was also a lot less customized as Kazue let the bunkin and their fellows handle creating and implementing quests, and their hardest challenge was capturing a ''feral'' giant polecat without hurting it and bringing it back to the bunkin in charge of training new mounts. The polecat had a great time leading them on a wild chase and playing his part, as for the story of this challenge he wasn''t supposed to be sapient.
The rewards were fairly typical for this level; Shizoku got a couple more alchemical recipes and a selection of ingredients unique to this dungeon, while Derek and Fuyuko got a collection of single-use ''token'' items. Some of them could transform into various useful but much bulkier items, such as a long ladder or a berry bush that would root into the ground and provide enchanted berries with restorative properties for a day. After that, it would provide normal berries. Others contained emergency spells like one that would cause them to float if they started falling from a great height.
Though the rewards were decent for the work, it was still far from easy for the trio and Shizoku was getting quite good at complaining about the torments that Kazue was putting them through, though the other two were less vocal. And while some of the griping was sincere frustration, it also had the sound of stress release and bonding against a common ''foe''. It made Kazue eager with the anticipation of seeing Shizoku''s reaction to the next floor.
"Sun and moons sear the woman, I forgot about the stupid river level," swore the tiny white-haired kitsune.
Fuyuko took the initiative to start walking toward the lakeside town waiting for them in the ever-widening tunnel. She hadn''t experienced the river level at all, but she had been given a tour so she at least was more familiar with the concept than Derek was. Shizoku trailed last, spending some of her energy on continued grumbling.
Finding lodging wasn''t hard, but the inn keep had a message for them. "Mistress Kazue says you three have some special rules. No paying your way across or through anything, you have to work everything out yourself. If you need any training on skills, you can trade labor, skill, or knowledge, but not money or goods except for goods you collect or make from this point forward. This will apply to the next zone as well."
This elicited groans from all of them. "Why is she pushing us this hard? We knew it was going to take a while with only three of us, but this is getting ridiculous." Shizoku said with a scowl.
Derek nodded in agreement, "I mean, I''m kind of having fun too, but this is going to leave me away from home even longer than I realized."
"Well," the inn keep replied, "she''s keeping the details a surprise, but she''s trying to maximize what is fair to give you as a final reward. And assuming Miss Fuyuko here joins as a contractor, they won''t be able to give her rewards like this in the future, so they agreed that they wanted this last chance to provide something nice this way. Also, they figure this would be a nice way to help forge some friendships, seeing as how Miss Fuyuko doesn''t really know many people in the area, especially those close to her own age."
Fuyuko looked embarrassed at the blunt assessment but shrugged in acknowledgment of the truth.
Shizoku glanced between the two as her tails lashed and then sighed. "I was going to suggest separate rooms, or maybe me sharing a room with Fuyuko, but now I think that might not be best. Can you set us up with a room with three beds and some privacy for changing?"
That surprised Derek and Fuyuko, who turned to stare at her as they tried to figure out her logic. She rolled her eyes at them, "Look, it''s simple. While my training may have included weeks-long excursions with no company but the forest spirit, neither of you really trained like that. Derek''s clearly getting a touch homesick without more people he knows nearby, and Fuyuko, eh, I don''t know a succinct word, but it''s close enough to homesick and you could use some company too. So it''s best if we stick together and no one''s sleeping alone for now, alright?"
It could often be hard to remember that Shizoku was being guided toward possibly being Aia''s heir, but sometimes that education showed itself in unexpected flashes of insight from the prickly thirteen-year-old.
183: Flying Sparks
While the teens were learning how to craft a riverboat from scratch, Moriko and Kazue were enjoying their time in Ekuilance. They both received some guidance about protocol and manners to help guide them through the few parties scattered throughout their stay, and while dancing they had a lot of fun trading off who was the lead and trying to not giggle too much when Kazue fumbled a little as the lead. There was a reason the taller person was supposed to lead, and even Kazue''s greater experience as a dancer couldn''t quite make up for the difference.
They were perhaps not quite as decorous as they should be for occasions such as balls, but it was also a strategy. It left them looking harmless in political circles, and thus either ignored or underestimated. There was probably more to gain from playing the game properly, but the amount of effort and training it would take to master their parts wasn''t yet worth it. They would only be involved in such matters on rare occasions if they had anything to say about it, and the gains wouldn''t be worth the effort.
Moriko showing Kazue around the city was their other major pastime. The shopping continued to be list-oriented for now, as they wanted to wait until the end of their trip to leverage their status as avatar and contractor of the Azeria dungeon to purchase their items, most of which they intended to have shipped to the dungeon directly.
She also brought Kazue to slightly less reputable areas, in part to hit up some dive bars. Not that Kazue could drink a lot, her tolerance had only slightly improved. She had, at least, gotten better about not getting carried away.
The other thing that drew Moriko to the poorer areas of the city was the feeling that this was where she was more likely to find people in need of a little help. Asking for guidance had become part of her daily prayers, and she was slowly becoming attuned to this gentle response. She''d also been meditating on readings about free will and the intervention of deities. Generally, this was the way it was supposed to work; a mortal has to prove that they are dedicated to receiving this guidance, lest this faint brush of the god''s will interfere with the mortal''s own.
Some gods, whom Moriko wisely refused to name even in her private thoughts, were known to forget themselves in moments of intense emotion. It was probably best to not imagine a younger woman scolding her aunt for letting her passions control her instead of being in control of her passions.
Moriko''s first opportunity to help came when she heard a faint commotion, and she and Kazue followed this sound to find a back alley where a group of young teens were having some sort of fighting competition. She had no idea why they''d decided to create a ring of bodies at this intersection and challenge each other to ''duels'', but it was probably best to redirect this energy.
They fell back behind a corner and discussed some ideas. In the end, they used a bit of magic to disguise themselves to match the crowd and made their way into the group. While Kazue could use her shape-changing to assume the right size, she''d needed to call up a spirit to access the right magic to shrink Moriko to the appropriate height. And both of them required a bit of illusion to disguise their clothing. Neither of these really fit the type of magic granted by Sakiya''s grace.
The first step was to get their attention without scaring them off. That was easily done: She challenged the winner of the last fight, and handily won while being careful to not actually hurt the kid. This set off a chain of challenges which she encouraged by taunting the crowd, even challenging them to take her on two or three at a time. Eventually, her opponents were whittled down to one; a boy with a fire in his eyes that drove him forward to try even when he knew he wasn''t going to win this time either.
Moriko giggled as she flowed out of the way of his tired, desperate punch, then grabbed his wrist and held his hand up high, "I declare this one the winner!" The crowd''s confused reaction elicited more laughter from her. "This was such a passionate gathering of fighting spirit that you''ve garnered a bit of attention!" and with that she dropped the boy''s hand, stepped away, and whispered a healing prayer, directing a flow of vitalizing energy outward to all within her range.
"Now, this was amusing," she continued as Kazue dropped the spells disguising Moriko, "but if you really want to show your stuff, you should be applying to one of the temples to be accepted into a monastery. Especially Sakiya''s, but I might be biased there." Wind stirred by her chi began whipping around her body as she grinned and waved at the crowd, and then turned to the boy she''d declared the winner.
"That was an impressive display of spirit, you really should apply to Sakiya''s temple. You can even tell them Lady Moriko sent you!" And with that, she leapt into the air and ran off laughing. Kazue had dropped her disguise as Moriko started wrapping up her short speech and hastily cast a short-lived flying spell to follow her, the flare of Kazue''s red hair and tails no doubt sparking rumors amongst the teens.
They set down a few blocks over, well out of sight of the rowdy group. "That was fun!" Moriko said as Kazue shook her head.
"You are badly behaved," Kazue said, trying to look severe despite her smile, "but I think that broke the group up for now. Hopefully, the ones who really want to prove themselves will take up your suggestion. You certainly caught them off guard!"
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"A little display of fighting skill and a fun, showy power; why wouldn''t they fall in love with the idea?" Moriko flashed her wife a grin. "I think it will be enough to draw a few of them at least. Most of them weren''t serious enough about the fight itself, they were there for the show and to mess around I think. Or to not be shown up by their friends. Come on, let''s go back to showing you the city."
That intervention was much more fun than another that Moriko had to cope with later that day. A shouting match in a bar turned out to be one person being obsessed with someone who was not interested. A misalignment of passions, one who had too much and another who had none, in this context at least.
It wasn''t a particularly fun conversation, but it was hard for the pursuer to argue that a priestess of Sakiya had nothing to say about matters of love. It turned into an impromptu therapy session that included a reminder that one should not let their passions control them and that to push one''s passions onto another was anathema to the protection of free will. In the end, Moriko recommended that they seek more counseling at the temple.
This process also gave the other person reassurance that they were right to be true to themselves rather than bending to the desires of another.
That also ended Moriko and Kazue''s enthusiasm for that day''s explorations.
But the next day was the outing that Moriko had been looking forward to the most: taking Kazue to visit the monastery. In this case, she was showing Kazue off as much as showing the place to Kazue. Bringing one''s spouse for a tour of a monastery or temple wasn''t exactly a common event, but it wasn''t against any rules either, so long as it didn''t interfere with any duties or responsibilities. And currently, she had none, so she just needed to avoid messing with other people''s duties.
There were more than a few double-takes as they swept along on their tour. They might know Moriko, but she was looking a bit different with fancier clothes and a little bit of training on ''being a lady'', and she''d never brought personal guests to the monastery before, so she was not as instantly recognizable when walking close by Kazue''s side.
Though some of those double takes might have been from the kitsune having become a little bolder about her wardrobe and she was amused at the amount some people had to struggle to keep their gaze above shoulder level.
Moriko had made sure to bring a spare change of clothes, specifically, her old uniform. After they''d had lunch with Master Theodoric, Moriko asked in a theatrically humble tone of voice if her master would honor her by letting her demonstrate how she''d grown since she''d last been here. His assent came with laughter at her antics.
The training ground quickly had a large audience, and Moriko faced off against Theodoric wearing her gi. The signal to begin was given, and Theodoric simply shifted his feet and beckoned her forward with a serene smile. So she took the moment to offer a short prayer to Sakiya, letting her goddess''s grace fill her before Moriko called upon her martial skills.
Her body blurred as she snapped across the training field, her passage leaving a cracking boom. Her leading punch landed with a crackle of electricity, the latest development in her path to travel the skies, but that force did little as her fist was caught by his palm.
She hadn''t slowed her flying momentum, however, and simply let that arm relax as she flowed forward, her second punch coming slightly closer to striking his face before it was caught. Now her momentum had been completely halted, and Theodoric twisted his hands to grasp her forearms and used his leverage to toss her away from him.
As he did so, their shadows crossed. And distorted, growing long and stretching out instead of separating. Moriko''s form snapped back toward her master in mid-air, and he blocked her sudden flying kick with crossed arms and a smile of approval.
Moriko didn''t acknowledge the warm glow that his approval gave her, and relentlessly pressed her attack instead. Wind, lightning, and shadow; those were her elements now, and she flowed seamlessly between them. Her feet never touched the ground as she constantly moved, her will and chi providing enough force to let her kick-off of the air itself.
It was as tiring as if she was sprinting for every second of the match, but that was something she could do too, and hearing Kazue cheering for her was more invigorating than she could have imagined before this moment.
But her master wasn''t regulating himself to a matching skill level and was very cautiously on the defensive as he let her try everything she could to break past his guard. Every blow was avoided or deflected, even when she''d managed to attack from opposite sides with less than a second''s difference.
The match ended with a flash of fire as Theodoric''s blazing fists landed in her stomach and chest at the same time. Moriko felt ribs crack from his blow, and more ribs crack as she struck the arena''s wall. Kazue was there an instant later, her hands lightly touching Moriko''s skin as she called upon a nature spirit to guide her into a healing spell.
Theodoric had never struck her that hard before. Moriko wasn''t even sure she would have survived being hit like that a few months ago. She felt a little giddy from the implied compliment. Or maybe that was from Kazue''s kiss once she knew that Moriko was okay. Or both.
Moriko couldn''t stop smiling as she got back to her feet and bowed to Theodoric, "That was quite the powerful blow, Master."
He bowed back to her as he replied, "Thank you. You have grown quite a lot, and you seem happy in your new life. I am glad that you have continued to advance in your skills as well as having broadened your path successfully. That elastic rebound using our shadows was an interesting trick I''ve not seen before."
"I''ve always been a striker more than a grappler, so I decided to try and work Ozuran''s gift into a form more suitable for my style. This is what I have come up with so far. I am pleased to have shown you something new."
They continued to talk for a little while more about what Moriko had been practicing while the crowd dispersed, and then Moriko left to clean up and change back to her dress while Theodoric escorted Kazue to the gardens, where she and Chaxiss enjoyed a conversation while they waited for Moriko to meet up. The kitsune might not have been much of a gardener in her first life, but her experiences as a dungeon had left her with a lot more insight and understanding, and her ability to interact with the minor spirits only helped.
After that, it was time to return to the castle, and tomorrow would be another ball, which would be their last before they left the city to continue their trip.
184: River Trial
It was going to take a long time for the three teens to put together a crude boat for making their way down the river, though it would be shorter than it could have been, given the available learning materials and their own special skills.
Derek was the one to learn how to tightly weave reeds to be effectively waterproof. This was because his ability to tune to the wood element allowed him to control the reeds better than weaving by hand alone, though it was still a lot of work. This skill was learned in trade for the labor of making baskets to be sold by the bunkin who taught him.
Shizoku''s alchemical talents were perfect for learning how to make waterproof coatings to reinforce the tight weave, there was no reason to rely on the weave alone when they could make something better. While the little alchemist was working off the debt of learning these formulas, she also was able to find the time to tweak one of them and created a variant that could harden the reeds once it soaked in. Of course, she was going to need to make a lot of it in order to soak the entire boat.
Fuyuko''s keen senses were perfect for hunting out the various ingredients that Shizoku needed, as they were not able to simply purchase this sort of supply. The first several days were limited to hunting the shoreline; reaching the island in the center required that Fuyuko learn how to swim first. Derek and Shizoku were both able to help with that in the evenings, and Fuyuko proved to be reasonably adept if not exactly agile or graceful. They also sacrificed her older, more ragged clothes to alter into appropriate swim gear as, in her opinion, even her unusual leather armor wasn''t ideal for swimming in.
Not that she was entirely happy with the results of their tailoring job either. But at least the knee-length shorts and the shirt weren''t as form-fitting as the armor, despite having been made more snug than she''d prefer. Derek had shorts that he was satisfied with, and Shizoku didn''t seem bothered by wearing clothing that clung tightly when she swam, though it was edged with frills to break up the outline.
Several sets of her old street clothes were sacrificed to get exactly the bits Shizoku wanted to use. Fuyuko used to wear three or four layers of those, sometimes more when it got really cold, and some of her old ''shirts'' used to be dresses. All of it was torn and patched with several stains, she had kept them more out of a habit of always keeping any clothes you had rather than intending to wear them again.
There was also a lot of leftover material, which could be turned into strips and ropes and twine for various parts of the boat and oars, as well as a small sail. There was no wind down here, but Derek could attune to air and water to help direct the boat.
Once Fuyuko had gathered enough raw materials for Shizoku to make a sufficient amount of the coating, she turned to her construction task. While getting the alchemical ingredients, she''d also cut some long bamboo shoots and brought them back to their construction area, and had also managed to find a few shiny rocks that she hoped would prove valuable when they had a chance to get them checked out.
Now she needed to sort and double-check the bamboo shoots to make sure they weren''t splitting, and then she needed to trim them into equal lengths and create two large bundles that were tied together tightly. She wasn''t sure how these ''pontoons'' were supposed to work, but they were one of the things that had been in their instructions.
Of course, the instructions had also been a list of options. These pontoons were probably not needed, but this was their very first boat and they all felt more comfortable making the boat as stable as they could. This was why Shizoku was treating the presumably water-tight weave that Derek was making, and they were using a total of five poles crossing between the pontoons and the boat when only two or three should be needed.
It was during this construction work that Fuyuko started to understand how strong she really was. Sure, she was lanky, but she was also very tall compared to most people. That relative skinniness hid a lot of muscle, and her strength was further fueled by her heritage; her body inherently channeling potential and will into strength beyond the simply physical. It helped solidify some of the training and teachings she''d gotten from Mordecai.
During all of this, they had a room, food, and security in the knowledge that no one was going to mess with their work in progress. If it was a larger group of seasoned explorers, Kazue wouldn''t have made that promise, and in fact, would have encouraged mischief against the careless and the lazy. But there were enough stresses on the three as things stood, and coming back to find some of your work had been undone just wasn''t the sort of experience she could bring herself to inflict on them right now.
On the day they finished the vessel, they stepped back and let it sit, at Shizoku''s insistence that all three of them take a long break and rest. It was late the next day that they came back and began their testing. They were careful to not go far from shore at first, and most of their gear was either onshore or back in their room.
Once they were satisfied with their testing, they pulled back up on shore and rested that whole evening and well into the next morning. Kazue was amused at how well-regulated Shizoku had the team. She was bossy, yes, but she was also often correct about how to pace their work. Kazue wondered which lessons were from being on the receiving end of overwork, and which ones had been drilled into her head by her grandma.
They took their time triple-checking their gear and their setup before they finally took off for real. It was about noon, but the river itself was potentially traversable in a single afternoon, and at worst they should get through that evening. They had slept late, running a little into the night would be doable.
Navigating the sandbars and shallows proved easy enough; Derek sat at the bow and leaned forward to keep his hand in the water, tuning to water and earth to help sense things that would not be quite visible. He couldn''t help with the wind while doing this as two elements at a time seemed to be his limit, but navigation was more needed than steering from him, and he could use water to help push their boat.
Shizoku sat close behind him, to help balance against Fuyuko. Fuyuko''s job was to control the boat with a long guide pole. They also had oars, but given their lack of experience, using poles to push and guide seemed more intuitive and they kept the oars as backup.
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They passed the shallows and got to enjoy a short section of peaceful travel down smooth river before the cavern widened out and the river thinned too much to keep boating. Instead, they had to slog through wet, sucking mud while dragging the boat behind them. When they came to this realization, Shizoku made a sound of annoyance. "Derek, keep your eyes forward. Fuyuko, help me out." She normally preferred traditional robes, but the little kitsune did have some other clothing in her pack. Once she had on trousers and a shirt instead of robes, she was ready to help. Robes would not only have gotten dirty, but the weight of the mud on the hem as they dragged would have made them more awkward to move in. Normally such garments wouldn''t touch the ground, but given how much their feet sunk into the soft ground, she''d been right to change before getting out of the boat.
By the time they had gotten across the mud flats, all three of them were thoroughly covered in muck, with Shizoku grumbling the entire way. Just because she knew how to cope with stuff like this did not mean she was used to it, her forest was generally drier and ''cleaner'', with a lot less mud even during rain.
Once they reached clean water again and could relaunch the boat, they did their best to clean themselves up, but between their clothes and the boat, it was pretty clear that they were going to be stuck with things being muddy for a while.
Wet and dirty, the not-entirely happy trio continued on their way down the river until they reached the small lake with a barrier that had been hung low across the water to prevent passage. The bunkin ''gang'' manning the barrier challenged the teens to athletic competitions. The trio could try as many times as they liked, but they wouldn''t be allowed to pass until they won three of the competitions.
After some negotiation, Derek took the first challenge, which was swimming. Fuyuko wanted that to be first so that she could warm up with her archery; she hadn''t had a chance to practice during this delve and it could be a finicky skill to maintain. She did have to use a provided bow, however, as magic items were forbidden.
On the other hand, innate abilities were not banned, and with his ability to manipulate water, Derek proved to be a match for any of the land-based bunkin. He might not have won against a bunyip, but that would have been unwinnable for most adult groups as well, so they were not part of this challenge.
The archery challenge didn''t go as well as she''d hoped as their champion proved to be quite the marksman, but she was able to make up for it by winning at both arm wrestling and a race. She didn''t need to pull any tricks to win at arm wrestling despite the surprising strength of the much smaller bunkin, but for the race Fuyuko pushed herself, drawing upon extra power and speed from a partial use of her shifter powers. Rabbits were known for their speed after all, and she wasn''t taking any chances.
Shizoku did not try any of the competitions. She did offer to play hide and seek in a very sweet tone, so long as she was allowed to be ''it'', but the annoyed fox girl was showing sharper teeth than usual when she made that offer and the bunkin has been hasty to decline that offer. Instead, she used the time to set about cleaning herself and the boat with magic. The sort of spells that could be repeatedly cast this way generally didn''t clean much per casting, so it was only truly viable when they weren''t traveling.
After they had won their three challenges, there was only one more hurdle to overcome: whitewater rapids. While not quite as dangerous as true rapids, it was still a rough ride with a lot of bumps and swirls that could overturn a boat. The pontoons proved a mixed blessing here; they provided more stability but even with Derek guiding them and using his water attunement in conjunction with Fuyuko''s poling, it was proving impossible to avoid slamming one pontoon or the other into a rock occasionally.
When they hit the short waterfall at the end, Derek called upon all of his elemental power to make their drop smoother, and they landed in the final lake with their boat still mostly intact. There were, however, plenty of cracks in the bamboo of both the pontoons and their connecting rods.
Derek collapsed with exhaustion, and Shizoku had Fuyuko grab an oar and get them to the nearest shore while Shizoku tended to Derek and made sure that he hadn''t done more than tire himself out. Once she was satisfied that he would be okay, the kitsune took the time to get a better look at this side of the ending lake. It was simple and peaceful, with no clear challenge other than making it across to finish the zone.
It made her suspicious.
"Fuyuko, do you still have that air bubble chew I made earlier? Good, here''s another one. I want you to explore this area as best you can while I look after Derek. But start on the shore before you use these to dive." When the tall girl had left to begin her scouting, Shizoku settled Derek in to rest his head on her lap until he woke up.
Fuyuko''s expedition proved to be quite fruitful. She found the cave behind the waterfall easily enough and was quite happy with the shiny crystals she found there that looked much more valuable than the rocks she''d found at the beginning of the zone.
There were also a few herbs that she recognized the scent of from the training Shizoku had given her, and Fuyuko was careful to tuck those away into her pack as well. Only when she was satisfied did she prepare to go diving. Without a lot of other eyes about, she was more willing to just put away her outer clothing and go swimming in her armor. It didn''t actually hinder her, she just felt like she stood out way too much when it was wet like that.
Fuyuko wasn''t entirely certain what she was looking for underwater, but there were some particularly metallic-looking fish she managed to snatch by growing claws and using her hand like a spear. She dropped those off at the boat and noted with amusement that the now awake Derek looked rather embarrassed, though Shizoku insisted that he continue to lay there using her lap as a pillow while he rested. After that, she dived back down to explore the bottom of the lake, where she found a large chunk of clear crystal. It was a pain to haul the ten-pound crystal to shore, but she was quite pleased with her find, even if it felt weird every time she squeezed it.
Once it was out of the water and had a chance to dry, Shizoku was able to identify it as quartz. It was mostly glass-like in its clarity with very few inclusions, and the kitsune practically drooled over the idea of getting to make enchanted items with a chunk this large and clear.
In her excitement, she finally let Derek sit up again so that she could examine the quartz and start working on plans for all the things she wanted to make out of it. And she was going to have Derek help her when he had better control of his elemental powers.
There was enough room in the expanded space of Fuyuko''s pack to store the large crystal until they had time to deal with it and decide on more details of its fate.
Now that she was up, Shizoku also took the time to test the scales of the fish Fuyuko managed to grab and identified them as having scales of silver-infused steel, the same as the silvered steel that could be forged into weapons and armor, though the quality was not the best. Still, it was enough to get the trio to spend a couple of hours fishing and pulling up what they could, with Derek taking the lead and showing the others how to craft a makeshift fishing rod. They even managed to get a couple of gold-scaled fish, and one covered in ruby scales.
When they were done, the trio gutted and cleaned all their fish before they set out on the lake again, crossing to the far end where several campsites were clearly marked. The exhausted teens made camp there and kept the fish preserved in one of Shizoku''s storage pouches while eating simpler fair. The fire was easily lit at least, with Derek''s elemental powers coming to the fore again.
185: Scaled Friends
Kazue and Moriko spent their last two days at the capital completing all the purchases that they needed more leverage to make than they had easy cash for. The solution was easy enough; they dressed up in the expensive outfits they had been gifted with and a properly notarized court official traveled with them to the stores to verify their identities, along with a suitable retinue of guards and a carriage to drive them to their destinations. Properly identified, they could make purchases with an agreement for the purchases to be delivered to the dungeon and be paid for upon arrival. Not every merchant was amenable to this idea, and Kazue was pretty certain a few of those were just being stubborn because they knew exactly who she was and they were competitors with her father, but that was life.
They had intended this to be only a single day of purchasing, but it took even longer than they expected and it delayed their departure by one more day. This public show of their identities also meant it would be a lot harder to travel through the capital incognito unless they actively disguised themselves. Oh, most people would still not recognize them when they were dressed in their normal clothing, but it would only take one person to notice them and decide to say something.
The day after they completed their shopping, the two slipped out the western gate in the predawn, with a little bit of assistance from Lady Yuriko who seemed very familiar and adept with escorting young women out of the castle while keeping them unseen by others.
Realistically, this trip was their last chance to travel Kuiccihan in a manner mostly like normal people. They had the dubious distinction of being officially ''foreign nobility'' and ''national celebrities'' at the same time. So they set off walking the road to the nearest port city, determined to get in as much as they could during the remainder of summer and early fall. They doubted that they''d be back home before the first snows hit, not while traveling on foot to experience as much of the journey as they could, but they''d adjust their plans as the weather demanded. Winters were not terribly harsh in Kuiccihan, especially along the southern border which is where they would be traveling for the last leg of their trip.
They were determined to be home before snow made it too hard to travel, and they were going to stay home until a few weeks after the spring equinox and celebrate their first anniversary with Mordecai.
While they walked, Moriko had plenty of time to amuse Kazue with tales of what was going on back at the dungeon. Stories about the trio of teenagers were entertaining of course, but there were some other events of interest, such as the arrival of more kobolds.
Mordecai sighed as the old kobold shaman finished explaining why they were here. "So, you want me to be your retirement plan?" He couldn''t help but wonder if they had stolen this idea from the townsfolk having brought older pets to him.
Crizdirk laughed softly, "I would not have thought to put it that way, but yes. There have been generations beyond count since our ancestors last thrived in your territory, but we have retained copies of their knowledge. Not all will want to do this of course, but those who have traveled with me today are all in agreement that they want to. We did debate for a while to decide whether this would be an allowable course to follow. If the tribe had decided against it as a whole, then we would not have come to you." The kobold grinned, clearly amused at Mordecai''s discomfiture. "My lord, we know what we are offering of ourselves, the texts were clear about that. And even with severed bonds, they remembered you fondly when the books were written. We ask this of you freely."
With nearly three score elderly or disabled kobolds to host, Mordecai had elected to bring the group deeper into the dungeon rather than try to find space in the trading post. They were currently all in the observation room above the arena and enjoying food brought in by the bunkin. "This is a fairly significant decision," Mordecai replied, "and not mine to make alone; give us a bit of time to discuss it. Now, just to be clear: while my original territory may have overlapped where this territory now is, the rightful first claim is Kazue''s. She accepted me into her home and core when I was reduced to a spirit bonded to Moriko alone. As such, despite our history, this makes your clan junior to the laganthro clans."
Mordecai''s greatest concern was making sure that neither Kazue nor the laganthros felt displaced. This was closely followed by his concern with fully sapient beings offering to have their free will compromised. When it came to creatures rising to sapience as part of their bond with their dungeon, he had no problem with just accepting that as part of the nature of the world. This was in part due to the fact that they didn''t have an established identity and sense of self to alter.
A person from outside the dungeon did have a personality and sense of self established, and making them an inhabitant made alterations to their personality to guarantee their loyalty. He''d only been willing to make that offer to Brongrim and Nainvil because of the nature of the situation, as a possibly less bad option. Indefinite contractors were a much more limited resource, and he wouldn''t have really wanted them as such.
Ironically, he''d be more willing to consider those two as an option for contractors now, but they were settled in and apparently happy in their new roles as part of the Riverbridge militia.
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"Hmm," Kazue said over their link, "I understand why you are concerned, but isn''t this also their will to choose to serve? That seems pretty reasonable, and not too different from people choosing to serve a ruler."
"In some ways not," Mordecai agreed, "excepting my key concern. But you are right, they are choosing. We also have the right to not accept that choice, as it involves our agreement to make happen."
Moriko sent a mental sigh before speaking, "It''s sweet of you to be so concerned, it reflects part of what we both appreciate about you. You are very careful about not pressing your will on to others. But I think here you are making a mistake. They are choosing to serve as part of the community of the dungeon over the option of a well-earned afterlife that would not be subject to that sort of need to serve. From what you two have shared, it doesn''t sound like any of them are afraid of death. In a small way, it is a death, or at least a separation. I can only imagine that they and their families have already gone through grieving of sorts. Even though they can see each other again in the future, those who join us will not be quite the same, and this will be their new home. They''ve already prepared themselves for this."
"Love," Kazue added, "this should be fine. They are choosing to follow what feels right to them. They know our rules, they know this dungeon will not be like the dungeon they''ve been told stories of, but still, they have come to us as supplicants."
They were right, but he still felt nervous about accepting the kobolds. It took a little while more to pull apart the threads of his tangled emotions to find the root of it. Having kobolds as inhabitants felt like it might be going back to how he was when he made such poor decisions before. Like it might be easy to backslide into making arrogant decisions. But he''d only let that sort of pride rule him when wrath was ruling him as well. The rest of his past life held much that was good, and he had people from that life who still saw him as a good person.
"Very well," Mordecai said out loud, "but I need to make sure you understand in your hearts what you are giving up. A simple test for you: don''t fight my will. If you can''t accept my power in this way, then becoming an inhabitant would break you." He gave them a moment to register what he''d said, and then he pushed his will out.
This wasn''t a simple release of intent and presence. Mordecai pressed his will on them with raw power, a silent but irrefutable demand of surrender and acknowledgment of his victory and superiority. An aura of fear was one thing, but this sort of domineering aura dug deeper and was more likely to provoke prideful resistance.
This presence didn''t touch the bunkin, they already belonged to the dungeon. It was the outsiders who needed to bow.
And they did. Every one of them. Surprised, Mordecai released them immediately. He''d felt a few sparks of pride initially flare, but every one of them had quickly been quenched as those kobolds focused on their desire to become part of the dungeon, as their ancestors had once been. "I was expecting at least a few of you to not be able to resist fighting me."
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. They had passed the test, and proven what they already knew: that they were ready to accept the dungeon''s will over their own. "Very well." Kazue''s hologram flickered to life on a nearby platform, and Mordecai cast an illusion in the image of Moriko on one side of the platform as he took up position on the other side. "The three of us stand as one. Swear your loyalty and lives to all of us, and be welcomed as inhabitants of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon."
The kobolds didn''t need to approach to swear their oaths, Mordecai simply wanted to make sure that the images of his wives were in their minds as well as his own. And it only took moments more for all of them to swear their oaths from where they stood or sat.
The sudden influx of over fifty new inhabitants rippled throughout the territory as their minds and souls became linked to the web of the dungeon''s mana and core.
Mordecai smiled as he looked over the group. "Welcome to your new home."
Kazue beamed at them. "I''m always happy to make new friends! So, you have less than twelve hours until our second refresh hits. There''s no reason for you guys to take up any duties at all before then, and even after you are restored to your healthiest selves, I want you to take it easy for a while and just get to know your new home and make friends with the other inhabitants. Still, I know some of you will itch to be doing something, so let''s go over the rules Mordecai and I established. We want everyone to have a very full life, and for everyone to be capable of defending their home. So, if you already know how to fight, your first task will be to learn to do, well, anything that is not related to fighting but supports the dungeon. If you are not a skilled fighter or mage or whatever, then you can report to Captain Keelina in the morning to join in her training regimen."
She pondered for a moment before adding, "Oh, if any of you are good cooks or have some interesting recipes, you should probably find some time to teach Head Chef Dairell what you know. Playwright Briant would be happy to learn all of the stories you know so that he can turn them into more plays and sketches so we can continue to surprise our guests. Um," she glanced over to Mordecai to see if he had anything to add.
"Well," Mordecai said, "we want to know many things, but another specific one that would be good is if you can scribe a scroll of any spells you know. I know most of them will likely be duplicates of spells we have, but even knowing how you construct your spells and scribe your scrolls will potentially add variety. One of the roles we have given ourselves is to become a repository of knowledge."
Kazue nodded, "That sounds good. But! You will do nothing but relax until the next refresh restores your bodies. And after that, you will still take it easy for a while, everyone needs to get to know each other." She giggled suddenly, "Besides, we should get a couple of groups of delvers coming through before then, it might be amusing to see how they react to running into a bunch of kobolds. Oh, you don''t have to stay here to be clear, but if you aren''t up for a lot of wandering, then this is a fine place for you to stay until you feel better."
And with that, the dungeon had a whole new tribe of inhabitants.
186: The Fox and the Wolf
When Fuyuko, Shizoku, and Derek woke up at their campsite by the ending lake of the river level, they found a letter with notes on their performance. Kazue praised their ingenuity, skills, and perseverance highly, but she did note that if they had taken the time they could have started fishing and searching for treasures both above and below water up at the river''s source and along the river''s course, not just in the lake at the end.
Normally Kazue would include some extra performance-based prizes to be claimed, but she and Mordecai were still saving up to give the kids some bigger prizes, and it all had to balance.
The trio debated spending more time here treasure hunting, but in the end, they decided it was best to move on and see what the next floor held for them. They packed their boat back up and launched out into the lake to follow the next section of the river.
This proved to not be a terribly long ride, but they hadn''t been able to make out the other side very well and had been too tired to deal with the unknown if they didn''t have to. When they found a pier to tie up to, Shizoku looked out across the swampland with disgust. "Well, I guess robes are going to not be an option for the rest of this zone. Anyway, I say we take the day to deal with our haul so far. I want to be careful with descaling the fish, and we need the rest anyway."
Derek nodded and then walked along the water line to where the river blended into the wetlands. There he found a rock to sit on, and stared out at the swamp.
Fuyuko frowned at his back before turning to Shizoku. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he''s just in deep thinking mode." Shizoku waved her hand dismissively at the concern. "Don''t worry about it. He''s got some idea he''s chewing on, and he wants to make sure he''s got it right." She grinned up at Fuyuko suddenly. "He doesn''t seem like the brainy type at first, does he? I made that mistake too. He just likes to work his way through things meticulously."
The kitsune shook her head and looked over at the boy fondly. "Mordecai did a good job pointing me at him."
Fuyuko blinked in surprise before asking, "Wait, he set ya two up?"
Shizoku shrugged, "It''s a little more complicated than that, but pretty much, yes. I already knew the type I liked in men, I just hadn''t been able to see the potential in someone a little more my age. Derek''s going to be strong, and is already kind and thoughtful. And I need someone nicer than me to moderate my temper, and someone who is patient and thorough to slow me down."
Now she giggled at Fuyuko''s open mouth expression. "Don''t mistake that for great wisdom and insight on my part. My family and my patron have been quite thorough in making sure I am aware of both my strengths and my flaws. I''m a three-tail at thirteen years old, I know I''m kind of awesome, but I know I''m not perfect. Well, except for when I forget." She shrugged, "And that''s one of the things Derek is good at. He''ll never be mean about it, but he''s not at all afraid to call me out if I''m in the wrong."
It took a little bit for the luponi girl to gather her thoughts back together after that. She was thoughtfully silent as she helped gather the last of their stuff and headed into the swamp-side village to find a room. Fuyuko found her voice again when they were unpacking. "I guess, that means yer are dating?"
"I wish it was that simple," Shizoku huffed as she tossed a bag onto her bed. "Look, I figured out that he''s probably perfect for me, he balances me out and smooths over my rough spots. And with a little help from his friends, Derek figured out that I liked him and asked me directly about it. And he''s open to seeing how things go, but, well, he''s younger than me and isn''t very interested in the dating thing. So I''m kind of in between, a friend who gets to get away with flirting and messing with him a little." The thought made her growl with frustration, and then her tails suddenly drooped and she turned to face Fuyuko.
"I get scared sometimes," she said sadly, "I worry that I''ll drive him off. But I can''t not be me. I don''t know how to stop being me, but even if I did, I don''t think I could pretend around him. It would be too much like lying to Derek, and I really can''t do that. And I''m the idiot who kept getting crushes on older men. So it''s not like I really know what I''m doing either. I''m just kind of hoping that Mordecai and Kazue were right in pushing us toward each other."
Fuyuko didn''t know what to say, but she did remember something that had been done for her recently, so she simply hugged the smaller girl and let the kitsune cry out her stress. When she recovered, Shizoku stepped back and wiped at her eyes before frowning up at Fuyuko. "You don''t tell him or anyone that I cried, understand?"
Shizoku''s tone sounded like a threat, but Fuyuko was beginning to understand her new friend better, and she just smiled. "Dontcha worry. I gotcha."
"Hmmp," Shizoku replied, and then asked, "What about you? Got your eye on anyone?"
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"Nah," Fuyuko scratched at her neck with a touch of shyness, "honestly, the whole thing don''t make much sense ta me. If it makes ya happy, then great, but it feels kinda weird ta me."
The kitsune tilted her head inquisitively. "Really? But you''re fourteen. Not being even curious would be a really late bloomer." Now she looked Fuyuko over with an analytical gaze. "You''re lean, but you don''t seem malnourished. Hmm. What is the lifespan of oni like? Wait, that might not be accurate for you anyway. Can I call on Mordecai? I''ve got something I''m curious about."
"Um? Sure, I guess." She replied in confusion.
Shizoku nodded, and then called out with a sharp emphasis, "Mordecai!" Fuyuko felt a faint hint of the dungeon''s presence turning their way.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door, but it was not who they were expecting. Instead, it was a bunkin who told them, "Master Mordecai and Mistress Kazue are a bit preoccupied, but I can pass along messages if you need."
"Huh," Shizoku said, "Well, I guess that will do. So, Fuyuko doesn''t know anyone of her clan, does Mordecai know her equivalent age to humans and kitsune?"
The bunkin''s gaze went distant for a moment before he replied, "Master Mordecai says a normal fourteen-year-old oni would be close to a ten-year-old human or kitsune, as they are longer lived. Either of those mixed with an oni would be more like twelve years old. Mixing most shape-changer bloodlines would slightly accelerate the adolescent phase, but Fuyuko is not a simple mix as her clan is neither a stabilized ancestry nor a first-generation mix of two stable ancestries. This makes it much harder to tell, but now that he''s doing his best to analyze her biology his best guess is that aspects of her maturation will be desynchronized relative to most adolescent experiences, and some of it will come in fast bursts. If Fuyuko wants to go over details of what to expect, that is best relegated to a discussion between her and Kazue." The bunkin blinked as he processed what he''d just passed on and then he looked like he was trying to blush. "Um, is that all?"
"Yes, thank you," Shizoku said and closed the door when he left. "Well, that''s interesting." She turned back to Fuyuko. "I guess we shouldn''t hang any specific expectations on your age, it''s not a reliable tell. Well, things will happen when they happen."
"Er, kin ya break that down a touch more for me? I know how babies are made, but I think I''m missing somethin'' here."
Shizoku sighed, "I''m not sure if I should be glad this is part of my education or not. Well, let''s start with a question. I''ve seen your supplies, I know you''ve had your first blood. Have you grown since then?"
Fuyuko blushed hard but nodded. She was the one who had asked to be taught after all.
"Most of the time girls don''t grow much if at all once they bleed." Shizoku made a face at that, "Which means I am stuck at this height unless I actively change my appearance. So if you are still growing anyway, that means you aren''t following normal patterns. If that''s been thrown off, then everything else is up in the air too. Maybe you''ll wake up suddenly boy crazy tomorrow, maybe you won''t be interested until you''re twenty. Maybe this will be your build when you are older, maybe you will become an hourglass. Who knows? Well, Mordecai and Kazue seem to have a more precise idea than that, but you need to talk with Kazue about that."
She didn''t like the idea of becoming that curvy. It sounded like it would be awkward and she already felt clumsy often enough as it was. "Alright, I''ll ask her later then."
The two of them turned back to unpacking all their prizes but the fish and began sorting them. Shizoku was able to identify some of the stones, such as some nice pieces of white nephrite, but there was a lot she didn''t know here.
By the time they were done, Derek had rejoined them and helped finish the sorting job, with all the items they still needed to identify now in one bag.
"So," Shizoku asked when they were done, "what were you thinking about?"
"The note from Kazue."
"And?" She prompted.
Derek shrugged, "I want to ask Fuyuko a little more about what she knows of this zone, but I don''t know if it will make a difference. I think we might want to slow down and explore instead of focusing on clearing the level."
"Um," Fuyuko said slowly, "I don''t think I know a lot. I know we have ta satisfy Carmilla, she''s the fairy playin'' the part of a swamp witch, and when we do she lets us escape or somethin''. But I don''t think anything said we had to hunt her out first thing."
Shizoku tapped her lips thoughtfully, "Derek, I would have thought you''d want to finish up."
"I do, but I am not sure it''s what is best here. They want to challenge us hard to give us good things, right? Well, the more we do, like, really work at doing, then the more they can do too, right? And there''s something that feels different here. I think this will be good training for me."
"Well, I guess if everyone outside is okay with it, I don''t see why we can''t take our time," Shizoku replied. "Let''s clear up our chores today. We need to get the stones identified and figure out what we are keeping and splitting and what we are selling, we need to get the scales off the fish cleanly and see what else we can harvest from them. I bet they are tasty as well, so let''s not waste it."
Derek frowned at that last part. "Are you sure we should eat them? Aren''t they dungeon monsters? They could be smart like the rabbits."
The fox girl and the wolf girl turned to him with expressions that clearly conveyed their opinions of the idea of not eating available meat. Shizoku answered him first, "That''s sweet of you, but there are two points you should know. First, that only applies to some creatures, namely the ones that the dungeon has elevated in some way, and the fish aren''t that sort of creature. Second, for the most part, the dungeon still doesn''t care. It''s part of the cycle since the inhabitants don''t really die. My patron taught me a lot about this sort of thing since the last time I visited. Now, Kazue''s got a soft heart, so she might have some issue if we were eating the dire rabbits, but I don''t think Mordecai or the other inhabitants would be bothered."
"Besides," Fuyuko added, "you can still eat things that talk at you. Gil and I ate the peryton that I killed and nearly killed me. No one''s had a problem with that."
And this is how the wolf girl found herself having to tell that part of her history in much more detail than these two had known before.
187: Dungeon Thoughts
Being a dungeon was becoming very busy, and Kazue was glad she didn''t need to sleep. For over half the day she was simply skipping her attention from place to place to keep track of what was going on and give small nudges to her inhabitants when she felt it necessary. A significant portion of her attention was devoted to keeping track of the three young teens, a task she shared with Mordecai as they wanted to walk the line of pushing the trio''s limits without significantly endangering them.
Then there was the thread of attention taken up by being in frequent communication with Moriko while she and Kazue''s other self traveled. It wasn''t so much normal conversation as status and information updates, but it was important to Kazue to make sure her wife was kept in the loop. Mordecai helped here too of course, but with so much going on that Moriko might be interested in and so much for Moriko to share in return, it could still take up a surprising amount of her mental bandwidth.
Though her conflicted feelings about the whole thing might be part of the issue there. She was slightly jealous of her own avatar, which made no sense logically. Once they re-synchronized, then all of her memories would be fully shared rather than the fleeting impressions and vague dream like memories she collected from the connection with her avatar. It was like her left hand being jealous of her right hand. Not that she had any actual hands at the moment.
But, not having her avatar here sort of allowed her to focus on being a dungeon more. Normal dungeons needed avatars to learn how to be better at being ''people''. Having the avatar portion of herself leave made it easier for her to focus on her existence as a dungeon. It did make her wonder if she really should have made her illusion platforms; they sometimes felt like a bit of a crutch. But they also felt so natural to use and puppet, so much so that her emotional reactions were often shown before she consciously decided to do so.
She used them more when the delvers were less active, it was easier to spend the time and focus on manifesting them when there was less to keep track of. But there were still other things to manage during the evening. For one thing, she and Mordecai rotated through checking in with their inhabitants to make sure everyone was taken care of. Leaders were checked in with more often as they should be aware of any issues with their underlings, but the cores had a mental list of all the inhabitants that they went through slowly to try and spot-check.
The idea of being this deliberate was relatively new, born more of her concerns than any experience of Mordecai''s. His instinct had been to simply trust that any issues would be brought to him, but dungeon instincts weren''t perfect, and Kazue felt it was better for them to have a more direct personal touch in this matter.
And there was the constant matter of enhancing their inhabitants. There was still a constant tax on their mana, but their reserves were slowly filling and they could fill out a few gaps. One of the early ones was to upgrade more bats in the outer zone, creating ''bronze bats'' as weaker versions of Belle and Freya.
And then there were the other animals in the zone. Creatures like insects were simply incorporated as part of the background life of the dungeon, but creatures with stronger spirits had become sapient inhabitants even without being enhanced. For now, Kazue and Mordecai were making them stronger, faster, and healthier versions of themselves to provide an adequate challenge for any hunters. The bats could be mistaken for simply a new breed of magical creature, but if a lot of new magical creatures started appearing, it would give away the secret.
They had also had a few laganthros who had become usagisune, like Betty was. Aside from the mana cost and the question of who wanted the upgrade, they were restricting it to the oldest of the various tribes; those who had been adult rabbits when Kazue had first awakened as a dungeon. They would ease up on that restriction slowly, but right now they wanted to be careful about combat interactions with delvers and more humanoid inhabitants and were having them only work roles in the noncombat path.
Betty wasn''t an issue at the moment, she had been on ''vacation'' for several weeks now, and looking pleased about it. This left Umbrowl as the only active boss on that floor, and the dungeon was supplementing the boss room with combat teams to keep the challenge to the right difficulty.
Kazue was conflicted about Betty''s condition. Part of her said it was selfish for a floor boss to get pregnant without warning, but she immediately countered her own thought, asking herself what right she had to interfere with someone else''s personal choice like that? And the other female inhabitants were able to make that choice freely.
At least Carmilla had been willing to take a protective tattoo; the fairy witch had no interest in that sort of responsibility.
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The whole issue had brought up one of Mordecai''s few blind spots: he didn''t actually know if the unborn would be included in the dungeon''s reset process. Distinct spirits didn''t develop until well into gestation, and souls generally didn''t form until after birth. He didn''t know if they registered as individual inhabitants before that, though he suspected any with spirits formed would be fine.
The reason he didn''t know the answer was that it had never occurred to him to worry about it. It wasn''t part of what he''d thought about as a dungeon. He had just let his inhabitants live their lives, and by the time he''d become more introspective he had large tribes of kobolds who were very good at regulating themselves while making sure all their duties were performed. Why would it have occurred to him to worry about it?
Kazue found this mildly frustrating, whereas Moriko thought it was a hilarious sort of blind spot for Mordecai to have. But she wasn''t the one who now had to manage the possible consequences of that concern, and no one wanted to perform any tests to find out the answer.
Then there was the other issue regarding Betty''s pregnancy. That was Gil''s child, and they were going to be raising it here. How would he feel about the idea of his own child being an inhabitant? Kazue or Mordecai could make a deliberate decision to not let the child''s spirit and soul attach, but then the baby would be less safe.
They could let the child bond and then remove the bond later if Gil or the child asked, but removing the bond between inhabitant and dungeon had almost as much potential for mental upheaval as establishing it with an adult sapient. And Gil probably wouldn''t be this way again for a long time according to Mordecai, the child could well be an adult by then. What if Gil was upset but the child wanted to remain? They would support the child of course, but that might cause actual conflict with Gil.
This was one of the few issues where she and Mordecai differed significantly. Mostly in that he didn''t see this as being a problem. Gil might not be the most responsible adult ever, but he was an adult with worldly experience. If he didn''t want to risk having a child, he knew how to be protected. And he saw no reason to not let the child bond the same way any other infant born of a dungeon inhabitant who was in their dungeon''s territory would.
Moriko wasn''t sure what to think about the situation, in part because she didn''t have as deep an understanding of what the bond between inhabitant and dungeon meant, but she had said something privately to Kazue. To Mordecai, this was a normal aspect of a dungeon''s existence. Kazue''s bias, like Moriko''s, still leaned toward an outsider''s point of view. Was there really any issue with Gil''s child being an inhabitant? Why should it matter if the father of Betty''s child was an outsider or a fellow inhabitant? Her child being an inhabitant would be normal to her.
Kazue hated the idea that she might be prejudiced here, but she couldn''t deny the possibility. She wouldn''t be surprised if Mordecai had had a similar thought to the one Moriko expressed, but if he thought he might hurt her feelings and sound accusatory by saying it to her, then he would keep the thought to himself. Well, unless he thought that it would make an important difference.
For now, this particular debate had been kept between the three of them, and unless they otherwise decided to change things, there was no need to concern Betty. Not taking any action otherwise meant that her child would be born as an inhabitant. And despite her concerns, Kazue couldn''t argue that preventing the bond would definitively be the better choice.
The only other thing that demanded a lot of their attention right now was the integration of the kobolds. Not that there had been any major issues thus far, it was just something that Kazue wanted to make sure went well. Loyalty to the dungeon did not mean that there couldn''t be issues with an individual or group feeling that they were the more suitable ones to fill a role or otherwise be better at serving the dungeon''s interests.
The age of most of the kobolds seemed to help here, though only because they had self-selected to be part of the dungeon. These were the old folk who had mastered their egos, and were ready to just provide their wisdom and do what they could to help out. The sort of old folk who got ever more self-righteously stubborn were the sort who wouldn''t be inclined to become a dungeon''s inhabitant.
They really were a great help too. They had a lot of experience and knowledge to share and the restoration of their youthful health had left them feeling invigorated. Kazue expected crafted goods bearing the marks of their craftsmanship to start showing up in trades within the week.
And those weren''t the only new things that would be coming out of the dungeon. Mordecai had finished some of his experiments and had refined the results into very worthy prizes, but they were going to be difficult to hand out as fair prizes for a while. This led back to the teen trio, and why they were pushing them so much, including a bonus round they would be offering at the end. Kazue had worked with him to come up with even more ideas, and they''d needed to observe Derek closely to better understand his powers and work out how they could best help him.
She was pretty certain that they were walking a fine line with giving Fuyuko special prizes, but she was working hard for them. She deserved as much as anyone else working this hard, and she was not a contractor yet.
And one of the prizes they intended to make for her was going to be a design test. Just having her claim it would tell them much about how well it worked, and they could apply that knowledge forward to other prizes. This one was going to be very new even for Mordecai, though he had done something a little similar previously, under very different circumstances.
188: Sounding out the Swamp
Fuyuko, Derek, and Shizoku spent most of a day dealing with their accumulated gains and preparing for their first day of exploration. Shizoku spent a fair amount of that evening''s time communing with Bip, her slime familiar. She needed to adjust what spells she had at the ready for dealing with a wetlands environment.
While she was studying her grimoire, Derek and Fuyuko were preparing more physical means of dealing with the wetlands. Most of their work had been dealt with by trading the boat for three pairs of proper swamp boots, but the footwear needed a little adjusting and resizing for each of them.
The over boots were a combination of different techniques for dealing with different sorts of mud, with the base being a raised wooden sole that ''winged'' out to resist sinking further into soft mud that was deeper than the ridges raised the sole. These were attached to oiled leather over boots that were useful for wading. The wooden soles were detachable for prolonged wading where they would provide a hindrance.
Derek could reshape the wooden portion to match their feet exactly, and reshape metal fittings if needed, but leather and cloth needed manual adjustment. Given how long they were planning on using these for, it was important to make them fit as perfectly as possible to prevent blisters and sores, even with their normal footwear underneath the boots.
They began their exploration by using the mapping tools they had won in the library to learn the layout of the swamp near the town. It didn''t take them long to realize that some of the islands moved very slowly, and Derek was able to use his elemental talents to investigate, leading to the disturbing realization that under the right conditions, mud could have currents and flows.
Shizoku''s magic wasn''t quite as effective as she would have liked, for most of it was designed to work in other environments. Magic designed to hide your tracks and traces didn''t prevent you from making them in the first place, and so did not keep you from sinking into mud. She did have a spell designed to make traversal through any terrain safe and easy, but it didn''t last very long and was best reserved for crossing smaller sections of really bad terrain.
Spells used for manipulating and altering plants could also provide small bridges, but these were limited by the strength of the nearby plants. Generally speaking, they were better for clearing plants out of the way.
These difficulties were inspiring ideas of future spells to research, but that required more time than just the little bit of rest they got each day.
Derek''s powers were more consistent and easier to use repeatedly or for long periods, but the effects tended to not be as dramatic as the witch''s spells. He could make the mud firmer or softer to a degree, but he couldn''t create a solid path out of flowing silt for even a few minutes.
Fuyuko found that her long limbs and greater strength allowed her to move easier through the swamp than her friends could, just by virtue of being able to apply more force and leverage. This was why she was leading the way, Derek found it difficult to monitor the details of the mud around them while also working to firm it up constantly, and it was easiest for Fuyuko to cope with any sudden changes that Derek wasn''t able to compensate for.
Their outward journey each day was mostly limited by Derek''s stamina, and when he was approaching his limits they would use a combination of their maps and Shizoku''s divination magics to find the best route back. Such spells required some precision in defining a destination, so they were not very useful when you didn''t have a concrete destination in mind.
Because the trio were taking their time to be thorough and to explore all possibilities, it didn''t take long for them to begin finding all the bounties that the swamp held in store for them. Shizoku was able to find plants with medical and alchemical uses, though she had to consult the tomes that she had stored in Bip''s memories as wetland plants were not very familiar to her. Once she had identified any specific plant, she could give it to Fuyuko as a sample and the luponi could use her better senses to find more of that plant.
Fuyuko also caught the scent of some mud that was strangely familiar, and after she and Derek dug out some of the intensely colored clay, Shizoku was able to recognize it was a valuable type of clay used for making prized teapots and other pottery. This explained why the scent had been familiar to Fuyuko, as Kazue had been excited to introduce her to Cimbu and the fourteen-year-old had been fascinated by the ability to make the little clay dragon spit water without any magic involved and sometimes made some tea just to have an excuse to play with the tea pet and make him spit. Well, once she''d been shown how; tea wasn''t something she''d had much experience with before.
Claiming the clay was more problematic. However much they might be able to claim in their explorations and bring back to town, there were only so many other explorers they could trade with as everyone had a limit to how much stuff they could physically haul out. In the end they decided on a single large sack of clay that would be stored in Fuyuko''s spatially expanded backpack.
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Derek did most of the work of ''mining'' the clay, during which they made another discovery: Opals. There weren''t an outrageous number of them, but they were decent-sized and high quality. These became a higher priority target than the clay itself, though they kept that too.
The teens didn''t forget the lessons they''d been given about the previous level and wanted to fish here too. However, the water was murky in the places it was deep enough to possibly have fish, making it more difficult to know where the fish were.
It was only after they talked with people back at the town that they learned about fish traps, and set about making those. Specifically, eel traps. The eels were prized for both their skin and their flesh. Their skin was both durable and supple and came in a wide variety of colors and patterns, and their flesh was sweeter than most varieties found out in the world. As soon as they learned how to make and set eel traps, those were added to their routine during their explorations.
Their travels throughout the swamp also brought them to many of the scattered ''monster homes'' throughout the swamp, including the time that Fuyuko nearly stepped on a kobold enjoying a nice relaxing mud bath. It was a shock for all three of them as none knew about the relatively recent acquisition of the small, scaled race.
Shizoku was fine with the kobold after she got over her shock, but she did less well when they met the crabbit, who was so kind as to sing for them. Not that any of them found the sight of the interior of the ''mouth'' to be less than disturbing, but the effect on the little kitsune was profound as she tightened her lips into a forced smile despite the panic showing clearly in the lines and tension around her eyes. She did well enough to keep her reaction under control that the inhabitants chose to ignore it rather than call her out on it, which would have knocked down their standing in the witch''s evaluation.
After about a week, they decided that their mapping and exploration of the swamp was about as good as it was going to get. It was time to approach the witch''s hut that they''d avoided previously. The Fairy Witch was in a strange, almost manic mood and the trio quickly found out she was obsessed with creating new musical sounds.
"Alright kids," Carmilla said, "you want to pass my swamp? You have to help me out here. Look, the bards I''ve gotten my hands on have been great and all, even pretty damn creative. But I think I need something from people who don''t know as much about music. Here''s my workshop, I don''t care if it''s a new instrument or a new way of playing an old instrument, a different sort of harmony, or whatever. Gimme something new, and you can use anything you want here, the good stuff is in another building. Bah, this lot." She glared at a group of distant figures. "They''re boring, won''t even respond to me flirting with them, and not a musical bone in their bodies. Well, time to play the part. Have fun in there, but I don''t really want to see you again until you got something for me."
The only one of them with any musical training at all was Shizoku, but it had never been something she''d pursued on her own. That left them somewhat aimlessly poking around the workshop and messing around with instruments they found, many of which were obviously experiments that were only finished enough to test.
That did eventually prove to be enough for inspiration. A large lute was laying on top of a narrow table, and Derek frowned thoughtfully at it. "I think I remember seeing something once that looked a little like that, but smaller. Like, it had a long board with a bunch of strings, way more than the lute, but the strings were on the top sort of like the lute, and it had a folding stand so that it sat on the ground. The lady who played it was set up in the square and taking tips, I guess to help pay her way? I don''t know where she was traveling to or from, I only saw her once. I remember it being nice, but I don''t remember what it sounded like exactly."
That was enough to start the ball rolling. "I think I know that one," Shizoku said, "Gran Gran has one tucked away. I don''t think I''ve seen her play it though. Hmm. Well, she wants something new to her, and I don''t think it''s portable enough that most people are going to lug one down here, so maybe we can do that. I don''t know how to tune without a tuning fork. Wait, Fuyuko, you have sharp ears, think you can figure out proper notes and a scale? "
Fuyuko looked at her blankly. "Um? I don''t know, what does it involve?"
Shizoku gave her a quick rundown of how notes relate to each other with harmonies and gave an example by singing a few notes that were close to each other. "So like that, but cleaner. Only, we are supposed to be creative, and I know that there are different scales." She chewed on the idea for a little while more, thinking out loud while the others asked questions.
They agreed that the first step was going to be having a sounding box for the body, once Shizoku explained that was how the instrument amplified sound. Though that meant figuring out the size. Derek suggested that he try to make it as big as Carmilla could play. She wasn''t as tall as Fuyuko, but she was pretty tall and had long arms and fingers.
The table seemed like a perfect frame to start with, even if they were going to destroy it, and the three of them set about scavenging the other instruments for parts. They snacked on strips of dried eel when they needed to take a break, and by evening they had a crude sound box built into what had once been the table. Even with Derek''s wood-shaping skills, they were having trouble getting the salvaged parts to fit smoothly together into a single box with enough resonance.
Udup, the witch''s shadow drake familiar, came out to check on them, and after getting a report on their progress offered to fetch them some food if they wanted to camp out here instead of trekking to town and back. The teens agreed that was the better idea, and it allowed them to tinker with ideas until they turned in for the night.
189: A Tuneful Trio
When the three teens got up the next morning, they ate quickly before turning their attention back to the instrument.
With the soundboard ready enough, Derek''s next task was to collect the string posts and such from some of the scrapped stringed instruments, but to do no more than clean them up if needed and set them aside for later.
While he was doing that, Shizoku was using one of the better instruments in the shop to make sure that Fuyuko had a solid concept of scales and octaves. During this, the luponi couldn''t help but ask "Ya should be able ta hear as well as me, why are ya tryin'' ta have me figure this out?"
"Well," the kitsune replied, "there''s a few things involved. First, I have paid a lot more attention to my magical senses than my physical ones, so while my ears might be able to physically hear as well as yours, my mind isn''t as attuned to working with that information. You have been used to pushing yourself to make the most of every sound." She hesitated a moment before adding, "There''s something else involved with that, but I think it''s best if someone more experienced teaches you, which Mordecai is probably going to do, so I am not going to even tell you what it''s about. I just don''t want you to think I hid something from you later."
After Fuyuko gave a slightly confused nod, Shizoku continued. "I am also giving you just enough information for you to get certain key concepts down. Once I do that, we can hunt for a fresh set of notes without the bias of the rest of my training. You''ll understand when we are done."
Once she was satisfied with the taller girl''s understanding, Shizoku began the next stage of the process. "Okay, now this instrument over here has some adjustable positioning with its tuning knobs, and we have some other pieces that were also still being prototyped. Fuyuko, what I want you to do is find a new note. We have a bunch of strings of different types, so you can play with it with different sounds. So you hunt down a note that you like, no, love. Deep or high or somewhere in between, it doesn''t matter. Once we have a single note to work with, we can scale up or down as needed to get the matching ones, the only limitation is that it has to be a note Derek can hear. The notes I showed you are the notes I know, but technically a scale can be based on the harmonies of any frequency. Since you don''t know all the systems that already exist, and you have really good hearing, you should be able to pick out a clean frequency to start with."
After Fuyuko got a hang of tuning strings, Shizoku had Derek follow her out of the workroom. "I don''t want to disturb her concentration, and I don''t want our reactions to influence her. I''m sure she''s heard plenty of music before, but I doubt she''s heard as much well-performed music as you have, so she won''t know what sounds are supposedly wrong."
While Fuyuko was occupied, the pair explored the witch''s island more, poking their noses into any unlocked buildings other than the main house. Some of them were storage, and some were other types of workshops. Shizoku wasn''t certain if the wreck of an alchemy lab was the result of visitors or of Carmilla''s own experiments, and decided it was best to not ask. But there were a lot of notes and a few books, so she decided to start browsing them and copying any new information she found. She also wrote on a couple of them to correct anything she saw that was clearly wrong.
Once the fox girl got distracted by her studies, Derek decided to practice channeling his elemental abilities more. The swamp was a fascinating mix of different types of elements and different ways elements could be seen. The concept of ''mud'' was complicated enough that he was beginning to see it as its own thing, distinct from earth and water.
And then there was the way in which ''air'' could be trapped in the muck, and even the more liquid stuff could prove difficult for air bubbles to escape readily. None of that was good quality air, at least, not if you needed to breathe, but it was air. Sort of.
He walked along the wooden walkways that wound around the island, probing as far as he could with his senses. Holding on to this state was tiring, but it was easier to keep doing this exercise when there was something new and interesting to puzzle out. He wasn''t trying to manipulate or adjust anything right now, that seemed like a bad idea to mess with Carmilla''s island, but there was enough here that was simply different from what he''d seen before to keep him occupied for a while.
So when Fuyuko had found the note she wanted to work with, she had to spend more time fetching her friends before they could continue. "So, as I was playin'' with the notes, I kinda remembered some old songs my ma used ta sing ta me. They didn''t sound the same as the songs people liked, and they ain''t in common, so I ain''t sung them in a long time, but I tried ta remember them as best I can, and then I figured out some strings that sounded like I remembered. I think these can work as part of a scale."
Shizoku was satisfied with the results. "It''s not on any of the scales I know. Very good Fuyuko. Um, and maybe when we are done here, we can hear those songs. Now for the hard part. We have to find the harmonies. More specifically, we have to find the harmonies and how to create them with the available strings. This is going to be a lot of work, and most of it is still going to be based on Fuyuko''s hearing, so our part is to make sure she has as many available strings and ways of adjusting them as possible."
It took several days in fact, including marking sections on the strings that could be used to change to a different harmonic note. Part of this was to create a lot of options, which they were going to need. Shizoku took a lot of notes during this, and Derek eventually had to go back to town to barter for some more strings. They had a lot more than they were going to use in the final product, but there were so many more possible notes than Derek had realized. And the tiny fox organizing their efforts was being perfectionist about having every possible option available. She''d also added "precise distance measuring tools" to his shopping list.
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In the end, Derek had what she wanted, but he was pretty certain that he''d overpaid in at least one barter. At least he''d been able to get some more food supplies. The meals Udup got for them were fine, but a little repetitive and boring, so it was nice to get a change of pace. He also made sure to collect the items they had been storing in their room so that they didn''t have to lug them around the swamp, as they had a place to stay on the witch''s island.
And during all this Bip was amusing itself by learning to vibrate in tune with the various notes, and even showed off by making waves on its surface that matched the sound. Shizoku looked a little confused when she passed on what her familiar said, but to Derek that felt like an insight he needed to work on with his air attunement.
When their taskmistress was satisfied with their options, it was time to create the layout for their instrument. "We need a piece of wood the same size and shape as our instrument. We''re going to figure out the best string order for what we want. This is going to involve a lot of moving things around, so we want to do the work here, and then copy that to the actual instrument when we are done."
This part went a lot faster but it still took most of a day to design their layout, and the next morning was used for their final assembly.
The instrument had a total of twenty-six strings, two octaves of thirteen notes each, with more notes available based on which of the raised ridges one pressed down on while plucking the string. Even with the tools that Derek had bought, measuring with enough precision was hard, but thankfully the tuning posts were all made to be used in experimental instruments so were easy to adjust.
After they had lunch, they got Carmilla to examine their work. "Huh," she murmured as she plucked each string, "yeah, that is a new sound. And this thing is cool, I need to find a name for it. Alright, you guys pass this stage, and with flying colors." She giggled, "Miss Kazoo says you did that the way hard way. It was thorough, but you should have been able to do it with about a third the work or less."
Shizoku scowled and said, "Well, she may have had a lot of music training, but I have had only so much, so I wanted to be sure I didn''t miss anything." And then she blinked, "Wait, ''Kazoo''?"
Carmilla coughed. "Oops. I''m getting a scolding now from Mordecai. Um, maybe don''t use that? Anyway, you guys did a great job and put a lot of creative and physical effort into this. That adds up, you know? So with this and all the other stuff you guys did before coming here, I only get to ask you for one more task. I want you to put on a performance for me. And I want it to include that instrument. You can practice with this one, Kazue will make a copy that is a bit more stable for the performance and for me to keep."
That elicited groans from the entire group, but Shizoku rebounded quickly. "Wait, I have an idea. Um, I think we need a couple of days of practice, and we need a drum as well."
The plan was pretty straightforward. Fuyuko was going to sing the songs she could remember, and teach them to Shizoku and Derek while also doing her best to play the notes on their new instrument. She wasn''t really going to be very proficient at it in only a couple of days, but they were able to work out the simplest arrangement that would go with her songs.
Derek''s job was to maintain a steady beat on the drum and sing along with the chorus of the song. Not knowing the language that Fuyuko was singing in made this part harder.
Shizoku''s job was to adjust one of the dances she knew to the timing of Fuyuko''s song. She even dug into one of her expanded space bags to bring out a very fancy looking kimono and a pair of fans that could be used to create a sharp snapping sound, which could be used to contrast the low sound of the drum that Derek was playing.
The resulting performance was far from professional. Fuyuko only had a small pattern of notes she could reliably reproduce while singing, and they were somewhat spread out as she couldn''t play fast at all. Shizoku''s fan dance also didn''t really match the feel of the song despite the adjustments she tried to make, and Derek''s reproduction of the chorus was far from perfect.
But they put sincere effort into it, and Carmilla was satisfied. "Oh, that will be a great start, and I think I am going to like playing this. Thank you, I think you three have put more real effort into this than most of the adults have. Oh, they have a special gift for you Fuyuko, they say you should have it now." A small book appeared in her hands, which she handed over to Fuyuko. "Part of the dungeon magic means they learned that language when you sang it. This is a copy of every song you sang and a translation. The writing for the original is sounded out using the common alphabet, they don''t have a writing sample to learn the original script from. Um, they also think you should wait to read it until you guys are settled in for the night. I''ll let you three through the swamp tomorrow, and you can collect your big prizes when you get to the end."
The reason for waiting became clear to Fuyuko when she did start reading later that night, and she began crying. "I remembered the words and the sounds, but it''s been so long that I didn''t really remember the meaning. They were lullabies. They were my clan''s lullabies."
Shizoku and Derek did their best to comfort their friend, but her tears were both of pain and of joy. She was very happy to have this small bit of her past restored to her, even if the translations showed she''d forgotten a verse or two. She was going to do her best to remember them all and make sure they were written down.
Fuyuko was much calmer by the time the three collected themselves in the morning and set off to make their way to the briar wall that blocked off the exit to the level. The passage through went fine, but the corridor after was not the straight path Fuyuko had expected. It was blocked off, and there was a single stair way splitting off from the corridor. "Um, guys. That''s supposed ta be the way we go, it goes ta a big room ta watch the arena from. That''s, um, one of the stairs down to the arena."
They didn''t know what to make of this and made their way down very cautiously.
Mordecai was waiting for them, along with several bunkin and kobolds. "So, who is up for an optional bonus challenge?" he asked them with a grin.
190: Brutal Assessment
Shizoku strode forward from the other two and put her fists on her hips as she glared up at Mordecai. "What are you up to here? We already cleared the floor!"
"That''s why it''s called an optional bonus round," he replied, "You get to participate or not, though I do insist you choose as a group. And while it won''t be easy, giving you guys this option is us playing favorites."
While the little kitsune continued to scowl, Derek stepped to her side. "Um, what''s the challenge you are offering?"
"Combat testing and training. My friends here will be doing the work, I am here to supervise and keep everyone healed."
"But this is the no fighting path!" Fuyuko protested.
Mordecai nodded, "Yes, that is why it is optional. And you don''t have a specific win condition, it''s a performance-based adjustment to your rewards."
Shizoku shook her head, "You are so annoying. This better be worth it!" She turned to face the others, "He and Kazue are clearly cooking up something, and I have to admit I got a very nice upgrade for Bip last time I cleared the dungeon with a group. I vote we do this."
Derek and Fuyuko were a little more hesitant, but they agreed shortly thereafter. Mordecai beamed at them. "Excellent. Derek, I haven''t seen how your training has translated into combat, so you are going to start with this bunkin here. Let me know if you need a weapon. Fuyuko, you are going be alternating between sparring with this bunkin and kobold while the other trains you. Shizoku, you''ll be training with Crizdirk here. He''s a shaman who lead the group of kobolds who chose to join our dungeon. I''ll adjust things as I see fit."
Once the three were spread out and set up with their partners, Mordecai continued his explanation of the rules. "Your performance test has three aspects; your initial assessment, your ability to push yourselves, and a growth assessment. When you have hit your limits, we''ll help you recover and when you are ready, do the final assessment. Oh, and while there will be some training involved, this is primarily a test. And it''s going to be unpleasant. Ready? Good. Begin."
As it turned out, Derek did not need a weapon, his affinity for wood allowed him to conjure armor, shield, and weapon. Mordecai wasn''t quite sure what to call the weapon that the boy conjured, though a short spear seemed closest. But the wicked thorns growing along the shaft could make it almost as dangerous as a sword if slashed at a foe, and it had a suppleness that hinted at future utility if Derek mastered manipulating it while also fighting.
His assessment showed that he''d had some training with guardsmen who were used to spear and shield formations, which would be great if he was in such a formation. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case here and he was too inclined to firmly set his shield. A warrior needed to maintain more mobility in order to react to threats because he wouldn''t always have a shield mate at his side to protect his flanks.
The best training would have been to pause and correct his form and run him through drills to master the more flexible stance, but that wasn''t what this session was for. One of the kobolds was assigned as his trainer, but instead of proper drills, his job was to constantly instruct and correct Derek while he was in the middle of fighting. This was an additional stress and potential distraction for the boy, but that was part of assessing where he was at. Mordecai would have Bellona give him some training on another day to teach him how to adapt between formation fighting and smaller battles as she''d shown excellent ability to use both styles.
Another mixed assessment and training aspect was that Mordecai rotated out Derek''s opponents. For now, Mordecai kept to unarmed warriors, but not out of kindness. Several bunkin had been practicing various schools of martial arts and had learned how to channel chi into different elements. Fire was clearly Derek''s weakest element right now, so that was what he had to cope with the most.
It also gave Mordecai a chance to evaluate how his power worked with direct comparisons available. Spell work like what Shizoku and Crizdirk were using manifested power in relatively predictable structures, and ate chunks out of their mana reserves. The monks'' use of chi was more efficient but tended to manifest as modifiers to their actions and bodies rather than creating manifestations of power that acted on their own. This was also similar to how inherited elemental abilities tended to act, such as those that Bellona had been infused with.
In contrast to those, Derek didn''t have a separate pool of power to draw from. Each manifestation of his ability was a physical exertion, taxing his body and stamina like he was lifting or throwing hefty objects. And Mordecai was having Derek''s limits pushed, not only having him engaged in physical battle but mentally directing the boy''s opponents to occasionally break his shield or disarm his weapon, forcing him to manifest the object again.
Shizoku was being treated just as unkindly by the shaman. The kobold was no longer limited by an elderly body and was able to put all his worldly experience to use with more vigor and mobility than he''d had in decades. Additionally, he had a deeper command of his magic than the little kitsune did, and it showed. Shizoku was the first of the trio that required Mordecai to intervene and heal her before allowing the assessment to continue.
The only reason it wasn''t flat-out bullying of the girl was that there was a purpose to it other than the pleasure that Crizdirk was getting from being able to test his healthy body out. The shaman was also providing a running critique of Shizoku''s magical and fighting abilities, and he had more than a few opportunities to use quips along the lines of "This is how you do that properly."
He also proved to be a skilled quarterstaff master, and repeatedly let her gain distance only to close the gap while she was casting in order to thwack her with his staff. He was even being relatively nice in not directly interfering with any casting gestures; instead, he was teaching her to not interrupt herself just because she''d gotten hit and it hurt.
The old master wore her down, barely using any magic in comparison to the witch''s liberal use of both spells and alchemical infusions. When the witch was almost out of mana to fuel her tiered spells, she used her last resort. She cast a spell to assume a battle form and tossed a small, sealed leather pouch into her mouth just as she transformed into an enhanced version of her fox form, leaving her with the size and physical power of a large wolf, along with the imbued instincts to use this body properly. Immediately after the transformation, she bit down on and swallowed the sealed leather container, ingesting the physical enhancement infusion to further strengthen her new form.
And this was when the shaman began using his magic more earnestly. He didn''t really need to, but it was a perfect chance to show how to maintain one''s composure and defenses while coping with a physical assault.
He did take a few hits but carefully chose to allow himself to be slammed by her body or paws rather than risk letting her jaws get a solid grip on him, and he always managed to punish her successful attacks with a contact ranged spell that knocked her away or physically hampered her.
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When the spell eventually wore off, Shizoku staggered as she transformed back into her true form. This proved to be the more fox-like body that most kitsune had, rather than the hybrid form she''d been choosing to use. Despite being too tired to assume her preferred form again, the girl managed to keep her feet under her as she readied her staff. She also still had her fox fire and her untiered spells that didn''t require as much mana investment, and she wasn''t ready to quit yet despite having received several healing spells from Mordecai by now.
Fuyuko''s assessment was no nicer. She was constantly facing two opponents and was forced to cope with different fighting styles simultaneously. Her greatest challenge here was keeping her focus split enough to defend herself with each dagger while still looking for openings to exploit. Throwing her blades was always an option given their enchantments, but throwing even one was a risk as there was a moment when she couldn''t use it to parry an attack.
Her opponents were also able to be a little less careful about injuring her. This might seem cruel, but not only was she physically tougher than her friends, she could also heal slowly on her own, and both of those combined to give Mordecai a buffer to get her healed any time she took a more serious injury.
As the tall teen''s stress grew, so did her muscles, and Mordecai was quite satisfied with how she slid into her battle fugue state. Part of the reason for changing out her foes was that they started needing healing too, and in this state she managed to land a lethal strike on one of the bunkin, her dagger slicing the laganthro''s throat wide open. The luponi didn''t even seem to notice the deadliness of her attack as she turned toward her other foe, and Mordecai was careful to make sure there was no sign of their inhabitant''s body for her to spot later. Her control and memory were improving, but it was clear she had a ways to go before she could be allowed to be pushed by opponents who didn''t have a safety. He also had a kobold take the bunkin''s place in fighting Fuyuko.
But she was taking fewer injuries than he''d given her during her first evaluation, and her ability to maintain her combat form wore off before she reached the point of no longer being able to move. Much like with Shizoku, she managed to keep her feet even as she staggered from the loss of strength and power, and Mordecai waved off her foes.
This wasn''t a kindness. He used another healing spell on the girl and then changed up her battle conditions. "Get out your bow." She stared at him blankly for a moment, and he had to repeat himself before she complied. "Good. Now, defend yourself."
She only had one opponent this time, but that opponent was a kobold with his own bow. Firing a bow required a lot of strength, but there were different muscles involved. Fighting a running battle while exchanging shots with a distant foe was a very different sort of fight. She and her opponent both had arrows with blunted tips for this fight, but Mordecai had conjured ones of all wood that grew into a sphere at the tip, rather than surrounding the tip with something soft. It would hurt more without being a large difference in the danger involved.
Derek was the first to go down and be unable to recover. He''d done well, and even as his stamina began to fail him he had pushed himself to keep going, his conjured weapon and shield showing cracks even as they formed. At the start of the battle he''d been able to supplement his attacks with occasional bursts of fire or wind, but fire had been the first of his attacks to fail him, and he no longer was able to shift earth or air anymore either. These were the last of his abilities that he could channel, and eventually, he wasn''t able to do that anymore, his body simply collapsing. He was still conscious, and Mordecai could see his fingers twitching as he tried to command his body to move again, but Derek had passed his purely physical limits a while ago and had been supplementing them with the power of his will.
But while his experiences in the dungeon had helped temper his will and taught him to draw on that subtle and fickle resource, he hadn''t been tempered in combat and he was still only twelve. Mordecai called an end to Derek''s assessment and had him tended to before being brought to the edge of the arena to watch his friends continue.
Shizoku was the next to reach her limits. Though she had a greater amount of training and experience, she was focused on developing her mind and magic more than her body. Once her transformation spell ran out the battle had become extremely difficult for her. She ended the fight with her staff planted on the ground and on her knees practically hugging it as she did her best to fling minor magics at her foe. But her untiered spells simply weren''t up to the task of fending the kobold shaman off, and he dodged her attacks as he walked up to her side and put his hand gently on her shoulder before pushing her over.
By the time she''d been carried to a seat on the bench next to Derek, the stamina potion he''d been given had taken effect. He took advantage of that to reverse what she''d done back in the river zone, and he had her lay down with her head in his lap as he scritched her behind the ears. She was still in her fuzzier form, and she tried to make a growl of protest but was too weak to stop him. And her growl had been half purr anyway once the scritches started. It didn''t take long for the fox girl to pass out with a smile on her muzzle.
Fuyuko lasted the longest. She was the oldest, had been tempered in a true life-or-death battle against a terrifying foe, and had the additional advantages of her heritage. But eventually, she was no longer able to fully draw her bow, and then she reached the point where her fingers could only fumble the arrows instead of properly nocking them. Mordecai had her drop the bow then, and there was no way she could hold her daggers properly either. So it was that she faced her last foe unarmed, relying only on what was left of her physical prowess.
It was ugly enough to make even Mordecai uncomfortable. The girl had incredible depths of determination and reserves of stamina that lasted well past her ability to control her arms effectively. But so long as she remained on her feet and determined to fight, he''d keep healing her injuries. This was part of her assessment too, and he''d not deny her the chance to earn every scrap of prize he could give her.
She had to be knocked down several more times before she''d been unable to find a way to get back to her feet. Even with her arms barely functioning, she''d been managing to roll and get her feet underneath her, and had been trying to fight using kicks, but that had not been a significant part of her training.
Mordecai made a mental note to have her join Betty in training for her new fighting style. His floor boss might have to be careful given her condition, but it wasn''t like she was going to miss a bit of training or practice if she could help it, and given Fuyuko''s long limbs it would be useful to have her cross-train in fighting styles that made good use of that sort of reach.
With the first two stages of the assessment completed, it was time for food and rest. Shizoku had to be roused from sleep and was initially so groggy she didn''t even realize she was in her true form until she tried to take a drink and hit her muzzle. She hesitated and then sighed before just adjusting to drink out of the mug as she was. It was a little more difficult in this form, but she clearly didn''t have the energy to switch back. At least, not now that she knew Derek didn''t mind her true form.
Fuyuko''s arms were still trembling as she wolfed down her food, and she was barely able to maintain table manners as her hunger drove her to devour as much food as possible, mostly meat but she also had her share of everything that was placed on the table that had been brought out to their bench, including making an entire plate of fried tofu disappear by herself.
Kazue made sure they had as much of the dungeon''s special honey mead as they wanted available, and plenty of sweets as well. The healing properties of the mead combined with all the rich food to get a good head start on helping them recover, and bedrolls were laid out to let the three collapse into sleep as soon as they had eaten their fill.
When the trio had recovered several hours and one more meal later, it was time for their final evaluation. During their prior assessment, they had also been given some training, even if the situation made it difficult to absorb the information on the fly. But there was an opportunity for improvement, and that was what they were tested on.
Derek had improved the most, in large part because he had the most room for improvement. His training had begun only months prior to this. Shizoku showed the least amount of immediate improvement, but she had the most training of the three and was going to have to work to incorporate what she''d learned and experienced.
With that done Mordecai led them into the main hall, officially completing their delve and allowing him to award them their prizes.
191: The Grand Prizes
Mordecai smiled at the three young people who were waiting patiently for their well-earned prizes in the otherwise empty main hall. "You all did very well, and I am proud of all of you. I am happy to say that I can give you everything I had been planning originally, and more besides. Let''s begin with Fuyuko."
The first thing he handed her appeared to just be a large patch of leather. The bemused girl stared at it for a long moment before Mordecai prompted her, "Put it on your armor, the rest will take care of itself." She did so, applying the patch through one of the gashes in her outer shirt''s sleeves. A change in her armor rippled out from there as the leather thickened and shifted, then changed into a matte texture that looked similar to velveteen, though a very close examination would reveal a sub-layer with a tiny scale-like pattern. Then the armor rippled and her current clothing was absorbed while the armor grew a loose, knee-length skirt of similar material, in addition to the armor''s legs.
"Sometimes I forget that some things can be issues that I don''t normally care about," Mordecai admitted a little sheepishly. "This seems to be more the style you prefer, though the previous form is still available and there are a few other options you should experiment with later, including the ability to hide itself as a choker if you want to have it available while wearing something else. But there is also an important new feature: You can have your armor absorb up to three outfits of your choice. Once you have done so, it can assume any of those forms while still providing you with protection. While this might seem similar to what your hat does, there are a few key differences. Your hat is very flexible but uses purely illusion. Your armor will actually change its physical form, but the change is only semi-real thanks to the application of the proper shadow and dream magics. So it exists as both the armor and the clothing simultaneously. But be careful about the clothing you pick; while you can always add a new outfit, it has to replace one of the existing three outfits, and you don''t get that outfit back. Any materials or workmanship will be gone. Enchantments are a little more unpredictable, but I certainly wouldn''t risk anything I really wanted or needed."
He gave her a moment to examine herself before he gave her the next part of her prize, a pair of bracers. "These are based on my own and can store weapons in addition to summoning a shield of force as needed. They are already keyed to your daggers and bow. Additionally, there are a pair of longer swords and a pair of very special guns already stored in them. This does put them at their limit, so your ring for obfuscating carried weapons might still be useful in the future. Now, put them on and summon the guns."
Fuyuko strapped the bracers into place on her forearms, and her daggers immediately disappeared, leaving her with a pair of empty sheathes. But she could sort of feel their presence, along with the presence of new weapons. It took a little bit of practice to get right, but once she latched onto the mental sensation correctly, the two guns appeared in her hands. She frowned as she looked the strange weapons over. She had seen guns before even if she''d never touched one, but there were several bits missing.
"Now," Mordecai said, "according to some of the research papers we''ve been gifted, there have been several attempts to make guns enchanted to automatically load themselves as they are fired, but there were several difficulties that made it impractical. I went a different route, though it had the difficulty of being able to forge metal able to withstand the intense pressures." And that had been quite the challenge to find a steel alloy that could work. Adamantine would do the job even better, but he couldn''t produce that much adamantine for dungeon use yet, let alone enough as loot to make a weapon out of.
"Inside the gun is a small portal to a high-pressure area of the elemental plane of water. Pulling the trigger conjures a small bit of the water into the back end of the barrel where it is frozen into a bullet before the pressure of the chamber is released. While the ice bullet doesn''t have the penetrating power of a metal bullet, its primary purpose is to serve as a solid head to the high-pressure water stream. At the pressures released when the triggers are pulled, the water stream can pierce metal and stone. Additionally, the weapons have been sanctified and any creatures struck by the water will suffer the effects of both normal weapon sanctification and holy water. They have a greater range than your daggers, but fall far short of how far your longbow can fire, so they cover a nice mid-range."
As a wide-eyed Fuyuko dismissed the dangerous weapons, Mordecai presented a quiver to her. "Any arrows you store in here for at least a full day will be imbued with an aura that will let them act like both cold iron and silvered weapons. The aura only lasts for a few seconds after you fire them, so only draw them when you need to. Additionally, it can store a lot more arrows than it should, and several times per day it can imbue an arrow with a minor utility enchantment, such as becoming a grappling arrow, producing a magic light where it strikes, or creating a trip line. There are a few others, the full list is in a pocket on the side of it."
The expressions the three of them wore made him happy, but Mordecai wasn''t done with Fuyuko quite yet. "And finally, I have a bit of jewelry for you. There are multiple forms I might be able to make it in, but I think an earring will work best. Do you mind having your ear pierced?"
Fuyuko shook her head, "No, that''s fine I think."
Mordecai nodded. "This will be easier if you kneel." While the tall girl dropped to one knee, dungeon mana coalesced into a pattern that he and Kazue had been working on for a while. The earring was a deceptively simple platinum loop inlaid with a single line of crystal. But that crystal was purple and gold Core crystal, specifically designed to resonate with their actual core. He felt a bit of relief when the intended enchantment snapped into place in the matrix, and Fuyuko only winced slightly as he used a conjured silver needle to pierce her ear before affixing the earring. As her innate fast healing had begun to manifest with the awakening of her power, the hole should close shortly. The silver of the needle had slowed the healing enough for him to get the earring in place properly.
"This earring has a communication enchantment much like the rings you three share, but unlike the rings, it can only hold one link. It is connected to our core, and will allow you to send messages from a great distance if needed." He shrugged before continuing. "It''s technically a gamble as you have not formally agreed to become our contractor, but I think if you did choose otherwise you would be willing to trade it back to us for something of sufficient value."
Fuyuko rose slowly and her hand twitched as she forced herself to not touch the fresh piercing. "I, um, thank you. That seems like somethin'' very important, even if it''s not as powerful the way that the others are."
"You are correct. And it''s something we want to give to both Bellona and Kazue''s avatar. It''s nowhere near as powerful as our link to Moriko, but we wanted to be able to speak with you when you are training elsewhere as well and we''ve seen how useful it has been to be able to communicate with Moriko. Oh, and while the connection is only to the core, that''s where our tie to Moriko resides, so you will be able to talk to her directly, though not without us hearing it as the connection runs through us. The same will apply to Bellona and Kazue''s avatar if we can figure out how to get earrings to them." He caught their puzzled expressions and answered the question before they asked, "It''s made using core matrix crystal to attune it and let it link from a very long distance. I can''t lay that enchantment on normal materials and expect it to work nearly as well, so it''s a dungeon-make-only item and not something I can craft manually."
That was the last of the prizes for Fuyuko, so now it was time for Shizoku. "Your first prize is for Bip, I think he''ll like it." He presented what appeared to be a strangely slick piece of crystal, despite it being dry to the touch. The kitsune took the crystal while watching him through narrow eyes, but he simply smiled. He wasn''t going to tell her beforehand, he wanted to let her be surprised. She knew it wouldn''t be anything bad.
She eventually gave in and fed the weird crystal to Bip, who made happy burbly noises for a moment before suddenly freezing. The slime''s skin flashed several different colors as a crystalline texture hardened on that surface and then liquefied again. After that, he extended a small pseudo pod that hardened into a crystal structure before ringing with a clean, clear note.
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While Shizoku gaped, Mordecai explained, "This gives him some of the abilities that Klastoria has, though he still won''t be able to grow bigger. It won''t make him much more powerful, but given how much he seemed to be enjoying making music with you, I thought it would be appropriate."
While she was examining the changes to her familiar, Mordecai produced a bundle of cloth. "I think these will make appropriate adventuring clothes for you. These are made of a blend of spider silk and mithral thread, and in between the outer layer and in the lining there is a hidden third layer of tiny metallic scales. I have noticed that you prefer robes unless the environment makes them difficult, so that is their base form, but they also have the ability to transform into a one-piece outfit with a split skirt that ends a little above the ankle. Like Fuyuko''s armor, it has a storage form of a choker. Also, it has pockets."
The kitsune looked happy to receive the clothing but looked suspicious when he added that last line. "What sort of pockets?"
"Yes."
That obtuse answer took her a few moments to process before her eyes widened with the realization of what he could mean. "How many?"
"A minimum of thirteen, if you are storing very large items. But if you want to store a bunch of smaller items like alchemical ingredients, you can subdivide them as much as you want. The only limits are that it always has the same capacity, and you have to have a slightly different spot assigned to each pocket."
She looked delighted at the idea but set it down with the rest of her gear for now since she couldn''t change into it immediately. By the time she came back, he had her next prize ready. "This is a rifle designed using the same concept as Fuyuko''s smaller guns, but with several changes to make it very useful for you. The size alone means that you will have a greater range, and there are some enchantments to help with that. But the weapon''s own damage isn''t its main use. This section of crystal on the side here is designed to be charged with a spell, and it will channel that charge into the next bullet fired. It can''t hold that charge for very long, but it is long enough for you to set up a shot. It will deliver that spell charge to wherever it hits, allowing you to effectively extend the range of some of your spells. Similarly, this port is designed to accept an alchemical vial, and when closed it will teleport that vial into position to be encased in the bullet and will operate similarly. It does have a safety to not allow both to operate at the same time as magically charging ice with a spell while the ice contains an infused alchemical bomb sounds like a recipe for disaster."
He might be willing to create a less safe version for himself eventually, but only after he''d spent a few years extensively testing different combinations.
"I have no idea how to use this," Shizoku muttered even as she began carefully examining it.
"Which is why I will give you some training starting tomorrow. But we aren''t done yet, two more items for you. The first is a pair of bracers," which appeared on top of her new robes. They looked more ornamental than protective, with dark bronze bands that wrap around the forearm. "The left one can be attuned to hold your staff, and the right one is already attuned to your new gun."
Shizoku put her new weapon down carefully with her other gear and then turned back to find Mordecai holding a cube of a cloudy white crystal. She stepped forward to examine it but it was clear she didn''t know what to make of it.
"Unattuned, unliving core matrix," Mordecai said when she reached for the crystal. He made sure to maintain his grip on it until she recovered from her surprise. "No enchantments, no special purpose. Yours to experiment with and craft into whatever you can design."
"Sun and Moons Mordecai," Shizoku swore, "that''s just crazy. Did you hand this out as prizes before?"
"No, but I never thought to do so before. And I have good cause to trust the heir apparent to the Azeria clan." Mordecai said, and when the other two turned to stare at Shizoku he innocently added, "Oh, did you not mention exactly who your gran gran is?"
Shizoku scowled at him even as she made sure to hold the crystal close. "I''d have told them. Eventually. And what do you mean?"
"Well, don''t you think I should be able to trust my own bloodline?" Technically it was Aia''s right to decide when to tell Shizoku, but Mordecai didn''t really want to hold on to this secret. Traxalim made his relationship to Mordecai semi-public already, and this was significantly more private than that had been. And this too was a prize, a gift of knowledge.
One that came with a small side benefit for him. This was probably the best series of expressions he''d yet seen cross the emotionally spiky teenager''s face as she pulled together a bunch of different facts. Then about the time she was beginning to recover, he added, "Oh, and when you next talk to your patron, let Norumi know that her father sends his love."
While the kitsune recovered her equilibrium, Mordecai took the time to briefly cover an explanation of what he was talking about for Fuyuko and Derek. Shizoku sighed when she finished processing it all. "I assume Gran Gran already knows? And that''s why she was so confident about coming here?"
"Correct. Now, are you satisfied with your prizes?"
When she nodded, Mordecai moved on to Derek. "I had to modify my planned prize for you, but I think the additional enchantments should work." A small crate appeared next to Derek''s other gear. "Inside of that, you will find some special armor and a shield. It''s a blend of mycelium and spider silk that can protect you as well as chainmail can, and the main body reinforcement is equivalent to a chest plate. The shield is made of the same material but crafted to be rigid. Additionally, it''s all been treated and enchanted to resist fire, and there are crystals embedded in the armor and shield that are too small to be seen, along with some splinters of the elemental wood you summoned earlier. If you summon your wood armor and shield, it will be partially absorbed, leaving only a thin layer of wood over the armor. The absorbed portion will go to repairing this armor."
As he continued to speak, Derek opened the crate to examine the armor. "There is also a helmet that goes with the set. It has a core of metal and crystals and uses the substrate and silk blend as both padding on the inside and to cover the metal core on the outside. While it does protect about as well as any other helm, that was something I was able to add to the base design. Its primary purpose is to act as an amplifier for channeling your powers. A small portion of that amplification is effectively free, coming from the enchantments themselves, but you can also push the amplification and use it to draw more power from you at once than you normally could. This is dangerous, so I don''t want you to even practice it without supervision by somebody who can intervene if you draw on your stamina too much. Do you understand?"
After Derek acknowledged the warning, Mordecai let him know about some additional abilities of this outfit. "The helmet can transform to appear as a simple steel circlet with a quartz in the front. It will still be fully functional in this form, though it needs to transform back to protect your head properly. Similarly, the shield can transform into a left bracer, and the armor can transform into a right bracer. The armor is designed to fit over most clothing, though some things like cloaks will be pushed out instead."
Mordecai would have liked to give Derek a direct weapon, but if the boy couldn''t use his powers he probably didn''t have the strength to wield a normal weapon either, so he figured it would be best to let the boy focus on practicing with his conjured weapon.
"Now, I also have some utility items for you to bring you roughly up to par with the gear that these two have. One cloak, enchanted to ward against most weather and to keep you from getting too hot or too cold. One haversack with plenty of handy expanded space pockets and that is already loaded with survival gear and some really good rations. Boots with basic utility enhancement to protect your feet and keep your footing, and also designed to merge with your armor when it is out. And a bandoleer designed to hold potions and alchemical items and keep them readily accessible. I''ve also stocked it with a set of some of our most potent healing and restorative potions and elixirs. These are something you should be prepared to have available."
Derek looked a little troubled, and at Mordecai''s encouragement asked, "Sir, these are very nice, and I understand that I should learn to use my powers so I don''t make any mistakes with them. But I wasn''t planning on becoming a mercenary or anything like that."
"Well," Mordecai began thoughtfully, "That''s not exactly the only reason why you might need this sort of equipment. For one thing, if you are going to start doing proper delves on the combat path, you will need this gear." Now, how to phrase this right without pushing things. "And I think you like spending time with Shizoku. It will be a long time before she possibly takes up the mantle of Matriarch, and I have no doubt that Aia will have interesting training or tasks for her in that time. If you think you might want to travel with her and help out, you are going to need these exact same supplies. It is always good to be prepared after all, and it certainly won''t hurt to have it available."
The boy was able to accept that explanation, so Mordecai had a bunkin show Shizoku and Derek their rooms for this stay. Fuyuko still had the same one. "Go, take baths, get sleep, come out for food. Try out and show off your new gear. Have fun, you''ve all earned it and more." There were also letters from Shizoku''s and Derek''s families waiting for them, but he felt it best to not announce that in front of the girl without any such letters.
192: Sugar and Spice
Derek had a lot to think about, and it felt like it was a little more than a twelve-year-old should have to think about.
But, he wasn''t just a normal twelve-year-old anymore was he? He was the one who had found Enki after all. Derek reached out to touch the stonewall next to his bed, and he could feel the distant presence of his friend.
It wasn''t just that though. He could have given away the deck, he could have decided he didn''t want to train. His parents were hesitant to allow it actually. But since he''d earned those honey elixirs, he''d been able to convince his father to drink one. He''d never had a specific injury that had driven him to seek the temple, but it was obvious even to Derek that his father was dealing with a lot of minor pains. The elixir had clearly helped, and not just for a few days or anything.
That had been enough to convince him that he should at least put some effort into this, and it made sense to make sure he couldn''t accidentally hurt anyone.
And then there was his Shizo.
He smiled at that thought. She''d been so confusing at first. And then there had been his friend Galan, who had complained that the cute white-haired kitsune only paid attention to Derek. He''d thought about that for a few days before he''d asked his mom why Shizoku might ignore everyone else but be sort of bossy with him.
His mother''s amusement felt like it confirmed his suspicions, and then she''d told him that he should only put so much weight into it. The girl might like him, or she might be deciding if she wanted to like him, or might be trying to use him to get some other guy jealous. And that girls who did that last one were best avoided if possible, and ignored if not.
Derek was pretty certain it wasn''t that last one. It seemed too petty for her. Well, the wrong sort of petty at least. During his next training session with her, she had him doing slow push-ups and ordered him to stop as soon as his arms got shaky, and then lectured him on how proper form was important and how pushing himself when it wasn''t needed could injure him. So he''d asked her "Why do you care so much?"
"Hmmp. Figure it out on your own, and I might give you a reward." She''d retorted, but he''d been watching her closely.
The pale girl had been blushing a little, so he gambled. "Because you like me." That was the first time he''d seen her off guard like that, and he felt like he''d seen a glimpse behind a mask. That was also the first time that he''d really noticed she was cute.
And his reward was a kiss on the cheek. "Not bad." She''d said, trying to act calm and mature even though he could see that she was blushing even harder after kissing his cheek. "I was beginning to think you were that sort of smart."
"What sort of smart?" Derek had asked, confused.
"Well, I''m what most people think of when they say smart. I remember things easily, and I can figure things out fast. But my Gran Gran and my patron both make sure I know that''s not the only type of smart." She wrinkled her nose cutely. "And make sure I know my flaw there. Once I think I know something, I move on. You, on the other hand," she poked Derek''s chest, "don''t do that. You keep thinking about it until you are sure. It doesn''t look as smart, but it really is. And," she''d hesitated then, and Derek had been pretty certain that she was hiding something when she''d said, "I think it would be good for me to have someone like you that I can trust."
Now he had an idea of what she''d really meant. If she was maybe going to rule the Azeria clan someday, her temper might be a problem. And she might want him to be with her. But that would mean ... Derek blushed, not quite able to continue the thought.
And if he wanted to do that? If he might, um, move to the clan when he was older? Derek didn''t care about just being strong. And he didn''t even care if Shizo was super strong and he wasn''t. But, if he was supposed to support her, well, it didn''t sit right to not be strong enough to really support and protect her. So, what did he want?
Derek rolled out of bed and got dressed. It was late and they were supposed to be relaxing and meditating and stuff before bed. So he probably wasn''t supposed to do this.
He went out of his room and down the hall and knocked on the door to Shizoku''s room. A slightly rumpled-looking little kitsune in a nightgown opened the door. "Derek? Is something wrong?"
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She really was cute.
"No, nothing like. But, I need to talk. With you. Um." Derek still didn''t understand exactly what he wanted to say, and her staring at him with one eyebrow raised wasn''t really helping. Maybe something else. "But first, ah, I was wondering, you can become a little fox too, right?"
"What? Um, yeah, why?"
"Could you do that? I think it might make it easier for me to talk."
She blushed a little and then glanced up and down the hall before motioning him in. "Okay. But you are being a little weird you know."
Was he? Maybe. He followed her in and closed the door, then watched as she sat on her bed and shifted into her fox form. "You''re cute like this too." Derek mused as he walked over to her. She froze in place and this gave him a chance to pet her gently for a moment. Then he scooped her up like he might a cat and sat on her bed, holding her on his lap in a cuddle.
"H, hey!" She protested, "Boys aren''t supposed to sit on a girl''s bed!"
"I know," he replied, but he didn''t move either and continued to pet her and give her scritches. "But it''s easier to talk now. And I''ve been thinking." Shizoku had been squirming a little, but now she stopped and looked up at him. Derek smiled and scritched under her chin.
She allowed it for a moment with her eyes half closed, then shook her head and nipped at his hand. "Stop that. You were thinking, and you want to talk. I can''t listen right if you are doing that."
That seemed like something he wanted to remember. "You told me that you might need someone like me that you could trust. I knew you weren''t telling me something, but I think I know what that was now. And, um, well, I think I want to be able to do that. To be there when you need someone. So, I am going to become strong. Strong enough to be able to protect you. I know right now I can''t really, anything really dangerous and you''d be protecting me. But I will change that."
Shizoku looked at him silently for a long moment, before she raised herself up to lick his chin. "Accepted." She curled up back into his lap to entice more petting. "But this means I''ll work you even harder to make sure you can live up to your word."
"I think I can live with that," he replied as he scritched along her back to the base of her tails. Hmm? Derek gently grasped two of her tails, ignoring the yelp of protest that doing so elicited from Shizoku as he stared at the two remaining tails. "Did you know you have four tails now?" He asked as he let go.
"I do?" She stopped glaring at him to gape in surprise and then whipped her tails forward to stare at the four tips. "I do!" Shizoku switched back to her hybrid form to grin at him excitedly. "Yes! I have four tails now!" Then she grabbed his head and kissed him.
There was a moment of stillness as they both processed that her lips were touching his, and a red-faced kitsune started to dash away, only to find her hand caught by Derek. "Shizo?" She looked back at him with wide eyes. "It''s fine," he said with a smile, "and I won''t tell anyone if you don''t want me to." He gave her hand a gentle tug, and Shizoku let herself be pulled back into his lap, her legs across his as she looked down with embarrassment.
"You''re really not supposed to do that," she muttered in weak protest.
"I think if I am going to live up to what you want, I need to be able to do stuff like this." Derek began softly stroking her hair as they spoke.
"That''s supposed to be when we''re older," Shizoku said even as she snuggled into his chest to enjoy being pet.
Derek didn''t say anything and just leaned against the wall as he continued to pet his sweet, if prickly, fox.
When he opened his eyes, he groaned from his stiff neck and shoulder. "Ow, what?" Then he realized that he''d fallen asleep with Shizoku in his lap.
She stirred when he began to move and blinked sleepily until she came to the same realization and hopped out of his lap. "How long- what time is it?" She hastily glanced at the small solar-based clock built into each room. "Ah! Get out of here! Go! We''re late!"
Derek stumbled to his feet, muscles protesting every motion, but he nodded in understanding. "Right, sorry, shouldn''t have fallen asleep." His thoughts were still a bit fuzzy as he opened the door only to find himself staring at Fuyuko. He looked up at her surprised and confused expression, blushed, and wordlessly dashed for his room.
Fuyuko slowly walked into Shizoku''s room as she tried to figure out what just happened. "Um, Shizoku?"
The kitsune was rushing to get dressed as she called out to Fuyuko, "Close the door behind you! And you have to not tell anyone, okay?"
"Is everything all right?"
"Yes! Yeah, it''s good, just, a little embarrassing. Look, I''ll tell you everything later, just trust me and don''t mention it to anyone."
"Alright," Fuyuko replied slowly, "but, don''t you think Mordecai and Kazue already know? They said that they still pay attention to the hallway. They''d know he just left your room."
Shizoku swore, "You''re right. I''ll have to deal with that. And that means they know when he came here too. Gah. Stupid boys making everything so complicated." Fuyuko noticed that her friend was smiling as she said that, which just left her more confused.
It was amazing to her how quickly Shizoku could get her hair neatened and her robes put on and adjusted, and somehow not look at all like she''d just woken up.
As soon as she was done, Shizoku dragged Fuyuko out into the hallway with her. "Mordecai! Kazue! Everything is fine! Just wait until later, okay? We''ll come to you." Not that she''d asked Derek yet, but for this, neither of them really had a choice. "I just want to eat breakfast in peace first."
Well, Fuyuko couldn''t blame her for that. Breakfast was important. But Fuyuko also thought that lunch was important. And dinner. And snacks. Or pretty much anything involving food. Maybe she wasn''t the best judge of which meals were important. Or maybe she was the best judge because she knew they were all important! She rather liked that thought.
193: Beach Day
The vastness of the ocean was hard to understand until you truly saw it. Kazue mused upon this thought as she and Moriko walked slowly along the beach of this port city. It was the third and last day they would be spending here before they moved on. Since they had left the capital, they had been much more careful about how long they lingered in any one location. Most places they gave no more than one non-traveling day to, but this city was Kazue''s first visit to the sea, and there was much to see and learn here.
Though somewhat surprisingly, neither of the spirits she currently had bonded to her related directly to the sea or sand, or other such ocean themed concepts. The first of them was a rather esoteric, ephemeral entity; a creature of light and shadow, of liminal places and the borders between. Kazue still didn''t know why this was the spirit that responded when she was seeking a solution to how the sun readily burned her skin, but she suspected it had more to do with the light and shadow aspects than the liminal aspects, even if these things weren''t entirely separable. And it had provided her with the spell she needed.
Of course, the reason she needed it was that Moriko had insisted they buy dresses in the local fashion, though Kazue had insisted that Moriko join her in wearing the short pants that were commonly paired with the lightweight dresses that barely fell to mid-thigh. The fabric was thankfully thicker across the chest because it was borderline sheer in other places, and it was only held up by a thin pair of straps for the shoulders.
And this exposure was no doubt a good portion of why Moriko had insisted on such flimsy casual wear. Not that Kazue had much to complain about, as it did give such a wonderful view of her wife''s legs and the way the sun shone on Moriko''s skin as the muscles beneath flexed. Yum. While the wide-brimmed hat that Kazue was wearing did make it harder to look up to see people, it did help hide her gaze when she wanted to admire her wife''s figure discreetly.
That figure had been such a beautiful sight last night, when Moriko had recklessly chosen to dance in the air with the thunderstorm. It had been both enthralling and terrifying to watch the half-elf laughing almost maniacally as she leapt across the sky; wind, rain, and lightning swirling about her lithe form. While Kazue might have been able to pull together enough spells to enable her to at least join her wife up there, it wouldn''t have really been dancing the same way. Kazue would have been moving despite the elements, not with and because of the elements, and she would have had to put a lot more effort into ensuring that lightning didn''t strike her.
Not that Moriko was immune to a direct hit from a natural bolt of lightning, no, the reckless woman was entrusting to her control of the elements to keep such a strike from hitting her.
But if Moriko hadn''t gone out to dance in that storm, Kazue wouldn''t have met the second spirit she was keeping bonded right now: a spirit of lightning and storms. While not so esoteric as her liminal spirit, it could be almost as ephemeral. She knew that they would continue to exist as discrete entities so long as they were bonded with her, but they were the sort of spirit that might otherwise dissipate when conditions were no longer optimal for them. Especially the liminal one; Kazue thought it might have come into existence because she''d been putting effort into finding something that could help her out.
What she was hoping was that if she could keep them bonded long enough to give them a stronger sense of identity and self that they''d be able to exist independently. It was limiting for her to keep them bonded; she could only keep two bonded at a time, and it took several minutes under optimal conditions to bond with a new one. But she didn''t mind and thought that her liminal spirit worked really well with her ability to bring dreams and imagination briefly to the surface of reality. Her trick for making it briefly hard to tell where she was as random images of might-have-beens flickered around her could be amplified along the edges of spaces, letting her slide through reality a bit more. She could move further so long as it was along a border and squeeze through gaps she otherwise shouldn''t be able to fit through.
Her lightning and storm spirit did not synergize quite so well, though it could speed her up and that did help, and its bolts of lightning were probably her most powerful ranged ability at the moment. But she hadn''t had a good chance to test it out yet, not inside of city limits. But maybe tomorrow while they are on the road.
For now, Kazue was listening to Moriko recount yesterday''s events back home.
"So after breakfast, Mordecai tormented the kids by waiting a while before asking if there was anything that they wanted to talk about. Then he just nodded thoughtfully when they spoke and asked things like ''is there anything else?'' while smiling patiently and encouragingly. The two of them spilled their guts." Moriko was having trouble not laughing while she recounted the tale, and it made Kazue grin.
Nothing truly inappropriate had happened, but they were at the edge of different social rules. There was a difference between the three of them sharing a room with well-understood rules, and very different for one of them to spend the night in the other''s private room. And it certainly wasn''t the dungeon''s place to ''punish'' them for any sort of indiscretion, perceived or otherwise. But as the adults in charge of the area, it certainly fell to them to help encourage a healthy amount of responsibility. Thus Mordecai ''forcing'' Derek and Shizoku to tattle on themselves and explain exactly why that wasn''t supposed to happen.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Moriko continued happily, "After he''d gotten them to give themselves their own guilt trip, Mordecai gave the pair heavy head rubs and laughed at them before letting them know they weren''t in any trouble. His only real concern was responsibility, and he thought that they were both pretty responsible overall but that going forward they should be more careful. He didn''t say it directly, but he implied that being responsible might be harder as time went on."
Which was a pretty fair assessment. The Azeria clan worried about it a lot less than even other kitsune clans as all pregnancies were causes for celebration and there was plenty of support for the girl without a need for the father to be in the picture. Kazue had no illusions that this meant her clan was some bastion of enlightenment. Part of the reason that Shizoku leaned so heavily on her grandmother and the forest spirit for parental guidance was that her father had five wives who also wanted his attention and Shizoku''s mother hadn''t felt the need to be very responsible when there were other women who were happy to spend time cooing over Shizoku and taking care of her. Kazue was fairly certain that this was also the reason that the young kitsune had a tendency to crush on older men, but hopefully, that was taken care of now.
"So after that, Fuyuko decided she wanted to make her contract with the dungeon official. Mordecai made sure to write everything up with her becoming our ward and after it was done he sent a copy of it to both Riverbridge and Azeria to get her status recorded. And then it was on to training! Gentle training this time. Well, mostly. For Shizoku and Fuyuko it was focused around marksmanship practice, mixed with switching their weapons out on the fly. He doesn''t think that Shizoku would need to swap between gun and staff quickly very often, but there was no reason to skip that part of the training. For Fuyuko, he''s popping up surprise targets for her and mixing them up with some ''targets'' that are actually innocents. He says that it should help her get her battle rage under control. Oh, and the swords that came with her bracers are falcatas. They aren''t good for fancy sword work but he figures that sometimes she might just need to hit things hard, so these will be better than her long daggers. I have to say, the only reason those things are ''daggers'' is because of how tall she is. They''d probably feel like short swords for me, and almost certainly be swords for you, ankle biter."
Well, Kazue wouldn''t mind biting Moriko, but that was a slightly different topic and she had her honor to defend. "Careful what you say, my love. This little ankle biter has very sharp teeth and knows exactly where you sleep every night. And she might just think you are tasty enough to take a big bite out of."
"Eek, I am terrified," Moriko said while laughing, "oh please don''t eat me all up scary fox lady, I don''t know what I''d do." Ignoring Kazue''s threatening glare Moriko continued passing on the dungeon''s events. "Anyway, the blades are heavier than Fuyuko is used to and weighted a little strangely, but Mordecai says she''s adapting fast. Now, as for Derek, well, Mordecai is pushing him a little bit more. Our husband has sectioned off part of the arena to be an elemental testing and training ground. It generates random sparks and bubbles of different elements which naturally drift toward any living thing in the area and speed up as they get closer. Derek has been sitting in the middle of it and his training is to use only his elemental abilities to push them away. And Mordecai has made sure to lean heavily on fire and lightning as those seem to be Derek''s weakest elements right now. Man, the poor kid. But he at least has some moral support, Bellona is right there with him. She''s taking more of a beating actually, she doesn''t have any influence over wood and only indirect influence on metal. She''s not going to be there every day though, and Mordecai plans on this being the majority of their training to finish out the first month of the exchange program."
Given how long it had taken the kids to get through the dungeon, there wasn''t a lot more time to finish out a month, so everyone had agreed to just start the program early. After this, Derek and Shizoku would arrange to travel with other groups back to his home and after a few days of rest head back to the dungeon, where Fuyuko would rejoin them and they would all head to the Azeria clan to begin a month of training.
"Everything else has just been going smoothly. With your non-combat path, we''ve been attracting a lot of people who are willing to spend weeks to get through the dungeon instead of the days it takes the combat teams. Though there aren''t a lot of teams clearing the wetlands, most of the ones who finish the river zone don''t even try it. The people on your path usually only give up if it''s taking too long. Oh, and Mordecai says he''d like you to practice working with enchanting crystal-focused items, especially anything that involves altering the crystal itself. He''s hoping that the two of you combined might be able to manually convert other gems and crystals into core matrix, though it will probably take both of you to figure it out."
Well, as much as Kazue admired their husband, she did have to admit to herself that it was kind of nice to see that he wasn''t as all-knowing as he sometimes appeared to be. And that wasn''t a bad idea, it could make a nice project over the winter, when they weren''t occupied by other things. Warm thoughts and feelings flowed with that idea, only to be dashed by a sudden sensation of dread and danger. Kazue spun to put her back to Moriko as she frantically searched for the source of that sensation.
A few moments later she realized that the source was inside her, a tug and pull toward her faraway home. She crushed down the panic that wanted to bubble forth and turned back to Moriko, who had gone still and pale.
Moriko met her worried gaze and confirmed Kazue''s fears. "We''re under attack."
Glossary, Volume 3
Gods
Zagaroth, dragon god, primary creator deity, Emperor of the Gods
Amirume, kitsune goddess of the sun, mother of Zagaroth¡¯s daughter
Mericume, kitsune goddess of the moon, mother of Zagaroth¡¯s son
Sakiya, lady of passions, Zagaroth¡¯s daughter
Ozuran, lord of shadows, Zagaroth¡¯s son
Li Zarb, chaos incarnate
Danu; elven goddess, queen of the elven pantheon
Yamaraja; judge of the dead, husband of Kikoi Muerte
Kikoi Muerte; goddess of the transition between life and death, wife of Yamaraja
Bedelia; phoenix, elemental goddess of fire
Fisaga; sylph, elemental goddess of air
Kamatha; tortoise, elemental god of earth
Yu-kiang; leviathan, elemental god of water
Xiyual; demon-slaying hero risen to become a god
Dormire; a lesser god, believes in acquiring power through almost any means above all else
Diasthian; a risen human goddess of protection, community, and loyalty
Primogen Deities: Any of the gods present as part of the creation of the universe
Empyreal Pillars: The central family of the primogen deities; Zagaroth, Mericume, Amirume, Ozuran, Sakiya, and ¡®adopted family¡¯ Li Zarb
Mortals
Main Cast:
Mordecai; ancient dungeon core, husband to Kazue and Moriko, priest of Ozuran
--Shenlong; Mordecai''s dragon Eidolon
Moriko; elf-blooded monk, wife of Kazue and Mordecai, follower of Sakiya
Kazue; former kitsune, reborn dungeon core, wife of Moriko and Mordecai, former shrine maiden of Mericume
Secondary Cast:
Bellona; orc champion of Amirume
Fuyuko; a teen luponi specialized in skirmishing styles
Moriko¡¯s Family:
Mother: Kaoru Father: Jhaeros
Moriko(36)
Ayred, Brother(32)
Kameko, Sister(30)
Shoko, Sister(25)
Hainako, Sister(21)
Galan, Brother(14)
Mordecai¡¯s Family:
Traxalim; elven priest, grandson
Norumi; kitsune, a founder of the royal family, daughter, forest spirit of Azeria
Haolong; Norumi''s husband, guardian spirit of Azeria
Kuiccihan¡¯s royal bloodline
Azeria clan¡¯s matriarchal bloodline
Kazue¡¯s Family:
Akahana; seven-tailed kitsune druid, mother
Casey; cassowary animal companion
Ricardo; human merchant, father
Azeria Clan:
Aia, 9-tail matriarch
Shizoku, 4-tailed heir presumptive, teen witch
--Bip, small slime familiar
Takehiko, 5-tail cousin of Shizoku, guardian thereof
--Kayda, fey eidolon
Orchid, 6-tail, also Princes Orchid Apifera of the Kuiccihan Kingdom
Paltira, celestial nephilim, consort of Orchid, Marked by Kuiccihan
Xarlug, fiend touched nephilim, close ally
Gako; shrine maiden of Amirume and friend of Kazue
Tia; shrine maiden of Mericume and a friend of Kazue
+ 4 more, currently unnamed, who visited the dungeon with them
Royal Family (Apifera):
King Yoshihiro (56M)
Queen Phaedra (54F) (Formerly of a coastal duchy)
Princess Kagami (34F)
Husband: Zarod - From a barony in the south
Prince Ailwin(33M)
Wife: Amhis - rich merchant half-elf, sweet little thing who is actually in charge
Princess Kitiara (31F)
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.Wife: Catherine, daughter of a Marquess along the northern border
Princess Tiriana (28F)
Engaged to an elven noble, Ilimater.
Princess Orchid (25F)
Consort: Paltira
Princess Bridgette (21F) -phoenix bloodline
Prince Gou (16M)
Kuiccihan; kingdom-sized living dungeon
Others:
Brongrim; dwarf, mercenary, briefly part of a bandit gang, Nainvil¡¯s partner
Nainvil; half-orc, mercenary, briefly part of a bandit gang, Brongrim¡¯s partner
Dara; human guard for Riverbridge
Yambul; friend and former lover of Moriko
Jexim; gnome, mayor of Riverbridge
Pasu; tengu, captain of the guards
Derek; human teen, has elemental powers that draw on his physical vitality
Allannia; young elven acolyte under Traxalim
Rika; young half-elf ranger
Viris; kobold, grandson to the shaman Crizdirk who has now joined the dungeon
Am¨¦lie/Zelda; 18, human disciple of Ozuran from another realm
Tsukiko; 17, kitsune disciple of Ozuran from another realm
Lena; former succubus, agent of Ozuran, rising to become something new
-Has an unaccredited second appearance in the story
Ualiar; elven priest of Amirume
Amator Helmbreaker; halfling champion of The Twins
Kansif; royal guard and former bodyguard/trainer of Princess Orchid
Brianna; a merchant friend of Theodoric
Ula; clothier, favored by the princesses
Yuriko; ''auntie'' of the princesses, seven-tail kitsune
Chaxiss; monk and primary gardener at Sakiya''s monastery
Theodoric; Moriko''s master at the monastery
Dhossun; fire-type elemental/jinn kin
Asti; earth/crystal and lightning type elemental/jinn kin
Zara; an alicorn pretending to be a horse
Tiros; a kelpie pretending to be a horse
Yvonne; human, a Caretaker of a northern Sanctuary
Emmanuel Demidov; the Baron of Cantraberg
Masa and Tsuki; brother and sister, children of Melchior
Melchior; a village smith, has a family treasure of a broken orichalum sword
???; Melchior''s wife, who was visiting their eldest child
???; Melchior''s eldest child who has moved out
Gil; a wandering immortal warrior and an old friend of Mordecai''s
Seb; a green-hued tengu who is a friend of Gil''s, and has wandered off and is missing, again.
Named Dungeon Inhabitants:
Kuni; bunkin, mistress of arms, zone 0 boss
Seon; rabkin, mistress of magic, zone 0 boss
Freya and Belle; Sun & Moon bats, Zone out-1 bosses
Zushi; Void Rabbit, Zone 1 Boss, hidden Raid Boss
Ryohoho; Dracobit, second boss of Zone 1
Hildegard; Carbuncle, Zone 2 boss
Crios; giant crystal crab, Zone 2 boss
Betty; The Beautiful Bouncing Blue Boxer Bunny, Zone 3 boss
Umbrowl; cat-owl with shadow abilities, second boss of Zone 3
Biblios; paper-craft dragon construct, Zone 4 boss
Horace; ook, librarian, second Zone 4 boss
Sarcomaag; mushroom king, Zone 5 boss
Klastoria; slime girl boss of Zone 5
Jasi; naga boss of Zone 6
Kulle, kelpie boss of Zone 6
Nezha and Ysi, a mated pair of modified masima dragons,
Enki; earth elemental, Raid Boss
Menhit; caracal cat
Dairell; bunkin, head chef
Keelina; bunkin, captain
Briant; bunkin, head playwright
Crizdirk; kobold, shaman
Cimbu; tea pet, dragon
1 celestial agent of Fisaga
3 einherjar(female)
1 guardian archon
1 zuhra (metal djinni)
Species Names:
Dire Rabbit (variants: piercing horn, blunt horn, slicing teeth)
Magic Dire Rabbit (variants: fire, ice, electricity, corrosion, poison)
Rabbat; flying dire rabbit (variants: any of the above, plus ¡®vampire¡¯)
Bunbees; hive creature, producer of sparkling crystal honey
Laganthro; any of the humanoid species that began is a rabbit. Clans:
Bunkin; from dire rabbits
Rabkin; from rabbats
Buzzkin; from bunbees
Usagisune; evolved from any of the other clans, will potentially have visible signs of their other clan heritages.
Bunbrarian; template applicable to any laganthro other than Usagisune
Bookwyrms; small paper construct dragons
Biting Words; animate books that bite
Bunyip; mer-rabbits
Bronze Bats; sonic screams and the occasional blinding flash of light.
Umabel; shadowy divine agents of Ozuran
Ursaviane; variations of bear/bird crossbreeds
Antagonists:
Antoine Demidov; son of a Trionea noble
Akuma; Oni bandit/merc, presumably hired by the above noble
blood-purist cult
Dimitri Igorek; head priest of the Puritasi cult
Locations
Darsal; the planet they are on
Kuiccihan; neighboring kingdom
Azeria Forest; kitsune clan home to the west of the dungeon
Riverbridge; small city to the east of the dungeon, connects to the elven kingdom
Ekuilance; capital city of Kuiccihan
Raincatcher Mountains; a range of mountains just to the south of the kingdom
Crescent River; a river flowing north from the mountains, then curving west to flow into the ocean. This makes the eastern and northern borders of the kingdom
Danuana; the Elven Kingdom
Trionea; an empire to the north of Kuiccihan and Danuana
Azanxuan; a continent across the sea, to the west of Kuiccihan
The Allied Nations; a collection of smaller nations, most of them on large islands, to the east of Danuana and the south-east of Trionea
The Southern Plains; though lacking a specific national identity, the plains to the south of the Raincatcher Mountains have many nomadic tribes. Whatever their differences, all the nomads will band together should an outside force attempt to claim any part of these lands.
Special Materials
Golden Opalfire Mushroom Elixir
194: The Assault Begins
The first sign that something was wrong was a giant raven landing in the upper branches of a tree just inside the dungeon''s territory. Not only was it not one of theirs, it was a familiar and not even available to contact. The raven tugged at the cord tying a rolled parchment to its leg, letting the message fall free.
The parchment never reached the ground.
Mordecai frowned as he and Kazue analyzed the contents of the message. "I was vaguely hoping that it would take until next year, but it seems that it only took them a couple of months. This should be interesting. Kazue?"
"Take charge, let me know what you need."
"Thank you." They''d talked about it previously, but he wanted to be sure they were on the same page about him taking charge again anytime there was an emergency of this sort. "Moriko, feel free to listen in, but don''t come charging home. Once I get a handle on their actual strength I''ll let you know if we need you to try to assault them from the rear."
Moriko was fast, and if need be could just carry Kazue''s avatar, but even so, it would take most of a day to get here and leave her tired. It was best to keep them in reserve and give them time to prepare themselves instead of rushing.
"We have some time, so let''s start thinning out the guests who are upstairs. I want all noncombatants somewhere safe, and I don''t want any trainees or novices around either. Other than that, try to make it appear like normal operations for now." As he spoke Mordecai was making his way to the war room, where their contractors and some of their more tactically inclined inhabitants were also headed.
The message had been from one of their kobold allies. [A force of over 200 armed people in the hills and mountains, broken up into groups of five to seven, heading toward your territory. The groups are spread out, some are still camped.] There was no speculation presented, and Mordecai appreciated being given pure facts and doing his own analysis, especially without personal knowledge of the kobold who sent this message. The most immediate thing to glean was that there was no legitimate reason for such a force to be marching through the mountains to them. This was an assault.
When he arrived, Mordecai gave Shizoku and Derek a hard stare. "You two are not participating in this at all. You have no safety net." Well, they did, but they didn''t know that.
The teen witch was in fine form as she arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? Then do you expect them to politely bid us be on our way?"
"No, I expect you to get escorted to the corner of our territory closest to the forest and make a run for home."
"So, the heir to the clan is supposed to abandon the clan''s ally in their hour of need? I think not. And you don''t need us as messengers, there is no way we are your fastest runners." While Shizoku seemed confident, Derek looked nervous. But his measure had been taken, Mordecai knew he''d not abandon the girl.
Also, Shizoku wasn''t wrong. He''d already sent two usagisune off with messages, one headed for the clan and the other headed for Riverbridge. Both had been instructed to run directly for the forest and then parallel the road. And Bellona had dragged in her portable secretary table that could be used to contact the capital. "Fine, but only on your oath to not reveal any of the secrets that may be revealed to you. The two of you may observe and you can set up to support the main hall, but you are not to go forward of the main hall until the fighting is done."
Once each of them had given their oaths, Mordecai focused back on the planning. "It looks like they are planning on infiltrating by pretending to be normal parties. There''s no reason for them to break up into such small groups otherwise, it only leaves them more vulnerable. So, I intend to let them think that they have successfully infiltrated. Initially, we''ll let them sign up for slots on the same basis as everyone else and have friendly groups take their normal turns. But when they are out of sight, I want to redirect all our actual guests directly to the river zone. The river and the wetlands will be free to roam, but I am going to pull all of our combatants from those zones. All traffic past the wetlands will be routed into the arena, with the warning that anyone traveling past the wetlands will be considered a hostile invader and treated as such." The guests already in the dungeon would be allowed to progress normally through the earlier zones, that part of the alteration was only for people who hadn''t started the delve.
Since he couldn''t just seal off all access to progress, this was the best compromise he had available. "For the invading troops, I want to let them progress down whichever path each group decides upon, but no further than the mushroom forests. We''re going to put in minimal effort and give them minimal rewards during this, which will give us time to study them and decide our exact actions. I intend to give them a chance to surrender at this point, but assuming that they do not surrender, all of the floor exits will be rotated to lead directly to the sewers instead of normal progression. This means that they will be broken up into smaller groups and forced to enter the sewers at different locations. Also, the combat path will have all restrictions pulled. I am hoping that this will eliminate most if not all of the groups on that side."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
It was going to depend on the exact setup of the individual group, but he was hoping to take down a good quarter of them in the combat path. "Fortunately, we don''t have to worry about offering a chance to surrender after that initial opportunity. But we need to start expanding our prison by a lot, as I am going to designate that as the safe zone for them to appear in after they die." He hadn''t gotten around to explaining this bit to Fuyuko yet, and all three teens were exchanging confused looks.
"One of our most recent blessings is the ability to give any of our visitors an instant rescue from death. But it takes a full year before it can affect a person for a second time, and we have to be careful with it. It is a delicate thing in some ways, and can be easily broken." And this was why he had Shizoku and Derek swear that oath before he allowed them to stay. It was also the only reason he hadn''t forcibly ejected them despite their protests; so long as the dungeon did not die, the two of them should be safe. Just to be certain, he set their safe zones to the far corner of the dungeon''s territory.
"In the meantime, all training will cease. I want everyone rested, and I want to prepare the arena to make it our last line of defense. The last stage of the sewer involves climbing back up a path that leads to a hidden door into the arena. It''s set between the two staircases that lead down from the last boss arena." It was part of the reason that he''d set the arena the way he had; Mordecai had wanted a better last-stand area than the main hall where guests might well be present.
"Shizoku, Derek; I am going to leave this display running to show enemy deployments. You may watch as you please, and if you have anything you want us to notice after the fighting has started, you may write it down and place it on that desk over there. I don''t know how busy we''re going to get, and that will be less distracting than you trying to talk to us. Everyone; this is only a rough sketch based on preliminary information and some educated guesses. Events may change, stay flexible."
With the meeting wrapped up, everyone attached to the dungeon set about their duties. Shizoku approached him with a question. "Mordecai, do you mind if Derek and I set up a position down the hall to your bed chambers? I imagine that they aren''t in use much right now with your wives absent."
Her tone was too innocent and he looked at her suspiciously. "Why there?"
"Well honored ancestor, I can''t help but notice that your bed chambers are at the furthest, deepest part of the dungeon and that in even the most surprising circumstances it would be hard to access anything hidden that way without running into the dungeon''s final and strongest defenders."
Clever little girl. "You are too smart for your own good. Fine, do as you please, but that counts as one of the secrets you swore to protect." Of course, the core itself was high above the arched ceiling of the main hall, but the only traversable paths to it were accessed from the furthest rooms.
Shizoku seemed rather pleased with herself, and she went to work with Derek repurposing much of their furniture into barricades and barriers. With significant effort, Derek would be able to mold the walls enough to enable him to be able to embed the corners and sides of the tables into them. They would have to be destroyed to be cleared out, not merely pulled aside while under attack. Their work right now was arranging everything so that they could quickly pull the barriers into place, they didn''t want to be trapped behind their own handiwork just yet.
Which left Fuyuko waiting for her assignment, as she hadn''t been integrated into their contingencies yet. "Until the first hostiles cross into our territory, you may assist topside in getting everyone organized, whether they want to leave or if they want to be brought down and guarded. The moment the invaders are in our outer zone, I want you to come down." The girl started to scowl, but he didn''t let her interrupt. "You can continue to assist anyone who needs it until it''s time for the fighting to begin. You will then proceed to join the archery line of defense in the seating areas of the arena." Not that the seating was still going to be there, the tiers of benches were already being rotated out with barriers for archers and gunners to protect themselves with. The viewing area directly above the arena he cleared out as well, and then the entire floor slid to one side, replaced with an opaque floor with several trap doors that could only be opened from above. He didn''t anticipate a need for them right now, but Mordecai did know how to prepare on the paranoid side.
Fuyuko growled. "I don''t want a backline position."
"Too bad. I''d prefer to not have you fighting in earnest at all, so I''m already giving you a compromise. And part of the reason for that is your battle fugue. To be blunt, you are still too dangerous to have on the front lines. There''s a good reason I only let you push yourself in spars with someone you can''t permanently hurt."
Fuyuko looked down at that. She was still scowling, but he didn''t feel as much resistance from her anymore. So he continued in a more gentle voice. "We all have our parts to play. If it comes down to it and you need to enter melee, then so be it. But right now, this is the best way to organize. Come on, let''s go topside together, I don''t need to keep my avatar down here right now."
Their bronze bats and other flying animals that they''d incorporated during their last expansion were perched as high as they could and remain hidden in the trees. Mordecai wanted as much warning as possible before the enemy crossed into his borders.
195: Invaders, Part 1
Kazue tried not to fret as the dungeon waited for the arrival of their invaders. It took hours after the message arrived for the first group to cross into their territory. Without foreknowledge, and if their territory truly began where most thought it did, there would have been nothing to make this group stand out from others. They didn''t even head directly to the town, they skirted well clear of the trading post and made their way down to the trail leading up from the main road, and then came back up along the trail to arrive from the same direction as other groups did.
The first notable anomaly was in the third group to arrive. Mordecai was examining magical auras very carefully, but even he missed it at first. One of the people in this group proved to have a new variation of the token that had been used previously to summon enemies deep into their territory, but it had been tucked away deep into their pack. But as they had to sign up for an entry slot that started the next day, they took rooms in the inn.
And placed their bags down. Unattended. In a dungeon''s territory.
The entire contents of the bags were analyzed in an instant, and the odd magic of the talisman was noted. She watched as Mordecai crafted a physical replica and imbued it with an aura that would look like the original to most people. A skilled mage or arcane craftsman would be able to tell the difference if they examined it closely.
While he was doing that, Kazue stole all their potions and replaced them with weaker variants, along with subtly sabotaging other items such as arrows.
If they had done this to normal delvers there may have been repercussions for acting against these people in what appeared to be a safe area. But both by their actions and by carrying summoning tokens with the same traits as the previous enemies had used, these groups had shown themselves to be hostile to the dungeon.
And there are no safe spaces for invaders.
Letting these people enter both routes grated on Kazue''s sensibilities and instincts; she knew they were not truly here for any reason other than violence. But Mordecai had a plan, even if he was already modifying it with a new idea because of the tokens. The presence of so many hostiles was also rapidly finishing off their deficit and giving Kazue enough mana to expand their prison.
The next twist came shortly after a hundred invaders had entered their outer territory, and the first few groups had started down each path. Cold fury bloomed in Mordecai, drawing Kazue''s attention to the new group. As soon as she recognized two of them, her own ire began to simmer.
The oni was easy to spot, and they recognized the bandit Akuma''s face immediately. And walking beside him was a man that neither of them had seen before, but whose likeness had been shown to them. Lord Antoine Demidov.
Kazue wanted to claw their eyes out.
She''d never felt so bloodthirsty before. When they''d been invaded before she''d been scared and angry, but she hadn''t felt such a personal hatred of another person. It was hard to not order those two to be attacked immediately, but they needed to follow Mordecai''s plan if they wanted to make sure they got everyone.
By the next day, the only groups on the signup boards were those of the invaders.
The day after that, the dungeon began the next stage of their plan.
When the invaders in the trading post awoke that morning, they found it deserted by everyone but them and the town emptied of all supplies and merchandise. The contents that belonged to outsiders were carefully marked so that they could be returned, but they would give no spoils to these people.
Antoine gathered a larger group together and sent in a few scouts followed by some heavily armored muscle, and slowly added more groups to investigate. The shrines were deserted, and the path selection chamber was open, but the pedestal was gone. Instead, the third door was revealed, showing the path to hell.
While the mercenaries scouted the entrance to ensure that no traps waited, the rooms remained quiet. It was only when Antoine and Akuma approached the selection chamber than the dungeon showed its hand.
Two pedestals that flanked the opening into the selection chamber activated, one of them being controlled by Mordecai to display his image. "Invaders. Killers. Murderers." Kazue''s illusion hissed at them, channeling her genuine anger into this performance.
Mordecai played opposite to her, cool and unflinching. "Last night, one of the groups you sent in made a slip of the tongue. Now that we know part of your plan, well, we can''t prevent you from entering. But we can make it unpleasant. As for the portion of your forces already inside the dungeon, we''re going to be spending some time sorting them out from the proper delvers. Hopefully, no innocents will get caught in the way. You should find at least some of them joining you in the sewers, where there are no rules restricting groups. And no rules about fair play."
Antoine sneered, "Do you think to trick me with paltry threats, demon spawn? We''ve come prepared to cleanse the world of your filth, and we''ll burn you and your whores to ash. We prepared for this, thanks to Akuma''s recounting of your previous encounter. Men, begin!"
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They had obviously trained in this maneuver as various troops began unloading alchemical flasks that were rolled down the slope and into the awaiting darkness. Then an array of tower shields was erected before several mages launched fireballs down into the sewer depths.
The results were less spectacular than they might have hoped, though there was still a multistage explosion. It did not, however, propagate down the sewer the way that the invaders had undoubtedly hoped it would.
Mordecai smiled unpleasantly. "We''ve had time to prepare as well. Don''t think we''ve neglected to evolve some countermeasures ourselves. Oh, and Lord Antoine Demidov, I know exactly who you are. Don''t think of running away, or I will hunt you down. So come on little Tony boy, show me what you''ve got. One of my wives already beat you up once, maybe I should let the other one have a go at you too?"
And with that provocation complete, both illusions cut off. Mordecai had fibbed a touch in his parting words, his phrasing had implied that they''d evolved ice mold, infamous for its dangerous ability to consume heat and fire to fuel its growth. In fact, the alchemical flasks had been part of Kazue''s sabotage and his avatar had been present in the sewer in order to counter the blast of fire.
Antoine''s response was fairly predictable, and despite Akuma arguing that they should cut their losses, the prideful young lord had to have his way and ordered his troops to make their way into the dungeon. He at least let the professionals do their job, and they set about countering the slick slope before they actually descended. The dungeon couldn''t interfere with the frame they put in front of and inside of the doorway or the ropes attached to the framework, at least, so long as any of it was attended. But eventually, the entire group made its way into the sewers, the deadly spikes carefully broken and a path cleared.
While this was going on, the dungeon was dealing with its other hostile visitors. The various groups were either at the rest spot before the library, the rest spot at the entrance of the mushroom forest on the combat side, or otherwise spread throughout those two zones, as everyone from the day before had the time to clear the first three zones. At the same time that the initial selection room was set for the hell path, every entrance and exit to the library and mushroom forest zones opened to the hidden paths they''d constructed so many months ago. And much like the trading post, the floors were emptied of contents. However, their inhabitants remained, though they were hidden for now.
Leaflets fluttered from the ceiling, all saying the same thing. [We know your intentions, you have been separated and divided. Those who surrender will not be harmed. All others will be eliminated as threats. To surrender, gift the dungeon your weapons and armor.]
Most of the invaders in the dungeon were in large enough groups that confidence and peer pressure dominated. However, a couple of the groups were isolated enough that they chose to not risk being able to make it to another group in time, and a handful of individuals were able to slip away to surrender privately. The tunnels that had previously been used to ensure a healer was always nearby were now used to have the dungeon''s warriors surround these groups and take the prisoners away. All told, they had eighteen people surrender. A nearly ten percent reduction in enemy forces before they even engaged in combat.
The forces on the non-combat path were ignored for the moment, to encourage them to make their way into the sewers. The forces on the combat path and not in one of the designated safe spaces were engaged as soon as their intentions were clear, and there was no longer any hint of fairness or encounters meant to merely challenge. They were harried and harassed, constantly assaulted by carefully timed waves to give them no opportunity to rest. And their only exit was through the boss room, while they were still being attacked by the regular floor inhabitants. None of the groups that had been scattered through the forest made it past Sarcomaag and Klastoria despite doing their best to simply fight their way through to the open exit.
Those scattered on the library level fared much better, but a little under half of them fell before they made it to the sewer. Biblios and Horace were injured during their participation in the running battle, but they would have fared much worse if the merged groups had made a stand. Of course, those groups would have lost more people too, and unlike them, the dungeon bosses would be back in action in less than twelve hours. So fighting their way past was the wisest move.
The two merged groups in the safe zones both chose to enter the sewers through the entrance near them, rather than fighting across the floor to skip part of the sewer. It was a rational seeming decision, but if they had fought across the floor, uniting with the small scattered groups might have cost them fewer casualties.
The fighting in the sewers was a slog in more ways than one. In favor of the invaders, these groups were already gathered together into larger forces, and their spellcasters could focus their defensive spells on acid, poison, and disease. But these sewers were hostile lands even to the dungeon inhabitants, and the presence of literal fresh meat attracted the attention of every single predatory scavenger in the sewers. Nothing was safe here; even the crystal flowers had become explosive traps, and the crystal shards had to be removed quickly from any survivors for they acted as quick-growing seeds that would consume the flesh they had been embedded in. Meat was much more nutritious than muck or the acidic bodies of slimes and oozes.
The largest group was the one facing the least resistance, and despite the delay caused by making the entrance ramp safer, they were moving more quickly through the hell route than the groups further on. Which was when the next stage of the trap was sprung.
Such a large group had attracted the attention of everything in the sewers, which also meant that they''d cleared out every significant hostile creature in the sewers. The dungeon''s inhabitants in the early zones were entirely unoccupied, so now Mordecai gave them something to do. They flooded into the sewers behind the small army and charged forward.
The first waves were not terribly dangerous to the veteran mercenaries who were now formed up into proper ranks, but there were a lot of them and it now meant that the troops were facing a battle on two fronts. Additionally, as the army cleared the sewers of a particular zone, Mordecai could send in the inhabitants of that zone to join the earlier ones, and every twelve hours he had a new wave available.
And finally, once Mordecai had sent in the first of their inhabitants, Kazue sent a rabkin to fly to their borders and signal the troops that had come from Riverbridge and Azeria in response to their request for aid. These were the final backup plans if the invaders proved more dangerous than Mordecai had estimated. For now, the two sets of troops followed their guides, stalking the tail end of the army from the safety of the dungeon''s normal paths.
While the invaders slogged their way forward under constant assault, there was still the matter of the talismans to deal with.
196: Invaders, Part 2
The new prison cells were filling in at a steady rate, and Mordecai was satisfied with how things were going even now that the remnants were gathered together. All told, over a third of the invaders were now in the cells, and they hadn''t even cleared the mushroom forest zone. He was getting a good feel for how strong the invading force was; most of the people in prison cells were about Shizoku''s current strength, while most of those who remained were stronger. This still put them as individually weaker than the small force that had previously attacked them, but quantity had a certain quality of its own. Of course, when it came to quantity, he and Kazue had the advantage there.
Which left him with another problem to solve. The talismans this lot had on them were different than the ones that had been carried before. They did carry some of the same detection enchantments, but they were not designed to act as scrying foci. Instead, each carried a single charge of a teleport spell designed to bring one person to the area of the token. There was an interesting and slightly nasty rider on the teleport: if the talisman didn''t have enough stored power to complete the teleport, it would take the power it needed from the person activating it. And it came with a trigger to activate upon its bearer suffering a mortal wound, finishing the bearer off in order to summon its target. And neither Antoine nor Akuma had been carrying one of the talismans. It could probably punch through the wards they had on their inner chambers but at the cost of the life of the person carrying it.
He could just break them of course, but that would leave an unknown force of twenty-three people somewhere. He consulted with Moriko and Kazue, and they agreed that it was probably best to deal with the problem now when they could set up a trap.
With that decision made, he directed Zushi to the center of the arena and called upon Sarcomaag as well. He instructed Zushi to focus on his ability to absorb energy; Mordecai wanted Zushi to exude an aura of void energy.
Sarcomaag''s part came from his ability to incorporate so many other fungal species into his makeup. Mordecai and Sarcomaag worked together to find fungi that were less adversely affected by Zushi''s void energy, and then evolve them into species that incorporated that energy.
When they were finished, a small field of nearly-black mushrooms sprouted in the center of the arena, with twenty-three of them growing taller than the rest. These were the heart of the trap that Mordecai was setting, along with carefully altering the triggers on the talismans.
After he had finished those preparations, Mordecai double checked that all of his forces in the arena were ready for battle and then moved the talismans out from the dungeon storage and onto the target mushrooms. He used a twist of magic to remotely trigger them, summoning the intended targets into the dungeon. The first part of his trap triggered when each target accepted the summons and the energy cost to teleport this deep into a dungeon''s territory was paid by the summoned person. This left them enervated and deep in a field of void mushrooms, with Zushi at the center.
And towering over the other twenty-two forms was a demoness.
Mordecai''s battle form slammed into the figure at full speed, carrying them across the arena and shoving her several feet into the reinforced wall. The action stunned his avatar as well, and even while weakened the demoness recovered faster, kicking him off to begin working her way out of the rubble.
But Mordecai''s core had not been affected, and he was already coordinating an assault on what he''d immediately recognized as a powerful dungeon avatar. Enki''s hands grew out of the wall and grabbed the demoness''s head and slammed it back against the hard-packed earth. Hellfire erupted from her form as she began tearing at the earth elemental''s fingers, her claws gouging the stone while the heat of her hellfire worked at melting his hands.
Twin streams of caustic brine blasted into her, and the steam that resulted was no less corrosive than the original liquid.
Mordecai''s avatar had recovered while the demoness flailed, and he used one of the most powerful attacks he had. He merged a spell and breath weapon into one attack, creating a ray of ice shards charged with lightning magic. It was a tiring attack that he wouldn''t be able to repeat during this battle, and technically an inefficient use of his resources. Efficiency was not his current concern.
"Target her limbs!" his core commanded before the first volley of arrows and bullets was fired at her. As dangerous as the enemy avatar was, she could not be allowed to die. Her soul was not here, and he didn''t think the avatar would be caught by the same magic that allowed them to save the troops that would otherwise be dying.
He left the rest of the summoned enemies for Kazue and Bellona to coordinate the attack on. He needed to focus his attention here and had to take away a portion of the forces that should be firing into the enemy group. But it was worth it, just with that volley. Both cold iron and silver had inflicted searing wounds upon the avatar''s flesh. Even if he had wanted to model his avatar on a demon for some reason, he would not have deliberately inflicted that weakness. And only one of those weaknesses should have applied to any given fiend. Two bandoleers filled with poison-coated silvered and cold iron spikes appeared on his avatar, and he closed with the injured demon to set about grim work that would hopefully be a mercy in the long run.
Nezha and Ysi, the eletsima dragons that normally guarded the wetlands zone, moved with him. Enki had not released his grip on the demoness''s head and now the two dragons were attacking her wings and arms. The hellfire had only been temporarily suppressed and only Mordecai was able to entirely resist the heat radiating off of her even now. He knew his flesh would begin to slowly scorch if she had a chance to release her flames again, so he wasn''t going to give her that chance.
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Disgust twisted his guts as Mordecai drove a spike through a wing membrane, temporarily pinning it to the stone of the wall. Then he drove another spike through that wing, and another; continuing until the limb was completely pinned. Even with the aid of the others, he was taking a beating from her flailing limbs, and her claws and spikes were able to gouge furrows through his scales. Those attacks would have flayed normal flesh open and scored the bones beneath.
He ignored it all, trusting to his own regenerative powers and the small squad of bunkin healers he''d redirected to support this specific fight to keep him healthy enough to function. Her other wing was his next target, driving in more spikes until he was certain she couldn''t free her wings. The demonic screams of rage that Enki''s fingers muffled were now tinged with notes of pain and terror. Mordecai hated every moment of what he was doing, but he had to immobilize her.
The next stage was going to be worse, but he shied away from thinking about it until he was finished nailing her arms and legs to the wall. The paralytic poison on any one of those spikes would have been potentially lethal to a normal human. For this avatar, they barely managed to weaken the muscles local to where they''d been driven into her flesh.
By the time he was done with that grim task, all of them were badly injured. Nezha and Ysi had broken her spikes and claws with their attacks to enable him to work easier, but all three of them were still bleeding from the attacks she''d managed to land previously and Enki was missing two fingers. At Mordecai''s mental command, Enki shifted his grip to reveal the demoness''s face and Mordecai met her eyes. "I''m sorry. I hope I can make this better before too long."
Mordecai shifted into his ambassador form and focused his spirit and chi into a single claw. With that claw, he began etching runes of control and binding into her flesh, ripping apart her armor in the process. The avatar cried out in utter terror as soon as she fully realized what he was doing, and he had to ignore her screams and sobbing as she begged him to stop. She swore and promised so many things, and he''d have been much happier taking an oath from her instead. But the moment he''d seen her, he understood that there was another dungeon, almost certainly located in the lands owned by the Puritasi. And Mordecai was equally certain that the core was bound and enslaved. So long as that was the case, the avatar''s oaths and promises could be overwritten.
The first rune bound and forbade her hellfire. The next did the same for any ability to charm or hypnotize. And he had to continue to add a rune for each fiendish power he had ever heard of because he had no idea what had actually been built into this avatar.
But he did not bind her mind or her voice. Her movement he restricted in speed and force, and forbade violence in any form. There was one power that he did not completely seal and instead limited its activation to his explicit command. Mordecai didn''t know for sure that she had the ability to shape change, but it was an easy guess.
The final rune was scored into her flesh directly above her heart, marking her as a defeated prisoner of the dungeon. Empowering that rune to activate upon a person as powerful as her who had not actively surrendered was a painfully draining experience. And now her aura no longer prevented the dungeon''s magic from working near her.
"I''m sorry," he whispered again as he began removing the spikes from the sobbing woman''s body. The battle had come to a stunned halt when she''d begun screaming in terror and the surviving enemy forces had surrendered when they fully realized that they were the ones who had been tricked and trapped. The rest were already in their prison cells.
"Support her carefully, and heal her wounds." His commands were soft-spoken, but they were obeyed. Enki did his best to gently cradle her body while others did their best to support her limbs while the spikes were removed and healing magic was applied to each wound in turn.
She collapsed to her knees once she was fully freed from the wall and set down. "I am truly sorry," Mordecai said again before giving her an order, "Now, change to your human or most human-like form."
The demoness''s form shrank and shifted, leaving behind a nearly naked woman. Mordecai''s core clothed her directly, forming robes out of mana to cover her. The robes were beautiful and soft, but he also deliberately made them layered in a way that hid the gender of her body. None of the other prisoners had such care taken for their modesty, but he had an ugly suspicion that she needed a lot of very tender care.
The robes interrupted her crying, and the woman stared at her robes with a blank expression. Mordecai shifted back to his normal form and sank to his knees in front of her. Binding her had devoured as much mana as he''d spent during the battle with Gil, and that fatigue combined with his emotional exhaustion left his hands trembling. "I wish I could have taken your oath."
The woman''s blank expression didn''t change as she looked up at him. How much had she suffered to have mastered that look? Mordecai continued talking to her. "I can only imagine that your core is enslaved. If my assumption is true, no oath by your avatar could be binding. And your invested avatar is stronger than my internal avatar. This was the only way I could secure you without endangering others that I care about. You do not deserve what I have done to you, and I am so very sorry I had to do it, but I could not let you escape, not even into death."
Still, her expression did not change. "I plan on finding and freeing your core, and once that is done you can reunite with your core, freeing you of all my bindings. I hope on that day you will be able to forgive me for what I have done today." But he would not be questioning her any time soon. Getting information from her was going to have to wait.
"My name is Mordecai. My wives are Kazue and Moriko, with Kazue being the other dungeon core. And these two women are Bellona and Fuyuko." His core had already told the two of them what he wanted of them, and he''d felt them approach. "We are going to do our best to treat you as a guest, and in one thing we are going a step further. Kazue has made you a room in the area normally reserved for contractors, instead of the area that guests usually stay in. They are going to show you to your room and stay with you for a little while. I don''t have a plan beyond that yet, but..." But what? What promises could he offer after effectively enslaving her, compounding the trauma of having her core enslaved?
He shook his head and sighed. "I don''t know. I do not like what I have done to you. I''m sorry." What useless words. Mordecai dismissed his avatar and reformed in their main bedroom. There were many hours left until he would need to take action against the remaining forces. He could let everyone else carry on with the plan until then. So for right now, Mordecai curled up on the bed and wept for the suffering he had just inflicted. He had to grieve at least this small amount right now and clear his emotions, lest they cloud his thoughts later.
Bellona and Fuyuko very gently helped their guest to her feet and quietly walked with her to the newly created room. Everyone else in the arena was quiet as well, even the recently surrendered prisoners. Most didn''t understand exactly what happened, but all knew that whatever Mordecai had done to the woman had terrified her.
197: Invaders, Part 3
Bellona was unhappy with what had just happened in the arena. She was in fact rather angry. There were a lot of ethical issues with what Mordecai just did, even if she intellectually understood the logic behind it. His actions failed the three guidelines about bindings; there was no consent, the enforcement was strict and left their prisoner unable to even try to defy them, and there were very specific restrictions on what she could and could not do. The thing with the tentacle wolf had a clear exception, he''d been easing the creature''s suffering. This situation was much more murky about the benefits for the target of the bindings.
But this was not the time to deal with it, so she set it aside in order to focus on helping both their new ''guest'' and Fuyuko, who looked ill at ease herself.
She chose to start with the young teen. "Fuyuko, I know you are upset. I am too. We will talk to Mordecai later, after the invasion has been resolved. Alright?"
Fuyuko straightened up and nodded, though she didn''t say anything just yet. It wasn''t perfect, but nothing was, and it would do for now.
The walk to the newly created suite hadn''t been long, and they were approaching the door now. "This will be your room," Bellona said softly, "Kazue will make any alterations you need within reason."
The subdued woman had been looking around with her blank expression, doing her best to take everything in. Now she focused her gaze on Bellona and inclined her head in acknowledgment, and still no trace of emotion. Bellona recognized the signs of trauma and withdrawal from her training, though she''d not seen it in person before. She needed to start small, and there was an important thing that had not been discussed yet.
Bellona asked, "What name would you like to be called by?" The phrasing gave the woman a tiny bit more control and agency.
After a moment of silence she replied, "Deidre." Then she walked through the door that Bellona had opened.
Fuyuko and Bellona followed her in and showed her the amenities and personal supplies that Kazue had arranged. Deidre simply watched and listened, and gave only the most basic replies when asked a question.
After that came an awkward silence. Fuyuko broke it by asking, "Um, so, yer walls are kind of bare. If ya''d like some art, Kazue can whip up somethin''. She''s pretty good. I had no idea what ta ask her for when she made me the offer, so she asked me about places I liked looking at back home. I can''t remember my parent''s home well enough for that picture to be very true, but it''s nice and it feels like it should be. And there were lots of pretty places I saw on my way down here. If, ya know, there''s a place that makes ya happy to remember, maybe ya can tell her. Just ask for her."
Deidre''s gaze focused fully on Fuyuko while she talked and there was a subtle shift in her expression as she processed the girl''s appearance and accent. "You sound like some of the soldiers. You come from Cantraberg. You are a Luponi? But you must be just a child. Why are you here? What has been done to you?!" The sudden surge of emotion from Deidre made Fuyuko step back in surprise, and Bellona interposed herself.
"Easy, it''s okay. She''s fine," Bellona said soothingly, "Fuyuko is okay. She came here on her own. Well, Gil helped, but that was after she was already on her way."
The girl in question frowned as she recovered from her surprise and growled, "I ain''t that young, I''m fourteen, and only a few months until I am fifteen. And like she said, I made the choice on my own. It was scary when I was travelin'' on my own, but it was my own two feet that carried me."
Deidre slowly calmed down and sat on the edge of her bed with a vaguely confused expression as she looked between them. Bellona took it as a good sign that she still had the will to get angry on another person''s behalf. "I know things are probably a little confusing right now, but your experience has been skewed. You know why you were sent here, and Mordecai acted out of a desperate hope to save lives. Including your own in the long run. Do you know the history of those invading our home?"
Her statement earned Bellona a scornful look as Deidre''s emotional mask began to set itself once more, but her question caused the woman to pause. After a moment she lifted her hand to touch her chest and trace a curve below her neck, where the runes were hidden by her robes. "There''s no truth compulsion."
That confirmation made Bellona feel a little better about the situation. "That fits with what Mordecai said, but he was very terse and strained. He only said that he did the minimum bindings needed to be safe. Oh, Kazue says there are so many runes because Mordecai didn''t know what demonic abilities your avatar might be able to mimic, so he sealed them all."
Mentioning the binding runes made Fuyuko look ill again, and the girl turned away to go examine the table where Kazue had placed several small plates of food, giving herself an excuse to ignore the other two women.
"You, both of you trust him. But, you are mad at him. Both of you dislike what he has done to me. Why do you trust him?"
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The question made Fuyuko flinch, but Bellona answered Deidre''s question. "It is complicated. Part of it comes from knowing others who trust him. Part of it is having observed him and knowing what he has done." She paused to ask Kazue a question before she continued. "Kazue says it should be okay to tell you this much. For all that Mordecai leads the defense of the dungeon and is usually the face of the dungeon while Kazue''s avatar travels with their wife Moriko, this territory is first and foremost hers. I will not go into the details, but the core was originally just hers, and he joined with her. And when he did, Mordecai specifically ensured that he would always have slightly less than equal control of their shared territory."
Deidre frowned thoughtfully. "I still do not understand how to make two cores merge. Even if you touched them together at a mutual boundary it does not seem like it should be possible."
Bellona ignored that comment, explaining how it had happened was more detail than either of the cores felt comfortable with here. "After all of this is done, maybe we can show you more of the dungeon. They have gone to great lengths to make their territory safe. No proper delver has died in their home." No invaders had either, at least, not permanently, but that wasn''t going to be shared until the danger was in the past. "Now, we can''t stay with you, we need to go eat and get some rest before the next battle we participate in. Our friend Betty is coming to stay with you for a while instead. She''s been here far longer than we have, she can tell you a little about what she''s seen as they grew."
When the usagisune walked into the suite Deidre practically jumped in surprise. "You''re a floor boss!"
Betty inclined her head. "Perceptive. Yes, I am."
"Your dungeon is under attack, shouldn''t you be fighting?"
That caused Betty to smile wryly. "I would, under other circumstances. But none of us know how safe that would be, given my current condition. Even Mordecai is not certain if my child would be restored with me if I fell in battle. So I will fight only if the dungeon is that desperate."
Deidre''s face went blank again as she froze in place. When she spoke again, it was almost a whisper. "I know. The further along you are, the more chance there is of the fetus having enough of a spirit for the core to hold onto. But unless it is almost ready to be born, there is always a risk of losing it."
Betty''s voice was deadly calm as she replied, "It is best that the person who caused you to know such a thing is not within my power to touch. I would have great trouble not doing things that my master and mistress would disapprove of."
Bellona and Fuyuko took their leave as the two dungeon-born entities continued their conversation, though Fuyuko looked like she might not be very hungry for once.
Deidre shook her head with confusion. "That should not be possible. If you know they would disapprove then you should not be able to consider that action."
"You have a very different idea of ''loyal'' than we do I think," Betty replied. "Even were Mordecai and Kazue overly utilitarian, the ability to provide thoughts and ideas that are not in alignment with theirs would provide valuable perspectives. Though I do wonder if your thoughts on the subject are shaped by whoever holds your core enslaved."
"What makes you say that?" Deidre asked, her face tightening into a mask once more and her voice flat and toneless.
Betty tilted her head slightly as she shrugged. "I have no experience or training in such things, but those who do say you show clear signs of trauma and abuse. And Master Mordecai says that such things should be nigh impossible without first enslaving the core. Additionally, knowing that a previously unknown dungeon exists fills some holes in other areas. But hiding a dungeon''s existence for as long as you must have existed requires limiting a dungeon''s growth, which no dungeon would willingly do for that long a period. Or be able to do of their own free will for that matter. Mind, I have no expertise in this beyond my own instincts as a dungeon-born, but this feels correct to me."
The avatar took a moment before she responded, "If your presumption was correct, how would your master be any different from the person or people who would do that to a core?"
"I will choose to not take offense at your tone, in light of your circumstances and history." Betty''s tone was cold enough to chip ice off of. "Neither he nor Mistress Kazue insists on that title, and some of us use other terms such as ''boss'' or even ''lord'' or ''lady''. I use these titles as terms of respect, similar to an apprentice and their master. The implication you made is unfounded. I am aware of how you were bound by his hand, but I am well aware of why he felt it needed. He has made sure everyone knows."
As she spoke, Betty''s voice softened, sorrow for the circumstances filling her words. "An enslaved core''s binding makes it so that you can not be properly oath sworn. Your personal strength makes you too strong for our prisons; he was only able to bind you because of your weakened state. To kill you would simply free your other self to reform their internal avatar while awaiting the opportunity to reconstruct you a year from now. And now that he knows of your existence, Mordecai plans on freeing your core, but first he must get information. Information that can only come from you. And this is the only safe way to keep you here. We are all sorry for what has been done, but most of us understand how this is best even for you in the long run."
Now she sighed and shook her head. "We did not all need to know this, but guilt tinged his every word. Publicly sharing something he is ashamed of doing was a small piece of self-penance I think. I do not think it would be so hard on him if he did not already bear guilt for other actions far in his past. When all of this is done and passed, I hope you will be understanding. Until then, we will do our best to take care of you and treat you with respect. And right now, that begins with seeing you fed. You are not in your territory, you need to eat the same as anyone else."
"And you expect me to just trust you?"
"Not at all. But now is not exactly the time to take you on a tour and show you what we have done with our home. I do not know how much of the invasion you know about, but we stole all the talismans and Mordecai deliberately triggered them as a trap to eliminate your elite force. The rest of the forces are still making their way through the sewers while under constant assault. More than half of the total forces arrayed against us have been eliminated and captured, but we are still under attack. In a day or two I will be able to show you what a healthy dungeon looks like. Now come, eat."
198: Invaders, Part 4
Mordecai had cleared his head now, and it was time to get back to work.
To a certain extent, this was the reason he''d let himself react so strongly. He knew he wouldn''t be needed immediately, so dealing with the emotional backlash of having essentially enslaved the avatar of another dungeon had been a priority. He couldn''t afford for it to distract him at an unpredictable time.
This didn''t mean he had rid himself of the guilt, but he had processed the worst of it. He took a moment to indulge in the comforting mental presence of his wives and then tidied himself before walking back to the arena.
The remains of the army were staggering to the sewer exit now and had to make their way up a slope of alternating water sluices and beyond-blue light to cleanse them of the sewer before they made it and could expose others to the worst of what had been down there.
The water also served to make the sunburns worse.
It truly had been a hell route for the army. Wild and often mutated oozes, slimes, and other sewer dwellers mindlessly attacked them from the front, while from behind they were being assaulted by waves of dungeon inhabitants that had refreshed twice a day.
Mordecai''s final harassment had started once they were all in the last zone of the sewer: fairies.
Not as attackers of course, no, he had them play to their nature. Brightly glowing, energetic fairies zoomed in and swooped around as they laughed and insulted the mercenaries. Other fairies who had darker coloration followed behind them, unlit and flying low. These ones were there to ''undo''. Buckles, laces, ties, ropes, and bindings of any sort. He had made sure all of them had several obsidian blades to help their work. Against soft targets, even dungeon-crafted metal blades were not as good. The sharpness of glass could not be beat, and at best could be matched with great effort using materials that were less fragile.
The dungeon''s assault stopped once the last of the mercenaries had started up the slope. The inhabitants waited at the base of the slope until the bedraggled group had cleared the first cycling chamber, and then they dispersed to the other exits from the sewers to begin their own cleansing process.
This did give the invaders time to reorganize themselves and use what healing supplies they had left. Forty-six stragglers entered the arena warily, spreading out into a formation as they observed the trap laid out in front of them. Mordecai was slightly impressed that Antoine and Akuma had done well enough to still be in this group; by his measure, Akuma was clearly stronger than he had been and the noble must have taken some new training seriously as well. While the Moriko of today could still take him easily, Mordecai wasn''t certain that the Moriko he had first met would have found him a soft target anymore.
Mordecai''s visible inhabitants were not all of the trap. Behind the two closed staircases leading to the wetlands were the forces of Azeria and Riverbridge, to be called upon if things went poorly.
Zushi waited in the chamber above, along with Ryohoho and a swarm of feathered serpents with shade tails upon their backs.
The arena itself had been partially flooded, making the first line of combatants a mixture of swamp drakes, crabbits, and hex wolves; all of whom were prepared to simply swarm the mercenaries.
Behind them were the formations of bunkin, rabkin, and buzzkin troops. Most of them currently had ranged weapons out but held their melee options at the ready. Bellona was at the front of the formations in the role of their commander. Xarlug had insisted on being by her side for this, so he had the role of being her guard and making sure her orders were carried out. With them stood the river and wetlands zone bosses in their human forms, disguising their identities until the best time for them to strike was revealed.
Fuyuko was with the dedicated archery units up in the stands.
Off to the flanks were the cavalry units from the mushroom forests, and circling above were their dracobit companions. The scouts, druids, and spiders from the forest had been part of the most recent waves of harassment in the sewers along with the river drakes, freeing up the troops to recover and fall into formation.
And at the very front was Mordecai in his ambassador form, along with the three einherjar. Technically this was not part of their duties, but the trio were excited at a chance for a real fight.
The other summoned contractors awaited in the main hall, along with Enki and a continuous trickle of inhabitants who hadn''t participated in the final waves of attack. Most of those exiting the sewers would be joining as well, though the river drakes were returning to the river and swamp.
"In case you hadn''t noticed," Mordecai said, his amplified voice filling the arena, "your talismans don''t appear to be working. That''s because we stole them and replaced them with fakes. We have also activated them and defeated the troops that had been summoned, including the dungeon avatar who had taken on the appearance of a demon. If anyone wishes to surrender, they merely need to throw away their weapons and lay face down on the floor. I recommend doing so well away from any fools who chose not to do so as any fighting here is liable to get chaotic."
Mordecai wasn''t expecting a surrender, not even now. When he and Kazue had first analyzed their gear, it had become quickly obvious that they were professional mercenaries. While the quality of their gear had some variation, especially in weapon and armor enchantments, their load out was close enough to identical that every pack and pouch was organized the same way. Additionally, the commanders had enchanted signet rings that allowed them to pass orders silently, which was an excellent tool for assaulting a dungeon.
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That meant that they were not going to surrender unless the people they had been hired to follow surrendered. And while Akuma might have been willing to under different circumstances, Mordecai couldn''t see the wild-eyed Antoine doing so. Honestly, he wasn''t even certain that the man was still sane.
The moment he detected the seven remaining casters preparing spells, his core ordered the counterattack. Arrows, bullets, and spells flew in both directions and Mordecai closed the gap only slightly behind them. He leapt, aiming for Antoine''s head with a nine-ring blade. Akuma had been on the defensive and managed to intercept Mordecai''s blade with his greatsword while Antoine tried to shoot Mordecai with a pistol and kept his rapier up in a guarded position.
But Mordecai had started twisting right before his blade clashed with Akuma''s sword. The change in momentum allowed him to use that contact as a pivot point and he rolled forward over the locked blades and lashed out with a clawed kick that ripped open the side of Akuma''s face and cost the oni an ear.
He abandoned the nine-ring blade in the process, creating one more moving object for others to keep track of, and landed in between the pair. Mordecai thrust a spell-charged clawed hand at Antoine''s heart and the noble barely deflected the strike. That only kept him from being killed as Mordecai''s claws cut through the layers of plate and chain and sliced open the side of Antoine''s ribs to expose bone. His spell strike left behind a small pool of aggressive acid in the open wound.
Even as he screamed in agony, the brat managed to thrust his flame-coated rapier at Mordecai''s face, but Mordecai was already spinning out of the range of the attack, neatly dodging Akuma''s strike from behind as well.
Now Mordecai exhaled a cloud of void energy at the pair, sapping their vitality and that of any other mercenaries nearby. But the mercenaries behind him were unaffected and three of them had a moment to slash at his seemingly exposed back.
His avatar''s extraordinary senses were enough to keep track of all the movement near him, and Mordecai stepped backward between two of the blades, leaving himself well within their reach. Before they could recover from their attack Mordecai had grabbed the two closest heads and smashed them together.
While those two bodies were still dropping, Mordecai had already begun casting a spell. A massive explosion of ice ripped out from a point between Akuma and Antoine, who had both been starting a charge toward him despite their injuries. He hadn''t wasted the time or energy to sculpt out an exception for himself, trusting in his own resilience and resistances to withstand the blast.
That initial blast had left behind a swirling vortex of sleet. Combined with the mud, it left everyone around Mordecai barely able to stand. But he walked over the mire as easily as he could walk atop water. Akuma was still standing and managed to swing wildly toward Mordecai as he approached. Mordecai leaned out of the way and swiped upward. The loss of his arm stunned the oni long enough for Mordecai to thrust the tip of a claw into the oni''s heart. He held his hand there for a moment as he channeled another spell, and a spurt of fire jetted out of the oni''s back, leaving a charred hole.
Any of the giant-kin could be ridiculously sturdy, and Mordecai wasn''t taking the chance that Akuma could recover and heal from having his heart simply pierced.
Now for the brat. Antoine had been knocked to the ground but had managed to struggle to a kneeling position. His rapier lay several feet away in the mud, but the frantic man had started pulling spare pistols from his bandoleer instead. Mordecai swayed as if guided by a gentle breeze, sliding between the desperate shots with ease. Suicidal desperation burned in Antoine''s eyes as he yanked a pair of alchemical bombs out and triggered their fuses.
Mordecai''s form blurred into mist and shadow as he flowed past the noble. His claws sliced open the man''s wrist and the bombs dropped into the mud in front of the noble while Mordecai continued forward and shoved a pair of mercenaries into the claws and maws of the crabbits they had been desperately fighting.
The bombs went off and Mordecai returned to verify Antoine''s state. Amazingly, the noble''s enchanted gear had protected him enough to keep him alive, though the front of his body and face were in horrible shape. Mordecai ended it mercifully by taking off the man''s head.
The mercenaries had managed to keep an impressive kill ratio and despite their awful state had managed to slay most of the crabbits, swamp drakes, and hex wolves who had swarmed them. But they had been inflicted with wounds and curses in the process, and several of them were dead in addition to the ones Mordecai had taken out.
Two waves of cavalry smashed into the remaining mercenaries from either side, both angled to cut across a corner of the mercenaries rather than trying to charge directly through the formation of soldiers. Lightning chained across each cavalry formation before they could clear the range, and Mordecai shifted his attention to finishing off the enemy casters.
It was clear that they were running out of spells; two of them had taken on elemental combat forms. Such spells were potent, especially in a prolonged fight, but that type of shape-changing generally made it impossible for them to continue using spells.
Mordecai approached the one who had taken on the form of a fire elemental first. The transformed mage lashed out with a bolt of flame, but Mordecai slapped the bolt while spinning to the side. His chi redirected the attack, letting it flow around his hand and body before launching into the earth elemental mage.
He was now close enough for the fire elemental to punch, but it was no more difficult for Mordecai to dodge and parry these strikes than it would be for him to deal with the attacks of a giant of the same size. It had been long enough for his breath weapon to recover and he exhaled a cone of icy shards charged with a water wave spell. The combination blasted through the fire elemental and its flames flickered out, leaving behind the mage''s remains.
A boulder flew by just as Mordecai shadow-stepped away, appearing behind the earth elemental. Before the mage could adjust to the movement Mordecai leapt up into a spinning kick that cracked into the elemental''s head with a boom of thunder. That mage''s headless body dropped into the mud as well.
The remaining mages had taken on their combat forms as well, but Bellona had already ordered the zone bosses to engage them along with a troop formation. Mordecai looked to find the seventh one but a moment later he was able to verify that the confused man was now in one of the prison cells. He had been taken out by a well-placed shot from Fuyuko just as he had started casting.
The clean-up didn''t take much longer, and soon all of the invaders were trapped in their individual cells, dressed in a simple shirt and pants, though they were colored in diagonal slashes of hideous dark green and garish bright orange. Kazue had chosen those colors out of spite.
199: Secret Projects
Placing revived delvers or invaders someplace safe was an important part of maintaining Kazue''s boon, so Mordecai turned part of his occasionally paranoid levels of preparedness toward ensuring that the prison cells were incredibly safe places.
Each cell started off as a generous 40x40ft square and fifteen feet tall. However, it immediately lost four feet in each direction in the form of a two-foot thick padding of soft fungi on every surface. The fungi squished well, making it nigh impossible to hurt oneself on, and was tough enough to make it difficult to tear off.
However, it also dissolved readily, making it impossible to choke on if you did manage to tear a piece off. And while it wasn''t intended for eating, it was not only non-toxic but rather nutritious.
Lighting came from overhead patches of mushrooms that glowed in a soft, yellowish light that would brighten and dim with the sun. A light dusting of spores gradually fell from the ceiling as well, each carrying a tiny mote of healing energy.
For furnishings and accommodations, everything was built out of more mushrooms and fungi. The door to the cell slid away on a track before swinging open onto a wide passage with another door at the end. This made it safe for inhabitants to deliver food regularly.
All the fungi here were extensions of Sarcomaag, enabling him to monitor the prisoners rather than relying on only the cores'' attention, and the entire area was blanketed in the chaos aura Mordecai had implemented. This growth put a strain on the floor boss to maintain, but given that Mordecai was planning on making him one of their next raid bosses that strain should be eased soon.
The invasion had cleared their mana debt completely and they had so much more coming in that one of Kazue''s duties during the invasion had been to spend the massive amounts of incoming mana. Several of their paths had been either expanded or paralleled, such as the starting non-combat path which now had a sub-selection room and visitors could select either the original garden-based path or one of the two new paths: A fruit ''orchard'' and a massive farm. The orchard was a bit of a stretch for the name given the number of berry bushes to help form the mazes, but it worked.
Both of these new paths offered up lots of food options for people to gather, all of which the dungeon had enhanced. They wouldn''t be competing with common farmers, these foods would compete with luxury markets while simultaneously making it so that lower-income people who could make it to the dungeon would have a chance to try these foods themselves.
She''d also begun the prep work for their new zone but had held off on actually claiming new space until they could both devote their full attention to the process.
And right now they had a lot on their plates. While Kazue was getting the dungeon restored to normal operations and getting the delvers moving, Mordecai went to visit a prisoner.
Antoine glared at him from his current seat. "Come to gloat, have you? Or perhaps torture me? You''ll get nothing from me."
Mordecai shook his head. "Foolish boy, I don''t need information from you. You''ve already given me so much. Just by sending an avatar at me, you''ve informed me that there is an enslaved dungeon involved, and based on other information I already know the estate where it must be hidden. Also, you are now a political hostage. All the other prisoners are going to be turned over to Kuiccihan, it''s not worth it for me to deal with them. But you, well, if your father is not willing to work with me, I am afraid you will live out the rest of your life in this dungeon."
The lordling bared his teeth in a snarl, but Mordecai simply smiled. "Oh, and I captured the avatar in question. She''s chosen to be called Deidre, and she has much nicer accommodations than you do. We''ll be working to find any chinks or flexibility in what orders she is bound by. She can''t be given new ones directly right now after all. Oh, and thank you for helping grow our dungeon, you''ve given us so much mana we''ve expanded several of our zones into multiple paths and are going to add a new one now. It will be quite spectacular."
Mordecai left the cell while Antoine tried to process that information, satisfied with that bit of pettiness. He knew it was petty, but by all the gods had this little prick earned it. Now it was time to write a letter. He walked to the office, partially to give himself a little more time to think about what he was going to say and partially to give his core time to finish rearranging the office.
He''d originally started with the decision to enlarge it for a meeting he wanted to do a bit later, but then he decided that as long as he was doing that, he might want to future-proof it. So now the office was not only significantly larger but held three desks, several chairs, and a small snacks and drinks bar. He wasn''t certain Kazue or Moriko would ever actually use them, but it certainly wouldn''t hurt to have them available.
At the center desk, Mordecai placed several items made from materials brought into the dungeon; paper, ink, quill, wax, and a seal. Each had also been prepared by alchemical or magical means, a process he''d started after Moriko had been invited to dine with the royal family of Kuiccihan. As he began writing he also gathered mana and chi around him, carefully wielding these energies in concert with his materials.
When the letter was done, he carefully folded it and slid it into an envelope he made from another piece of paper. He sealed it with the wax and stamped it with his seal while activating its enchantment and thus finishing the magic he''d been weaving into the letter and envelope.
There are many options on how to secure a message. Mordecai had decided to go with information rather than active protections. The wax seal was tougher than a normal wax to avoid triggering the enchantment because once the seal was broken the wax would liquefy and impregnate the envelope and the paper, leaving a matching mark on both. Additionally, every aspect and material in the letter was imbued with the mark of his aura, which could easily be read by most mages and priests. The alchemical treatments were in part to prime everything to accept his aura and then seal it, refusing further alterations
It would be difficult to open the envelope or alter the contents without there being obvious signs. Not impossible, but it would be difficult and require both a skilled alchemist and a skilled mage. Even then, he''d probably be able to prove alterations others would miss if the alchemist wasn''t able to identify and recreate the exact mixture Mordecai had created. Which would be incredibly difficult as his own blood was one of the ingredients. While it hadn''t been part of his intention when creating this avatar, he effectively had a unique heritage that bore aspects of several other heritages such as dragons and nephilim.
Once that was done, he created several normal copies of the letter for others to read and sent for the people he wanted to meet with; Deidre, Bellona, Xarlug, Fuyuko, Shizoku, Derek, and three people who had arrived shortly after the Azeria troops: Orchid, Paltira, and Kansif. Kazue simply activated one of her platforms in order to have a more visible presence.
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He waited for everyone to arrive before he began. "I don''t need all of you here for any specific item I want to cover, but there is significant overlap between various groups and I see no reason to not be open in this situation. First, Deidre." The woman stiffened slightly as he addressed her. "I apologize again for how I bound you. I did not choose to do this lightly, but I sincerely believe that in the long run, it will be for your benefit as well as ours." She inclined her head in acknowledgment of his words, but that did not indicate agreement or acceptance.
"To ensure that everyone is clear on what has happened. Deidre is an invested avatar, sent here as part of the forces that attacked us. Given the totality of the circumstances, I quickly came to two conclusions: That her dungeon is the source of the Puritasi''s wealth and that her core has been enslaved for most if not all of that time. Deidre is also the strongest person in this dungeon, including myself. She is stronger than Akahana as well. Because of the circumstance of her capture, she was temporarily severely weakened, and I took advantage of that to engrave several binding seals into her flesh. I have left her mind and her words alone, but I have severely restricted her actions. I do not like having taken this course, but there was no combination of enchanted items I can currently create that would have held once she regained her strength. Direct bindings are not so easily overcome once applied." He was certain there would be several other conversations over the next day or two regarding this, but at least he wouldn''t have to repeat this part and everyone would have the same information if they talked between themselves.
"On the topic of prisoners. Deidre will remain here and be generally treated as a guest. We hope that despite the current circumstances we will be able to win her trust and work to gain enough information that we can eventually raid her dungeon and free her core." Technically, Deidre had not confirmed this state of affairs, but she hadn''t contradicted his assumptions either. "There is only one other prisoner we wish to retain, and this letter is in regard to him." Mordecai rose from the desk and handed out the copies of the letter he''d written, with the sealed envelope being handed to Princess Orchid Apifera. "I expect that Bellona will pass on the contents of the letter so that arrangements can be made to expedite its delivery."
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Baron Emmanuel Demidov of Cantraberg,
I hope you will be pleased to know that your son Antoine is alive and well, though I must inform you that he is being detained as a prisoner. Young Antoine led a large mercenary force in an assault upon a sovereign territory, and as the leader his release will not be readily obtained. I do not seek to create a great burden, but there are responsibilities we both must take care of. A lesson it seems your son has not yet learned.
I believe that you and I are in agreement as to the most probable source of encouragement for such a reckless course of action, but I would suggest that you take no action nor show any sign of these thoughts. Instead, I suggest that you travel to the Azeria Mountain Dungeon in order to begin negotiations that may benefit us both. I acknowledge that doing so without certain parties noticing your actions may be difficult, but I will leave that for you to arrange and will not rush you.
You should know that the first part of the negotiations will be you personally delving the dungeon. We can discuss your options after your arrival, but I am recommending the non-combat path. This is in part a small payment in respect to your son''s actions, but I believe that this will give you important insight into our nature before more serious negotiations can begin, and I hope that this insight may aid you in future instructions of young Antoine.
Finally, I should like to mention that I am fond of Captain Alain Vitomir. Speaking with him may be advantageous for you, and I would not mind if he joined you on your visit here.
With due regards,
Lord Mordecai of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon.
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Mordecai waited for everyone to read the copies before he explained his intentions. "The only reason I am taking the risk of contacting Baron Demidov is that he sent Captain Vitomir here, and possibly some more subtle groups. There would be no need to do that if he was relying on the Puritasi, which suggests that he does not entirely trust them. The point of this is to make it easier to conduct the assault which will free Deidre''s dungeon. Deidre, to set expectations, you will be staying here for the duration. If you leave here, your core will know and that information may get passed on."
Now he allowed himself a small smile. "As for the other prisoners, we are happy to let Kuiccihan deal with them. I imagine that the mercenary companies they belong to will wish to ransom them lest the companies be marked as outlaws or however Kuiccihan handles such matters. And Akuma has charges pending in your justice system I believe. And that means it is time to start revealing a few secrets. First, as some of you may have had the chance to notice, the dungeon is significantly larger than has been apparent."
Kazue''s illusion gestured toward another platform which flickered to life with an image of the trading post, which now had the addition of four rows of gigantic stone pillars. She smirked at the reactions of those who hadn''t had a chance to find out about them yet. "The town has been part of our territory from the beginning, and we''ve grown beyond that as well. I do hope some of you will have the chance to enjoy our Hunting Grounds, but be careful, the animals there may be more dangerous than they seem. Especially the bats. And these pillars represent some preparatory work for our next zone, but you will have to wait and see what we have in store for you!"
She waited for everyone to recover from their surprise before continuing. "Deidre, you appear confused. I imagine you have a lot of questions, and later on, I would like to talk with you and answer them. I think it would be better for me to explain from my point of view, and I can always call on Mordecai for technical details if needed. Now for the other secret we''ve been hiding. I gained a rare boon when we created the wetlands zone. One I didn''t know existed, and that Mordecai had been keeping his knowledge of a secret even as he guided me toward it."
A moment of silence increased the anticipation before she finally announced. "For any given delver, guest, or invader in our territory, death will not claim them. Once." They weren''t going to mention the year-long cooldown yet; idiots could be hard to dissuade so one shouldn''t encourage them. "This merciful boon does have some requirements, such as doing our best to ensure that any revived delvers are placed somewhere safe. It also seems like something others might take advantage of, so we have been keeping it a secret. Given that some of the prisoners have seen their fellows die, I think it is safe to say that the secret is out, so it seems better to ensure the details are known rather than risk letting people think they are immortal while inside our territory."
Mordecai waited for a moment before he said, "This growth is important. My avatar is not actually invested yet, we''ve been using the secret expansion of our territory outside of our original borders to create that illusion. I am hoping that by spring we will be large enough for me to become fully invested."
Deidre tilted her head in thought before her eyes opened wide. "How did you create an avatar that requires that much power in order to invest its base form?"
He chuckled softly. "That is something we can discuss later. Now, that is everything we needed to announce, but I imagine there are still many questions to be asked and decisions made. If you don''t feel the need to stay, feel free to take your leave. If you don''t have the experience to know who you can talk to about any subjects we covered here, then I ask that you only talk about it with those already present. If in doubt, you can ask us or Princess Orchid." Fuyuko and Derek jumped at the announcement of Orchid''s identity, but he had now relieved Shizoku of the burden of keeping that secret.
Mordecai suspected that Derek would love to leave, or even not have been part of this at all, but Shizoku needed experiences like this and Fuyuko needed to be part of this as a step toward reassuring her about what had happened with Deidre. Mordecai doubted Derek would want to leave while the others were here. Similar reasoning applied to several of the others here, and Mordecai wanted to make sure no secrets were being unnecessarily kept between friends.
As the conversation wound down, Mordecai allowed himself to wonder what was taking his messengers so long to return. He''d suggested they take a few days to experience the outside world as long as they were there, but the troops that had to be organized and sent here had arrived days ago.
200: Dont [Blank] the Messenger
Several days earlier...
On opposite ends of the dungeon''s border with Kuiccihan, two usagisune took off toward their destinations. To Azeria ran Erryn, and to Riverbridge ran his sister, Aliyah.
They wore similar, simple outfits: a snug, soft vest with plentiful pockets, short pants, and soft ankle boots designed to accommodate the flexibility of their feet while providing both protection and traction.
They were chosen for this duty because they had always been runners and they shared vague memories of racing each other even before Mistress Kazue''s presence had tugged at their minds.
Erryn dashed across the road and into the forest as they''d both been instructed and did his best to put the disconcerting lack of connection to the cores out of his mind. He focused on the terrain in front of him as he ran, testing himself against wild terrain as he dodged or jumped over hurdles while doing his best to never break his pace. Pushing himself to race as fast as he could in such difficult terrain was exhilarating, with the ever-present slight thrill of danger should his skill prove inadequate.
He and his sister had trained with Betty as well once they''d been gifted this evolution, and this new, kick-focused fighting style blended with their athletic skills and their basic chi training to make their legs powerful, and no bush, rock, or sudden dip in the land proved a challenge as even the trees could be used as surfaces to jump from, at the right angle.
This skill he pushed to the test when he heard voices and wagons on the road that was hidden from his sight. He picked a pair of trees close to each other and jumped his way between them to gain height and a perch from which to spy on the approaching travelers.
His task was to deliver his message, but he was well aware that Mordecai and Kazue would like to keep innocents from being involved in this if they could. These should not be the ones assaulting his home, but he didn''t feel he knew enough to be sure. After a moment of indecision, he went with the decision he felt less likely to bring sorrow to dungeon cores. "Ho to the caravan!" He called out to get their attention, "Danger lies ahead, help will be on the way. You should camp and fortify!" He gave a quick wave and then worked his way down to continue his run.
Which proved trickier than he''d expected. Erryn made a mental note to train on jumping down from difficult positions in the future, this was much slower than he felt it could be. Questions were being shouted at him from the caravan guards, but he couldn''t allow himself to be that sidetracked. As soon as his feet hit the ground once more, he took off running and once more sank into the rush of running through such challenging terrain.
Erryn''s route through the woods made it impossible to miss when a small road cut across it, more than an hour after he passed the caravan. According to the instructions he''d been given there should be no other road of this size in this area, though he had passed many trails. The road was the first one wide enough to allow a wagon, though two wagons would have trouble passing each other.
He turned onto the small road, facing away from the larger road he''d been paralleling. Now Erryn could use his full speed. As much as he loved his home, there''d never been a straight stretch this long to run through. It was intoxicating to push himself as fast and as hard as he could.
The usagisune got so lost in the feel of running like this that he almost didn''t notice the kitsune patrol on the road until he nearly ran one of the kitsune down. Or rather, nearly impaled himself on her spear. He yelped in panic as he leapt over the small group, landing awkwardly on the far side but managing to stay on his feet.
It didn''t help that he had his hands in the air while trying to keep his balance. There were three bows tracking him, and he was under no illusion that he was faster than an arrow. "Whoops, sorry, didn''t notice you. But great timing, I have a message from Master Mordecai. The dungeon is under assault, but he doesn''t want you guys to just run down there. He has a plan and wants me to talk directly with Matriarch Aia if I can please."
That last word came out as a little bit of a wheeze. Erryn wasn''t entirely out of breath despite his long run, but that had been a little much to say while still breathing hard.
The women glanced at each other and then back at him. One of them stepped forward and asked, "Your name? And what are you, we''ve not heard of a dungeon inhabitant quite like you." She was examining him rather thoroughly.
"Erryn, miss," he replied, "and they named us ''usagisune'', as Master Mordecai based our bodies in part upon kitsune, and we were evolved from the other laganthro clans."
"Interesting," the woman murmured, then glanced at one of the other kitsune, "go, tell the matriarch. We will escort our visitor to her." When the woman looked back at him there was an intense light in her eyes, though she seemed pleased. "Now, tell me more about your people Erryn. How many usagisune are there?"
Erryn felt a little impatient as they were insisting that he walk with them instead of running with their messenger, but arguing would only waste even more time. This was their land. "Not many right now, the cores have agreed that they want to progress slowly for now, and offer this form only to the oldest of us. They said their focus was going to be on those who were adults before we were awakened by Mistress Kazue''s boon."
The woman licked her lips thoughtfully. "It seems a shame that there are so few of your new clan right now, but whetted anticipation trains patience." The cryptic comment left him confused, but Erryn just smiled and did his best to maintain small talk with his escort. The group all kept close to him, and he wasn''t certain that they were paying as much attention to the woods nearby as they should. Was news about the dungeon really that interesting?
The transition between ''woods'' and the clan proper was a very gradual transition. Erryn didn''t know a lot about the outside world, but he knew enough to gain an understanding of why there was no ''Azeria village'' or ''Azeria city''. Even at the heart of the clan there were many trees, and the kitsune had built their homes in a variety of styles near, against, inside of, or even in the branches of the largest trees. The way that a large group of hunters was being formed up already in response to the request for aid suggested that a lot of kitsune lived nearby, but he wouldn''t have guessed that there were so many people by looking at the housing he could see.
His sense of how many people might live here was especially uncertain after having seen one in fox form exit a small doorway nestled into the roots of a tree before resuming her bipedal form. And while he had known about the discrepancy in genders in this clan, it wasn''t until now that he really felt the impact of having nine times as many women as men in a group. There were a lot of them looking at him curiously.
When they arrived at the Matriarch''s home, he discovered that it combined several of the other styles. The main hall to greet visitors and conduct business was built up against and partially into the trunk of the largest tree he had ever seen or imagined, while stairways spiraled around the trunk and up to various walkways and buildings up in the great branches. It seems like it might be almost a small village all by itself.
Inside the great hall, Matriarch Aia awaited in a throne-like chair, though its design looked much more comfortable than any image of a throne he knew of, more designed for lounging than sitting up imperiously.
"Matriarch Aia, I greet you upon behalf of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, and come to ask aid of the Azeria clan," Erryn said as he bowed.
"Greetings Erryn," Aia replied softly, "I am happy to welcome you to my home, though I would wish for happier circumstances. I do not think we need to stand on ceremony and it must have been a long, hard run here. So please, refresh yourself with food and drink as you tell me of Mordecai''s plan." She had a slight rolling sound to her voice that he found pleasant yet unsettling at the same time.
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Several small tables sat near her throne with various vegetable and fruit dishes, and he was happy to partake as he explained the plan. "The Master and Mistress are luring the invaders in, allowing them to think their deception of appearing as small parties was successful. They will wait as long as possible before revealing their hand and channeling the invaders into the sewers. This should allow them to begin the counterattack while the enemy is spread out and split apart. Master Mordecai requests that your forces take at least a few days to reach the edge of the dungeon''s territory, and he will make sure to send out a messenger when you get close."
The drinks were fizzy and slightly alcoholic fruit juice, and he found their sweet bite quite pleasant. "Oh, and they said to let you know that the territory is much larger than most are aware of, and you might want to send someone who is capable of noticing it. Once the invaders are either lured in or are trying to escape, that is when the cores will signal you and the Riverbridge forces in to either secure the trap or prevent their escape as needed. And thank you for the feast Matriarch, I really like spicy tofu the best." There were three different plates of fried tofu, and all were delicious, but the heat of the spicy tofu was wonderfully invigorating.
"Please, call me Aia," she replied, and it occurred to him that the vibration in her voice could be described as a purr. "Well, the plan is simple but robust, and quite flexible. I see no reason to have my people do otherwise." The nine-tail''s gaze shifted to the other kitsune in the room. "Go and see that it is done as Erryn has described. You may all leave us now."
Erryn was hungry enough to not notice anything unusual about that order at first, it was all he could do to just eat neatly and politely. "Aia, I appreciate the care your people took in making sure that the food would be fine for me, but my kin were already not bothered by the presence of meat and we usagisune should be able to eat anything kitsune can."
"Well, that certainly explains your love of the fried tofu," she said with a smile, "and I will keep that in mind for the future." Aia crossed her legs as she watched him, and Erryn suddenly felt how empty the room was and was very aware of her presence. Which might have something to do with the revelation that her robes had side slits. And that she''d deliberately crossed her legs to reveal that side slit, along with a distracting amount of leg.
He found it briefly hard to swallow and quickly grabbed his cup in order to help the food down. While he was recovering, Aia asked, "Is something wrong, Erryn?" The purr in her voice had become more pronounced, especially when rolling the r''s of his name. They weren''t supposed to be said that way.
"Ah, um, no, nothing is wrong. I just got, um, distracted a moment and swallowed wrong, that''s all." Erryn reached for a pitcher to refill his cup and noticed his hand was shaking a little. He squeezed it into a fist a couple of times to work it out, then filled his cup full. He made sure to keep his eyes on the table and food in front of him, he didn''t feel like he dared look at the Matriarch.
"Oh good, I wouldn''t want anything to be wrong with your ... health." Aia sounded amused as she inserted a pause before that last word. "I am hoping that you haven''t taxed your vigor too much during your run." There was a rustle of cloth as she rose from her throne and slowly walked toward him. "I am also quite curious about the exact similarities and differences between kitsune and usagisune."
Erryn had forced himself to eat a few more cubes of the fried tofu to keep himself distracted, but his body froze when she stepped up close behind him. "I don''t insist of course." Her breath was warm on his neck, and he felt very aware of the fact that she was a fox and he was a rabbit. "You may enjoy this repast at your leisure, and if you leave my home you will find plenty of women willing to host you, or even find a small guest house nearby if you wish to be alone." She''d moved to his side and her breath now whispered across his ear, making both of them twitch nervously. "But if you turn down my invitation to follow me to my chambers, then that offer will never be available again. I won''t be angry, but I never ask again once I am turned down, nor will I accept an invitation after that."
Cloth and skin and soft tails brushed across his arms and back when she turned and moved away. "Give yourself a minute or three to think, I don''t need a puppy chasing after me. But do not dither too long, I hate indecisiveness." She slowly made her way to where a curtain fell across an alcove, and she lightly pushed it aside to reveal a stairway. Aia paused with one foot upon the stairs, the side of her robe falling open to display her leg once more, and she turned to give him a lingering look. "One more thing. While I do not offer more than a dalliance, I do have my vanity and no desire to share attention. If you accept the affections of another during your stay here, that will be the end of our playtime. Which, well, I do think that would be a shame. But the choice is yours." Then she ascended slowly, letting him watch her hips and tail sway with each step.
Only when she had disappeared was Erryn able to move again. He breathed heavily as his body shook, and he forced himself to take deeper breaths to calm his nerves. The looks the other kitsune had been giving him suddenly had context, and that knowledge felt overwhelming. But Mistress Kazue''s boon had made him a sapient being and given him free will, and Master Mordecai had felt that Erryn deserved this form. He could and would think damn it. He was not just some prey animal!
But, he was curious. What he could remember of his experiences as a rabbit seemed much different than the passions of most people. And he couldn''t tell if the sweet, warm scent of her lingered around him in truth or only in memory. It was enticing and helped him understand why words of hunger were so often used when describing this sort of passion. And he was rather certain Aia could make most people feel like prey. It was a bit scary somehow, but all the more enticing for it.
Erryn finished off a final cup of fermented juice and made his way to the stairs, following a faint scent that he found much more intoxicating. His courage was rather thoroughly rewarded, even if he found himself more helpless than he had anticipated. The woman was impossible for him to resist. Erryn also discovered that rabbit tails could be quite sensitive.
When he awoke the next morning, his body ached thoroughly but pleasantly, and he found it difficult to move. So he watched Aia get dressed through half-closed eyes, and she smirked at him when she caught his gaze in the mirror. "That was rather enjoyable, and I would love to indulge myself some more, but I do have duties to attend to. It would make me quite happy to continue to host you for the next few days until we have verified your way home is safe." After fluffing out her hair and tails, she turned to face him. "Assuming you gain the energy to move, there is another way down should you wish to explore. You have my permission to use it as you please." She leaned down over him and her hair fell in a curtain around their faces, blocking out the outside world. "But remember what I said last night. I don''t want to share your attention while you are here." She kissed him then, and he felt as if she was devouring him whole in that single action. "I do hope to see you again this evening."
Erryn was no fool. Or perhaps he was a great fool, just of a different sort. While he did manage to explore for several hours each day, he did not take up any other hints of invitations and explored no homes or other private spaces. Though there were not a lot of advances, which he suspected had much to do with the fact that his vest did little to hide the marks on his skin. The memories of her nails and teeth were pleasant despite the faint sting, and he had a better idea of why Master Mordecai had often born such minor wounds despite his ability to heal.
He and Aia did talk a little, but their worlds were very different and he was more ignorant of hers than she was of his. It was at least educational for him, and she seemed entertained to teach him a little about her duties. Still, while they enjoyed the time between dalliances well enough, bonds beyond those of simple passion were light.
The morning after they received word that it was safe to return, Aia had one final conversation with Erryn before she would let him leave. "I have enjoyed our time together Erryn, but it is also over. This isn''t to say that future dalliances are not possible should our paths cross again. I just require a little more from you. While you are pretty and pleasant, that only carries us so far." Aia paused and waited for his acknowledgment before continuing.
"First, you must have found at least one other lover. I am aware of my effect on men, and will not have you pine for me. Second, you must find the strength to be able to take charge more." She smiled mischievously at him. "Mind, I have quite enjoyed ravaging your willing body, but a woman likes variety. You need to be able to contribute more and not surrender quite so completely every time. And finally, you need to be able to handle that my bed will not be empty either."
Aia''s dark eyes hardened dangerously. "The slightest hint of jealousy, or possessiveness beyond the span of a dalliance, and you will never touch me again." Her expression softened now, and she gave him a light, lingering kiss. "Now go. I hold you to nothing, and I make no demands of you. I am letting you know upfront what I find acceptable for me, and I dislike clinginess in any form. Should I next meet you as a happily married man, you will have nothing but my heartfelt congratulations." She swatted his butt one last time as she sent him off.
Her send-off left Erryn with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the raw thrill and pleasure he''d experienced made the idea of seeking more time with her enticing. But he also couldn''t deny that there had been little else between them. Nor could he deny that he''d been her toy. He''d enjoyed being her toy, and he''d learned much, but looking upon it like that made it obvious that there was a limit to how fun it could be for either of them.
So, live his life and grow his experiences. Don''t wait for her, and find love if he can. That was what her words meant to him. And they were something he could live with.
201: Exploring Possibilities
Meanwhile, over in Riverbridge...
Aliyah''s reception was a bit different than her brother''s reception in Azeria. The split in hierarchy meant that she gave her report to Captain Pasu, and she did not get thrown a private feast. She did, however, receive words of advice from the tengu before being sent to explore the city.
The older woman eyed her as she said, "While not to my taste, I understand your form and figure to be attractive to most bipeds, and your clothing does little to obscure it. I don''t know what your experiences are, but you can''t have had full sapience for long and you will receive a lot of attention from those seeking certain entertainments. So a little advice for you; you will likely find Moriko''s family accommodating, given your connection to her. I think you will want to go meet them first. Should you later want to consider being ''entertained'', select a tavern and talk to the barkeep; you want to request only light drinks before letting people buy you food and drinks. I think you will find no need to spend any coin to be well-fed during your stay if you don''t want to."
"I see," Aliyah replied thoughtfully, "that is an interesting idea. I think I would like to meet Mistress Moriko''s parents. And I will certainly keep that other idea in mind." Her memories of her life as a normal rabbit were vague at best, but she''d had at least one mating season. So she was no stranger to mating, but the way that sapient people went about such things seemed much different. The familial bonds ran much deeper for one thing. Aliyah felt no strong attachment to the memories of her children and wasn''t even certain how many of them were alive. The memories of time racing with her brother stood out strongly in comparison, though as far as she could tell they were unusual in even that much. But even those were still weaker than the memories and bonds that had been formed since Mistress Kazue had awoken their minds.
Aliyah memorized the directions that Pasu gave her and then left the guards'' quarters. She took her time making her way to the alchemist''s shop and examined the city around her. From her experiences in the dungeon, it resembled the towns that had been built in the lowest levels. The warrens and mushroom forests had buildings, but the style and arrangement were specific to those areas. She now saw the more general pattern that followed from here to those deep towns. Given what she knew of stories, Aliyah could only imagine that most cities and towns followed similar patterns.
What she did not have to imagine was how much attention she was getting. When she''d been talking with the guards, she had assumed the looks she''d gotten had been mostly curiosity as few if any would have seen an usagisune before, given how recently her tribe had come into existence. And that was certainly true to an extent, Pasu''s words made her more aware of just where gazes were wandering. While most of them started with her ears, few eyes stayed focused on them.
The question is, did she mind? The knowledge and awareness that had been imbued along with her sapience suggested that some would mind at least. But what she knew of Mistress Moriko suggested this was far from universal. A smile slowly crept onto her lips as she decided she didn''t mind. At least, not the looks that admired without lingering too long.
Her knowledge of what had transpired between Mistress Moriko and a foreign noble suggested that not all people were so well-behaved. In a way it made her think of how some groups of visitors needed a harsh lesson or two about being respectful to even the bodies of the dungeon''s inhabitants. Respect was the key concept all around.
She couldn''t say she fully understood the conflict that had created the Puritasi, but between them and what she knew of Fuyuko''s background, it seemed to her that respect in any form was found far less often in Trionea than it was in Kuiccihan. That seemed like an interesting philosophical discussion to have with Horace someday. Not that she always understood his ''ooks'', but if nothing else he''d probably have a book for her to read.
When she entered the alchemist shop, Aliyah kept out of the way and browsed until there was a break in customers at the counter. There were four people at the counter, and she couldn''t help but notice that while the young man seemed unable to keep from looking at her frequently, the older man looked more like he was almost ignoring her existence. A vague instinct made her approach the older of the two half-elven women. "Mistress Kaoru? My name is Aliyah, and I am from the Azeria Dungeon. Captain Pasu suggested that I might want to find lodging with you if possible."
The woman smiled cheerfully. "Oh! We haven''t had a visitor from the dungeon before!" Then her expression froze. "Wait. You''re from the dungeon and you saw the guard captain as your first stop. Is something wrong?"
Oops, Aliyah hadn''t thought about this aspect of the conversation. And there were travelers here. She deliberately widened her eyes briefly and placed a finger on her lips before saying out loud, "Nothing of importance, Master Mordecai and Mistress Kazue simply wanted to arrange some training and sent me as a messenger. My tribe is recently evolved, and the run here was a chance for me to really push myself."
Kaoru gave a slight nod as she forced her expression to relax. "That''s good to hear. Hainako, why don''t you show your sister''s friend to our house and get her settled in? And Galan, you can stay right here."
Good, the woman had taken her hint. Aliyah wasn''t certain if she had been unnoticed by the customers behind her, but she was fairly certain she didn''t want rumors spreading through such a major hub of transportation. Or at least not send them flying too fast and far. "Thank you. I look forward to getting to know Mistress Moriko''s family."
Kaoru nodded as Hainako came around the counter. "I look forward to talking with you as well. But please, drop the ''mistress'' with us, just call me Kaoru."
That was going to be hard for Aliyah as they were all related to Mistress Moriko, but she would try. "I will do my best. It''s a hard habit to break."
She spent the next few hours talking with Hainako and learning about both Moriko''s history and her family. The stories about a younger Moriko''s escapades were very entertaining, and she made a mental note to ask Mistress Moriko about those stories when she returned to the dungeon with Mistress Kazue''s avatar.
Jhaeros was the next to return from the store as he needed to get dinner started. Kaoru and Galan returned together a little before dinner was ready. Sitting down to eat dinner with Moriko''s family was wonderful and she was happy to answer all the questions about the dungeon that they had. However, after dinner, it was time for a more serious discussion.
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"So what is actually happening at the dungeon?" Jhaeros asked.
"Well, I''d like to begin by saying that Master Mordecai and Mistress Kazue are confident that they have everything under control. They are asking for some additional assistance in case they are wrong, but they do not believe that there is a threat beyond what they can handle." The family did not seem to find this very comforting, but they also did not interrupt.
"It seems that this group called the Puritasi has launched a second attack on us. I was sent out before we had verified the numbers, but the kobold tribe had sent a message saying it was a little over two hundred troops. The cores intend to play along with what appears to be an attempt to infiltrate before they launch their attack and use that as a chance to divide their forces. They are asking for a patrol from Riverbridge and one from Azeria to come in behind the invaders and complete a pincer attack if needed. But that is a last resort, as they do not have the protections that inhabitants do."
Kaoru asked, "What do you know of Moriko? Is she okay?"
"As of when I left, Mistress Moriko and Mistress Kazue''s avatar were doing well on their journey. They are currently journeying along the coast, and have been requested to not rush home and to continue their travels," Aliyah replied.
The family had relaxed again, and now Aliyah went into more detail about what they knew and the dungeon''s plans. With, of course, the expectation that the family keep this under wraps for a few days, to make sure that no word could leak out. She didn''t have any idea how it could, but that concern had been specified to her with regards to Riverbridge. The Azeria clan had far fewer visitors than Riverbridge did.
She spent the night there, and the next day Aliyah went exploring the town some more, including stopping by the temple and paying her respects to Master Traxalim. He too was updated on the events of the dungeon in private.
Eventually, she did follow Pasu''s suggestion and selected a tavern to see what the city might have to offer. The selection of people interested in possibly entertaining her was rather nice, but none of them hit an emotional note that felt like she wanted to share this sort-of-first with them.
Until a mug of mead and a shot glass were placed down by an orc who said, "One of Moriko''s favorite combinations."
Aliyah eyed the drinks that were definitely not what she had requested to be served, then looked to the orc without touching them. "I take it you know Mistress Moriko, mister ... ?" She left the question hanging as he hadn''t given his name.
He nodded briefly. "Yes. I haven''t spoke with her since spring and, well, I was wondering how she''s doing. Just, is she happy?" She just looked at him with a raised brow for a moment, and the orc suddenly blushed. "Er, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yambul."
"Hmm." She didn''t recognize the name, but she wasn''t exactly privy to all of Moriko''s life before she and Mordecai had joined Kazue. "Well Yambul, why don''t you have a seat? I''m Aliyah." He didn''t look like that was new information to him, which wasn''t much of a surprise since he seemed to know who she was. Once he was seated she said, "I can say she''s definitely happy. She''s been enjoying a trip with Mistress Kazue''s avatar, she''s met Kuiccihan''s royalty a few times now and enjoyed the experience, and from what I have heard it seems she''s been looking forward to sparring with Master Mordecai after they get back, as she has some new tricks she wants to show him. Though I suspect that part will wait for a couple of days, I think they''ll be a bit occupied with other activities at first."
Yambul''s small smile was difficult for her to interpret. A bit of happy, a bit of sad, perhaps wistful? The man sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "It figures that it''d take the combination of an immortal warrior-mage and a kitsune to satisfy that woman." He sounded amused at least.
"I take it you are one of her former lovers?" Aliyah asked while she toyed with the cups in front of her.
"Kind of obvious I guess," Yambul replied, "but yeah. I saw her and Kazue when they were here a few months ago, but I didn''t want to approach them. It just felt awkward, you know? She looked happy, but I just wanted to talk to someone who knew more about her life now. It''s not like I was even her only lover in Riverbridge, but I consider her a friend too. I just, well, after the sudden marriage thing, I don''t really know where we stand."
"Mm," she said thoughtfully, "I doubt she''d be unhappy to have you visit the dungeon while she''s there. Master Mordecai and Mistress Kazue wouldn''t be bothered either. Though it would help if you had another reason to be there. I don''t suppose you are a warrior or something?"
"Er, no, I''m afraid not. I''m a cobbler by trade, though I can get by in a few related crafts." Yambul looked a bit embarrassed at that.
"Well, you might prefer Mistress Kazue''s path in that case." Aliyah bit her low lip briefly. The orc was sweet, but she doubted Moriko would spend much time with someone who didn''t also know how to be more passionate. "Though maybe we should give you another reason to visit as well." She suddenly downed the shot and followed it with the mead as a chaser and then gave the confused-looking man a slow smile. "Did you know that this form is based on kitsune bodies? And I am curious Yambul, just what would you do with an innocent young kitsune, who was just ever so eager to find out what all the fuss was about?" As she asked Aliyah crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward toward him.
The change in how he looked at her was gratifying, and his smile was quite different than the one she''d seen on his face before. "That seems like the sort of thing better demonstrated than talked about. Perhaps we should find someplace more private?"
His demonstration was quite thorough and it left Aliyah quite satisfied with her newfound understanding of what all the ''fuss'' was about. However, she also found herself a touch sore in the morning. When he rose to get ready for work, she watched him with quiet contentment for a while. He didn''t seem to know quite what to say or ask now, but she fortunately had no hangups about being blunt on the subject if needed. "Yambul," she said, "I would like to meet you again tonight. And perhaps every night until it is time for me to leave, depending on how things go. But I will leave, and I am not likely to leave the dungeon territory very often. So if you want to see me again, you will need to come to me."
He gave her a small nod, "That makes sense I guess. And I would like to see you again tonight. You can even just stay here if you want, I don''t mind."
"I''ll consider it, but I want to check in with Moriko''s parents first at least. But there is one other matter you should be aware of." How to put this, hmm. "As I am very certain you noticed, I don''t have the same protective tattoo you do, and I have no intention of getting one. I am rather inclined to let chance decide that for me. I have no particular drive to have children, but there is a certain satisfaction in the idea of bringing more life into the dungeon. This brings up another consideration if you choose to visit me. Any child of mine will be born as another inhabitant, bound and loyal much as I am. If that bothers you, then you should keep the tattoo."
The philosophical conversation that this fueled had to wait until that evening, as Yambul had work to do. A decision one way or another had not been made by the time she left for home several days later, and no promises had been made either. Closer to the opposite, as she had no intention of not exploring at least a bit in the meantime.
Still, she was open to the idea of forming a stronger bond eventually, but she required a bit more out of him first. He had to show he was willing to put in the effort to delve rather than expecting her to meet him at the surface, convince her that he understood what her life was like, and he had to be able to interact with Mistress Moriko without weirdness.
That wouldn''t guarantee anything of course. She still had much to learn and think about, but that was the minimum she expected out of him before she''d consider any sort of longer-term commitment. And he did seem to be considering the idea at least.
202: Dark Lightning
Back on the far coast of Kuiccihan...
Moriko''s moment of nearly panicked fear at the knowledge that the dungeon was under attack quickly started to boil into outrage. These selfish, twisted cultists were carrying a two-thousand-year-old grudge forward in order to try to murder her husband and wife. And there was nothing she could do from here, which made her even angrier. She couldn''t protect the two people she had dedicated herself to, and who had turned her life upside down so dramatically.
She ached to lash out, but she was a disciple of Sakiya. Moriko would not let her passions consume her, she would contain this fury until the time was right. A growl escaped her gritted teeth as she fought for control over her emotions, the turmoil within was causing her chi to manifest as wind and sparks of lighting, and her shadow writhed beneath her.
It was agony, and she felt stretched and almost split in the war between needing to act and needing to maintain her self-control.
Burning rage converted to cold fury in a sudden snap as she mastered herself, and that conquest manifested externally as a snarling aura of black lightning. The snapping, aggressive energy caused even Kazue''s avatar to jump back in surprise. Moriko took a deep breath and completed the containment of her emotions, then released her overflowing energy into the ground with a small, concussive bolt of black lightning.
From the slightly detached state born of ice-cold rage, Moriko examined the painful burn marks on her skin. She''d had a feeling for a while that shadow and lightning could be combined somehow, but this new manifestation was wild and beyond her control yet. Her injuries followed the pattern of flesh struck by lightning, but the burn pattern was ash gray instead of the normal red-to-black pattern.
"Moriko, are you okay?" Kazue gasped out as she rushed back.
"I think so," Moriko replied, "but I should take care of this." She whispered a soft prayer to her goddess and a gentle warmth flowed through her flesh, erasing the burn marks.
The kitsune''s tails lashed back and forth as she examined Moriko carefully for any more injuries, her fingers light and almost hesitant as they touched the half-elf''s skin. "Are you sure? I haven''t seen anything like that before."
"Mm," Moriko said thoughtfully, "I believe I have partially mastered something difficult. But now that my mind is clear, I have realized that there are a couple of things we can do to help." While the icy anger flowing through her was helping her think more clearly, the aura of black lightning itself had shifted her physical perceptions a little as well. For that moment, the shadows had hidden nothing from her.
Without warning she pivoted and launched a wind-strike at a patch of darkness in the lee of a building. The elven man who jumped out of concealment to dodge the attack looked surprised but he also hastily raised his hands. "Easy friends, um, Lady Yuriko sends her regards."
Kazue had been on edge already and had summoned her staff in reaction the moment Moriko started to move aggressively. A point of prismatic energy shimmered on its tip as she kept it leveled at the stranger. "Who are you?"
"You may call me Elyon. I am an agent of Lady Yuriko''s. I''ve simply been sent along to keep an eye on the two of you as a precaution." He shrugged with an attempt at a disarming smile. "She didn''t expect any actual trouble to befall you, but she''s been taking care of the young royals for a while, she prefers to not take chances. Now, um, can we lower the tension? We are attracting more than our share of attention."
Moriko was not feeling in a trusting mood, but if he spoke true then she had a use for him. Hmm. "I assume you have a way to send a message then. Tell her to be on alert for other messages." That was as oblique as she could manage while still passing on something useful. Mordecai and Kazue''s core voices were rolling through the back of her mind, and there was a plan. If this was truly an agent, it would prepare Lady Yuriko to respond to messages from the dungeon faster. "Oh, and ask for a replacement to arrive with someone to introduce them properly. No offense, but you now have a bad association in my mind, a fresh face would be better. We shall be staying in town for a few more days than previously planned." Kazue was giving her some side eye, but now didn''t seem to be the time to explain herself. The kitsune did, however, lower her staff and withdrew the readied spell.
Elyon raised a brow but tilted his head in a slight nod of ascent. "As you wish then. I''ll pass that on, but I will be staying in the area until my replacement arrives." He smiled and said, "No offense, but she''s scarier than you are. By a lot."
"Fair," Moriko replied and then simply waited until the man had departed. As soon she was fairly certain they were clear, she turned to Kazue. "I don''t feel like relying on a stranger''s word, let''s head to the temple of Yu-kiang." The leviathan''s temple was the largest in an ocean port town like this.
"Okay," Kazue said slowly as she collapsed her staff back into its disk form, "um, anything you want to talk about first?"
Moriko shook her head. "No. I''m sorry love, I need to act right now, then we can go back to our room and I can let go and we can talk. I know you probably need more support right now too, but I''m holding on tightly right now. But there is a plan at least."
"Oh," Kazue replied softly, "I think I get it. Well, let''s go then and get this over with."
They walked to the temple at a brisk pace and Moriko pressed out a small amount of her will, keeping their path clear of most other pedestrians. Once they were there, Moriko headed directly for the nearest clergy member. "I am Lady Moriko and this is Lady Kazue, both of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon. I need to speak to the highest rank person available who can arrange for an emergency message to be sent." She knew Mordecai''s plans, but a fourth or fifth message from a different route wouldn''t hurt.
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The young man blinked at her in surprise as he tried to recover from her sudden introduction. "I see. And to whom would this message be sent?" The priest looked somewhat dubious, and she couldn''t exactly blame him.
"To Master Theodoric of the Sakiya monastery in Ekuilance," Moriko replied with a smile, "who I trained under until earlier this year."
"Oh!" That certainly got his attention. Sending a message to another temple had a certain amount of inherent credibility. Abusing the systems in place could get one censured or banned, and losing access to divine services was something few people would be willing to risk. "Then follow me please."
He led them into the back rooms of the church and to an office where a gray-haired woman with steely blue eyes was studying a book. "Priestess?" the younger priest asked, "if you have a moment, these women have an emergency message to send to the Ekuilance Sakiya Monastery."
The woman looked up with a nod and placed the book to the side after marking her place. "I trust this is important then. Please, take a seat."
"We''ll need some privacy," Moriko said and closed the door when the junior had left. "Love, could you add a layer?"
Kazue nodded and turned her attention to communing with the liminal spirit she was hosting. The spell the kitsune then cast wasn''t quite a standard privacy spell, but any sort of discontinuity would help protect against mundane or magical eavesdropping. When she was done, the two of them took the offered seats while the priestess watched on patiently.
"I am sorry for skimping on protocols, but lives may truly be in the balance. I am Lady Moriko, contractor of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon and spouse to Lord Mordecai and Lady Kazue, the cores and sovereigns of the dungeon. I am also a disciple and priestess of Lady Sakiya. This is the Lady Kazue, avatar of the core of the same name." Being so formal felt unnatural to her, but she desperately needed to be clearly understood and taken seriously. "I have a direct connection with the cores, and I need to ask Master Theodoric to pass on that the dungeon requires aid. We need troops and transports for taking charge of over two hundred prisoners, plus possible back up to ensure that the invading forces are defeated. There are messages traveling by other routes, but I want to make sure that Kuiccihan''s part in this plan is not lost."
The priestess raised a brow at the message, and then turned to Kazue. "Just to verify, she speaks on your behalf in this?"
"Yes," Kazue replied, "my connection to my core is limited outside of our territory, I can only verify the distress that my other self felt and that the distress has faded. This sounds like something our husband would come up with, and I trust that my wife is passing on the message correctly."
"Very well, I can send a message directly to Master Theodoric, though it will take a bit to prepare the spell as this clearly wants maximum privacy. However, I would like to ask for some evidence of your identity. While I see no reason that anyone would falsely send such a message, it seems best to be sure."
Moriko nodded and considered her available prayers. She chose a minor spell of freedom that would briefly guarantee that the blessed person could move unimpeded by terrain or attempts to hinder them and cast it upon the priestess. Sakiya was far from the only deity who could provide access to that blessing, but it spoke of an aspect of the deity who granted it. And it was unlikely that a priestess would claim to follow a god other than their own.
The other priestess closed her eyes as she accepted the blessing and examined its effects upon her. "Yes, that will do," she said when she opened them again. "I will start shortly. I will also offer my prayers on behalf of you and yours."
"Thank you," Moriko replied with relief. The cost of such transactions was generally covered by the temples and monasteries themselves when the communication was directly between them and not to a secular person, but she''d have gladly paid it herself if it had been needed.
The two of them rose and bowed before leaving the priestess to her work. When they stepped out of the temple, they found a handful of guards led by a stern-looking man who frowned at them. "Were you the two involved in the commotion earlier?"
She sighed in frustration but controlled her tone when she replied, "Yes. My wife and I received some distressing news right before I realized we were being followed. If the man is who he said he was, then it was a small misunderstanding. If he was not, then I doubt he is still in town. I am not in a good mood right now, can we drop this?" Perhaps she was a bit too controlled, her words were sharply clipped.
Kazue laid a hand gently on Moriko''s arm before stepping forward to take over. "I am sorry, my wife has been taking the burden of handling things and she is rather stressed right now. We''ve just passed on a message and there is nothing else we need to do right now, but we are also not at our best. We have a room nearby and will be extending our stay for a few days, can we arrange to talk with you tomorrow? You can follow us to the inn if you wish to verify our lodging situation."
Moriko didn''t even want to do that much right now but kept herself from saying anything. Her wife was right in how they should proceed and had a softer touch for dealing with people in general. She let Kazue handle everything with the guards right now and just followed along. By the time that they had reached the inn the lead guardsman looked much more relaxed and even a touch cheerful. She had a briefly sour thought about which of Kazue''s charms the man was most swayed by, then shook the thought away as unworthy of everyone here. It did bring a small amusement to her; since when had the fiercely unattached Moriko felt so concerned about who might find one of her partners attractive? Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
When they finally were alone in their room, Moriko could relax, letting that tight control drain away. Fear and anger were both worn out, leaving her exhausted and shaking, and the two of them cuddled on the bed for several minutes in silence, each just soaking in the comforting presence of the other. When she had recovered somewhat, Moriko began telling Kazue all the plans of the cores. Her wife cried at parts of the plan; even if they wouldn''t stay harmed she really didn''t want to have to ''kill'' the invaders. She understood the necessity, she just didn''t like it.
They agreed to ignore Mordecai''s suggestion to continue their journey for now. Until this was resolved they would be too worried to pay much attention to anything, and traveling while distracted like that could be dangerous for multiple reasons. Not that they''d be in much of a mood for sightseeing either, but maybe after they talked with the guards tomorrow, they could find someplace for Moriko to practice her new technique at and maybe vent a little frustrated energy. Finding out that the stupid noble boy was involved had not improved her mood in the least.
203: A New Path Begins
Bellona escorted Deidre up to the surface via a shortcut into the shrine. When they walked out into the trading post village outside, the blonde avatar looked around with a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement. "Mordecai mentioned it before, but I still have trouble grasping how they expanded out to the surface like this."
The orc champion shrugged and replied, "I certainly don''t understand the details. But from what they have said, it''s basically a larger investment for a larger return. There are lots of outsiders spending lots of time doing stuff in what is technically their territory." She guided their involuntary guest to a position that Kazue said would give them a good view of what was about to happen. "Right now they are waiting on you. It''s part of wanting to have you understand this dungeon better."
Deidre looked dubious, but she nodded before turning her gaze toward the rows of pillars that had sprouted up around and throughout the town. But that wasn''t where the next change began.
In the space along the foothill that nestled the original entrance to the dungeon, between that entrance and the testing arenas; rock and earth began to shift to form wide staircases that branched off to either side. These stairs curled up and around to follow the slope of the foothill and then curved in the start of an upward spiral before they came too close to the crest. This path left the ground at this point, and the large spiraling stairs were supported by a series of small pillars and traverse, parabolic arches until they leveled out at some twenty feet above the nearest ground.
From here they widened and grew at a gradual slope up back toward and high above the town. The pillars and arches supporting each stage grew wider as the massive stone structure grew larger, taller, and thicker until it met with the first of the prearranged pillars. There, more arches were added to create an arcade of arches along the length of the overhead mass, as well as cross-vault arches on the diagonal. These twin, upward-sloped paths grew halfway toward the border with Kuiccihan before curving outward and eventually back toward the foothill. There they finally leveled out and turned toward each other to create one massive, flat platform that was the end of the two paths and would be the location of another city by the time the two cores were done.
This massive structure did block out a significant amount of sunlight, but Kazue said she already had a plan to help fix that. Her mental voice had held a giggle, and the girl obviously wanted to keep it a surprise, so Bellona hadn''t pressed. Hah, ''girl''. Kazue was a good year older than Bellona, though the differences in their life cycles and experiences made Bellona feel like she was the older one by a fair bit.
"So, what do you think?" Bellona asked as she turned back toward Deidre, who was staring open-mouthed at the creation.
"I didn''t know we could do that. I can feel the flow of their mana, and they aren''t creating this stone from mana alone, they are pulling it from the earth that they had already collected during their underground growth. It''s real, even if it''s assembled and fused using mana. How massive are their levels?" Deidre practically whispered her question as she processed what she''d just seen.
Bellona chuckled and replied, "The first three are probably pretty ordinary. The library in the fourth zone started getting expansive, and the fifth zone down is a pair of huge mushroom forests. Each zone seems to keep getting bigger from there, though this isn''t quite as big as the wetlands. I think. It''s hard to tell from this perspective."
"Hmm," Deidre said thoughtfully, "zones. You''ve all been using that word instead. I, I think I get it now. The moment you think of them as zones, you can think of them growing in new ways. Floors is limiting."
As the avatar mused over this new concept, the air around the raised zone began to swirl chaotically. Bellona tilted her head thoughtfully. "They seem to be very thorough about preemptively counteracting what they consider to be ''cheaters''. I think Kazue''s mom made them more conscious about such things." At Deidre''s confused look, Bellona added, "Kazue was reincarnated as a core by Lady Mericume. Her previous life was as a normal kitsune, and her clan is only about two days from here, less for some folk. Her mom''s a seven-tail druid who wreaked some havoc when she decided to show off for her girl. If I remember correctly, they had just barely claimed their fifth floor at the time."
The often stoic avatar was unable to keep her expression completely controlled as a series of emotions rolled through her. One of the emotions surprised Bellona: Anger. Deidre started to say something several times before she was able to find the right words. "Imagine, if you will, that you have hired a specialist partially for their work and partially as a consultant on another project. Thanks to the particular way in which this specialist was hired, you know that they are bound to do what you ask of them. Now imagine that you are so paranoid and fearful that you fail to pass on potentially critical information to your specialist that one of the gods had literally intervened in the project you wanted them to consult on, along with other details." Every word was laced with venom and scorn, and it didn''t take a lot of imagination to interpret this as a stand-in for talking about her actual circumstances.
"I see," Bellona replied, "that does seem unwise, and it would hamper the specialist''s job. Even if they don''t like their circumstances, I imagine most people take some pride in their work. It would be upsetting to fail at a task without understanding why, and even more so when you find you were effectively sabotaged by your, ah, employer''s incompetence."
"That might be the least of the employer''s sins." Deidre hissed, then winced slightly before her impassive expression dropped back into place. Bellona could only assume that Deidre had strayed too close to not obeying an order. Depending on what exact standing orders the woman had been given, it was going to take a long time to work around them all. Time and distance from the one who gave the order could wear down, but not eliminate, such compulsions. At least, according to Mordecai.
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Time to switch topics. "Well," Bellona said, "why don''t we head back in and let you run Kazue''s path? Oh, and I have been asked to remind you that there is no combat to be found on this path, you should keep any reactions in check. And any potentially dangerous activities will be obvious, such as having to climb." The avatar''s speed and power might be restrained, but she was still faster and stronger than most recent recruits.
Deidre nodded once. "I understand, and I do not exactly have many plans at the moment. So let us see what your mistress has in store for me."
Bellona scowled at her. "A point of clarification first. My contract with the dungeon places it third in my priorities, behind both Lady Amirume and Kuiccihan. Get rid of whatever thoughts you have about everyone''s relationship to the cores. Not even all the inhabitants are that formal and that is their technical relationship."
The blonde woman spread her hands in acknowledgment of the point. "I apologize, you are correct. I have had some bad habits and assumptions ... strongly encouraged in me. Let''s call it a less than healthy relationship."
"Alright," Bellona said as she relaxed, "just keep in mind that many of your experiences have very strong negative biases. I''m not saying anyone here is perfect, I am just saying that it is almost certainly nothing like you expect. Now, come on." She led the dungeon avatar to this dungeon''s path selection chamber and gestured toward the control panel. "I''m just your escort and keeping you company. So to keep everything on the up and up, you should press the button. You''ll want the one on the left for Kazue''s path."
Deidre reached for the button but then hesitated. "It''s funny, I don''t think I''d have been allowed to make a chamber like this be sincere. It would have some traps I am sure, and the selection would have to be reversed. Not that there is a safe path anyway." There was a faint tremble in her hand before she was able to make herself push the button. Smoothly and silently the door behind them closed and the ring wall spun to reveal the path forward.
Bellona chose to not comment on the intervention of the cores, as the normal sound effects were noticeably absent.
The next chamber demonstrated the first of Kazue''s adjustments to her path; there was another selection chamber and three buttons. Deidre pushed the button with a tree icon and the wall spun to open a door onto an orchard and berry bush variation of her original puzzles. And just inside the door was a haversack with a plenitude of secondary pouches.
There was a moment of mutual confusion before Bellona was contacted, and she passed on the information to Deidre. "Ah, that''s a bit of a gift, though in the end it will come out of their budget for your prizes later. But you aren''t exactly prepared for a delve, so this should help. There''s also a change of clothes, Kazue suggests that it might make things a lot easier."
"Oh." Though bemused, their guest followed the suggestion and changed into the slightly thick, layered shirt and leather pants. "Hmm, my skin isn''t particularly delicate, I am not sure why these would be useful," she mused before shrugging and continuing down the path. "I take it that collecting fruit is part of the activity?"
"Yes, but you may want to see the end of this chamber before worrying about that part too much," Bellona replied with a smile. It would be best to let the woman figure out the details.
Deidre examined the door and puzzle in question and then turned around to look at the grove of trees and winding paths defined by thick and thorned berry bushes. "So, a matching puzzle? Oh, some of the fruits and nuts will be high in a tree or difficult to find. Hmm, I see why you suggested I see this first. It''s much more efficient to collect while I search."
That wasn''t exactly Bellona''s thought, it had been more along the lines of being less frustrating, but close enough. Watching Deidre move through the maze was interesting and a little saddening. The woman was calm and thorough, taking the time to sample at least one of every edible item and comment upon its flavor as well as mention anything interesting she knew about the plant, but she didn''t look like she was really having fun. She was just doing what should be done without any emotional involvement.
Bellona wished that this was more of a surprise. It wasn''t hard to figure out that Deidre''s actions, words, and expression of emotions had been very tightly controlled for a long time. That there had been any cracks at all in this shell was a good sign, though it would be better if something other than anger had been the driving force. She''d take what she could get.
Betty and Bellona had been assigned as Deidre''s primary contacts and escorts for now. Kazue and Mordecai both hoped that they''d be able to make actual friendships with the foreign avatar but at the least they wanted everyone to be on good terms.
This wasn''t enough people in the long run, but Fuyuko was still uncomfortable around Deidre and they didn''t really have a lot of people whose duty was light enough to commit to spending a lot of time with her. Kazue had complained about running thin on required inhabitants, it seems the only reason that their current zones were full enough was that they had collected a lot of upgradable animals when they claimed the hunting zone. Some of their current guests might help with getting to know Deidre, but that was still in discussion.
When Deidre had found and collected all the required fruit and had picked up a few special rarities like the golden lychees, she paused before completing the puzzle. "Hmm. While that was less intense exertion than most battles, it was far more time-consuming. And progress forward isn''t truly blocked, it is gated by one''s skill and competence, with large numbers also enabling faster progress. It has an equivalency to combat for the purposes of mana generation and collection, and it is still rewarding. Many of these fruits are difficult to cultivate even their mundane varieties. Your dungeon has enhanced some of them with enough magic to make them minor potions or potent alchemical ingredients. It is an interesting choice. I would like to understand more how you were able to defend this route."
Bellona smiled and replied, "Well, if you complete the floor, I think we can show you part of the secret. Kazue says she''d be happy to take care of the demonstration."
There was a glimmer of curiosity in Deidre''s expression, but she didn''t reply. Instead, she completed the puzzle for this room and proceeded to the next. The complications for this version of the path were different than for the flowers, partly because not only were there a lot of different varieties of a single fruit such as an apple, but Kazue could add details such as how ripe the fruit was.
The physical puzzle had been changed into ways to manipulate the paths and uncover new routes and hidden spaces, and the final puzzle involved artificially manipulating the ''season'' in order to change the ripeness of fruits before they were picked (and had no effect on them once picked).
However, there was one aspect of the challenges that remained unaltered no matter which variant one took.
Deidre finished her work on the second puzzle and strode forward confidently into the third chamber, only to be struck dumb by a sudden cacophony of high-pitched voices.
Faeries.
204: A Confounding Experience
Bellona watched with amusement as the chaotic giggle of pixies descended upon the unprepared Deidre, but she was also keeping a close eye on her reactions. A brief moment of panic caused Deidre''s pale blue eyes to widen and she flinched as the first of the endlessly chattering fae touched her, but she held her ground without lashing out. That panic faded and the tension in her body slowly relaxed as she adjusted to what was happening.
Not that Bellona was left alone by the swarm, but as someone they knew she was far less interesting.
Eventually, Deidre turned toward Bellona and asked, "What is going on with these creatures?"
"Well," Bellona replied, "consider what might happen if a living dungeon created a challenge involving some pixie-like creations, and then that self-same dungeon developed the ability to grant all of its inhabitants true sapience. Especially if that dungeon was known for a vivid imagination and a gentle nature. Now add to this mix of unexpectedly sapient pixies the extended presence of a shard of Li Zarb. A shard who spent time telling these excitable, impressionable creatures all sorts of stories and thus taught them to tell stories in turn and who was excited to meet them and was looking forward to seeing them everywhere." She shrugged before continuing. "These rooms have the greatest density of them given the role they have to play, but there are more of them than are necessary as well. Most of them like each other, so they tend to cluster in areas but you never know where you will find one."
Deidre carefully shook her head slowly, and a handful of pixie screamed with delighted ''terror'' as they swung on handfuls of her long hair. "You had a divine shard here?"
"Yes, and I had unwittingly run into this same shard well before my arrival here. It seems that he and Mordecai were friends during Mordecai''s previous life as well. The events leading to Mordecai''s return may well have been influenced by Li, though that would be difficult to prove."
The giggle was slowly thinning as the pixies were distracted by other thoughts, though several were fascinated by Deidre''s hair. The woman''s face was impassive once more, but her voice carried notes of frustration and anger. "How lucky for him. Others could use a bit of that luck."
"Yes," Bellona agreed, "and always there are many who could. But even the gods can only do so much, lest by interfering they end up binding our free will. Most of the ills of this world are born from choices made by mortals, and ill luck makes up most of the rest. The gods give us tools and aid with which to make the world better, and they can give better tools and aid to those who find a path of devotion. It is not perfectly fair, but it is more fair than a world in which they do not intervene at all. One should not give up hope, there are always paths to a better future, however narrow those paths might be. A bit of luck and chance revived Mordecai and others have reacted to this for good and ill. Now Mordecai and his allies must react in turn. He may very well be able to help others who need it in the process, even if they have been suffering a long time."
Their conversation had bored the pixies enough to drive most of them away, though at least one had managed to partially cocoon itself in Deidre''s hair and was fast asleep. "Those words might be pleasant, but it does not make the suffering go away," she replied, ignoring the long trains of flowers that had been woven into her hair.
"No, at least, not the suffering of the past. And there will be lingering pain, some wounds do not heal fast or well. But there is a better future to be achieved. And we would work to achieve it," Bellona said.
"Hmm." Deidre did not look satisfied with that answer. "There are many who suffer. Would you strike the chains off of the one person you know, but leave the chains on others simply because they are not known to you?"
Bellona sighed. "That is difficult. How do you force an entire empire to change? Assuming you have the brute force to conquer it, how many would suffer in the process? But maybe this will be the first step in a longer process. The world is complicated, and the future is impossible to predict. All we can do is our best. Now," she gestured out at the room, "I think we''ve carried this conversation as far as we can for the moment. Would you like to continue the puzzle?"
After a long moment of consideration, Deidre nodded. "Very well." Her movements were a little stiff but Bellona wasn''t surprised that the woman might be upset. The idea that all of one''s suffering might boil down to a combination of bad luck and the ill choices of others was a tough pill to swallow. Bellona wasn''t great at the soft touch stuff, but she could provide this perspective at least.
It took only a little while for Deidre to realize the trick of this puzzle and set about working with the pixies to have them become the proper flowers on the correct tree or bush. Working with the flighty creatures seemed difficult for her, and at the least, Bellona would guess that she rarely interacted with children or the like. In truth, her social interactions were probably very limited in many ways, so maybe this would be good practice.
The next zone proved much easier for the avatar. Even with her bindings in place, identifying the various patterns and matching timing or notes proved rather simple for her. Watching the almost eerie grace with which she moved made Bellona glad she hadn''t had to face Deidre in any sort of fair and open battle if this was what she was like while restricted. The crystal-based puzzles were all completed faster than she''d been able to complete the last matching puzzle with the pixies.
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The theater zone was a different beast and Bellona had realized that it might be an issue before they even began. So she gave Deidre a bit of advice. "This one might be difficult for you. Sometimes, putting on a mask to play a role is in truth removing other masks. This challenge is about overcoming yourself and working with what is available, but it will be hard to pass if you can''t find the fun in it. Kazue says that you can call a break at any time if anything becomes too much, and the bunkin have been asked to be a little more toned down than usual. It might help to remember that Fuyuko managed to clear this section on the very day that she first arrived here, and she enjoyed herself."
The warning left Deidre visibly nervous, but that was as much advice as Bellona could give without weakening the challenge. In truth, even this would have been too much warning for most, but there was a certain brittleness to Deidre''s emotions that suggested the emotional toll of improvisation acting in front of an audience of bunkin was going to be tough on her.
The stage director and the other actors had to operate in an entirely different way than normal. The standard frenetic pace and shouting would not do well in this case, and Bellona couldn''t even guess which way Deidre might break if pressed wrong. This set of plays were all variations of ancient stories, and many of them involved bad things happening to someone and that person overcoming them to achieve a happy life in some way. She was never the target of the events nor the causer of them, she was some variation of support or bystander for the hero of the story, but she still had to act with the sort of sincerity that would leave her feeling exposed.
She managed to make her way through the small dramas with only short breaks between, but completing the set left Deidre trembling with the emotional backlash. If Bellona had been on her own here this would have been a lot harder to work with, but Mordecai passed on a suggestion that had helped Fuyuko.
"So, why don''t we just have your prizes sent to your room, and you can look them over later? I can lead you to one of the hidden shops in the library and we can take a break there, and after that you can decide how you want to proceed."
Deidre simply nodded and let herself be led to the zone''s exit. Her expression changed a little when they entered the safe area. "So soon? And they''ve done so much. A safe place doesn''t have to be anything more than a bare room, and you don''t have to have any."
Bellona nodded. "Yes, but the next level is large enough that it can be an all-day venture by itself, and generally speaking they don''t want people camping in the middle of the library, so this works for everyone. Also, Kazue really enjoys being a good host, so most of the amenities beyond room to sleep and sanitary facilities are her idea. And their entire goal is to try and not get anyone killed on either path, while still providing sufficient challenge."
As they talked the two of them crossed to the library''s entrance. Deidre''s steps slowed a little once they were inside, and she took the time to look around and take in the size of the place. "You have so many books in less than a year?"
"No," Bellona said with a small laugh, "Not really. It''s an impressive collection, but right now many of these are duplicates and blanks. There are several that are their own composition as well. Most of them are new works compiling information from several related older works, a task that is easier for them than for most other people." She paused as a mischievous thought came to mind and looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. "If you find any steamy fictions under the name ''Raimi Darlington'', I think those are actually Kazue''s under a pen name."
A mental gasp sounded in Bellona''s head, and one of Kazue''s illusions flickered to life. "How did you figure that out? Please, please don''t tell anyone! Some people have picked them out as part of their prizes, so the books are out there and I can''t have them know they are mine! What if my mom or dad found out? Oh gods, what if she''s already read a copy? Please, promise me?" The illusionary redhead was adorable as she pleaded with the two of them.
Bellona chuckled, "I promise to be careful in what few I tell, but I reserve my discretion in the matter."
Deidre was a bit slower to reply and more precise in her promise. "Within my limitations, I will not volunteer the information unless I think it beneficial for you if I do."
Kazue groaned and hid her face with her hands. "That''s the best I''m going to get, isn''t it? Alright, I guess I can''t ask for more. Just, please, I really don''t want this to get out. Um, ah, continue your delve I guess."
Once Kazue''s illusionary winked back out, a very amused Bellona finished leading Deidre to the frozen sweets shop. "I think I know what you need right now. I normally prefer the tea shop, but this seems like the right sort of occasion, and an exotic fruit with an interesting seed was brought in a few weeks ago that is perfect." And with that, she ordered two servings of ''chocolate indulgence'', which layered everything from baked chocolate to chocolate ice cream to chocolate fudge poured over the top.
The blonde avatar looked dubious at the dark brown food in front of her and poked at it with a spoon a couple of times before tentatively taking her first bite. There was a moment of mild confusion before she took a second bite, and she continued to look puzzled as she devoured every last morsel of it. "I don''t understand, why do I like this so much? It is somewhat bitter, even with the sugar and cream."
"Most people do, especially women, and even more so during times of stress," Bellona said as she continued savoring her serving. "But normally it is an exotic dish served in smaller quantities to the rich. Some entrepreneur secured a sample for the purposes of importing it to the dungeon, so now it''s a local treat as well. Kazue and Mordecai decided they were only going to give finished products as prizes or to be purchased individually, they weren''t going to mass produce it for trade. But it will still probably cause the price to dip."
"That seems wise," Deidre replied as she scraped the shallow glass bowl. "Crashing a market can create ire."
"Now, you have a decision to make. Do you want to continue your delve today, or do you want to come back tomorrow? Under other circumstances, you would probably need to stay in the safe area like a normal delver, but given the way things are right now that won''t work well."
"No, I suppose not," she said with a sigh and put her spoon down. "Physically I should be able to do it, but I find I want to be well-rested before seeing what the challenge is for this zone. I think I understand now why you all want me to explore like this. It is a very different sort of dungeon than I would have imagined previously. I can''t imagine my situation makes my dungeon normal either, but this is a very different sort of not normal. I don''t know if I am even ready to understand what is going on, but I think I want to at least see it."
205: Growing Up is Hard to Do
Kazue had been able to tell for a while that this next zone was going to be difficult. Their exterior zones were already lopsided semi-circles with how they pushed up against Kuiccihan''s borders, and now they wanted to push the vertical aspects of those zones out of the way so that they could push up a new zone out of the center area. But she''d also been doing some preparation with the excess of mana they''d been collecting, and part of that preparation was that each of the giant pillars had a matrix of the living crystal running through it.
And at the other end of this nicely magic conductive living material was their core.
She didn''t just reach out the way she normally did to claim new territory. Instead, Kazue simultaneously started pushing their mana through the matrix and forcing it out of the top of the pillars. This put their mana where she needed it to be and created a denser concentration above the starting zone. This made it easier for her to keep reaching up to claim territory out of the sky.
And to prove the shape and strength of her intent, she was also building the pathway to the sky at the same time. Three intensive tasks with one of them being fairly complicated. Once upon a time, she''d been nervous with just the thought of claiming new territory.
Thankfully, Mordecai was there to help as well. His presence was a comfort, and she could feel the touch of his attention as he checked in on what she was doing before cycling back to keep track of all the things going on in their dungeon right now. She''d have liked to have more of his direct support, but his satisfaction and confidence when he looked over her work was gratifying and she knew that they couldn''t afford to have both of them focused here if they didn''t need to be.
As she grew the sloped paths out and up, Kazue made sure that the living crystal grew with them. A lot of mana was being poured into reforging the earth and stone that the dungeon had previously consumed in its downward growth, but even more was flooding the air above it as Kazue pushed her desires and will outward. She would not just be a hole in the ground; for all that she loved her people here, she also felt a little trapped by her existence. Reaching up and into the sky was reaching for a promise of freedom. That understanding she''d gained from her wife, and Kazue needed that affirmation right now.
Bit by bit the foundation was laid, and inch by inch the shape of her new territory was claimed. It vaulted far above even the elevated ground which formed the base of their new zone. Eventually, the two paths merged back together and into a large platform upon which a new city would be built.
But not today. No, there was one last thing she needed to do. To most of those watching, the growth might appear complete, but Kazue was just preparing herself and gathering more living crystal. When she had enough material and mana gathered, she applied her will and the calculations for her design to that mass.
From the center of that high platform grew a single, giant, crystal tree. This monstrous creation of ever-shifting rainbow hues towered above everything nearby except for the mountains themselves and gleamed brightly under the warmth of the sun. This was a testament to her desires, a marker of future plans, and the location of their new living quarters.
Her decision surprised Mordecai, but she didn''t have the energy to tease him now. It had been mentally exhausting to do all of that at the same time, and she wasn''t quite done yet. Now that she had a crystal tree, she could have crystal roots. Roots that grew down until they poked out of the bottom of the elevated zone and acted as channels and amplifiers for the light collected by the scintillating tree above. This was how sunlight was provided for the lands caught in the shadows of these overhanging masses.
Now she had a template and a concept to put into play and let a new pattern automate itself. Throughout her territory, the living crystal matrix connected to and incorporated the many different light sources that she and Mordecai had previously created. Now that energy was tied to the light outside, the hues and brightness of the dungeon''s light would shift and change over the course of the day, and match the weather as well.
By strictly amplifying what was available, they gained the additional benefit of making the light ''true'', whether that be in the form of sunlight, moonlight, or starlight. For most purposes, the dungeon could create ''true enough'' light by matching the complex set of spectral colors from these light sources, but for many magical and religious purposes, the actual origin of the light mattered. Their amplifiers doubled the energy of each bit of light while keeping it restrained to the same spectral color, which caused the bits of light to duplicate. Somehow, this made both bits of light identical in all senses and did not dilute the efficacy of the light for mystic purposes. That part some how seemed more magical than the actual magic, and hurt to think about.
With the layout complete, it was time for theming. Kazue had been uncertain for a while about what she actually wanted the theme to be, but her decision to create the crystal tree had made her think of how Moriko was always reaching for the heavens on her path. But one can not leap to the Heavens immediately. One must start with the Earth, and this would apply to both paths.
The very first step toward ascending was a shrine to the King of the Earth, Kamatha the Great Tortoise. The statue overlooking the altar and offering table was sculpted out of a single piece of andalusite, Kamatha''s favored gem. Here one must pay homage and tribute to the Earth King to proceed unimpeded, and the suitability of the prayers and offerings would determine how much each individual would be affected by the zone''s properties. If the worship offered was pleasing and sufficient, there would be no hindrance at all for the rest of the zone. Should the worship be insufficient then the individual will gradually feel the ever-increasing weight of the Earth King''s will as they proceeded, until they weighed three to five times as much by the time they reach the end of the zone. Should the offerings be displeasing or insulting, the maximum was ten times as much.
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While that amount of pressure would be flat-out lethal to many people, this zone was rated for stronger people only to begin with. It was, in fact, the most mana-dense of the zones adjacent to the trading post, a complete inversion of the normal process. This inversion was only possible thanks to the tree she had grown, and that tree was going to have to grow through every zone they grew vertically in order to maintain the zones.
This was also a test of sorts. It felt right to be able to do this, so long as the shrine and offerings were sincerely dedicated enough. Once she and Mordecai had triple-checked how the strength of the gravity was tied to the shrine and the combined intent of the delver and the judgment of the offerings, the final touch was to give over the shrine completely. Over time she had begun to get a feel of the ''direction'' of divine energy and prayers, so now she sent a thread of prayer, intent, and earth-aspected mana in that indescribable direction. The other end of that thread was tied to the shrine and the zone''s enchantment.
It stung when control over the thread was taken out of her proverbial hands, but that also meant it worked. She and Mordecai were truly not the judges of the offerings now. Of course, this also meant that they couldn''t control the enchantment manually anymore either. Naturally, there was an exception carved out for dungeon creatures and contractors, but even the most honored of guests would have to pay their own tribute in order to proceed.
They were also not going to be getting remotely as much direct benefit from things like physical offerings as they would from such gifts being given to the dungeon directly. But that was fine, this felt appropriate for the extra level of challenge. A price was paid, and a boon was received. It was good, and she was now very, very tired.
So she simply allowed her focus to withdraw and let her mind snuggle up against Mordecai''s presence. "I want our avatars and Moriko to live there now. The original rooms can stay, I just want to be able to have my other self wake up to the sun or stare out at the moons and stars at night. I want to be able to look out over our territory, not look up at it." Kazue then let her focus drift over to Bellona and Deidre, watching the avatar''s progress to keep herself entertained.
"Alright love," he replied softly, "now rest, and I will take over from here. You did well, and I am very proud of you."
Mordecai had a lot of ideas he was still playing with for the actual combat challenges he would be presenting, but they were a little thin on mana right now so there was little challenge or reward to be found for those who would ascend just yet.
In the trading post, his avatar was answering many questions, though most of them were redundant. After all, he and Kazue had created little pamphlets to explain the reality of the dungeon''s territory and the limits of their life-saving boon, stressing that it could only be activated once while leaving out the ''per year'' part to keep people from pushing their luck or misconstruing what ''per year'' meant.
And speaking of boons, he should see which patterns were available for them to attach to their newest nodes before finalizing decisions on their two new raid bosses. Amidst the growing web of potential growth, there were a few that stood out as more interesting to him.
The ability to give all their inhabitants a small boost when faced with strong delvers was one he''d been considering for a while, as was a newly available pattern that he could tie to a material type and create a resonance with all the dungeon creatures. This would let their every strike and attack behave as if it was that material, such as cold iron against certain types of fae or demonic creatures. But despite the weaknesses Deidre''s avatar had been forced to take on, Mordecai didn''t anticipate that there would be much call for such an ability here. So he mentally discarded it in favor of the boost, but did not attach the boost quite yet.
Another one he''d anticipated was a slight boost to the cognitive abilities of their inhabitants. He was fairly certain that Kazue was going to jump at that one, but she was rather drowsy still and Mordecai wanted to let her rest while he filtered through the options. It wouldn''t have a lot of effect on the very smartest of their creatures, but it would certainly help everyone else, especially those that had not advanced beyond basic sapience.
Now that he''d gone through all the ones that were familiar to him, it was time to examine a brand new option. Mordecai didn''t recognize this pattern, but it still felt vaguely familiar. This meant it was probably related to one of the boons that they already had selected, and he''d been having to fend off its attempts to attach to the open node. That meant it was probably related to something he''d done as it specifically wanted to attach to his side of the core. That was a good set of clues, but it didn''t solve the mystery immediately.
It took most of an hour to figure out all the pieces of this puzzle and calculate how they interacted as a whole, with the final piece being the recognition that the resonance of ''three'' or ''third'' in this pattern was related to the ''two'' of a boon they''d had for a while. It also explained why he''d never seen it before. After all, in his previous life he''d only maintained two paths and those had been ''light combat'' vs ''heavy combat''. Actively maintaining and using a third path was new to him. And now there was a reward of sorts for it, though accepting the reward came with its own burdens in the form of needing to maintain the third route properly.
Now that he had it solved, Mordecai didn''t take long to decide on this boon. While giving their inhabitants more power as needed certainly had its benefits, this boon opened up a new opportunity for the dungeon when combined with their other abilities, assuming some were willing to take the harder challenge. Kazue gathered her thoughts together long enough to focus on the available boons and latched onto the cognitive boosting ability immediately, dismissing all the rest. If it had been his choice, Mordecai would have preferred the security of a direct power boost, but he wasn''t exactly in a position to complain. After all, this wonderful new capacity boost came with a new set of nodes for bosses.
A slightly greedy part of him wished that these nodes had been doubled too, but the matrix of the pattern was additive and their doubled bosses were in truth additive as well; one for each of the cores. No new raid bosses either. He really had become spoiled to be disappointed by that fact.
Once that was settled, Mordecai realized he''d also given himself way more work as well. The sewers were going to require active planning and populating now, and it was going to be entirely his responsibility. There was so much to do.
206: Beware the Nice Ones
After the initial panic, Kazue found herself unable to maintain the state of fearfulness she¡¯d expected and instead found herself in the strange position of helping Moriko to stay calm. She''d have thought that with Moriko¡¯s direct communication with the dungeon cores, she''d be the calm one. After all, she would be able to know the dungeon¡¯s defenses in moment-to-moment detail, as well as having the speed and training to, even from this distance, be able to arrive as backup if the worst were to happen.
Kazue, on the other hand, would disappear as though she had never existed, which should have her terrified, as well as lose all she loved so much. And she knew her own tendency to react strongly, so her relative calmness seemed so out of place to herself. However, this calmness had been very handy in finding ways to occupy them both, especially Moriko.
Moriko might be better at keeping control of her anger and worry, but that didn''t mean it wasn''t there. So after they had dealt with bringing the guard captain up to speed, Kazue took the lead in finding and negotiating for Moriko some appropriate areas that needed demolition work; and then a few ''playmates'' to spar with once she had achieved control over that weird black lightning.
Once she had Moriko settled, Kazue decided to focus on some practice of her own: Having to depend on Moriko for direct communication with the cores was limiting, so she decided to turn her focus elsewhere. She liked Mordecai''s idea with the earring for distance communication, but she needed crystals to experiment with and learn from. Thankfully a port city like this had need of jewelers as part of the ongoing trade, and Kazue was able to work out a deal with one of them. She got to experiment with less expensive crystalline gems, mostly quartz, and a little tourmaline, and the results of her enchantments would be the property of the store to resell. Given that Kazue fully expected to break more than a few, this seemed a fair bargain to her; especially since the jeweler assured her that they could re-cut the more interesting of her experiments. It wasn''t like the successful versions of these enchantments were the ones she was going to want in the long run, so it did not feel like a loss for her.
So the days passed, each practicing during the day to keep themselves occupied and then taking comfort in each other at night. It was perhaps not the ideal solution to stress over a long period, but it worked for them for the duration of the assault.
It was during this time of waiting that Kazue¡¯s reflection on why she was so calm bore fruit: Her core self had only briefly panicked over the imminent attack. Given what Moriko had been telling her, that undoubtedly was because of Mordecai''s confidence and plan. While her wife might be the one able to communicate with the cores in detail and feel all the fine points of their emotions, Kazue''s connection to her core was a connection to her soul, and it was hard to panic over the danger to her core when that very core was not panicking.
This was the first time she''d ever felt her emotions as an avatar be so clearly influenced by her core''s emotions while not inside the dungeon''s territory. And she wasn''t sure it would apply to much of anything else. It was just that worrying about her core when her core wasn''t so worried was too dissonant to hold up.
Which was strange and more than a little surreal, a reminder that she was an extension of her ''true'' self. But that unshakable connection, however thin, was also a sort of comfort. She knew where her home was and how her core was doing and feeling, even if that connection provided nothing else directly. Which didn''t mean that she wasn''t stressed at all, but that feeling of stability helped a lot.
Once the assault was done, Mordecai bid them to stay in place for a bit as he had some presents to send their way, plus the mysterious Elyon said that Lady Yuriko was sending someone else to accompany them as per their request. So for a few days more they continued their routine to let them wind down from the previous worry, which would let them enjoy their travels more. It also gave Kazue more time to work on her enchantments and creating networks of precious metals, which she used her liminal spirit to move along with trace minerals, through the gems to create potent patterns, which she awakened with a brief charge, courtesy of the lightning spirit. She found herself enjoying the strange moods and powers of these two spirits, both becoming stronger in each other.
On her way back to the inn one evening, after she had finished her daily routine at the jewelry store, Kazue felt a flash of irritation as she realized she''d made a mistake. It wasn''t the sort of thing she''d ever have had to worry about in the clan, but this was a larger city and she''d been working regularly in the back room of a jeweler, which made her a bit more of a tempting target than a shrine maiden. She''d settled into a predictable routine while hiding two of her tails to keep from drawing attention. That last part she''d failed at anyway.
The group of six people had chosen a good place to set up a trap; the area wasn''t so poor as to make Kazue avoid it entirely when just passing through, but it was always a little low on traffic this late in the day, and today it was uncannily quiet, causing most people with good sense to vanish. Long shadows were cast by the buildings as well, making it easier to hide until the last moment.
A tall, well-muscled woman with slightly bluish skin was clearly their leader, and she grinned unpleasantly at Kazue. "Make it easy and we won''t rough ya up too much. Hand over your goods and coins, and no funny business." Three small crossbows were leveled at her menacingly.
Kazue felt her good mood disappear like a breeze, and the last of her temper, delicate from stress, beginning to fray. "Oh woe, woe is me. Whatever is a poor helpless lass such as I to do when so beset upon?" The sarcasm in her tone was thick and unmistakable. Most of the gang surrounding her had the good sense to suddenly look nervous.
The woman in front of her scowled instead and stepped forward with a growl, "Are you making fun of me you little-"
And upon the edge of light and darkness did reality flicker and fade. Three crossbow bolts fired but found no target.
Kazue flowed along the liminal edge of sharp-cast shadows as dream images spawned around her.
A lightning-charged crystal sword that might-have-been bloomed from the woman''s lower back along with a shower of glittering flowers, Kazue''s hand upon the hilt for the brief moment it almost existed.
And then she was past the woman and the echo of thunder that never-was rolled off the buildings around them.
Reality asserted itself once more and the tall woman staggered, clutching at her stomach despite the lack of visible wound. "I''ll kill you for this," she said as she coughed, and then stared in disbelief at the blood she''d just expelled onto her hand.
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"No, you won''t," Kazue said calmly before her tail lashed out and slammed a bolt of foxfire into the thug''s face.
The rest of the would-be thieves vanished, showing the true nature of their loyalty to the woman laid out on the street, and Kazue''s anger only rose upon witnessing the cowardice and betrayal. "You stupid idiot, you made me hurt you," Kazue snarled at the prone, unconscious form. "I could have hit your heart. You made me want to hit your heart. And I hate you for that."
More thunder roared, but this time it had much more to do with reality, and soon warm arms wrapped themselves around Kazue. "Are you okay love?" Moriko whispered into her ear. The monk could travel silently or swiftly, but they were definitely opposed options.
"Not really," Kazue muttered as she returned the hug and then gestured briefly at the woman on the ground, "but nothing physical. You should take care of her first before she bleeds out."
"Please, allow me," came a soft, feminine voice. Two women were walking toward them; one of them was hidden under a hooded cloak, but the other was very familiar.
"Lady Yuriko," Kazue greeted the seven-tailed kitsune, "and...?"
The hooded woman knelt next to the thug as she replied "You can just call me Ruby." There was distinct amusement in the familiar voice and she smelled faintly of fire without smelling of smoke. When she touched a gloved hand to the thug''s face, white flames of healing flickered around the wounds.
Oh.
Wait, what?
Kazue shook her head to clear her thoughts and then looked at Yuriko. "Wait, she''s going to be our new escort? Are you serious? That seems like, ah, overkill? And wouldn''t we be the ones who need to guard her?"
Moriko had taken only a moment longer to follow the same chain of thoughts, but just as she was about to interject another voice cut in.
"Oh, it''s you two again," said a rather disgruntled-looking guard captain. "Your ladyships," he added rather belatedly. Not that Kazue or Moriko cared about their titles outside of when they were particularly useful, but it did sound a little belittling.
"Why don''t I take care of this?" Yuriko asked with a smile. "When Ruby is done, you three can head off to your inn room, she has some deliveries for you." The kitsune woman turned toward the guard captain as she drew something from her robe to show him, though Kazue didn''t get a look at the object. The captain looked surprised and then bowed slightly before letting himself be drawn several feet away. The guards that had been following him stood around uncertainly.
''Ruby'' rose as the thug stirred. "She''ll live, though without a healer she''d have bled out internally within the hour." The hooded woman regarded Kazue somberly. "You perforated her guts and shocked her with lightning internally without leaving a mark on her skin. That is, hmm, impressive."
Kazue''s feelings about the compliment were mixed, but this did not seem to be the time to talk about it. Instead, she turned to the nearest guard. "This woman and five other people tried to rob me on my way from a jewelry store where I had been practicing some enchantment. Presumably, they thought I was carrying goods of some sort on me. As you can see, I was able to defend myself. The others fled, though I believe you will find three crossbow bolts somewhere nearby."
The guard scrambled to take notes, and when she was finished giving her statement Kazue added, "Your captain knows where to find us if he has more questions."
They were still almost half an hour''s walk from the inn, but the three of them were silent for the duration. Kazue''s mood was sour and she used that time to lightly meditate and let the tension drain from her. She and Moriko did have a guest after all, and ''Ruby'' deserved better from her.
Once they were safely ensconced in their room, their visitor brought out a gem and placed it on a table where it started to glow before she tossed back her hood to reveal the flame-like red hair of Princess Bridgette. "Surprise!" she said and then giggled, "though it seems you two already figured it out. And our privacy is secured for the moment," she added, gesturing at the glowing gem.
"Please tell me you have a better disguise for your hair," Kazue said with a sigh and dropped into a chair. "I don''t think having a mysterious hooded woman following us around is going to make us less conspicuous."
"I assume we should avoid honorifics for the moment, ''Ruby''," Moriko added wryly as she took a seat next to Kazue.
Bridgette joined them at the small table that was the only place to sit, besides the bed. The two of them hadn''t exactly been planning on entertaining guests when they picked out a place, though they''d been willing to put out the money for private accommodations. "Yes, but I wanted to be able to show myself to you immediately if there was any need; and that''s right, I''m just Ruby for now. Oh, and please ask your husband and other self to not tell my sister, I''d like to surprise her if she''s still there when I arrive."
Kazue stared for a moment before she could summon up a reply, "You are traveling with us until we get back home? Isn''t that a long time for a, um, you to be away?"
"Well," Bridgette replied as she drew down a lock of her hair to fidget with it, "officially, I am off at a religious retreat for an unspecified period." She shrugged uncomfortably. "It makes a good excuse. I want to leave the capital for a while anyway. Things haven''t really worked out with the person I was interested in, and I''d rather not risk running into him for a while. Plus, with the number of shrines your home has been making along with its library, it really does make for a decent place to study and meditate. So it''s not really a lie either. Also, I don''t have any field experience, so we were thinking maybe having a go at delving would be a good idea for me."
That sounded like a lot of excuses added on top of the real reason of just wanting to not be around the guy she didn''t want to see for a while, but Kazue felt a pang of empathy for the situation. That seemed like it would be awkward and she certainly knew she wouldn''t want to stick around either.
Moriko nodded thoughtfully before changing the subject, "Yuriko mentioned deliveries earlier. Mordecai says that might be what he sent us."
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot!" Bridgette said as she pushed her cloak aside to bring a satchel forward. "Here you go." From the satchel she brought out a flat box and a bundle for each of them. All the items were sealed with stamped wax carrying the seal they''d worked out for the dungeon, specifically the variant for Mordecai''s seal.
Inside their packages were materials nigh identical to the ones Mordecai had used to send his letter to Baron Demidov, with the only change being the exact symbology on the seals. While all of their seals were ovals with a stylized mountain and doors to represent the dungeon and all three had a dragon, fox, and rabbit head on them, the topmost and largest head was different on each one to show whose seal it was. There were some other variations of detail as well to make them a little more personalized and make them even harder to forge. Included were instructions on how to use the seals, which varied a bit for each of them. Moriko''s aura signature was a mix of chi and divine blessing while Kazue''s was a mix of psychic and spiritual resonance, and keying everything properly was a slightly different process for them both.
"Well, I guess that takes care of everything keeping us waiting here," Kazue said, "so what exactly is the plan? I take it you aren''t going to be just shadowing us."
"Correct! Once Lady Yuriko returns, we can go over all the details and contingencies, but the basic idea is that I will be your tag-along until we get to the Azeria Dungeon. I can contact people instantly if you really need it, but for the most part, I''ll just be a traveling companion and get my own room and tent and stuff. Oh, and my disguise." She fetched a ring from her satchel and put it on while murmuring an activation phrase. Her hair calmed down into simple curls and became a more toned down, earthy red color at the same time that her features shifted just enough to make her no longer recognizable as a member of the royal family, though still plausibly a distant cousin thereof. "What do you think?"
207: Im a Little Tea Pet...
Mordecai had barely finished settling Sarcomaag in as the first of their new raid bosses when Moriko told them that Kazue''s other-self had just been attacked by a gang of thieves. That had pretty much put an end to fleshing out the new details of the dungeon for the evening; it was not the sort of thing that should be done while distracted.
But that had all turned out rather well in the end and it was the dawn of a new day. So it was time to turn back to the task of filling out their boss nodes. First he checked in with the fungal lord to see how Sarcomaag was adapting. The upgrade to raid boss had sped up his reaction and communication speed, and had enabled him to act freely in any part of their territory, including creating his mushroom ''trees''. He was also integrating the non individualistic fungal creatures that he was encountering as he fully incorporated the sewer''s territory, and there was no telling what tricks he would learn from them.
Now for a second raid boss. Upgrading more floor bosses seemed like an appealing option with Klastoria and Ryohoho on the top of that list, but it was also limiting. It would be better for the dungeon over all to have someone who could go anywhere at any time rather than having duties attached to a specific floor.
Creativity was important for a healthy dungeon. It was easy to fall into a rut or rely too much on raw strength. So he allowed his focus to wander through the dungeon and simply started cataloging vague ideas without developing any of those thoughts too far, while his avatar took some time to contemplate possibilities while brewing some tea. The practice could be meditative when done right.
Mordecai poured off the ritual ''first cup'' for Cimbu from the brewing process and then paused as an idea came to him. It would be a tiny bit tricky but there would be no better time to pull it off than when creating a raid boss. "Enki, I''m going to need your help with this one. But could you also ask the planar contractors to come here a moment?" He set the teapot down without pouring himself a cup yet.
His query got Kazue''s attention and she turned her focus to where his avatar was. "What are you thinking of doing? Wait, are you serious?" The question came when she saw what his avatar was looking at.
"Yes," he replied out loud, "unless you object to giving life to a favored pet?" He was slightly amused that she had figured out his idea so fast, she was getting a good grasp on how he thought. She had plenty of time to mull the thought over while he moved Cimbu to a better spot for this process. The arena had plenty of room. After a moment of further thought he sent a request to Fuyuko and Bellona to gather their guests as well. If he was going to do this, why not call on every resource available? It was overkill, but it could bring about something unexpected and thus better.
While she did not have any immediate objections, she did have a question. "Why is this going to be trickier than Biblios or the bookwyrms and biting words?"
"They started as constructs and were given souls by the process of your blessing of sapience. And from having souls, they gained life, but they are still constructs. Even if they were to do the construction themselves, the making of a new bookwyrm is an act of crafting to create something animated that then comes to life. There is not a continuity of life like with organic creatures and some other forms of life."
Creating true life from scratch was always the hardest thing for a dungeon to do, and somewhat risky. Which was why he was going to need help from Enki. It did help that the clay tea pet had collected a tiny bit of spiritual energy from the attention and personification lavished upon him. Over a sufficient period of time this could even give rise to a true spirit, but that was not Mordecai''s goal here.
Once everyone was assembled, Mordecai explained what he wanted of them. "I wish to bring Cimbu to life as our newest raid boss. Enki will be providing me with a template of living elemental earth energy, and we can probably do this with his help alone, but I think this will be more interesting and simply better if you were willing to give your blessings."
He pointed at the three einherjar first. "You love Cimbu as much as Kazue does, and also clash with her over the proper ''raising'' of our tea pet, as she does not approve of the use of alcohol to feed Cimbu. Conflict is part of life, affection is part of a healthy life, and he will need to be a warrior. How can I not ask for your blessings?"
Next was their guardian archon friend. "The type of warrior he is to be is a defender, a guardian of the dungeon. Your blessing would be more than appropriate."
Mordecai smiled at the skeptically curious zuhra. "All true djinni have some access to reality-altering powers. A sincere wish for life and strength, with a focus on a manifestation of various metals that often lie hidden inside of clay. Your payment is to have an influence in the outcome of this creation, the opportunity to see what happens because of it, and to participate in something that I am pretty certain no other zuhra can say to have done." The contract that had been made between the dungeon and the metal djinni prevented the zuhra from twisting things in a malicious way, but that certainly didn''t mean he couldn''t be creative. So there was room for some amusing mischief and it would give him some bragging rights back home if he spun it right.
Their final contractor from other realms did not fit in quite as neatly, but he also didn''t conflict. "I would ask for your blessing to help guide his way through life and to ensure a kind heart survives even amidst the conflict and combat that is part of a dungeon creature''s life." Which might also offset trickiness from the zuhra.
On to their more mundane contractors and guests. "Bellona, I ask for your prayers. Fuyuko, I also ask for yours but I want you to focus on your feelings when you''ve participated in feeding Cimbu." The girl blushed at having had that bit of her stoic facade seen through. Mordecai grinned at her and then looked at Shizoku and Derek. "I think you''ve enjoyed Cimbu as much as the others. Derek, opening yourself to elemental earth and working with Enki should help greatly. The volume of energy is not a concern, the dungeon can provide that easily. Emotions and concepts are much more important for your part. Shizoku, I am hoping you might be able to commune with your patron even a little bit, but even without her help a gift of your mana infused with your emotions would be very welcome." Mordecai couldn''t find an honest use for her alchemy here and he wouldn''t lie to make her feel more useful.
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"Orchid, Paltira, Xarlug. Steadfast royalty and nobility have a subtle power that can sometimes manifest with sincere prayer and wishes, and how could I not want to ask for a touch of life energy from contrasting nephilim?" Technically he could sort of provide both, but his aura was also a unique blend and would not be a perfect fit. Plus it wouldn''t have the symbology of both of them providing their prayers. "Kansif, you are a knight with a special blessing and have been imbued with the vitality and traits of a shifter clan. I can''t say what impact your prayers would have, but I have no doubt that they would help."
He had to be a little more careful with one guest. "Deidre. I offer you the chance to observe an event of emotional importance to me and mine, and that you may find interesting. I ask nothing of you, your situation here would make that inappropriate, but neither would I refuse any offering you made, if there was enough sincerity to it." She inclined her head in acknowledgment but said nothing further. On her shoulder sat a fairy that had not left her since her delve yesterday. Mordecai had a suspicion he knew where this might lead, but this was the sort of thing to let develop on its own.
While all took time to solemnly consider their parts in this, all of those he asked agreed to give their blessings.
For his part, Mordecai partially shifted to enable him to find a scale to pull free. He deliberately chose one that was still well-rooted and ignored the pain involved. The blood that came with it was part of the point. It would be a foolish thing for many scaled creatures to do, but his natural regeneration would fix even a damaged root.
The bloodied scale he pressed up against the body of the clay dragon and began channeling a mixture of his personal mana and a prayer to Ozuran for his aid. Enki pushed a small portion of his elemental energy toward the tiny clay construct, which Derek fortified with his own connection to elemental earth. This provided the seed of living earth from which Cimbu could be born.
To this swirl of energy and potential, the cores delicately connected a strand of mana that led to the open raid boss node. Cimbu''s form began to twitch with the first stirrings of life and the others present for this ceremony began offering their prayers, blessings, energy, and emotions.
Mordecai shaped this maelstrom and restrained its potential outcomes by anchoring a few key ideas to it and providing the framework for specific abilities he wanted Cimbu to have. But he did not constrain it more than he needed to ensure a coherent and healthy outcome for their raid boss.
Kazue now touched the forming creation and fed into it her dreams of a happy life and all the love she had for her little tea pet dragon, plus a few small, specific touches of her own.
Then, at nearly the last possible moment to have influence, came what he could only call a prayer; an offering of mana filled with desperate hope and a longing for freedom. The mana surged and spiritual energy condensed as a brand new mind and soul were formed for a brand new living creature.
In the center of the arena now lay a large clay dragon, the largest inhabitant of the dungeon other than Sarcomaag. If she''d had a body here or an illusion up, Kazue''s squeal would have been ear-piercing.
Cimbu stirred slowly, then rose to sit back on his haunches with his tail wrapped around his feet in a cat-like manner as he examined everyone present with glowing eyes of golden crystal. While there was no pupil, the crystal shifted and swirled with the movement of his gaze in an almost liquid-like manner. After a long moment, he spoke hesitantly in a soft but deep voice, "I do not fully understand my creation, no, my birth, yet. But I know I have all of you to thank for my life and who I am. And I remember the love that has been bestowed upon me since the moment I was first ''fed'' by Kazue''s hand. So, I thank you all."
As the giant dragon bowed his head in thanks, Mordecai leaned in to hug Cimbu''s head as best he could, and soon almost everyone had gathered close enough to at least gently touch the newborn dragon.
After a few minutes of conversation and people greeting and congratulating the newborn, they began to disperse. Almost everyone had other tasks they needed to attend to after all. Mordecai gave Cimbu another pat on the nose before stepping back. "Alright, you should rest here for a little while longer and gather your energy. Your body is sound, but forging a fully formed soul of such power means you are still gathering and generating spiritual energy, which will leave you weakened until you have a full spirit protecting your soul. When you feel up to it, you can explore and perhaps go topside to find enough aerial room to really practice flying."
The way Cimbu cocked his head to the side made him look a little like a fox or cat, but the motion was a little more refined and controlled, which made Mordecai think of Princess Orchid, and perhaps a little touch of Deidre. "Hmm. I think someone is hoping to show off that his home has a shiny new defender. This is something I would be happy to help arrange for you."
Huh. Cimbu looked to become their most formal inhabitant to date. Well, it was his own fault for inviting in so many influences. "I admit that I wouldn''t mind that either. But your happiness and well-being are important too, so rest first and take the time to get to know some of your fellows. Oh, and you will need to take on a smaller form to get upstairs. Enki''s ability to move through any sort of stone is powerful, and part of the trade-off for your own abilities is that you can only move through earthen terrain where clay could be found." Enki was also always going to be a lot harder and tougher, and stronger in any purely physical match-up. "Now get some rest."
With Cimbu resting, Mordecai turned his attention to Deidre. "First, I would like to say thank you. I can''t say I know what traits will manifest because of your blessing, but I truly appreciate it."
The woman''s face wasn''t showing much, but her emotional mask was not so rigid as it had been. "I am glad to have helped in this creation, but I must admit it was also a test of sorts. Everything there was sincere, but I also traced my mana for as long as possible before it was incorporated." She hesitated before continuing, "It would not have assimilated so well if it didn''t resonate to some extent. It''s not everything I need, but it helps."
Mordecai nodded. "I am glad it helps. This brings me to my second subject. I would like you to continue your delve, and rotate in more escorts. For now, Bellona and Betty will alternate, but in a couple of days I think I would like to add Fuyuko to the list, and possibly some others who have different relationships to us. When you are done, I think it will be time for us to talk. This may take several days, even with the modifications Kazue is making to accommodate your situation. I am looking to have you learn enough to help you understand us, so certain aspects of the difficulties a normal delver would face only need to be presented rather than overcome."
Deidre replied, "I think this will be enlightening, so I agree to continue this delve to the best of my ability."
Excellent. Now they just had to finish filling all the new boss nodes, lay claim to every life form they could in the sewers, evolve a new set of inhabitants for this third route and eliminate any hostile organisms that might remain, and to fill out their new zone.
Pacing was going to be important here. It would be very easy to burn out mentally, and they didn''t have enough mana to get everything done at once anyway. But everything around the sewers could wait, his future plans for that route did not need to become available quickly.
208: Boss Rush
Now that raid bosses were sorted, Mordecai turned to elevating zone bosses. The first two were easy.
With the changes that he and Kazue had planned, delvers were going to need trap finders and trackers, amongst other skill sets. They already had a mistress of arms and of magic, and it didn''t take long to find a buzzkin interested in the new position: Mistress of skills and lore. Jiah would be evaluating non-combat skills to help send people in the right direction, as they effectively had three independent growth vectors now. This would apply to non-combat-oriented delvers too. An experienced herbalist shouldn''t bother with the hunting grounds, while someone who was barely more than an enthusiastic gardener with a good reference book shouldn''t be looking for exotic mushrooms in the deep fungal forest. And if it came to fighting, her skill set included stealth and poison.
Stealth was also part of the skill set for their new hunting grounds boss. Menhit was happy to take up the mantle of a boss at last. Mordecai enhanced her innate stealth skills with a bit of shadow blending and boosted her already ear-piercing scream to the point it could cause serious damage, though using that required her to recharge in much the same way as Belle and Freya needed for their flash attacks.
Her job was to mess with hunters who managed to take out either or both of the bats. The price of a successful hunt was the risk of becoming the hunted. With her enhanced strength and speed, she had her choice of single-target stealth attacks much like those of any large cat, or using her scream to disorient and deafen a group of foes before attacking. But barring invaders, she didn''t have to be involved most of the time and had a well-hidden lair.
The first hard decision came as he considered their original zone. On the one hand, he needed to maintain the third route properly, not rely on wild organisms, so he needed to have bosses for it. On the other hand, he suspected he was going to use it far less often even after he opened it up for more routine use rather than only a punishment route. But he was also going to be adding a lot more in the way of dangerous traps, which increased the threat and challenge. Hmm.
In the end, he decided to mix and match. So long as he provided an appropriate challenge through every zone, having some floors not be matched with a sewer-oriented boss should be fine. And this would be one of those. There was a different challenge he wanted to pose, although at first glance this boss would be very similar to Ryohoho, as they would both be dracobits tied to Zushi''s energy-draining powers. He got a volunteer almost as fast as he proposed the idea to their inhabitants, a flying dire rabbit named Haruka.
The first clue to the new boss''s nature was going to be her coat, as her fur and scales had a dark but pastel-like iridescence. It was a beautiful, dreamy sheen, darker than but similar to the effect of a thin layer of oil on water. And a slick of oil was exactly what one of her breath weapons was going to be. The spray would coat people and surfaces equally well, viscous enough to cling while shearing in a way to make everything slide easily. Holding weapons and standing upright should become equally difficult.
Her other breath weapon was an effervescent cloud of rainbow colors that could intoxicate, befuddle, and induce hallucinations. Both breath weapons were also highly flammable, and a group faced with all three bosses was going to face quite a challenge.
In addition, she was faster and more agile than Ryohoho and had a toxic bite and claws. Where he rarely closed in so that he could wield magic from a distance, she often darted in as an aerial skirmisher. Mordecai thought that the fighting styles would complement fairly well and provide an interesting mix of challenges for people coming through this zone.
For the next zone, Mordecai decided to make a sewers boss that would also work well as support for Hildegard and Crios. He upgraded one of the bunbee queens; specifically, the one who had her hive in the sewers into a boss, and provided her with a path to both arenas she might need to fight in, both for her and her upgraded bunbee warriors. For the most part, the bunbees hadn''t been particularly threatening outside of swarms, but these were going to be larger and stronger, with more toxic venom in their stingers.
Beeatrix needed to be more than just an impressive bunbee of course. Mordecai gave her the ability to tweak the vibration of her wings and give herself a constant discordant buzzing sound that was magically enhanced to not only affect the minds and ears of those close to her but physically assault their bodies as well. And her own swarm was of course immune to this effect, though not any other inhabitants, including Hildegard or Crios.
Additionally, he unlocked a set of psychic abilities for her, letting her use telekinetic abilities and wield aspects of the environment around her as weapons. The way that Kazue had shuffled around the zones'' densities left this formerly ''floor two'' zone with the mana density and power capacity he would normally associate with a fifth floor, and that gave him a lot more room to be flexible even as bosses such as Crios and Hildegard had their existing powers boosted.
There was a price to pay already for this sort of upgrade. Against a proper invasion, one or more zones could be bypassed readily, depending on the route an invader took. But that would also be leaving forces at your back, and against an invasion, a dungeon didn''t have to hold back or play nice.
Mordecai also wasn''t certain how stable the arrangement was. They were going to do their best to keep everything evenly distributed, but the zones were going to have some serious power jumps as zones got interleaved this way. Mana density should increase one more time for this zone before the power distribution started coming from deeper zones, if they did everything correctly. But that was enough musing.
He played with complimentary and contrasting ideas for a while before striking on one that could work in the sewers and provide a balance with Umbrowl and Betty. There were plenty of little crystal slimes slowly growing from the remains of the sewer creatures slain during the invasion and they needed to incorporate all the creatures that they could from here anyway.
The one he picked had a mutation that caused it to lean more heavily toward living crystal than ooze, which might normally have become a liability. Mordecai focused on its affinity for crystal and enhanced it while borrowing some concepts from their living crystal flowers. The conversion from crystal ooze to crystal elemental wasn''t difficult for a creature that was used to not having a defined shape.
The result wasn''t as amorphous, but Mordecai did give it some shape-changing abilities. It could disguise itself as a ''normal'' crystal flower, roll about as a crystal sphere that was incredibly hard to damage, or fly in the form of a small crystal dragon. Like Cimbu, this new boss would count as dragon-kin and an elemental creature, rather than a true dragon like the wetlands bosses or a pure elemental like Enki. Such distinctions rarely mattered outside of scholarly matters, but upon occasion, there were magical effects where such differences could greatly alter the outcome.
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Into this tiny crystal being Mordecai infused powers of light and illusion and found the results to be rather pleasing. The new boss''s direct attacks were mostly limited to searingly intense beams of light, but when it changed shape it could choose to do so by ''exploding'' into crystal shards that fell back together into the new form. The dragon form also had sharp claws and teeth and could spit a small cone of crystal shards, making it the strongest form for offense.
In addition, all forms were equally capable of wielding illusion magic. It was most skilled at visual illusions but it could also do audible illusions, though those came with the slight flaw of having a faint chiming sound to them if one listened closely enough. The elemental decided it liked the name Annur, but did not feel any inclination to assume a gender identity. Mordecai sent Annur off to visit with Umbrowl first, with directions to find Betty later to get to know her as well.
A third boss for the library zone seemed problematic at first, at least, if he wanted to make it fit in both the library and the sewers. Then Mordecai realized he already had the solution and even had a sample still hanging around with its mistress. And crystal was a great matrix for holding information.
The crystal spellslime that Mordecai forged out of a normal crystal slime was very deliberately made non-acidic, and he even made sure that it could slightly absorb acids. It also had a very high surface tension, leaving its surface completely dry. This combination would make the spellslime perfectly compatible with handling books and scrolls.
While it could generate an appendage to bludgeon a foe with, it hit with the force of a strong but not particularly skilled humanoid. The new boss''s offensive skill set was simply going to be magic, and Mordecai carefully cultivated the potential to cast any type of magic, limited only by the strength of the spells it could cast, along with the ability to absorb a portion of any spell it was attacked with. That did come with a cost; which spells the spellslime was going to be able to cast refreshed randomly when the dungeon reset. That also meant that it was going to be harder for delvers to prepare for a fight with Aiden, as the spellslime had chosen to call himself, along with picking a male gender. Aiden was also deliberately made as a green crystal slime, in homage to Bip who had been the inspiration for his creation. As a final touch, he assigned a portion of their loot capacity to generate a spell tome carrying a copy of each of Aiden''s current spells, to be changed or remade each time Aiden was renewed.
The mushroom forest was his next stop. Klastoria could already fit in either environment, and Sarcomaag could sprout mushroom trees in both locations simultaneously now that he was a raid boss. This left Mordecai feeling very free in developing a new boss. Inspiration did not come so easily, but eventually, it came in the form of spying a pixie talking animatedly with one of the fungal-focused bunkin druids.
A pixie ''shroom druid, that could be a fun way to mix things up. Mordecai had no sooner formed the thought and began composing his intent than the pixie in question spun in place excitedly at the idea. "Do you mean it? I can talk with all the cool mushrooms and plants and stuff too?"
His attention had clearly leaked across to her, no doubt to how keen she was on the subject. "Yes," he sent to her with amusement, "now give me a moment to focus please." She was already a pixie and had a tendency to leave sparkly trails of dust, so there was no reason that her dust couldn''t also act like mushroom spores. He already had a solid template for her normal druidic magic, and he topped it off by giving her a beech mushroom staff with a selection of extra spells to make sure she had a wide range available during her fights. It would also double as extra loot if she was defeated, and if she had the chance to flee she was to ''accidentally'' drop the staff as she fled.
Having their bosses concede defeat when their loss was imminent was one of the ways they''d been able to host as many parties each day as they had been. While the dungeon didn''t begrudge an instinctive swipe at a fleeing boss, active pursuit after victory was clear was something they did mind and promptly punished. It fell under their general rule about respectfulness.
The tiny pixie immediately declared that her new name was Sporewhisp, then claimed a porcini boar as her companion and mount, and named him Glimmermold. Watching them head off to play made Mordecai happy with this choice and the chaos it would inflict upon delvers. In many ways, she was ''just'' an upgrade of a normal druid, but between her natural pixie mischief and her pixie dust''s ability to now cause everything from hallucinations to having mushrooms sprout all over the victim''s body, she was going to quite the formidable and unconventional foe.
Checking in on Klastoria before he moved on to the river level, Mordecai discovered that the increased mana density was helping speed up her learning curve for fine manipulation of her body. She could now form a roughly bipedal type body from her torso and up and give herself the outline of floor-length robes to hide her lack of legs. She''d also created a diadem of crystals on top of her head, to denote herself as a princess (per Kazue''s declaration). She could talk as well, and while her speech was quite intelligible, it did come with an odd mix of burbling sounds and chiming notes. He encouraged her to share notes with Aiden who had a similar interest in a bipedal form. Mordecai suspected that Aiden was going to have an easier time forming the shape he wanted, given his higher and more stable surface tension, but that lack of fast flexibility would also hinder how fast he would learn to find a way to physically speak. Though his wide range of magic would often be of use there.
For the river zone, there were two considerations Mordecai had been considering for a while. In the end, he chose not to upgrade a bunyip as that would make three aquatic bosses and feel like ''more of the same''. Instead, he chose to upgrade one of the feathered serpents. While an open sky flier like an alicorn would have felt out of place here, a jungle flier would fit in just fine.
The male who took Mordecai up on the idea was named Tohil. He became somewhat larger than his fellows, but more importantly, his scales took on the ability to shift their colors automatically, granting him camouflage in almost any environment. He was able to reuse both his magical darkness and dark ''smoke'' abilities repeatedly after a short recharge period and could both spit poison that could blind and amplify his echolocation into brief bursts of damaging sound. As a final touch, Mordecai added a muffling aura that only worked on sound of a lower frequency than the echolocation and the ability to briefly go invisible.
Jasi and Kulle, the naga and kelpie bosses of the river zone, provided plenty of magical power and could be very dangerous in close combat, but neither were particularly stealthy. Mordecai wanted Tohil to be a sneaky and dirty fighter, at home both in melee and at short range. This would also make him devastatingly effective in the sewers.
The new boss for the wetlands was an obvious choice, though Mordecai would rather go fight in the sewers himself rather than try to get her to do it. He decided to not directly ask her either, and simply floated a line of mana tethered to the boss node for the wetlands in her general direction.
Carmilla started complaining about the burdens and added responsibilities of being a floor boss before she had even finished securing the connection to her soul. He listened with some amusement to her rantings as the additional potential of a boss was added to her. She had already been as strong as they could make a non-boss for the floor and had sort of the responsibilities of a boss without the powers of one. This rectified that imbalance.
And with that, Mordecai was done with filling out the new nodes on the existing floors. It was time to shift his attention back to the topside.
209: Foxes and Faeries
While Mordecai was contemplating his plans for their newest zone, he noticed the return of one of his messengers. Erryn''s late afternoon return was slightly more notable given that a skulk of young kitsune women surrounded him. Mordecai didn''t normally apply that term for a group of foxes to kitsune, but it somehow seemed fitting in this case.
This was also the moment that he realized that by basing usagisune biology on kitsune biology, he''d probably made them more attractive on average to kitsune than humans and elves were. And he''d just sent a male messenger to a clan notoriously shy of males. And these girls looked like they wanted to find some boys of their own.
He shook his head and shifted his avatar toward the edge of their territory, appearing far enough away to approach them casually and observe how the women moved a little further away from the young man they''d been crowding, but only a little. "I think I don''t want to know the details of this little story," he said dryly as Erryn looked abashed, "but I suspect you need to go get some rest while I chat with your friends here."
Erryn nodded while somehow looking simultaneously embarrassed, pleased, and smug. "As you say sir."
When the messenger started to pass by Mordecai, his attention was caught by a small detail and he laid a hand on Erryn''s shoulder. "Wait." He plucked a single long, dark hair that had gotten tangled around a button on Erryn''s vest. A dark hair with a hint of an aura much stronger than any of the one or two-tailed vixens who had so kindly escorted Erryn home. He focused on the state of Erryn''s spirit before sighing. "Never mind, carry on."
Now he turned his attention to the bright-eyed group of eager-looking women. "I think I have already figured out what sort of game you are hunting for on this visit. If you make it down to the village at the start of the river zone, you are permitted to attempt to court anyone who allows it. But I must emphasize that you have to earn your way there and that you will be competing with the usagisune women. And any other visitors who might be so inclined I presume. Given how few there currently are, I wouldn''t get your hopes up too much, and you will respect any denials you receive. Now go on and find yourselves a room, there might be quite a delay in getting an open spot for the delve. Oh, and pass on those rules to your kin, alright?"
Mordecai didn''t give them a chance to put up much of a protest before he started walking away. He wasn''t in the mood to hear it right now.
"What was that about?" Kazue asked.
"Take a peek at Erryn''s spirit." He sent back.
"Um, what happened to him? Those look like shallow claw marks, but that doesn''t seem right."
That caused him to chuckle. "You are quite correct. It seems Norumi''s mother passed down a certain trick, and Norumi passed it on in turn. I hadn''t realized she''d left that legacy before she left. It''s not particularly harmful, at least, not more so than the marks you and Moriko have left on my skin. Well, with more focus and will, it can allow a kitsune to strike a spirit creature, but that''s not what happened here."
Kazue was silent a moment before she asked, "Um, does that mean Aia and Erryn...?" She let the question trail off.
"It seems so, yes."
Her next question caught him off guard. "So, is that a trick you can teach me?" Moriko chimed in too, just as eagerly.
"I have the feeling I should probably say no, but it seems I like to spoil my wives. So yes, I can. But Moriko, you can do that already, if in a different way. You already know how to channel chi to let you strike a spirit creature, and it''s mostly a toned down aspect of that."
"Oh? Oh!" The half-elf replied with sudden enthusiasm. "And I have a partner right here to start practicing on tonight. Thank you both for the tip." Kazue''s soul might be safely ensconced in their core, but her avatar''s spirit was an extension of her own.
Kazue groaned, "That''s not fair, you were supposed to be the first victim."
While his wife sulked over dramatically, Mordecai turned his attention back to his work. He already knew what he wanted for two of the bosses, and at least one new creature type, but there were still a lot of decisions to be made.
This contemplation was broken by a tug on his attention; a surging flow of confusion, worry, fear, and then finally panic. "Lord Mordecai, Lady Kazue, I''m sorry, but I do not think you should have elevated me so quickly. I am afraid that with the return of my memories, my mother will find me soon."
That was... Carmilla? Mordecai''s core examined her aura to find newly unfolding patterns that had been tucked away deep into her soul. Patterns that were still very fey, and that were now being constrained by her status as a floor boss, rather than elevated.
Mordecai abandoned all thoughts of developing their new zone and began actively channeling mana into strengthening their boundaries against all forms of non-standard spacial movement. This was a rarely used trick, you had to be able to anticipate a potential intrusion and be willing to sustain the continual drain, which grew in proportion with your claimed territory.
Kazue asked in confusion, "What''s going on?"
As he turned most of his attention to scanning their borders, Mordecai replied, "I mentioned before that it was a little strange for your pseudo-fairies to wake up as they hadn''t been so much creatures as animated pieces of the puzzle. I also mentioned my hypothesis that the newly awakened potential drew sprite sparks from the Other Side. It seems someone decided to run away from home by hiding her mind inside the form of a spark, and I do not want to know a single thing else until I ask, not even a name."
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That last sentence was emphatically sent at Carmilla, whose response carried a pleased purr in her voice. "I understand, and am pleased that even in my reduced state I managed to find such a wise protector."
Mordecai suppressed the urge to snarl at her and sent a tight message to Kazue, "Don''t respond to that note in her voice or anything else like it, I have to deal with it or she won''t respect it." Shadow-blasted Fae. Dealing with pixies and fairies was one thing, dealing with Faeries was another.
A slight shiver of energy at the edge of their borders told Mordecai where to focus his attention. At the border was what appeared to be a tall, refined-looking elf male in rather dapper clothing and with a mildly annoyed expression on his face. As the man made his way on foot deeper into their territory, Mordecai moved to intercept him. Normally he''d have covered most of the distance by manually shifting his avatar''s location, but with so much of his core''s attention being spent on strengthening their boundaries, it would be too difficult right now.
"Greetings to you fair guest," Mordecai called out as soon as he was within a reasonable hailing distance. "I am Lord Mordecai, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to my home. What business brings you our way this fine evening?" Between his avatar''s acute senses and his core''s dungeon senses, the man''s glamour no longer quite hid the more ethereal features of Faerie nobility, nor the faint motes of energy that his aura generated and the faerie wings on his back.
Calling the visitor a guest was a very deliberate tactic in this scenario and the brief frown on the man''s face showed that he understood it. "Greetings Lord Mordecai," the visitor replied with a bow, "I am Lord Silvander, and I come here on behalf of Queen Sylphine as her seneschal. She has reason to believe that her daughter, Princess Elara, is to be found inside your territory. Would you be able to inform me as to her whereabouts?"
Mordecai wanted to strangle his newest floor boss. Instead, he returned the bow and replied, "While I am hosting some nobility, I know of none by that name and all are from the neighboring kingdom. Perhaps we should discuss this after a meal? I would not want to be a poor host after all." Best to play it safe by binding them both with proper protocol. He disliked playing games by Faerie rules. While he was capable of calling upon Ozuran''s guidance to break any sort of unfair bindings, his awareness of protocol meant that fewer things would be considered unfair should he fail to take the proper steps for this dance.
Silvander inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Food and drink would be appreciated."
"Excellent, but first I believe it behooves me to make sure you and yours are aware of a current situation. We have recently dealt with a hostile incursion that is part of an ongoing threat. Due to this, we would have to treat anyone trying to obfuscate their presence as they traveled deeper into our domain as a hostile intruder. It would be unfortunate if there were any misunderstandings."
One of the motes drifting around Silvander had not faded in and out with the others; now that mote chimed with soft laughter as it floated away from the man and transformed into a woman with bright, emerald-green hair that had an almost metallic luster to it and intense, sky-blue eyes. Despite being as tall as Bellona, she still seemed somehow delicate and petite as she curtsied briefly, the layers of her white silk dress making nary a sound. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Mordecai. I am Queen Sylphine."
Mordecai carefully bowed the precise amount for a sovereign greeting a visiting sovereign. "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, and I welcome you to my home as a guest."
She pursed her lips thoughtfully at his precise bow, but Mordecai''s bow was correct for the situation no matter what the power discrepancy might or might not be. "I see that you have dealt with the Fae before. Interesting. Very well then, let us see what lavish feast awaits us."
Mordecai led their visitors through the last vestiges of light from the setting sun as he spoke to Kazue. "Love, could you please start creating a pair of statues in the likeness of these two? Place them on the edge of our border with Kuiccihan and facing the Azeria Forest. Once you have their physical likeness, see if you can create a likeness of their auras as well."
Kazue replied, "Yeah, I can do that. Looking for backup if we need it? Are they that dangerous?"
"Probably not, if I handle everything correctly, but I do not like taking chances." He didn''t see a point in sending messengers as he had previously; the help they might need would have to be faster than that and from a different source anyway.
While he''d led the two faeries to the trading post Mordecai had stopped maintaining the boundary reinforcement. Instead, he hastily constructed a new building to act as a feast hall and sent instructions ahead to their inhabitants. He had no intention of bringing these two any deeper into their territory than he had to. He had also passed messages to a few of their more welcome guests who had agreed to join them for dinner. "As I mentioned previously, we do have other nobility staying with us, and it seems rude to not introduce you to them while you are here."
Inside the feast hall, Princess Orchid waited in her original, human form to represent Kuiccihan and Shizoku to represent the Azeria clan, along with Paltira as Orchid''s consort. As heir apparent to the clan''s matriarch, Shizoku was equivalent to a princess even if she didn''t share the title. After introductions were made and courtesies performed, the queen and her seneschal were seated at the opposite end from Mordecai, with the princesses seated on the longer sides. At Mordecai''s end of the table were three chairs and he said, "I apologize that my wives are unable to be here. They are currently in the middle of a tour of Kuiccihan, and have no means to return this swiftly."
"I see. That is unfortunate, but such circumstances can not be held against you given the surprise nature of Our visit," Sylphine replied, "and you have ensured that we have fine company at least, and such interesting staff." She gestured to the laganthros serving the dinner.
Mordecai had considered the idea of having some usagisune serve instead but discarded the idea as too risky. Though they might be visually more impressive in this circumstance, they were also far more likely to be considered attractive and some of what the fae considered to be casual hospitality was morally questionable by other standards.
"I am glad you find our hospitality pleasing," he said. "We''ve managed to acquire some interesting foods from abroad and our chefs have been practicing most diligently, so I hope you will enjoy the food just as much. The mead is a local vintage, and we have some other drinks that might interest you as well." He wasn''t going to offer up the mushroom elixir as an option; that would open the door to having a bottle requested as a gift and that would lead to him having to deny the request.
Thankfully Orchid was more than up to the task of taking up the conversation from here. Mordecai relaxed for a while, letting the conversation hum along for a while and providing appropriate responses when needed. The day had started so well too, now he was walking a knife''s edge dealing with a Faerie Queen. He''d felt less endangered during the invasion.
They were well into dessert when Sylphine turned to Shizoku with a beaming smile. "You are such a beautiful young woman and with so much potential. I have a son about your age who I think would be a delightful match for you, I should bring him to visit you sometime."
Shizoku froze, her eyes wide with sudden panic.
Mordecai really, really hated dealing with the fae some days.
210: Dominion
Mordecai had to choose his words very carefully here, he couldn''t speak on her behalf without her request or claiming the right to do so by announcing his position as her ancestor. "I can not say that I know of any formal arrangements involving the young heir. Shizoku, you are the only one present who can speak of any informal arrangements, and none but you can speak truly about your intentions." It was satisfying to watch the girl''s mind reengage and start working on the clues he''d given her, but he needed to buy time as well.
Queen Sylphine''s sharp look gave him all he needed for that task, and he responded to her unasked question. "While I am not in a position to speak on her behalf, I do have an obligation to support her as a mentor. Part of her purpose here is to help train Shizoku for her future role, as Matriarch Aia and I have discussed previously." That got a small nod of approval from Princess Orchid.
"Interesting. It seems you have a close relationship with the Azeria clan then," she replied.
"Indeed. In addition to our initial arrangements, we are allied with Azeria through our formal alliance with Kuiccihan. I would rather stay on good terms with Aia, as well as not invoke any ire from her patron."
Shizoku interjected before the queen had decided upon a reply, "As to the matter of my availability, I have met a man who is a perfect match and foil for my personality and who I am more than fond of. His family has met me and our relationship has their approval, and those of my family who have met him also approve. We have exchanged our first kiss, and I intend to make our relationship formal as soon as appropriate by both our culture''s standards. I know the future is not set in stone, but there is no other person I plan to wed or bed."
Kazue''s voice whispered in his mind, "Interesting choice of words there. If she turned up pregnant tomorrow, the clan''s only real concern would be her health, assuming the father was around her age. We have too few children to not be supportive. But here she''s saying she''s going to wait until they are old enough for humans to be okay with an engagement at least, and I am guessing more."
It was clear to Mordecai that being so open and calm was difficult for the young kitsune, but she wasn''t done yet. Her next statement let more of her temper reveal itself as she said, "And I hereby swear eternal vengeance upon any person willfully involved in harming him, ever."
Mordecai winced. She knew he was a priest of Ozuran and that was a rather over-dramatic oath for the situation. It should at least protect Derek from any stray ''conveniences'', though his impression of Sylphine didn''t suggest that she''d go that far. The girl clearly felt very protective of her boy.
The faerie didn''t seem to even register the oath. "Exchanged first kisses? That''s very sweet, but that means you are both so inexperienced. Surely in a few years you''ll want to find some teachers for the two of you at least?"
"Never," Shizoku spat out and then covered her mouth in surprise. That single word echoed with the power of her recently made oath and came dangerously close to the feeling of prophecy.
This left the room silent for a few moments as Shizoku stared down at her plate and the rest of them exchanged uncomfortable glances. Sylphine spoke first, "Well, setting that topic aside, I should like to discuss the possible whereabouts of my daughter, Princess Elara. You said that you do not know of anyone by that name, but how sure are you that she has not hidden herself amongst your visitors?"
"While there is a limit to how sure one can be of anything," Mordecai replied, "within that limit, I am certain that she is not amongst the dungeon''s visitors or prisoners."
That caught her attention. "You have prisoners from the invasion? I would have thought that a dungeon would simply eliminate invaders."
"All of the more than two hundred invaders were taken prisoner, and are either alive in our dungeons or were delivered to Kuiccihan''s forces alive and well."
"Impressive restraint and control," she replied. "I see why you have so many visitors, an alliance with such a dungeon would certainly provide an excellent opportunity to train one''s people safely."
Mordecai inclined his head in acknowledgment. "If you want to foster relations with us, we would be happy to receive delving groups, so long as they follow our rules. We have both a combat and non-combat path. The non-combat path requires wit, skill, and a certain amount of mental and physical fortitude. It can be an excellent test of character."
"That could be very useful, and it might provide the opportunity to let some of my people search for my daughter along the way. I noticed that there are several fairies amongst your people and thought that perhaps she has taken on the guise of one of your inhabitants." Sylphine seemed quite pleased with the thought.
"While it is possible that she is numbered amongst our inhabitants, I am certain that she can not hide among them. If she is here as one, then she is an actual inhabitant, and thus is one of our people." Mordecai pushed the draconic aspects of his power to the surface of his aura, causing his golden eyes to take on a molten glow. "I protect what is mine."
"Oh, I think my precious girl has found a fierce protector." Her voice had dropped into a purr. "I would like to at least not be concerned for her safety. Perhaps I should get some personal experience to find out how skilled you really are." Sylphine''s gaze met and held his as her eyes lit with a touch of alluring glamour.
Thrice be-damned Faeries. They weren''t any randier than humans or kitsune but they were generally oblivious to boundaries. "I am not interested." The queen recoiled slightly from the flat coolness of his tone. "I am a high priest of Ozuran, and I have married both a priestess of Sakiya and a kitsune shrine maiden of Mericume. I have no needs, desires, or wants left unanswered and I am more than happy to fulfill all my duties and obligations."
"Tsch. You mortals are far too hung up about simple sport." She paused thoughtfully. "Did you say high priest? That doesn''t seem right, you should be far too young, yet there was no lie in your words." The queen''s aura washed out from her as she investigated her surroundings in more detail. "So much potential power locked in that avatar of yours. What is this? Why is there an echo of my power on the far side of your territory?" Sylphine rose from her seat without waiting for an answer and headed for the source of that echo.
Mordecai was the only person present who could keep up with her. Lord Silvander followed them, but he could not maintain a matching pace. She stopped only when she reached the two statues, then spun toward Mordecai with a glower. "Why have you erected these statues and painted them with faint replicas of our auras?"
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"I don''t take risks that I don''t have to," Mordecai replied with a small smile. "I did mention that we are allied with Kuiccihan, yes? It''s convenient to share a border with her. Oh, but I should clarify something else. When I stated that my wives could not join us for dinner, I meant that my wife Kazue''s avatar is traveling with our wife Moriko, so despite her general presence, she is unable to eat with us. Kazue makes such fine artwork, does she not?"
Sylphine stared in confusion for a moment. "You were calling for backup? What sort of help could you possibly expect from..." Her eyes widened. "You said that you shared a border with her. You know Kuiccihan. No, it''s not just that. I remember where I heard your name before. You are Norumi''s father!"
The way that she sounded so delighted killed what pleasure Mordecai had gained from his small victories, and his mood continued to sink as she talked. "Oh, I''ve heard so much about you! No wonder you handled my visit so well. She must have been so happy to see you again. And there she is, come on out dear."
Norumi''s dryad form separated from a tree just on the other side of the border, and she bowed to Sylphine. "Greetings Your Majesty. It''s a pleasure to see you again."
"A family reunion, how wonderful." The queen beamed at them. "Oh, but it''s not complete yet, is it? Norumi, have you told your mother yet?" The kitsune dryad winced, which gave away her answer. Mordecai felt a stress headache forming. "No? Naughty girl, your father has spoiled you. I should go find her and give her the news. It was so wonderful to meet her the last time she visited. I wonder where she''s gone off to?"
With a great flourish, Queen Sylphine curtsied deeply to Mordecai. "Thank you for being such an entertaining host this evening, and tell my daughter that I expect her to fulfill her role spectacularly, whatever that role may be. My seneschal has caught up with us, so we shall take our leave now." And with that, the pair were whisked away by a mote-filled gust of wind and were gone.
Victory of a sort, but at what cost?
Norumi sighed as she walked across the border of their territory. "I''m sorry about that, Father. Her domain is in the local Other Side, and my current nature makes it easier to talk with fae than with most people. She''s usually wonderful company, but, well, she and Mother get along far too well. I think that says a lot."
Mordecai wrapped her in a tight hug. "It''s alright sweetie, it''s not your fault. Sylphine was bound to hear about us and come visiting sooner or later anyway, this just accelerated that meeting." They held on to each other a little while before separating. "I look forward to visiting you as soon as I can fully incarnate my avatar."
She kissed his cheek with a smile before stepping back across the border. "I love you father, and I look forward to that day as well."
"I love you too." He watched for a short while before turning his attention to the two minds waiting with sharp curiosity. "Loves, I will fill you in later. I need to go deal with Carmilla first. Kazue, could you please take those statues back down?"
He shifted his avatar down to the witch''s domicile, where a very pleased-looking Carmilla awaited. "I see that my lord has fended off my mother," she purred, "I could not hope for a better lord to serve. How can I ever show my appreciation?" The fairy princess stepped forward, moving to rest her hand on his chest.
"Stop." Mordecai''s voice froze her in place with her hand only inches away. "You will not play such games with me. Your mother tried that already and failed, and while using glamour I might add. Now sit down and tell me what I need to know of your story." He didn''t command her through their dungeon bond, but he did push his will and a touch of his aura into his words.
"Yes, Your Majesty," she replied stiffly as she moved to obey, taking a seat by a small table. Carmilla didn''t fully process what she''d said until after she had sat down. She stared at him in shock. "You, you felt like a Faerie King for a moment. How?"
Mordecai snorted. "I experimented with a lot of avatars in my previous life. I incorporated everything useful, and only show what I want or need to. Inside my territory, I have the powers of sovereign faerie king." And not trusting faeries is part of why he did not select faerie wings for any of his alternative forms. "Your story. Keep it brief."
"Right. Um," she fidgeted nervously as she collected her thoughts, a sharp contrast to the would-be seductress she''d been moments ago. "Well, the short version is I felt that my mother was overly demanding and her court was stifling. A while ago, I noticed that some of the sparks that were on the edge of waking up were drifting off across the world border, not something that they could normally do on their own. But they were attracted by their own instinct; a brief augury confirmed that it was no fairy trap that called to them. So I decided that was my path to freedom, but it wouldn''t work if I just looked like a sprite spark, I had to really be one. So I couldn''t know who I was. And, well, here we are, so clearly it worked. I just didn''t realize that the lesser version of myself was going to choose to bond to your dungeon."
He sighed and shook his head. "So, we now have the faerie princess equivalent of a rebellious teenager. Great."
Carmilla glowered at him. "I''m over a hundred years old."
"My point stands."
She didn''t have a response to that, and so waited in uncomfortable silence as Mordecai talked with his wives.
"Alright," he said, "we''ve decided on a plan. First, you have to make a choice. Rededicate yourself to the dungeon with your full faculties restored, or rescind your status as an inhabitant and become a guest. To not rededicate yourself is to choose to rescind, there is no option to not make a choice."
"I see," she replied, and he waited patiently while she thought about her options. Finally, she said, "First, I must apologize. I know enough about your nature that I should have realized my offer was inappropriate by your standards, and I will not try again. But I was not trying to manipulate you; the three of you are my chosen Lord and Ladies. I can''t help but want to serve each and all of you in such a capacity."
The faerie princess rose from her seat only to sink back down to her knees in front of him. "That said, I am capable of knowing what my boundaries are, and shall remain inside them. I have found more freedom here than I ever did in my mother''s court, while I get to enjoy being truly useful instead of having some meaningless, trivial duties thrust upon me. If you will have me with all my flaws, I, Princess Elara of the Silver Grove Court, do hereby dedicate and swear myself, under both my true name and the name of Carmilla, to serve to my fullest capacity the lord and ladies of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon; Lord Mordecai, Lady Kazue, and Lady Moriko."
That was the second dramatic oath spoke in front of him this evening, and this one held far more power. A faerie''s words could bind them through normal speech, for nobility to give an oath to a priest of Ozuran was, to his knowledge, unprecedented. And it had immediate consequences. Carmilla groaned and clutched her arms around her sides before collapsing to her side, her body convulsing with the power and bindings she''d just willfully inflicted upon herself.
"Foolish girl," Mordecai muttered as he knelt beside her and cradled her head. She''d given no limitations to her oath, she''d bound herself for life and there was no easy way for them to rescind it. There were other repercussions as well, an itching sensation that squirmed its way around the wetlands section of his dungeon. It took him several minutes to analyze it while Carmilla continued to shudder under the burden of her oath.
When he realized what it was, he swore repeatedly in every language he knew. Then he checked with Kazue and Moriko before laying their claim. "I, King Mordecai, on behalf of myself, Queen Kazue, and Queen Moriko, claim this domain as ours and name it the Azeria Court."
The itch went away as the faerie domain asserted itself throughout the wetlands. Only there was no way it was going to stay that limited, he could already feel it seeping outward. On the upside, this meant that the malleable geography of the Other Side was being changed to accommodate the growth of a new domain, and they didn''t have to worry about what was on the local Other Side, because they now were what was on the Other Side.
On the downside, this meant that their territory was going to straddle the two realms. Every point inside their domain now existed in both places simultaneously. This was going to screw with their borders when the domain reached them, but he had no idea what exactly it was going to do. And the repercussions did not end there.
211: Repercussions
Throughout the Azeria Mountain Dungeon and along many lines of connection rippled new power and potential.
Carmilla roused slowly from the aftermath of her oath and stretched happily as she felt a portion of her power as a princess return to her. She was in the domain that she now belonged to after all. Opening her eyes, she smiled at Mordecai''s concerned expression and opened her mouth to tease him.
The words tasted like ash in her mouth. The idea of flirting with him felt wrong.
Startled, she sat upright as she tried to figure out what had happened. It didn''t take her very long to realize what this unintended consequence was, and she hid her face in her hands. "Of course that would happen. If I''m the princess of a court with queens and a king, then I am at least their adoptive daughter." Mordecai started laughing softly, and Carmilla could hear Kazue trying to comfort her but the effort was ruined by how laughter leaked across even that mental voice. It didn''t help her feeling of embarrassment.
Throughout the dungeon, all of the fey inhabitants gained a small measure of power, which was amplified when also inside of the growing domain.
Fuyuko had been practicing in the arena to work off a bit of nervousness knowing what Mordecai and Shizoku were dealing with topside. A sudden shiver nearly made her drop her daggers and she looked around in confusion. She could tell something was different, but she couldn''t tell what and that made her nervous.
Moments later, Kazue spoke softly into her mind, "You can relax, nothing bad has happened, but I think your status as our ward is going to affect you a little. Um, we''ll talk more later, a lot is happening, but it''s fine. Really."
Somehow that was not comforting.
Shizoku had been making her way back down to the dungeon''s guest quarters when she noticed a faint luminance casting her shadow on a wall in front of her. She turned around with a frown only to find nothing behind her. Then she glanced down at the ground and found her shadow being cast forward again.
With trepidation, she drew one of her tails forward and stared in dumbfounded shock at the trickle of glowing white motes drifting from it.
Topside, Orchid had taken the opportunity to take a nighttime walk with her consort. She was rather enjoying the feeling of leaning against him as his fingers brushed through her hair, but then she felt him pull something free that she hadn''t realized was there. She turned to look at what he had in his hand only to stare in confusion at the white orchid in his hand. "That''s cute, learning some sleight of hand, love?"
Paltira shook his head. "No, this is from you." He reached over, plucked a rose from her hair, and gestured behind them. For the last several meters their trail was littered by a scattering of random flower petals.
In the Azeria forest, Norumi sighed at the sudden changes she felt. "Oh Father, what did you do this time?" The effect was unmistakable, she was somehow even more fey than her transformation had already made her, though in a purely additive fashion. She couldn''t see any immediate effects, but she felt somehow more solid and guessed that at the least she''d be able to make a corporeal body more easily. Possibly even sustain one for a while. Now that could be an interesting idea.
In Riverbridge Traxalim fought to retain his mortality. For an ancient, powerful elf priest even a small infusion of faerie essence could tilt that balance and now his grandfather was a Faerie King. The temporal order of events like this meant little to faerie logic, only the connections and relationships. He was able to maintain his grip on mortality, but a glance in the mirror revealed an elf that appeared to be no more than middle-aged. This left him with rather mixed feelings.
In an inn room on the coast of Kuiccihan, Moriko had been keeping Kazue and Ruby up to date on the unfolding events, minus some careful edits regarding the statues and the border, when Carmilla swore her oath. Shortly after that, Mordecai laid claim to the new domain on their behalf. Titles that carried Power claimed Kazue and Moriko, and the two newly crowned Faerie Queens were briefly lit by bolts of power that shattered their chairs and scorched the floor around them. The two kneeling women gasped to catch their breath before they carefully rose to their feet.
"What happened?" Kazue asked.
Moriko sighed as she answered, "Mordecai says our new status carries its own power. It doesn''t have as much impact on him as he was already used to it, but it might take a while for us to deal with more than the side effects, whatever they might be."
"Well," Ruby said, "that would certainly explain those." She pointed at Kazue''s back.
The kitsune twisted about futilely to see what was on her back until Moriko grabbed her by the shoulders and brought her to the mirror so she could see what was there from the side. Kazue gaped at her new faerie wings for a moment before whispering, "Oh, they are so beautiful." She shook herself out of her trance to start examining Moriko. "I don''t see anything different about you. Well, maybe you are a bit taller?"
"Look down," Ruby told them.
Moriko wasn''t any taller. She just wasn''t standing on the ground. Her feet were floating a couple of inches above the ground.
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After several minutes of effort, Moriko managed to make her feet stay on the ground properly, but it took a little bit of continual effort to not start drifting again. With that settled, she looked at Kazue and said, "Mordecai has also noticed that there seem to be visual cues of fey bloodline amongst his descendants."
"Oh," Kazue replied, and then the two of them turned toward Ruby. "Um, you should probably deactivate your ring."
Ruby narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why would this have anything to do with me?"
"Well," Kazue said, "I think this secret is as good as dead, so we might as well tell you now. Queen Norumi, founding mother of both the Apifera bloodline and the Azeria clan matriarchy, is Mordecai''s daughter."
There was silence for a few moments as the woman processed this news. Princess Bridgette pulled off her disguise ring and began hastily looking herself over. "Did something happen? Did I change? I don''t see anything."
"Your hair," Moriko said.
Bridgette drew a lock of her hair forward and examined the flowing, currently heatless green and red flames that coated the strands. The bits of fire that flickered off of the flames now often had distinctive leaf shapes, whether they were red or green. "That''s sort of scary, but I have to admit that it looks fabulous." She got up from her chair to look at herself in the mirror too, turning from side to side to examine the way her hair moved and shifted. "I think it''s longer too, but the ends now float more so it''s hard to tell."
Kazue glanced at Moriko with amusement. "Do you think we need to give her some alone time with her reflection?"
"Hah, you''re one to talk, you were just as fascinated with your wings," Moriko replied.
"I admit to no such thing," Kazue said. "Oh, and you are floating again."
They spent some time getting used to their new changes, but eventually, Bridgette turned her mind to the mystery that had just been presented to her. "So, how do you two know about this, and did you say ''is'' when talking about Queen Norumi?"
Kazue pursed her lips thoughtfully. "That''s complicated and involves other people''s secrets. Hmm, I wonder how good your privacy gem is. There''s someone I''d like to sort of call upon, but I don''t know if I am going to need you to turn it off for a bit to do so."
"It''s not that good, at least, not when I focus my attention on the area," said the young woman with wildly colored hair who was suddenly sitting on the bed as if she''d been there all along.
Bridgette yelped in surprise and barely kept herself from throwing a bolt of fire at the woman. "Who are you? And why aren''t you two surprised?"
"Well," Moriko said, "this is the person Kazue was talking about. So, I am guessing that you turned your attention toward Bridgette when the rest of her family started having something happen?"
"Yes, and please, make introductions. There''s no point in keeping the secret from the rest of the family now, and I''ve already let the secret keepers know that their oaths no longer bind them when talking to the royal family."
Kazue nodded. "Princess Bridgette, I would like you to meet Kuiccihan. Lady Kuiccihan, I believe you have been familiar with Princess Bridgette since she was born."
The princess sat back down with a thump.
"Yes, I am," Kuiccihan said. "To answer your questions, they know because Mordecai figured out that they were sharing borders with a dungeon, namely, myself. So that made it time to have a little chat. And that talk included another, Mordecai''s daughter Norumi. You might also know of her as the Azeria Forest Spirit. Oh, and the Guardian Spirit is King Haolong. Well, former king, they both go by just their names now."
While Bridgette processed this information dump, Moriko asked, "So what is the plan from here? I take it the whole truth isn''t going to be announced tomorrow morning or anything."
"No," Kuiccihan replied, "for now the extended family is going to be brought in on at least the bloodline part, and the royal family will be told the whole thing. This should coordinate minimizing the impact of these sudden signs. But other people are having random changes and there is no way to keep the secret indefinitely anymore. I''m not sure what our next step is going to be, but it would help if I knew what in all the heavens and hells happened in your dungeon tonight and what it has to do with Queen Sylphine''s visit?"
"Well, she was there because it turns out her daughter had been hiding among our fairies," Kazue said. "Skipping the details, Mordecai asked her to confirm her decision to continue as our inhabitant and floor boss, or she otherwise would become our guest. She took things a step further and swore an oath instead. Mordecai''s avatar includes faerie bloodlines, and he had used a bit of that potential when he was letting her know how upset he was. Well, the way she did it basically made him her king and us her queens. The Azeria Mountain Dungeon is now also the Azeria Court."
Kuiccihan spent the next several minutes using every curse word she could remember, and she had quite an impressive vocabulary. After she wound down and caught her breath, she complained, "I can''t believe I''m going to be sharing my border with a Faerie Court. I like playing with a faerie avatar, but I don''t want to be that involved with them. Oh no, I just realized that the royal family could found a court in the capital if the entire bloodline is now fae. Wait, no, it''s my territory. It only happened to you guys because Mordecai was on both sides of the equation. Okay, I''ll want to put some protections in place to be sure, but it looks pretty unlikely as long as I don''t allow it." She sighed and shook her head. "I''m talking with too many people about the same topic at the same time. It''s hard to keep the conversations straight. I''m just going to go now, thanks, sorry, and whatever else should be appropriate right now, too much to do."
And with that, she was simply gone.
"My kingdom is a dungeon. Queen Norumi and King Haolong are still alive but have given up their titles. This has been some sort of conspiracy from the founding, hasn''t it? Does this have something to do with the marks?"
Moriko and Kazue spent the next few hours filling her in.
Not everyone descended from Mordecai had some form of awakening, the stronger the bloodline was and the closer they were connected to the source the more likely they were to awaken. But that was not the only path.
Power calls to power. The form of the power did not matter, so long as it was their own. Warriors, monks, wizards, priests, and others like them were the ones to feel their bloodline suddenly become fae-touched. The quiet life of a farmer or merchant did not quicken that inheritance.
Outside of this local concentration in Kuiccihan, the awakenings would be few and far between, but they were scattered across the entire world.
Far from the realm of mortals, at the junction of dreams, shadows, and reflections, a god helplessly watched as the tapestry of the world rewove itself. Until the ripples of this moment settled out, even Ozuran''s limited view of future probabilities was effectively blinded on this planet.
All because a faerie princess happened to run away from home when Li was visiting the Azeria Mountain Dungeon.
212: Imagine Dungeon
The day after Carmilla''s true self was revealed and all faerie broke loose through the dungeon, Fuyuko began her training in her room. Kazue had not explained exactly what was going on, just that Fuyuko was going to want the privacy. Once she had returned to her room after breakfast, she let Kazue know that she was ready.
The illusion platform flicked to life with Kazue''s image. "Alright, this training requires a bit of background," she began. "The first thing that you need to know is that a shapeshifter with potential fine control over her form can influence her own growth, which we believe you have done accidentally. There''s some speculation involved, but it seems to fit what we know about you."
"Okay," Fuyuko said, uncertain how this was going to relate to training.
Kazue took an unneeded deep breath before her illusion continued, "Here''s what we think happened. You were in a stressful situation and didn''t want to grow up in order to stay safe, and then you had your first blood. This increased your stress about growing up but also mentally added your cycle to your image of who you were. And you believed that you were supposed to get taller so that still happened despite girls usually not growing much after their first blood. But your desire to remain seen as a child suppressed other traits of growing up. Are you with me so far?"
After a moment of thinking, Fuyuko nodded, though she wasn''t entirely comfortable with where this seemed to be going.
"Good. If that''s what you''ve done subconsciously, then with conscious effort not only can you undo it, you can sculpt your body as you continue to mature." Kazue grinned at her. "And I think we know exactly what you want."
"I can? You do?" Fuyuko asked, trying to get a grip on this idea.
"Yes. It requires both fine control over your shape-shifting, which I lacked when I was younger, and a certain amount of dedication to this specific effect. For example, Shizoku could be training her body to grow taller, but the amount of mental effort involved would take away from developing her magical skills. Plus, I think she likes that Derek is going to be taller than her so she has even less motivation now. For you, the training meshes with your physical training as it involves awareness of your body. And you seemed very envious of this form." Kazue''s image shrank to make room for a new illusion.
It was of Fuyuko, though not as she was now. This version was older, a little taller, and with a figure that was a close match to the one Mordecai''s elven shape had. Fuyuko could see why this training wanted to be in private, especially with how little clothing the image had. "You''re sayin'' that I can look like that?"
"Yep!" Kazue beamed at her. "I tweaked the base design a little to trim down. Mordecai''s form was built not only to be athletic but to entertain via her dancing. And, well, trust me when I say that while they might be nice to look at, these things get in the way. A lot. And you have a talent for stealth. So unless you are planning on adding seductress to your repertoire, I thought fitting into tight spaces might be a higher priority."
Seductress? Eww, no. She wanted to be pretty like that, but she didn''t want to show off. Or, well, not like that at least. "Um, that seems like it might be interesting, but what does this trainin'' involve?" Fuyuko asked as much to ignore the confusion her conflict stirred up as to get the training started.
"Well," Kazue replied, "we''re going to want to go through this form in detail to make sure that it''s everything you want. Once we do that, I will create several holograms in different poses so that you have images to focus and meditate on. To secure privacy, the gemstone that will create these images will only work in your room, with the door closed, and while you are alone. Once we have the images, you get to start image training. There are two parts to this: One is just meditating on the form you want, so you sit here alone and do that. I''m not great at meditation myself, but I can guide you through the basics. Mordecai could teach you of course, but I think on this subject you''d rather not have him directly involved."
It took Fuyuko a moment to think about it, and then she abruptly shook her head and looked down at her lap, her hair falling down to hide her face. "No," she muttered, "I mean, I know he wouldn''t care or anythin'', but, just, no. That would be too embarrasin''." Given how hot her ears were feeling, she was pretty certain they''d be turning as red as her cheeks. The idea of any guy seeing those images made her want to sink into the floor.
"That''s what I thought," Kazue said with a gentle smile. "Well, when we''re done here, you are going to go meet Mordecai in the arena. We''ll need to discuss another matter together, and after that, you can work on the next part. He''ll go into the details, but you will need to try and hold the image in your head while you are doing other stuff, especially while you are practicing your shape-shifting."
"Alright," Fuyuko said as she pulled her thoughts together, "so I meditate to get the image, then I practice while trying ta hold the image. And that part is also going ta be my other training."
"Right. Now the first question is, do you want to develop a tail in your base form? It''s needed for balance when you become more wolf-like, but I am not sure how much it would help you outside of that. And unlike kitsune, you don''t have power associated with your tail."
Fuyuko hadn''t considered that as a possibility. She remembered her father had one, mostly because she had a hazy memory of grabbing it once when she was younger and how it made him yelp. She couldn''t remember if her mother didn''t have one or was just better at keeping her tail out of the reach of a little kid. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like it could be inconvenient most of the time, and she''d have to relearn her sense of balance. "Nah, I don''t think so."
Kazue nodded. "Okay, well, let''s get into the details then. And remember, this is a long-term process. The only visible difference between this and just growing up is that you get to influence the results." The two of them spent over an hour comparing and contrasting every bit of difference between Fuyuko and the image of what she could be, right down to examining every difference in muscle tone and bulk, and for the most part, she was happy with what Kazue had constructed.
Once they agreed on the final changes, Fuyuko spent until lunch time practicing meditation. After lunch, she went out to the Arena to find Mordecai. On her way, she passed by Bellona overseeing marching drills with the kobolds and the bunkin. The kobolds were spread out through the bunkin formations; Bellona said this was to keep them from learning bad habits from each other. Fuyuko could attest that the kobold warriors were good at fighting, better than her at least, but they seemed to not be very good at soldiering, and Bellona wanted them to learn that too.
For the most part, Mordecai and Kazue seemed to have turned that sort of training over to Bellona. Not that the orc champion was lacking in the warrior department either. Fuyuko grimaced as she remembered their last sparring session. Being taller did not mean being stronger, and that woman hit like a flying boulder. Lesson learned: do not try to parry even a wooden axe when wielded by someone like that. Deflecting only worked if she was mostly out of the way first, and blocking had no chance of working, not even with both daggers. Fuyuko had broken an arm trying and Bellona had cursed her out for being an idiot even while healing the arm. Hearing insults mixed into a healing prayer was a new experience at least.
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Shaking off the thought, she finished making her way to where Mordecai waited. "Hello. Um, Kazue said you had something to talk about before training?"
He nodded and said, "Yes. Well, a few things really. The first is to resolve something I had intended to wait on until you had more time to get to know Deidre. I know what I did to capture her didn''t sit well with you, nor should it have. So I''d like to start with asking you how Deidre seems to be taking it, and how you feel about the situation now."
Fuyuko frowned as she thought about it. That was one lesson that Mordecai had taught her early; if she had time to think about an answer to a difficult or important question, she should take that time. After a while she said, "Deidre seems sort of content, I think. At least, she doesn''t seem ta be mad at you. She was upset at first because it was like when her core was enslaved, so of course she reacted badly. And it had ta have hurt. But she doesn''t really want to work for the Puritasi, she knows there was no other way ta stop her, and ya only did what you had to ta make sure she couldn''t hurt anyone. As fer how I feel," she took a deep breathe before she continued, "thinking about it still makes me a little sick. It was horrible to see and hear. But I also know you didn''t do it to be mean. It was a bad choice, but all the other choices were worse. So, I''m not upset with you anymore, and I''m sorry I was to begin with."
Mordecai drew her down for a brief hug. "Thank you, and you have nothing to be sorry about. Your reaction was the correct reaction to have. You don''t ever have to be sorry for being upset over something like that." He stepped back with a smile. "I needed to make sure there were no bad feelings before this next part." Two illusions appeared on either side of him. One was of Kazue, only she had wings like a pixie but larger. The other one was Moriko, but where Kazue''s illusion was standing on the ground, Moriko''s image looked like she was floating.
"Thanks to the events of last night, I now also bear the unfortunate title of Faerie King, with Moriko and Kazue gaining the title of Faerie Queen. These are the changes wrought on our true forms." He pointed briefly at his eyes, drawing her attention to their color. While most of his iris was still gold, it had an outer ring of emerald green and an inner ring of ruby red. "Thanks to what passes for logic when it comes to faerie magic, this has spread out and impacted those with close enough connections to us, especially to my descendants. After all, the descendants of a faerie king are clearly fey-touched people at the least. Never mind the little matter of when he became a faerie king."
He sighed and shook his head. "I''m just hoping it doesn''t backtrack up to parents. Akahana will kill me if she''s sprouted vines or something. Anyway, as our contractor, you are now a faerie knight, which is a type of mortal servant to a Faerie King or Queen. This doesn''t affect you much immediately, but it does mark you for those who can tell and it can act as a boon under the right circumstances. You can also build that power. But there''s another option." He paused and waited.
Fuyuko took that time to process what he''d just said. Being a faerie knight sounded kind of badass, but faeries were supposed to be all sorts of trouble. Of course, if you were already on their team, maybe it wouldn''t be as bad. Wait. "Does this mean I have to start calling you ''Your Majesty'' and stuff?"
He shook his head. "No, I don''t want to deal with that any more than I have to. And thankfully faerie protocol is a bit different, Lord and Lady can be used even for Kings and Queens in most circumstances. That sort of also brings up what we wanted to ask you. I may not have wanted this power, but I will at least take advantage of what is available to me, and I would like to share a portion of it, if you want. We can make you more than a Faerie Knight, but this would be a lot less revocable if you changed your mind. The three of us could adopt you."
She froze at the thought. Initially, it was from shock at the idea of being completely adopted by them instead of being their ward. Then she realized the implications. Eventually, she managed to choke out, "I''d be a Faerie Princess?!"
"Exactly," he replied. "Which, to be clear, would come with its own side effects as well as perks. The most obvious drawback is losing the ability to lie. Clever wording can work around that, but only to an extent. You would also need to be very careful about promises and oaths. On the plus side, as this will involve deliberation and I can prepare, I should be able to tweak your manifestation of power to suit you. Oh, and one more thing you should be aware of; thanks to Carmilla''s oath that thrust this domain onto us, she also made the faerie magic decide that she was our adoptive daughter. If you accept being adopted, you get her as an adoptive sister."
Fuyuko didn''t like lying much anyway, so the first part didn''t seem like a really big loss. Thinking of Carmilla as a sister on the other hand, well, that was a weird idea. "Ya aren''t hard-sellin'' the idea here," Fuyuko said.
"Aside from not wanting to pressure you in general, it''s important that you only do this if you want to," he replied. "So I am making sure you know what you might be walking into. I don''t want there to be any regrets. You are old enough that without something specific for you to gain from being adopted, having you as our ward provides as much as being adopted. But title inheritance needs adoption, both in mortal law and faerie law."
A thought occurred to her and Fuyuko asked, "Wait, so, ya have ta tell the truth all the time now too?"
Mordecai sighed at that. "Unfortunately, yes. I can be tricky with wording, but as a priest of Ozuran, that is not something I should do unless it is truly needed, not just because I want to wiggle out of something. I am not, however, required to answer a given question if I don''t want to."
"How do all the little fairies get away with telling all those stories as if they were all true then?"
He smiled and replied, "Their grasp on reality is a bit loose. At the time they are telling a story, they believe it to be true. It is the truth as you know and understand it, not universal and objective truth."
That was sort of weird, but that also sounded a lot like Li. She suppressed a giggle at that thought, then grew more somber as she considered the offer in front of her once more. "I think I am going to accept, but, I want to know something else. What do you think the chances are that the Puritasi are involved in what happened to my parents?"
Mordecai considered the question for a moment. "It is possible; your heritage is something that they would dislike, but I don''t know enough to rule out other possibilities. I think I have a feeling for where this question leads. Fuyuko, I don''t have any issue with well-deserved vengeance, but at the same time, I am an example of how much a consuming vengeance can lead you astray. If you want to use this as an opportunity to find your parents'' killers and deal with them, I will help only within reason. I do not want to see my mistakes repeated, even if at a smaller scale."
She frowned at that, it wasn''t exactly what she''d wanted to hear, though she supposed his response was sort of dad-like. If she took this offer, he would become her adoptive father, so that might be appropriate. "I am guessing that as my king and adoptive father, you''d have the ability ta rein me in if ya thought ya needed to." He nodded a confirmation and she chewed on that thought for a bit more. Finally, she asked in a soft voice, "So, truth-bound Fairy-King, how do ya feel about me?" Asking that made her nervous, but she felt it was an important question.
Mordecai looked pleased as he responded, "A wise question, and a layered answer. When you first arrived here, I cared simply because of your situation and I was willing to help because you were in need. I started to get to know you when we walked down the path together, and the more I have learned the more I like you. I care for you and feel a strong fatherly affection. The line between affection and familial love is a blurry one, so I am not going to try to define anything more detailed than that. However, I only see my affection for you growing in the future. "
Kazue''s voice spoke inside Fuyuko''s mind, "I feel the same way, though I think of you more sisterly than maternally. But I want to protect you and help you and be there for you the same way. Um, Moriko can''t really say that, since you guys haven''t met yet, but she says she likes what we''ve told her about you and she wants to add you to her collection of younger siblings."
Oh yeah, she''d met two of Moriko''s siblings. And she''d really liked her parents too. Fuyuko felt an urge to cry at the sudden welling of emotions and she forced it down, managing to just sniff once before she said, "Yeah, well, I like you guys too." She cleared her throat and asked, "So, what do we have to do to make this happen?"
213: A Busy Day
Mordecai watched Fuyuko closely as she thought about the offer. He wasn''t terribly happy about her consideration of vengeance but that was mostly a practical matter. The trail was very cold and even with scrying magic it would be difficult to find a starting point.
However, he was pleased that she was thinking about her options, and at least she didn''t seem overly focused on the idea of finding her parent''s killers. Fuyuko was beginning to understand that she was on the path to wielding real power, which meant there were options available to her that were not there before.
Then she asked, "So, what do we have to do to make this happen?"
He smiled as he answered, "First you should decide where you want to focus any manifestations of power. The easiest three concepts for you are Oni, Wolf, and Shadow."
Fuyuko cocked her head to the side before asking, "What would be the difference? And what if I didn''t want one of those?"
"Well," he replied, "faerie magic is always a bit unpredictable, especially when it comes to manifestations of power. Focusing on your oni heritage would likely manifest as increased strength and durability, maybe as a general increase or possibly as a way to boost your strength greatly for short bursts. A focus on your lycan heritage might help with your shape-shifting and might enable you to communicate with or command normal wolves. A shadow focus will undoubtedly help with stealth and manipulating shadow, but it might also have the most uncanny visual side effects. All of them will have some side effects. As for other options, you can tell me if you want something specific, but the results will be more unpredictable."
She shook her head. "Nah, I think I get it. Um, being stronger would be nice, and wolf powers would be neat, but I think shadow might be best. Ya already had me training with stuff like that. And I think it might get me what I want the most too."
"Which is?"
"Ta be useful. Ya already got strong people and magic people, if you need to have someone do something for ya, I''m the only sneaky person you have other than your dungeon folk, and they have jobs." There was a moment of silence before she sighed and admitted, "And yeah, if I get a chance, it seems my best shot at getting vengeance, but I promise, I am not putting that ahead of keepin'' people safe and getting things done."
Mordecai agreed with her reasoning as to which powers might be more useful for her, and he was content with her answer regarding vengeance. "Very well. Fuyuko, on behalf of myself, Queen Kazue, and Queen Moriko, I extend an offer to adopt you as Our daughter and make you a princess of Our realm. Do you accept us as your adoptive father and mothers?" He made sure to slightly manipulate the illusions he was controlling to look directly at Fuyuko, it was important that she felt the weight of her decision.
Fuyuko went down to one knee in a passing imitation of a knight kneeling in front of royalty. "I accept your offer, and pledge myself to be Your loyal daughter and princess of Your realm."
Her kneeling position made it easy for him to step forward and hug her close as he whispered, "Welcome to our family."
The girl gasped and clutched at him as power shivered through her body. It took only a moment for the sensation to pass and he helped her back to her feet when she recovered. Fuyuko started looking herself over. "Um, did anything change?"
"A little, yes," he replied. "Your shadow isn''t copying your motions exactly, and most shadows near you are bending a little toward you." His own was an exception of course. "Now, let''s get some training in, and see if we can''t figure out what you can do."
They spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting and discovered at least the start of her abilities. Fuyuko could, with effort, draw shadows she was standing in more tightly around her, rendering them darker and helping to obscure her. Additionally, she could make shadows cling to a target she touched or struck with her hand or a weapon. At the moment it was only a light haze, but with training, it might be able to blind a foe.
After dinner, Mordecai suggested she practice her image training more, and then he asked Derek to take a walk with him. The boy looked a little nervous at this, which wasn''t much of a surprise, but he wasn''t in trouble. "Derek," Mordecai began, "yesterday, Shizoku was cornered by our visitor and found herself needing to openly declare her feelings and intentions, regarding you." Derek''s eyes went wide but Mordecai continued before the young man could say anything, "I''m not going to repeat what she said, and I don''t suggest you say anything to her about it, but I think it''s fair to say she seems pretty set on the idea of keeping you around. Which is why I am giving you this."
He handed Derek a small pouch and said, "You''ll find a list with the names of some tattoo artists who know how to enchant their work and are recommended by Moriko, along with enough coin to pay for a long-term protective tattoo. The sort that should last about five years or more."
Derek blushed and coughed. "Er, I don''t think I exactly need that right now, sir."
"No, but it''s not for right now. It''s for if you are fifteen or sixteen and the two of you get carried away. I''m not saying you shouldn''t talk to your parents first either, but I want to make sure you have this money dedicated to getting a tattoo, so there''s no guilt about using money that you could give to your family." From what Mordecai had learned, Derek''s family was a little on the poor side, enough so that even with his recent influx of wealth earned from the delve they might tend to save instead of spend on something like this. "I understand that the Azeria clan rarely uses them even for teens, so it''s on you to make sure there are no consequences until you are ready for them."
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The boy scratched the back of his neck and looked down. "I guess you might be right."
Mordecai considered Derek for a moment longer before deciding that this would have to do. Derek was more than capable of standing up to Shizoku when he felt it important, but Mordecai was pretty certain that this was a topic where the kitsune would have the last word. Though hopefully not for many years, that girl had issues to work out. "Alright, well, let''s head back. Both of you are heading out tomorrow and won''t see each other for a little while, I am sure you won''t mind a bit more time together."
And that was the last of the situations he needed to take care of. The recent events were providing a never-ending source of headaches. Both of them had been splitting their attention across multiple tasks and there were a few things that required some ongoing monitoring, but most of the prisoners had been securely transferred and there seemed little cause to worry about Deidre now.
Orchid and Paltira would be heading out tomorrow as well, leaving Kansif behind as a trainer for Fuyuko''s shifting abilities, though he was going to see if Kansif would be willing to take on a few other special trainees too. He was pretty certain the princess was in a rush to leave because she didn''t want to get caught up in the diplomatic paperwork involved with the Azeria Mountain Dungeon also being the Azeria Court. Mordecai couldn''t blame her, he didn''t want to deal with it either.
Now, finally, their new bosses could be done. They''d had to keep the new zone blocked off as neither of them had been able to devote the attention that it needed. This zone did not lead toward the core, so blocking it off brought no issues for them.
The first two of the three new bosses were going to be their ursaviane friends that Bellona had brought with her. "Hey love, what do you think of the names Owlbert and Owliver?" he asked Kazue.
"I think you are an awful and horrible man with terrible naming sense," she replied. Kazue''s delivery of that statement was ruined by the ongoing mental giggle fit he''d just given her.
"I''ll take that as a ''yes'' for their names then." Mordecai nudged the two to make their way on up while he prepared their new abilities. The pair were still young but growing fast, and he had nudged their growth rate a little as well, but he didn''t make any major changes to their forms other than making it comfortable to stand on their back legs for extended periods.
The first ability he designed required them to take a low stance. From this stance, they could stomp on the ground to create a local earthquake. This effect would be amplified if they were together and could coordinate their attacks.
Additionally, Mordecai gave them a mild petrification effect to all their physical attacks. It was incredibly unlikely that anyone was going to suffer significantly from that before falling to an ursaviane''s claws and beaks, but anyone unable to resist the magic would find their bodies slowly growing stiff and their skin brittle with accumulated hits. He did add a restriction that all effects would fade within an hour of the last strike received.
As a final touch, Mordecai imparted a small selection of his martial knowledge; specifically, some open palm strikes and grappling moves suitable to the low stance and the impression of how to manipulate chi to fling stones with a gesture. Naturally, they needed to be equipped properly for their new fighting style, so he provided the silken loincloths with thick belts associated with this particular style of wrestling, called mawashi. These he created as loot and gave them basic strength and athletic-enhancing enchantments.
For the floor''s third boss, he decided to go with an earth drake. It wasn''t hard to find a burrowing lizard that was responsive to the concept, and soon the dungeon had a new earth-swimming inhabitant named Amber. She didn''t have Enki''s ability to move through worked stone, but natural earth and stone might as well be water for her. She had obsidian-like teeth and claws and could spit both blunt and sharp rocks at will. She lacked the ability to spray them over an area like a dragon''s breath weapon, but she could at least attack at range as needed. Amber also had some limited ability to shape and sculpt natural earth and stone around her.
With the three bosses established, Mordecai double-checked that the layer of living crystal would dampen any effects and prevent quakes from spreading too far. While he was doing so he received a mental nudge from Zushi. As their first boss and their first raid boss, the void bunny saw it as his duty to check in on all the new bosses that were assigned. And it seemed that the great Zushi was feeling a bit jealous this time.
Mordecai considered the mental image of Zushi standing up and wearing the same loincloth as the ursavianes but with the belt made out of gold instead. "A little ostentatious, don''t you think?" Mordecai sent, amused. Though he did wish Zushi would talk more often; unfortunately while Zushi''s voice was deep it was also very soft, almost like he was whispering, and the raid boss was a bit embarrassed by it. One''s mental voice tended to default to one''s real voice as well, though with experience and concentration, one could temporarily change that. Zushi''s refusal to speak even mentally meant he wasn''t getting that experience.
"Fine, you can already do most of their moves through a different method, so changing up your style won''t be a power increase, and you haven''t pushed yourself since we claimed the new zone so we should have some flexibility."
While he was considering the redesign, Kazue added, "You better keep him cute looking! Zushi has to remain cute!"
This was enough to catch Moriko''s attention. "Wait, what are you guys doing? What''s happening with my Fluff-ball?"
"Calm down," Mordecai replied, "I think that I have a solution that will suit everyone." Though he was amused by Moriko''s nickname for Zushi. The woman usually didn''t like admitting how much she loved cute creatures, but Kazue''s rabbits were what had lured her to the dungeon in the first place.
It didn''t take long to implement his plan. Bipedal forms for animals that could already stand on their back legs usually weren''t too hard; Mordecai mostly wanted to make sure everything would be healthy and comfortable in the long run for Zushi. The hardest part was designing all the joints so that Zushi could crouch or stand with equal ease.
Zushi already had the ability to create tremors when he hopped, so adding that to a stomp wasn''t difficult. Nor was tweaking his void ability so that he could throw random items from his collection in imitation of the ursaviane''s ability to control small rocks. The petrification ability didn''t match Zushi''s theme at all so Mordecai didn''t even try to mimic it. Just giving Zushi the ability to give foes a bear hug was terrifying enough.
As for Zushi''s mawashi, Mordecai decided to go all in and made it out of the shiniest golden silk the dungeon could manage. The outer surface of the belt section was studded with a rainbow selection of tiny gemstones chosen for their color and refractive qualities rather than rarity. Each of the tassels hanging from the belt also ended in a larger glittering gemstone carved into the shape of a rose. Naturally, it had a significantly stronger version of the enchantment that the other mawashi had. It was almost as strong as the gaudiness implied, and the enchantment would get stronger as the dungeon grew.
"Okay," Kazue said, "he''s still adorable, but that belt is a hideous abomination and I think I love it."
214: Rock and Stone
After he was done with Zushi, Mordecai took a break until after dawn, as he wanted to check in with Moriko and he tended to get very focused while working on the dungeon; he didn''t want to let it slip his mind. During that break, he did the next best thing to giving Kazue the cuddles she craved, and that was to settle down with their core in his avatar''s lap. He gently stroked across the gold surface of her portion of the core, humming softly to her as the hours passed.
Eventually, the sun rose and Mordecai sent his thoughts to their wife, "Hey love, how is everything going there?"
Moriko sounded amused in her reply, "Kazue is still having trouble with her wings. We''re probably going to spend another day here while she practices shifting them away and back smoothly. It''s too bad you aren''t here to watch, she''s doing most of it half-naked."
That did sound like a rather entertaining show. Kazue''s avatar had been forced to shift into her fox form to get her dress back off after her wings had manifested, and even that had taken a bit of focus. Shape changing generally made your clothing adapt to your new form, but it did not make the clothing compatible with taking it on or off in the new form, and her dress had not been designed with wings in mind. And even that fox form still had faerie wings; Kazue had to deliberately not let the dress change with her for that trick to work.
"I''ll just have to make her demonstrate when you guys get back here," Mordecai said. "I love you both, and I''m looking forward to seeing you again."
"And," Kazue''s core interjected, "I''m looking forward to having a body again so I can have my way with both of you."
"Promises, promises," Moriko teased Kazue, "I still amuse myself by making your other self turn a beautiful shade of red."
After several more minutes of banter with his wives, Mordecai turned his attention back to their earth-themed zone. The constant influx of mana from having two regulated streams of delvers gave them a fair amount of luxury in how they spent their mana, but they also spent far more mana per zone than a simpler design would cost. He couldn''t exactly complain about that, it was the complex design that allowed them the greater number of delvers. Well, that and being on friendly terms with a nearby stable kingdom. It took a certain amount of luxury time for most people to make the initial foray into delving even the entrance zone of a dungeon. Bad times with local kingdoms had usually meant more in the way of marauders than proper delvers. He had rather deliberately eliminated more than a few groups like that, especially if they were stupid enough to talk about their outside activities while inside his territory. But it was best to not dwell on that part of the past.
The first thing he did to set up the zone was to create sections of malleable shape but consistent areas. Under these divisions, he created a viscous substrate that would act much like magma, though without the heat, and set it to perpetually stir and flow in ever-changing patterns. The sections wouldn''t move fast, but the entire zone would be constantly shifting and moving about into random configurations. Enchanting the sections to make their shape malleable made sure that they moved around each other instead of pressure pushing them up or pulling them down, and it made the shape of each zone difficult to predict.
Now that he had his mini-zones, Mordecai started creating terrain for each one. Hard-packed earth. Solid stone. Loose and slippery shale with sharp edges. Shifting desert sands. Thick and viscous mud. unsettled gravel. Flat, hard stone. Shards of obsidian. Different variations of rich earth for growing vegetation.
Given the constant upward climb one had to make, these terrains made for a variable challenge all by themselves. Adding miniature biomes to the sections that could support them only made those areas more difficult as Mordecai made sure those sections grew thickly, forcing one to make their own path.
Once he was satisfied with the basic setup, he started creating variations in the terrain. If one did not watch their step they could find themselves stepping into a hole or tripping over a slight rise, and always going uphill could lead one astray if a small hill rose to the side of your intended path.
The final touch to the environment was to add a constant dust storm. Nothing too harsh or abrasive, but enough to obscure vision. Small objects and creatures were practically invisible fifty feet away, and even a building was completely obscured less than a hundred feet away.
Mordecai had considered having at least slow lava flows with thick crusts, but that was far too dangerous for the level of challenge that was supposed to be represented. Even a silt river would be a bit much. Especially given the creatures he was making for this challenge.
He started with a variety of burrowing animals, such as rabbits, foxes, squirrels, and even some small owls. For all of them he infused them with earth essence and enhanced their ability to burrow to supernatural levels, though this left disturbed ground rather than passing through without a mark like Amber could. All of these he made sure were hard and dense enough that flinging themselves at a foe was a viable attack. On top of that, they could all camouflage themselves against earth and stone when not moving.
For the rabbits he added a smaller version of the earthquake attack that Owlbert and Owliver had. The owls retained the ability to fly and could fling quills like they were rocky darts. The squirrels could generate and throw stones with the same force that a human could throw a stone with a sling. The foxes he made faster and a little bigger, enhancing their bite.
Mordecai also went the opposite direction for a few rabbits and gave them the ability to transform into small whirlwinds of dust and sand. The dust bunnies didn''t do as much damage as their cousins, but they made it even more difficult to see and were difficult to damage in their dust-devil form.
After that, he enhanced some venomous snakes that had been in their recently claimed hunting grounds, making them into stealthy vipers with venom that inflicted limited petrification.
To a certain extent, all of these were dangerous skirmishers. Mordecai also needed some front-line melee, and for that role he recruited badgers. While they had the same burrowing and camouflage abilities as the others, their primary power came from simply making them bigger and reinforcing both their claws and their thick fur coat with iron, making a form of organic steel. Badgers could already be surprisingly dangerous animals, making them larger and tougher made them suitable challenges for moderately experienced warriors. In a solo fight, he would expect Fuyuko to currently be able to beat a single one, maybe even two, though she''d hardly be able to come out unscathed.
As a final ambusher, he took some of the tiny constrictors that would normally be too small to be a threat to even a child and enhanced them into powerful stone pythons. In solo fights where they got to ambush a foe they were at least as dangerous as the badgers, but they were far less effective in stand-up fights. They could also make a nasty surprise in the middle of a battle.
For rewards, he gave all the earth-enhanced creatures here small gems in the center of their foreheads. A straightforward reward, but fairly appropriate. Fancier rewards would require defeating the zone bosses.
When he was satisfied with his work, Mordecai simply set them out to make their homes where they liked in the zone. The bunkin troops were more dangerous combatants than these inhabitants, but for some groups, the issues with the terrain would make this a more difficult zone to cover, and he was rather pleased with this variety in challenges. He''d give them until tomorrow morning to settle in before opening up the zone, and even then he was going to limit this part of the zone to two delves a day for a while. While there were several types of inhabitants, some of them were relatively small in numbers. He was hoping that they would be able to recruit more the next time they expanded outward past the current hunting grounds.
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"Your turn love," he said to Kazue.
"I''ll take care of it shortly," she replied, "if you can take care of something for me. We''ve got even more visitors. Can you take care of these guys?"
The visitors in question were a troop of a hundred soldiers from Kuiccihan along with their commander and some support staff. Bellona had passed on a message that they were coming but Mordecai had not been expecting them for a couple more weeks. Kazue had a buzzkin leading them to a potential campsite well to the side of the trading post, so Mordecai sent his avatar there to meet them and take over.
After Mordecai and Captain Thomas Nozin were introduced to each other by the buzzkin, Mordecai asked, "How did you and your troops get here so fast?"
Captain Nozin replied, "Three court mages set up a transport circle. It took most of a day to get everyone formed up and through the portal for the time it was up. They were a little off and we were closer to Riverbridge than they were aiming for, or we would have gotten here yesterday."
Not exactly a cheap method, but for this many troops it was probably more efficient than the transport ships they''d needed for the prisoners. Most transport spells were unreliable with unwilling targets. "Well, we weren''t expecting you so fast, so we''ll need to ask you to set up camp for now. We''re trying to make all the buildings out here from harvested materials instead of mana-crafted. Though come to think of it, we still haven''t done anything with the feast hall we had to make in a hurry, you can at least use it as a mess hall until permanent arrangements are made."
"That would be most appreciated by my troops," the captain replied. "Are there any specific expectations or rules we should be aware of?"
"Other than the standard ones we have for delvers, not at this time. However, I have an idea that might be more beneficial than you simply acting as ready troops in case of another attack. Growing stronger is what we need the most, so I was rather hoping we could come to an arrangement for your troops to earn their keep the hard way if there are no regulations against your soldiers earning some extra income on the side."
After a couple of hours of negotiations, they came to an agreement. On any given day, thirty of the soldiers would be paired up and act as guards throughout the trading post and another twenty would be on a rest day. The remainder would be divided between a couple of delving groups, groups hunting, foraging, or logging in the hunting grounds, and construction crews to build their own housing and other buildings. Mordecai and Kazue were willing to skip the guards entirely; they felt more confident in their own inhabitants, but Captain Nozin felt that anything less would not be looked upon favorably by his superiors.
The guards were going to only provide slightly more mana than the soldiers who were resting, so it wasn''t quite ideal for the dungeon''s growth, but it was still a notable boost of activity.
With that settled, Mordecai decided to check in on Deidre. He found her, Fuyuko, and the little pixie who had become attached to Deidre at the beginning of the river zone. Fuyuko was reading out loud from one of the manuals her group had picked up on their delve, and Deidre was patiently weaving a small boat in the same style that Fuyuko and her friends had used. The pixie was fetching materials and taking care of other small tasks for Deidre. Fuyuko and the pixie were technically pushing the limits of how much they were supposed to help a delver like Deidre, but Mordecai didn''t mind. Deidre''s circumstances weren''t exactly normal.
He waited for Fuyuko to finish her current section before he interrupted the tableau. "Hello Deidre," he said as he walked closer from where he''d been watching. He was a little amused that she was the only one not surprised by his presence. "Fuyuko, why don''t you take a break and go get a meal? I''ll keep her company for a while. When you are done, bring a meal back for our guest."
"Um, yeah, sure thing," Fuyuko mumbled as she scrambled to her feet.
While the girl headed off, Mordecai turned his attention to the pixie. The small fey had taken up a spiked hairstyle and wore an interesting ensemble of black leather and silver studs. "What has your name become?" he asked of the tiny being.
"I''m Payne!" she declared proudly, then immediately looked nervous. "Um, if that''s okay?"
Of course it was. Deidre and Payne; Sorrow and Pain. He really wasn''t looking forward to learning the details of Deidre''s history. "That''s fine, it''s clear you two are becoming close." Rather, Payne was making herself Deidre''s familiar. It was clearly on the pixie''s initiative, if Deidre had tried to lay claim to an inhabitant as a familiar then he and Kazue would have felt it immediately and intervened. "Why don''t you join Fuyuko for a while?"
"Ah," the pixie hesitated and glanced at Deidre, who nodded in reassurance. "Okay, I guess. Um, be back in a while." She flitted off after Fuyuko, glancing back occasionally.
Once they were alone, Deidre asked, "What would your majesty have of me?" Her tone was as calm and cool as ever, but there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. He took that as a good sign.
"Please don''t," Mordecai said, hands up in a surrendering gesture. "This whole thing is a mess, and the territory that is also our domain feels weird in ways I don''t have words for."
"I can only imagine, and hope to keep it that way," she replied as she continued working on her boat.
"So, what are your thoughts and observations about the rest?"
"Mm. You two are a strange dungeon. This path feels so vulnerable at first glance, but with two other paths available, you can always force someone onto them as it maintains a path forward. This has invited many more people into your territory, and you are both so gentle with them. You care about each of them, to a small extent at least." She sighed and shook her head. "I don''t recall feeling particularly hostile back in the beginning, but I am fairly certain I did not particularly care about most of my visitors."
"Neither did I," he replied, "not at first. But my first group of people were professional and friendly, and they helped set me on my path. Even then, I don''t think I cared as much until I first fell in love."
"Love," she said wistfully, "I can''t say I ever really knew that. Perhaps in the care of my inhabitants, when those decisions were mine."
Her phrasing was odd, but the meaning was clear to him. Whenever she''d been enslaved, her masters had taken over even the minor details of who and what her inhabitants were. It would be harder to love creatures you were forced to claim and alter to the whims of another. "What do you know of the conflict between me and the Puritasi?" The conflict that had driven them to enslave a dungeon to use as a weapon against him.
"Not much," Deidre answered. "They''ve talked about your legend a lot, but I have heard little that seemed worth believing."
So Mordecai told her his story, including many though not all details about what had happened since he had been awakened by Moriko.
"Hmm, more was correct than I thought, if in a twisted way," she mused, "but less was correct about who you are and your motivations." She continued working on her boat-to-be while she thought. "It''s hard for me to trust, and you understand why. I find Fuyuko and her connection to the Shattered One to be the most convincing argument in your favor, even above the effects of your being caught between Faerie truth and the nature of your oaths as a priest of Ozuran. Even so, I can not give you the whole of my trust. Not yet at least. There is only one thing that will win that trust."
He sighed and nodded. "And even that level of trust can not be instilled in your core without returning you to your territory, which we can not let happen until after your situation is resolved." Having to talk around the issue like this was annoying, but he didn''t want to risk tripping whatever commands she''d been given to not talk about her enslavement or her master.
"Getting a core''s trust can be vital to helping a dungeon too," Mordecai said. Deidre narrowed her eyes as he continued, "If a dungeon had, say, found itself forced to hold onto an excess of mana instead of using that mana to grow, a sudden release of that constraint might make regulating the mana difficult. Having some support from another dungeon could help, but there''s pretty much only one way for a dungeon to make that connection to another dungeon." Namely, having his avatar hold onto the controlling device until the job was done and he could break her bindings.
But that would put him into the position of holding her core''s ''leash'' for at least several minutes. "If that caused the distressed core to fight the avatar trying to help it, then it would be much more difficult to get the job done safely."
Deidre''s breath quickened as her body tensed, and Mordecai simply waited for her to recover. After she''d managed to relax she said, "That would be asking a lot of a core who had just met this foreign avatar."
"I agree, but perhaps that is a hypothetical we can work on another time. Fuyuko and Payne are returning with your food, I think I''ll leave you to them for now. We will have plenty of time to talk in the future, it will be over half a year before we might be able to get you home." Unlike him and Kazue, Deidre''s dungeon was limited in how strong she would be allowed to get, lest she break free of her master. So there was an unmoving goal of power to achieve, and he hoped to implement a much more open strategy that would involve a lot of soldiers from Trionea.
215: Crafting and Drafting
While her husband attended to their guests, Kazue turned her attention to her half of the earth zone. To start, she created some separation for her different skill tests in the form of high cliffs that would split open when a test was successfully completed. For the first trial, she decided to combine a physically demanding task with some basic knowledge of earth in its many forms.
On one side of the path forward, she created a series of dioramas, each featuring a different sort of easily identified terrain, such as mountains and deserts. Upon the other side of the path, she created several large spheres of earth, each matching one of the terrains opposite, though in a randomized position. The spheres rested in shallow divots to hold them in place, a step that was extra important given the slight slope of the earth path, and there was a spot in front of each diorama with a similar divot.
The objective was simply to roll the heavy spheres to the proper diorama. Anyone should be able to match granite to the mountains, and most should be able to figure out sandstone belonged in the desert. Those who have worked with growing things should be able to recognize the appearance of rich, loamy earth even if it was sealed into a solid sphere by magic, and match it to a scene of lush greenery. But fewer people would be able to match marble to seashore cliffs with visible caves, or shale to a lakeside shore, for marble is transformed from limestone much like shale is transformed from clay. And for large or well-informed groups, she could add harder ones like a sphere of white nephrite that would need to be matched to dull gray and gray-green striped serpentine. Especially as striped serpentine rarely held nephrite.
Sufficient knowledge enabled a minimal amount of effort. The spheres could be moved endlessly to try different combinations, but there was a hidden cost to trying incorrect combinations. Every time a sphere was settled into the wrong diorama, all the spheres became 1% heavier. And you wouldn''t know it was the wrong one until they were all in place and the cliff face parted or did not.
Kazue prepared several different varieties of possible matches to make it harder for various groups to eventually collate all the combinations. She also had a lot of books at her command and so she started making harder matches if she felt people were cheating, such as having to match ruby to the seaside cliff as rubies were often found inside of marble. Or worse, match ruby to an outcropping of anyolite, one of its other sources.
Of course, there was always the chance that some would try to climb the sheer cliff face. Those who attempt to do so would first face localized earthquakes, then buffeting winds, and finally, a sleet storm as they got near the top.
If anyone managed to do that, they''d then have to crawl along the top while still being pounded by a powerful storm of sleet and hail and then have to climb down the other side of the cliffs. This was a very, very poor option for most, and Kazue couldn''t help but think of Gil here, but she felt that it should be left as an option rather than trying to make it completely impossible.
One way or another, a great amount of physical effort would be expended. So Kazue backed off of that for her second challenge and focused on a skill challenge instead, though there would certainly still be some work involved. Beyond the first cliff a delving group would find an open area with a workstation for each of them, and against the far wall were several altars to match the number of delvers as well. Like the shrine at the start of the zone, these altars were dedicated to Kamatha.
The nature of the workstation would depend on what type of artistry was going to be called upon, with the four current possible options being pottery, carving, sculpting, and painting. Painting might seem out of place, but the objects to be painted were rocks of random natural shapes and materials, and the process was going to involve making the pigment out of various minerals.
There were instructors on hand to guide someone in the basics, and some aspects were slightly altered, such as the kilns for pottery being enchanted to fire the clay in only an hour. Perfect artistry was not expected, but sincerity of effort was, along with being able to demonstrate some growth in ability and knowledge, and respect for the substance from which the art was made.
The tortoise god of earth would be the one to judge the worthiness of the offerings. Only when each person had presented a worthy offering could the group pass. Kazue had mixed feelings about ''using'' the deity this way, but who else was in a position to best judge the sincerity of offerings made to him? And if the earth tortoise had felt this effort unworthy, the altars would not have received his sanctification.
The next trial, which covered the major curve in the path, was simpler in many ways. The delvers would just need to place stone weights onto various platforms to evenly distribute the weight of the stones. When all platforms were balanced and all the stone weights were on the platforms, the way would open.
Of course, all of them were enchanted to only allow one to be picked up at a time. The weights were also scattered about the area and varied greatly in size and density.
All of the platforms were of different sizes too, requiring that the densest stones be placed on the smallest platforms, negating the ability to sort stones of a given weight evenly. It was sort of like math, only the numbers that you were adding were relative, rather than having hard numbers to work with. After some consideration, Kazue also created a few planks of wood and scattered them about. With a bit of cleverness, they could be used to determine relative weight and be compared against each other, allowing one to use actual math after putting in the initial work to create a table of stones and weight.
For the next two trials she combined to create a small story. There was a marble quarry near the entrance to the final stretch, and further up the slope were several buildings that were eternally ''under construction'' and being assembled via masonry. Here the delvers were to be trained to a minimal, basic proficiency in quarrying, shaping, and building with stone. Stone working expertise being demonstrated and taught to others would receive bonus rewards, incentivizing masons to take this path as a demonstration of their strength and skill.
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For prizes, Kazue set a selection of small gems and nuggets of precious metals appropriate for the type of earth used in any given test, plus a variety of high-quality masonry and stone sculpting tools with minor enchantments, as well as some rarer mineral pigments. Even if a person wasn''t interested in the tools or materials directly, they would still be worth selling, and those who specifically wanted the tools would have something to look forward to.
There was a small trick here, though it would take a little while before it became obvious. Kazue was starting the town at the end/top of the earth zone with the bare minimum of functional buildings and areas to camp out. As buildings were completed as part of the challenge, the dungeon would shift their location to the town when no one was around, and add a plaque naming every delver who had worked on the building. She was going to give everyone who passed through the zone that small touch of possessive "I helped build that" feeling. The dungeon was only going to provide the foundation for each building, mostly to make them easier to move later. Most of the work was going to be done by inhabitants and delvers.
Not everyone had that sort of sentimentality of course, but a lot of people took pride in what they helped make, and Kazue thought that many people would appreciate it.
Now for a way down. Kazue was going to have fun with this one, though she admitted to herself that not everyone would agree. She was going to provide two ways down: One was a long, winding slide in an enclosed tunnel that would deposit a person at the top of the foothill containing the entrance to the underground portion of their territory.
The other way down was to jump onto a giant floof of a mushroom cloud and let it drift down to deposit you somewhere on the outskirts of the trading post, courtesy of Sarcomaag. The exact location was random, and the clouds would slowly dissolve to be absorbed back into the fungal boss. Kazue thought both were fun, and both were kind of scary, if in different ways. She also worked with Sarcomaag to design a variation of the cloud mushroom that could be filled with a lighter form of air and only need a little bit of dungeon magic to cause it to float upward to the platform above. This would mostly be used by inhabitants moving about, but there could be cause to allow guests to use them.
Kazue''s next goal was their new suite of rooms, which she was going to build into the crystal tree. She started by designing a variation of the crystal matrix that would guarantee privacy, completely diffusing any light and scattering it. This would make up the outer ''walls'' of their home inside the tree, and some of the inner walls. But most inner walls Kazue made more transparent, allowing a teasing play of shadow and light from motion elsewhere. It was just for the three of them, they didn''t need much privacy from each other.
Once she had designed her materials, Kazue designated a large branch to be a landing area and grew a flat platform that could be flown to, or stepped onto from a floating cloud mushroom. This led to a common living area, and from there branched off to a kitchen, some rooms for possible special guests, a small library, bathing facilities and such, a duplicate of their current bedroom set up, and a few other rooms. It was a luxurious setup, spread across three ''floors'' and placed near the top of the crystal tree.
The last major thing to do was to look over their handful of shortcuts. They only had six, with one of those being brand new, and things were becoming complicated. Acquiring a new shortcut also temporarily loosened the anchors on the old ones. The feast hall nearby was still the best area for their major hub, with the original entryway of the dungeon being the secondary hub, so most of the shortcuts were going to have one of them as an endpoint.
First, between their earth city and the feast hall near their core was the biggest distance to be covered, so Kazue added their newest shortcut between them.
Between the entryway and the feast hall was the most commonly used existing one, so Kazue left that alone.
The library was connected to both the feast hall and the entryway, taking up two more of their shortcuts, and those were used fairly often as well.
A shortcut between the feast hall and the village at the start of the river zone made it possible to have a shortcut entrance/exit within one zone of any location.
A little-used shortcut between the library and the wetlands village Kazue decided to shift and make it a hidden emergency escape path. It led from the feast hall to a hidden cave she made deep into the hunting grounds, nestled into a small hill. The cave in question had a solid facade that could only be unsealed from the inside, and it only opened outward. She was feeling certain that Mordecai''s paranoia was rubbing off on her, and she sent that thought at him even as she made sure the cave had appropriate lighting and a large number of supplies in case they ever had to send a bunch of people here in a hurry.
The cave was also connected to the warrens, if via a very long and circuitous route. And as a final touch of paranoia, she very carefully made sure that the cave system had not a hint of spacial alteration to its area. In a worst-case scenario, the collapse of their territory would not damage the cave.
Mordecai''s voice whispered into her mind, "Well done love. This isn''t the type of contingency I would have thought of. My planning has all been preventative, but this is more selfless and so very you."
Kazue could feel the warmth of his love and she let herself indulge in simply enjoying it before she returned to her tasks.
Not that there was much left to do. After she swept through and made sure everything was working properly and there were no missing connections, she took care of a final step that Mordecai had requested earlier. He was a little concerned about how their growth pattern was going to work and wanted to spread their ''base'' more. Their territory only abutted Kuiccihan''s near the surface, and Mordecai wanted to expand every underground zone out until it touched the border as well.
At a casual look, it was rather wasteful; they were going to be expending most of the mana they earned for the next several weeks into claiming ''dead'' territory, and even more would be spent to claim the next zone down as they were going to continue to claim that much territory.
But it would ensure that there were fewer chances for nasty surprises due to their unconventional growth pattern, and Mordecai was going to at least take advantage of the extra space to expand the sewer system into a much more complicated set of tunnels, creating a very long and circuitous path. Based on what he''d shown her, anyone traveling through the sewer path would be covering at least three times the distance they would be if they were going down the normal combat path.
216: Plumbing the Pungent Path
Moriko couldn''t help but be a tiny bit disappointed when Kazue mastered transforming her wings; the show had been entertaining on more than one level. But amusement and lewding on her wife were going to have to wait. It was time to hit the road once more, this time with ''Ruby'' in tow. She couldn''t believe they were babysitting a princess who was getting over a breakup.
They were still traveling along the coast, which gave them some opportunities to practice their newest abilities with a reasonable amount of privacy. While any significant river or cove would have at least a small fishing village nearby, it wasn''t a great area for farming and there was little to no reason to build a town separate from the existing settlements. This meant there were large areas where they could expect to only meet fellow travelers, and all they had to do was be far enough off the road to not be visible.
Although, not being visible was harder than one might think, given the nature of their new abilities. Kazue needed space to figure out how to fly with her wings, with enough room for Moriko to catch her when things went inevitably wrong.
The kitsune also found that the fey penchant for glamour worked well with her talent for magic that touched on the border of dreams and reality, and many fey had an innate ability to communicate with spirits. She could still only have two bonded with her, but she could ''hear'' them a bit more clearly. Being able to understand them better made Kazue happy, and she was certain that she''d be able to speak with most spirits more easily now.
Princess Bridgette was already a sorceress, so from a certain point of view, this just gave her more magic to work with. But it did flavor her magic somewhat, especially her conjurations which now were always more fey variations of creatures she could already summon.
She''d also never had a knack for any plant-based spells before but now found herself able to quickly grow and manipulate them, though only in a general sense. She could give them a direction or cause them to be extra thick brambles or vines, but only within the limitations of how they might normally grow in the right environment. She couldn''t sculpt them precisely.
She could, however, make flowering plants briefly bloom with phoenix fire, the flames blooming from the flower buds as they opened. The bursts weren''t particularly powerful, but they could be surprising and in the right circumstance someone might be surrounded by several flowers. And if she directed it carefully, she could also heal with the flames. But both fire magic and fey magic could be tricky and temperamental, mixing the two was best done well away from others. Besides, it wasn''t like there were many phoenix-powered sorceresses about; her identity would be fairly easy to guess for anyone with sufficient knowledge.
Moriko was pleased with her boon as well. Okay, it was a pain to have to spend effort to walk like a normal person, but being able to run on air with such ease was exhilarating. She couldn''t truly fly, but she loved running anyway so this was fine by her. And really, all of her wind and air techniques came easier to her now, making her a fully aerial combatant.
Which was something that Kazue was a long ways away from. She was like a baby bird with all that flapping about, and there wasn''t much Moriko could do to help her out, as her way of taking to the air was entirely different. This was Kazue''s personal reason for wanting to practice in private.
She was pretty certain that Kazue could learn faster if she bonded with an air spirit for a few days, but the woman was rather reluctant to release either of her current spirits for fear that they might be a bit fragile, especially her liminal spirit.
With their travel days shortened in order to accommodate their training time, it took them over three weeks to make it to the next significant port. Kazue chose to not display her wings as a default to avoid drawing even more attention, at least for now. They weren''t even hoping to avoid all notice, but there was no need to draw every eye while simply walking down the street either.
Moriko reserved a pair of rooms while the two redheads started off shopping, as they were both more enthusiastic about it than she was. Mind, Moriko enjoyed shopping plenty, but she did not have the level of enthusiasm that the other two had. She was also happy to see Kazue bonding with a new friend. Becoming a dungeon had been hard on the rather social kitsune, and having this relationship with a peer seemed to be doing her a lot of good.
The shopping highlighted a slight twist of irony; it was now easier for Moriko and Kazue to buy things than it was for ''Ruby''. Smaller items bought with coin were the same, but with their enchanted seals they were clearly well off and probably nobility, and one did not need to recognize the seal in order to understand that much. The symbology was fairly straightforward and easily associated with the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, so setting up an order to be paid for when merchandise reached the dungeon was easy. While Princess Bridgette had a personal seal, Ruby did not.
However, they avoided creating any immediate personal debts; turning over goods now to be paid later via an unverified seal was riskier than delivering goods to a known location to be purchased there, and they wanted to secure the reputation of their personal seals.
They spent three days to rest and restock before continuing on, and Moriko was happy to use those few days of privacy to enjoy Kazue''s company more thoroughly. Camping out with Ruby did not leave quite enough privacy for intimate encounters. In a large group with tents enchanted to give more privacy, it would be a different matter, but neither she nor Kazue felt comfortable with the idea of having the princess isolated every night, so they were all sharing a larger tent where Ruby could have her own bedroll.
They hadn''t even needed tents when they had started their journey, but it was autumn now and nearing the equinox, which left the evenings a little chill. But Moriko did have hope they would make it back home before the first light snows, the mountains were already in sight and they would be turning eastward soon.
She rather wished that they had a fourth traveling companion, someone to physically spar with. Moriko had practiced with her new abilities as much as she could, and she tested herself against the spells both of the other women could throw at her, but a more physical clash was what she needed to push herself and she could only get in a little bit of sparring while they were in the city.
Moriko was very much looking forward to being able to spar with Mordecai and Betty again, amongst other activities involving her husband. Really, as fun as it was to go on this tour of the country, most of the excitement seemed to be back home. Even the sewer was beginning to sound like an interesting area.
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Mordecai and Kazue had spent the first week after opening up the earth zone on expanding the uppermost sewer zone and evolving new inhabitants. This included isolating part of the sewers to maintain a wild preserve. Most of the wild creatures here had an insufficient mind and sense of self to fall under the aegis of Kazue''s boon, but there were some that had evolved far enough to need to be preserved by her boon. Unfortunately, not all such creatures were willing to accept the offer of becoming inhabitants and there was no safe way to release them, so they needed a habitat.
Unless, of course, they had already tripped her boon, which almost all of them had during the invasion. These were now in containment cells where they would be safe, a requirement of the boon given that they didn''t have a way to release them safely or into safety. This wasn''t sustainable in the long term, but it was a start while they worked on figuring out a better long-term solution.
The ones that did accept their offer became the basis for their new inhabitant types.
Once the sewers were tamed, they went to work on evolving their new inhabitants. The small slimes at the top of the sewers grew into nearly spherical shapes with a firm boundary, though still malleable. This outer skin could shift between textured, smooth, sticky, slippery, and crystal-hard. This combined with the ability to control their internal fluids and hydraulic pressure to make them into a very bouncy, mobile sort of slime. And floating in the center of each was a crystal core - their heart and brain.
In combat, they could fling themselves with concussive force at opponents, and their shape was malleable enough that they could form spikes or create a sharp edge around their center and make themselves spin.
These bouncing slimes were mostly translucent, and would not be very bright at first. They didn''t really feel pain, and fighting was more akin to a game for them, which made them hard to predict. Their intellect and understanding would grow over time, but the smarter ones would also tend to migrate deeper into the dungeon as they grew stronger.
Kazue spent an inordinate amount of time and effort making sure that the slimes naturally made cute sounds with every squish and bounce, and tweaked them to make sure that they each had three dimples to make a natural ''face'' when their surface was relaxed.
The next set of evolutions for the bouncers involved their internal chemistry and alchemy. When their surface was ruptured, their internal fluid would react with the air to create various effects, and the slimes were color-coded to match. Green for acid, red for fire, blue for cold, yellow for lightning, brown for toxic fumes, steel-gray for an explosion of crystal shards, black for a sleep-inducing gas, pink for an intoxicating gas, and purple for a hallucinogen.
Cracking the core to kill one of these slimes without rupturing the skin was difficult, but there were both martial techniques and spells that could do so. The reward was the ability to safely collect a large amount of the alchemical mixture inside of each slime. While the residue inside of a slime that had been ruptured certainly had alchemical uses, the original fluid was much more potent.
These slimes began showing up one at a time amongst the original bouncers but became more numerous as one went deeper. At about the same time, crystal crabs began to show themselves. They were based on Crios''s design, but were much smaller, beginning at about the size of a house cat and eventually getting as big as a large dog. Though the shine of their crystal carapaces would give them away when they moved, they were very good at burrowing into the mud and launching an ambush from close range.
But getting distracted too much by the potential ambush from below could be dangerous. The bunbee boss Queen Beeatrix had a hive full of minions that she could send at delvers, and would present herself as a challenge before a team could pass on to the third sewer zone.
Unlike the normal combat route, the sewers did not have a differentiation in theme between zones, so the inhabitants that delvers would encounter simply increased in variety and power. For the third zone, the dungeon added mud slugs. Kazue was not initially thrilled by the idea, but Mordecai showed her an image of the mud-colored slugs with an adorable smiling face on the front. That made her giggle, even if there was a note of horror in her mental voice. She conceded after he added the idea of them making cute burbling sounds and occasional chirps of steam-like whistles.
Mud slugs could spit globs of mud with enough force to knock opponents back and possibly make them fall over. That same mud also made it harder to get up again, and if given the opportunity the mud slugs would focus on a fallen foe, battering them with a continual barrage of mud balls. In deeper zones, the mud balls could also contain a rocky center, be sticky, acidic, or any combination thereof. This was where the slimes also gained the ability to shoot crystal shards that converted into the corresponding alchemical reaction after they hit.
The boss for this zone could be either Umbrowl or Annur, their new crystal elemental boss, though a sufficient swarm of other creatures could suffice for a boss-tier encounter.
In the fourth sewer zone, they added magic to the bouncing slimes. Mordecai and Kazue worked out a list of minor spells that could be used repeatedly and a smaller selection of more powerful spells that the bouncers could only use a few times. After that, they would need to rest for a while to restore their mana pools before the more powerful spells could be used again.
Each slime had access to one random minor spell and two of the more powerful spells, both of which drew on the same pool of mana. There was also no theming between the slime''s alchemical properties and which spells they had access to, making encounters with them more difficult to prepare for. The addition of magic for the bouncers was inspired by their spellslime, Aiden, who was the boss most likely to be encountered for this zone. Sarcomaag could also act as a boss here if he grew only one of his mushroom trees, and given that he was now a raid boss too he could form an appropriate number of mushroom trees to act as a boss for any deeper zones.
The fifth sewer zone was easy to develop. The sewer already had mushrooms and other fungi, now they just had to encourage the growth of mushrooms of the same sort that grew in the mushroom forest and have some of the giant trap door spiders from the mushroom forest immigrate too. Klastoria was quite comfortable here, and Sporewhisp, their pixie-druid, didn''t mind the space either and was quite happy to charge about on the back of Glimmermold, her porcini boar mount and companion.
The sixth and seventh sewer zones saw the introduction of swamp drakes and crabbits while the slimes became faster and stronger, and their colors no longer reflected their alchemical aspects.
Jasi the naga, Kulle the kelpie, and Tohil the feathered serpent were willing to do their part as bosses of the sixth sewer zone as needed, though not eager. The same could be said for Nezha and Ysi, the masima dragon bosses of the wetlands.
Carmilla on the other hand... Kazue and Mordecai didn''t even bother asking. She might be their swamp witch, but neither of them could imagine her fighting in a sewer for less than truly dire cause.
While they now had the inhabitants for the sewer route worked out, only the upper levels were as complex as they wanted. The original intent of the sewer zone was simply an emergency kill zone, but with the boon Mordecai had chosen, there was a need to make it a legitimate route. That did not mean it had to be easy.
In fact, the finishing touches Mordecai added were potentially lethal traps. This part of the construction Kazue left in his hands, it was still not something she was ready to deal with. The only reason he was willing to add traps that would kill if they were not dealt with properly was their ability to rescue a person just at the edge of death, on either side. Which was going to be part of the restrictions for this route, but the announcement of that was going to have to wait.
Their attention had been caught by the arrival of an airship in a clearing just outside of the trading post. The airship had markings for Trionea, and it wasn''t hard to guess who this visitor was going to be.
217: Meeting the Baron
A small detail of usagisune were the first ones to meet the Trionean airship, where they verified the intent of the visit and who was on board. This gave Mordecai and Kazue enough time to set up a greeting party. At the center was Mordecai and a platform with Kazue''s illusion, flanking them to one side were Bellona and Xarlug, while Kansif and Fuyuko flanked them on the other.
They also had two small platoons of forty people each in formation further off to the sides. The first formation was four columns, consisting of ten each bunkin, rabkin, buzzkin, and kobolds. The second formation was of twenty of the Kuiccihan guards and twenty kitsune. The kitsune were a bit of a scramble to ask for help and then get them organized in that short time frame; they weren''t exactly known for their soldiering skills. But that sharp contrast also helped highlight that these were two different forces who were joining together here.
The Azeria Mountain Dungeon was in a strange place politically and Mordecai certainly wasn''t up for figuring out if this was ''too much'' or not for receiving the baron of a major city in a large empire that they had no political communication with to date. But it did send a message. It wasn''t a threat, they certainly were not capable of going to war against Trionea, but they were demonstrating that they were a capable force on the one hand and that they had allies on the other.
Having a dragon of living clay curiously watching the proceedings from the roof of a nearby building might have emphasized the point a touch.
A small delegation approached where Kazue''s illusion and Mordecai awaited. At the lead was a man with dark hair that was lightly speckled with gray. "Lord Mordecai and Lady Kazue," one of the usagisune escorting the delegation announced, "I present to you Baron Emmanuel Demidov of Cantraberg. Baron Demidov, I have the honor of introducing Their Majesties King Mordecai and Queen Kazue of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon and the Azeria Court."
Baron Demidov bowed to the pair, who gave a somewhat shallower bow in return as befitted royalty being visited by foreign nobility. "It is an honor to make your acquaintances, your Majesties," the Baron said.
"It is an honor to meet you as well, Baron," Kazue replied with a polite smile, "and we welcome you and yours to our lands and home as our guests." The slight twitch from the baron showed that he understood the weight of the word ''guest'' coming from a faerie queen. She then turned toward one of the members of the delegation. "And it is a pleasure to see you again as well, Captain Vitomir."
Mordecai looked at Bellona, "Bellona, if the four of you would see to the Baron''s people? Thank you. Captain Vitomir, perhaps we can share a drink again later. For the moment, I would like to speak with the Baron in private."
At Baron Demidov''s nod, the captain moved off to the side with Bellona, trailed by Xarlug, Fuyuko, and Kansif. Not that Xarlug and Kansif were obligated to any duties, but Xarlug at least seemed to be angling at becoming a contractor depending on how things worked out between him and Bellona.
Kazue bowed to Baron Demidov. "I will leave you in my husband''s care," she said before dispelling her illusion.
The two formations were dismissed as the baron fell in at Mordecai''s side. "Your court seems rather informal, Your Highness," Baron Demidov said with careful neutrality.
"''Lord'' will do, Baron," Mordecai replied with a smile, "if I must be bound by the title of Faerie King, then I will at least take advantage of the more lax social customs of the fey." He led the baron on a walk along the perimeter of the town as he continued, "I mostly just want to take a moment to reassure you, directly and personally, that your son is alive and well, though I can not say he is happy."
"I see," the baron said, "and I thank you. However, I find myself still somewhat confused by your specific request."
Mordecai took a deep breath before he began. "I believe that there is an organization you are affiliated with that has gone out of its way to ensure that I am their enemy. My information also suggests that you are not directly involved or supportive of this organization''s recent actions, the same actions that have led your son to be held as my prisoner. It seems to me that it might be time for you to reconsider your position regarding this organization, but before we begin negotiations I think you need to better understand us. To that end, I would like to have you delve the noncombat path of our dungeon. It has proved enlightening for another guest of ours, and I think you will find it just as enlightening. In fact, I think it may be more crucial now than when I sent that letter. The way in which I am now bound to a certain literal truthfulness makes it harder to trust the meaning of otherwise truthful words. If you understand us better, then that should not be as much of an obstacle."
Emmanuel Demidov considered this for a while as they continued their walk in silence, and it was clear that he was taking the time to examine the trading post as well. "You are not the person I was initially told to expect," he commented as they watched the lively little town.
"Mm," Mordecai responded, "while I do not know exactly what you have been told, it is probably fair to say there is a certain amount of truth in some of the stories. There is much that could be said about what pushed me to such extremes, but whatever my pain and turmoil, I made decisions that hurt and killed others, and that is not something that can be easily overlooked. However, there is a lot more than me at stake." He gestured toward the town and the original dungeon entrance. "My wives were not part of that, nor were any of the other people here. I can not undo what I did, but I can make things better for those who are here now. The only reason there has been serious conflict here is because others could not allow me to exist in peace thanks to their own prejudices."
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"Thus your desire to have me delve your noncombat path, so that I can see with my own eyes a different side of a dungeon''s existence."
He nodded at the baron. "Yes. There are many details to cover later, for now, I will take you to the rooms that your people and mine have arranged for you, and you can figure out your schedule from there. The same rules do apply to your party as to all others."
Later that evening, Mordecai and Captain Vitomir both had the time to sit down for a drink. Once they''d both had their first sip Alain started with, "That messenger you sent was one scary little girl."
"Oh? How so?" Mordecai asked, wondering who Orchid had arranged to deliver the letter as he took another sip.
"She was like a tiny wraith, all but floating into my office without a single guard or soldier having noticed a thing despite the floral scent drifting around her. She had the sweetest smile as she placed the letter on my desk and telling me that it was from you and intended for Baron Demidov. It was only after she disappeared that anyone noticed the trail of flower petals, plus one ''black butterfly'' placed on the chest of one of my soldiers while he slept. The one who had hit on your wives."
Mordecai resisted the urge to cough and swallowed to clear his throat instead. "Ah, I wasn''t expecting her to hand deliver it to you herself. I think it might be just as well no one tried to stop her." While the black butterfly didn''t have a specific meaning that he was aware of, it was a rare species of dark and beautiful orchids, and just leaving it that way could be seen as threatening.
Or romantic, for the right sort of person. Or both come to think of it.
But that certainly wasn''t Orchid''s intent here, and he shouldn''t be surprised that the princess was getting a handle on how to use her faerie sign to her advantage.
"I take it that the lass is as dangerous as I assumed?" Alain asked.
"Possibly more so," Mordecai replied.
"Huh." Alain scratched his chin a moment and then asked, "So why did you pick me for a go-between and ask for me to join Baron Demidov?"
Mordecai smiled. "That''s easy. I had a good read on your character and felt you were trustworthy enough to get the letter the rest of the way securely. If the messenger had chosen to deliver it more closely to the baron, he might have felt threatened, but I didn''t want to entrust it to standard bureaucracy, given that I would be an unverified sender otherwise. As for your participation here, it was in part to emphasize that I understood his reasoning in sending you here, and in part to ensure that he had an experienced person with a level head within reach to ask advice from. I don''t know the man, but we all want this to resolve well. You," Mordecai emphasized by pointing, "are one of our best shots at getting things right, just by being here and being you."
The captain grimaced. "Bah. Politics. There''s a reason I''m still only a captain."
"Hah, when you have a chance, you should get a drink with Kansif and Bellona. I think you''d get along with them, they feel the same way."
The two of them continued talking for about half an hour more, but both of them also had duties to take care of and Alain had an early morning in front of him.
As for Mordecai, he had two other guests who had requested his attention. Brongrim and Nainvil had been part of a delving party that had made it to the river zone but had called an end to the delve there. The zones were notably harder than they were when the couple had previously delved with Shizoku and Takehiko.
The pair were fishing off of a dock when Mordecai approached them. "Good evening," he began, "you two wanted to see me? Oh, don''t stop fishing on my account, unless you need to not split your attention."
"Ah, yes sir," Nainvil replied and then hesitated, clearly torn between his options.
Brongrim snorted. "Just watch my pole for me, I''ll do the talking." The dwarf handed off his fishing rod and got to his feet to face Mordecai. "You did us a good turn, especially given how we met. I know we''ve technically fulfilled our part in that bargain, but we still feel that we owe you. So here''s what we were thinking. You''ve been attacked twice so far, right?"
After Mordecai''s nod, Brongrim continued. "Well, it''s an easy guess that you are building toward doing something about it, and I think we''ve seen the core of your team already. Now, I''d like to offer to help directly, but frankly, I don''t think we can catch up to your lot. But I suspect having a couple more people guarding your home while you are gone wouldn''t be amiss, aye? What if the two of us rented a place in town long term, and delved with other teams every week or so until you needed us to become contractors while you''re gone. After you return, well, we can discuss that then."
Huh. Interesting. Mordecai considered the situation for a short while before asking, "Aren''t you two doing well with the Riverbridge guards?"
"We''ve been doing well enough, but I can''t say we''re perfectly at home there either. We''ve done a lot of training for the new guards these past few months, and frankly, I think we''d be more useful to you. Part of the point of contractors is that they aren''t as bound as an inhabitant, right? Closer to an employee with a bit of restrictions. So some people at least will trust a contractor more than one of your folk. Having the two of us will free up more of your other contractors to go with you to take care of the source of your problems."
"Well, he''s not wrong in that," Kazue''s core said, "and we have been working on changing up our spring plans. This would make a couple of things easier."
Moriko added, "I think they would be good to train with once we get back home too. I''m for it."
Bellona and Fuyuko did not know the pair but were open to being convinced.
"Alright," Mordecai replied to Brongrim, "I think we can tentatively agree to that. If you are going to be staying inside our territory, we can do something else as well if you like. We can reserve, say, ten percent of your rewards until it''s time to make a contract. This will let us maximize the power of individual rewards within our limits. Also, you need to meet and get the approval of Bellona and Fuyuko, as all new contractors need to be approved by all current contractors. Now, you should go help your man there, looks like both rods have a bite."
The dwarf swore as he turned and grabbed his rod from Nainvil, letting both of them work on bringing in their catch. Mordecai left the duo to their fishing with a smile and began working with his wives about how this might help their other plans.
218: Drawbacks and Decisions
A few days after the baron started his delve, Moriko, Kazue, and Ruby had traveled far enough south along the coastline to be now headed east if they wanted to keep just within the kingdom''s borders. This provided them with a majestic view, with the foothills and mountains to their right, and a changing landscape of grass, farm, and forest to their left.
The three of them had just finished setting up camp one evening with a stew of dried rations and water heating over a fire when Moriko felt a disturbance of wind and energy approaching them from the south and above. The presence was small in some ways, but it also felt potent somehow. She discreetly palmed the collapsed disc of her staff into one hand and a throwing blade in the other before she started looking for the source of the disturbance without making it too obvious.
Kazue noticed her actions and her eyes widened, but she did her best to keep up conversation as a cover while she retrieved the disc for her own staff as well. Ruby was visibly confused once she picked up that something was wrong, but kept responding to Kazue gamely.
The source of Moriko''s concern became visible a short while after that. It appeared as a small shining star at first, the tiny light source fluttering around as it drifted closer to their camp. When the light suddenly froze for a brief second and then shot straight down at the ground, all three of them jumped away and readied themselves for a potential threat, Kazue and Moriko''s staves snapping out to their normal length.
Where the ''star'' struck the ground, an image grew of a dark-skinned man with silver hair and intense blue eyes, and wearing zhiju-style robes made of dark, silvery silk. His hands were clasped in front of him as he bowed, a strange half-smile on his lips. "I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I have a matter to discuss that I believe will be of interest to all of us."
"A scrying and communication spell. There are a few varieties; given what you sensed this illusion may have a semi-real component. Be careful." Mordecai''s voice whispered into Moriko''s mind. Having a font of knowledge on tap was useful.
"Who are you?" Moriko challenged the stranger.
"Hmm? Yes, I should introduce myself. But no, I am afraid I shan''t be doing that. There are too many complications with even taking a pseudonym at the moment." The man''s eyes had gone unfocused while he spoke, but now they sharpened once more and he locked his gaze with Moriko''s. "Ah, perfect. You must be Moriko. I can practically see him lurking behind your eyes. Good. That is where I wish to begin, for this involves the weight of your husband''s actions."
This wasn''t making Moriko feel more at ease, and a glance at her companions showed that they felt much the same. But their visitor did not wait for a response before continuing, "Mordecai''s actions left wounds in the world. Some have healed, some have scarred, and some are still healing but need help to keep from festering. It is one of these that I would request your assistance with. I can not say that there is an explicit obligation, but does it not feel some how unbalanced, knowing that even a small part still suffers from your husband''s hubris? Would it not feel better if you acted to help restore the world?"
His words made Moriko itch in ways she couldn''t describe, and she could see Kazue shift her weight as if she were dealing with a similar sensation. "What are you doing?" She asked as she tried to set her will against whatever was being done to her, but she found nothing to pit her will against.
"Me?" the dark-haired man asked with an unpleasant smile. "I am doing nothing to you, Faerie Queen. I have merely let you know the state of the world, and how it relates to you. Oh, and what I have said to you is true, I say again that I speak the truth, and now swear it thrice that my words are true. I seek your aid to help balance the damage that Mordecai caused."
There was a strange vibration to his words that made Moriko certain that the man spoke true. Her eyes widened as she worked out the cause and mentally joined Mordecai and Kazue''s cores in swearing. Out loud she said through gritted teeth, "What exactly do you want?"
"It is fairly simple. I am currently helping contain and heal one of these wounds, but a certain amount of corruption has leaked out. I have managed to contain and hide that too, but that area festers; I do not have the resources to restore that land and what I am working on is more important. So I want you three to do it, you who are connected to the root cause of this. It seems fitting to me."
"Why have you waited so long to ask for help? This can''t have been recent."
"No, it is not. But asking most people for help would simply be endangering more people who do not need to be endangered and are not involved. You and your wife, however, are openly tied to Mordecai, and the other carries his blood. I feel no compunction about asking you to aid in fixing his mess. Do not mistake me," the man''s cold blue eyes started glowing with a blazing gold incandescence as he spoke, "This is no easy task. The contained area is full of dangerous things. And I will not allow anything or anyone to leave until the area is purged. But should you succeed and then make it to me, I might be able to offer you a different opportunity that has an aspect that could be considered a reward, though it too has its dangers. Think carefully about your choices. I take my leave, but you will be able to find the way with this."
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The image shattered, but the shards collapsed down into a silvery object that upon closer inspection appeared to be a compass like object. Only, there were no markings for the cardinal directions, just simply a floating arrow in a sphere, and it was pointing into the mountains to the southeast of them.
"What in all the Divine Dragon''s Glory was that about?" asked Ruby as she looked around nervously. "Was that a dragon?"
"I think so," Moriko replied, "but can you give us a few minutes to figure this out? Kazue, could you inspect that please?" Kazue nodded and approached the compass-like object slowly, examining it carefully. Moriko trusted her wife to be better at puzzling out a magic aura''s details than she would be.
While Kazue took care of that, Moriko worked on sorting out the implications of everything with the cores. By the time the stew was ready to serve, she was ready to explain in a bit more detail to Ruby. "First, the balance thing. You haven''t been inflicted with faerie magic as deeply as we have. Knowing that there is an imbalance in debts owed is apparently something faeries don''t do well with, especially nobility. And while it is not our debt directly, Mordecai feels that it is his debt, and our husband''s debts are ours. If Mordecai sincerely thought that it was not something he should feel guilt or obligation about, then it wouldn''t impact us either."
"Okay," Ruby said as she thought about it, "I guess that means you two want to follow the compass and take care of this supposed corruption? How sure you about this triple oath thing?"
"Very," groused Kazue, "I could feel it. It is related to our inability to lie now. Lying is about knowledge and intent. A casual promise is easily forgotten about, or even just change your mind about later. But if we say even a casually worded promise three times, it''s sort of like making a declaration of truthful intent. It''s binding in a different way than an oath to Ozuran would be. That sort of oath can be violated with a corresponding penalty. We are simply not able to violate a triple-sworn promise at all. But it also works in reverse. Say or promise something thrice, and you will be bound to it. I rang with the knowledge that his words were true. And I hope to never feel that again, that was deeply disturbing."
Moriko couldn''t disagree with that at all and leaned close to give her wife a tight hug. "Yeah, the faerie powers are fun, but given the choice I''d have been happy to do without if it meant not getting the downsides. I think this might be why fey beings are often such strange flighty creatures, there are too many things that can bind them if they acknowledge them. If it''s not your fault, you aren''t obligated to do something about it." She looked back to Ruby and said, "By the way, he called you out as one of Mordecai''s descendants. I don''t think the disguise ring worked against him."
The young woman sighed and took off the ring, becoming Bridgette once more. "I guess I don''t need this right now if we are going to be heading off into the mountains. You two clearly need to go, and I am not going to abandon you on this." She frowned at a thought. "I should probably make contact right now, but it doesn''t feel right. I think I''ll send a report at the last moment before we reach where ever. This seems like something only family should help with, so we don''t want a bunch of agents or soldiers anyway and I am not going to drag my sisters or brothers into this. Oh, what about that compass?"
Kazue straightened up and Moriko let go of the hug to let her fetch the compass in question. "Well," Kazue said, "I''m pretty certain that it is just a path-finding compass. Okay, maybe not ''just''. It''s attuned to someplace that is heavily warded, the enchantments look like there are a lot of conditionals and fine-tuned adjustments. I''m also pretty certain that it is designed to fall apart if poked at too hard, so I am not going to mess with finding out more. I don''t want to be stuck with this itch forever and I don''t get the feeling we are going to be given a second chance from that guy."
"Which is part of why Mordecai and Other Kazue both agree we should do this," Moriko said. "Not that either of them is particularly happy about it, but options are limited. That man was very deliberate in how he leaned on feelings of debt and obligation, he knew what he was doing by laying it on that way to faerie queens."
There wasn''t much to discuss after that except for double-checking their supplies and readiness. In the morning they set out to follow the compass instead of the road. The needle could twist in any direction, making it easier to determine the elevation of their target location. If they walked parallel to the mountains long enough, they probably could have gotten a fair fix on where it was pointing, but that would have added significant time to their journey and based on Kazue''s examination there was a reasonable chance that it was currently pointed at a waypoint instead of the final destination.
Kazue''s interpretation proved correct; after two days of winding travel across unmarked land they found a sheltered valley with a mild ''don''t notice me'' enchantment on it, and the compass spun to point deeper into the valley. It took them another day to reach the place where a simple illusion and a stronger avoidance charm hid the entrance to a cave system.
The cave system was set up to look like someone''s hidden cache, but it was certainly not a dragon''s hoard. The three women ignored the minor wealth here, though it certainly made Moriko''s palms itch. But she and Kazue had access to better wealth already, and Bridgette was used to greater riches than could be found here. There was no reason to upset what was clearly another layer of distraction.
It took several hours of searching to find the spot where stronger but more subtle enchantments worked to keep a small secret door hidden. The compass pointed directly at it, but the way the caverns twisted made the correct path inobvious, and even then one had to realize that an awkwardly angled crevice was a passage to reach the small chamber that held the hidden door, past one last stash of treasure.
The tunnel past the hidden door smoothed out and eventually led to a chamber with a thick-looking door with both physical and magical seals in place. A small pedestal sat to one side with a divot of the right size to hold the compass.
However, the compass pulsed after they entered the chamber and played a recording, "This is your last stop before there is no turning back. You should only place this device on the pedestal if you are prepared."
Making camp one more time was an obvious choice, they wanted to be well-rested for whatever lay beyond.
219: Baronial Bargains
Mordecai was not in a great mood at the moment. The silver-haired stranger that had visited Kazue, Moriko, and Bridgette was unsettling and had left that itchy need to set the balance of the world right. But instead of him doing so, the three women were walking into danger on his behalf, which he did not want any of them to do.
Worse, at this point, none of them knew what the danger was. The idea that it was ''festering'', whatever that meant in this case, implied that one of his creations had gone even more awry than he could account for. On top of that, he''d felt obligated to remind Moriko that in the worst-case scenario, Kazue''s avatar could be recovered if she died, with Deidre being an example of how a dungeon could not retrieve a securely captured avatar.
Moriko was not happy with him. Mordecai was confident that she understood the possible need at a purely practical level, but her emotional reaction was also perfectly understandable. He wasn''t exactly happy with himself either, but he''d be even more unhappy with himself if he didn''t say anything and things went astray. Sometimes there were no great choices, only less bad options. He''d taken the immediately unpleasant choice that would probably be unneeded rather than risk an unacceptable possibility.
All of this he had to pack up and set aside for the moment. It was time for a very important meeting, and he awaited Baron Demidov in the office adjacent to the feast hall, as did Kazue via her illusion, each seated behind a desk. Both rose to greet the baron when he entered. "Welcome, Baron," Mordecai said, "how did you enjoy your delve?"
"Please, take a seat," Kazue added, "and if you like, we can provide refreshments while we talk.
"It was an interesting experience," Emanuel Demidov responded as he accepted the offered seat, "and light refreshments would be welcome, thank you." Social niceties continued for a short while until they had a small table at the baron''s side with a tray of small snacks and some freshly brewed tea sweetened with honey and a small splash of bourbon. More of everything waited at a side table should it be needed.
"So," Demidov said, "while I will not claim that the delve has given me incredible insight into the two of you, it has given me some. For the path you suggested, there is a certain theme of fun and games, which I suspect is mostly the influence of Lady Kazue. I admit, I struggled some with this. Participating in games like this is not something I have done much in quite a while, and the circumstances do not particularly encourage that sort of mood. Still, it behooved me to tackle the challenges with sincerity."
He took a moment to sip his tea, closing his eyes as he savored the taste. "There are lessons being taught, lessons that I do appreciate. Patience, thoughtfulness, humility, a willingness to learn and to persevere. There was also pragmatism, letting people pay their way through some of the more time-consuming aspects while still providing a challenge." The baron smiled at a memory. "I also get the feeling that your swamp witch had some sort of restriction placed on the challenges she could give. She seemed displeased about the choice of challenges she could provide me and my group."
Baron Demidov was correct in that assessment. Kazue and Mordecai had restricted Carmilla from the extremes of her options; she was not allowed to seduce the baron or his party, nor was she allowed to indulge in the dirtiest or most humiliating possible challenges. "Yes," Kazue replied, "Carmilla can be a bit temperamental and willful, and we felt it best to ensure that there were no diplomatic issues."
"I see," the baron said. "I appreciate that. Now, that covers the prelude I believe. So to business: what do you want of me."
Mordecai nodded and said, "Correct. What we want is simple in its nature, if not its execution. In the theme of a life for a life; a freedom for a freedom. The price of your son''s freedom is the freedom of the dungeon that the Puritasi have enslaved." He waited a beat before adding, "However, I do not expect you and yours to complete this task yourselves. In fact, I think we will need to cooperate to make this a reality. But your son''s freedom does rely on the result, not the attempt. Should the dungeon not survive with her mental faculties intact relative to her current mental state, then your son will live out his life as our prisoner."
Neither Kazue nor Moriko had been happy about that condition, but he had convinced them to agree to that absoluteness. It was ruthless in a way, but it was the best guarantee they had that the baron''s efforts would be as perfect as possible.
Baron Demidov stared thoughtfully at Mordecai for a long moment before saying, "Clever, and perhaps devious, but I can see why you would not be trusting. But I must ask, presuming that you are correct about this dungeon''s existence, why you said ''she''?"
"I believe I mentioned another guest who delved that path in order to know us better. She has chosen to use the name Deidre." And that was a cue.
"Hello, Baron," came a new voice. The curtained alcove that covered the passage used to deliver the refreshments had also been used for Deidre to listen in to the conversation pertaining to her future, and she now made her entrance. She passed behind the desks and took a seat off to the side, facing the baron. That simple action placed her squarely on the dungeon''s side of this negotiation. "It''s been a long time since I saw you in my territory." She glanced over to Mordecai briefly. "I am willing to acknowledge that he has always been at least professional, as far as I can recall."
Mordecai smiled slightly. "She was forced to participate in the most recent attack. While it was not a pleasant process, we did manage to take her prisoner and we have treated her as kindly as the situation allows. While Deidre''s restrictions limit what can be learned, she has been spending a lot of time with some of our people, and there have been many conversations. There is a lot one can learn if one knows how to listen."
Baron Demidov was visibly surprised, though he did recover himself quickly. "Well, that is ... interesting. It certainly makes deniability a moot point." He covered taking the time to think by eating one of the small snacks. "I think I should note that under the right circumstances, slavery is legal in Trionea."
"Perhaps," Mordecai replied, "but the wording of your laws also makes it impossible for a dungeon to be held as a slave legally."
The baron frowned and asked, "How so?"
"Do you know what is involved in the enslavement of a dungeon''s core? No? Allow me to explain then. The most extreme ends of your laws still limit magic to placing restrictions on some actions and enabling punishments for disobedience." Mordecai''s calm facade cracked as the heat of his anger crept into his words. "A dungeon''s avatar could be bound by such things, but the core can not. The only way to truly control a dungeon is through direct and continual dominance over the core''s mind. Her free will has been abrogated and her mind and soul continually violated by this control, and through her, all the inhabitants of her dungeon have been enslaved simply by the nature of the relationship."
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It was a struggle to not shout as he continued, his voice tight from maintaining that control. "The Primogens may, technically, allow for physical slavery, though you will find almost any priest to be opposed to it. But slavery through mental domination is clearly and repeatedly labeled as blasphemy and a true sin." A sneer slipped into Mordecai''s voice then. "Though I do note that Dormire does not seem to have mentioned it in any of his texts."
There was a heavy silence while Baron Demidov processed this information. Mental domination was not completely forbidden, it had uses for situations like taking prisoners before they could be physically restrained, but there were strict limitations on its usage. What Mordecai had done with the mad wolf monster was an example of using it as an act of mercy, bringing a peaceful end to a creature that could not be allowed to live freely. A certain amount of mental influence was also allowable and was reflected in the nature of some creatures. But the bonds of loyalty to a dungeon were not absolute and could be broken if pushed, and a faerie could work around its restrictions on speaking the truth. True, continual domination of another''s will was another matter entirely.
"That is troubling," the baron finally acknowledged, "and even before this meeting, I had been growing somewhat dissatisfied with the empire''s relationship with the Puritasi. But I am not in a position to unilaterally break that relationship."
"True," Mordecai allowed, "but you can take lawbreakers as prisoners, no matter what the official position of their organization. Allow me to explain what we have in mind. Step one is that you attempt to take Dimitri Igorek as a prisoner while simultaneously taking control of the compound and isolating the dungeon. Should you succeed, all his personal effects should be secured to await for when I am free to travel there. I will need only one item from his possessions and once I have it, my team and I will then proceed into the dungeon to establish communication and ease the transition to her freedom."
He knew that the item he needed was a ring, that had been easy to uncover. He''d simply asked Deidre if there was any type of jewelry or accessory she particularly disliked. After giving him a long look she''d replied that she found rings to be about as distasteful as collars. Mordecai had then promised that he would avoid both of those for any prizes or gifts she received from the dungeon, but they both knew what the question had really been about.
"I will note here that aid with the transition will be needed, the bindings have forced her to hold on to far more mana than a dungeon should be able to contain without growing. No one wants that going wild."
Demidov nodded and asked, "What do you want done with Dimitri?"
"Strangely, I find that I do not care much so long as his ability to attack me and mine is removed," Mordecai replied. "His personal life is too far down my priority list to spend much energy with. However, others may have differing opinions, even if they are not currently free to express them." He gestured to Deidre before continuing, "You may want to do your best to ensure that no one will have any reason to complain."
"And should we not succeed in capturing him?"
"That is the possibility I am spending a fair amount of effort preparing for. Should your mages not be able to block him, I believe he has a contingency in place that will bring him to the heart of Deidre''s dungeon. At that point, you simply want to keep the dungeon isolated with heavy fortifications. The surplus of mana should keep the dungeon healthy for a very long time, but I do not know what Dimitri will try to do. Your goal here is entirely defensive, and to not allow anyone or anything to be brought into the dungeon''s territory. And this is when I begin training on how to raid a dungeon correctly." Mordecai gave the baron a smile that showed teeth. "And complete isolation is part of the methodology. A dungeon with exterior support is nearly impossible to raid without overwhelming force. Done correctly, we can minimize causalities."
The baron frowned thoughtfully for a few moments. "This is going to be politically difficult. What will the training involve?"
"A moment please. The conversation so far is unlikely to cause any leaks to Deidre''s core that she can be forced into revealing before actions have been taken. Once Dimitri is on guard and questioning the core, any vague information from across the spiritual link might be advantageous to him. Deidre?"
She sighed and rose before saying, "I understand, but I wish I could participate in this. I am placing a lot of trust in all of you." Deidre paused and looked at the Baron. "The trust does not extend to you directly. I am trusting their ability to make this happen. I do not recommend opposing their plans." And with that, she left.
"I am going to go as well," Kazue said. "Battle planning is Mordecai''s forte, not mine, and my focus is better used elsewhere. Baron." She nodded to him before dismissing her illusion. She had mostly made herself present to ensure a message of solidarity and to be a polite host by meeting with their guest again briefly. Kazue already knew what Mordecai intended, and she did not feel like hearing it discussed again.
Once he was sure that Deidre was out of hearing range, Mordecai continued. "The first part is that you send teams of ten to delve our recently opened third path. I assume you have heard about our limited ability to prevent deaths?" Mordecai asked.
"Yes," Demidov replied.
"The design of our third path makes it significantly more dangerous. We will be letting teams of ten enter, but only if every member of the team is protected by our boon. If anyone has been saved by our boon, they can not delve this path. Your people will be under the same restriction. Here I will train your soldiers to be the type of squads needed for this sort of extended close-quarters combat. Once we have enough teams with the correct training, the next stage is to have the teams train with each other. Every team needs to be able to tell what any other team near them is doing, and to trust each team to take care of their part of the mission."
Mordecai stood up to hand the baron a scroll with a rough schedule spanning well into the spring of the next year, with notations for possible extensions. "Ideally, we will be training thousands of your people here. Those who fall once and need to be saved by our boon will be organized into groups for safer training and eventually sent back to begin training more of your troops. The broad shape of the plan is that the teams will be able to coordinate in overlapping waves and the entire dungeon will be occupied room by room and floor by floor. Normal military training is insufficient, the dungeon will be able to respawn its inhabitants every six hours, given that I have understood Deidre''s hints correctly. Not only will they have to be prepared for that, but a dungeon can hold back a revival. So the teams will have to be able to maintain the correct levels of alertness for long periods on a rotating schedule."
He sat down and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. "This is going to provide the dungeon a lot of mana, especially for the days it will probably take to force our path to the core. But it will also limit what the dungeon can do. And the final part could be very dangerous without the proper practice. Once we have secured the core, your soldiers need to begin evacuating in an organized manner. We will need the freedom to spend the excess mana properly, and the presence of so many people will be problematic."
Baron Demidov considered the rough plans before saying, "The expense of sending this many soldiers for foreign training alone puts this beyond my authority, at least, without approval."
"Oh, but Baron, you forget something. This is a dungeon, and they will be spending extensive time and effort here. There is no reason that all of your soldiers who do well shouldn''t leave here with mithral weapons and armor." Mordecai would be more concerned about providing weapons like these to a less-than-friendly nation were it not for his intention to provide Kuiccihan with even better ones. He''d always rewarded just enough special materials and gear to keep hope alive and filled the remainder of rewards with valuables that did not have such strategic potential. Now he was in an alliance with a nation ruled by his own descendants, and to whom both of his wives held personal allegiance. The Azeria Mountain Dungeon was absolutely taking sides.
"That does change things, significantly," the baron replied. "But that will still take approval, lest the empire feel concerned about rebellion. I will promise to keep communications open and to do my best to take Dimitri Igorek prisoner. Beyond that, I can guarantee nothing." He rolled the scroll back up and rose from his seat. "I think that this is as far as we can go for now. I should like to see my son."
"Of course," Mordecai replied as he rose as well, "and you may take as much time with Antoine as you like. No matter what happens, I will always allow family to visit him."
220: Purifying Purgatory
Moriko placed the compass on the pedestal and stepped back. The runes and wards on the door slowly faded, and then a set of marks appeared around the door, indicating the order to release the physical seals. She paid attention to every mechanism while she consulted with Mordecai. It was clear that unlocking the door put all of these seals under tension and when the door was next closed the rods were going to be pushed back into place as the tension released.
If the seals weren''t opened in the correct order then mechanisms would bind and twist to lock the rods in place. And of course Mordecai appreciated the paranoid craftsmanship. Moriko squashed the irritated thought, she knew that his little ''reminder'' last night had left her upset.
Not that he was wrong per se, but it was still an unpleasant thought. And Moriko had certainly not mentioned it to Kazue or Bridgette, though she couldn''t stop from fussing over Kazue a bit that morning as she made sure that everyone had their best protective clothing and gear on, and had prompted Kazue to manifest her wings in case she needed to fly.
Beyond the door lay a short corridor that ended in a shimmering wall. The three of them approached slowly and carefully as they tried to make sense of the energies around the barrier. Moriko could only be certain that it was a ward and a dangerous one. Bridgette''s training allowed her to work out a little more, there was some sort of spatial magic involved, but she couldn''t make out the details.
"I think I''ve got this," Kazue said. Her eyes were half closed and unfocused, and Moriko could only assume she was in communication with her liminal spirit. "It''s a sort of closed realm. Space has been twisted to only allow passage in one direction. There''s a layer over it to keep air from touching it, but once you push through that, it''s not letting you back out." She shuddered and opened her eyes fully. "Don''t try to back out once you touch it, it''s not letting go. There''s a gradient, so it shouldn''t damage anything so long as your overall momentum is forward, but if you try to back up then you might hurt yourself."
Moriko shuddered. "That''s nasty. It could draw all your blood into your arm because there would be no back pressure stopping it. It might not take long for the skin to rupture."
Bridgette looked ill at the thought. "What sort of insanity requires this kind of ward?"
Kazue shook her head and said, "I can''t tell. But I think it should be safe to pass through, it''s going to try to draw all of you in once you touch it. We need to just not fight it."
Great. Surrendering control over herself to another was not something Moriko was good at. There were a couple of exceptions, but that was slightly different. Hmm. Or was it? Moriko smiled and said, "Understood. I''m trusting your judgment, so trust that I am waiting on the other side of it."
"Wha-?" Kazue yelped, but Moriko had already moved out of the kitsune''s reach and she committed to her action was a small jump forward across the border. The feeling of being sucked into the barrier was disturbing, but she only had to let it control her body for a moment before she was through.
The smell hit Moriko first. It was sweet and musky with a sharp tang that cut through it in an unpleasant way. She almost wanted to think of it as the scent of rot, but that felt wrong. Rot seemed like it would somehow be healthier than whatever this was.
Moriko found herself in a small bubble that created a second ward against the things on the other side. This ward clearly did not keep the air out, but it seemed to work well enough against the surging mass of stuff on the other side. When Kazue and Bridgette followed a few moments later, the bubble expanded a little, forcing the growths to scrape along the ground. Moriko looked down to realize that the entire ground was scraped clean; this bubble was created by their passage.
"May all the gods preserve us," Bridgette whispered with wide eyes. Moriko couldn''t blame her for the sentiment as she watched a vine-like extrusion slither across the barrier, its veins pulsing. A slit ruptured on its surface that oozed a mixture of vile-looking fluids, and from that rupture grew an eyeball. Half of the eyeball started growing facets like an insect''s eye while the other half started growing multi colored fur. The fur abruptly turned green as it reformed into grass while the insectoid half of the eye collapsed into a circular maw that twisted to chew on the grass-covered half.
Mordecai''s panicked thoughts cut through her horrified fascination. "Destroy it. Destroy it now, burn it until not even ash and dust remain, and even then do not stop. Obliterate every trace of anything that could have once been life. There is nothing to save here other than yourselves. It will try to infect you, do not let it. Hold on tight to your sense of self. And please, please come back to me, do not let this consume you. If you lose yourself to it, you won''t die, and I''m not sure I could find your soul in there."
Moriko had never heard her husband sound so afraid, and his last words were bone-chilling. "Kazue! Bridgette! Mordecai''s terrified of whatever this is. Don''t let it take you over, and destroy it all to the last and then keep burning it."
Both of them stared at her for a moment before turning to face the undulating mass of virulent life once more. The faint glow of this interior bubble began to fade, its creation clearly a temporary protection. Moriko was grateful for even that, stepping directly into that horror would have been almost impossible to cope with.
Bridgette''s form erupted with green phoenix fire, a barrier and weapon in one. The air around Kazue scintillated with small shields of force while shadowy dream images began to flicker into existence. Moriko called upon Sakiya''s blessings and divine might while wrapping herself in dark lightning and turbulent air.
The barrier creaked, then cracked, and finally gave.
Bolts of black lightning flowed out from Moriko, running and dancing along the ground to slam into the mass with explosive force, steam erupting from the vaporized flesh. The lightning tunneled into the writhing substance and jagged tendrils lashed out to grasp at it, dragging and pushing the hungry pustules away. Moriko didn''t let the lightning fade after that and left a network of shadowy lines upon the ground, ignoring the dangerous draw on chi to hold that much shadow in place.
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Blades of nothing and the winds of dark nightmares lashed out from Kazue, slicing and lacerating the oozing flesh into uncountable pieces, slowing its advance and causing the still-living pieces to turn on each other briefly, consuming themselves even as they were assimilated back into the greater mass. Kazue started crying as more magic welled forth, and Moriko got a glimpse of her wife''s worst nightmares. A swath of not-quite-real forest spread through the virulent growth, wreathed in fire. Vague, flickering shadows could be heard fighting and the sounds of distant battle echoed forth.
Unending mass boiled and bubbled under the dream fire, Kazue''s will and imagination crushing the mindless monstrosity''s reality to fill it it with more fire. The trees began to fade, but the fire remained.
Bridgette''s attack was the most straightforward. Phoenix fire could heal, but even at its gentlest, it would sear wounds clear of infection and putrefaction before flesh could be restored. What surrounded them was nothing but disease. The princess''s aura of fire flared wider as she walked forward and the ambulatory cancer screamed as it began to incinerate.
But there was ever more of the mutating flesh flowing at them. Moriko couldn''t wipe out the swaths that the other two could, but she could defend them. She could feel everywhere that the motile substance touched her web of shadow lightning that she''d lashed her own shadow to, and she used it to sling herself at every intrusion into their cleared space. A crash of wind and lightning accompanied every blow, shattering the pseudopods and appendages.
The formless thing was at least fragile, for it had no true structure in its ever-mutating substance. But every last bit of it was filled with an endless need to consume and devour everything, even itself, and it had an unholy vitality to it that made it incredibly difficult to destroy.
The web was too draining to maintain for long, and a sudden wave of blooming mushrooms with mandible-tipped tentacles nearly separated Kazue and Bridgette before Moriko blasted through it, sending charcoaled bits flying away. After that she collapsed her web into a simpler ''leash'', grabbing onto Kazue''s and Bridgette''s shadows and dragging them closer together. Twenty feet was the most she could safely give them.
While they couldn''t create an ever-widening circle this way, they could continually forge a path. Moriko became a guardian angel of air, lightning, and darkness as her body flickered constantly between the other two women, beating back every surge of encroaching tissue.
Kazue drew upon the knowledge that Ozuran had granted her and channeled her magic to create a sphere of roiling darkness that steadily plowed through the ceaseless gnashing of hungering life. Where it passed, swaths of lifeless gray were left behind. She''d never used much shadow magic directly, though the knowledge had enhanced her understanding of the mutable boundaries between reality and the many reflections of reality. But right now she needed to call upon the pure entropy of the void, and so it spilled forth from her, taking on the shapes of her nightmares, shaped into soldiers that hacked their way through fetid flesh, leaving trails of gray powder in their wake.
Bridgette had become an inferno of phoenix fire, fueled by the living pyre around her. The green flame was now almost white with its intensity, and every time the nearest sections of mass mutated into plants, those sections were instantly wreathed in more fire. This fresh fire scorched away the nearby flesh before consuming the plant-like form it had wreathed, blazing like an eternal bonfire of flesh.
Darkness and light became Moriko''s world, stretched interminably between them as she whispered prayers for guidance, strength, and healing. None of them were safe around each other at this point; Moriko''s lightning leaked out every time she neared Bridgette or Kazue. Bridgette''s fire was too intense, scorching Moriko''s flesh at least as much as it healed her. Kazue''s eyes had turned pitch black, and liquid shadow dripped from her wings. Just being near her tugged at Moriko''s own vitality, despite the resistance that her shadow affinity gave her.
They were never able to create a completely clear space, but their wake of destruction thinned out the tides of consumptive flesh until it had started to break into isolated pieces. The air was thick with ash and dust, leaving the three of them coughing constantly. Whenever one of them spit out a glob of dark fluid, they immediately obliterated it. They needed to make sure they didn''t give the substance more life to feed on, but even worse, Moriko was certain that at least some of the expelled gunk had begun to move on its own.
Almost every dreg of power had been dragged out of them, but still, the job was not done. The enclosed space still had small heaps of moving flesh dotted through it, the blobs writhing as they tried to close in on each other to devour and consume once more. The endless cycle was not done, but they could barely move. Moriko''s right hand was missing two fingers, they''d begun to move on their own and she''d channeled lightning into the knuckles to blow them off and cauterize the wound. She couldn''t count the number of smaller wounds on her body that had been either seared clean by Bridgette or drained of foreign vitality by Kazue, and her skin was covered in electric burns that sparked of their own accord.
Bridgette''s body was covered in green-flame feathers, and her arms were crooked and held out like they were starting to turn into wings. It looked painful, and green-white fire constantly dripped from her like blood from a wound.
Kazue''s skin had turned gray, and any time she spoke all Moriko could see of her mouth was a dark void. Even her red hair and fur had turned dull and ashen, and patches of fur had fallen from her tails like mange.
Moriko had managed to keep any of the attacking flesh from striking either of them, but the two were being consumed by their own powers and Moriko wasn''t much better off. Even her prayers had run dry, and she knew why.
There was a limit to how much divine power a mortal could channel, and it was not much different from the capacity for mana or chi. The protective layer of spiritual energy around Moriko''s soul had been scraped thin enough that she could feel the rawness of it, like her soul had been rubbed with sandpaper. Time and experience could expand her capacity in the future, but right now she was done with any spell of significance.
Despite the comforting presence of Mordecai''s and Kazue''s cores in her mind, Moriko was beginning to despair. She didn''t see how they could finish the remaining lumps of madness before they collapsed.
A line of liquid silver flowed out across the ground in front of her, and Moriko blinked as her exhausted brain tried to parse out what this new thing meant.
Kazue''s core told her to look where the silver had come from, and Moriko obeyed. The silver led toward the shielded mound in the center of this space, and a patch of it flashed with light. Moriko tried to say, "This way," but she only managed a croaking sound. Her throat was raw and she wasn''t certain she had a tongue anymore. Was that one of the things she''d spit out? A worry for later.
Instead, she grabbed at Kazue and Bridgette, then pointed at the flashing section of the mound. They nodded and began trudging toward the dome. Moriko tried to follow but found herself floundering, and she grabbed onto their shoulders to be dragged instead. At some point, she''d completely lost the ability to keep her feet on the ground and now felt more like a helpless toy of the wind rather than its mistress.
The shimmering section of the barrier let them pass, but only into another contained bubble. This one seemed more secure, however, and matched up with a set of lines and runes on the floor. Nor could they see past the bubble.
The voice of the man who had set them on this path spoke from the empty air, "I am afraid this is the most I can do for you right now. You should be able to recuperate, but I will not let you pass until I am sure that all three of you are completely clean of infection. You do not need to worry about the blight outside; your work has eliminated enough of it that I can divert some of my strength from the barriers and begin cleaning the rest."
221: Recuperation
Moriko''s body was wracked with agony as she dropped her pack to the floor, but it wasn''t time to stop moving yet, not for her. The three of them had gone through the potion vials that they''d been able to make readily accessible, but they had more that they''d dared not stop long enough to fetch. Mordecai''s and Kazue''s voices whispered soft encouragement in her head as she reached into the wooden backpack to pull out the vials, but Kazue''s voice went harsh when Moriko started to turn towards Kazue''s avatar.
"Don''t you dare," she scolded, "you know better already. Take care of yourself, then help Bridgette. My other self can wait for last. At the worst, her portion of our spirit will return to me. You two can not be recovered so easily."
Moriko knew that she was right, but it still hurt to leave Kazue''s avatar in that state. She''d collapsed to her knees and had seemingly passed out in that position. Not that Bridgette was much better off, she was huddled into a ball and breathing with deep, heaving shudders.
Moriko forced the contents of the first vial down her own throat and immediately began hacking and coughing. The wet, dark mass she expelled looked anything but benign to her, and she kept an eye on it as she reached into the pack again to pull out a vial of acid. None of them might have the expertise of Shizoku, but a basic set of alchemical vials was fairly standard gear for a variety of uses. Especially acid and fire.
She carefully poured the vial of acid over the globule, emptying the whole thing slowly. Only when she felt certain that there was no life to be found in the mass did she move to Princess Bridgette to pour a healing vial down her throat as well. Drawing so deep on her phoenix magic had kept her safe in many ways, but she wasn''t a true phoenix and she had needed to dig deep into her spirit to keep the phoenix fire lit past the limits of her normal mana reserves.
Then it was time to help Kazue. Her completely black eyes had a hard shininess that reminded Moriko eerily of an insect''s eyes, though there was thankfully no faceting. Forcing her to drink a healing potion helped return some color to her skin and lighten the layer of black on her eyes, but it was nowhere near enough. Moriko made each of them take a few more healing potions and a couple of the honey stamina potions, but the potions were doing only so much to help after that sort of ordeal and no one had gone back to looking even somewhat normal. Moriko was fairly certain she did not want to know what she looked like in any detail, but she had noticed that some of the lightning scars she''d given herself were not entirely static. Becoming a bolt of living shadow lightning was not on her list of things she wanted to experience.
This was the first time she''d actually seen this sort of condition. She''d heard stories before, most of them were cautionary tales such as a legendary warrior who had pushed himself so far in a desperate bid to hold back an invading army that he''d transformed into a living spirit of war and rage. The one thing that all such stories had in common was the prolonged strain against a steady tide. The rising desperation, the need to keep digging just a bit deeper for power. It was not the sort of thing one experienced facing a near-equal opponent, it was the result of constantly fending off something that was just dangerous enough that you had to spend effort to deal with.
Which was exactly what they had been doing. Their foe had been fragile and weak, but relentless and seemingly endless. Still, she would have expected the recovery potions to have helped more by now. Restoring the body should make it easier to start gathering and generating spiritual energy to surround the soul with again. That should be enough to revert what should be superficial changes at this point. Moriko was the least visibly affected at this point, barring the difficulty with staying on the ground, but none of them seemed to be getting better.
Mordecai''s core asked, "Who are you?"
"What? What do you mean?" Moriko asked back. She was certain now that she was missing at least part of her tongue, but she could still communicate this way at least.
"Answer the question true, but answer not to me. Query your heart, and answer to thee."
Moriko thought several bad words at him before she started working on the problem. Mordecai didn''t do cryptic like this on a whim, and he''d even rhymed to draw attention to how deliberately unclear he was being. She was fairly certain that it was not related to the faerie stuff, which meant that figuring out what he meant was part of the solution she needed. Moriko didn''t even know what she needed a solution for, but she trusted Mordecai to only be doing this if she needed it.
A certain amount of introspection was a necessary part of mastering herself and her passions, but this felt like it was going to be outright philosophical. Kazue and Bridgette had passed out in the few minutes while Moriko wasn''t paying attention, so she sighed and sat down to meditate on the question of who she was.
At first, her mind simply bounced between some of the aspects of who she was, but for all of the labels she could give herself, none of them felt like they answered the question correctly. So she shifted her focus and started with her past. Who she had been, the wild child of two loving parents. The eldest child. Onward, a teen now, finding new trouble with boys, and then on to being a trainee at the temple. She was still good at finding trouble, but most people there were troublemakers of some sort. She fit in there, and that second home became part of who she was.
More than twenty years had passed between stepping into that monastery for the first time and stepping into Kazue''s dungeon. Twenty years of change, but there was always a steady thread of self throughout that change. Who she was now tied to everything she had ever been, and the heart of that wild child could be seen still in the adult of the present, right down to her smirk when she was having a fun fight.
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After that point, finding herself became harder. So many things had changed so fast, but there were still threads to tie them all together. Moriko didn''t try to pull all of that into a tight focus yet, she simply gathered them up and made sure every piece was there and was true, right down to the secret, guilty thrill she''d had when she''d first slept with Mordecai. Letting him invade her soul had required surrendering control at a level she''d never done before, which had been a little scary and more than a little arousing. From a certain point of view, that moment had been more dangerous to her than even this recent battle.
Moriko focused now on the future. Where did her recent actions lead her, and where did she want to go? What impact on her future did her present labels imply? Was any of that something she didn''t want? Could she accept everything that wasn''t part of what she truly wanted?
The hardest adjustment to being a wife had been to become truly dedicated to the two of them, and she''d already dealt with that. The idea of becoming a mother was newer but had been very easy to accept once she considered it. Domestic bliss wasn''t a bad image. Not that she imagined their lives were going to ever be truly tranquil.
She was also technically an adoptive mother to two women she hadn''t met yet. Fuyuko seemed a delight, and she was happy to take that responsibility on. Carmilla on the other hand, well, Moriko was less than happy with the faerie princess. Being motherly might be difficult, but she could at least try to be a life guide and mentor where needed, and where it would be accepted.
Being a ''queen'' was more difficult, and she was still working out what that meant to her. Her position in the dungeon was technically unequal to the cores, she was their wife but she was also their contractor, rather than a fellow core. But her position as a faerie queen was equal to theirs, and she wasn''t entirely sure how that was going to affect things inside of their domain. All the inhabitants already treated her with the same respect as the cores, would it make much difference?
There was uncertainty in that part of her future, but that was okay. Moriko accepted those unknowns; her husband and her wife would be at her side through all of it, and all would be well.
Priestess was a new title too, and it carried more responsibility to help others than her position as a monk did. But she was enjoying it, and it was easy to see herself doing so in the future.
What did all of that mean when combined with her recent past? Who did that make her now? Moriko started pulling all of these aspects of herself into one coherent mental picture, and with a smirk decided on a family name for the three of them, using that change to reinforce her sense of identity. She was Moriko Azeria.
The family name was obvious, and she had no doubt the others would have agreed to it if she''d asked, but Moriko had deliberately not asked. A bit of mischief to acknowledge that part of herself, and also make her mark on their relationship, an action she took that affected all of them without being nearly so drastic as some of the things she''d been subjected to because of the dungeon.
When she opened her eyes, Moriko felt refreshed and at ease. She was still more tired than she could describe, but she felt intrinsically better than she had before she''d started her meditation.
This also gave her insight into why she had to center her identity like that. They had purged the physical manifestation of the corruption, but she could feel its aura still. Thankfully, it had been the last two fingers on her right hand that she''d had to remove because now she needed to write.
[Answer this in your heart: Who Are You?]
She woke her companions and showed the paper to each of them, and once she had their attention she flipped it over to write, [Yes, this is important. Meditate on it. Dig deep.]
Kazue frowned at her. "Why are you writing instead of speaking?"
Moriko had to resist the urge to just open her mouth and show Kazue. She shook her head instead and simply wrote down, [We can fix it later, do this first].
Bridgette and Kazue looked confused and like they''d rather pass out, but Moriko pestered them into focusing on the problem. Kazue found her answer first, though it still took her longer than it had taken Moriko. Bridgette might have had significantly more formal training and experience than Kazue had, but Kazue had been tested and pushed by life and death far harder than Bridgette had and had needed to decide who she wanted to be before, if not to so deep and fundamental a level.
When Kazue opened her eyes again, they were much clearer than before, though both her pupils and irises seemed a little large still to Moriko, and the whites of her eyes were still a touch gray. Kazue''s smile from feeling better soon faded as she took a real look at Moriko and flew into a near panic as she began fussing over her wife''s wounds. Moriko was happy to finally relax and be tended to, and Kazue was so very sweet in her attentions, right down to gently kissing even the worst looking of Moriko''s wounds and being unbothered by Moriko''s lack of a tongue when she kissed Moriko''s mouth.
By the time Kazue was done cleaning and tending to Moriko''s wounds, Bridgette had finished her meditations as well. Not that Moriko''s wounds needed a lot of tending, the potions had seen to the most dangerous parts of all of their purely physical injuries, but she still had many spots of tender, raw-feeling flesh.
"Oh, Moriko," Bridgette whispered when she realized the extent of Moriko''s injuries, "I, I will try in a day or two, I don''t dare call upon my flames right now. But, I don''t know how well that will work. A true phoenix could fix everything, but I don''t have nearly that much power."
Moriko was amused; for all that the princess was calling directly upon a legendary font of healing power she couldn''t regenerate missing bits, while Akahana had been able to set regeneration spells on multiple patients.
It was simply a power gap. Of the three of them, Moriko was the closest to Akahana''s strength. At least, the strength that the kitsune druid had demonstrated after decades of not pursuing the development of her druidic powers. Who knows what insights having been a mother and a gardener for twenty years might provide her now that she was off traveling again; life and growth are key aspects of a druid''s path after all.
One thing that helped keep Moriko''s mood up enough to be amused at the situation was the knowledge that getting back home should get her tongue and fingers restored. Mordecai was less certain about some other things, but that could wait for later. Moriko didn''t have the energy to pass on communications, or even do much more than listen to Mordecai and Kazue''s core as she dragged out some blankets to curl up into. Even the bedrolls were too much work, and it wasn''t long before the three women were passed out on the floor; they had pushed themselves to stay up for the crucial time period, and now there was nothing urgent enough to keep them conscious.
222: A Familiar Dilemma
Recovery from their battle took a while, with their full physical recovery hindered by how deep they''d dug into their spirits. It not only diverted some of the energy that their bodies would use, but with that aspect of themselves so raw none of them wanted to use any magic or powers, not even healing prayers. It hurt like trying to make torn muscles lift something heavy, but worse. So instead they went through cycles of sleeping, eating, and digging deeper into their stock of recovery potions.
Once Moriko was feeling well enough to focus on transcribing, she passed on Mordecai''s explanation of what had happened. [Mordecai made his calamity dragons hard to kill, and able to fuel healing by eating. This corruption is a mutation of that power. The smallest piece that can be alive, consumption, and replication run amok. He thinks a calamity dragon is sleeping somewhere beneath us.]
His explanation was more complicated than that, but Moriko didn''t entirely understand what he meant by the smallest pieces of a creature having unrestricted multiplication and growth, and trying to understand it well enough to pass it on was beyond her right now. Kazue''s core seemed much more interested in the lesson than Moriko was, but her avatar was just going to have to wait until they got back to the dungeon to learn all of that.
Kazue shivered. "There''s one of his war dragons sleeping beneath us? I guess the person that brought us here is keeping the dragon asleep, but it''s kind of scary."
Princess Bridgette was focused on a different part of the message, and frowned before asking, "How does that work? I don''t get how the regeneration power leads to that thing that we fought."
"Oh!" Kazue said, "I think I have this one. Um, okay, imagine that a rock fell on a leaf of grass that had a bug on it. Both the leaf and the bug get squished, but they have this curse. So the bug bits and the grass bits are both trying to grow again, only they are all mixed together and the bug is dead even if its bits are not, so they are all growing wild and competing with each other, only the growth isn''t directed properly. Take that, and multiply that by everything living in an area, and we get what we saw. There were nerves and brains, but nothing coherent or long-lasting enough to create a mind. It was just the consumption-driven bits of all the different things that used to be separate creatures and plants. That is why its spirit was so weak for such a big creature."
Huh. Moriko''s little fox had learned more than Moriko had realized. She had seen how adorably earnest Kazue had been when focusing on Mordecai''s lessons, but Moriko didn''t do well with lectures. She preferred more physical teaching methods. In more ways than one, she thought to herself with a smirk. Moriko snapped herself out of that thought chain to focus back on the conversation at hand.
"So the whole thing about finding our identity was to keep these smallest living bits leashed to the needs of our bodies, instead of doing their own thing?" Bridgette asked.
Kazue nodded and replied, "Yeah, though that would only work for something like this. Sometimes the bits just break and do something like that," she paused in confusion before continuing, "but I don''t remember exactly how I know that. Or why I don''t know more."
Moriko wrote down, [Core?]
"That''s annoying but probably right," Kazue said, "a core knows way too much minutia to cram everything into a brain. Usually. I suspect our husband dearest has some trick up to get around that."
"Not a lot more, I''m mostly experienced in refining the information I keep to be exactly what I need." Mordecai said, and Moriko shook her head at Kazue and then shrugged before holding her hand up in the ''little bit'' gesture.
"Only a little bit?" Kazue asked and then mused, "I guess even he has his limitations."
"So," Bridgette said, "we''re trapped in this cave, somewhere above the sleeping form of a powerful dragon suffering from corruption, and the dragon is being kept there by someone else who we think is also a dragon. What is our next plan."
"Rest and recuperation," a masculine voice cut in as the inner portion of the silvery dome around them flickered off. This gave them access to the rest of the mound that they had entered, but it looked to be little more than barren earth and stone. The image of the silver-haired man appeared in the center of that space. "You have done well, and I have hope that you will be strong enough to take on the task we can not do ourselves."
Moriko had to fight for a moment to separate her emotions from the surge of anger from her spouses and found the thread of outrage that was all her own. She wrangled it as she glared at the illusion before them, but was unable to speak her mind.
"You are an ass for not giving us better warning of what was waiting for us," Bridgette hissed at him.
The man inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Your complaint is legitimate, but we seek to fulfill a dream, and though we bear you no particular ill will, your safety comes second to us in pursuit of our selfish dream."
Kazue had been watching him with a peculiar expression and now tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Dream?" she asked softly, and then said, "Oh!" Kazue pointed at the image. "You aren''t an illusion, you aren''t real! I mean, there is a real you, but you aren''t even him. You are a dream fragment!"
Moriko and Bridgette turned to stare at her incredulously, and Kazue blushed. "Er, my magic touches on that sort of thing already. He didn''t feel right for just an illusion. Though I don''t think ''we'' means him and his real self."
"Correct," the man responded, "we both sleep beneath you while I work on slowly undoing the worst aspects of her biology without inflicting more suffering, and my complete self is not entirely aware of you. I have been creating a record of our interactions so that my conscious self will know what has happened when I eventually awaken again."
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Mordecai''s voice whispered into Moriko''s mind, "Tread carefully. He has created or teleported physical objects while only existing as a limited dream fragment. Our shared dreams have involved drawing the entirety of our minds into the realm of dreams, this is merely a piece of his mind manifesting in the physical world while he sleeps."
That was rather terrifying. Moriko frowned and pointed at the illusionary man, then gestured at her companions and herself before shrugging with a curious expression.
"What do I want with you? Hmm, maybe for this stage it may be best to explain first to let you prepare yourselves. I hope to have you save some of our children, though it will come at great risk to yourselves. We have eggs that I have put into stasis and they are alive, but they have been touched by the corruption. The three of you may be able to save three of them, if you are willing to put your lives at further risk, and this risk comes with a potential benefit."
A few things were starting to make more sense. Moriko was beginning to suspect that draconic possessiveness could make them even more irrational about their offspring than most parents. That thought she aimed at Mordecai, mixed with affection as she metaphorically tweaked his nose. But their host had more to say.
"They do not have a strong enough sense of self to survive hatching. At least, not without a strong, personal bond," his face twisted into a sour expression as he continued, "such as a familiar''s bond. You have proven strong enough to resist the corruption with little time to set yourself against it, and your sense of self should be even stronger than before. If you are willing, I would have each of you attempt to forge a bond with one of our children, which will cause their egg to hatch."
There was clear pain in his voice as he spoke softly, "If it works, they will still be changed by the experience. Your identities and affinities will influence them, and in many ways, they will be less than what they should have been. Still, as familiars, they would be more powerful than most, and they will be alive, and so long as they live, they can grow and become more. We will take that. The other option," he gestured toward the exit of the mount, where they had fought the corrupted flesh before, "is unacceptable."
"And if we fail?" Bridgette asked.
"You die." The calmness with which he spoke made Moriko shiver. It wasn''t exactly a threat, not when they had the option to not even try, but she was fairly certain he wouldn''t let anyone who failed survive when his offspring did not. Perhaps if this was more than a fragment of a personality it would be different, but this limited self was not going to be able to witness one of his offspring die because of someone else''s failure without lashing out. Assuming the person attempting to make the bond survived the resulting corruption to begin with; it seemed quite likely that failing to overcome the corruption of the hatchling would kill them both anyway.
"That''s not exactly fair you know," Kazue said quietly. She''d clearly understood his meaning as well. "If someone tries their best, already risking themselves to even try, they shouldn''t have to face a death sentence if they manage to survive failing to begin with."
Their host closed his eyes. "I know. But I can not be fair in this. So do not try if you do not have the conviction." He shook his head and sighed before opening his eyes again. "I leave you to take your rest and recuperate - yes?"
Moriko had raised her hand to get his attention and now pointed at him with one hand and at the ground with the other. She then raised both index fingers up and brought them together with an eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Ah, a reasonable curiosity. I had previously eliminated two of Mordecai''s creations, for neither of them had been responsive to any attempt at communication. She was able to respond, but she was not able to stop herself either and asked me to end her suffering. Her internal struggles slowed her down enough that I was able to force her down into the ground. She clearly was expecting death and was trying to not resist, but I did not want to snuff out a life that had shown such tenacity in fighting against her own violent urges. Thankfully, Mordecai had not thought to remove other aspects of biology in his drive to create war machines, and certain instincts could be suborned in order to help her submit long enough for my power to encase us in a barrier. Life proceeded as it often does. I was thankfully able to detect the beginnings of corruption before they could develop too far, and put our eggs in stasis. Time has passed, she is better but still far from where she should be, and now here we all are."
Well, that was a lot to take in and Mordecai had a bit he wanted to say to the three of them after this conversation was done, so Moriko simply gave a small bow of thanks.
He nodded back before saying, "Rest, heal, decide. If all of you decide to leave, I will escort you out. Otherwise, I will isolate those who decide to take on this risk and we will proceed." And with that, he was gone.
The next few days held some interesting discussions, including with the cores. Moriko was still limited to writing, it seemed she''d done too good a job at sealing her own wounds for Bridgette''s healing flames to have much impact, even on her tongue, though there were signs that over sufficient time the muscle could be properly restored.
Kazue made a slightly forced joke about looking forward to making sure Moriko''s tongue was fully functional and Moriko made an appropriately rude gesture in her direction. Kazue smirked and said, "Yes, that is the idea." Bridgette shook her head at them and moved the conversation on. Moriko gave Kazue a wink and a smile, she appreciated that her wife was trying to put on a brave face but she had also seen Kazue''s stricken expression when she''d realized how badly Moriko had been injured.
The end result of the discussion was that they were going to go forward with the dragon''s plan. While testing them the way he had was callous, it also reflected his drive to find the best options for his children, and none of them could entirely fault him for that. Most importantly, the lives of innocents were at stake. While the idea of having a dragon hatchling as a familiar was incredible, none of them cared enough about that factor.
They had even considered trying to undo the bond after rescuing the first set, but Mordecai had interjected when the idea was mentioned, "Don''t even think about that. While some familiar binding rituals can be casual, this one is going to require commitment. You are going to need to put all of yourself into it. Also, I suspect that they need to maintain the bond for quite a while anyway. Even with draconic egos, their sense of self will still need time to develop and this corruption is probably rooted deeply."
Mordecai had previously expressed how much he did not want them taking this risk, but he also knew the decision was theirs to make, so he had not belabored the point once his thoughts had been expressed. Kazue''s core wasn''t incredibly thrilled with Moriko taking this risk either, but once the decision was made both cores had put all their effort into being supportive instead.
There wasn''t a lot they could do beyond emotional support, but they were doing what they could. Once they were as ready as they could get, the three women packed up their gear to be ready. They didn''t expect to be staying long after the bonds were made, and that was the only mindset they were allowing themselves right now.
223: Familiar Friends
Kazue was alone with a dragon egg. It was a daunting bit of reality in many ways, but not nearly as overwhelming as watching rock flow to form this chamber, and seeing it do the same to isolate Moriko and Bridgette. She had less to fear than the others, this portion of her spirit would flow back to her core if her body died and she had absolute faith that if some trace of corruption managed to follow her then Mordecai would take care of it.
That didn''t mean there was nothing to fear. She certainly didn''t want to experience that sort of death; drowning had been unpleasant enough and she had plenty to fear in the form of worry about Moriko and Bridgette. But fear wasn''t going to be useful here, so she needed to meditate.
While her dream-touched, psychic magic didn''t require much in the way of meditation to master, her spiritual magic did. Thankfully, her wife and husband had both insisted that she learn the basics, and Moriko had continued that training after her spiritual magic had awakened.
She settled herself next to the egg and closed her eyes to begin. First, she stilled the roil of her emotions, enforcing calmness as she separated out all the pieces of what she was feeling at that moment. Things like fear and resentment were not useful here, but they were acknowledged fully before being set aside to deal with later.
When she was ready, Kazue brought the egg into the circle of her awareness and what she allowed herself to think about as the ritual began. Mordecai had taught her how a standard familiar ritual worked, but this was more complicated. The more advanced the entity that was to become a familiar, the more complicated the ritual generally was. Their host was taking care of part of that for them, and almost all of it for Moriko.
Kazue wanted a friend to play with. That was the part of herself that she could best connect the idea of a familiar to; someone who would be by her side as she talked and played with her dungeon inhabitants, someone who could have fun bouncing on Klastoria or singing and dancing with the theater bunkins. A companion to sneak to the kitchen with her for a midnight snack, and who would conspire with her to play a prank on Mordecai or Moriko.
There were some places and activities where the friend would not be involved, but that was okay too. A friend was a separate person too, and her new friend should be able to make more friends of their own as well. Most of their lives would be shared together, but not all. That was the natural way of life.
All of these thoughts and feelings had been fed to the life that was just awakening in the egg, its mind starting to form immediately after consciousness. Few sapient beings formed minds that quickly, but that made these early moments even more critical. This is where most of their personality was developed. Now that connection began to feed back to Kazue, and it hurt.
Confusion and pain, need and hunger roiled inside the mind and body of the forming dragon. Kazue cried out as she shared that pain and leaned in to hug the egg tightly. She soothed the little one inside, cooing soft promises of how she would take care of it, she was here to take away the suffering. Kazue wanted her new friend to be happy and joyous, and she would do whatever it took to ease away the hurt. All she needed was for her new friend to trust her, and Kazue would gladly take this pain so that her friend didn''t need to suffer. They were going to take this on together.
Time lost meaning as she sank into that mire of torment, but the terrible, primal needs inflicted by that living corruption could not take her. She stood firm against the torrent and drew the newborn soul to her, wrapping it in comfort and security as she helped guide the new mind into finding itself. Kazue''s presence and the shape of her mind and desires were inevitably permanent influences on the forming personality, but she had to be in order to provide the anchor that the infected hatchling dragon could hold onto during these critical moments.
There was a sharp cracking sound, and soon after Kazue opened her eyes to greet the baby dragon tumbling out of the egg and into her lap. For a dragon, the creature was rather catlike in shape, complete with a covering of red fur that mostly hid her protective scales. But no cat had those wings, and the molten gold of this feline-like dragon''s eyes was unmistakable.
"Oh, you are such a beautiful girl, yes you are," Kazue said with a light sing-song note in her voice as she stroked the newborn soothingly, "and red fur just like my own," though not an exact match, given that her new friend had stripes of alternating shades of red and red-orange. The baby dragon burped, eliciting a yelp from Kazue as she dodged the tiny fireball, followed by giggling. "Oh, I think I know what I want to call you. What do you think of Carnelian Flame? We can call you just Carnelian or Flame for short. Or maybe Cara? Neli? Anyway, my wife''s given us a family name, so I guess that would make you Carnelian Flame Azeria. That''s a nice majestic name, for a majestic girl like you." Kazue wasn''t sure why she knew the dragon''s gender, but she was certain that she was correct.
The dragon blinked up at her and then nodded uncertainly. "Yes? I think that is a good name, Mother?" she half said, half asked.
Kazue giggled happily. "Oh, that''s sweet, but I am afraid not. Your mother is very sick, and your father is having to spend almost all of his energy taking care of her until she gets better. So he asked me to help take care of you. But don''t worry, I am going to love you just as much as she would if she could be here, and I am going to take great care of you. We have a wonderful home waiting for you, and you will get to have lots and lots of friends to play with. Doesn''t that sound fun?"
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Carnelian Flame purred softly as she replied, "Yes, that does sound like a lot of fun, Mistress."
Oh dear. Kazue should have expected that. Hmm. "You can call me that if you want, but you can also just call me by my name, Kazue, or maybe ''Miss'' if you want. Perhaps Lady? Well, we can work on it, I just want you to be happy. Come on, it''s time to get ourselves together and meet two of your siblings, along with my wife and a friend of ours. You get to meet my husband when we get home."
This was when she noticed how much of a mess the process had left. Her ''kitten'' might be twenty pounds, but there was at least twenty pounds more ''stuff'' that was left behind, not including the shell. Kazue knew that the normal egg hatching didn''t leave behind this much material and saw no reason that this wouldn''t be true for dragons as well, so she was pretty certain that the dark sludge was a sacrificial offcast to eliminate the corrupted flesh. A few whispered spells got the worst of it off of her, and Carnelian settled onto her shoulders to watch.
Which was also how Kazue came to realize that her cat-like dragon had six legs for some reason. This also meant fifty percent more prickles and pokes while the young dragon learned claw control. Ow. They were going to have to work on that.
When they were let out into the main chamber, Moriko was already there with her new friend and Bridgette didn''t take too much longer to arrive. Kazue shuddered with relief as that fear was put at ease.
Moriko''s familiar was a long, sleek-bodied dragon with bright blue and yellow stripes, a whip-like tail, and two heads, one of them all blue and the other all yellow. She''d named the yellow one "Lightning" and the blue one "Thunder", and nicknamed them both "Sparks", for when she needed their attention fast, though the dragon had to speak for her to let them know. Appropriately for their names, Lightning could spit bolts of electricity and Thunder could use a sonic scream, though much like with Carnelian they both had a ways to go before they could be considered useful as attacks.
Bridgette''s new friend was almost bird-like in appearance, covered as much in multi-colored feathers as he was in scales and with feather-covered wings, though he did still have four legs. Though his snout was long and slender, it was still clearly a mouth, not a beak, and was filled with tiny sharp teeth. Bridgette had named him "Fintan", which meant "White Fire". His breath weapon was white like phoenix fire but also carried the potency of dragon fire. That meant little for now, but the princess was going to have quite the terrifying guardian as her friend grew into his power.
Everyone had some of the sludge from this particular process clinging to them, but none of the women wanted to stay any longer than they needed to so they cleaned up minimally before grabbing their packs. They were all familiar enough with the corruptions by now to tell that the sludge was completely dead and merely gross instead of harmful.
The dream fragment manifested at the exit from the mound and said, "My children, I am glad you are safe and well, and I am sorry that your mother and I can not raise you. Moriko, Kazue, Bridgette, I ask that you keep these events mostly a secret, but also request that if you find others who are capable of and willing to take on this task that you help them find us."
Hmm. Kazue glanced at the other two and then back to the image of a silver-haired man. "We''ll discuss that topic later, but if nothing else know that we will consider the welfare of your children first."
Their host bowed his head in acknowledgment and disappeared. The way out opened for them, and a flickering light led the way across the wasteland that had been filled with corruption just days before. Even now there was an occasional flash of silvery dragon fire.
During the trek out through the caves, Kazue contemplated the nature of this corruption. While it was a reasonable description of the end effect, it wasn''t as malignant as the word made it sound. There was no ill intent associated with it, it was ''only'' some basic instincts and needs becoming unbalanced and fueled by magic into something that could spread and infect other creatures. That it came from undoing some of Mordecai''s work in how he crafted his calamity dragons was rather disturbing, and she was fairly certain that her core was digging for more details right now.
They made a camp in the valley outside of the dungeon, which gave their familiars some space to roam about and explore, both physically and mentally. Carnelian was the one who roamed the furthest and quickly proved to be an adept little hunter, though Kazue was quite happy to pass on sharing that little meal, all her previous ire at squirrels forgotten. Fintan didn''t feel much need to explore in detail but he clearly enjoyed being able to practice flying, his wings stretched out wide as he glided in slow circles above the camp.
Sparks flitted back and forth from the camp, chasing after their sister. It was clear they wanted to explore more, but they also wanted to be close by in case their mistress needed their help translating her thoughts. For Kazue, the most amusing part about that was when Lightning and Thunder would bicker about the exact best way to express a thought whenever Moriko wasn''t crystal clear about what exact words she wanted them to pass on for her. They made for adorable ''twin'' brothers.
As for the dragon''s identity, they seemed to switch back and forth between considering themselves a single entity and the two heads behaving independently. Kazue suspected that having two brains was a little like having a core and an avatar but without the same type of synchronization. She wondered if they counted as having one soul or two? Both options seemed complicated and confusing. Can you have one and a half souls? Probably not.
Their tent was very warm that night, with three baby dragons snuggling in as well, but Kazue was glad for the extra comfort. The past week had been physically and emotionally exhausting, and this was the safest she''d felt since the night they''d received their visitor. She did still wonder what his name was, but he probably wanted to avoid the possibility of being distracted by its use. It seemed likely to her that he was powerful enough to be responsive to the use of his name, even if he couldn''t directly hear the person saying it.
224: Picnic Lunch
The past week had been emotionally rough for everyone even as the dungeon kept a mostly normal front when dealing with the public. On top of that, they had received a visit from Moriko''s parents and Traxalim. Bellona was still amused by Traxalim''s irritation when he received an explanation of what had happened. She''d tried to put a humorous spin on it by telling him that he had un-aged gracefully, but that didn''t help. "Yes," he''d said wearily, "I am unfortunately aware. I preferred it when my subordinates and trainees thought of me in a more grandfatherly fashion."
That hadn''t occurred to her, but she could see it. Traxalim was now a handsome sort of middle-aged and he had the right combination of grace, confidence, and kindliness to make him very attractive to some younger women, and even more attractive to women closer to his apparent age.
While she''d been explaining the situation to the priest, Mordecai had been talking with Jhaeros and Kaoru. Moriko''s status as a Faerie Queen explained where Kaoru''s new ability to smell magical properties of plants and alchemical ingredients had come from, and why Jhaeros''s homunculus familiar had gained fey traits and now looked more like a brownie than an alchemical construct. Jhaeros didn''t mind his familiar having a bit more personality, but it had been rather disconcerting of a change to wake up to.
Thankfully these sudden awakenings appeared to only propagate linearly; none of Moriko''s siblings had shown signs of fey traits, much to Galan''s disappointment.
Unfortunately for Mordecai, they''d also asked how their daughter was doing. Bellona had been entertained listening to him very carefully phrase how Moriko and Kazue had gotten into an interesting adventure with a new friend of theirs going by the name of Ruby.
They''d both given him hard looks when they realized how carefully he''d said that. In the end, he''d stonewalled them with, "There are secrets involved that are not mine. There is more I could say, but I think it best for Moriko to tell you herself after she gets back. Once they return, none of us is planning on leaving anytime before spring, so there is plenty of time."
Once he''d locked down with that, he didn''t budge. Standing firm against the reasonable concerns of one''s in-laws was not an easy task, but he knew how to hold his ground. It made Bellona wonder how much practice he''d had with being that type of stubborn over the centuries of his life. They''d eventually left off their questioning, though neither looked pleased about it.
Bellona also had been busy communicating with the capital. Sure, Mordecai wanted those troops from Trionea here for training, but officially transporting that many soldiers on orders was difficult to do across Kuiccihan borders, and whatever arrangements Mordecai and the Baron made, both were still limited by politics between Trionea and Kuiccihan.
During that flurry of communications, the dungeon had also received word confirming that Dimitri Igorek had managed to escape. All else being equal, the wards that had been erected should have been enough to prevent his teleportation out, except the compound where the mage lived was not his true safehold. Not when he had an enslaved dungeon nearby.
Examination of Dimitri''s rooms revealed that he''d used an expensive one-shot talisman to help power his escape. Combined with his connection to the enslaved dungeon, putting up a ward strong enough to stop a wizard of his strength was nearly impossible. On the upside, Mordecai was fairly confident that Dimitri couldn''t use a similar trick for a second escape from the dungeon once cornered there. There was no evidence of him having another fallback location, and without a prepared location to teleport to the same power-up trick wouldn''t work.
No, the real trick was going to be making the wizard stay dead once they got that far. Bellona hadn''t had to deal with that sort of fight yet herself, but she''d had her training. A prepared wizard was hard to properly kill, there were several tricks that could be used as automated contingencies to prevent an actual death.
At least they shouldn''t have to deal with the dungeon having a full break. Mordecai had sent instructions to fire a messenger arrow into the dungeon with a note reading [We have no interest in harming the dungeon, we know you have enough stores that this should not do more than inconvenience you.]
After that, he''d told them how far back to set barricades and rules of engagement to ensure no one got dragged back to the dungeon alive, and other wizards were setting up wards to prevent natural mana flow. This would starve a dungeon in normal circumstances, but Deidre had been able to confirm that she had a painfully large pool of mana she wasn''t allowed to use properly. According to Mordecai, ''painful'' was not sufficient as a description. Under normal circumstances, there was a maximum amount a dungeon could hold before they needed to use it, but an enslaved dungeon could be forced to hold more than their normal capacity.
There was a clear reason for the dungeon to be forced to hold that much mana; spending it on growth would make the dungeon stronger, which would strain the bindings that kept the core enslaved. But that mana pool was dangerous once the bindings were broken; it would be difficult for a recently freed dungeon to spend or control. But dealing with that part was not going to be her job, and Bellona was glad for it.
For now, her job was to keep training dungeon inhabitants in the arts of war and to deal with the occasional visiting troublemaker. She was pretty good at both and was quite pleased with how the kobolds were integrating with the rabbit clans.
A couple of days after Kazue, Moriko, and Ruby were verified to be safe, Kazue''s core caught Bellona''s attention right before lunchtime. "You should take the rest of the day off," she said, sounding pleased.
Bellona frowned slightly at the sudden announcement and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"You''ll see!" Kazue''s mental voice had a sing-song tone to it as she avoided answering the question, but Bellona didn''t have to wait long before the answer came walking into the arena a few moments later, wearing a pack. Bellona had been wondering where Xarlug had disappeared to, and Xarlug''s slightly nervous smile had her suspicious about what was up.
Still, she wasn''t going to take the lead here, he had a plan and Bellona was going to see how this played out. So she simply asked, "Something on your mind?"
Xarlug shifted his weight and cleared his throat before asking, "Well, I thought it might be nice to share a lunch together someplace private, and I know a nice spot for a picnic, so, um, care to take a bit of a walk with me?"
The reddish tint to his skin made it hard to pick out a blush, but Bellona was pretty certain it was there. She smiled and replied, "Yeah, I think that sounds nice. Let me change quickly first." This didn''t seem like the sort of situation where armor would be a romantic addition. Bellona also took a moment to sluice some water over her skin before hastily drying off and pulling on a shirt and trousers. Too much sweat wasn''t sexy, especially once it had time to dry.
The walk led them into the warrens and eventually down a suspiciously new and unused-looking tunnel that dead-ended at a cozy little cavern smelling of warmth and earth. The uneven floor was covered with a soft and lush mossy layer and the walls were decorated with a mixture of fungal and crystal blooms that gave off a soft glow and left the space just dim enough to help set the mood with the high-end near the entrance large and flat enough to fit a picnic blanket comfortably. From there, the floor gently tumbled downward with a quietly burbling stream feeding into the clear, nearly still pond at the far end. The pond with a collection of colorful stones and a small group of fireflies dancing over its surface, hid beside it a small alcove with towels and changes of clothes. It was as romantic as some of those books the delvers, especially the kitsune shrine maidens, had recently taken to bringing out of the library; and she felt certain that Kazue had designed it.
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"It''s a pretty place you''ve stumbled on to here," Bellona teased as Xarlug set down his pack.
He shrugged and grinned, "Alright, you have me there. I asked for it, and Kazue obliged." Xarlug brought a large blanket out of the pack and laid it out before he started bringing out food and drink.
Bellona considered the offered fare a moment as she noticed a pattern for about half of the prepared food. "That''s a nice selection," she commented with a neutral tone, "why did you pick these?"
"Ah, your cousin helped there," he admitted, "so I decided to make it half your favorite foods and half mine, and enough to share. You know, a way to get to know each other''s tastes better."
Not a bad idea and Bellona could deal with Kansif later. "That sounds fun," she replied, her voice warming as she smiled. She''d have been less pleased if he''d simply tried to include her favorite foods, or if certain selections had been his choice. Oysters and caviar were not particularly high on her list, and in context it made the honey cakes suspect too. The mead she could find no fault with even if it was also supposedly an aphrodisiac; the dungeon made a nice fizzy brew.
They took the time to eat slowly while they talked, which was a bit hard for Bellona at first. Her lunch normally started a good hour earlier and exercise always left her hungry. Once her hunger was sated enough, she made a game out of the ''special'' food that Kansif had suggested and insisted that she and Xarlug feed those to each other. He didn''t seem to be aware of what they were supposed to be, and it was more fun than just eating them would have been. They ate messily and playfully enough that they required a little bit of clean-up after eating them that way, but that was part of the fun, as was sneaking in the occasional kiss to ''help'' clean off a spot of honey.
After their picnic lunch, Xarlug started fidgeting nervously and then finally said, "So, I think it''s about time I told you a little more about me, and the man whose name I bear." It was a sudden shift in the tone of their afternoon, but that also told her that this was important.
Bellona nodded and replied, "Alright, I''m listening," as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. It was obvious that this was going to be difficult for him, but there was little she could do to help other than be patient.
"Well, first, the original Xarlug was a warlord, and in his time had banded together a lot of the tribes in the southern plains. Everything I know about him points to him being not remotely a nice person. But he had charisma, and there was a small group of devoted followers that outlived him. They sort of worshiped him and spread stories saying that he was going to be resurrected and become even mightier than before. Which comes around to me."
He looked down and toyed with a fork as he gathered his thoughts again. "I am a clone. I said before that I had his memories, but that was not entirely true. I have the memories that were constructed for me out of the stories others knew; I was meant to become his replacement and a figurehead for a new wave of conquest. But it is worse than that."
She reached over and took one of his hands in hers, and simply held it. Xarlug flashed her a brief, pained smile and then continued, "The woman who created me had her own obsession. Her notes suggest that she was lying to them and telling them she was preparing a resurrection ritual when she was making a clone instead. Her real plan had been to make me a puppet, and to that end, she had also deliberately created a flaw in me, a sort of hole in my brain. If that hole is not properly ''plugged'', I can just simply be taken over by anyone who knows how to do it. And the only way to plug the hole is for me to be under someone''s sway."
Bellona had a bad feeling about where this was going, but she held his hand firmly when she felt him start to pull back. She wasn''t going to let go, not when he was telling her something like this.
Xarlug swallowed hard before he could speak again. "She intended to make me her toy as well and use her magic to support my conquest. And when the time was ripe she''d have had us get ''married'', and she''d have born my children with the intent of founding a legacy and maybe an empire. Any woman with even moderate enchanting skills could take advantage of the flaw she''d intended to use for herself, and her books suggest that she was very skilled. I would have been her creature. We don''t know what exactly happened to interfere with this plan, I was found in a buried laboratory whose enchantments had held over the centuries. Above this place was a set of ruins that had been the site of a battle. Presumably, she died there."
He took a deep breath and let out a shuddering sigh. "Princess Orchid and Paltira are the ones who found me, though I certainly did not know she was a princess at the time. I was still held inside the chamber where I had been grown and implanted with memories, unaware of anything at all. Orchid was careful, she read the books, she studied the rituals, and she did what she could to minimize the flaw. But it was already built inside of me, grown with me. So when she woke me up, Orchid helped me learn who and what I actually was, despite my initial skepticism."
He looked embarrassed when he said, "I was a mixture of vulnerable and dangerous that could become a disaster, and I could hear those constructed memories clamoring for conquest. So when she made an offer to bind me in a way similar to how her consort was bound to her, I accepted. I had no place in this world anyway, and I could not trust myself. It seemed better to be lightly bound to someone making an offer rather than risk simply being taken and becoming someone''s property. It''s... not entirely comfortable of a bond because we don''t behave or feel the way the bond was meant for."
Xarlug held her gaze while he spoke quietly, "I can always feel her mind and emotions, however distantly, and I have to push that to a very distant corner for everyone''s sake. Which brings us to the hardest part. I don''t dare to be unbound, but none of us want me to remain connected to Orchid. Which means being bound to someone else, if I can find someone to trust, and they are willing."
That was a lot to ask, but he was putting his trust in her. Bellona closed her eyes as she thought, and when he started to pull his hand away again she drew it up to her lips instead before settling his hand in her lap. She wasn''t going to let him run away, but she needed to think and be sure before she did or said anything.
There were some things not being said here. For one, she was pretty certain that a bond meant for lovers involved sleeping together once, though she was pretty certain it was only the one time from the way he behaved. It would also make it very awkward if he could feel Orchid''s emotions every time she and Paltira... yeah, best not to think about that part too much.
Going from where they were to being bonded that way would be a big jump. Bellona wanted to progress their relationship and if it worked out she was considering something more long-term or permanent, but this would be accelerating that process a lot.
She eventually came to a decision that would do for now and opened her eyes to smile at Xarlug. "I''m open to the idea, but I think we need to work on a few things first. I am used to taking the lead and pulling others after me and I have to know that you won''t just fold to my will. It''s clear that Paltira can stand up to Orchid and set some of their rules, so it''s not one-sided." Bellona let go of his hand and sat up a little more. "The question is, can you take charge?"
"What?" Xarlug asked, clearly confused.
"I said, can you take charge?" Her smile slid into a challenging smirk as she continued, "and can you make me feel not in control at all?"
His eyes widened as he got it. "Oh. Wait, you know that she''ll know, right?"
"Yes," Bellona replied, "but I do hope that''s not enough to stop you." She tried to not blush as she said that, feeling more than a little scandalous. Bellona was not inexperienced, but she normally kept such matters private. She also tended to take control and get what she wanted. This step was going to be important for both of them, one way or another.
Then he kissed her and didn''t ask any more questions with words. Even their small tusks made kissing a little more difficult, but a bit of roughness was fine by her.
Bellona still had to guide him a little, but he was a quick study. That afternoon in the private little space was going to be a good start, though not enough by itself. She was comfortable with being in charge more often than not in their relationship, but he had to be confident enough to not let her push him around either.
Much later that evening, Bellona caught Kansif giving her a knowing smirk, and Bellona rolled her eyes at her cousin''s theatrics. She also made sure to find a private moment to pull Kansif aside and said, "Make sure Xarlug can stand up to me if we ever have a strong disagreement."
Kansif nodded as she dropped the smirk and replied, "He told you then? Good. He''s been building up to it for a while." She shrugged at Bellona''s expression. "Orchid tells me everything; I don''t judge, only offer support, options, and questions. Answers are hers to find. It''s not an official duty, but I feel it is my duty."
That made sense to Bellona, given what she''d learned of the princess''s skill set. Orchid needed an outside perspective, as Paltira was too close and biased to provide that point of view. "Just don''t take on too much, alright?" Bellona said as she laid her hand on Kansif''s shoulder, "We can''t have you carrying everyone''s burdens."
"Says the woman who just gave me another burden," Kansif retorted with a grin. "Come on, let''s go get a drink to celebrate a new beginning, and tomorrow I''ll figure out what I can do to help push Xarlug in the right direction."
225: Preparations and Homecoming
The Azeria Mountain Dungeon had settled down into a new pace as the season rolled on while Kazue, Moriko, and Bridgette traveled slowly after their recent trials. With so many different paths and challenges, there was a constant flow of people seeking to challenge themselves and possibly make it rich.
This happened less often than it might seem that it should, simply because people often found the process a little addicting, especially those inclined toward combat to begin with. Even without the one-shot safety net provided by Kazue''s boon, a dungeon was often the best place to push oneself. Unless the dungeon had some reason to not fight fair, a person should be able to reach a place in the dungeon where they are tested by the fights but not overwhelmed. This was where the thrill was, the exhilaration and adrenaline of combat in a somewhat controlled environment. And that combat came with rewards.
The people who wanted more of that thrill often spent most of their funds in improving their gear and supplies. Enchanted gear would never make up for a serious lack of skill or power, but it could provide a much-needed edge. A seasoned warrior with a random stick was more dangerous than a fresh-out-of-training soldier who has been handed a legendary holy blade of antiquity, partly because he lacks the power and experience to handle the blade properly. But given that you have two people of equal strength and skill, preparation and equipment make the difference. And luck. That one was hard to account for.
All of this was amplified by the dungeon''s announcement of a tournament in the early spring. The exact date was not yet announced, but it would be about a month after the snow melted in the region, to give everyone a chance to get there in time, and that approximation should be enough to let most people know when to start traveling.
Qualification was simple; State your intent to join the tournament and clear the dungeon''s combat path, once the dungeon announced that they had grown their last zone until after the tournament. Also, you needed to not die on your way down; all tournament entrants had to have the dungeon''s safety net in place. Entrants would have priority placement for beginning their delves, to ensure the maximum number of possible competitors.
Per the dungeon''s announcement, prizes would be awarded based on performance, plus half the reward value of the qualifying delve would be reserved and added to the value of the tournament prize. This would enable them to award larger, more customized prizes on an individual basis. Should an announced entrant not make it to the arena or otherwise not participate in the event, the reserved rewards would be forfeited, unless the entrant triggered the dungeon''s safety. This was to keep people from claiming to be entrants for the priority delving slot while providing an exception for those who failed while sincerely pushing themselves into risky situations.
Spectators only needed to clear the non-combat path as an entrance fee, and they would still receive their normal value of treasure from overcoming the challenges.
One had until the start of the event to clear the final zone. It was generous in one sense, but it also put the last-minute party at a disadvantage for the first day''s events as they would be tired from the recent boss fight.
Of all qualifying entrants, the ones whose strength stood out clearly would be pulled from the pool to be seeded at appropriate tiers. This was specifically to enable everyone else a chance to participate in the lowest tier or two without being immediately overshadowed.
Once they knew the number of potential entrants, a final decision would be made on the starting size and number of rounds/tiers. The pool of entrants would then be whittled down through preliminary bouts. They would be randomly paired and then duel up to three times. The first person to win two rounds of their duel won that match. Both people would then be assigned another duel partner, though this time with the dungeon doing their best to match up similar skill and power levels based on the previous duels.
This would continue until a person lost three matches, at which point they would be out. When the entrants had been reduced to the number of available starting slots, the preliminaries would be over. But power and skill alone would not be enough, one had to have control and restraint. Killing your opponent during the preliminaries was an automatic disqualification with a forfeit of reserved treasure value.
While they anticipated the possibility that there might be some fatalities during the main fights, the multi-round/match nature of the preliminaries made it extra important to discourage killing blows, as the loser would also automatically be disqualified for no longer having the benefits of Kazue''s boon.
They also wanted to discourage bloodthirstiness in general while not making people unwilling to push themselves, so they created a different rule for the main fights. There were to be no deliberate kills, subject to the dungeon''s judgment. Accidents might happen if one combatant''s guard slipped at the wrong moment, but if there was a clear path to victory then the person with the advantage needed to proceed with patience and restraint, and the dungeon reserved the right to step in and declare a winner even if the losing side was managing to barely stand.
There was an unspoken implication here, for those who could see it. If it looked like one person was barely standing and the dungeon did not intervene, then the dungeon sensed some potential left in the combatant still. This did not mean that the potential would be called forth, merely that it was there. Those who had witnessed a surge of desperate strength and power before would be cautious in this scenario.
To accommodate the possibly very large number of simultaneous fights during the preliminaries, the dungeon set itself a schedule for expanding the size of the arena itself as well as branching corridors leading to a large number of training rooms and fighting rings, with the occasional connecting corridor between the branches. This network cost as much mana as an entire zone for a simpler dungeon, but their layout was making new zones costlier, so it made a smaller impact on their growth speed. Also, after their initial growth using smaller designs, Mordecai and Kazue both wanted larger zones.
Aside from the enjoyment of the creative exercise, there were practical benefits to this design philosophy. Larger, more complicated areas both allowed more simultaneous delvers in a given zone and slowed the relative progress of invaders. One could grow out an earlier zone, but the more one deviated from the original design, the harder and more expensive it was. They had branched out as many ''duplicate'' paths for the first three floors of the non-combat path as they felt was practical, but each cost more than the previous one. The combat path had not gotten the same treatment as there were still only so many bosses for each zone, which was the real bottleneck of creating worthy challenges.
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As expensive as all of this lateral growth was, they fully expected it to pay for itself over time. The tournament itself should be a net positive for the arena before even accounting for all the extra delving that would be happening because of it.
Their sewer was becoming a rich source of mana as well, even if it was the other place they were expanding despite the cost. The small squads of Trionean soldiers were constantly training and progressing through the floors, and the first several squads had Mordecai''s direct supervision once each squad had their basic teamwork down. The step after that was the inter-squad teamwork. A normal army didn''t have to work this way, and guardsmen worked on a much smaller scale.
The patterns were fairly simple, but coordination and trust were hard. Team A1 cleared and secured a room, Team B1 went past them to secure the next room, Team A2 came up to provide support and a larger watch group for A1, Team B2 did the same for Team B1, and Team C1 passed through both rooms to secure the next one, and so on. This left twenty people guarding each room after it was cleared.
But once that pattern was down, they had to deal with branching corridors and keeping communications clear about which branches had how many teams and who had further chambers on their branch that needed clearing.
This required designating runners and making reasonably accurate maps. There were also only so many teams, so eventually the rearmost team needed to move up to the front and clear another room, though it would be the 2-group that did the clear and the 1-group that would provide support.
This teamwork was tested wherever the squads were when the refresh cycle hit and the various creatures respawned in the same rooms where they died and immediately attacked. Mordecai wasn''t certain that this was how Deidre''s dungeon was going to do the respawns, but this was the default behavior if the core didn''t direct otherwise, and it would be difficult for Dimitri to try coordinating any specific changes.
These exercises wouldn''t work for the larger zones in the Azeria Mountain Dungeon or for any environmental dungeon, but from what they had been able to glean from Deidre, it didn''t seem she had any large spaces like this. Of course, this might change by the time the counter-invasion kicked off, but most of the floors should be like this.
The possible variation from the available information was also why the soldiers who died once were put into groups to do ''normal'' delves. They needed the experience of seeing the breadth of what a dungeon could do, lest they become complacent in their expectations.
There was a very noticeable ''mortality'' rate in the soldiers doing the sewer training. Mordecai did not attempt to modify the combat or trap challenges once they were set, including not intervening in a fight that was swinging one way or another. The inhabitants down here were actively trying to kill the soldiers once combat started, but at least they were not actively trying to hunt the soldiers. Yet. That training would come later.
While the dungeon was setting its new routine and laying out plans for its lateral growth, three travelers were making their way closer. Moriko, Kazue, and Ruby were traveling slower than they could have, but despite the restoration of their bodies and mana or chi, their inner spirit was still suffering from having been siphoned off so thoroughly. They also had three young dragons to train and feed, and feeding that many mouths meant hunting. Fortunately, most of the training was covered by hunting and playing right now, and that worked well with spiritual recovery. Rest alone was not the optimal way of recuperating, it worked best when combined with an emotionally rich and positive life. They still had to take breaks more often than they would have, but the young dragons certainly had no issues curling up for a nap, especially Kazue''s felinesque dragon, Carnelian Flame.
This lasted until the day before the Autumn Equinox. Moriko and Kazue had left home almost three months ago and they did not want to miss a major holiday away from their husband. It took them a little bit to figure out a configuration; eventually, they settled with having Moriko carry Ruby in her arms, having Kazue in fox form on Ruby''s stomach, and the three hatchlings clinging to Moriko''s pack and the hastily rigged padding on her shoulders.
Then Moriko ran. Her pace was unsteady at first, she''d not tested herself since they''d started their recovery, but she found her footing pretty quickly. Once her speed was stable, Kazue started focusing on the magic provided by her liminal spirit. It was better with edges and borders, but dimensional space was an aspect as well. She used that magic to reach for her home and that other piece of herself, and she pulled on the space between.
The ground in front of Moriko seemed to shrink, though only in the direction of the dungeon. The contraction was nowhere near as strong as Kazue would have liked, but it was enough to make a difference for the first couple of hours. She couldn''t hold it for longer than that without over-straining herself.
Moriko was forced to go off the path in order to follow that straight line, but it didn''t matter much to her. She simply let go of her grip on the ground and ran through the air about a foot above it. This push was enough to close the distance to the dungeon''s territory by mid-afternoon.
Across the border, she could see Mordecai waiting for them, which was more than enough for a last boost of speed. Kazue leapt into Mordecai''s arms while Moriko took a bare moment to set Bridgette down before joining her wife and husband.
The only thing keeping the trio displaying even a modicum of decorum was the presence of one amused guest and three agitated baby dragons. Once the trio could spare a moment to disentangle and breathe, Moriko and Kazue made introductions all around and Mordecai manifested his eidolon, Shenlong, to play with the hatchlings.
Shenlong was not a discrete entity manifesting through Mordecai the way that Takehiko''s fairy Kayda was, but he could act independently enough for this scenario. That let the three of them escort Ruby to the guest quarters near the core with minimal harassment from the over-excited familiars and make several more introductions along the way, including Fuyuko getting to meet Moriko for the first time and getting hugged half to death by Kazue''s avatar. Fuyuko was, of course, immediately enamored of the dragon hatchlings and was quite pleased to think about how jealous Shizoku and Derek were going to be that she got to meet them first.
There was a lot of socialization to be done until dinner, which was a feast in celebration of the eve of the autumn equinox. Much of it was consumed by the familiars, though Moriko was certainly devouring her share happily. The dungeon reset had happened well before dinner time, and she was happy to be able to taste her food again. Kazue also teased her about being able to finally hold a fork properly again.
When the three young dragons curled up by a hearth to sleep with full bellies, Fuyuko was happy to join them and use her enchanted ring to gossip with her friends, who were indeed rather envious. Shenlong settled in to keep an eye on the hatchlings while the married trio slipped away for a more private celebration.
As for the nature of that celebration, well, Kazue''s core got some inspiration for a few new heated scenes for her seven-book series, "The Princess of the Red Rose and her Samurai Septet". Three of the samurai were women, but all were going to be part of the princess''s harem and there were so many possible combinations available for the spicy bits.
226: The Autumn Equinox
The autumn equinox was Ozuran''s holiday, and as such it was often less about active celebration than the other major holidays. Still, the evening before had been a celebratory feast, and had there been more children present Mordecai would have arranged something appropriate. Many people were at least a little afraid of the dark, and an evening party involving scary costumes gave young people a chance to grapple with that fear in a safe environment.
The day of the equinox was, for adults at least, a time to deal with unfinished things before the end of the year. This could be matters of duty or contracts, work that needed to be done before winter made it difficult or impossible, meditative reflections on one''s past and intended future, remembrances of those who had passed away, or preparations for the future in any capacity. Responsibility was an important part of the theme, though this also meant that those with little responsibility often had much of the day to themselves, and few begrudged children and such simply having a free day to themselves when the coming months may mean a lot of time indoors because of the weather.
As a priest of Ozuran, Mordecai had duties to attend to and he decided to get the least pleasant of those out of the way first.
Antoine Demidov gave Mordecai a sour look as he walked into Antoine''s cell. "What do you want?"
"To do my duty as a priest of Ozuran, and see if you need any ministrations upon this autumn equinox," Mordecai replied. Antoine had not been left alone in the weeks since his capture, he''d had plenty of company from various inhabitants. The most persistent of those had been the playwrights, who had wanted insight into the mind and motives of a ''villain''.
It was a simplistic view, and one that Antoine had not been appreciative of, but it was sincere. While the playwrights might have been the most deliberately persistent, the fairies had been the most numerous. Even now a few were ''fleeing'' as Mordecai mentally shooed them away.
Antoine sighed at Mordecai''s response. "Really? Don''t you think I get enough preaching thrown at me already?"
In contrast to his more frequent visitors, there had been Antoine''s weekly visitor, the celestial agent whom the dungeon had forged a contract with. If there was anyone in the dungeon''s territory and domain who needed heavenly guidance, it was Antoine, and there was usually a laganthro or three in attendance for these visits who were interested in becoming priests themselves. The dungeon could provide a simulation of divine abilities for them, but those talents wouldn''t exist outside the dungeon''s territory unless they found a path of devotion toward a deity.
Mordecai shook his head. "I''m not here to preach. I don''t have the patience or desire to figure out a sermon for you. But I do have a duty to at least make myself available upon this day. Do you have anything you wish to discuss with a priest of Ozuran?"
That caused Antoine to look thoughtful for a moment, but in the end he replied, "No, I don''t think I do. At least, not with you or yours."
That was fine by Mordecai, he didn''t want to talk with the man either. "Then I leave you to your solitude." He placed a new book on the small pile that had already been provided to ensure a minimal amount of stimulation for their prisoner, it seemed right to at least provide a copy of Ozuran''s texts on duty and responsibility. Then he turned and left.
After that, Mordecai went to the shrine for the Empyreal Pillars and made himself available to all as he set up a small desk in front of Ozuran''s statue. If anyone needed paperwork done as part of making their end-of-the-year preparations, he wanted to be ready.
He wasn''t particularly busy, but some people needed work on a contract or help with self-reflection or remembrances. There were a few surprises for him, however.
The first surprise was Kazue, and he raised an eyebrow at his wife as she knelt before the statue of Ozuran, with Carnelian Flame watching curiously. Kazue flashed him a smile and a wink before her expression turned more somber. "Nine months ago, I died. Six months ago, I was reborn. I wish to reflect upon the changes to my life, and remember the me that was."
Ah, that made sense. Hmm, had it only been six months since they''d met? A little less really, since she''d been awake for a couple of weeks by then. Mordecai set those thoughts aside and made a mental note to reflect on this time himself, and then focused on providing a priest''s ministrations for his wife. They had talked about these topics before, but this was a more focused and professional conversation. In the end, he didn''t think that she''d had any fresh insights beyond what she''d gained during her visit to her own grave, but she did seem to feel better and that was worth it.
The kiss she gave him before she collected her familiar and left was a nice bonus. Mordecai found it difficult not to be overly cheerful when his next supplicant arrived.
Later that afternoon came his second surprise. Fuyuko wanted to perform a proper remembrance for her parents. It had been six years, but she''d been much younger and circumstances hadn''t been conducive to seeking out a priest at the appropriate time. Circumstances were much different.
After the rites, there was a related topic that had been bothering her. "You and Kazue, ya are basically immortals, right? Probably Moriko soon too, yeah? Yer my adoptive parents now, and right now, someday, I''ll get old while you all stay young. I don''t think I like that idea, but as much as I like Gil I don''t want to be like him either. And it makes me think of Traxalim. I mean, he''s been waiting for his time to come so he can rejoin his family. My mother and father are dead, are they waiting for me? What will they think if I, you know, don''t join them?"
That was a lot to consider, and it would take a while to talk through. Mordecai said, "Why don''t we talk about that after a family dinner? Just the small group of us, topside, and after we eat we can settle in to talk about your concerns." They had added to Kazue''s initial design of their new rooms by extending the area further down the trunk and using the more opaque ''wall'' crystal that she''d designed. The floor directly below their private suite was a common space and the floor below that was Fuyuko''s second bedroom and a selection of guest bedrooms, one of which was currently Princess Bridgette''s room. The princess would be joining them for this dinner of course.
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"Um, yeah, that''s probably a good idea," Fuyuko replied.
Mordecai gave her a hug, and after he stepped back he conjured a scroll and handed it to her. "You will want to read this first. ''The Secrets of Immortality''. It''s a handy guide for a starting point to consider whether or not you want to pursue this path."
Fuyuko''s eyes widened at the title of the scroll. "It''s all in here? It''s that easy?"
"Easy?" Mordecai said with a smile, "No, at least, not the doing aspect. Knowing the secrets is not enough. There is much to be done after that, and that part is hard. The ''secrets'' are not very secret, they don''t need to be." Of course, the girl might not have much of a choice. She was on a path of accumulating power and she had the title of Faerie Princess; Fuyuko might not need to put in much if any effort beyond that to become unaging.
After that, a dazed Fuyuko wandered off to find a place to study her new scroll and Mordecai continued to perform his duties through the afternoon. The number of people requiring his services had trailed off, so he also took this opportunity to muse on the terms of mortal and immortal, and how relative they could be. While someone like Gil was certainly an immortal when compared to most people, in a conversation about gods he would be considered a ''mortal'', as he was not a divinity, divine agent, or similarly powerful spiritual entity.
Celestials, elementals, djinni, fey folk, fiends: these were some of the more common names for various types of creatures that would be considered the least of the truly not-mortals. There was no effort involved in not aging, they simply didn''t. Compared to them, once again even Gil was considered a mortal.
As for Mordecai himself, well, living dungeons were a type of genius loci. Norumi had become another example of such a spirit. Perhaps he should have been counted as a type of immortal all along, but he''d never felt like that sort of naturally unending creature. Perhaps it should be seen as more of a sliding scale than a binary status.
Well, the sun had set, and now it was time to figure out what his third surprise ministration was going to be; she''d been waiting quite patiently after all. Far down in the warrens, there was a tunnel that took advantage of the recent expansion of the dungeon to run all the way to the border with Kuiccihan. There it expanded into half of a small cavern, with the other half being matched by Kuiccihan. A physically crafted table sat astride the border, with chairs on each side.
Mordecai took a seat across from Kuiccihan''s avatar. "I presume this has to do with my responsibilities as a priest."
"Yes," she replied with a smile, "and more specifically as a high priest. I need Ozuran''s direct attention for this."
Well, this was going to be interesting. He trusted that Kuiccihan knew better than to ask such a thing lightly, so Mordecai reached out for Ozuran and drew a tiny drop of the deity''s power to him, wearing Ozuran''s presence like a mantle. His god would not give him direct words to say on Ozuran''s behalf unless it was needed, but his presence filled the room.
Kuiccihan addressed the god directly as she said, "Lord Ozuran, I petition to begin a change in my status. I appreciate having been part of this experiment, but I have begun to stagnate. I did not realize this until after recent events. Despite my concerns and the hecticness, it was the most fun I''d had in over a century. I had already been making far fewer of these mortal avatars than I could and I had even been desperate enough for stimulation that I had been starting them young enough to place them in orphanages and such easily. All the pains of mortal life, repeated and overlapping but confined to this one space whose borders have not changed in over two hundred years."
She shook her head and continued, "No, it''s not been enough for a while. I need the freedom to travel again, and the challenges brought about by having delvers. During my introspection I looked at my inhabitants as well, hidden so far away from the rest of the world, and even their societies have begun to stagnate. I need change and freshness before it begins to affect my mind."
Mordecai considered her request for a moment before replying, "There was a price paid to alter the rules for you, a price will need to be paid to change them again." Ozuran''s presence was simply observing for now as he allowed Mordecai to judge the issue.
"Yes, and I have been thinking of something appropriate. I have been restricted from claiming new inhabitants but had the restriction lifted on how many inhabitants I needed to claim new floors. No, let''s use your new term. My zones. Anyway, I have many deep zones that I don''t need for my current inhabitants. I am offering up that portion of my current power, along with the corresponding abilities. Additionally, I intend to release a portion of my surface territory and the corresponding portion of the lower layers. This will delay any implementation of change until certain requirements are met."
Kuiccihan flashed a grin as she said, "After all, I need to convince the government of the kingdom bearing my name to agree to the transfer of territory as well, which will involve convincing locals too, and it will be several decades I think before the Azeria dungeon is ready to claim all of the land. I am offering the Azeria forest and all lands south and east of it, so including Riverbridge as well."
Mordecai stared at her blankly in shock. Topside, Kazue''s avatar started choking on the piece of cake she''d been consuming with intense focus. While the rest of the dungeon''s people didn''t know exactly what had happened, they''d all felt the ripple of surprise spring from the core. Ozuran''s presence was tinged with amusement as Mordecai recovered and asked, "Ah, why?" He couldn''t articulate more than that at the moment.
"I need to offer up some portion of my territory and power, as the change itself will not be much of a sacrifice and a lot more energy will need to be spent given how I have grown since the first alteration to my rules. This portion of my territory has a lot of ties to you and yours, and I suspect those ties will only grow stronger. If I sacrifice this territory when you are able to then claim it, the land and people will still be protected and they will still feel they belong."
That was a fair idea, but it wasn''t enough. This time it was Ozuran who spoke through Mordecai. "Your Avatars."
She sighed and said, "I know. I''m guessing they all need to be retired at that time, disappearing from the lives I''m currently living, and I will need to build a new one. That will hurt, and the worst part is that it will hurt the feelings of others who do not know that their friend or lover is one of my avatars."
"Well," Mordecai said, "it seems that Lord Ozuran is content with that, though I think it is not guaranteed yet. But if you put in the proper work from here, he should be amenable to making the change when the time is right." Ozuran''s presence withdrew, which Mordecai took as confirmation.
Kuiccihan nodded and then said, "Even without the rest, I think that in the long run, it would be best to give this territory over to you. Claiming surface territory was less expensive than it normally would have been because it was partially fueled by belief and the feeling of being part of the Kuiccihan kingdom. I can feel that this sense of identity has started to weaken. Your revival already meant that many secrets were going to eventually be revealed, and the thing with becoming Faerie Royalty has only accelerated that process. The clan will easily be swayed further simply by finding out that their revered founder was your daughter, and even more so if they figure out that Norumi is their forest spirit."
That made sense. They talked for a little more before Kuiccihan departed, and Mordecai took his time making his way up to the surface, he had a lot to think about.
227: Family Dinner
Fuyuko''s mind spun as she set down the scroll that Mordecai had given her and leaned back against the pillows of her bed. He was right, it was simple. But it was also hard. Easy to try, but also easy to mess it up. Too rigid an identity and you could turn into a living statue; too little sense of self and you could lose your mind to madness. And if you were running away from death instead of moving toward something in life? That sounded the worst.
It also shouldn''t be something she was worried about right now. But that was in a world where her parents were alive. In this world, she now lived with immortals and the idea of growing old in front of them was painful. On the other hand, the idea of deciding to not ever be with her parents again also hurt.
There was no reason she had to make a decision now, but Fuyuko felt like she needed to even if she didn''t know why. Maybe talking to Mordecai later would help, but it was getting a bit late and she needed to change for dinner. No armor at the dinner table.
Hmm. She flipped through her wardrobe a bit nervously, looking at the garments that had been provided in her second bedroom up here in the tree. Nothing had been said about dressing up, but it was her first holiday with them. And she vaguely remembered the sort of things she wore for holidays with her parents.
In the end, she chose a long dress. It wasn''t terribly fancy, there was only a tiny bit of trim and lacing at the neck, wrists, and hem, but it was a pretty dark blue that she liked. She started to grab her boots out of habit then remembered where she was. Kazue had declared their rooms in the crystal tree to be a proper house, and shoes were not to be worn inside.
If Fuyuko had come in the way everyone else did, her boots would be by the landing. But Mordecai had added a special entrance for her near the base of the tree. It specifically required using shadow magic to jump from the dark patch of crystal to its matching spot in her room, and only a few people were keyed to be able to use it at all. It was still difficult for her, and sometimes required a few minutes to get just right, but she loved the thrill of having her own ''secret'' entrance and the still slightly scary sensation of sliding through shadows and condensed space. Also, Mordecai said that if she got good enough he''d work on manually crafting a shadow-based path between her bedrooms, which would be unrelated to the dungeon shortcuts.
When she went upstairs to the common area, she found Kazue, Moriko, Bridgette, and Carmilla gathered around the dining table, which held a strangely brown cake on a serving platter and a stack of plates. The sound of the dragon hatchlings squabbling carried in from the recently added balcony, and from even here Fuyuko could catch whiffs of smoke and the acrid scent of lightning. Udup sounded like he was trying to maintain order, but he was being a bit bossy about being the oldest which just made the others rebellious.
Kazue beamed at her and said, "I was getting ready to call you up, we have a new cake to try. It''s chocolate, but it also uses a little bit of a bean, well, fruit seed really, it just looks like a bean. Anyway, we got a sample recently called coffee. It''s supposed to make it a bit more bitter but a lot tastier. And if it''s too bitter for someone your age, we''ve got some sweet cream, honey, and fruit here."
Fuyuko frowned slightly at Kazue, she was pretty certain that the older woman was teasing her with the ''your age'' bit, but Fuyuko couldn''t resist rising to the bait. "I''m not a little kid," she groused as she joined them at the table, "and aren''t we supposed to be saving room for dinner?"
A moment later she registered that she was now sitting next to Princess Bridgette, who was now her adoptive cousin or something like that. But, well, Bridgette was an actual princess. Sure, Fuyuko was a "Faerie Princess" now and was technically the same rank and stuff, but Bridgette had been born royalty and grown up in a palace and everything. Fuyuko felt self-conscious around Bridgette and not sure how to act, even if Kazue was setting a really casual example.
Then there was Moriko. Fuyuko wasn''t quite as self-conscious around Moriko, but she''d still only actually met her yesterday. She''d known what Moriko had looked like and all, but that still wasn''t quite the same thing. With Kazue, Fuyuko had at least been able to talk to her illusionary self.
Her moment of paralysis was covered by Kazue''s eagerness as she cut into the cake. "Don''t worry about that, we have a bit of time still. We decided to make this a cooking experience and bought some ingredients that had been brought in. That way we have to make do with what was available, and that will make it a challenge and thus more fun!"
Fuyuko told herself to get it together. It wasn''t like this was even the first princess she''d met. Not that Carmilla really felt like a proper princess, and Fuyuko hadn''t interacted directly a lot with Orchid. "Um, I guess. I haven''t really done any fancy cooking." Throwing stuff into a pot for a stew or putting meat on a stick and roasting it was pretty basic, and the couple of stews she''d made had not been great. Edible, just not really tasty.
"I have to admit I don''t really know how to cook either," Bridgette said, "We all got trained in how to cook enough to survive and how to make trail rations, but I never sought out learning anything more. I guess we can learn together?"
Carmilla shrugged and said, "I''ve never touched kitchen work, but surely it can''t be all that hard?" That sounded a lot like her to Fuyuko. She didn''t dislike Carmilla, but she had to admit that she did not feel very close to her adoptive sister. She wasn''t sure anyone here was, but Carmilla was technically family now. Plus the parents of this assembled family probably saw the holiday as a bonding opportunity.
"Um," Moriko added with a sheepish expression, "I think Kazue and Mordecai are the only ones with real cooking experience, and Kazue admitted she''d previously only really done sweets and baked things."
Kazue grinned and replied, "Yeah, but I had been practicing on my own before we started our trip, so I have a little more experience now."
While the others talked, Fuyuko started in on the cake she''d been served. It was incredible, but she had to admit that Kazue was right, the bitter notes were kind of strong. So she poured a little of the sweet cream over it and tried again. Better. Mm, maybe she should try the honey too? Yes, that was good. The fruit was a nice contrast to the rich cake too. Huh, she was out of cake and had cream, honey, and fruit on the plate now. Maybe she should get a second piece of cake to clean up her plate with.
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A giggle from Kazue pulled Fuyuko''s attention away from her plate, and she blushed to find all four women watching her with amusement.
"Well, I see that it meets with your approval," Kazue said with a smile before taking another bite of her own slice of cake.
Which she immediately began choking on as a ripple of shocked surprise ran through the dungeon. Bridgette didn''t have any connection to the dungeon so she was the first to react and help Kazue while Moriko, Carmilla, and Fuyuko recovered.
"What, what was that?!" Fuyuko asked. It was the first time she''d really felt the cores'' emotions like that, communication was normally much more deliberate with contractors.
Moriko replied in a slightly dazed voice, "We, ah, just got an offer that, well, um, we can talk about later. Er, sorry Bridgette, it''s strictly dungeon business right now. Maybe we can talk about it after we''ve had a chance to think about it."
An offer? What sort of offer could surprise the dungeon that much? Fuyuko''s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden chaos of four worried young dragons pouring into the room. It took several minutes to calm the four down and they insisted on staying inside instead of going back out to the balcony, which left the area a little crowded.
When they went to sit back down at the table, the five women found the cake and most of the toppings missing. For a moment Fuyuko thought that Li might have come back, but then she realized several of the dishes were gone too, and that seemed less like Li.
The hatchlings were looking studiously innocent.
"Did they eat the plates too?" Fuyuko asked.
"Mm," Kazue replied while trying to stare down Carnelian, "dragons can eat anything. Though I''ve sometimes been expecting your plates to disappear too." She flashed Fuyuko a grin and a wink before going back to trying to discipline her cat-dragon.
Fuyuko suspected that this was going to go about as well as it would with an actual cat. "Er, can''t you just conjure up a new cake?"
Kazue pouted and said, "It''s not the same. That one was made for me from all gathered ingredients, nothing conjured. That makes it special. It might taste the same, but it wouldn''t feel the same to me."
"Yeah," Carmilla added, "I have to agree with her. Conjured treats are nice and all, but the real thing is always better somehow, even if it tastes the same."
That sort of made sense to Fuyuko, who turned thoughtfully to the remaining dishes on the table and began helping with clean up, as it seemed their snack time was over. Eating this close to dinner had been bad of them, but Fuyuko was having trouble feeling guilty over it.
Again, this was a task the cores could have taken care of with barely a flicker of attention, but Kazue had specified that she wanted them to make this area a home where they lived normally. So instead they gathered, washed, and dried dishes like normal people in a normal house. Fuyuko found that she didn''t mind at all, it was nice just to be doing homey things with her new family. And it was amusing to find out that Bridgette, while game to help out, was less certain about what to do. Her experiences were at the extremes; either served everything with others cleaning up, or field training and camping with sturdy dishes. Carmilla, on the other hand, grumbled about manual labor when she had plenty of spells she could use to help.
Mordecai arrived a little after they were done and looked a little distracted when he did, but it only took a few moments for him to set it all aside and focus on making dinner with them. He mostly directed the process as everyone else had something to learn and practice and there were a lot of hands to go around. Also, he kept Shenlong manifested to help Udup manage the hatchlings and prevent them from stealing food, so he was a bit too distracted to focus entirely on one task for long.
For Fuyuko, her task was mostly prep work on ingredients. She was good with a dagger but proper cooking knife technique turned out to be more different than she had expected. Especially the grip; having her fingers on the top of the blade itself felt weird until she adapted to it. Chopping vegetables and meat up into even pieces was satisfying and had very clear results. She knew how well she''d done and how much better she could do without being given more direction, once she''d been shown how to cut different shapes up.
She paid attention to what else was going on but for the most part, each step was being done as a one-person show. However, everyone got to participate in the seasoning steps. Kazue was more familiar with this bit and led the way with only a bit of input from Mordecai, though Kazue found a few surprises herself. Learning to taste each herb and spice and compare them was interesting and Fuyuko''s sense of smell helped her find the subtle differences and similarities.
Pulling all that information together with the flavor of your ingredients and the way you were cooking to decide on which to use was more difficult, but so much tastier and Fuyuko was happy to have the opportunity to try more in the future.
It meant eating more food after all.
Having dinner as a family was wonderful, but it came with one downside from Fuyuko''s point of view; she had to eat in a more measured manner. Her adoptive parents weren''t going to insist on anything more than basic table manners all or even most of the time, but for a sit-down dinner at their home, all of them were in agreement that this was a time and place for her to practice moderation and manners. Nothing formal, just things like chewing her food thoroughly and drinking slowly rather than gulping.
And it was hard not to gulp the sweet drink she''d been served. It was the pre-fermentation form of a mead called bochet, though watered down to thin it out enough to drink. The honey was caramelized before water and spices were added, and it was delicious. This batch had just recently been made by some of the inhabitants and most of it was in fermentation vats right now. There were several sub-batches as well, divided by the type of wood used to age it in. The dungeon did have a large variety of unique species to choose from.
After dinner, dessert, and dishes were all done, they moved out from the kitchen area to where Kazue had set up a bunch of cozy furniture. Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko chose to share a large couch with Kazue in the middle while Bridgette picked out a chair big and soft enough for her to tuck her feet underneath herself instead of sitting on it normally. Carmilla chose a loveseat to curl up in with a book and Udup, though Fuyuko did notice she was angled to be able to easily watch and listen even if she pretended not to.
The hatchlings had been fed a large meal too and were once more piled up into a heap of sleeping dragons.
Fuyuko considered her options, but comfortable furniture would leave her sitting taller than everyone else. So instead she grabbed a cushion and plopped on the floor next to Mordecai''s end of the couch. She put her back and head against the front of the armrest and closed her eyes as she collected her thoughts.
Feeling Mordecai pet the top of her head comfortingly made her want to keep her eyes closed and drift off to sleep, but she fought past that urge and opened her eyes to glance up at him. "So, I read the scroll. I think I get it, but it kinda leaves me with even more questions, and I''m not sure where ta begin."
228: Soul Talk
Mordecai smiled down at Fuyuko as he lightly scritched behind the wolf girl''s ear. She looked like she wanted to be annoyed even as she leaned into his hand. "Well," he said, "maybe we should begin with talking about the afterlife. Now, whatever anyone ever tells you about the afterlife, you should know that it is never the complete truth. It can''t be. It is a realm bound by slightly different rules and souls there are not bound by the limits of mortal bodies. In those realms, spirit is as ''physical'' as flesh is, and it is in fact much easier to travel to such places in spirit rather than bringing one''s body along, and should you ever visit one of these places everything you see will be an interpretation of what is truly happening."
He waited for Fuyuko''s nod before he continued, "Souls are not static in the afterlife. While it is a very different existence, time still moves forward and people still interact. Events happen. People change. It is possible that in a hundred years, if you were to die you would find your parents'' souls and personalities much as you remember them. The longer the mortal life the more likely this is to be true, but frankly your parents died relatively young. While they should be recognizable as having been the same people and they should still be loving and happy about being reunited, they will also be some amount of different."
Fuyuko squirmed a moment before asking, "How different?"
"There are several different ways. The most minor type of difference would simply be in the way their awareness has grown. They will no longer think the same way about space, time, and other aspects of reality. But there are other changes that can happen. Most celestial beings were once mortal souls, and this change is one of the things that can happen as their perspective shifts. But much like with how many people are not well suited for eternal life, some can not cope with a new perspective on eternity. Of those, some may be chosen to be fully reincarnated while others will change in a way that allows their minds to sleep. When one encounters what mortal minds see as a well-tended mystical tree, a statue that radiates a sensation of peace or love, or any other such thing in a heavenly realm, it is most likely one of these souls."
This earned him surprised looks from everyone and he shrugged. "There''s a reason you won''t find a priest talking about this during a sermon. It''s not comfortable for many people to acknowledge that after finding a place in the afterlife of the deity they follow, they might eventually just need to truly sleep forever. The soul is still there, it is merely dormant, and should the need arise they can be awakened. In a similar manner, a tired soul may give themselves over to another. Like with the other resting souls, the core remains intact but much of their power and mind is subsumed, allowing that celestial or other divine agent to become more powerful."
That could be a nasty surprise for anyone ignorant of this truth who managed to inflict a true death upon a powerful celestial. This would wake up all the subsumed souls who would be aware of what happened and very angry that someone they cared for and trusted enough to give themselves over to had been killed, their soul gone forever. They might have less individual power, but they could be numerous and would be fueled by wrath.
Bridgette bit her lip in thought before saying, "That doesn''t seem very, I don''t know, eternally blissful or anything."
Mordecai nodded and replied, "True, but that''s not what is promised. Each god''s realm is in part a reflection of themselves, and they offer a place in that realm. It is a place without most of the woes that beset the mortal world, but it is still not perfect. Most should simply be able to find happiness and satisfaction in the realm of their chosen divinity."
He paused and considered Fuyuko for a moment before adding, "Well, with one exception, sort of. I assume that there is some sort of divine realm that resonates with Li''s followers, but I have never heard anything about it. Li himself can not provide any guidance on the subject, though at the least I imagine that other gods have ensured that there is a suitable place. I could try to find out, but I suspect that this matter is deliberately left as a secret."
"Mm," Fuyuko said, "no, I think I get it. That''s fine."
"I don''t get it," Carmilla said as she turned the page of her book, "you all talk about rejoining loved ones and stuff, but if you worship different gods, you go different places. So how can you be together?"
"Oh!" Moriko said, "I think I''ve got this one. Um, Kazue love, could you get me the book that I was reading during our trip? Thank you!" She slipped through the passages of the book that had materialized in her lap. "Ah, there it is. ''The Divine Realms are unlike the mortal world, and many connections can be made between otherwise distant places. I would never let such matters stand between passionate hearts, you will be able to rejoin your loves and lovers, whether in my realm or another.'' " Moriko tapped her lips a moment in thought. "Though come to think if it, ''be able to'' is not the same as ''will''."
Mordecai smiled slightly and said, "That one is easy, Love. Imagine if things had gone differently at some point and the three of us were now in the afterlife together. Our being together is well and good, but I don''t think there would be a long chain of my former lovers waiting for me, nor would either of you be particularly pleased if there was. And over time, depending on how others felt about Moriko, in such a scenario others might appear wanting to be reunited with her. No, it is best to leave it at ''be able to''."
Kazue switched her gaze thoughtfully between the two of them for a moment. "I mean, as long as they all became part of my harem too- eep!" Her teasing was cut off by her giggling as Mordecai and Moriko started tickling her.
When she was at the point of needing to catch her breath, Kazue''s spouses relented and Mordecai turned back to the main point of the conversation, though he was amused to notice that despite their differences, Fuyuko and Carmilla had near identical eye rolls for the three of them.
"As I said before, the divine realms do not work on the same rules as the mortal world. Even faerie realms are more limited in how they can manipulate space and time, though within those limitations they can often be far more chaotic. So if Fuyuko''s parents followed different gods then they probably have a shared space or home that exists in an overlap between the divine realms in question, even if those realms normally do not touch."
Fuyuko scratched her neck before asking, "Probably?"
"They are still people, so there is always a chance that something has changed between them, or they may have become occupied with something that made it pointless to have a home, or any number of unknowns. I can''t make guarantees about things I do not know for sure. Hmm," Mordecai said as an idea came to him.
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The question was, was it a good idea? He mentally consulted with Moriko and Kazue to get their opinions, and they agreed that while there was a small chance of Fuyuko reacting poorly, it would probably be worth it. "There is something I could try that might put some portion of your concerns to rest, though even if it works the amount of information we can get will be limited."
Carmilla frowned at him over her book, he was pretty certain she was getting a sense of what he had in mind.
Fuyuko turned her head to get a more direct look at him. "Um, that seems like it should be good, but the way ya said it..."
"Well, I don''t know if you will be comfortable with it. I am a high priest, I can attempt to contact them. I must emphasize ''attempt''. I do not know what the results will be."
"Oh," she said and took a moment to let that sink in. After a little bit of thinking, she said softly, "Yes, please. Even if it''s just a scrap, I would like ta know more, and get the chance ta tell them I love them."
Fortunately, contacting the souls of the dead did not require the sort of price that contracting with extraplanar entities did. "Alright, I am going to try the basic contact ritual, and depending on the results I may need to do the larger ritual." Mordecai rubbed the top of Fuyuko''s head with a smile and added, "I don''t feel like getting up at the moment, and this one I can do with a little assistance from my core. If I need to do the big one, it will be a bit more involved."
"Wait, right now? Just like that?" She asked.
"For the basic contact, yes," he replied, "a more involved communication will require a longer ritual, but you always work your way up if there isn''t a time limit. All I need from you is this hair," he held up the strand he''d picked up when he rubbed her head, "and for you to focus on your parent''s faces, names, and identities. What they mean to you. Whispering their names may help you focus, and adding an earnest prayer will not hurt."
She nodded at that and bowed her head as she began to murmur to herself.
A low table and a couple of empty seats had to be shifted into the dungeon''s storage for the moment, but that gave his core enough space to etch the appropriate circle and symbols into the living crystal floor for the attempt to contact souls. That was faster and easier than his avatar could ever have done it.
But the next part required his avatar to perform the magic. Physically conducting the ritual would have made it easier but only a little faster, and Mordecai had the control necessary to weave mana into the proper spell forms without having to move around the circle.
He did still need to use one hand to help focus his mana manipulation along with an incantation. If he had been moving around the circle, he would have been able to eliminate the incantation instead. Hypothetically, at a great enough mastery one could do the entire ritual mentally, but Mordecai had never maintained an avatar long enough to develop such a technique. He had always retired them when he was satisfied with their mastery and accomplishments and was ready to take on a new challenge.
The slower process also gave Moriko, Kazue, and Camilla a chance to observe the forming mana shapes without the distraction of people moving about.
As the ritual neared completion, the air in and around the circle took on a faint glow from the shape and density of the forming magic. Just as it reached completion, Mordecai felt the spell get intercepted nearby, rather than making the distant connection. He frowned at the three-dimensional humanoid shadow that formed in the circle unexpectedly but inclined his head in greeting. "I take it you are the umabel that Lord Ozuran has watching over me?" At the same time, he sent out a mental communication to the others in the room, "Let me handle this, please."
"Indeed," the shadow replied, "I am. I also have the answer you would have otherwise received, and the opportunity to deliver it personally, rather than the rote response you would normally have gotten." The figure faced Fuyuko and said, "I must inform you that for the moment, your parents'' souls are not available for contact. They are safe, and there is no foreseeable reason that this would change in the next several years at least."
"What? I," Fuyuko began, but she stilled when Mordecai put a hand on her shoulder.
Mordecai asked, "Can a message be sent to them?"
The umabel considered a moment before replying, "Yes, but delivery may not happen immediately. I can make sure they will receive it the moment that they are available."
Fuyuko glanced at Mordecai, who nodded, and then she turned to the shadowy divine servant. "Tell them that I love them and that I am doing well and I am happy. They don''t have to worry about me."
"I will do so. I am certain they will be happy to receive your words." The umabel turned back to Mordecai. "I believe that is all our business?"
Probably not, but that was all the business there was for this interaction. "For now, yes, and thank you."
The shadow faded out of view in response, and Mordecai sighed. "Well, that''s not what I expected."
While she started undoing Mordecai''s work, Kazue grumbled her annoyance at having such a being inside her territory that she couldn''t sense unless it showed itself. He sympathized, but right now he needed to focus on a worried-looking Fuyuko, who asked, "What does that mean about my parents?"
He chose his words very carefully as he answered, "I do not know for sure, in part because there are many possibilities. What it does mean is that they are not choosing to not respond, they simply can not be directly contacted at all right now. I would guess that they are doing something that has them more active than many souls, so they may not currently be in their respective deity''s realms. If there had not already been a divine agent nearby, the spell would have failed into a null state that would have meant essentially the same thing, but even less informative."
She frowned up at him and said, "But you have a guess, don''t you?"
"I have a few, and I think it is best if I do not tell you. It''s too likely that you will become emotionally attached to one idea or another, and that could lead you astray or cause other problems when reality probably presents something else. I don''t give any individual possibility a high probability, and at best all of my ideas combined have no more than a fifty percent chance of being correct."
Fuyuko struggled with that for a few minutes as she tried to find an argument around his statement, but came up with nothing. She couldn''t say anything she knew wasn''t true, and she wasn''t able to deceive herself deeply enough to deny what he''d said. "Fine," she said grumpily before turning away and leaning back against the couch again.
Mordecai could have perhaps continued with the initial conversation, but it was probably best to let Fuyuko process the knowledge that she didn''t know what her parents were up to in the afterlife. At the very least, they were not simply waiting for her and that undoubtedly shook her mental image of them.
Instead, the conversation turned to less serious topics, though Fuyuko maintained a thoughtful silence at first. She became much more animated once a round of dessert was brought out, and as part of the holiday, Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko took turns preparing snacks and treats for everyone, even if that presentation was sometimes just taking food purchased earlier from vendors and putting it a serving plate or in a bowl.
They didn''t even send Fuyuko to bed at a normal time, which turned into a minor problem for Mordecai when the girl eventually slumped over enough to lie her head on his knee. She was adorable and he didn''t want to wake her up, even when she started to drool on his pants a little. Instead, he gently petted her while the rest of them continued to chat and only when it became late enough for others to start heading off to bed did they gently move her. Moriko was the one who scooped the girl up, as Mordecai was pinned. He and Kazue each placed a good night kiss on the top of Fuyuko''s head before Moriko carried her away to tuck her into bed.
Carmilla did not stay overnight, though she did have a room of her own available. She had an entire home waiting for her in her swamp, and one that she rather liked.
Kazue and Moriko''s familiars had made their way to the master bedroom already, so the trio gave up on their normal playtime and settled in to snuggle with the two dragons instead. It was not a bad end to a long day.
229: Visitations
A couple of days after the equinox, Moriko decided her break time was over. A few days of simply lounging and indulging herself in the company of her family was about as much as she could take, she needed to be active.
As she walked out onto the balcony from their tree home, she mused that the travel outfit that Mordecai had commissioned for her and Kazue turned out to be quite useful at home as well. She needed to look good and, well, needed something that wouldn''t flash people either. She scritched Thunder and Lightning''s heads before stepping out from the balcony and onto thin air.
She hummed happily to herself as she hopped down imaginary ''steps'' that led past the stone town and to the ground beyond. One of the quirks of her fey-granted air-walk ability was that she could fall whenever she pleased and instantly stop when and where she wanted, but that stop always felt like she landed on the ground. Moriko could take a very long drop without much trouble, but that didn''t mean it felt great and she had her familiar as a passenger. So she limited the height of her drops to something a little more reasonable by imagining a landscape of projecting cliffs she was jumping down to.
Once she was on the ground, Moriko headed toward the entrance of the underground portion of the dungeon. She wasn''t in a hurry and hadn''t looked around much since her return, so she saw little need to avail herself of the shortcuts.
There were several new buildings and a lot more people than when she and Kazue had left for their trip, so she took the time to meander a little as well and re-familiarize herself with the layout. Along the way, she saw a familiar face waiting in line to be checked by Jiah, the buzzkin floor-boss in charge of evaluating non-combat skills. She slipped through the crowds to lightly punch his shoulder with a grin. "Yambul, I wasn''t expecting to see you here."
"Wha-?" The orc cobbler said as he started from the sudden contact, then he relaxed with a sheepish grin. "Hey Moriko, you surprised me. Last night I heard you got back from your trip, but I wasn''t expecting to run into you like that."
"Hmm," Moriko said as she considered her friend, "you run your own shop and this is a pretty long trip to be closed up for. What''s brought you out here to delve?" A faint flush on his cheeks brought a small bit of enlightenment, and she smirked as she added, "Or should I say, who brought you out here?"
Yambul coughed and shifted his weight before saying, "Well, I had a rather pleasant time with Aliyah when she visited Riverbridge, and I was hoping to see her again."
Let''s see, that was... ah yes, the runner. "Aliyah? It looks like you have a visitor," Moriko sent across the dungeon''s connections.
"Do I?" the usagisune replied with a satisfied-sounding tone, "Well then, if it''s who I expect, would you please let him know that I will be in the audience to enjoy his performance at the theater? Assuming you don''t mind, Mistress."
Why would she mind? Oh, right. Yambul had been one of her lovers. Some people cared about stuff like that. "I''d be happy to," she told Aliyah, and then to Yambul said, "Your friend would like you to know she is ready to be entertained by your performance when you reach the third zone theaters. If I have a chance, I might make the time to watch your show myself."
He sighed dramatically and said, "Dare I ask what fate awaits me there?"
Moriko snorted at that. "I''m pretty certain you have a good idea by now. But we let the playwrights have their fun, so I have no idea what particular challenges wait for you. I do have one bit of advice though; have fun. If you forget to have fun playing Kazue''s games, you might make her sad."
She left him to ponder those words and set out for the entrance once more. Once Moriko was inside the main hall, she went down one of the side corridors instead of heading toward the path selection chamber. Moriko wasn''t headed to the shrine at the end of the corridor, her objective was a discreet alcove where one of the larger entrances to the warrens was located.
The hidden entrance was plainly visible to her, but most people wouldn''t have even been able to notice the alcove let alone the sealed entrance. It wasn''t just her status as a contractor either, their Domain had grown this far and was starting to affect the surface as well. It was still odd to feel herself tied to the space around her this way, but she rather liked it. Her ability to communicate with the dungeon''s inhabitants hadn''t been as clean and easy as Bellona''s and Fuyuko''s. Mordecai thought it had something to do with her more intense and intimate connection with the cores interfering. But now that it was also her Domain, she found her awareness of the environment growing and it was almost as easy to talk with the inhabitants as it was to talk with the cores.
Moriko rather enjoyed being in tune with the rest of the dungeon like this. She''d never been particularly bothered by not having this deep sense of the territory around her, but she also hadn''t known what it was really like either. This was part of the reason she was taking her time and walking through the warrens instead, she wanted to enjoy knowing her domain.
There were several small stops along the way as she chatted with various inhabitants, but eventually, she made her way to the library and sought out her target.
Deidre was sitting at a small table where she had several books piled up. Payne had fallen asleep while reading one of them and was currently sprawled across the open volume. Betty had chosen a comfortable seat nearby where she was reading a small novel. Moriko greeted Betty first, leaning down to give her a hug rather than having the pregnant woman get up, and then she joined Deidre at her table.
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"Hello Deidre, it''s a pleasure to meet you. I''m Moriko."
"Yes, I recognized you from the images your spouses have shown," Deidre replied, "How can I help you?"
Moriko shrugged as she settled into a seat. "I''m not sure actually. I mostly felt that I should meet with our involuntary guest, especially as I am now a queen. It also seemed possible that you might have some questions for me. So I am making myself available."
"I see." Deidre considered that for a moment. While she did, Sparks slid down from Moriko''s shoulder to investigate, with Thunder sniffing at the still-sleeping Payne while Lightning sniffed at Deidre. "Well, if you are entertaining my curiosity, I would ask where your curious companion came from."
Moriko smiled and shook her head. "I''m afraid I can''t answer that in detail." She playfully snatched at her dragon''s slowly lashing tail, causing both heads to look at her with mild affront before they whipped their tail out of her loose grasp. "I can say that that I was entrusted with their care by their parents, and it came about from dealing with a bit of leftover mess caused by Mordecai''s war."
"Hmm," Deidre said as she slowly lifted a hand to let Lightning sniff her again before she scritched his head, "your relationship seems odd compared to what I know of such things, but I am aware that my knowledge has been somewhat curated."
"Oh, it is odd," Moriko admitted before bopping Thunder''s nose, "long term relationships between three or more people are the minority in most places and there are technically a few power imbalances in our particular arrangement, but everyone is careful about not taking advantage of anything. Especially Mordecai."
The conversation and constant movement around her finally caused Payne to stir. The resulting chaos when the excited pixie found a dragon nearby who was the perfect size to play with and ride resulted in a visitation by Horace, complete with a stern reprimand of "Ook!"
Thankfully, Kazue had designed her library with pseudo outdoor areas which the pair were quickly shooed off to. Even so, excited yells and roars could occasionally be faintly heard
"It''s strange to see inhabitants so unbound by their core''s will," Deidre said softly, "but I like it, and I do think I understand what Mordecai meant when he talked about my perspective having been shaped. Control must be enforced at every level to ensure that none can work against the one at the top of the chain."
Which meant that Deidre''s inhabitants were little more than slaves themselves, through no fault of hers. Moriko sighed and said, "I wish there was more we could do to make things better for you. But we are working toward that goal. It just, well, will take time. You''ve seen what happens when someone acts without proper preparation."
"Indeed," Deidre replied, "I understand the practical need to move carefully. But it is easier when you do not know the suffering or sufferers personally."
It was said without any judgment but Moriko felt guilty anyway. The suffering of Deidre''s core and inhabitants was a bit abstract in some ways, which made it easier to focus on proceeding the right way rather than giving in to the urge to charge in as soon as possible. But in the long run, it would be better to do this once and get it right.
There didn''t seem to be much left to say on the topic, so Moriko switched to talking about more trivial things while waiting for her familiar to return. She was very open about her life before meeting Kazue and Mordecai when Deidre asked; Moriko got the feeling that Deidre wanted to get a sense of what ''normal'' was. Not that there really was a singular normal, but if Deidre was asking Bellona and Fuyuko similar questions she should be getting a bit of that understanding.
After she left Deidre, it was time to deal with a less pleasant visit. Mordecai and Kazue were both a little dubious about the necessity of seeing the man, but it felt right to her.
"All this could have been avoided if you had just taken ''no'' for an answer," was her greeting for Antoine when his cell door opened.
"Oh look, it''s the mixed-blood wh-" his words were cut off sharply when she slapped him. By the time he recovered, she''d crossed back to the entrance of the room. Antoine raised a hand to his face and then flinched; Moriko had added just enough electric charge to her hand to leave a red hand print that would not fade as fast as a simple impact would. Moriko''s objection was mostly in the tone and his word choice; Sakiya was a rather common patron amongst courtesans and no devotee would fault someone choosing that path of their own will.
She felt a certain amount of smug satisfaction seeing his facial muscles twitching in the aftermath of the electric shock and said, "While we may need to keep you safe, you are not immune to being punished within reason. You just insulted a queen to her face, when she has no need to be polite to you. Oh, you hadn''t heard?" She smirked at his confusion. "I suppose I should thank you in some ways. Thanks to you, I met the two people who would be my husband and wife. That chain of events has led to me becoming a literal Faerie Queen." Moriko shook her head and sighed. "Honestly, I could do without some of those complications, but it''s worth it. And now I have two adoptive daughters as well."
Antoine eventually got his muscles under control, no doubt aided by the traces of healing energy in the room, and asked, "How? I don''t ... what?"
His bewilderment was enjoyable as well. "Well," she replied, "That''s a long story I have no intention of telling you. But I wanted to make sure that you knew that every attempt of yours to make my life worse has, in the end, made my life better. No matter how troublesome your attempts were in the moment. From what my spouses say, your father makes a much better impression than you do. I hope that when I eventually meet your parents, your mother turns out to be like your father in that. I can only imagine how disappointed she must be to have a son like you."
Moriko gave Antoine a sarcastic bow as she stepped back out through the doorway and left him to stew in his thoughts and that final insult.
That confrontation had been satisfying in some ways, but also sort of ... hollow. She didn''t have a better word for it. Well, she saw no reason to try again, she didn''t think it would get any better. Besides, there were more entertaining things to spend her time on, it looked like she still had a chance to sit with Aliyah while they watched Yambul''s performance. Seems he was lucky enough to find an open spot in a delving group that had already signed up, otherwise, it might have been a day or two.
She did wonder if Aliyah would have truly made him wait that long before seeing him, as long as he''d proven sincere in being willing to put forth the effort to meet her. Moriko suspected that the usagisune would probably have ''ambushed'' him later that night if that had been the situation.
230: Aerial Challenge
Facing away from his queens while standing in their faintly glowing bedroom high in the crystal tree, Mordecai materialized a vellum sheet covered in unnecessarily beautiful script. He quickly scanned it, to check that he hadn¡¯t forgotten anything, then handed it to his wives sitting side by side on the bed. As Moriko¡¯s hands were filled playing with the fur on one of the kitsune¡¯s tails, Kazue held it so they both could see.
¡°This is a rough sketch of the timeline for freeing Deidre¡¯s dungeon. Obviously, there is a lot to do before we can even start direct planning. And with the way our circumstances keep changing, I kept things simple for now.¡±
¡°Adding as many zones as possible before Spring makes sense,¡± Kazue said thoughtfully. ¡°We¡¯ll want to be as powerful as possible if we¡¯re going to be the ¡®heavies¡¯ going in. Wouldn¡¯t it be convenient if Gil was back before then?¡±
¡°Not likely,¡± Mordecai responded, ¡°Li usually involves longer trips than that, and Li''s instincts trend toward a certain amount of fairness. Gil would easily win against most, and I don''t feel ready to host a bout between Gil and someone who can go toe to toe with him." He shook his head at the image before continuing. "The tournament will also feed us more power, as well attract more combatants who might have some potential contractors amongst them. And we might be able to squeeze out one more zone with the mana we get from the tournament.¡±
¡°With all that mana, we should be able to do all that while investing in an incarnated avatar for you too, Mordecai,¡± Moriko chimed in, ¡°It¡¯ll be fun putting you through your paces.¡± She added with a leer, a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth.
Mordecai teasingly eyed his wife and replied, ¡°I think you''ll find I''m still up for the challenge." He didn''t anticipate being reset as far as Kazue had been; not only did he have much more experience with adapting to a remade avatar, this avatar''s template had been created with his full depth of knowledge and power. There should be little in the way of adjusting and relearning to be done.
But it was time to move on to the next subject. "We¡¯ll need to find some neutral dungeons for us to train in, preferably as close in type to Deidre¡¯s as possible. Luckily, our irrepressible fairy daughter has a fondness for bards, and bards have a fondness for talk...amongst other things. This includes more details about the eastern and southern dungeons. According to that talk, the eastern dungeon is heavily involved in trade and such, much like us. That¡¯s why I think we should visit the southern dungeon. It seems that their relationship with the nomadic tribes is very focused on rites of passage and other combat challenges. I don¡¯t think Deidre¡¯s core has been allowed to develop anything other than combat and traps, so that should be the more similar experience. But the southern dungeon is significantly harder to get to, and I want to keep travel time down, so I¡¯m not sure what transportation to use. We don¡¯t have the time to spend on travel, unlike when you both went out on your trip.¡±
Kazue flopped onto her belly, flipping her tail out of Moriko¡¯s grasp, then whipping it back into her hands, the other tails gently caressing her wife. ¡°Oh, I think I have an idea there.¡±
¡°Do tell,¡± Moriko said, amused at Kazue¡¯s clear self-satisfaction.
¡°Well,¡± Kazue said, ¡°my parents will be visiting again before too long. They¡¯d have been by eventually anyway, but considering how Moriko¡¯s parents were affected by the fairy thing, I¡¯m sure my parents were as well. That¡¯ll probably speed them up. Admittedly, we¡¯ll have to deal with Mom first as she¡¯s pretty overprotective, but we¡¯d previously discussed ideas about how interesting Dad¡¯s main wagon is.¡±
She sat back up, smirking at Mordecai, her hands resting lightly on the bed between her legs, arms gently pushing her breasts up and out, creating a very distracting view. ¡°Of course,¡± she said breathily, wiggling a little, ¡°this next part requires the ingenuity of our clever and brilliant husband, letting him put that wonderful mind of his to work.¡±
¡°Uh huh,¡± Mordecai said dubiously, even as he enjoyed the proffered view enabled by the deep neckline of her dress. Moriko seemed to be taking advantage of the scenic view as well. Kazue¡¯s deliberate overacting could certainly be entertaining, in more ways than one.
¡°You see, I remember you saying you had an idea about how to get an airship at least partially made with our resources. I¡¯m sure you can figure out a way to make or enhance one of Dad¡¯s wagons as part of a more than acceptable trade deal with him.¡± Kazue fluttered her eyelashes at him. ¡±And I¡¯m sure I can convince him to take up a new trade route and take us along with him as part of the deal.¡±
Mordecai laughed softly. ¡°Fine, I think I can come up with something,¡± he said and then gave her an evil grin. ¡°Though, I think I will be taking that implied payment up front.¡±
¡°Oh, why, whatever could you mean?¡± Kazue said with false shock, hand raised to the hollow of her throat.
He ignored her question to glance sidelong at Moriko. ¡°And seeing as how this is my payment, you¡¯ll just have to wait and watch.¡±
¡°Oh?¡± Moriko purred as she pulled the now forgotten vellum from Kazue¡¯s loose grip and tossed it to the ground, ¡°Make me.¡± Her eyes glittered with challenge as an eager smile crossed her lips.
Mordecai did exactly that, though she certainly made him work for the victory. Once he had Moriko secured, Mordecai claimed his ¡®prize¡¯ from Kazue. He made sure to take his time to enjoy the process, and only let Moriko participate once she¡¯d ¡®asked¡¯ nicely enough.
When their playtime was over and they''d had the time to cuddle and relax for a bit, Moriko slid out of bed and picked up the vellum so that they could continue to discuss the plan while they cleaned up and got dressed. As her spouses attentively watched the sway of Moriko¡¯s backside, Mordecai mentally sketched out the basics for fulfilling Kazue¡¯s idea, which didn¡¯t take him long, though what presently seemed the most efficient idea would require some cooperation and agreement from a pair of ¡®horses¡¯.
Hmm, payment. He was fairly certain that Ricardo could afford to trade an appropriate value for the components of Mordecai¡¯s idea, but he was also pretty certain that Ricardo wouldn¡¯t be inclined to do so if he had a better option. But there were now enough zones that her parents could delve for the value instead and claim the wagon as their prize.
¡°Now, let''s discuss the training of the Azeria Dungeon teams,¡± Moriko said as she slipped into the bath.
Kazue came up beside her, asking, ¡°Are you sure Training Team A will let us leave them behind? They¡¯ll be working hard to help train Fuyuko. The rest of Team B might want to come as well.¡±
¡°They¡¯ll have to," Mordecai replied, "as I doubt any of our prospective teammates for her will be allowed to go. They are either minors or beholden to other responsibilities, if not both. The training trip is one thing, a trip into a dungeon being forced to try to kill us is another." Honestly, he wasn''t thrilled with Fuyuko going either, but she had connections to the area and would be fifteen in just a week more. Not an adult, but neither a child really. "As for Team B, most of them won''t have sufficient connection to the dungeon for our oaths to necessarily bind them and they are too strong for us to readily suppress. I want to be able to swear that we are there to free Deidre''s core and make sure that she can''t be pressured into a Break."
That emergency power did require the threat of true harm to the dungeon to initiate, a properly worded oath from three fairies should suffice to prevent that, especially given Mordecai''s status as a high priest of Ozuran. There could still be difficulties if Trionea''s forces had a sufficiently powerful squad, but that was a problem for the future. "Moving on," Mordecai asked, "What do you think of the teams?¡±
Moriko pursed her lips thoughtfully a moment before saying, ¡°Team A is a little scattered for combat capabilities.¡± Kazue and Moriko considered the list for a moment more before Moriko added, "I certainly see Allania and Rika being appropriate as they worked with Derek and Shizoku during Derek''s first combat training here, but I''m not certain about getting my little brother into combat delves."
Mordecai joined the two in the bath and said, "That''s up to you and your parents of course, but he was able to hold his own in spars against Fuyuko and has received training from Gil." Given the luponi girl''s advantages, that meant Galen probably had more skill in a straightforward, one-on-one fight. That did not always translate well to survival fights, and Fuyuko had been undergoing a lot of intense training since then, so that did not necessarily make him equal in overall strength and combat ability. "He would need to start doing combat delves here first, to get him used to the chaos outside of a spar."
¡°Hmm,¡± Moriko said thoughtfully, adding her assessment of the team, ¡°Shizoku is still the strongest overall and Fuyuko seems to be catching up fast, but if Derek and Galan were to take the front line together with Fuyuko and Rika as skirmishers, then Shizoku and Allania could focus on their support roles and make sure no one gets hurt. Shizo could hold back on her spells until the team starts getting pressed."
Rika''s training as a ranger was similar in some ways to Fuyuko''s training, and Allania''s focus was mostly as a priest and healer. With Shizoku using her alchemical skills mostly for support and healing, that would give the others plenty of opportunity to practice. While everyone not on the Final Assault Team could just do delves here, the Assault Team itself was mostly people who had more limited options in the Azeria Dungeon territory. Also, getting experience in a more neutral environment might be useful for the team training of the others as well.
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"Um," Kazue asked, "why do you have the three of us in our own team? I mean, everyone on Team B seems like they''d be at least as strong as us." The five-member team of Bellona, Xarlug, Bridgette, Orchid, and Paltira was mostly well-seasoned, and Xarlug wasn''t far behind the others with the amount of training he''d been getting.
"True," Mordecai replied, "but I am also looking to the long term. This will be the first time the three of us get to fight together like this and I think it''s important that we get our teamwork down. Once we all have some practice in the initial three teams, we can reform as The Final Assault Team with Bellona, Xarlug, and Fuyuko, and then practice together with them. The others can reform as they like." The three of them had already agreed that the Assault Team should be those most closely tied to the dungeon. Xarlug was currently a bit of a stretch but it didn''t seem implausible that he''d be a contractor by then and none of them could see Orchid as having any objections.
¡°And then we just return to the Azeria Dungeon, prepare, travel to Trionea, and free Deidre¡¯s core; just like that?¡± Kazue asked.
¡°Just like that!¡± Mordecai said with a smile. It certainly wasn''t going to be that easy, but dwelling on it right now wasn''t going to do much good.
After taking time to relax and then clean up, Moriko and Kazue released their "private play time" commands they''d given their familiars. None of the dragon hatchlings was particularly happy with learning that particular rule, but given the reactions they''d received the one time that curiosity won out, it was thoroughly ingrained now.
As his wives headed out to the tasks they''d decided on for themselves, Mordecai found himself at a loss for what to do. Once a dungeon had enough experience it usually didn''t need the full attention of both core and avatar, and this dungeon had two cores looking after it. This was part of the reason Mordecai¡¯s avatars had historically spent so little time at home, there was not much that the avatar needed to do there.
So he decided to start by reviewing what everyone was up to, to see if anything would inspire him.
Moriko was leading a training session for Betty and several of the other usagisune along with Nezha and Ysi, their dragon bosses for the swamp lands, who were both there in their human forms. All the inhabitants that could take a humanoid form received some training in that form to maintain circumstantial flexibility. Especially if their true forms were a lot larger than humans, as they might need to fight in a small space. Thunder and Lightning were happy to have their larger brethren there; they found the masima dragons fascinating, especially as they had lightning powers in addition to their brine-related magic.
Kazue had taken Fuyuko out on a shopping trip through the stalls and carts of their more mercantile visitors, mostly to get Fuyuko used to that sort of socialization rather than because of a need to buy anything. Carnelian Flame was enjoying herself as well, darting about to explore everything. Tasting everything too, if not prevented from snatching samples.
Bridgette had found a combat delving group to join the day before, which had been interesting. Without her familiar Fintan, maintaining her full disguise as Ruby would have been easy enough, but the familiar was rather eye-catching. In the end, she''d decided to keep using the pseudonym while not using the disguise. This made her true identity a rather open secret, and there were some people who had trouble working with this dual identity, but so long as she was officially Ruby she didn''t have to worry about the normal proprieties of being a princess. Well, most of them at least.
Bellona and Xarlug were also topside, though on duty. Technically. They were geared and ready to act if needed, but the inhabitants had a handle on things and most visitors had learned that the cute rabbit people were quite capable of handling themselves. Xarlug was acting much like a contractor, but he seemed to be waiting for Orchid''s return so that issue could be resolved before he spoke with Kazue or Mordecai about it.
Deidre was on her third attempt at taking on the Earth Zone. Her first attempt had resulted in a resounding failure at the shrine, which rather confused her as she''d selected perfectly suitable offerings. When she asked Mordecai about it, he''d simply told her that the dungeon wasn''t the one judging the offerings. She''d been surprised to learn that a dungeon could integrate a real shrine into its challenges, and Mordecai had to suppress a spark of anger at this sign of how little she had been allowed to truly learn and grow. Most dungeons figured out something along those lines within ten to twenty years, sometimes sooner.
Her second attempt was better as she''d managed to put more sincerity into the offering instead of being perfunctory, but she''d still been partially affected by the increased weight of the zone. This time she''d been able to find the right mindset and emotional state to be truly sincere in her offering, and it appeared to Mordecai that she felt genuinely happy when it was accepted fully. He rather suspected that she''d given up on connecting with the gods some time ago without realizing how much her bindings had been interfering.
Deidre was still shadowed of course, but by Kansif this time. She wasn''t obligated to do so, as she wasn''t a contractor, but it did allow her to do a little delving herself at the same time. Her offering was accepted the first time, which she waited to offer until after Deidre''s third attempt was accepted, but Kansif had a lot more experience interacting with the world and the various manifestations of divine will.
After his mental review of everyone''s activities, Mordecai sent his thoughts toward Cimbu and said, "If you want to train and play a bit, take flight. I''ll meet you in the air." He hadn''t left their bedroom yet, so he went to their upper balcony and launched himself into the air with a powerful leap before he transformed into his Ambassador form.
A short time later there was an aerial show for those on the surface. One figure was a biped with feathered wings, metallic scales, and seven fox tails of different colors. The other was a large dragon made of clay. The two raced each other through the skies just above the Earth zone and then dived down to fly below the zone and wind their way around the pillars. What started as a simple competition of speed evolved into a test of agility and maneuverability, then into a mutual chase where each was trying to tag the other with a hand or claw without being tagged in return.
Eventually, Mordecai led the chase back up into more open space and the two spun apart to begin the ranged portion of their game. Cimbu''s longest-ranged weapon was the ability to fling heavy clay at high velocity; at shorter ranges, he had steam and mud/clay breath weapons. Mordecai had a variety of choices, but for this game kept himself to flinging fox fire at his foe, though he did allow himself to switch up the elemental energies he used, though it always had a fire-like appearance.
Mordecai was by far the more agile of the two, but he was also more constrained in his space. He couldn''t fly outside of the bounds of their territory, while Cimbu did not have that limitation. The raid boss was less powerful without the energy supplied by the cores, but he was still an elemental dragon.
The biggest loss Cimbu faced outside of the dungeon''s territory was the flexibility of his breath weapon. He was still a tea pet at heart, and his steam breath could be used in a recuperative mode, with the exact properties varying by what teas he''d recently ingested. He could also get people drunk if he imbibed enough alcohol, thanks to the einherjars'' influence. Cimbu also had less flexibility in his clay breath; he couldn''t infuse healing properties into it, nor could he make it less viscous. If he wasn''t careful, he could suffocate an opponent who couldn''t clear the clay from their face quickly enough. The situation was worse if the environment could dry the clay quickly.
Mordecai''s greatest challenge for this game was to not allow enough clay spatter to accumulate that it affected his wings, but for the most part, he had little trouble dodging Cimbu''s attacks. Cimbu''s larger size made him a much easier target and his elemental nature made him heavier, and thus less maneuverable, than most dragons of similar size. That was why Mordecai was limiting himself to the weakest forms of his fox fire, as he was able to score many more hits.
The two did not play, er, train alone for too long, as other flying dungeon inhabitants wanted to get in on the game. There was the slight problem of needing to maintain enough inhabitants in the lower zones to provide challenges for the delvers so only a few were able to join at a time, but they did start cycling up as soon as they could.
Some were limited in how much of their power they could use, as the earth zone was not as mana-dense as some of the lowest ones were, but one particular challenger stood out as she had no such limitations. When she was done with conducting her training session, Moriko rose to the skies to join in the fun, along with Thunder and Lightning.
It was after sunset by the time a set of sweaty, muddy, and worn-out figures landed on the upper balcony of their tree-top home. Before Mordecai and Moriko could enter, they were confronted with a stern-looking Kazue who crossed her arms as she stared at them. "Both of you, straight to the baths. You aren''t to touch anything or remove anything before you get there."
Moriko and Mordecai glanced at each other before they gave Kazue tired grins. "Make us," they told her. Thunder cracked open an eye briefly before letting his head droop again, while Lightning didn''t even bother with that much.
Kazue''s eyes narrowed at them before she proceeded to do exactly that. Neither of them was in good enough shape to put up much resistance, especially as Kazue used a bit of magic to help her push them about, but that wasn''t really the point, was it? In the end, all of them were forced into the baths where they lay ''helplessly'' as they were scrubbed clean and pampered.
Mordecai and Moriko were barely able to drag themselves downstairs to join Kazue and Fuyuko for dinner, and the familiars were already curled up in a corner and passed out. Carnelian had slipped away to join in the games as well, but she had also returned much sooner than the others. The dirtiness had become too much for the more cat-like dragon.
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To Do List
1) Add as many zones as possible before spring/the tournament, without compromising other goals
2) Hold the tournament
3) Hopefully add one more zone after the tournament
4) Invest in an incarnated avatar for Mordecai
5) Have an intense training expedition to the southern dungeons
6) Return, prepare, and travel to Trionea
7) Free Deidre''s core
Training Teams
Team A:
Fuyuko, Shizoku, Derek, Galan?, Allania?, Rika?
Team B:
Bellona, Xarlug, Bridgette?, Orchid/Paltira?
Team C:
Mordecai, Moriko, Kazue
Final Assault Team:
Mordecai, Moriko, Kazue, Bellona, Xarlug, Fuyuko
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231: Playing in the Dirt
The day before Fuyuko''s birthday, one of her wishes came true readily enough and Kazue''s amused voice sounded in her mind, "They''ve just crossed our border. You can go meet them." Fuyuko had been working off her nervous energy on a thoroughly abused training dummy and at Kazue''s words she stashed her falcatas back into her bracers and dashed for the nearest shortcut.
Shizoku and Derek had arrived, escorted by Takehiko to ensure timeliness rather than trying to rely on a trade group''s progress. Fuyuko had forced herself to stop contacting them about when they''d get here; listening to herself continually repeat the same question had felt annoying even to herself. She was pretty certain she''d started to annoy her friends too.
Partway up the path to the trading post, Takehiko sensed the oncoming ''ambush'' in time to step back and let his young companions get tackled into a tight hug.
A grumbling Shizoku managed to eventually squirm free and she took turns glaring at Fuyuko and Derek, who had turned red-faced for some reason. Fuyuko looked quizzically at the white-haired kitsune. "I get why you are glaring at me," not that it would stop her from ambushing Shizo in the future, "but why are ya glaring at him?"
"Because boys are stupid," Shizoku retorted, "now come on, let''s go. I want to see this new level those two have cooked up." Bip burbled and chimed on her shoulder, and Fuyuko was pretty certain the little slime was as confused as she was.
Derek shook his head mutely, refusing to explain as he followed after Shizoku. Kazue''s voice sounded in Fuyuko''s mind with an amused tone, "Don''t worry about it, you didn''t do anything wrong, and neither did Derek."
Fuyuko shrugged and followed after them with Takehiko taking up the rear. Her long strides quickly brought her alongside her friends again and they simply walked in silence for a bit, before Derek spoke up, "Um, Galan told me he''ll be coming to the dungeon for combat training soon. He''s supposed to be joining us in the spring for a big training trip."
She nodded and replied, "Yeah, my parents have some plans for a lot of people ta form up and take a trip to the southern dungeon. I don''t really know the details, they said they were still working some stuff out."
Shizoku and Derek both looked over at her and Shizo said, "Parents, huh? That''s going well?"
Fuyuko shrugged awkwardly and replied, "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it''s not exactly like it was with my blood parents, but it''s still good." Not that she''d called any of them Mom or Dad yet. She wasn''t quite ready for that.
"That''s good," Derek said. After a small bit of silence, he asked, "Do you think we''d be able to do a run of the Earth Zone? I want to finish it today though, I don''t want to miss your birthday. But I want to see what I can do on Kazue''s path at least."
Fuyuko''s guilt over having missed Derek''s thirteenth birthday increased a little. She hadn''t thought to ask to go to Riverbridge despite talking with her friends regularly thanks to their linked ring. The idea only occurred to her after Shizo had mentioned that she and her cousin were going to pick up Derek in time to be there for Fuyuko''s birthday.
Sure, their trip was part of picking her up to go training with the kitsune clan for a month or so, but there was no reason Fuyuko couldn''t have taken that trip. Shizo hadn''t gone either, but she was twice as far away. It would have been more than a week just traveling there and back. Still, they were going to be with Shizo when she turned fourteen, and that meant Derek was the only one of them who hadn''t been visited by their friends on their birthday. Though from what he''d told them, it sounded like he had a lot of friends at home, so maybe it wasn''t so bad for him.
She shook off that guilt trip to answer Derek, "Um, yeah, I think you guys can do that. Er, is he joining ya?" She gestured at Takehiko.
Takehiko shook his head and said, "No, the kids can go play on Kazue''s path. If my understanding from the reports is correct, I should be able to solo the combat path and I can meet you all up top. That zone is huge, I''m looking forward to giving it a try." He gestured at the earthen structure looming above them with the exposed crystal roots whose glowing tips kept the area from being in perpetual shadow. "The tree must be magnificent. I couldn''t get a good look from the road."
Fuyuko tried not to frown at the man, Kazue''s paths may be playful but they certainly weren''t just play. Whatever. Turning her attention back to her friends, she asked, "Do ya have offerings for Kamatha? Ya won''t get very far if you don''t have good ones." Both of them nodded and Fuyuko checked with Kazue before telling them, "Kazue says she thinks you guys can complete it in time. She also said I can walk with you guys as long as I don''t provide any hints." Kazue had insisted that part of Fuyuko''s education had been to take on the Earth Zone''s non-combat path. Fuyuko didn''t get any rewards for doing so and the dungeon had to spend mana in resetting the puzzles instead of getting mana for her efforts, but it was still training and education.
The group split up right after they had signed up for the first open slots. The Earth Zone was currently the least popular route for several reasons, especially the combat route, which meant that there was an opening for Takehiko immediately. The strongest parties wanted to face the strongest challenges, so they mostly wanted to go straight down.
For fresh trainees, they mostly went into the hunting grounds which was more of an open space than a path and was far less restricted in how many people could go there.
This left the Earth Zone''s combat route mostly popular for people who either wanted a quick delve or who weren''t quite strong enough to get past Crios or Hildegard.
It wasn''t quite as bad for Kazue''s path, but it still had a smaller number of people wanting to run it. And given that they were in late fall now, the cold and occasional rain was making the above ground zones less popular in general. The turbulent winds that surrounded the Earth Zone to prevent cheating via flight provided a little bit of insulation and slowed any snow or rain that got tossed around by that turbulence, but it did not stop it from getting through eventually. In some ways that was worse, because the rain and snow could be flung into the zone from any direction of open sky.
Today was simply a little cold so Shizoku and Derek would just need to wear gloves to work the puzzles safely.
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For offerings, Shizoku presented minerals that were also alchemical ingredients. They had a reasonable cost, represented something personal to her, were pleasing to the eyes, and all this while representing something that was an aspect of Kamatha''s power. Bip counted as an extension of her, so he did not have to make any offerings.
Derek''s offering was simpler, but even more personal. He drew upon his personal reserves of energy and attuned them to elemental earth before offering up that vitality to Kamatha. His vitality would be restored with food and rest, but the immediate effect made him look tired like he''d just completed a moderate workout.
Both were readily accepted.
For the first challenge, Shizoku was in charge of making the initial decision of where the spheres needed to be placed while Derek moved them. His control over earth made them easier to roll than they would be normally, but he still had to use a fair amount of muscle power at the same time. Based on her own efforts in moving those spheres previously, Fuyuko was pretty sure that she was still physically stronger than Derek. This was also when she noticed that he was a little taller than when they''d met, mostly because she saw the height difference between him and Shizoku.
However, Derek''s affinity for earth also gave him an instinctive sense of what belonged where, and one of Shizoku''s selections felt wrong enough that he vetoed it. After some discussion, they went with a combination that Shizo was less confident about but that felt right to Derek.
Fuyuko spent the time playing with Bip, including using a small sliver of stone as a tiny ''sword'' to spar with the little crystal slime, who made his own ''sword'' out of a crystal-encased pseudopod.
Between the two of them, they managed to clear the first puzzle in one go. Fuyuko was a little jealous of that, she''d had to try several times. At least she hadn''t gotten the hidden increasing weight penalty since she wasn''t a delver.
At the artist''s workstations, Shizoku jumped straight to the painting. Mixing pigments from minerals was similar to her alchemical work and she had some basic art training as part of her education. As for the subject of her work, she decided that painting a set of stones to look like a rabbit family was appropriate. They were wildly colored rabbits, but that fit the dungeon''s style pretty well.
Derek took a moment to decide, but in the end he went with sculpting. He did not have the power and control to simply meld marble into his desired form, but his abilities did help him shape the stone more easily and precisely using the tools and training provided. Shizoku blushed when she saw him place a marble bust of her head on the altar.
Fuyuko didn''t have to do anything in particular so she messed around with clay as she chatted with her friends, making weird shapes and funny faces with giant tongues. They weren''t very good, but they made Kazue giggle when she checked in on Fuyuko, and that was enough to make Fuyuko happy.
They''d all managed to lose track of Bip for a while, but when Shizoku called for him Bip rolled out of one of the clay pits. His appearance caused all three of them to laugh; he''d managed to get into the mineral pigments at some point and had absorbed some of the more vivid ones, which were currently swirling through him in random color combinations. It was quite the contrast to the clay he had to shake off.
The third challenge had really annoyed Fuyuko, but she hadn''t had any help. At least she''d only had to evenly balance stones across two platforms; Shizo and Derek had to do it across three.
This was particularly boring for Fuyuko to watch, so she put a board across one of the stone weights and tried to balance on it. That little game only lasted until there weren''t any good stones left, as they all had to be used on the platforms. Then she stuck one end of the plank into the ground and held the other out at an angle before trying to put her weight on it. She was trying to find the right angle and balance to ''stand'' on the board while it was sticking out of the ground. The idea seemed easy at first but she soon realized it was much harder than she thought. Fuyuko never got more than a few seconds like that before the board tilted too far one way or another.
That game ended when she came close to squishing a sleeping Bip. So Fuyuko just sat on the ground with the slime in her lap as she petted him and let her mind wander until her friends were done.
After that was the combined trial of quarrying and adding to the construction of the building. Once more they split the chore by having Shizoku in charge of selecting what stone to quarry in what size and directing its placement. She did still have to demonstrate her understanding of the technique by quarrying out a few smaller squares and then using them to fill in a gap that couldn''t be filled neatly with the standard-sized blocks, but Shizoku simply didn''t have the physical strength to work with those.
The small kitsune got snappish during this part as it was starting to get dark and rapidly grew colder. Derek wasn''t bothered despite the fact that most of it was directed at him but Fuyuko got annoyed and said, "Oh just get over it and grow fuzzy. Ya already know he doesn''t care and I certainly don''t." Shizoku scowled without answering, but she did shape change into her more fox-like form as the pair continued to work. Fuyuko had to admit that her friend was an adorably floofy kitsune in this form.
Fuyuko entertained herself by playing hide and seek with Bip and climbing around the partially built buildings. She didn''t bother with making herself fuzzier. She had to work to maintain a shape change, unlike kitsune who could just take a new form and stay there. Besides, her oni bloodlines were native to the far north. The cold never bothered her anyway.
Well, that''s what she would claim if asked. She did have limits, but she was comfortable even in moderate snow. As long as she had enough to eat that is.
Once the pair were done, they were presented with their collection of prizes and they could all leave. Derek was quite happy with the extensive tool set he received as he''d discovered he rather liked sculpting and wanted to give engraving a try too. Shizoku was also happy with the mineral pigments she received as she''d asked for completely non-toxic ones with low reactivity, which was normally hard to guarantee. She wanted to use them to better color code her potions and such. Many potential coloring agents could ruin a potion, so one had to be careful. She also wanted to see which ones could color Bip for longer; most but not all of the pigments he''d previously absorbed were already gone.
Normally Fuyuko would just use her special entrance but her guests wouldn''t be able to use it even if they were keyed to be allowed to. Derek had no affinity for void whatsoever, and Shizoku would have had to find an appropriate spell ahead of time to have it ready to cast. So instead she led her friends over to the mushroom clouds that would normally be used for leaving the Earth Zone. Instead, Sarcomaag made one of them sparkle with living crystal for her, and the three of them got aboard to let it gently float up to the large balcony that was the main entrance for the tree home.
Fuyuko did one thing that was slightly badly behaved though. She deliberately, and with more than a hint of mischief, hadn''t reminded them about the hatchlings. Shizoku yelped and jumped when the baby dragons pounced the trio to investigate the arrivals and Derek stood still in shock as the curious creatures swarmed and snuffled about them.
Fuyuko fell to the floor of the balcony laughing. "Oh, ya should see your expressions! They''re great!"
When her friends recovered from their surprise Shizoku, her arms wrapped around a fidgety cat dragon, growled and said to Derek, who was being distracted by two dragon heads staring at his own, their one body balanced on his shoulder and leaning on his ear, "Derek, if you can get off one of her boots I bet I can tickle her foot until she begs for forgiveness."
There was a bit of shouting and running about after that, which included the dragons excitedly chasing them about too, but it ended when Mordecai came out to shoo everyone inside for dinner. Takehiko was already there waiting, along with Kazue, Moriko, and Bridgette.
232: Fuyukos Furniture Fort
Fuyuko found herself partially in the role of hostess for this dinner, as she was in charge of seeing her guests fed, though she had to run downstairs and get changed first since she was still wearing her armor. The three of them also had their own table so that they could have their own conversations. While she had vague memories of helping in a kitchen, Fuyuko was pretty certain she''d never served someone by bringing food to their seat before and the idea made her suddenly nervous.
Thankfully, her adoptive parents did not leave her on her own. The three of them took advantage of the ability to communicate mentally with her to offer the occasional nudge or suggestion. Shizoku seemed to notice when Fuyuko hesitated, but she merely glanced at the other table with amusement. Derek didn''t seem to notice at all.
She had to admit that it was kind of fun to play hostess for her friends, even if it slightly delayed her getting to eat. Her family had made sure that almost all the food available was stuff Fuyuko really liked, which meant lots of meat and plenty of bread.
There were also a couple of vegetable dishes for balance, and Shizoku seemed to actually enjoy them. Derek didn''t look thrilled at first, but he seemed to find them acceptable. Fuyuko glanced over at the other table but no one was watching her. That only meant so much given that two of them were also dungeon cores. She could just skip the green stuff, Kazue had said Fuyuko could have whatever she wanted for the next couple of days and it was really tempting, but after some indecision, Fuyuko sighed and served herself up a small portion of each vegetable dish too.
Fifteen wasn''t an adult, but it was getting close and she should act more like one. It wasn''t like she entirely hated these either, everything was cooked with butter and one of them had lots of cheese while the other one had a spicy sauce that she liked. Just, well, part of her insisted that she shouldn''t want to eat them.
Dinner certainly wasn''t quiet, not with three dragon hatchlings wound up from having new people staying over, and aside from her issue with the vegetables Fuyuko rather enjoyed the chaos. After dinner she only had to help get the dishes to the kitchen, her parents took it from there with Mordecai telling her, "The main room is yours, do what you want with the furniture, just leave enough room for everyone to get by." He reached up to rub her head with a smile before sending her to be with her friends.
After consultation with Shizoku and Derek, they decided to make a little fort out of some of the furniture, dragging it into a half circle around the hearth and using some blankets to cover the gaps. It was childish, but it was also fun to mess around like this. The dragons were curious and quite eager to get involved, though Fuyuko wouldn''t go quite so far as to say they helped.
When things settled down a little her friends glanced at each other and nodded before digging into their bags. "We wanted to give you our presents early," Derek said as he fetched out a small box, "so this one''s from me." When Fuyuko opened it, there was a pair of earrings that started with a simple steel hoop and chain, but off of the short chain, each earring had a transparent, glass-like sphere inside of which floated little multi-colored sparks. "You said you were thinking about getting more earrings so Shizo helped me figure out how to make the baubles. They don''t really do anything, but I thought they looked nice."
Fuyuko beamed at him and said, "Thank you, I love them. They''re lightning and fire sparks and such, aren''t they?" She stared down at them for a long moment then bit her lip in thought. She wanted to put them on right now, but she only had the one piercing. Shizoku seemed to have anticipated this though and brought out a silver needle.
"I saw what Mordecai used, and it didn''t seem to hurt you much. Mind if I do it?" She asked.
"Er, do you know how?" Fuyuko asked uncertainly.
Shizoku nodded. "I don''t have a lot of experience, but Gran Gran thought it was something I should know how to do. So, um, well, it might not be perfect. But the holes will be clean and close to even."
She hesitated only a moment before nodding and then sat on the ground in front of the chair Shizo had moved to. The silver needle didn''t sting any more than a steel one would have, but it did delay the start of her healing long enough for Shizoku to get the earrings in place.
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"There," Shizoku said with satisfaction, "all set. Mm, yeah, like I thought, they look cute on you." She grinned at Fuyuko and then brought out two packages. "So, I got you two things. One of them I got because I think every girl should have some."
Fuyuko had to fight the urge to sneeze when she opened the first package. It smelled nice, but the scent of cherry blossoms and apples was a bit strong at first. Inside was a velvet bag that held a pretty glass bottle. "Um, is this perfume?"
"Yes," Shizoku said, "I tried to make it not too sweet and I figure that if you wear it there''s even odds that you''ll also be wearing your armor or something, so I made sure the blend wouldn''t fight with leather, oil, and steel."
"It''s very nice, thank you Shizo." Fuyuko''s feelings were a little mixed, but she''d never had perfume before and she decided that this was important to her. She was less certain that she''d ever actually use it, but having it was important. She carefully put it back into its bag and put it aside before Shizoku handed her the second package.
"I figure these will be a little more useful for you." Inside was a flat box that held a few different hair combs and hair bands each. "You didn''t seem very used to having longer hair, so I thought I''d teach you how to use these." They were all made out of dark, pleasant-smelling woods and Fuyuko was quite happy to spend the next several minutes learning how to use them. She didn''t want to do anything fancy with hair but she did want to let it grow out at least a little more.
"Thank you both, oh, um, wait a moment." Fuyuko crawled out of the fort and dashed to her room to return with a pair of large but lightweight bundles that she pushed into the fort before scrambling back in herself. "So, I missed Derek''s birthday, and it''s early for Shizo''s, but I thought you might like these and it''s just easier to do both now. I, uh, I didn''t make them or anything, but I had to do some extra work to buy them." She was pretty certain the shopkeep would have given her the handcrafted items if she''d asked, but Fuyuko felt much better having bought them.
Her friends curiously unwrapped the bundles to reveal a pair of Zushi-shaped pillows. "They''re enchanted," Fuyuko added hastily, "like a lot of the other dolls and stuff. They can get bigger and be animated for a little while every day if you want. But I figured you might enjoy the pillow part the most." She might have also gotten an extra one or two for herself because they were super soft and comfy.
Derek looked a little embarrassed at first but Shizoku was more enthusiastic. "Oh, I love it! He''s squishable. Hmm, I bet I would look adorable curled up on it in fox form, don''t you think Derek?" She flashed him a teasing grin that got him to blush.
He looked away and cleared his throat. "Yeah, you sure would. Um, thank you, Fuyuko. Zushi does make for a really nice pillow."
Fuyuko poked him and said, "You don''t have to be shy about it just because you''re a boy. I heard Mordecai saying to Kazue how much he loved having soft pillows." Shizoku slapped her hand over her face with a groan and Fuyuko looked at her with confusion before asking, "What? Did I miss something?"
The smaller girl shook her head and sighed, "It''s nothing important, and it''s probably best that you don''t worry about it."
Fuyuko wasn''t sure if everyone else here was weird or if she was the strange one, but she didn''t feel like pursuing that question right now. "Whatever. Anyway, now we have more pillows for our fort too! Now we can... wait, I forgot snacks!" She scrambled back out of the fort to go fetch food and drinks for them all.
The three of them spent the night in their little fort, often with the company of the hatchlings who were happy to try and steal a sleeping spot on the cushy Zushi pillows. Fuyuko felt a little cramped when the smell of food cooking woke her up and she had to slowly crawl out in order to have enough room to stretch. Her friends followed after though they didn''t look as bad off.
"Good Morning!" Kazue called out to them with a laugh, "Now put the furniture back and get cleaned up for breakfast."
Put it back? Did she remember where it all went? Oops. "Um, right." Fuyuko muttered then sighed, "Well, let''s get started."
They weren''t quite as enthusiastic about disassembling the fort, but it wasn''t hard and they didn''t have to figure out how to stack things this time. Then she led Shizoku and Derek downstairs to show them their rooms where they could stash their bags and freshen up. When putting away her presents, Fuyuko took the time to arrange them on her dresser with a smile. She still had the earrings in her ears, along with wearing a hair band, but she put the boxes next to each other for now, along with the perfume bottle in its bag.
By the time they got upstairs, everyone else was ready for breakfast too, plus the additions of Bellona, Xarlug, and Carmilla. This time Fuyuko and her friends had to sit with everyone else because it was officially her birthday breakfast and all the attention was on her. "Food first," Mordecai said with a smile, "and after that we can hand over your presents. Shizoku and Derek can help you organize if you want, and then you guys can do whatever you want. Tomorrow''s a free day too, until sunset. You three need rest before you head out for the clan."
Fuyuko nodded and glanced nervously at the pile of packages. That seemed like a lot of presents. Well, like Mordecai had said, food first. And Moriko was bringing over a giant stack of pancakes just for her. That was enough to make Fuyuko forget about any concerns for a little while.
233: Birthday Presents
Fuyuko recognized that the portions she normally ate were large by most standards, but she almost always stopped before she felt really full. Today was different. Today, her parents were deliberately putting as many plates of food in front of her as she could eat until Fuyuko finally had to surrender and ask them to stop. She wasn''t even able to finish off her last plate of food, which made her a little sad. However, it made the wyrmlings quite happy, being the efficient food (and plate) disposals that they were. Fortunately, the plates in question were forged of dungeon mana, so there was no real cost in allowing them to eat the plates too.
After that, it was time for presents and Fuyuko felt too satiated to feel nervous about them anymore. Which was probably the point. Tricksy faeries. She suppressed a giggle at that thought and settled herself on the couch to await the flow of packages.
The first one presented to her contained two books and was labeled as a group present. The first book was the heaviest despite them being the same size and turned out to be a very thorough translation dictionary and learning guide for her clan''s native tongue. "Kazue and I compiled the information for both of these," Mordecai said, "but transcribing it all in a timely manner took a lot of hands, so a lot of inhabitants helped with writing the pages on material that had been harvested or brought in from outside. Moriko led the bookbinding process then she and Kazue worked together on preservation enchantments and size compression."
Fuyuko swallowed and told herself she wasn''t going to cry. "Thank you," she said softly before carefully setting it down next to her. She knew some of the language of course, but she had been only eight when she''d lost any reason to speak it. That made her a little nervous to open the next book. She was proven right in her expectations when she read over the foreword. It was a compilation of stories from luponi clans, along with some writings others had made about the clans. "Where did ya get these?" she asked as she stared at the book.
"Well," Moriko replied with a smirk, "I am a disciple and priestess of Sakiya with ties to a major monastery. While the dungeon put out a bounty for information and stories, I was also able to ask some favors and get some scholars looking through archives for me. This is the result of everything our efforts have brought in."
"It''s not really comprehensive," Kazue added, "I am certain that there are a lot more stories in the clans, but we thought it would be a nice start."
Wow, they sure knew how to make a girl want to cry. Fuyuko stubbornly refused to, even if her vision was a little watery. "I love them both, thank you."
"Here, let me take those," Shizoku offered, "I can start organizing for you." Fuyuko nodded and took a moment to calm herself before her next present was handed to her, so she didn¡¯t notice Shizoku taking out a small notebook and pencil to make notes on the presents she was having Derek fetch for her.
The package that Kazue handed her contained a slim wooden box and inside the box was a choker made of a lace of silver chains and several small pendants. The pendants were designed to be clipped on and were things like the sun, the three moons with some stars, a wolf''s head with three horns, the hatchlings, a single pendant with one each of a dragon, fox, and rabbit head in a triangle, and several empty clips that similar sized pendants could be attached to. "I noticed that you usually have your armor in its choker form when you aren''t wearing it," Kazue said, "so I thought you might like to have some cute things to clip onto it. The silver chains are designed to go over it and clip into place, if you want to change up the appearance; the pendants should fit either way."
Fuyuko was struck with indecision as she stared at the selection in front of her. She couldn''t clip them all on at once, they wouldn''t fit. Kazue was correct of course, while Fuyuko was currently wearing a shirt, long skirt, and trousers, she did have her armor in its choker form right now. "I want ta put them all on right now, um... maybe just this one, I can pick more out later." Fuyuko picked up the slightly larger pendant with the three heads representing Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko. "Ah, how do I...?"
Kazue smiled and leaned in to show her how it worked and then clipped in place before placing a kiss on Fuyuko''s cheek. "You are so sweet. Alright, Moriko''s present." Derek took the box over to where Shizoku was waiting while Moriko handed Fuyuko her next present.
This package was a lot softer and inside were a couple of outfits. One was a comfy, dark gray dressing gown made from silk velveteen and lined with smooth silk. Along its hems, folds, and belt were spread tiny images of a small ratling doing different things like eating some cheese, running past a big mushroom, peaking out from behind a rock, and so on.
The other one was a somewhat simpler outfit: a rough silk jinbei with blue and light gray stripes and a couple of different colored and white undershirts to go with it. Moriko looked a little bit nervous as she said, "I know a jinbei usually a boy''s outfit, but I thought you''d like it and, well, this one was simple enough that I could make it. I had to get a bit of help learning first, I only learned how to repair stuff before. The other one I had to ask others to do, but I did a lot of the design. Um, design ideas at least. I just thought you might like some more clothing options. Oh, and the silk was spun by our spiders, so it''s stronger than normal silk."
"I love them, thank you." Fuyuko wanted to try on the jinbei immediately but she couldn''t make everyone wait on her so she reluctantly handed the outfits over to be put with her other presents for now.
Mordecai''s gift came in a small jewelry box inside of which were three rings. Two of the rings were wide bands of blackened steel that were flared at the ends and held between the flares were three thin, loose rings, one each of copper, silver, and gold. The design puzzled her a moment before Mordecai picked one of the rings with a smile and flicked the outer rings to make them spin and jingle. "Oh!" Fuyuko said as she eagerly took the ring back and put both of them on her middle fingers, where she could easily flick the spinning rings with her thumbs. "These are super fun, thank you, and I like the archer''s ring too." The third ring was an archer''s ring of white jade inlaid with pattern of intense green jade. It was pretty enough to be a little fancy, but it was a useful thing to have and much nicer than the iron one she''d been using. That one was a gift from the farmer who had helped her out of the city and she was going to keep it because of that, but she liked this one a lot more.
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Her next present was from Carmilla and was large enough that she had to go over to where it stood with a cloth covering it. Pulling the cloth away revealed a much nicer-looking version of the instrument Fuyuko, Shizoku, and Derek had made during their delve. "Oh," Fuyuko said with surprise before slowly reaching for the strings to lightly pluck them. "It sounds so nice." The smoothly polished dark wood created a perfect resonance for the notes and it looked very professionally made. Fuyuko blinked back more tears and gave Carmilla an impulsive hug. "Thank you. That''s really nice." Maybe Carmilla would make a good older sister after all. Fuyuko hadn''t been certain what to make of her yet.
Carmilla returned the hug awkwardly before clearing her throat. "Well, I''m glad you liked it," she said, "and I hope you have a great birthday. But, um, you know, I have to go be a swamp witch and stuff. You guys have fun and all, right?" She said before making her way to the balcony where she and Udup switched sizes so she could ride him down. The fact that Carmilla clearly felt as uncertain and awkward about the whole thing as she did made Fuyuko feel better.
Bridgette was next, and she had a bright smile of anticipation as she handed Fuyuko the package. "From one princess to another!" she declared.
Fuyuko found another slim box inside the package, and it held the most flamboyant gift so far. It was a diadem made of mithral designed to fit over her horns, and along its sides were several phoenix-like feathers in a swept-back design. Small diamonds glittered on the front of it and the whole thing was covered by a thin aura with the appearance of red and green flames with occasional flares of white traveling along the feathers. "It doesn''t do anything other than look pretty," Bridgette said, "and I know you prefer less dramatic clothing, but I figure that if you are a faerie princess, you should be able to look the part when you want to, and that means your own regalia."
Fuyuko was almost afraid to touch the beautiful piece of jewelry. "Can I put it on?" she whispered.
"Of course, it is yours," Bridgette replied. "Here, let me help. It''s open in the back so you can just slide it over your horns like this, and there we go. Now, hm, do we have a-" Kazue stepped up holding a small framed mirror and cutting off Bridgette''s question. The princess laughed, "Of course, freshly conjured I assume. Alright, here you go Fuyuko."
She looked at her reflection uncertainly. It was spectacular and fit perfectly and she loved it but she was kind of embarrassed at the same time. After a long moment of staring at the image of herself in the diadem, Fuyuko shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Thank you," she said to Bridgette and hugged the woman tightly before carefully removing the diadem to place it back in the box.
Kazue dismissed the mirror as Shizoku took the box away and then it was Bellona and Xarlug''s turn. "This one is from both of us," Bellona said as she handed over the soft but heavy package. It felt like cloth again, but it weighed a lot more than Fuyuko would expect of clothing.
Opening it revealed a giant, fur-lined cloak of black. The voluminous garment fell down almost to her heels and Fuyuko was pretty certain she could wrap it around herself twice and still have room left over. The outer fabric was embroidered with a beautiful pattern done in gold thread and the fur on the inside was incredible soft and warm. A close examination of the pattern revealed hidden images of a wolf and a rat playing tag throughout the ornate design.
"It''s incredible," Fuyuko said as she put the cloak on and tried to spin around to make it flare out. The heavy cloak immediately threw her off balance and made her stumble. "Er, I might need to get used to it." It was also way too fancy and warm to just go wearing about for no reason.
Xarlug chuckled and said, "Well, we figured you still had some growing to do, so we wanted to make sure you didn''t outgrow it."
"And," Bellona added, "we thought it would be fancy enough to become part of a princess''s raiment. I didn''t realize how spectacular Bridgette''s diadem was going to turn out, but I think the contrast been its light and the dark cloak beneath will work out for you."
Images of forging her way through a dark, snow-laden forest filled Fuyuko''s mind, her diadem casting just enough light to deepen the shadows nearby as the wind whipped the cloak into a long, shadowy trail behind her. "I think I like that idea," Fuyuko said as she tried to not grin too widely at the image in her head. "Thank you."
And after that came all the other presents that had been sent by people she had various connections to, mostly by virtue of being the adopted daughter of Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai and thus the subject of common diplomatic gifts, such as an ever-living flower from the elven kingdom. It was pretty and glowed softly in its tiny vase, but according to Bridgette every prince and princess she knew of received one of these from the elves as a present. Those weren''t really personal, unlike the alchemical set Moriko''s family had sent her. She wanted to try out the ''darkness bomb'' so badly; the instructions said that it would release a spreading cloud of light-absorbing dust that would linger in the air for quite a while.
Once all of these were opened, it was time to stash them away. The stringed instrument stayed up here however, after being situated with a chair where she could practice easily in a corner. She changed into the jinbei that Moriko had made before she went out with Shizoku and Derek.
Most of the next two days was simply spent playing throughout the territory, and Fuyuko showed her friends the warrens as well, which most guests never saw. She was presented with several more small gifts from various inhabitants, which Fuyuko had not been expecting. It was a little overwhelming, to be honest, and she loved even the humblest of her gifts.
This was when she noticed Shizoku''s note-taking and when asked about it, Shizoku replied "Well, you have to write proper thank you notes, Princess." She smirked up at her friend''s distressed expression. "Don''t worry, I''ll help you out. The important notes to get out quickly are for the diplomatic gifts. We can spread the rest out during your visit."
The time past all too swiftly and then it was time for her to depart on her training trip to the Azeria clan. Fuyuko said her official goodbyes to her parents back at the trading post before trailing behind Takehiko, Shizoku, and Derek.
At the edge of the territory, she paused and turned back around for a moment as she mentally reached out for their attention to make sure they were listening. "Thank you for becoming my parents," she said as she bowed, "I''ll work hard and then show you how I''ve grown, Papa, Mama M, Mama K." Fuyuko promptly fled across the border of the territory as her cheeks flushed red. None of her traveling companions said a thing about it, for which she was grateful.
234: While the Wolf Girl Played
While Fuyuko and her friends were enjoying their time roaming the dungeon, there was one little issue the dungeon had to deal with. It had started with what felt like a small explosion well outside of any combat zone, but the cores shifted their attention away quickly when they realized the exact location and recognized the mingled auras.
Later on, Kazue and Moriko took Bridgette out for a walk where they had a private chat. The princess was in an extremely chipper mood now, but Kazue wanted to make sure of something. "So," she said, "I''m glad you are enjoying yourself, but, um, just to be sure you know, Takehiko is a rather dedicated bachelor. You don''t want to get too attached."
Bridgette blushed a little and replied, "I guess you guys noticed?"
Moriko snorted. "I felt the burst of mana and I''m not even a core."
"And," Kazue added, "we''re going to have to repair the damage to Takehiko''s room, it would be hard to not figure out."
"Oh, well, I guess that sort of thing would be more noticeable to you," Bridgette said and then shrugged. "It was a little impulsive, but I just needed to indulge myself for once. My older sisters all got to fool around more thanks to Orchid; she has a spell that lets her swap appearances with someone willing. She knew she was going to be heading off to join the Azeria clan, so she let any rumors get attached to her identity instead. But I was too young at the time for that sort of stuff."
Moriko considered her a moment before asking, "Does that mean it was your first time? Losing control of your phoenix fire to a moment of passion shouldn''t happen easily."
"Eheh, yeah, it was," Bridgette admitted, "and, well, I did get better at controlling it once we, um, continued."
That was already more than Kazue really wanted to know. "Alright, I think we can drop the topic if you want. But, if you need to talk about anything you should let us know. Come on, there''s a new food merchant in town I''ve been meaning to check out."
While the three women started shopping, Mordecai was examining Takehiko''s hair after the kitsune''s third bath. "Alright, I don''t think there''s enough smoke scent left for Fuyuko to notice." The girl was curious enough that she''d probably ask about it if she noticed.
Takehiko shook his head in confusion, "Why are you so concerned about that anyway? Did something happen to her?"
"No, I don''t think so. But anything involving the topic of sex seems mildly off-putting to her so I''d rather avoid her asking questions she doesn''t really want the answer to. When she''s older, that''s her own issue to deal with, but teens have it hard enough as it is." Mordecai shrugged. "She''s not the first person I''ve met like that. For some, that changes when they get older. Some need to meet the right person to fall in love with before that changes, and even then it''s only for that person. Others will always be disinterested."
"Huh," Takehiko said, "I''ve never met anyone like that before."
Mordecai snorted and replied, "It''s rare enough among kitsune to begin with and your clan seems overactive there, so I am not surprised. Anyway, go on, get dressed."
"Sure." Takehiko paused a moment before asking, "How long will Bridgette be staying anyway?"
Mordecai gave him a measuring look before dodging the question by saying, "Really? She''s the one who makes you think about that? Well, I''ll let you figure out if you want to try pursuing that idea, but I don''t recommend it. She used you as her final step to get over a breakup and she''s not looking for anything more; working your way out of that emotional bucket to get into a different one is not likely. At least, not for a category you want to be in. My recommendation is that you try to just be a friend, especially as that''s the part you seem to not be good at."
Takehiko grimaced. "Maybe," he acknowledged. "That''s what you meant before about the difference between Moriko and me? She made friends, not just had sex."
"That''s an aspect of it," Mordecai said with a nod, "it''s part of the whole package of how you treat your partners and are treated in turn." Not that everyone could learn to do that. Takehiko had a relaxed enough personality that he should be able to learn, but a more intense personality... Well, he hoped things worked out well between Shizoku and Derek in the long run. Shizoku wouldn''t handle a breakup well and that would cause a lot of stress in their friendships with Fuyuko. "One more thing," he added as he started to leave, "if you have the time between escort duties, you should do some more delving. I have an idea for a group you could join that would benefit everyone I think."
While nothing else significant happened before Fuyuko''s training group left, there was a small matter that caused Moriko and Kazue a bit of distress. Moriko frowned at the missive in her hand before she tossed it onto a table and asked, "Did they really have to tell us that Akuma was executed? I was just as happy to ignore the situation and assume he was in prison forever or something." Kazue nodded her agreement, though she looked a bit ill compared to Moriko''s annoyance.
Mordecai decided it would be wisest to not mention his own feelings on the subject, which amounted to simple satisfaction that the man wouldn''t be bothering anyone anymore. "I''m afraid so. We are the aggrieved parties, yourself doubly so, and according to the charges they were able to connect him to other cases of banditry. He was not a person who sought redemption."
Kazue''s expression shifted as a thought distracted her. "So," she asked, "what happens to his soul now anyway? I don''t know who his patron deity was, but I don''t think many would find him acceptable. I never trained as a priestess and most of the texts are a bit vague about what happens if you don''t get into your god''s afterlife. I know you face judgment by Lord Yamaraja, and if things go relatively well you will probably be reincarnated, but it''s just vaguely ominous from there."
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"Let me take a specific part of that," Mordecai said. "I think Moriko can handle the rest. There is a chance he might be accepted by Dormire, if that is who he follows. He was strong and proved his strength, and his downfall was not down to his personal choices beyond who his employer was. Dormire''s works are rather silent on the subject of how you use your power other than the universal commandments. I''m not sure he personally cares about some of them but he has to publicly enforce them lest the other gods turn on him."
Moriko sighed and said, "That matches my understanding as well. But, if Akuma is not accepted into an afterlife, his fate has a whole lot of factors involved. If this is his first life, he''s almost certain to be reincarnated. Lord Yamaraja will suppress Akuma''s memories and Lady Kikoi Muerte will find a suitable host who otherwise would not have had a child or who would not have given birth to a living child."
She sounded a bit like she was simply quoting, but Moriko had begun looking deeper into religion about five months ago so it was to be expected. "If it''s not his first life," Moriko continued, "then Lord Yamaraja will judge whether the soul has learned or grown and if there is still hope of him becoming a better person. Some options involve a period of discipline and training before being reincarnated and stories of customized fates designed to help drive a lesson home. But if that soul is judged to have no more potential to learn how to be an acceptable person, well..." she trailed off uncomfortably and looked at Mordecai, but it was Kazue who picked up the thread.
"They get sent to one of the hells," she whispered, looking downcast. "I know that much, but it''s always spoken of like a very distant threat."
"Correct," Mordecai said thoughtfully, "but I assume that neither of you knows much about what happens there, other than it is an awful place?" His wives both shook their heads. "This can be complicated. Are you sure you want to learn?"
The pair glanced at each other and then nodded. "Yes," Kazue said, "if there is a possibility that my actions are going to lead to someone going there, even if it is their own fault, I think I should know."
This was deeper lore than almost anyone needed to know and mostly a matter of academic knowledge, but Mordecai had needed to learn the practical realities a long time ago. "There are several aspects to what the hells are. The first aspect is that they started as a sort of void for putting souls that could not be redeemed. It wasn''t intended as a punishment so much as just a dumping ground, because destroying a soul is deemed an even worse fate."
Normally Mordecai would have stopped there but he found himself compelled to tell more. "Damn it," he growled out through clenched teeth, "I didn''t want to get into this, but not telling you would be too close to a lie. There''s a more cynical aspect to it too." The pressure began to ease as soon as he said that.
Ignoring the concerned looks his wives were giving him, he continued, "The simple existence of souls provides additional fortification against the primordial chaos of nothingness the universe was pulled from. There is a pressure to revert the universe to that state. The more souls there are, the more counterpressure they provide. This is good for the primogen gods as they are the ones who support the universe against returning to nothingness. So they have an incentive to keep as many souls in existence as possible."
Mordecai kept his anger in check as he didn''t want to inflict it upon Carmilla. He didn''t think leaving that part out would have caused a problem for most fae nobility, but the truth compulsion interacted with his vows and nature as a high priest of Ozuran in sometimes unpredictable ways. He had a lot less wiggle room. And he''d wanted to leave it out as not being relevant but it had been too big an omission about the purpose of the hell-void as a holding place for unsalvageable souls.
Both of them stared at him before Moriko said, "I hadn''t heard anything about that."
"Well," Mordecai said with a sigh, "as far as I know, most of them are unhappy with that practical need. But they also don''t want to destroy souls to begin with, so everything works out. Mostly. The problem is that souls can''t be put entirely into stasis, especially not when placed together like that. Malevolence built and the nature of their part of reality warped. The souls started becoming proto-demons and eventually, demons from other realms were able to breach into them, bringing the first true demons into contact with any aspect of our universe. Our hells and their hells are connected through their similarities, though the distance involved is a type of infinity that is hard to breach. Much like with the gods, the most powerful demons can create domains that bridge the realms."
Kazue shook her head in confusion and said, "Wait, why do you know so much about this?"
"Gil recruited one of my past selves for a rescue mission. A demon cult had managed to snatch some souls that had not made demon contracts. The cult had already been taken care of but an expedition into the hells is a daunting prospect even for the likes of him. It was, well, not a pleasant experience. We rescued the soul gems and kept the souls of our fallen safe with soul gems of our own. All the souls were released once we were in a consecrated temple."
"It''s easy to forget that sort of lives you''ve lived," Moriko said. "I take it this is part of the memories you''ve been unpacking?"
Mordecai nodded. "Yes. There''s still a lot to unpack and general knowledge is of a higher priority than specific memories, but sometimes specific memories are needed for context."
Kazue scratched her cheek thoughtfully before saying, "Part of me kind of wishes I hadn''t asked. I may have been happier not knowing, and our faerie status made you tell even more than I was really asking about. Though, it does explain how the demons got here to begin with. The divine texts talking about the demon war skip that part."
"There are always answers for those who truly seek," Mordecai replied, "but most people don''t want to look that deep. And I think that''s deep enough for one day, so let''s switch topics to something more cheerful, shall we? Do you think there''s any more we should add to Fuyuko''s ''traveling princess'' package?"
They had already prepared her seal; it was of a similar design to theirs only with four heads instead of three. Fuyuko''s was a horned wolf of course and while it was slightly larger than the others, it was on the bottom instead of on the top. While her sigil was not likely to become well known any time soon, the design communicated her position as subordinate to them clearly. Carmilla was going to get one of the same design but with stylized fairy wings for her symbol.
In addition to the appropriate stationery, they added a sealed letter confirming her identity and status along with some simpler regalia than her birthday presents and one dress suitable for a ballroom even if it was a touch on the subdued side. It seemed unlikely that any of this was going to be used any time soon but Mordecai preferred the paranoid approach. Given their recent experiences, Kazue and Moriko were quick to agree.
This care package was tucked into the bottom of Fuyuko''s pack. She should find it when she started unpacking and that felt right. They were concerned she would be too self-conscious if they gave it to her directly.
When their daughter said her final goodbye at the border of their territory, it left all three of them teary-eyed.
235: Surprise Meeting
A few days after Fuyuko left for her training with the kitsune, Princess Orchid and Lord Paltira revisited the dungeon. Orchid was quite pleased to hear that things were going well with Bellona and Xarlug and after spending some time consulting with each to make sure they understood the full ramifications she happily taught Bellona the correct form of the ritual.
However, once the couple was ready to begin, Orchid privately asked Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko to help Paltira support her while she unbound Xarlug. The version of the binding she had created for Xarlug was less permanent and did not attach directly to her soul, but it was still rooted in her spirit and it was not easy to untangle. The process was painful for Orchid and left her exhausted in Paltira''s arms while Moriko helped heal her. Mordecai and Kazue double-checked Xarlug''s aura to make sure there were no issues, then withdrew their attention from that more private room.
Once everyone was recovered and had adjusted, the dungeon had a potent delving team wintering at the dungeon: Orchid, Paltira, Kansif, Xarlug, Bridgette, Brongrim, and Nainvil. This combined group was capable enough to trigger Mordecai''s boon for empowering zone bosses even when both dragons were active in the wetlands, so he and Kazue made sure to provide support with mixes of other wetlands inhabitants as needed. One of the goals of the group was to ensure that everyone was capable of reliably soloing either Nezha or Ysi. The zone bosses had mostly mastered all of their abilities, but unlike the delvers, their power was limited by their zone.
Xarlug intended to become a full-time contractor come the spring while Brongrim and Nainvil had previously stated their plans to become temporary contractors to help protect the dungeon while the Puritasi were being dealt with.
The dungeon was quite happy to help them all gear up and anticipated being able to fully kit them out in mithral and some key pieces of adamantine gear before the tournament. Everyone was planning on entering the tournament, so the dungeon needed to balance out what they were owed before their official entry delve for the tournament to keep things fair.
Meanwhile, training continued apace for the soldiers from Trionea. Mordecai was in charge of this project and he coordinated with the officers to arrange which troops would be sent back to begin spreading the training they had received here. The groups he sent back were selected primarily from those who had already died once in the sewers, though he did give them the opportunity to delve twice on the normal route first if they wanted. He did select a few directly from the more successful sewer delving squads; specifically those who were not very flexible in their tactics but were very good at following the rules and training that had been provided.
While mastering the tactics of clearing and holding rooms in controlled waves was very important, the most potential growth lay in those who could do so while being able to react to changing situations. Sending the less flexible back to act as trainers for the larger number of troops in Trionea was the most efficient option for everyone, and those who had been casualties could act as assistants for the trainers and squad leaders for the trainees.
The strongest teams were already good enough that in a normal delve they could have at least reached the river zone. Mordecai fully intended the best to be able to clear all of the Azeria dungeon''s zones, including a couple not yet claimed, despite any potential future issues with having trained up teams like this.
Based on what Deidre had said, they were pretty certain her dungeon had at least sixteen zones. There was a decent chance that Dimitri would take the risk of letting her core claim one or two more zones, given the circumstances. Obviously, this would make clearing the dungeon harder, but it would also make the aftermath easier as her core would not be burdened with as large an excess of mana. Mordecai was not certain which option he preferred, but his preferences were not going to change whatever the reality turned out to be.
For all that there was plenty to do, there was also a relaxed routine to it. The three of them trained with each other and their dungeon inhabitants and rotated who would manually add a bit of surprise and danger to each of the stronger delving groups.
Meanwhile, Fuyuko was certain that she''d been banished to some sort of hell. Aia was taking charge of the training and running them into the ground. And she was mean. While she''d never let them go hungry, the tastiest foods would be offered as rewards for overcoming seemingly impossible tasks. The three of them once spent four whole days and nights in a clearing trying to snatch the ribbon floating near The Matriarch''s head while Aia fended them off using her tails and foxfire. The blasted woman was sitting on a stool and reading a book the entire time. They could camp nearby to rest and recover, but they were stuck with trail rations until they overcame her challenge.
It''s not like they weren''t allowed to use their powers too, but direct spells she could simply knock away. Shizo didn''t hold back against her gran gran, but it didn''t help much. Fuyuko had no idea how you made a fireball bounce away mid-explosion.
Fuyuko herself had been smothered into near unconsciousness multiple times by those tails as Aia took a hard stance against her battle fugue. Being repeatedly forced out of that state and then being immediately pushed back into conflict did prove to be a key to unlocking better control for Fuyuko, but it was a little traumatic being brought to the edge of a blackout repeatedly by inescapable soft fluff and fur.
Derek found the experience very frustrating. It didn''t matter which powers he used, he couldn''t make the elements near Aia respond to his command. The earth would not tremble, her wooden stool would not animate, and the wind would not turn into a cyclone. He said it didn''t even feel like she was using magic against him, he was simply running into her raw will and couldn''t command the elements near her unless he could first overcome her will. But he could at least initiate attacks from further away as her will didn''t seem to cancel those out. Unfortunately, Aia seemed as adept at deflecting those attacks as she was deflecting spells.
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The shadows were similarly unkind to Fuyuko. She couldn''t use any shadow near Aia for any of her tricks or powers. The only shadow she could manipulate near the matriarch was her own, and that limited the range and power of what she could do.
What finally earned them success was learning how to recognize and accept magic from each other in the middle of combat. Their communication rings provided an easy conduit to extend the reach of some spells, though they still required being fairly close. Fuyuko became the focus point for both of her friends who were able to target her to initiate effects even when Fuyuko was near Aia.
Speed to make her faster, illusions to make her harder to detect and defend against, sudden blasts of air and water to counter tails and foxfire that tried to keep Fuyuko from getting close, and finally Bip himself, who had been hiding in Fuyuko''s shadow. A shadow that had been deepened by a couple of Shizoku''s flare-bombs. Bip hurled himself at Aia just before one of Shizoku''s spells exploded from him. Ice and stone shards curled themselves in a dense cone at Aia just in time for Fuyuko to dodge in the final step she needed to grab the ribbon before a fluffy tail smashed her away.
Fuyuko would have appreciated their victory if she hadn''t made eye contact with a smirking Aia just as she grabbed the ribbon. They had not, in fact, beaten Aia at the game. They had merely overcome the challenge level that she had set for them. Fuyuko decided not to pass that on to their friends, though she was pretty certain Shizoku could guess.
Overall, there was very little downtime and Fuyuko felt constantly tired. Once she had gotten a handle on how to maintain a partial or full shift mid-combat without losing herself to the battle, all of Aia''s challenges pushed Fuyuko''s speed and strength enough that she had to maintain the boost that the partial shift gave her. Worst of all, when there was time to rest and breathe, she had to work on more of her thank-you notes until they were all finally done.
Derek and Shizoku were no better off. While Fuyuko was spending hours trying to not get hit by the collection of foxfire balls that were constantly chasing her, Shizoku spent that time struggling out of various containment and capture spells which required her to puzzle out a variety of magical and physical techniques. Derek was challenged to use his powers to move a stone from Aia''s open hand. When the direct approach didn''t work, he used an obvious indirect method which in this case was forming a whip of water to knock it out of her hand.
Aia smiled at that and said, "Good, you remembered to use attacks from range when direct methods won''t work. But this time, you need to command the stone to move. This is a direct power challenge, no clever tricks are allowed. Now, try again."
Derek later reported that he felt like he was trying to lift a boulder when all he wanted was to make the stone slide a tiny bit to the side and roll off of her hand. It was one part an exercise but it was also a reminder of a lesson they had been taught. The stronger a person is, the harder it is to directly affect them or the reality near them.
The inverse was true as well. Fuyuko''s arena for dodging foxfire had been limited by a wall of wind that encircled their training area. Shizo could cast a similar spell, but Fuyuko was fairly certain she could force her way through Shizo''s version. Eventually. Even getting near the wind wall that Aia had put up was almost enough to knock Fuyuko off of her feet.
When there were only a few days left until it was time for Fuyuko to return to the Azeria Mountain Dungeon, Aia called a halt to all training to let Fuyuko and Derek rest and prepare for travel. "Shizo," Fuyuko asked with a groan, "Does your grandma always push you like this?"
Shizoku shook her head and replied, "No, she knew she could push me harder with you two around. Plus she won''t have a chance to work on you for a while, so she wanted to squeeze in every little bit she could. I swear, the woman is pure evil."
Fuyuko snorted at that. Aia pushed hard, but she obviously wasn''t actually evil.
Her opinion was challenged the very next day. Fuyuko was sitting with her friends and eating her well-deserved third serving of lunch when she heard Aia''s voice cut through the sounds of all the people also enjoying their meals.
"I would like you to meet your granddaughter, Fuyuko," Aia said. Fuyuko''s head snapped up and she spun around to stare at a red-furred kitsune woman and a dark-haired human man, with her mouth still full of food. "Fuyuko," Aia continued with an evil smile, "I would like you to meet Akahana and Ricardo, Kazue''s parents."
Fuyuko forced down her food hastily with some water before she stood up to stare at the pair nervously. "I, um, hello?"
Akahana sighed softly. "What has our girl gotten herself into this time? Wait, I''m sorry, Fuyuko, yes? I shouldn''t complain immediately like that, Aia caught me off guard. Well, it''s a pleasure if a surprise to meet you. And please, sit, that''ll be easier for all of us."
Ricardo recovered from his surprise a little slower but then he started laughing. It was soft at first, but the man couldn''t stop. The inability to take a full breath slowly brought him to his knees before he fell over onto his side.
Akahana looked embarrassed as she hissed at him, "Ricardo! Pull yourself together! It''s not that funny! Okay, it''s kind of funny, but stop laughing."
But Ricardo''s laughter was contagious, and Fuyuko had to admit that it was a pretty good prank by Aia. A giggle escaped her before she pressed her lips together tightly, but she could feel more bubbling up inside. Akahana groaned, "Oh no, not you too." But a smile was already working at the edge of her lips and neither of the women lasted much longer before they started laughing too.
Aia simply observed the results of her handiwork with a self-satisfied smile before sweeping out of the dining hall.
Once the three of them had recovered Akahana took charge of the conversation once more and started asking Fuyuko about herself before eventually giving Fuyuko some time to finish her meal. "We''ll meet up with you later. Spend the rest of the afternoon with your friends, there will be plenty of time in the evening. Also, it looks like we''re going to be your escort home; The Matriarch had said she was introducing us to someone who could use a ride to the Azeria dungeon."
Fuyuko did do one thing before she met back up with her grandparents. While Aia''s prank was funny, she didn''t feel comfortable doing the same thing to her new parents so she activate her earring to bring her parents up to date. Mama K sounded a little nervous about Akahana and Ricardo showing up, but none of them sounded surprised. It seemed more like they hadn''t been certain when it would happen.
236: Meeting the Family
Kazue tried not to fidget while they waited for her parents and Fuyuko to arrive at the trading post. The small caravan had already crossed the border of their territory so she, Mordecai, Moriko, and Carmilla were all gathered to meet them properly while Carnelian Flame played with Thunder and Lightning nearby. Carmilla at least looked nervous too, both Mordecai and Moriko were calm and Kazue''s nervousness seemed to amuse both of them too. They were double-teaming her, and it wasn''t fair.
Though it could be fun... Kazue shook off those distracting thoughts and refocused herself. Thankfully the blush of her cheeks was probably hidden by the flush caused by the cold winds. Though it was not yet thick, snow had started sticking to the ground all day without melting much, and even during the day the wind could bite through clothes that were not thick enough. This was why she was thoroughly bundled in several layers: thick leggings and fluffy boots under a heavy, long dress and topped with a fur-lined, hooded cloak, all in green with white trim.
If the cold and snow were created dungeon effects, her avatar would not be adversely affected, but it turned out that environmental zones did have a disadvantage there. At least the crisp scents carried by the early winter winds were familiar ones and part of what she enjoyed about this season.
Soon they could see the caravan rounding the last curve, with Ricardo''s wagon in the lead and pulled by the powerfully built pair of ''horses'', one of black and one of white. Moments after the groups could see each other a tall figure impatiently jumped free and started walking toward them swiftly. Kazue stifled a giggle at her adoptive daughter''s eagerness, it was easy to tell that the girl was restraining the urge to run. A fast walk was her compromise between her pride and what she wanted to do.
Well, it wouldn''t do to just stand there, there were no protocols or formalities. Kazue started walking toward Fuyuko with the rest of the family moving with her. Fuyuko''s self-control broke at the last moment and she dashed forward the last few yards to practically crush Kazue in a hug that lifted her feet off the ground. Having Mordecai and Moriko join the hug did not help Kazue''s breathing much but it was hard to complain when she was so happy.
Kazue''s feelings for Fuyuko were a little complicated and shifted between sisterly and motherly, but what really mattered was that she cared for the younger woman and that her affection was returned. After Kazue was allowed to stand on her own and breathe again she beamed up at Fuyuko. "Welcome home. We''ve missed you."
Carmilla was a little more awkward when she said, "Welcome home sister," but Fuyuko was just as awkward when she gave Carmilla a greeting hug. It was kind of cute, and the sincere effort Carmilla put into trying to be a good sister made Kazue happy. It was hard not to feel a little skeptical about Carmilla given the way she was shoved into being their adoptee because the woman was trying to be clever, but Kazue had seen the cracks that revealed the part of Carmilla that sought to make sincere connections. That earned her a lot of goodwill from Kazue and she was hoping to eventually feel as warm toward Carmilla as she felt toward Fuyuko.
"Well," Akahana said as Ricardo''s wagon rolled up next to them, "That''s certainly a warm family greeting." She hopped down from the wagon and looked at Kazue. "Now, should I be bowing or curtsying, Your Majesty?" Casey, her cassowary companion, jumped out from the back of the wagon and wandered over to join them.
"Oh, hush with that," Kazue said as she threw herself into her mother''s arms, "or I''ll start calling you the Queen Mother. No, better; the Queen Dowager."
Akahana made a face as she hugged her daughter tightly. "Fine, you win this one." After several long moments, they separated and Akahana smiled at Kazue. "Well, I can say that you have grown more confident. I''m happy you are doing well."
"Thank you," Kazue beamed, then looked up at her father, "Get down here. Mother, Father, I would like to introduce you to your other granddaughter, Carmilla. Carmilla, this is my mother Akahana and my father Ricardo."
"A pleasure to meet you," Carmilla said with a small and slightly uncertain curtsy.
Ricardo and Akahana exchanged glances then moved in to hug the faerie witch. "This is how family greets each other, lass. No formalities here," Ricardo said.
While the newly met family members started talking, Kazue turned to the two not-horses drawing her father''s wagon. "Zara, Tiros, you can go ahead with the caravan, I''ve got a special stable set aside for you and Dad''s wagon." She patted them on the nose as she whispered, "I thought you two might like a chance to stretch a little. There are some tunnels out so you can change to your true forms and run about without anyone knowing who you are. If you want, I think you could delve the Earth Zone too. Most of our other zones are too small for you right now."
The alicorn, Zara, looked curious and thoughtful about the offer. Tiros, on the other hand, looked simply interested in the chance to do a bit of violence. Kazue was glad that their dungeon-born kelpie was not so bloodthirsty. "Tiros," Kazue said sternly, "these are my friends and we have rules about respect. If you delve, you are accepting My Rules." She leaned her will against his and with her will came a reminder that she was a Faerie Queen and he was a fey creature.
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He snorted uncertainly, then bowed his head in acceptance. "As you say, Lady Kazue," the kelpie murmured softly enough that none but Kazue and Zara could hear.
"Good boy," Kazue said with a smile and placed a kiss on his nose. His vaguely wet scent made a lot more sense to her now that she knew he was a kelpie. "Now, you two go off and have some fun, within the rules of our domain and territory." Zara nodded her acceptance as well then glanced at Tiros with amusement before she tossed her head and neighed.
The two trotted off to the building Kazue had indicated with a bunkin playing the part of their guide. The rest of the wagons had already gone around the group and were being led to places to set up their wagons under a shelter and get their animals into stables.
Ricardo turned from Carmilla and scooped up Kazue into a tight hug. "Hah, my beautiful girl is becoming as strong-willed as her mama."
Kazue returned the hug and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before he let her down. "Well, it does help to be a faerie queen when ordering a fey about."
"About that," Akahana said as she eyed Kazue, "I heard something about wings?"
With a dramatic twirl and jump, Kazue shifted to manifest her wings mid-leap. "What do you think?" she asked with a grin as she hovered for a moment before landing. "Oh, that reminds me. Moriko''s parents were affected, so the two of you had to have something happen too, right?"
Her mother sighed at the question and said, "Yes, something happened alright." Akahana''s hair rippled and shifted as a crown of thorned rose vines grew into place around her head. From the back of her crown flowed several more vines which made a rasping sound as they slithered along the ground. "They were quite a nuisance at first until I got them under control."
Mordecai sounded amused as he said, "Well, it does seem that the design of your staff was quite on point and Faerie itself deems you a beautiful but prickly and dangerous creature."
Akahana glared at him but it lacked sincere heat. Kazue knew her mother was quite susceptible to flattery most of the time. She turned to her father and asked, "What about you?"
Ricardo shrugged, "I haven''t noticed anything so interesting. I, um, did get a pair of small horns, but they are pretty well hidden under my hair."
Kazue examined her father critically for a moment. "Hmm, well, I do think you look a bit younger too."
"Ah," Mordecai said, "I think I might be able to help here. Given your aura, those are probably goat horns."
Moriko''s eyes widened before she bit her lip to make herself stay silent. Kazue took a moment longer to put together why goat horns specifically might be associated with being fey-touched. When she did, Kazue hid her face in her hands in embarrassment. Her father was now part satyr.
"Oh," Akahana said thoughtfully, "that makes sense and explains a few things. Not quite as ego-boosting as my assumptions, but I think I can live with that."
"Mom," Kazue groaned, "please, I don''t want to hear it."
"Yes dear," Akahana replied as she pat Kazue on the head, "I''m sure you and your innocent, pure-minded spouses never get up to anything interesting." Mordecai and Moriko were staying out of this conversation, the cowards.
Desperate to switch topics, Kazue started looking for anything distracting. This did not turn out to be a hard task. A circle was being slowly paced out with Casey on one side, and Carnelian and Sparks on the other. In between was Fuyuko who was trying to play peacemaker while the scary bird and the baby dragons sized each other up.
"Hey!" Kazue said as she flew over and landed next to Fuyuko. "No fighting! Casey, behave! Carnelian is my familiar, Thunder and Lightning are Moriko''s familiar. Carnelian, come here. Sparks, go to Moriko. Good boys. Casey, you can get to know them if you behave, we''re all going to be living together."
Once everyone was settled and Akahana had soothed Casey''s ruffled feathers, Kazue gathered her family together. "Come on, let''s show you three your new rooms. Oh, and don''t forget that we have another guest and Bridgette has a dragon familiar too." She had Mordecai lead the way to where the fluffy cloud mushroom awaited them. The path was still covered with snow as the four of them had simply flown down and it was easy for Mordecai to make sure the thin layer was a little flatter for everyone. Akahana also drew her manifestation back into herself; according to her, not only did the vines not care for the cold, but they were often rather awkward to walk around with. Especially given that they sometimes moved of their own accord if she wasn''t paying attention.
Casey looked rather uncertain about trusting herself to the floating mushroom, but Kazue''s parents had no such issue. Akahana gasped as they got closer and said, "I knew that it was big, but it''s hard to see the scale until you are closer. I think this is even bigger than Aia''s tree." She paused thoughtfully at that and then added, "Maybe it''s best if no one mentions that to her just yet."
After a brief tour and a chance for her parents to set some of their things in their room, it was time for lunch and an opportunity to show off. Ricardo took a few sips of the coffee he was served before deciding that he rather enjoyed it, while Akahana naturally fell in love with the spiced drinking chocolate.
Then it was time for Ricardo to set up his shop for the winter. With so few delvers here over the winter, there was plenty of space for all the merchants to set up shop inside instead of having stalls. Kazue wasn''t surprised that her father had decided to spend the winter here, he usually set up in a single location before the snows got heavy. It was also a chance for him to sell his goods at a higher individual price rather than at a bulk price.
As for the dungeon''s plans to ask for Ricardo''s help with transportation come spring, it seemed best to let everyone get settled in first.
237: Stepping Into the Other Side
Moriko felt nervous as she stood next to her husband and wife outside, well off to the side of the trading post area and near one of the pillars of the Earth Zone. She could feel that their domain had fully encompassed the dungeon''s territory and that meant it was time to step on through to the Other Side to deal with everything that came with it. The reason Mordecai could cross was the same reason Moriko could feel their domain so clearly: He and Kazue had been working to intermingle the two aspects and weaken the barrier between the realms. So now their faerie domain leaked into the mortal realm just as the dungeon''s territory leaked into the other side.
Behind them stood their two princesses, Fuyuko and Carmilla, and their knight, Bellona. All six of them were dressed up, with Kazue and Moriko wearing the battle-ready dresses that had been gifted to them and Mordecai in a fancier version of the militaresque uniform Kazue had designed for him in the spring.
Carmilla''s normal attire only needed a little sprucing up, but Fuyuko had a dress fancier than she was used to wearing over her armor. It was a slightly simplified version of the dress the princesses had first gifted Moriko but in shades of dark blue. It was also crafted of dungeon mana and could only exist inside of their territory, so it was effectively disposable and there was no need to worry about damage.
In contrast, Bellona''s armor was far from hidden, it had instead been polished until it gleamed and she wore a tabard over it that displayed the Azeria Dungeon crest.
Accenting their striking appearances were the three dragon familiars; Carnelian Flame, Thunder and Lightning, and Udup. All told, their party looked rather dramatic despite being limited to those with direct connections to the cores.
Xarlug was not yet bound by any titles so he was staying behind with Kansif to help keep things in order on this side.
Speaking of those not crossing with them, "Galan!" Moriko shouted at the boy trying to skulk nearby, "You are not coming with us, I told you that already." He''d come in a few days after Kazue''s parents, on the last expected caravan from Riverbridge. The shorter days and the extra time dealing with the effects of cold weather had already increased travel time to three days for most.
"It''s not fair," he replied with a pout, "I''m the same age as her and she gets to go." He didn''t even have to gesture for Moriko to know he meant Fuyuko.
Moriko scowled at her little brother "She has an obligation because she has a title. If we had a real choice, she''d be staying behind too. You are not duty-bound, so you are not going."
Galan glared at her, but there was little he could do except watch as a rabkin and buzzkin rushed toward him and were both now hovering in front of him to keep him from trying to dash across. Reality rippled the group and they all faded from view.
On the Other Side of reality, Moriko stared up at an awe-inspiring sight. Where solid pillars of earth stood in the mortal realm was now an entwined lattice of hard crystal and soft white mycelium. The lattice work covered the area that would be the Earth Zone, including the crystal tree that now looked precariously supported.
As Moriko stared, her awareness was drawn to that sparkling, gleaming network and she felt knowledge bloom in her mind, telling her how the living crystal and this mycelium extension of Sarcomaag interacted and supported each other. It held her for only a moment before she was able to refocus on her body.
"That is so inconvenient," she muttered as she felt her attention being tugged by everything she noticed around them. This was her domain; the living pulse of it was stronger than ever, and with that connection came a constant flow of information. "Is this really what you guys deal with all the time?"
Kazue shook her head, "No, not exactly. It''s distracting for me too, just not as bad because I''m used to something similar. But our cores are made for it. Having it happen directly through my avatar is different, and kinda... strange."
"Fortunately, we have to choose to focus on such things, and never get as much information as a King or Queen might get at a glance," Carmilla said. "Fuyuko, if you like, I can train you how when we have more time."
"Um, yes, that would be nice," Fuyuko replied, though she looked a little uncertain. As only a knight, Bellona was not granted such insights, but she did not seem bothered by this lack.
Moriko leaned upon her training to force discipline upon her mind so that she could ignore all the distractions pulling at her focus. Once she was able to, she scraped together enough attention to observe and become drawn into the strangeness of the world around her. The snow had that perfect texture that sparkled in a way snow rarely did in the mortal world; the cold, crisp air was just chill enough to invigorate without threatening to drain too much heat away; and every color was vibrant. Even the pine needles were all the same perfect shade of green, with no hint of other shades.
Everything was so perfect that they were clearly not quite real. Yet they were not illusions either. In this place, this was reality, and it was shaped in part by who its rulers were and how they lived. Kazue''s love of life thrummed throughout the domain and as Moriko focused her new ability to gather information, she could feel how this would affect decay.
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Leaves would only turn color and fall when it was the perfect season for it, and they would be beautiful colors that carpeted the ground, and only fade when the snows came to cover them. There would be no mat of gray and brown under the snow come spring, only fresh green grass, just as no one would find dead insect bodies that had been ejected from nests littered about.
It was beautiful and harmonious in a way that made it all deeply disturbing. This wasn''t the way the world was supposed to work. Snow naturally melted into mush before turning into water and leaving mud behind. Here, it would simply fade as spring came around to reveal the fresh grass sprouting beneath, and with that spring... Moriko blushed when she realized where her influence would show the most.
In all realms, spring brought about mating seasons, which in turn prompted mating rituals and displays. In this realm, the mating drive would be amplified and the fighting displays of some species were going to be spectacular and energetic. One could expect spring to be a very noisy time in the Azeria Court.
Which brought her attention to Mordecai''s influence. Their domain was sparsely populated right now, it was mostly the lesser fairies that were already their inhabitants, but the fey creatures here were going to tend to be either draconic creatures to begin with or bear signs of draconic influence, especially those who would be born after the next mating season.
But there was only so much time to spend on understanding their new domain. With their borders stabilized it would be hard to keep them closed. She could feel that too, the mixture of will and magic creating a barrier to tell others to keep out. It was fading now, and they needed to be ready to deal with that.
So the group made their way to where the normal entrance to the lower layers of the dungeon would be, while the three young dragons flitted off to explore this new playground. Udop was technically more of an adult, having been evolved from a mature lizard, but he was young and impressionable enough to be influenced by his younger ''siblings''. The entrance was still there, but instead of just doors, there was now what appeared to be the front of a castle carved into the hillside, replete with art in the same style Kazue had created on the doors. A brief focus of her attention that way told her that while all the layers still existed with roughly similar theming, the layout of each layer was different, sometimes radically so.
However, there was no sign of the trading post''s buildings. They were not part of the dungeon''s territory in the same way, they were ephemeral things of mortal make and were not reflected across to this side of reality.
"So," Mordecai asked, "do we want to work on a grand entrance hall inside, or set up an outdoor structure?"
Kazue replied, "Outdoors, I think. A magnificent pavilion where we can all be seen, close enough to the entrance to have a nice backdrop while being far enough away to not encourage people to seek invitations inside."
"I agree," Moriko said, "especially in case of a fight. I would prefer to have a more open space."
"Excellent," Kazue said with a smile, "then why don''t we begin by having you create our floor?"
Moriko stared at her for a moment before asking, "What?"
"This is your domain, my Queen," Mordecai said, "You should be able to shape it. However, I would remind you that, unlike a dungeon, even Faerie Royalty can not directly create. They can call, shape, and change, but they can not create."
They were serious. Which meant that she should be able to do it, she just didn''t know how. Yet. But Mordecai had given her a clue. Called felt right. Moriko had already learned how to simply know what she wanted to about their domain, so first she needed to find solid stone. There. Now she wanted to call a disk of it to the surface to act as their platform. That took a few tries, it didn''t respond the way wind and lightning did and she had to be far more patient with it. But eventually, she managed it, even if the result left a mess of dirt around them.
"Well done love," Kazue said happily, "and I think you could do the rest, but we are running low on time. Allow us."
What followed was dungeon magic and while Moriko couldn''t touch that mana she could feel it rippling through their domain as the loose earth was cleared away and the rest of the pavilion erected around the solid disk of stone that was sitting on top of the ground. In front of the disk were two pillars of spiraling, gold-lace white marble which acted as the anchor point of a long drape of shimmering silk woven into a complicated pattern of gold, purple, and red. The other end of the covering led up and back to the castle-like facade of the hill behind.
Two tiers were added to the disk as well, with the center tier holding three thrones. Kazue sat in the middle, with Mordecai and Moriko on either side. A pair of smaller chairs were provided for Fuyuko and Carmilla and were placed on either side of the thrones on the next tier down and slightly behind them. Fuyuko was to sit near Moriko and Carmilla would be on Mordecai''s side, while the dragons were going to mostly drape themselves across the back of the thrones. Mostly; it would be impossible to keep them still for too long.
Bellona was not going to get a seat, her position as knight placed her standing in front of the pavilion as the person that others must approach before being allowed to approach royalty.
None of them wanted such formality, but it seemed wisest to start their first public appearance this way.
Once the dais and pavilion were ready, feasting tables were next. They were set in a series of small glades on either side of a wide path of solid white stone that glittered and sparkled with tiny gems. This end of the path was a straight line to the pavilion, but as it grew away from them it split into smaller paths that wound through the forest nearby, branching and curving in a fractal-like pattern until their entire border was connected to the paths. The message was clear, visitors were to follow the path.
With that done, they allowed their borders to open before the forbiddance collapsed on its own. That energy they diverted to creating a portal inside of the entrance behind them. It was attached to the entrance hall on the other side, and now their various rabbit folk chefs and staff could start bringing food through to place on the tables. Mortal food, especially dungeon-grown mortal food, would be far more of a novel treat for their visitors and guests than mana-created food.
It created an impressive procession of bunkin, rabkin, and buzzkin carrying trays and pushing carts to place on the tables, clearly visible behind the dais and traveling along a separate set of paths to take them to the ''back'' of the glades.
Now they were ready to hold court. Fuyuko fidgeted in her seat near Moriko and cast hungry glances at the food being presented. Moriko stifled a grin at the sight; they had made sure to feed the ravenous teen before they left, but Fuyuko''s appetite was rarely satiated for long. For now, she and the three young dragons would have to suffer with the rest of them. They needed to be focused on their visitors and guests.
238: The Faerie Court Begins
Kazue could feel the presence of other beings entering their domain, but it was far less distinct and exact than her dungeon senses. With a bit of concentration, she could pick out an individual or group and tell where they were and get a feel for their auras, but she couldn''t really see that spot or distinguish details. Plus it took up her avatar''s concentration to do that, not her core''s focus. She could pull her core''s focus to this side if she really needed to, but then her other self would not be focusing on the mortal world.
That reminded her, had she had her medicine this morning? Kazue asked her core to be sure and was relieved when she told herself that she had. It was a little irritating to tell that her other self was amused, but at least that amusement came with a bit of self-depreciation. After all, this had always been part of Kazue''s life, even if she hadn''t known it before. A quick pat of her pocket verified that she had more doses with her; Kazue anticipated that this was going to be a very long day.
After that moment of self-induced panic, there was little for her to do but wait for the first of their visitors to trickle in. The first to reach them were the smaller fae folk such as brownies, leprechauns, bluecaps, and pixies before some of the taller folk like satyrs, fossegrim, field spirits, and nymphs arrived. These first waves came as guests bearing small gifts, tokens of acknowledgment from their lords and ladies. The Azeria Court was not yet established enough for most nobility to arrive in person or for the court to otherwise be treated lavishly, but with these token gifts, the nearby courts were ensuring that they at least did not slight Azeria unnecessarily.
Normally, accepting a gift from the fey was dangerous as it could create an obligation, but that was, in part, what the feast was for. The gifts were accepted with graciousness and their guests were given a large jug of honey before they were officially invited to enjoy the offered feast. Generally, only one representative from each group approached the dais while the rest waited off to the side, which helped keep the line shorter. The representative would then leave the open pavilion to the side where their group waited, allowing the next person to step forward.
This balanced out the offered gifts and established guest and host obligations and rights. With this they passed two tests; first, if they understood basic protocol well enough to not be caught in a trap of obligations and second, to see how they would treat less powerful fey. The Azeria court was very much a new and unknown player, feeling them out was important.
The obligations of Hosts and Guests were part of what kept everything so orderly. Every fey being here knew that to touch the feast before being invited to do so would create an obligation to the Azeria Court akin to that of accepting an unrequited gift, nor would that debt be balanced by being considered guests afterward.
Of course, even the fey folk had their blind spots. Living Dungeons were creatures of the mortal world, physical entities bound to hard crystal and not inclined toward the same sort of whimsy that fey folk often were. For a dungeon, there was always work to be done and business to do, even when they indulged themselves in a little bit of relaxation. Those fey folk inclined toward diligent work were very focused, such as hobs with housework or bluecaps with mining, and generally did not diversify their interests. As such, they had little understanding of how valuable some of these unique items could be to a living dungeon.
A drop of morning dew harvested from the top of a tall tree while touched by both moonlight and sunlight. The sound of a baby''s first laugh. A living leaf from a world tree, freely given. A maiden''s first kiss. A bit of luck. The last breath of a good king. A dead man''s shadow. A dollop of true innocence. The sound of silence. A golem''s dream captured in the form of a lightning ram. A box of spider whispers. A spool of starlight thread. And so much more.
She''d be happier without some of the creepier ones, but they all held great potential value. Many of these things were the building blocks of powerful rituals and enchantments and while the dungeon would never be able to duplicate the more esoteric ones in a way that would allow them to give them as prizes, they had learned the patterns.
Those patterns could be used and reused indefinitely for the dungeon''s purposes, providing an effectively unlimited supply when it came to building other things from them.
Then there was the leaf. As far as Kazue was concerned, it was a far more precious gift than all the rest. This one the dungeon couldn''t even indirectly copy, nor could they evolve other plants to become like it. They would have one chance to do something with it.
Part of her wanted to use it like a cutting and grow it in a special garden she could create near their core, a space that would grow as the dungeon grew and travel with the rooms near the core. But in the end that felt too confining for a being like this, and both of her spouses agreed.
Instead, she had it taken to one of their druids who made a special mixture of earth for it, along with an enchanted pot. These were taken to their chambers high up in the crystal tree and for the moment placed in a brand new room; a small sunroom that would act as a greenhouse until the spring. That would be when they made their final decision.
After these initial guests came petitioners, some of whom had also borne gifts on behalf of others. The Azeria Court was small and new, but that meant that there was room for opportunity. Many of these were young fey folk seeking to find a new place for themselves. A handful of those were from minor nobility who wished to become established and senior members of a new court rather than be forever a small actor of a larger court. They were bid to wait for now and enjoy the feast, as the three royals of the new court wished to interview them in greater detail and did not want other guests to have to wait.
Stolen novel; please report.
Some simply wished to leave Faerie and venture to the mortal realm. These too were asked to wait, though for a different cause. The dungeon already had a plan to establish a permanent gateway so there was no need to rush nor to create individual passages. There were still prices to be paid to keep debts balanced, but that could be dealt with as a group.
Then there were the mortals. They were few, but they felt unfairly trapped into bargains of servitude, unable to leave Faerie and bound to always return to their master or mistress when called upon and perform their agreed-upon service. Mordecai dealt with these. For a few, as part of his duties as a high priest of Ozuran, he was able to break their contracts.
Others were deemed to have been willfully ignorant or blind to the cost rather than tricked, so their contracts were not broken by divine power. Still, there was a way out; to exchange one service for another. They would have to agree to serve Azeria instead, and Azeria would then need to work out a price for buying their contract from their master or mistress. These too would need to wait, with a temporary hold on the obligations of their fae contracts, as they would need to be both interviewed and have their contract purchases negotiated.
Interspersed amongst these common groupings were a few individuals that stood out. The first problematic petitioner was Queen Sylphine''s seneschal, Lord Silvander. He was the one who had gifted them the leaf from the world tree, though that was not enough to get any of them to be other than wary of him. What he said after the initial formalities and exchanges proved that wariness was correct. "Princess Elara, your mother, Queen Sylphine, has instructed me to insist that you return home."
Kazue scowled at him and could feel Moriko''s temper flaring as well. Even Fuyuko was feeling protective of her adoptive sister. But Mordecai and Carmilla''s reactions were different. "Relax, let her handle this one. It''s faerie games," Mordecai said across their link. A closer look at Lord Silvander made it apparent that he did not seem particularly eager or happy to have delivered this message.
As for Carmilla, she gave off a predatory air as she rose from her seat and gave the seneschal a vicious smile. "You seem to have mistaken me, Lord Silvander. I am Princess Carmilla of Azeria." That she could phrase it that way was telling, for a faerie could not lie. Technically, she was both, but right now she was acting as Carmilla and thus using her other identity was inappropriate at best. "Now," Carmilla said as she slowly walked forward and down the dais, Udup on her shoulder. "Let us cut this dance short, for I know my King and Queens do not care for these matters much. You have been ordered to insist, but she has not said she insists. So this begins and ends with you, correct?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Silvander replied with a sort of resigned amusement.
"Then I choose to answer your insistence with my own. If you would meet with Princess Elara, you must first prove yourself against Princess Carmilla." She paused and glanced back to the thrones before asking, "With my parents'' permission, of course? We would not want to cause any issues between guest and host."
Kazue''s breath caught for a moment. Carmilla had never even hinted at calling them parents before. Even now, it was part of a more formal statement rather than a personal one, and Kazue was not under the illusion that she thought of them as parents the same way Fuyuko was starting to. But still, it felt nice. "A moment, please," she said and then conferred silently with her husband and wife. Mordecai had seen this coming and was fine with it. Moriko had not seen it coming, but now that she did know the situation, she was fine with it so long as Carmilla was willing to play this game. Otherwise, she was willing to beat down the seneschal herself.
Ritual violence did seem to be the only way forward here, at least, without worse repercussions. Kazue was reluctant simply because she did not care for it, but she acknowledged that it was Carmilla''s right to defend her status and identity. "Very well, we have discussed it and see no issue with Lord Silvander''s challenge nor Princess Carmilla''s response. Neither of you has cause to seek the other''s death, so I insist that once a victor is clear, the loser will yield graciously." That last condition she had the right and power to make an order in this instance, and so she did, binding them both to that obligation. If they were going to play stupid faerie games, then she would use the rules to her advantage.
"Come then," Carmilla said, "we need a venue where the other guests will not be disturbed, yet those who wish to watch can be entertained. I know just the place." Even at her full size, Carmilla''s wings were not just for show. She leapt into the air as she manifested them and flew upward until she alighted upon the framework of crystal and mycelium where the Earth Zone would be in the mortal realm. "Now, do take care Lord Silvander. It would be quite rude to harm my friend here. You do have the skill to spar with spell and blade without damaging your surroundings, yes?"
That was an interesting choice. It would certainly make it harder to overwhelm her with raw power, and such a tricky challenge was considered part of a faerie''s strength. Silvander''s reputation would be tarnished if he considered himself less capable than her. If he was to prove himself strong enough to force Princess Elara home, then he must do so under the presented conditions, given that the conditions applied to both of them fairly.
Nor would this fight simply become an aerial fight, most larger faeries needed to expend noticeable effort to maintain flight. They might take to the air briefly to take an advantage or avoid a disadvantage, but extended flight during a fight was unlikely.
So the Faerie Lord followed suit and landed a reasonable distance away. "I do not think your pet should be with you for this, Princess," he said as he drew a slender blade of moon-touched mithral.
"There is no pet with me," Carmilla replied as she drew a matching blade of her own. Kazue blinked. When and where did Carmilla get that? Then she realized that the two blades were of nigh identical make. She must have been able to conceal it when she hid the rest of herself as a sprite spark.
Carmilla took up a graceful fencer''s pose and Udup moved to sit on her free hand, gripping her wrist firmly. "This," she continued, "is Udup, and he is my familiar. A familiar and their master fight as one."
Silvander''s eyes narrowed at this revelation and he examined her more closely. "Your aura is touched by a patron''s power now. You''ve become a witch. Who is your patron?"
In reply, Carmilla simply gestured at the pavilion below with her blade.
"I see," he replied and then nodded. "Very well then, if this is part of who Princess Carmilla is. When this coin touches the ground below, we begin." A disk of true faerie gold was flicked into the air, shining brightly as it tumbled toward the ground.
239: A Fair Faerie Fight
Mordecai found the wording of Queen Sylphine''s orders to her seneschal rather interesting. As Carmilla had noted, the wording of those orders meant that only Lord Silvander was insisting. If he failed, Queen Sylphine had not committed herself to anything more and Mordecai thought it likely she was not expecting him to succeed.
This was a test and a probe for information.
Not only a test of Carmilla but a test of the Azeria Dungeon and Court. She wanted to see what they were all capable of and Mordecai felt quite confident that Carmilla was going to put on quite the display. One that would teach him, Kazue, and Moriko a lot more about what Carmilla was truly capable of.
In her role as a floor boss, she had been limited to her abilities as a witch and never hinted at any sort of skill with weapons. But for the first time since she had awakened to her true self, she wasn''t acting as a floor boss at all. She was present in the role of a princess of Azeria Court and all that she had ever learned was available to her.
Plus, she had her full complement of power as a floor boss. This area might reflect the appearance of their Zone Zero, but it was not that zone. This was their Domain and it was permeated with the power of their dungeon territory. There were no divisions or limitations, for there were no delvers. The Other Side operated by different rules of ''fairness'' and the dungeon''s rules took second place to them.
Honestly, if he''d realized that possibility, he might have been tempted to try this in his previous existence.
So whatever Silvander expected of the princess before him, he was going to get a whole lot more.
A glittering coin hit the ground, and the duel began. Moon-touched blades flashed at deadly speeds as the two faeries danced across the lattice of living crystal and pure white mycelium. That Lord Silvander could move with surety across such precarious footing was a testament to his skill, but Princess Carmilla had even less trouble for she belonged to this domain. This was why she had chosen such difficult terrain, she was not hindered by it in the least.
While it might not have been obvious to all of the spectators, Mordecai and Moriko were both able to quickly tell that Carmilla needed this advantage when it came to sword work alone. Even with her advantage, she was pressed to maintain an offense against Silvander. Slowly that offense slipped as she was forced to defend herself more, until a twist knocked her blade wide and there was no way that Carmilla could dodge his thrust entirely. Yet that blade found nothing but empty air.
Carmilla''s suddenly tiny form swung from where Udup''s large claw held her, their sizes now reversed. Before Silvander could recover from his thrust, the umbral dragon exhaled a cloud of darkness that clung to the faerie lord and leeched away his vitality. He was forced to leap away from them to get free of that dark fog and recover his footing.
But the duo pressed their advantage and Udup flung Carmilla directly at Silvander, with her sword aimed forward. Mid-flight, Carmilla swapped sizes again to make her blade a serious threat once more. Silvander managed to block the flying thrust with the flat of his blade, a maneuver that would have gotten most people killed. Even so, he was driven back several feet, sliding along smooth crystal until he gained traction against the more textured mycelium.
Now he pushed back, shoving Carmilla away and his free hand flung forward to release a spiral of ice and fire at her.
She didn''t fight that shove, letting the distance between them grow before she landed. Her blade slashed down to meet the spell and break it apart, then the swamp witch retaliated by spitting a spray of poison thorns at her foe.
The duel was now one of sword and spell that clearly left Silvander scrambling to adjust. Carmilla swapped her magic freely between her older faerie spells and her newer witch hexes and spells. Light, sound, and illusion flew freely in both directions as did elemental spells, but disabling spells of darkness and toxins only came from Carmilla.
While many fey did have such magic, most nobility considered themselves above such things.
For the most part, Carmilla''s hexes failed to take hold upon the faerie lord; his sight was briefly obscured instead of being blinded, he became disoriented for a moment instead of entirely deafened, and so on. But it was not what he expected. Their swords clashed once more and a nest of vipers exploded from her sleeve to attack the Faerie lord, forcing him to sear them with fire while Carmilla pressed her attack.
But her advantage did not last. Lord Silvander was an experienced combatant and he was quick to figure out what sort of magic he was facing. Mordecai found some amusement at Silvander''s expense when the lord scowled as he figured out that he was facing witch magic themed heavily toward swamp-related spells.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
It was not aesthetically appropriate for a faerie princess to be a swamp witch.
As soon as Silvander recovered from his surprise and adapted to her tactics, he was able to press Carmilla once more. Which was when the next part of her tactic was revealed.
Udup sank his teeth into Silvander''s foot.
An umbral dragon of such a tiny size was tricky to keep track of if there was the slightest bit of shadow to hide in. The lattice upon which they danced provided plenty of shadows and gave him the opportunity to attack from below.
Witch and dragon began a new assault that was incredibly difficult to defend against. Either of them could attack physically, but defending against a sword was different from defending against the swipe of a dragon''s claw or the bite of his jaws. Combined with their ability to exchange sizes this created a very fluid dynamic even before one accounted for Carmilla''s spells. They also tried to only fly when they were small, while Silvander was forced to to repeatedly fly for short distances without the benefit of a lighter form.
If the pair was more experienced, the battle would have ended immediately. As it was, it took several more minutes before they finally forced Silvander to yield with Udup''s teeth at the lord''s throat and a tiny-sized Carmilla holding onto Silvander''s hair while pointing her blade into his ear.
Carmilla and Udup were both ragged, her dress torn and blood stained while her familiar had several bloody patches where he was missing scales.
Silvander was worse off in many ways and he bore more wounds than the two of them combined. But this was also a sign of his resilience and strength, he had kept his body moving with grace and power far beyond the limits most mortals could. Many seasoned warriors would simply be dead before they could have accumulated so many wounds.
But the battle was over, and the tired combatants were attended to by flying rabkin and buzzkin before being assisted to the ground. Carmilla did her best to march forward with poise, ready to declare her victory in a manner befitting a princess.
She did not get the chance.
Fuyuko had the least restraint and reached Carmilla first to wrap her arms tightly around her adoptive sister while Udup clung tightly to the faerie''s shoulder. Mordecai, Moriko, and Kazue had already decided to abandon decorum for this and were only a couple of steps behind and swiftly joined the family hug. Mordecai could feel Carmilla shake and see the tears forming that she refused to shed, and he whispered to her, "Well done, we''re proud of you."
Kazue and Fuyuko each told Carmilla how worried they were and Moriko praised her skill and cleverness while simultaneously threatening her with more training. This overwhelmed the last of the proud princess''s defenses and she began quietly weeping with tears of happiness. Mordecai would normally have been content with this, but the event was not quite done with. He kissed Carmilla''s forehead then broke free from the group hug to walk toward a confused-looking faerie lord.
"Lord Silvander," Mordecai said, "We have all witnessed Princess Carmilla''s victory. Do you formally quit your claim to bring Princess Elara to Queen Sylphine and the Silver Grove Court?"
Silvander inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I do, but I am uncertain how my queen will feel about this. She will be pleased that Carmilla has finally won a bout against me, I am less certain that she will be pleased about the sort of abilities that she gained in order to do so and may have questions about how she gained this particular magic."
Mordecai smiled at him and said, "I will be happy to tell her about how a rebellious little fairy was influenced by a special visitor of ours and was quite eager to take up the role of a swamp witch, should she come in person to ask. In fact, should Queen Sylphine speak with the other pixies, I am quite certain that they would be glad to regale her with all the tales that our ratling friend told them. At least, to the best that they can recollect them. Much like their chaotic idol, they seem to have trouble keeping their various stories from mixing, but that is part of what makes them entertaining, yes?"
One did not become seneschal to a faerie queen by being a fool or an idiot unless it was of a particularly useful sort of idiocy. Given that Silvander was still alive after having worked for the queen for quite some time, he was almost assuredly not that sort of seneschal.
Watching comprehension dawn was rather entertaining. Mordecai was not above petty satisfaction for ongoing revenge at having to deal with the Faerie Courts.
"Might I know the name of this ratling friend of yours?" Lord Silvander asked in a tone that suggested he''d be happier if he didn''t know. But Mordecai had dropped too many clues; ignoring the obvious question that would certainly be asked of him later would be extremely unwise.
"Of course," Mordecai replied, "My friend goes by the name of Li, though his full name is Li Zarb. There are also some titles that people like to give him, but he doesn''t care for any sort of title and remains happily unaware of such things." Being bound to tell the truth did have its advantages when one spoke a direct truth that some might find difficult to believe.
"I see," Silvander replied with a sigh, "That does explain much. I will inform my lady of this of course, but I think that if she wants to know more she will wish to speak with you directly."
Mordecai nodded and said, "Naturally, I would be quite willing to host her. For now, will you not join our other guests for the feast? We have more visitors to attend to before we have the chance to attend the feast ourselves."
By the time he had returned to the pavilion, Carmilla had enough time to recover her composure, which had been part of his intent. While she pridefully wore her battle wounds and shredded clothes, she also seemed more sincerely and unreservedly happy than he''d seen her before, and Mordecai considered that to be a very good thing.
He did not doubt that much of her normal demeanor would reassert itself before too long, but now that this part of her had been exposed he was certain that Carmilla should find it much easier to find this state again.
They all returned to their thrones and chairs in order to resume properly seeing to their visitors. Their guests had at least witnessed an entertaining spectacle and had much to gossip about, which should make them happy as well as provide for some interesting and hopefully favorable reactions from the fey community.
240: Proposal Rejected
Fuyuko had been both concerned and envious while watching Carmilla''s duel. For everything she had previously seen and learned of her adoptive sister, this graceful, deadly princess was not part of it. The flashing, gleaming blades were mesmerizing and Fuyuko wanted to be able to do something as incredible as that someday.
The trickiness was perfectly in character though. Not only was the terrain better for her, but by fighting upon the living network of crystal and fungal roots she had deprived them both of big spells, lest they hurt others not part of the duel.
Now, while Fuyuko couldn''t know for sure, she rather thought that Silvander used those sorts of spells more than Carmilla did, so that too had tipped things in her favor.
She also took note of how Carmilla had delayed using some of her powers to create surprises. Given how Silvander had recovered from each surprise, it seemed likely that he''d have won if she''d started using everything at the beginning.
Not that Fuyuko would have been able to pick apart all the bits of the fight on her own. The two faeries were fast. Mordecai and Moriko were commenting on the physical aspects of the duel through the dungeon link, and Kazue analyzed the spell work at play. The three of them were deliberately including her in their conversation, which was nice but she wished she had more to contribute.
Carmilla had even held her poise while walking toward them covered in wounds. That was when Fuyuko hadn''t been able to hold back anymore and rushed over to hug her sister. When Carmilla teared up from the sudden rush of familial affection, Fuyuko felt a rush of sympathy. Their adoptive parents had turned out to be really good at making them feel welcomed and included.
After that, it was time to resume their seats and continue with the parade of people coming to ask things of the Azeria Court. She was a little confused about why some people were just guests, others just petitioners, and a few started as guests before coming back to them as petitioners. Carmilla tried to explain it to her and Fuyuko got a little bit of the ideas involved in all of these complicated court games, but it honestly gave her a bit of a headache.
Mama M was the most sympathetic here, she was mostly trusting to Papa and Mama K in these matters. Mama K seemed to enjoy some of it, but she also got tired of it when the ''romance'' of the scene wore thin, whatever that meant.
Papa understood all the rules terrifyingly well, for all that he did not want to abide by them any more than he felt they needed to. During these dealings, Fuyuko got a glimpse of aspects of her adoptive father that she had never seen before and it left her fervently glad that he was as kind and open as he was.
There was a lot of knowledge and power that Mordecai had simply been choosing not to use. He picked apart the sorts of bindings that lay on some of their petitioners easily enough and Fuyuko had learned enough to understand that this meant he also knew how to make those bindings. A few of those had been bound to be happy about their service to their lord or lady.
It was disturbing to see someone ask to be relieved of the burden of being happy to be a slave.
Hearing her papa occasionally mutter about clumsy work as he undid or suspended these compulsions was even scarier.
Fuyuko''s mind hopped across memories and spun possible stories. While no one treated Aia like she was as strong as Gil, Mordecai seemed to think that they were on roughly the same scale. Fuyuko had felt the power of Aia''s will during their training and now Fuyuko was wondering what sort of enchantments and bindings the nine-tailed kitsune matriarch was truly capable of. For that matter, what about Shizoku? Wasn¡¯t she supposed to take the matriarch¡¯s place someday? Would she, Fuyuko, be able to keep up?
Childhood stories and fairy tales had become so very real in her life rather than more distant things that happened to other people. That meant any of the scarier aspects of those stories could be true too.
Not that she believed any of that was going to happen to her, Fuyuko was confident that Papa would never do stuff like that to anyone, but she just felt terribly aware that there were things far worse than simple violence out there.
Her musings were interrupted when she noticed one of the petitioners looking at her and Fuyuko focused on the current conversation.
The current petitioner was a silver-furred fey who sort of looked like a bipedal wolf or hound. At least, his head did, the rest of him looked like a normal biped, ignoring the fur of course. ''The Cuiwan'', Mordecai had called their clan. There was a slightly shorter member of the clan standing a little behind him, and that was who was casting glances at Fuyuko. It made her nervous.
"Lord Mordecai, Lady Kazue, Lady Moriko," the older man said, "I noticed that your daughter, Princess Fuyuko, appears to be of about the same age as my son." He paused to gesture at the younger cuiwan before continuing. "While we currently do not have a treaty, I thought it might be advantageous to consider the possibility of a marriage between them as part of forming an alliance."
"Eww, no."
The words were out of Fuyuko''s mouth before she realized she was saying them. A stunned silence rippled outward before the cuiwan men growled in anger at the insult.
She reflexively summoned her daggers when she felt their hostility, which caused the younger one to glance down at her weapons. He yelped and jumped back, pointing at her. "Father, she carries cold iron!"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Now there was a crash of sound as all the fey folk around them responded to that revelation and many of them seemed agitated with hands on the hilts of their own weapons.
"HOLD!" Mordecai''s voice rolled over all of those present as he stood, filled with his will and power. It was sufficient to quell the voices and actions of most of the fey, though some such as Lord Silvander and the elder cuiwan in front of them were unaffected.
"First, Lord Arawn," he said in a quieter voice, "I understand that Our daughter''s reaction might not be received favorably, but I can assure you that it was not intended as an insult. I see no reason to go into details, but I think it should be sufficient to say that she is actively disinterested in romance or dalliances from all parties, and no one I know of would have received a more positive response."
That seemed to ease tensions even if it left most of their visitors looking confused, like they didn''t understand the concept.
Her papa turned to her and held out his hand, "Fuyuko, may I see your dagger please?"
It wasn''t hard to figure out which one he meant, so she handed over her cold iron dagger to him, hilt first.
Mordecai raised his voice slightly and projected it across the gathering. "Now, something that should be kept in mind is our origins. None here but Princess Carmilla was born fey." He pricked his finger with the tip of the dagger and then held both hands up, to show the small wound quickly healing as well as the blood that sat on her dagger without reacting.
"Not even this body that I forged with fey powers and potential carries that weakness. As such, none of us fear it. These daggers were made as presents for Princess Fuyuko before she became Our daughter, and none shall gainsay her right to carry them upon her person, nor do We ban cold iron from our court. Do not assume you know all of the rules which we live by." He carefully cleaned the dagger before handing it back to Fuyuko.
As Fuyuko dismissed her daggers again, Moriko rose from her throne with a dramatic swirl of wind that drew attention to her. "I shall add something important here. I am a disciple and priestess of Lady Sakiya, and this will be reflected in Our court."
Fuyuko thought that Mama M looked kind of angry as she continued.
"Passions will be True. There will be no marriages of alliance forged by family or nobility. In Our court, all bonds will be decided upon by those who will be bound." As Moriko made her declaration, Fuyuko could feel that law settle into place throughout their faerie domain. Her next words did not carry the same weight. "We do not expect that all bonds will be born of love, but We do expect that all participants will be sincere. You may approach Us to ask our support in courting a member of Our court, but the decision will not be made by Us nor will We pressure anyone."
Kazue rose from her throne as well and said, "We understand these are not the rules you expect Us to abide by, but We are also bound by Our nature and devotions. Now, We do not wish to cause distress to our guests, so please, continue with the feast." Her words released the binding that Mordecai had placed. She turned to Lord Arawn and smiled before she said, "I hope the situation is clearer now. Your son would need to court Our daughter upon his own merits, and I think the situation has left her even less receptive to the idea than she would already be inclined to."
Well, Mama K wasn''t wrong there. And the way the younger man was looking at her made Fuyuko pretty certain that he wasn''t interested anymore, which was fine by her.
At least they weren''t upset anymore. They spoke for a while longer with her parents before taking their leave and from what Fuyuko could make out conversations about alliances were all being put on hold until much later; the Azeria Court was not making any new alliances for now, though it was still bound by all alliances that the Azeria Mountain Dungeon was.
When there were no more people approaching the throne, Fuyuko was finally free to leave the dais and join the feast. She was still able to make out all the important things going on while she ate, but she''d also already known these plans.
Far up the path, past all the feast tables, a pair of rings grew, one on each side. These rings were made of mushrooms and crystal trees, interwoven so that most of the ring could not be crossed, with the exception being a single archway where the mushrooms grew very low to the ground. One of them grew in a slight depression and the other on a hill. This was combined with a few other markers to make it clear that one was to enter the low ring, as the hill ring would be where people would be coming from.
In the mortal realm, she knew that each of these was now matched with its opposite so that entering the depression here would bring you out on a hill there. The rules were simple; anyone who was not bound to Faerie could use these portals as they wished, so long as they paid the price: a single delve to the best of their ability, along any suitable path, per trip.
This caused quite a stir as permanent and easily accessed pathways between the mortal world and Faerie were exceedingly rare, and many were eager to partake. Fuyuko wasn''t sure how to feel about the idea of letting a lot of fey run about but her parents seemed confident that those most interested in the mortal world were the ones least likely to cause trouble, so long as it was simple for them.
Most trouble came from the faeries who wanted something and had to go through a lot of effort to get it. They tended to cause trouble in proportion to their efforts.
Fuyuko was glad to not have to be part of all the rest of the stuff; there was a whole lot of interviewing, negotiating prices for buying out contracts, and figuring out who might become contractors for the dungeon or stay on this side to become part of the court, or even both. More often though. most of the people they interviewed became neither. It all seemed like a bother and a mess to her. Instead, she just enjoyed the chance to eat the food she''d been smelling for hours and take the time to hang out with her dragon friends.
That did bring over a few curious fey, especially some younger children. Fuyuko didn''t blame them, who didn''t think dragons were awesome? These dragons were also cute and friendly. Even the cuiwan boy came over to meet the dragons. Fuyuko was a little uncertain about how she felt at first when Ranulf introduced himself, but he had given a quick, embarrassed apology and then seemed determined to pretend the whole engagement thing had never happened. She decided she was okay with that.
Her enjoyment of the evening was interrupted by a sudden sensation that confused her at first. Fuyuko was not used to being able to read the environment itself this way to begin with and this change was strong enough to make itself known without her paying attention.
Carmilla reached out across the dungeon''s link to nudge Fuyuko''s focus and teach her how to understand what she was sensing. The sensation finally resolved into the knowledge that three people had just crossed their border with the rest of Faerie, but that left Fuyuko even more confused.
One of them felt more powerful than anyone else here.
A different one felt like she was also a princess of Azeria.
What?
241: A Storm Approaches
Even with Fuyuko''s slip of the tongue, Mordecai considered the day to have gone rather well. They had established themselves as strong in more than one way, relative to their size and youth as a Court, and they had proven themselves useful and resourceful. It was hard to be unhappy with such circumstances.
Then everything changed.
The new ''third'' princess that Fuyuko had noticed was easy for him to recognize; the options were limited, and not many beings carried the aura of both a kitsune and a dryad. He really should have anticipated that Norumi would also be considered a princess of the court, given how fey she had already become.
Beside her was a presence new to Mordecai. A masculine nature spirit strong in the elements of wood and earth, and keeping close to her side. Mordecai had a guess as to the identity of this man, and if he was correct looked forward to meeting him.
However, the third presence, a nine-tail kitsune whose power outshone everyone else here.
That one gave him a headache.
Satsuki; so named after the season of changing weather and dangerous storms. Her name was supposed to represent resilience against unpredictable dangers, but she was more akin to being such a storm.
She was also Norumi''s mother.
"I must apologize," he said to their current interviewee as he, Moriko, and Kazue had all fallen silent, "we will need to pause for the moment. There are some new visitors and I am afraid we will need to attend to them promptly. It is unfortuitous timing." They had been conducting their interviews in the glades near the feasting tables to make the process less intimidating, but now they needed to abandon their food and drink.
To everyone connected to the dungeon, Mordecai sent out, "Our new visitors consist of my daughter Norumi, her mother Satsuki, and a third unknown to me but likely to be just as important. Please arrange for the best possible reception for them." He then narrowed his focus to just Moriko, Kazue, Carmilla, Fuyuko, and Bellona. "I have no idea what sort of ''token'' Satsuki is bringing, but she likes to play strange games. We will want higher value return gifts than honey I am afraid, and probably three such gifts. Any ideas?"
While they conferred, the three of them turned back toward their thrones. Mordecai also directed several of their best musicians, dancers, and other performers to set up along the sides of the path the new guests were on. He hoped to buy them some time via entertaining distractions.
Carmilla responded first by asking, "Your daughter said her mother got along well with Queen Sylphine, yes? If she bears no title then she must be special for Queen Sylphine to consider her an equal. Mother can be a touch judgmental about such things. So something that befits royalty?"
Not a bad start, but Mordecai still wasn''t certain what that should be.
"Oh!" Kazue said, "I have an idea. I mean, it might be over the top, but if you want the best thing we can possibly give, that would be the opal from the mushroom elixir."
Bellona sounded amused as she said, "I am surprised you are willing to give away something so valuable to one of your husband''s former lovers."
Moriko replied, "I''d rather drown her in generosity than appear jealous or threatened. We do not need the opal at this point either. We may have kept it as an emergency source of cash, but we''ve established ourselves now. I say we should go for it."
"Even my mother would be impressed with that, I think," Carmilla agreed.
With that decided, it was time to focus on Norumi.
Fuyuko''s starting suggestion was simple and reflected empathy for Norumi''s situation. "She''ll want a gift that''s special because it''s from her father."
That was hard to argue with, and Mordecai felt certain Fuyuko was right. "I''ll think about that, thank you. For our third guest, I suspect we will want something that would be appreciated by a guardian spirit. If they were delving it would be easy to make something quickly, but we are limited by what we can manually arrange or craft in time."
He left the rest of them to figure that out while he focused on what would be appropriate for his daughter. Mordecai''s mind kept coming back to the idea of a diadem for a princess but at first, it did not seem feasible to craft a suitable one for her in such a short time.
Once his contemplations brought Mordecai to his solution, it seemed obvious. Their warrens held many trees that they had been evolving and hybridizing and it wasn''t hard to select an appropriate specimen from these new species. This was a true silverwood tree, capable of drawing trace amounts of the metal from the soil into its wood and leaves. The trees it had been bred from all had innate, if faint, magical properties and they had been working on enhancing those traits as well.
This resulted in a tree that carried an innate trace of holiness and bore fruit that promoted both physical and spiritual health, and sometimes a random minor blessing. He sent a rabkin druid to carefully transfer a small sapling into a temporary pot and bring it to him, while another collected several fruits with fertile seeds.
His work was fairly straightforward, once the sapling was in front of him. The tree had enough vitality to it that it was easy for him to shape it into a living circlet that would not wither, though this required trading in the potential for it to grow and mature into a proper tree. On top of that, he infused it with his love for his daughter and sealed it with the blessings of a high priest and a faerie king.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
It was far from the most powerful item he''d ever created, but that wasn''t the point. It was suitable and sincere, filled with the essence of who he was. Mordecai wasn''t even certain what specific protections or boons it might provide, the sort of reshaping and blessing he''d done would only resolve itself sometime after it had been gifted, to fit its bearer.
The fruits and seeds, however, were a direct and hopefully practical gift. The trees that grew from them should help invigorate Norumi''s forest and provide extra protection against any form of blight.
While he had been working on shaping the circlet, everyone else had been deciding on the third reciprocal gift.
A guardian should have armor, and the reports back from the first entertainers said that the man walking with Norumi and Satsuki had manifested a body in the form of a rough-hewn, humanoid-shaped tree interwoven with an intricate pattern of vine, moss, and leaf to create details such as clothing and hair. The manifested body was also reinforced with strong earth magics.
They also confirmed his identity after overhearing Norumi call him Haolong.
Most items, even enchanted ones, did not readily bond to manifested forms and were often left behind when the spirit stopped manifesting a body. Mordecai was certain that Norumi would have no issue bonding with his gift, but making armor for this third visitor would require a different technique.
Having compatible materials was the first step, and they already had what they needed; mycelium and spider silk. They even had plenty of material prepared in the proper layers, as this was one of the things used for trades or rewards without directly using the dungeon''s ability to create items.
The second step was not difficult, as they had rough estimates of his size from the reports and they had druids who could shape the material into the needed forms. Refining the size could wait for the moment.
Ensuring that the armor could bond with the spirit and readily be incorporated into the non-physical form without effort was trickier. The identity of the recipient helped with this, even if the connection was thinner than they would have wished, as two faerie queens gave their blessing to the champion who was their son-in-law via their step-daughter, while two faerie princesses gave their blessings to their brother-in-law.
Were the connections between them and Haolong stronger and reinforced with emotional bonds, the blessings would have been stronger. As it was, their primary purpose was to forge a link; it was their druidic inhabitants who used that link to create the enchantment that would let the armor bind to the spirit rather than the body.
If they''d had more time, they could have created the enchantment from scratch. As it was, they repurposed an enchantment on a shield that had been captured during the invasion. It was meant to allow the shield to block attacks from non-physical entities, but there was enough overlap between the purposes that it was just faster and easier to scrap the shield than to make a new enchantment.
After a brief discussion, Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko rearranged the seating. Fuyuko and Carmilla both were seated next to Moriko while two more seats were arranged next to Mordecai and a third further down and just off to the side of the dais.
Whatever her ties to them, Satsuki was not a member of their court. She would get a place of honor, but the dais was for the court royalty alone and they intended to recognize Haolong as such shortly.
There were a few precious moments of peace before the woman''s arrival. Still, it was hard to ignore her presence in their domain. Whereas Gil was simply bombastic and often careless with his power and people like Aia tended to keep very careful restraint on their power, Satsuki wielded her power liberally. Never in excess, but always present in subtle ways.
For example, most of their guests first noticed her by hearing her as she swept along the gleaming white path while she talked animatedly with Norumi and Haolong. Not that she was loud, no, not her. Even without magic, she knew how to make herself be heard without being loud. But with just a touch of magic, that talent was amplified to the exact level she wanted at any moment.
The black-haired kitsune was as stunning as ever, with her ears and five of her tails tipped in brilliant red while her hair and four of her tails were tipped in white that practically glowed. Mordecai was pretty certain she had styled with the white and red reversed the last time he''d seen her, but that had been a long, long time ago.
Her flowing black silk kimono was trimmed in red and decorated with white clouds and lightning bolts, reflecting the meaning of her name. It hugged her figure just enough to give a hint of the shape beneath and it was just loose enough to tease at the idea of a bit of collarbone or leg being flashed, but that tease was simply a taunt. She''d never let any bit of skin show by accident, mostly to show off her control of her situation.
Not that she needed clothing to make an impressive and commanding entrance, but perhaps those memories should not be dwelled upon, especially in present company and circumstances.
Norumi and Haolong seemed to be dragged along in her wake as Satsuki strode toward the dais with as much confidence as if her own throne waited upon it.
She stopped a little shy of the pavilion, just far enough away so that she would not have to look up at Bellona, who was regarding her with calm expectation.
Satsuki quirked a brow at this obstacle. Bellona''s expression did not change and she did not move from her position directly in front of the dais.
There was no physical barrier preventing Satsuki from trying to move around Bellona, but there were reasons to not do so. For one, to do so would be a breach of protocol serious enough to hypothetically lead to violence. For another, it would be a concession that she could not get Bellona to step aside, and Satsuki was a prideful creature.
After just a few moments of silent eye contact, Satsuki smirked and tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment. "I do appreciate those who know how to do their duty properly, no matter what might face them. Hmm, knight of this court yet also a champion of Amirume, if I am not mistaken. Oh, and marked by Kuiccihan! Interesting. Well, Norumi, if you would make our introductions?"
The kitsune dryad stepped forward and gave Bellona a sympathetic smile as she dipped her head in acknowledgment. "Greetings," Norumi said, "I am Norumi, daughter of King Mordecai, and as it turns out, a princess of the Azeria Court. This is my mother, Satsuki, and my husband, Haolong. Please announce us to the King and Queens of the Azeria court."
Bellona smiled and stepped aside with a bow as she said, "Welcome to the Azeria Court, Your Highness. I believe your father and step-mothers look forward to seeing you, your husband, and your guest."
The pointed placement of Satsuki as a guest only made the woman look more amused. For all of her pride and vanity, Mordecai had never found fault in her ability to carefully stay on just the right side of protocol when she wanted to. Even having Norumi introduce them was the right choice; Satsuki introducing herself as the mother of Mordecai''s daughter would have had a different weight than Norumi introducing Satsuki as her mother.
With that formality taken care of, the three of them proceeded to the dais.
242: Gift Wars
As Norumi, Haolong, and Satsuki walked up to the dais, Mordecai rose from his throne and stepped down to greet his daughter with a warm embrace. "Hello, Norumi. I should have realized that it would be easier for you to meet us on this side and that you would be a princess of the court too."
She hugged him back tightly and replied, "I''m glad I can see you like this now, even if it came with a complicated price."
When Mordecai stepped back, Kazue and Moriko briefly but tightly embraced Norumi as well. He then spoke to Satsuki and Haolong. "To complete the formal introductions, I am Lord Mordecai, King of the realm," he ignored Satsuki rolling her eyes upward briefly, "this is my wife Lady Kazue, Queen of the realm, my wife Lady Moriko, Queen of the realm, Lady Carmilla, Princess of the realm, and Lady Fuyuko, Princess of the realm." Mordecai saw Satsuki''s brow quirk up at Carmilla''s name, but he ignored that too.
"Lord Haolong," he said, "We would like to formally recognize you as husband and consort of Our daughter, Lady Norumi, and as such We recognize you as a prince of Our realm." He felt that connection snap into place with satisfaction. Haolong''s connection was still thinner than Norumi''s, but it was there.
Haolong bowed as a small smile cracked his wooden face. "Thank you, Lord Mordecai. I suppose ''Father'' would technically be appropriate, but then I would need to call these two beautiful young women ''Mother'', and I do not think that would do."
With those formalities taken care of, Norumi and Haolong were no longer simple guests; they were part of this realm too even if it was not their home. Now for Satsuki.
Mordecai inclined his head toward her and said, "Lady Satsuki, you are a welcome and honored guest. I am happy to see that you are well." As much of a headache as he anticipated having over her visit, Mordecai had to admit that he was still glad to see her again.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully before replying, "Darling, that''s sweet. I honestly wasn''t quite sure what reception I would get now that you have two young wives to yourself." She smirked at him before looking at the queens.
"Lady Kazue, Lady Moriko, it is a delight to meet you. When there is time, I think we should enjoy a cup of tea together, with just the three of us, yes? Mm, Lady ''Carmilla'', is it? Well, you must have taken on the name thoroughly for it to be such a part of you, so I will abide by that. I await dear Sylphine''s reaction with anticipation. Lady Fuyuko, well, you''re a tall one, but cute too."
Satsuki walked along to greet each of them, and she smiled up at the slightly flustered Fuyuko. "Oni bloodlines mixed with lycan bloodlines old enough for the curse to fade, yes? An adorable combination I admit. Oh, and it seems Mordi has been helping get your potential to quicken, excellent! A mix like yours is slower to awaken than others. But so much more can be done with it, if you can maintain control. Now," she turned back around and walked toward Mordecai, "Luv, I think I need you to explain something to me."
Gesturing toward the three thrones, Satsuki asked, "Why is your throne not the one in the center? I admit it''s cute to see Lady Kazue flanked by her two taller spouses, but Darling, even with your restraint I can tell you are clearly the strongest, and you are certainly the, mm, most senior. It seems off for you to be at the end like that."
He shook his head as he smiled and replied, "Tsuki, life is not just about power, you know that. The start of this realm is our dungeon, and our dungeon started first as simply Kazue''s. This is her home first and foremost, and I will not do anything to change that. I am trying to be much more mindful in this second chance at life."
"More mindful?" Satsuki asked incredulously. "My dear Mordecai, there is such a thing as going too far you know. Oh, but that is the issue, isn''t it? You did go too far, just the other way. Tsk. Well, not the time and place I suppose. We can talk more about that later. Oh! Yes, we should be exchanging tokens and everything, shouldn''t we? Let me begin. I have something perfect for the occasion. I''ve been doing some traveling and have come across the most interesting things. For now, I''ve brought you necklaces."
She pulled the necklaces out one by one from her sleeve to put the jewelry on each of them.
Mordecai''s necklace consisted of ''beads'' of dark-colored metal alloys in different odd polygonal shapes. Kazue''s had several metal beads that were loosely strung and floated away from each other without a hint of magic. Moriko''s necklace was made of strands of a few different white metals woven into a braided ''rope'' and studded with different ''crystals'' of metal, some of which had a multicolored sheen. Carmilla''s necklace was a string of perfectly round and brightly colored pearls. Fuyuko''s necklace was a chain of different steel alloys and a small pendant with a fractal pattern of tiny crystals.
They looked odd and there was no decent excuse to not wear them for the rest of the day. Fuyuko''s was pretty at least while Moriko and Kazue merely had slightly odd-looking necklaces, but Mordecai had to suffer with an ugly, clunky piece while Carmilla was burdened with gaudy colors that did not fit her aesthetic to an almost comical degree.
At the same time, Mordecai and Kazue had to work hard to not react to the flood of information that came with receiving these gifts. Metals that they''d never identified before were now present in large enough quantities to be analyzed properly. Other metals they had only known as components of various gems. Several new alloys, some with the new metals. The floating beads were, for their size, incredibly powerful lodestones.
The pearls were mostly real, but they were also obviously artificially induced with irritants and dyes in controlled circumstances to produce these perfectly round and colored pearls. Nor were all of them generated by oysters, based on the variations in the base material. The ones that were not real were the small ones near the clasp, and these were made of some very interesting organic compounds. The slight flaws in all of these reinforced their impression that there was no magic involved.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Even Fuyuko''s necklace was filled with unknowns. Every single crystal was new to Mordecai, and he was pretty certain there was no natural geological process that would create any of them. This gave rise to the question of how they were possibly made without the aid of magic.
The mischievous smile on Satsuki''s face made it clear that she knew what she''d done, both good and bad. The price of having to wear these gaudy necklaces for the rest of the day was worth it, but there was no way for their other guests to understand how valuable these necklaces really were.
Once Mordecai could pull his attention back from the flood of new information, he returned Satsuki''s smile.
"I''m afraid We only have this single small gem to gift in return," Mordecai said in a very sweet tone. Satsuki watched him warily as he brought out a small wooden box with an interior lining of black velvet. Nestled in that black velvet lining was a blazingly bright opal of fiery red.
She examined the gem curiously as she asked, "A fire opal? It''s very pretty... wait." Her eyes widened in surprise and she said, "No, it''s Dwarven Opalfire. Oh, Mordecai, you''ve outdone yourself. When did you get it?" She sighed and closed the box. "No, never mind, we can talk about it later. Thank you, I wasn''t expecting you to have something so magnificent. Now my fun little presents look so cheap, even if you know the real value. A point for you."
"A point?" Kazue asked.
"Yes, Dear. Now''s not the time to get into all the tawdry details, but suffice it to say that Mordecai and I have always been good at poking at each other. Your husband is a good man, but, well, that''s why I feel compelled to mess with him. " Satsuki curtsied lightly and said, "I think that it is time I let my daughter and son-in-law present their gifts, and I shall retire to the feast."
As Satsuki left the dais, Norumi glanced at Haolong. "As I told you, they just can not exist in the same space for long. The two of them are always tearing at each other in subtle or not-so-subtle ways." Haolong just looked bemused at the situation.
"Now," Norumi said as she focused on Kazue, "I believe the crystal tree is your work, Lady Kazue?"
Kazue nodded at the question. "Yes, mostly. Why?"
"Well, we have a gift for you, but it''s not so tangible as my mother''s gifts. I assume that they are more valuable to you than they look to others?"
"Rather," Kazue muttered.
Moriko sighed and said, "I''m only getting a little bit of the information you two are working on, and it''s already overwhelming. I knew I wasn''t made to be an alchemist, no matter how much my parents had hoped otherwise."
Norumi continued with, "Our gift is a sort of blessing, but it seemed best to ask for your permission first, as we would be giving our blessing to your crystal tree, though I have to admit for all that I can tell it is alive, it is very strange. So I am not certain if the blessing will take."
"Oh," Kazue replied, "well, if you want to try, you may. I am willing to help if I can, or perhaps my mother can assist if you need it? You might need to come back to the mortal side with us if you want to do that though."
"No, not even a druid is going to help much with the blessing of a dryad and a guardian spirit," Norumi said with a smile. "But thank you. It should work out well enough, even with your tree being made of living crystal."
There was something about the way she was asking that bothered Mordecai. When she and Haolong turned together and started walking toward the crystal lattice of the roots, it finally came together for him. "Norumi," he called softly, "wait."
All of them turned to look at him curiously at his interruption.
"I think I know what you have in mind. If you and your husband want to bless us that way, that''s not something I can turn down. Not from you. But, I think you should wait until spring."
Norumi tilted her head quizzically, the purple flowers that made up her hair shifting with the movement. "Why is that? My understanding of your living crystal is that it does not follow that particular cycle, it shouldn''t make a difference."
"No," he replied, "but we have also received a different gift. A Yggdrasil leaf. Kazue is currently having it tended to much like a cutting, which should work."
"Oh," Norumi said and then fell silent for a long moment. "I see. Yes, by spring it might be strong enough to support our gift healthily."
"Wait," Carmilla said, "a dryad''s blessing, for a tree. With her husband along." She glanced up at the crystal tree and then back to Norumi. "I''ve not heard of any other dryads in your forest. Why now?"
"That is both simple and complex," Norumi replied, "Because of the way I transformed, I am not bound to a tree, I am bound to my forest. So there is no way for another dryad to develop inside of the forest. Until now, any other tree I could reach seemed far too vulnerable. But here, with my father, I just can not imagine a better place. Your tree may be made of living crystal, but it is tree-like enough in concept and function that it should support a dryad''s spirit, but a world tree sapling might be a better choice."
"But," Moriko said, "I have no idea how one takes care of a baby dryad. Do we feed her? Or just water her? What are we supposed to do? You can''t stay here and take care of her. Or can you?"
Kazue simply slumped on her throne with a stunned expression.
Even Fuyuko panicked a little at the thought. "A baby dryad. Your baby. Wait, if you''re my sister now, would that make her my niece? I''d be an aunt? I don''t know how to be an aunt."
Norumi looked a little amused and she waited for them to calm down before she replied, "There is little need to worry. If it works, then her spirit will slowly form inside the tree for years if not decades. She''ll wake up when the time is right, and she''ll know all the things her tree experienced while she was asleep. But it seems we have time to explain everything before spring arrives. Oh, but what are your plans for the world tree sapling when it is ready to be moved? It will need a lot of space and I think it would compete with your crystal tree."
This brought Kazue out of her daze and she replied, "We hadn''t decided for sure, but I was thinking of maybe trying to get it to grow into and with the crystal tree like those ''mated'' trees people sometimes grow together. I rather like the idea of having a tree that is crystal and wood and connected to Sarcomaag, but I don''t think any tree shy of a world tree could cope with the living crystal."
It was quite the image to contemplate. And the idea of a dryad being born of a tree that was part Yggdrysil and part living crystal, well, she would be unique, that is for certain.
Mordecai shook off that speculation and focused back on his daughter and son-in-law. "Are you two certain this is what you want to give us as your gift?" The gift wasn''t really the dryad, who would be his spiritual grandchild. The gift was the trust involved in entrusting the dryad''s future to them. Creating the potential for a new dryad was an investment of the older dryad''s personal power. It technically did not require a mate to help, though a willing mate could certainly invest a portion of their spiritual energy as well which could make it easier, as well as additionally shape the dryad and give her two parents. Dryads were very careful and selective with what trees they blessed.
"Yes Father, we discussed it at length already and are very certain. I can''t imagine a better home for our first dryad child." Norumi replied.
He nodded and said, "Very well then. The Azeria court will accept your gift as a pledge to be fulfilled." Mordecai smiled and added, "Which means it is now time for us to give you our gifts."
243: Time to Party
Moriko''s mind spun as she sat back down on her throne. The idea of suddenly being in charge of raising a young dryad who would also be her step-granddaughter had been a shock. Fuyuko had been fourteen when she became their ward, which is a lot different than raising a baby.
Thankfully, it seems it wouldn''t be that bad. Aside from the delay until spring, Norumi said it would take a while for a dryad''s spirit to awaken.
The idea of being ''gifted'' a sentient being was, well, strange to say the least. But Norumi''s explanation made sense as to why she would entrust her spiritual child to their care, and as Mordecai had noticed, it was a gift of trust as much as anything else.
When Mordecai accepted the ''pledge'' of the future gift, Moriko turned her attention to the sensations of faerie magic at work. It was far different than anything she knew and she was beginning to understand why he used the phrase ''what passes for logic'' regarding this type of power.
Chi was a straightforward type of power. It was stored within one''s body, manifested physically, and was controlled by one''s will.
Divine magic was more complicated. The energy for her spell prayers came in part from herself and in part from Sakiya and could be viewed as a mixture of her personal strength of will, her faith, and Sakiya''s blessings. Moriko controlled the application of the magic, but she could also feel the faint touch of her goddess''s will upon each prayer. Moriko would not be able to use these spells with complete freedom, though she also couldn''t imagine herself using them in a way that would be anathema to Sakiya. So it was mostly an academic distinction.
Faerie magic on the other hand... Well, Kazue had less trouble with it. She said it felt somewhat similar to her own dream-touched arcane magic. Which made sense relative to what Moriko was beginning to understand about faerie magic. The ''logic'' of it did feel a lot like a dream, where the strangest things made perfect sense until you woke up. Or perhaps the logic of a young child making up a fantastical story; she''d heard enough of those as her sibling had been growing up.
Weirdly enough, there were also belief-like aspects to it that Moriko did not entirely understand. The part where believing that the magic worked made it stronger was easy enough, but paradoxically, disbelieving in the power of faerie magic too strongly acted more like belief, though it also seemed likely to twist it into more of a curse. As far as she could make out, indifference to the magic being of faerie origin was the strongest defense, at least, as far as mind sets go.
Musing on the nature of faerie magic occupied her mind as she observed the effects of Mordecai gifting his daughter and son-in-law the items that they had crafted. She was getting a better idea of why her awakening to the power of a Faerie Queen had enhanced her ability to run through the air. It was a dream she held tightly to and worked to perfect with her own power. Not that everyone''s boons had reflected so precisely, but every boon did tie to the person somehow.
After that, it was time to finish the interviews. Satsuki''s late arrival had interrupted the flow of events, but it had certainly drawn attention to her. So while Moriko, Kazue, and Mordecai made decisions and bargains regarding the lives of others, the nine-tail seemed to be having the time of her life socializing.
Moriko was a bit envious at the moment. Not that she wanted to be socializing like that exactly, but taking a break from being bound by duty to deal with all of this would be nice. The process was boring and even a touch irritating at times. Some of the people got her genuine sympathy, but others she didn''t feel very sorry for and there was a selection that she actively disliked and felt that they somewhat deserved what they were getting.
It did help that lying to faerie royalty while in their court was difficult for most beings. It made it harder for their supplicants to spin falsehoods into their stories to make themselves look better.
The sun was beginning to set by the time they were done with all their duties and Moriko was happy to begin enjoying the feast.
She did always enjoy a good party, after all.
Bonfires and torches provided both light and heat in this winter twilight, the tiny crystals in the white path had a tiny bit of innate luminance, and many types of fey, such as their pixies, could glow as well. So darkness did not halt this party, though those who felt the cold most easily had to beg off early.
Eating, drinking, and dancing. These were most of her favorite activities at a party of any sort, and what dancing she got to do! There were several types of fey folk here who could fly, but her favorite to dance with were the sylphs. Their movement through the air was so incredibly carefree and the wind itself moved with them, making their every step and bounce incredibly fluid.
Kazue was easy to persuade to join in the aerial dancing and the sight of her wife laughing in pleasure as they danced well above the ground was a beautiful thing to behold.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Mordecai was not quite so eager to join, but he didn''t exactly resist either.
His style of dancing, even in the air, trended toward the more formal forms, where the patterns and moves were well known and the skill was in the execution of the performance. It was a strong contrast to the free form and more chaotic dancing of the sylphs and similar tribes. So naturally, she, Kazue, and a selection of their new friends ganged up on him.
Moriko and Kazue started by both taking one of his hands and forcing him to alter his patterns; most formal dancers were designed with pairs in mind, not three people in a triangle. That alone made him improvise, but that wasn''t enough for Moriko. She wanted to draw more out of him. So the sylphs dove in to join them by dancing around and between the trio. Everything was done to the rhythm of the music, but that rhythm had also become looser at Kazue''s mental directions. She''d encouraged their musicians to improvise rather than play specific pieces.
Mordecai snorted with amusement and said, "Fine then," which was all the warning they got.
His arms slid around their waists before he twisted into a sharp spin and flung them out and up, further in the air. Moriko and Kazue both laughed breathlessly as they caught control of themselves again and spun to watch what their husband was up to. Mordecai then clapped his hands together as his entire body language changed. He no longer stepped to the music but leapt almost sideways in a wide-legged stance that swept his feet up into the air. The motion created an almost continuous circle of his feet and body as he moved. Mordecai also showed off a trick as he continued to use the air walk technique but channeled it through his hands. This let him kick off into a wild spin with his feet flung wide, yet there was a certain precision and control to it.
Like he was kicking people.
Moriko stared for a moment as she realized he was ''cheating''. She wouldn''t call it exactly a kata, and it certainly wasn''t a style she recognized, but she could tell that he was practicing a move set. When and where had he learned that style? Well, ''when'' was going to be ''over two thousand years ago'', but where? Had it died out or was it simply popular someplace else? There were certain elements to the wild, whirling style she felt she could incorporate into her own techniques.
That was when she started laughing. She''d tried to get him to use a less stylized form of dance, and he''d twisted it into using a very stylized but wild form of dance that was actually a fighting style. She couldn''t fault him for that.
Also, it looked a bit silly in his current garb. The formality of the pseudo-military uniform entirely clashed with a dance form that spent almost half of its time upside down.
She and Kazue rejoined him when he''d finished showing off and happily embraced him. "Thank you, Love," Moriko said before she kissed him. They had a few more dances, but after that, Moriko wanted to return to the feasting. Moriko also took the time to check in on Fuyuko, whom she found curled up with a pile of small dragons and various faerie younglings.
The evening was wrapping up and they had relatively few guests remaining. Most fey could travel swiftly back to their home realms no matter the distance, so the trip was not arduous for them. Many had also gone through to the mortal world and found accommodations there. A smaller number had been invited to stay the night inside of the underground space that roughly reflected their dungeon, which is where the youngling that Fuyuko was napping with were going to end up.
Moriko''s enjoyment of the feast was marred by only one incident near the end. A fey courtier struck up a conversation with her as she was refilling her glass of honey wine, which was fine, but then he tried to move beyond the simple flattery of mild flirtation. She''d learned to deal with that, it was simply part of any courtly life it seems, based on what she''d been taught by the princesses when she and Kazue were in Ekuilance. There were limits to that, however, and his smile had already begun to insinuate more even before he went to ''casually'' lay a hand on her arm.
She lifted her foot slightly and drove the heel of her shoe into his shadow. The sylvan man''s body went rigid as she caught him in a cage of her dark lightning.
"It seems that We need to make something clear," Moriko said in a bored tone of voice, though she also made sure to project her voice so that all nearby could hear her clearly. "While We acknowledge many, including Ourselves, have an open view of ''sport'', We have willingly and happily joined a closed relationship. None of Us are available outside of that relationship, and any attempts to tempt any of Us otherwise will be looked upon unkindly."
With that, she turned her back on the courtier and walked away, freeing him and his shadow in the process.
Moriko was seething inside, but she knew that the best impression would be made by remaining calm on the outside. When she had been unattached, this had still been one of her strongest boundaries. She had never knowingly slept with a married person. Well, unless everyone was involved at the same time, or it was clear that there was some sort of permission, but that was different. And even one of the high fey should know better than to assume that she might be available. If he''d just asked what the agreement was between her and her spouses, Moriko would have been fine with it and just let him know that she was not available.
But her husband and wife were there and their presence was soothing. With the mood cooled, they collected Fuyuko, their familiars, and Udup. Carmilla had apparently found her own company for the night. Most of the fey younglings had already been collected by their elders, but those who remained were brought inside by their inhabitants.
Norumi and Haolong declined an invitation to stay; crossing over outside of their woods was still taxing on them, and there was little point in them staying here on the faerie side.
Satsuki had been invited to stay as well, though Moriko was not certain how she felt about the woman. She had no direct issues about Satsuki being one of Mordecai''s former lovers, Moriko had plenty of those of her own.
No, Moriko''s issue was that she got the distinct feeling that she was not the first woman to challenge Mordecai with the words ''make me''. Worse, part of her was dangerously curious about how that had played out with Satsuki.
She knew better than to even think that too loudly, as she didn''t want to actually know, and she was going to have to find some time to meditate on the issue. Comparing one''s self to a former lover was a bad idea. But for tonight, she was simply going to enjoy the company of her husband and wife.
244: Dinner Date
Bellona looked over her selection of ingredients while Xarlug settled into a chair nearby. "Well," she said as she turned toward her spice rack, "Yesterday was one of the strangest days I have experienced here."
"Hah," he replied, "I can only imagine. Standing guard for the king and queens of a faerie court isn''t an everyday sort of job. Not that those three are much for formality. I bet Moriko hated it, but I can see Kazue enjoying the fancy atmosphere at least."
"Not far off. There was a party at the end, and Moriko rather enjoyed that outside of a minor incident. Let''s start at the beginning though." Bellona added a small selection of elemental salts to her herb and spice selection for tonight''s meal. She had to be very careful with them as Xarlug didn''t have her tolerance, but some flavors were otherwise impossible to create. They were a ground form of the elemental crystals she had brought with her from her forays into the caverns during her training.
"So, we get pulled to the Other Side and land in their faerie domain. Only it''s not just a bit of faerie land, it''s still the dungeon''s territory, I can feel that connection clearly. It was still a strange place. The snow glittered like it was made of glass or crystal or something, but it wasn''t fake or anything."
As Bellona described the world she had experienced, she combined tiny dashes of her chosen elemental salts into a shallow dish. "Everything was like that; somehow so intensely real that it felt unreal. You could smell everything clearly too; the smells of snow, trees, and earth blended together in harmony while remaining distinct. The real world doesn''t work like that."
Next, she added some normal salt to dilute the ground crystals. "Once we had a chance to get used to the weirdness, the trio led us to where they were going to play King and Queen and began setting things up."
The memory brought a grin to her lips as she said, "Moriko got a tiny taste of being a dungeon too. She''s a queen of her realm. On that side of reality, it means she could command the earth itself to rise and shape itself to her will. Not that it looked easy."
Xarlug snorted with amusement. "I bet. It seems like it''d be more magic stuff, though I guess she knows a bit about that now. More than me at least, but that ain''t hard."
"I''ve seen you use a bit of power yourself," Bellona replied, "so you can''t downplay it that much."
He frowned and looked pensive as he said, "You know what that comes from. I''m not sure why you and Kansif encourage me to use those tricks."
Bellona resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. "Your flesh and spirit inherited that potential from whatever touched your ancestor, but the power itself is not evil or corrupt. Denying this part of you will do far more harm than learning how to control it."
She placed a hand on the shallow dish of salts and concentrated for a moment to sense the elemental energies within. When she was ready, Bellona tweaked and blended the energy to create the flavor/sensation combination she wanted. It helped take her mind off of her annoyance with Xarlug''s worry over his fiend-touched nephilim bloodlines.
"Anyway," Bellona continued after a moment of silence, "after Moriko set up the platform, Mordecai and Kazue got to work making everything fancy for the dais before creating this glittery white path that split and spiraled off into the distance. It''s the only road there, so it would be rather hard to miss the hint of which way to go."
With her flavored salt prepared, Bellona turned to the rest of the meal she had in mind. Her kitchen was the fanciest personal kitchen she''d ever had, thanks to Kazue''s enthusiasm. Bellona had asked Kazue for a kitchen for her room, and the energetic woman had expanded the room out into a small suite instead. The kitchen was second only to the main room in size while the bedroom and bathroom were about tied for third place.
It also had the fanciest cooking setup she''d seen for a private kitchen. Bellona was pretty certain she could keep a manor house fed out of this setup.
Not that Bellona minded really, and she was amused by how the bathroom clearly had been set up for two people to use together. But the kitchen was almost too large. There were entire cabinets she hadn''t figured out a use for yet, she didn''t have that many things to put in a kitchen!
"It sounds impressive," Xarlug said thoughtfully. "I''m sort of used to what they can do here, but it sounds like they can do even more over there."
"Yes, sort of. Most of it I think they just chose to not do this side, but some things..." Bellona shook her head at the memory then set out her pans for the fish fillets and vegetables. She already had some heartier root vegetables in the oven, but the more delicate greens she was going to lightly pan fry.
"I''ll get to that in a bit. So, after they set up all the feasting tables and stuff, it was time to be ceremonial. Have I mentioned how much I hate that sort of thing? It''s boring as hell. But, well, someone needed to do it and I''m their bloody faerie knight." It made sense really, Bellona had the training and experience for the role, but that didn''t make it any more fun.
"It was just a routine where I introduced all the guests and petitioners to the trio after they''d introduced themselves to me. Until that Silvander guy came back into line a petitioner this time, under orders from Queen Sylphine to try to have Carmilla come back home. Only, I don''t think that was the actual intent. It seemed like it was some sort of political stunt to prove a point or learn something? Maybe both. Normal politics are bad enough, faerie politics are worse."
Bellona shook the cast iron pan with the vegetables before tossing it a couple of times and setting it back down on the engraved symbols that served as the magical heat source for her stove. "In short, he and Carmilla got into a duel over it. It was impressive. She won, if barely, and only thanks to pulling a few tricks in setting up the fight and then surprising him with her new powers."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
She sighed and admitted, "I don''t think I could have won that fight. Carmilla was able to use all of her power there and still had a hard time despite her tricks. None of my talents lay toward that sort of trickery. Though I suppose it depends on how hard his spells hit." Bellona flipped the fish once, both fillets landing neatly with their skin sides up.
"He''s fast, but not fast enough to find a way between the plates of my armor and I think I have the power to match the enchantments on his blade so he wouldn''t be able to cut through easily. So it all depends on how potent his magic is when using the spells that Carmilla''s set up denied him the use of."
"You don''t think you can ward them off?" Xarlug asked. "I''ve seen you block and deflect some potent magic."
"I don''t know," Bellona replied, "he was skilled and strong, and I am better with physical blows than spells, but maybe. It also depends on if he was using spells that my elemental skills can mitigate."
With dinner almost ready, Bellona broke out a pair of plates and set them on the counter. "That still wasn''t the scariest event though. For one thing, Fuyuko tried to start a war by insulting a clan that was thinking of alliance by marriage. That got settled without any bloodshed, but they didn''t like that the girl carries cold iron either. But that still wasn''t the highlight."
"Satsuki?" Xarlug asked.
"Satsuki," Bellona confirmed as she took the pan out of the oven and started plating the root vegetables. "She sauntered right on up to me as if she expected me to just conveniently not be in her way by the time she arrived. Not that she was really trying, I didn''t have to push back against her that hard, but I could feel the pressure of her will trying to sweep me out of the way. It was sort of like when we sparred with Gil but without the weapons. Well, external weapons at least. That woman''s body is a weapon."
That got Xarlug curious. "I haven''t seen her yet, is she really that beautiful?"
"Yes and no. I mean, it''s not just how she looks, it''s how she moves and carries herself. How in all the hells does a woman make it seem like she might drag someone into the bushes at any moment while still being a perfectly dignified lady who would make a man court her for years before he might be allowed to kiss her hand?"
Bellona couldn''t keep the disgust out of her voice, though really it was an outlet for frustration. Despite the various beauties inhabiting and visiting the dungeon at any given moment, Bellona had never felt that outclassed. Hell, Satsuki even outdid Orchid when it came to being casually seductive.
After she finished plating the food, her pan came down a little harder than it should have. Xarlug rose and walked over to her and hugged her from behind. "Are you okay love?"
"Yeah," Bellona said with a sigh as she leaned into him, "just, most of the time I don''t really care much about being that sort of pretty, but somehow she makes me feel a bit jealous."
"You have nothing to be jealous about," he replied as he nuzzled into her neck. "You are beautiful and perfect and have more important things in your life than learning how to mess with people that way."
Bellona enjoyed the attention for a moment, especially how he knew just the right place to nibble on her neck, and then she gently shook him off. "Alright, enough flattery. Here, take the plates to the table, I''ll grab the wine."
Once they had settled down to eat, Bellona continued with her story. "Anyway, it seems like it was some sort of test and I passed. After that, she had Norumi do the formal introductions and such. Which, well, it would probably have been awkward for her to announce herself as the mother of Mordecai''s child. Makes it sound like he had an affair or something."
Here she paused to watch Xarlug''s reaction. While no flavor, not even a magically created one, could quite carry all the essence of that strange environment, Bellona had done her best to add the scent and atmosphere of winter in faerie to their food.
Xarlug closed his eyes briefly to savor the food and then looked at her with suspicion. "You made it taste like winter air and cold light. I didn''t know that was possible, and you did it without making it fight or overwhelm the taste of the food."
She smiled happily at his response. "That was what I was going for. It''s not perfect, but it is a bit of what faerie land smelled like. So, there were the introductions and the gifts. I still haven''t been able to get an intelligible answer out of them as to what was so special about those gaudy necklaces but it seems they were made out of rare things that have the cores working hard for some reason."
Bellona had a few bites of her food before she continued. "Then Norumi was going to try to implant a dryad spirit in the crystal tree on that side. They put that plan on hold to see if they can get that world tree leaf to turn into a sapling first. I can''t imagine what craziness is going to result from this crystal world tree hybrid idea they have, let alone having a dryad living in it."
She took a sip of her wine and enjoyed the combination of flavors for a moment. "After that was the return gifts. I still have trouble believing that they gave Satsuki that opal, but it did seem to score points against her in some way. Norumi and Haolong seemed to enjoy the diadem and armor that had been crafted for them as well. Then there was a little more business to deal with before everyone could just enjoy the party."
"What was the party like?" Xarlug asked between bites.
Bellona glanced at his plate and was pleased with how much he seemed to be enjoying the food. "It went well, for the most part. I couldn''t enjoy the drink much of course, but there was plenty of good food and lots of people were dancing. There was one moment that could have gotten ugly though."
"Oh?"
"Someone tried to flirt too hard with Moriko. I mean, there''s sort of courtly socializing flirting where no one really means it. Don''t ask me how that works, that was never something I understood. But it seems like this guy meant it and made it too clear that he meant it. Moriko got annoyed and pinned him in place with her black lightning while she made sure everyone understood that the three of them were not interested in ''sport'' with anyone else. Which, really, shouldn''t have been hard to figure out."
She shrugged and said, "But, it seems some nobles, faeries or not, seem to think other people''s rules don''t include them. Um, wait a moment. Sorry, topic change. Kazue just let me know she''s about to move the complex as part of claiming their next zone. I''ve never been in it when it moved, this should be interesting."
The two of them paused and waited expectantly. The results were somewhat anticlimactic. She could feel a faint sensation of motion, but that seemed to come more from her awareness of her position in the dungeon.
"Huh," Bellona said, "I guess the magic they use to move this section grabs everything inside at the same time."
"We moved?" Xarlug asked, looking disappointed. "I didn''t feel a thing."
"I''ll make sure to rectify that later," Bellona said with a smirk. "Anyway, that was it for the party. No one died or even got seriously injured, which is pretty good for a faerie party from what I understand. But you can expect to see a lot more fey folk wandering around the dungeon now, I''m not sure if that''s a good thing or not."
"This place gets weirder and weirder," Xarlug muttered before taking another bite of the fish. "At least the food is decent." He gave her a wink with that.
Decent? Oh, she was going to make him pay for that. After dessert of course.
245: Waters of the Deep
Kazue shoved aside the still unfolding plethora of information from Satsuki''s ''trinkets'', both those gifted to them in their aspect as a faerie court and the ones she later gifted to them in their aspect as a dungeon. That second set had hardly seemed needed, given how much the necklaces had given them.
She also resolutely blocked out her avatar''s thoughts and emotions. She couldn''t afford any distractions right now, this was going to be the first time they''d claimed a new zone since they''d also become a faerie court.
The past couple of months of constant delving by the Trionean soldiers, the less constant delving and foraging of the Kuiccihan troops had supplied, and the hunting and delving by groups of kitsune had supplied them with plenty of mana, though speeding up their domain''s growth had consumed a portion of it. Their biggest delay had simply been getting both sides to balance.
Now she scanned over the wetlands zone to make sure no one was near the edge. Things were about to get messy, and possibly dangerous.
Once she was satisfied with that, Kazue sealed this entrance to their rooms, which left only the entrance from the sewers to the arena as an open path. There was a bit of resistance, but this was just a temporary measure to avoid any problems.
Kazue spread her awareness past the final section of the dungeon and to the very borders of their territory, including the side edges of this section. Through her consciousness, their mana flowed to claim more territory for the dungeon.
Deeper, farther, and wider, all at once. It was their biggest territory growth so far and even with that, she was handling another flow of mana designed to expand the internal space of this new territory.
Expanding their space internally also redistributed much of the solid earth she was claiming. Mordecai showed her how a dimensionally manipulated space could have a firm border without any physical barrier, but that sort of non-space bothered even her core to look at, let alone what it might do to brains not designed to handle this sort of information. It was much better to let that earth be redistributed as part of their border, the rest was going to need to be absorbed anyway.
Once she had spent most of their reserves on claiming their next zone, Kazue shifted toward preparing it properly.
Within the limits of maintaining a roughly oblong shape and keeping a thick enough ''edge'' for their warrens and sewers, she absorbed almost all the stone that had not already been redistributed to their borders. With this giant hollow space readied for further work, it was time to wrap their core chambers with her power and carefully move the entire complex to the very bottom and end of their new zone.
This was only inexpensive relative to the massive amount of mana she''d just expended claiming the zone.
It was also the first time that the movement of the complex could be seen by anyone but the cores, and the way this massive section of stone slid noiselessly along and down the newly opened space was eerie.
After Kazue had settled the complex into place, complete with having simultaneously created a straight tunnel for the sewer connection, she reformed some of the earth she''d absorbed before into a giant cone of earth reminiscent of a small mountain. Which is what it was sort of supposed to be. When Kazue was satisfied with its shape it was time to connect the chambers to a wide plateau that ringed the mountain relatively near the top.
While she''d been doing this, the normal reclamation of excess water from their various waterways was stopped.
They''d always been as efficient as they could be, but the wetlands and the sewers could only hold so much. But now there was this vast, hollow basin to be filled, and the briny water of their wetlands began draining into it.
It was insufficient on any reasonable time scale, but Kazue had a low-energy way of speeding up the process. While creating matter was always one of the more expensive things they could do, absorbing and redistributing matter cost very little energy in comparison. Almost all of the accumulated snow inside of their territory abruptly disappeared, only to reappear at the bottom of the basin. Kazue then ''cheated'' and grabbed a second mass of snow from Faerie to create another layer of snow inside their basin.
Oddly enough, bringing the snow across did not rid it of its eerie ''too real'' appearance and sparkle. Mordecai had warned her that bringing in this much substance from faerie was going to affect how the ''ocean'' they were creating would work, but in this case, Kazue felt there was little to worry about. A strange ocean was perfect, and there was illusionary work to be done on the zone still.
Work on their new zone was far from complete, but she''d deliberately pushed as far as she could while retaining a stable structure. Major work would have to wait until they had more mana again, but she did still have enough to reshape the edge of their wetlands zone.
The brine lake at the end of their zone was now part of an extensive shallows area that was also riddled with deeper trenches and the occasional tunnel to connect otherwise isolated areas. For those here to fight, the terrain for combating the eletsima dragon bosses had become a lot more treacherous. Their final destination, should they win their way through, was a wide circular island that jutted out into the deeper ocean. The island itself was simply a bare disc at the moment, the proper setup for their challenges would come later.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
As for those who had made their way past Carmilla''s challenges, the hedged-in path now led to an underground tunnel that passed beneath the enlarged combat area and resurfaced on the island. The path for combatants was not so clear as there was only one unbroken path of shallow water and sand that led through the boss area and when they had the mana to spare, the sandbars and trenches would shift after every battle against Nezha and Ysi.
Kazue examined her work and was satisfied for now.
While the dungeon might not have much mana left for direct work, Mordecai''s avatar was making his way to the island to begin some of the manual work he had planned. What he had in mind was tricky and she appreciated that he was going to put in the extra work to make sure that the path would be safe for their delvers.
While her husband went to work there, Kazue took the opportunity to shift her attention to the Other Side. She wanted to see how Faerie had reflected the changes to their dungeon territory. It had been hard to ignore the portion of their mana that had been siphoned off to keep their domain matching their territory.
Like the rest of their domain, this new area was sparsely inhabited.
Sarcomaag was the only entity other than themselves that could simultaneously exist on both sides of the border between realms, and like the cores, his main body was entirely on the mortal side. But his tendrils were still able to grow along with the matrix of living crystal that had become an automatic part of building new borders for the dungeon. These tendrils had sprouted into a sprinkle of glowing mushrooms and other fungi inside of the cavern on the faerie side, which gave soft illumination to the dark waters of the underground lake there.
Overall, this cavern was a lot smaller than the ocean planned for the dungeon. This left a lot of the new territory left in stone and earth, but that should be fine. After all, some of the fey that they had accepted as immigrants to their realm included beings that preferred an underground life. The blue caps in particular would be happy to be able to create mines this deep under the surface.
Really, it was more of an underground sea. Though oddly enough, Kazue found it hard to determine exactly how deep the waters went. The far end of the sea was strangely indistinct.
An eerie, underground faerie sea that was located far beneath mountains.
One with waters far too dark and deep for the space they occupied.
Oh no.
"Mordecai," Kazue sent, "Um, how far from normal living lands do you have to be to no longer find Faerie on the Other Side?"
Her question grabbed his attention quickly and she could feel him shift his focus to the new section of their faerie domain.
While he was examining the space, Mordecai replied to her question, "To my knowledge, Faerie should be connected to almost all of our world, outside of a few dangerous confluences. But those areas are usually extremely dangerous environments on the mortal side as well, with only meager life scraping by."
He sounded frustrated to her, and Kazue couldn''t blame him. If her feeling was right, they were touching on dangerous realms.
Mordecai continued his musings as he probed the area. "This is still part of Faerie. It has to be, no Court has a domain that extends past the borders of Faerie, the idea is contradictory. If it is part of a faerie court, it is part of Faerie. Though not all of Faerie is claimed by a court, there''s always the Faerie Wilds."
Kazue felt a new presence approaching their domain and shifted her focus toward it. The presence was coming across the underground sea and that painfully indistinct border.
It wasn''t the most powerful being that had been inside of their domain or territory, but direct power was not the only way to be passively terrifying.
The pale, ethereal woman walked serenely across the surface of the dark waters as her hair streamed behind her on non-existent winds. She wore a white dress that looked fit for either a wedding or a funeral, and her bare feet made no noise when she stepped on the water''s surface.
Behind her trailed a pair of hounds who glowed softly and padded across the sea with the same silent ease that their mistress did.
The woman''s soft humming was beautiful, but it did not set Kazue at ease. At least she wasn''t singing.
Mordecai sighed and said, "Yet, despite all that, we have this visitor. If we were a winter court I could understand the connection existing, but we have not declared an allegiance. Well, the three of us are going to need to talk with her, but we''ll need a representative first. Carmilla is closest, other than my avatar, and I think the three of us should arrive together, so I will send her ahead."
Kazue''s avatar had already realized that something was wrong, even with the delay in the information flow between them. Moriko had started listening in as soon as Kazue had spoken up, and both of them were scrambling to get ready.
Carmilla was distinctly unhappy with the idea of being sent to speak with a Pale Lady accompanied by a pair of spectral hounds. "Lord Mordecai," she said in a tight voice, "while I have been happy to become your adopted daughter, I am currently wondering if I should be reconsidering that opinion. If I understand you correctly, you and Lady Kazue have managed to connect our realm to an Underworld lake? Now, if I thought this was deliberate, I could at least claim you were being extremely bold, but I am fairly certain that Lady Kazue and Lady Moriko would have put a stop to it if this had been part of a plan."
As she spoke, Carmilla used her magic to hastily change out of her normal outfit for a dress more befitting of a princess. A dark faerie princess, to be sure, but a princess nonetheless.
"Very well," she said when she was done, "I am as ready as I can be on such short notice."
Kazue watched nervously as Carmilla crossed into their domain and strode toward the edge of the dark sea. Carmilla managed to use Kazue''s information to time her arrival to coincide with the Pale Lady stepping onto the shore.
With a welcoming smile and perfect poise, Carmilla curtsied to the unexpected visitor. "Greetings visitor. I am Lady Carmilla, Princess of the Azeria Court. On behalf of Queen Kazue, Queen Moriko, and King Mordecai, I should like to welcome you into our realm as a guest. My parents will be arriving shortly to meet you in person."
The woman''s humming stopped for the moment as she considered Carmilla, then she smiled in return and said, "I accept your invitation, and look forward to meeting your Lord and Ladies. My name is Cliodhna, and I am here as a servitor of Lady Kikoi Muerte and Lord Yamaraja. They are very curious as to why a faerie realm has come into contact with the realm of the dead."
246: Trinkets and Toys
While Kazue''s core was preparing to claim their next zone, Moriko fidgeted with one of the new ''trinkets'' that Satsuki had brought with her. While she couldn''t understand everything that her spouses were learning from these gifts, Moriko could understand the basics. Some of the new metals and alloys could mimic or even surpass mithral''s physical properties without any hint of magical essence. This did come with the drawback of not acting as if it was silver for various creatures, but if they could surpass mithral''s durability and lightness it made an interesting alternative and possible midway point toward adamantine.
This item was much stranger than those. The outer layers of the flat rectangle were obviously some sort of resin, though she''d never seen a resin so perfectly clear before. Moriko had thought it was glass until she had touched it.
In the center was a paper-thin square with an improbable image of a mountaintop from the center of a city that spread to the horizon. On top of that was some unknown lettering that looked like it was floating from the correct angle, but it was a physical illusion of some sort. Moriko couldn''t find a hint of magic in this either.
"Are those letters, printed?" Moriko asked as she tilted the rectangle again. "They look perfectly squared off and exactly the same size."
Satsuki considered the question before nodding. "Close enough. They use the same word for the process as they use for the sort of machine printing you know of."
Mordecai, Kazue, Moriko, and Satsuki were all gathered around the table where Satsuki had presented the gifts and they were now enjoying a late breakfast together while poring over the curiosities presented by their visitor. Though maybe enjoying it was stretching things? Satsuki certainly seemed to be enjoying herself, but the rest of them were feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Moriko put the trinket back down on the table and enjoyed some tea as she considered the implications of what they''d been told. Satsuki was coy about details, though she would drop little hints based on what they figured out.
She wouldn''t have thought that learning the manufacturing process could be just as important to a dungeon, but the more that Mordecai and Kazue understood about how an object was made, the easier it was to design variations.
Mordecai lightly flicked a small, nail-like item to make it roll around on the table. However, instead of a straight, squared shaft, it had a round shaft with a ''blade'' that spiraled around it and a large, hex-shaped top. "You," he said with a sigh, "traveled between worlds via the Other Side, didn''t you?"
"Well," Satsuki replied, "I was enjoying a beachside vacation spot when dear Sylphi popped in, so I just grabbed a few items that came to mind. Oh, don''t give me that look. Fine, these I got from the local tourist shops, but then I got word you''d managed to become a faerie king. That''s when I decided to get something special and custom-ordered those necklaces. I''d have been here months ago if I hadn''t had to wait on them. It''s a good thing I used a divination spell to ask how many necklaces I''d want to bring as gifts, I was expecting to give out three, not five."
He closed his eyes for a moment before saying, "These memories are still buried, but I''ve dug up some of what I know. I don''t think you were supposed to bring these across."
Satsuki waved off his concern. "My dear, you always worry too much about those sorts of things, these are just passive items. I didn''t bring you any of the neat toys involving, um, ''structured glass alloys that use precise electric inputs to perform tasks''." A fond smile crossed her lips as she added, "The engineer I elicited that description from was cute when he started talking about his work in detail. But he did tell me that it was a very oversimplified summary."
"That," Mordecai said as he tilted his head slightly, "does not sound like a familiar description."
"No, it wouldn''t." Satsuki agreed. "Once your avatars reached the threshold of mortal power and mastery, you never kept them for more than a few years. While it was fun occasionally seducing a new variation of you, I''d have loved to see you push an avatar to its true limits."
The way that Satsuki glanced at Kazue and Moriko when she talked about seducing Mordecai''s previous avatars gave Moriko the distinct impression that the nine-tail was considering what it would be like to seduce all three of them.
Kazue was only half paying attention to the conversation as she stared at the strange, tall metal cup in her hand. "My core''s figured out how this works," she muttered, "but my brain is still having trouble with the idea that this works without magic." The inside of the cup was filled with hot tea, but the outside was still cool to the touch.
Moriko smiled at her wife and said, "I''d have thought you would be playing with those pens and the wood-wrapped graphite stick."
"Those were easy to figure out," Kazue said, "I think we can even work out how to make them without magic. Though, admittedly, the inks are kinda weird, and I¡¯m not sure how they made those more liquidy inks in the bright colors with the sparkles. This thing, however," she tapped the cup, "I don''t know how they made it without any air or other stuff between the layers."
So many strange items, like the weirdly shiny sword. Mordecai had said that it wouldn''t rust in most conditions, but it was far too brittle for combat. Again, not magic, but because of how it was made and what it was made with. Moriko frowned at Satsuki as she thought about what Mordecai had just said, that Satsuki wasn''t ''supposed'' to bring certain items here. "Wait, are there rules about what you can bring between worlds?"
Mordecai''s "Yes" and Satsuki''s hand waved "Sort of" mushed together as they responded at the same time. Mordecai gave her a hard look and Satsuki raised her hands up in the air.
"Fine, fine, you take this one darling. You know I don''t really care about these rules." She said.
He sighed then turned back to Moriko and Kazue, who had stopped staring at her cup. "It''s complicated. The exact memories are buried still, but I had kept this knowledge near the surface layers, so I didn''t have to unpack much. There are multiple sets of rules, though some are more opinions than declarations. First, worlds that start to accumulate widespread, advanced knowledge also tend to start worrying about the spread of that knowledge. Sometimes the concern is based on fears about giving knowledge to potential enemies, and sometimes the concern is having an undue influence on cultures that do not have equivalent knowledge. It doesn''t matter if that knowledge is magical or not, and some knowledge is more restricted than others. But these are mortal, local laws, and are technically not relevant outside of the worlds and realms that set them."
Ah, their hubby was in teacher mode again. Moriko and Kazue exchanged amused glances before turning back to Mordecai with extremely eager and attentive expressions.
This caused Mordecai to pause and look at them suspiciously for a moment before he smiled. "I''ll try not to make this too long," he said dryly. "Now, as for divine rules, or rather, opinions, well, they are divided."
Mordecai began ticking off on his fingers as he went through the Empyreal Pillars. "Zagaroth has taken no stance that I have ever heard; Amirume is okay with limited, well-moderated exchanges to help civilization and culture advance without wiping out the younger one; Mericume is fine with everyone doing as they please; Sakiya thinks it is fine for individuals to retrieve knowledge from other places and bring it back home, so long as the person is being true to what they want; and Ozuran thinks that the local rules and laws should be honored in such matters."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Satsuki made a disgusted sound. Moriko was fairly certain that the nine-tail was a follower of Mericume. While Kazue was not quite so dismissive of inconvenient rules, it was a common trait amongst the most devoted of the moon goddess''s followers.
The interruption was ignored as Mordecai continued, "Li is oblivious of course. The elemental lords tend to not care much, so long as their roles are still respected and honored. The elven pantheon mostly leans toward keeping the spread of knowledge moderated while the dwarven pantheon tends to be eager to see the spread of any skill or technique that involves crafting and creation, given that hand crafting and creation are preserved as well. It is usually fairly easy to guess for divinities whose opinions you don''t know. I can only imagine that Dormire is happy to have this sort of knowledge and power spread through his followers, while Diasthian''s nature as a protector probably makes her much more cautious."
Moriko supposed that made sense, but she did have one question. "You said these were opinions, not rules?"
He nodded and said, "Yes. In the end, this is a matter of free wills being exercised, even if they are in opposition. So the gods give their opinions, but few have any edicts or strict rules on the topic."
Kazue tilted her head and asked, "So why haven''t we heard about these opinions before? And how did she get this stuff here?"
"Society at large has not needed to know about these opinions on our world," Mordecai replied, "and Satsuki is a mistress of smuggling. She didn''t travel through the equivalent of a port city. Instead, she hopped directly into Faerie and made her way across the faerie lands of that world and then whatever she found between those realms and the faerie realms adjacent to our world."
Well, wasn''t that just disturbing? Moriko didn''t know much about what lay between worlds on the Other Side, but she knew that that just as Faerie was expansive when correlated to places where there was a lot of life and magic, the areas of the Other Side that correlated to the void between worlds were strange places of compressed and twisted space and were home to denizens that made faeries a positive delight to be around.
"But I need to head down now," Mordecai said. "Kazue''s core is just about done with setting up the new zone and I have some manual work to do to reinforce the safeties on part of our plan."
Once he was gone, Satsuki''s attitude became conspiratorial. "Well, now for some girl talk, yes? Mordecai, I am asking for privacy, thank you."
Moriko could feel the vague sense of his presence fade. He hadn''t been focused here, but she could tell that he was now deliberately ignoring the room. It was clear that Satsuki understood how dungeons worked, in addition to knowing how Mordecai specifically would react.
Kazue eyed the older kitsune woman warily. "What do you want?"
"Now, isn''t that a lovely and open-ended question," Satsuki purred. "If we are limited only by what I want, well, I do have a lot of desires that both of you could help me with."
Moriko''s heart was suddenly beating faster in response to those words and the promise carried in Satsuki''s tone. A mixture of panic and anger drove her to her feet with a shocked Kazue only a beat behind. "Don''t you dare," Moriko hissed at Satsuki, "I''ve made my feelings clear on the subject."
"Yes, you have," Satsuki replied in an amused voice, "and while your wife feels the same, I think she also caught a layer you didn''t. Now Luv, why don''t you tell us what you think I really want?"
Kazue shivered before she answered in a quiet voice. "You want Mordecai. All three of us, really, but him most of all. And if you could get to him by seducing us first, you would."
Moriko gaped at Kazue.
"Very good," Satsuki said with satisfaction, though Moriko thought she heard a note of sadness in her voice now. "I''ve always enjoyed my time with him, though it also always ended in a flare-up of some kind between us. This is the strongest I''ve ever seen him too, and I don''t mean trifles like power. This is the first time the man has been effectively immune to me, and I have to admit I am a bit jealous."
This was getting weird. Moriko sat back down and rubbed her head as she tried to figure out what was going on.
"How badly do you want it, I wonder?" Kazue mused. "I imagine you like being in control, even if it''s by provoking the other person into acting. But do you want Mordecai and us badly enough to give that up?"
Satsuki sounded mildly surprised as she answered, "I think I might. But please, don''t tease me. You are playing with the idea, but I can tell you don''t mean it. At least, you don''t mean it enough."
"No, I suppose not," Kazue replied before sitting down again herself. "So what was the point of that little demonstration?"
Moriko felt a little lost here. For all that she had been with so many people, those had been straightforward dealings. Maybe she should finally get around to reading some of Kazue¡¯s books. Her ''innocent'' Kazue seemed to know some things Moriko didn¡¯t. "I would like to know what is going on too."
"A mix of things are going on, of course," Satsuki said with a smile. "My offer was sincere enough, even if I didn''t expect to be taken up on it. There''s a reason Norumi is my only child, and there were no mistakes involved on my part. I''m also venting a little bit of frustration."
She waggled a finger at both of them. "You ruined my plans you know. I studied those wards, and there was a narrow gap coming up in a few decades. A period where the wards would have been weak enough to break without Mordecai being so starved as to be in serious danger yet. It was going to be a fresh start, just the two of us. Maybe if I could just have had an avatar of his be so close to his core self..."
Satsuki sighed. "It was probably a foolish idea. But none of his avatars I''ve been with had been as centered on his core''s personality as this one. So there was a hope and at least he''d be alive."
There was a moment of silence while Satsuki gathered her thoughts back together. "Enough of that. It was also a test, I needed to see and feel your reactions. You weren''t just defending yourselves, you were defending Mordecai and his emotions. If I''m not going to be able to have him again, then I need to at least make sure he''s well-situated and isn''t going to get hurt. So, I am pleased, even if it comes at a cost to me."
Moriko and Kazue looked at each other as they processed this confession of Satsuki''s, but the woman wasn''t done yet.
"I also have some advice," she said to them. "Don''t let Mordecai retire this avatar. Possibly ever. He''s had his opportunities to explore variations of his personality and he''s developed a staggering breadth of power and skill, even if its depth is currently lacking. I think it is time he stuck with one indefinitely. The new experience is going to be no longer hopping from persona to persona. Most people don''t get to do that and I think it had simply become an addictive habit for him. One that I don''t think will help him grow anymore."
"Are you sure you can leave it at that?" Kazue asked.
"Yes," Satsuki said with a resigned sigh, "I''m afraid so. Let''s be honest, my grand scheme to become Mordecai''s savior would probably have fallen apart eventually. I get dangerous ideas around him. Maybe it''s time to truly let go. I almost made a very dangerous mistake, early on in his war."
"Oh?" Moriko asked. She wasn''t entirely sure she wanted to know, but she was also morbidly curious.
Satsuki nodded, her gaze unfocused, as she recalled the memory. "I had made sure Norumi was safe of course. But after that, I was tempted to go to him, to tempt and provoke him. It''s hard to get the man to entirely lose control of himself, but at the time Mordecai was lost in his rage. I''d have made myself a target for him to vent some of his anger, grief, and pain. With all his old avatars active, it would have been quite an experience. After that, when he had calmed enough to think more rationally, I''d have joined him on his hunt."
She smiled wistfully at the thought. "It would have been a grand hunt too. Not this mad war to raze everything between him and his foes, no, not with me at his side. With his pain eased, we could have focused ourselves and been more patient, working over the decades and centuries to stamp out every last trace of that damned cult. But what would that have made of him? I''d have saved Mordecai from the backlash that got him sealed, but I''d have lost him to a colder, crueler version of himself. It would have been etched into his core and shown in any future avatar."
Satsuki shook off those thoughts and memories. "No, it was for the best that instead, I helped mitigate the damage his war dragons did. Now the Mordecai that I care for so much is still here, and the happiest I think I''ve ever seen him. That part stings you know. But I''ll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Moriko asked. The way that Satsuki felt about Mordecai seemed so complicated and painful that Moriko was very uncertain about how to tread this ground.
"Oh, yes, I''m sure," Satsuki replied. "There are ways for me to gain some satisfaction from the situation. For one, I entirely intend to spoil that Fuyuko of yours. It''ll drive him a little mad trying to figure out what my hidden motive is, and that will be entertaining. Plus the girl seems like she''d be a sweetheart to spoil and not likely to become rotten from it. I''d also be happy to teach you all of his secrets I know, especially the ones he doesn''t know that I know."
"Um, thank you?" Kazue said uncertainly.
"You are quite welcome, dear. It won''t do to let him become too complacent after all. I have all sorts of juicy tidbits for you."
They were about half an hour into gossiping about Mordecai''s sordid past when a sudden sense of worry swept out from Kazue''s core.
As soon as they understood what was happening, Moriko and Kazue started scrambling to get into finery fit for the occasion while telling Satsuki what was happening.
"Directly into the underworld?" she mused. "Oh, this should be entertaining. I have to go along. Oh, don''t worry, I can play the role of attendant well enough if it suits me. In this case, it suits my curiosity. Well, let me help get you ready so we can be off quicker."
247: Dungeons, Domains, and Duties
Mordecai had just started laying out the stones that would be the foundation of his enchantment when Kazue''s worry caught his attention. With a sigh, he carefully put away his tools while his core began organizing events, and then he moved his avatar up to their chambers.
Where he found Satsuki helping Moriko and Kazue get dressed. He was just in time to hear her saying, "I should probably walk a little behind you two, as I''ll be your attendant. I don''t think I should play that role for Mordecai, it might have some other connotations given our history. And there he is. Don''t mind me dear, you go ahead and get changed." She finished that with a smirk.
He smirked back and shifted his outfit to the uniform that Kazue had designed for him. "Already done, thank you."
Satsuki pouted. "I forgot you are using a limited avatar. It''s too easy for you to change outfits like that. Well, never mind, come on, let''s get your wives ready to go. My dress should be fine for the role. Oh, don''t look at me like that, we both know you can''t afford the time and effort it would take to keep me from going, and look! I''ve hidden five of my tails so as to better look the part."
The damn woman was right, leaving Mordecai with little recourse but to scowl briefly at her before he turned to help Kazue adjust her dress.
Moriko and Kazue''s dresses were now all modified with the addition of extra padding around the shoulders and upper arms. The little dragons were getting better about claw control, but they were still very excitable and their claws were sharp. Besides, the padded fabric was more easily patched or replaced than an entire dress. Especially one commissioned from miles away.
Once everyone was ready, they headed down to the shortcut entrance near the base of the tree. All of them could fly, though for Satsuki that involved a brief invocation to cast a spell first, so there was no need to wait for a platform to take them down. They had decided not to involve Fuyuko; they were only involving Carmilla because time was short. After all, this was not a formal court.
That shortcut took them to the feast hall, but that was not where they wanted to cross into Faerie. Instead, they took another shortcut, this one taking them to the top of the river zone and that was a safe location to make the crossing into Faerie from.
On this side, the river did not split down into two tunnels. Instead, the entire area was one space with a single river winding through a forest of stalactites and stalagmites. Waiting for the group was a ferry crewed by some of their rabbit folk inhabitants. It was not their fastest option for traveling here, but this wasn''t the sort of emergency that called for speed over decorum.
While the ferry carried them down the river, Mordecai reviewed the memories stored in his core of how Carmilla¡¯s tense meeting was going.
"I assure you that it was not the intent of my Lord and Ladies to intrude upon the domain of your Lord and Lady," Carmilla reassured Cliodhna. "It came as a surprise to us to realize where this lake extended to. The nature of our realm is somewhat complicated and the way it grows is hard to predict."
The pale woman tapped her lips thoughtfully for a moment before she said, "That is very strange. Even stranger, I can smell the life of the surface world here. Why would a domain of the surface wish to grow so deeply beneath the ground?"
"As I said," Carmilla replied, "it is complicated. I think it would be best if my king and queens explained the situation when they arrived. In the meantime, we have arranged for refreshments. If you would follow me please?"
Carmilla led Cliodhna away from the shore of the dark lake and up to the area that reflected the wetlands. Instead of a swamp, most of the zone was a series of ponds and interconnecting streams. Carmilla instinctively found the one winding path that allowed one to walk all the way to the large ''island'' set in the center of the space, which now held a round table with five chairs.
Naturally, their servers were bunkin, rabkin, and buzzkin. Cliodhna eyed the rabbit folk curiously and said, "They certainly look like they belong to the faerie realms, but they smell rather mortal. Only not quite mortal somehow. It''s like their souls are just outside of the reach of death." Her hounds sniffed at the passing rabbit folk but stayed at their mistress''s heels.
"That is a fair assessment," Carmilla said, "but as I said, our situation is complicated. Please, enjoy some mead. It''s a local brew from the mortal side and we have both a young, sweet vintage available and a more well-aged wine with a stronger bite." Which was literally true, even if the vintages in question were their own.
"Curious. I should like to sample the sweet vintage first, but if my next cup could be the stronger vintage I would appreciate it." While Cliodhna tasted the sweet vintage, raw bones with a bit of meat on them were offered for her hounds, who only ate when she nodded her approval. The bones were crafted of dungeon mana of course; meat was not one of the things traders generally brought.
While Carmilla continued to play host, the ferry that carried the rest of them arrived at the first pond. Much as there was only one uninterrupted path to traverse on foot, there was only one path to go by water as well.
As artistic as that was, it was also somewhat annoying. Mordecai made a mental note to have some retractable bridges installed and possibly have some more canals dug. There was no reason they couldn''t change the environment that came to them.
But now was the time to be serene and calm. Kazue was front and center of their formation, with Moriko to her left, Satsuki a few steps behind them, and Mordecai to her right. They proceeded in this order once their ferry had docked at the central island where their guest awaited.
Carmilla introduced everyone formally and they all took their seats, with Carmilla on Mordecai''s right and Satsuki taking up an attendant''s post by standing a little ways behind Kazue and Moriko.
With the pleasantries concluded and drinks served for everyone, Cliodhna said, "The situation has gotten ever curiouser and curiouser. This realm''s royalty consists of a mostly mortal kitsune whose soul is not in faerie, a similarly mostly mortal of mixed elven and human blood, and a mana construct of complex design that appears to be a human touched by both dragon and faerie power. Whose soul also resides in the mortal realm, I might add."
That was an uncomfortably accurate assessment. "Well," Kazue said, "at least this means there is a limit to the infamy of our husband. We can tell you the story in greater detail if you desire, but the short of it is that Mordecai and I are both living dungeons with our souls sharing the same core. Moriko is our wife and first contractor and our souls are tied tightly together. Through a combination of circumstances and the twisted logic of faerie magic, the three of us were suddenly bestowed the titles of Faerie King and Queens. This faerie domain is a reflection of our territory on the mortal side of the world, but it grows to roughly match what we design for our dungeon rather than being born directly of our will."If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
"Our newest zone," Moriko added, "is a pseudo ocean as the next challenge for our delvers. Kazue had just finished claiming the new territory and sculpting it into its basic form along with adding some of the water we will need. That was when she peeked over onto this side and found that the reflection here turned to a much darker vision."
"Infamy?" Cliodhna asked. "This does sound like an interesting story. But I find myself more immediately concerned with the implications. I take it this area is different than your, um, zone I believe you called it, on the mortal side?"
Mordecai nodded and said, "Yes. We have simulated a mixed wetlands environment for this zone. And for the area above, we have a fairly straight river split into two paths, while here there is a single winding river."
"So related, but different. Do you know what you have planned for your next zone?"
"That''s, um, complicated," Kazue said. "I think you are interested in our next zone in this direction, but we are growing both out along the surface and up from the surface. As for our next zone going deep, we already intend to make the island at the end of the ocean zone volcanic so that we can have hot springs there. So for the next zone, we were going to grow the island and make an entire volcano-based adventure there."
Cliodhna frowned in mild confusion. "Hot springs? Calling a zone an ''adventure''? This does not sound like what I know of dungeons. Though, I suppose I had already gathered that you were unusual. As for what might be reflected if you do create a territory themed around a volcano, I have to admit that is tricky. The elemental realms do have some connection to Faerie, but you seem to be wandering rather far afield already. There is some chance that you might connect to a realm normally bound to a hotter, less populated world. The further you diverge from the spaces teaming with living, mortal souls, the further you diverge from Faerie."
"I think we are going to have to work on sculpting our realm more deliberately," Mordecai said. "As we''d not been seeking to have this domain and activity here contributes minimally to our growth as a dungeon, we''ve devoted minimal attention to the realm so far."
"How do we do that?" Moriko asked.
Kazue shook her head, "I''m not sure either, it''s different enough from a dungeon I''m not sure what we can really do."
"It''s outside of my experience as well," Mordecai said, "I just know that we should be able to control it more."
"How about this," Cliodhna said, "Why don''t you three tell me your story over a meal, and I''ll give you some advice from my experience. I am very curious to learn how the three of you came to your titles, claimed a faerie princess as your daughter, and why a nine-tail is trying to disguise herself as your attendant."
Mordecai glanced at Satsuki who simply shrugged and said, "Well, I did try dear. Don''t worry Cliodhna, there''s nothing nefarious on my part. I''ve simply imposed myself in order to satiate my own curiosity and it''s not like they could do much to stop me right now. So please, don''t blame them for my actions. Now, Mordecai luv, could I have a chair?"
As she spoke, Satsuki let the rest of her tails show again with a small groan of mild pleasure. "Much better now. It always feels too constraining to hide only some of my tails. Most of the time it''s easier to appear fully human or such." She settled onto the freshly conjured chair and spoke briefly to one of the bunkin to ask for a glass of the honey wine.
"Well," Kazue said, "I think I should start, as it was my circumstances that began the chain of events that brought us together."
Several hours later and they were enjoying post-dessert drinks while Cliodhna processed the tale she''d just heard.
"Lady Mericume," she said with a sigh, "is very inclined to crossing boundaries. Your reincarnation was, strictly speaking, something that should have been judged by Lord Yamaraja and overseen by Lady Kikoi Muerte. I am not certain it would have been approved, at least in this manner, but it is far too late for that now."
Kazue shifted in her seat uncomfortably at that assessment.
"However," Cliodhna said, "I think I now recall some of my sisters complaining about the sudden workload caused by a rampaging dungeon. I was focused on a different world at the time, so I only heard about it secondhand. I suspect that there is still a bit of a backlog of souls to be reincarnated, as many would have been too young to be fairly judged."
That refreshed Mordecai''s guilt over his actions and the results thereof.
"Normally, my lady takes care of such reincarnations by finding places where a child is wanted but could not be conceived without intervention, or sometimes by breathing life and an old soul into a newborn that would otherwise have passed without developing a soul of their own. I am going to be recommending something different, though I do not know if my Lord and Lady will agree."
Mordecai glanced at his wives with a bit of concern before returning his attention to Cliodhna.
She smiled at their consternation and said, "It should not be too hard a burden. The goal of such reincarnations is to not disrupt the world in a way that would prevent the formation of new souls. This clearly means that no souls would be reincarnated as dungeon inhabitants, given that those lives would already be forming new souls. But for how vast your faerie realm is, it is rather empty at the moment, though I have no doubt you will be getting plenty of immigrants soon enough."
Which Mordecai was of mixed feelings about; it would be distracting to manage them all but they also couldn''t leave their realm empty like this.
"We have a rare opportunity to readily clothe spirit and soul in living flesh through the simple process of sending them across the dark waters. My suggestion is that we ferry these souls through and give them newborn bodies of fey lineage, with their memories of their past lives repressed as normal. On this side, they will be met by female inhabitants or allegiant fey who are already pregnant, preferably with one or more partners, or by a bonded group that would otherwise be unable to conceive."
"A moment please," Mordecai said before conferring with his wives.
"Kazue, Moriko," he sent to them, "I believe I see what she is seeking here. Through our people and the burden of taking care of this wave of newborns, a small measure of balance would be restored. But this is no small commitment, if she recommends this and all are agreed, we will be taking in these ''foundlings'' for decades, if not centuries, to come. It would be irresponsible to send more than we can reasonably take care of at a time, so I expect it would be just enough each year for the burden to be felt and our resources notably taxed, but without overwhelming us."
"So," Moriko replied in a teasing tone, "Once more we are burdened by the sins of our ancient pervert dungeon. Hmm. Well, I can not say I am thrilled by the idea, but I am at least open to it."
"I kind of like the idea," Kazue said. "Can you imagine a bunkin couple with a faerie infant sharing a cradle with their own child? It would be adorable! I imagine such a couple would have to spend a lot of their time on this side though, which I guess would be part of the burden. So, yes, in concept. I''m guessing that we will need to negotiate details later."
Mordecai nodded and looked back at Cliodhna. "We are tentatively open to the idea, but are not committing until a more formal agreement is reached."
"Excellent!" she said then turned to her hounds and whispered to them. The pair of spectral canines rose to their feet and bounded off back to the dark sea. "They will carry my findings and my opinions back to our Lord and Lady. Now, I would like to see more of this dungeon of yours. I have never had cause to visit one when I have been in the mortal world, but I feel that I should learn more in case I need to amend my suggestions."
248: Air and Water
After traveling to the surface to show Cliodhna their territory from the starting area that most experienced it from, Mordecai left the escorting of their guest to Moriko and Kazue. He had a lot of work to do still and certain aspects of this zone were waiting on his work.
Somewhat irritatingly, Satsuki decided to accompany him and watch him work. Mordecai was briefly tempted to leave her behind, but either Kazue would allow Satsuki to use the shortcuts or he''d be dealing with a possibly irate nine-tail making her way through their combat path.
So instead he took her with him through the shortcut to the feasting hall and then walked up to the not-yet-volcanic island with her. The slush of ice and saltwater below was still far from their intended final level of water, but his work was going to carry him into it eventually.
Mordecai''s core and avatar worked together to begin shaping a cave that sloped down into a tunnel that would eventually exit out onto the sea floor. Satsuki watched as Mordecai began etching runes into the stone, and he let her figure it out rather than letting her know what he was up to.
She frowned when she puzzled it out. "You are manually creating an airy water enchantment? But why? You should just be able to create that as an environmental effect."
"In my previous life, I would have relied on that," Mordecai replied as he continued his work. "I''ve certainly never had such an effect fail before. But in this life, I find I wish to take more care in my work. I will, of course, also be creating the effect via dungeon magic when the time is right, but I feel better about having redundancy here. Also, I am fairly certain that our delvers will feel more confident about the situation if they can see visible markers that they can verify the function of."
Satsuki tilted her head thoughtfully before saying, "This is because of Kazue, isn''t it? She''s a sweetheart, and I admit that the idea of seeing her upset about an accidental death is painful."
"In part. She certainly helped me get my start on this path," He said. "But it goes beyond that. I long ago figured out how to be thorough about protecting myself, that''s easy. Being that thorough about how to protect others? That requires a lot more thought and care. So I am trying to do that."
"Mordecai..." Satsuki started, then trailed off as if uncertain how to continue.
But he had a good guess what was on her mind.
"Yes," he said, "it is in part guilt for the damage my carelessness wrought. But this is not simply a reaction, I have reflected on my decisions and methodology. Had I experimented with expanding outward the way environmental dungeons do, I could have found a way to shelter the village that the cult destroyed."
"You can''t what-if the past, Mordecai," she said crossly.
"I know," Mordecai replied, "but it can be used as a guide for how to proceed in the future. I need to be more careful, not only for my sake but for Kazue, Moriko, and all those under our care."
Satsuki''s tails swished as she thought over his words. He let her think as he began the next runic engraving. Mordecai could proceed through this task at a faster pace than his power alone would imply. To begin with, the surface he carved into could be prepared by his core, giving him a perfectly flat surface to work with.
Additionally, he could transport materials to himself instantly. Tasks like this were part of why the dungeon was still willing to trade in raw materials and intermediate products, manual enchantment and crafting consumed those goods.
Finally, he could multitask in a way most could not. Mordecai was not waiting until his physical carving was complete to begin inlaying materials and weaving mana forms, he was doing it all as a single, nearly simultaneous process.
After watching him in silence for a while, Satsuki said, "Hmm. If I expend effort inside the dungeon''s territory, especially upon the dungeons behalf, then I earn a certain amount of reward, do I not?" A smile slowly crossed her lips before she said, "You know, I think I should help you with that project. I have to admit, I am rather curious to find out what sort of, mm, reward, you might have for me."
Mordecai gave her a flat look and replied, "My wives and I will figure out something appropriate. Sedatives maybe."
Satsuki''s laugh floated through the cavern as she held out her hands for a set of supplies. He rolled his eyes and then conjured a set of materials to hand over to her.
"Thank you dear," Satsuki said with a purr, "I promise, I will work very hard for you, so you make sure to treat me right."
The woman was absolutely incorrigible.
Of course, that was part of her appeal. She was open and shameless in getting what she wanted, but you also knew where you stood with her. Well, usually at least. Plus, she knew how to be perfectly alluring. What memories he''d allowed himself to unlock about her suggested she''d always been very good at that, but those vague memories also implied that she was even better at offering temptation than she had been.
She had been active for the two-thousand-year period where he had been asleep, after all.
His work went much faster with her help; she was as fast as he was, though she was exchanging efficiency for that speed. Satsuki was using magic for every aspect of her crafting, including how she carved the stone''s runes. Mordecai was fairly certain she could go even faster, but at the cost of more efficiency.
The enchantments were placed for extreme redundancy; they were creating two lines, and each line had enough overlap that a single missing stone would not interrupt coverage. Combine that with the two lines of enchantments being offset from each other, and it would take removing a minimum of four stones being broken/removed in one area to create a gap.
And these runes themselves were backup for the eventual environmental effect the cores were going to make.
While they had started just above the intended eventual waterline, it took some hours to reach the current level of the icy slush. The cold wouldn''t bother him and he was certain that Satsuki could keep herself warm and dry with a simple spell, but the airy water effect only worked on liquid water and the ice would obscure vision anyway.
So Mordecai unleashed an aura of fire energy. He didn''t need to hold back here, melting the ice would absorb most of the energy and it wasn''t enough to work past Satsuki''s defenses anyway. Their work brought them under the level of the water before too long, which let them test the effects of the runes. They could breathe as if the water was air and for the most part, they could move freely, but the water still left his skin and clothes wet, and provided some buoyancy, if less than water normally would have.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
As he was focused on his work, it took a while for Mordecai to notice something about what she was doing. Or rather, not doing. While his aura was enough to melt the ice, the water remained cold, yet Satsuki had not warded the water away. True, neither had he, but this avatar''s baseline was sufficient to ignore all but the most extreme environmental heat or cold.
"What are you doing?" Mordecai asked with a sigh.
Satsuki lowered her eyes and smiled as she said, "Why, whatever do you mean? I''m just helping out a friend with his work."
Right. While letting her dress get soaked so that it clung to her form and showed off the effects of the cold water. She was even letting her tails get soaked to not ruin the illusion, and she was usually too vain to allow that to happen.
"Although," Satsuki continued as she stepped close to him, "I have to admit it is just a bit chilly here, and you are rather warm. Perhaps I could use you to warm myself up on?"
Her dress had loosened enough to reveal a dangerously tempting shadow when she leaned toward him and Mordecai quickly found his back pressed up against the wall. "Satsuki, this isn''t the time for games."
"Games?" she said, "My dear, who ever said I was playing a game?" She began to press herself up against him and he grabbed her wrists to pull her arms between them and push her back.
Anger stirred in reaction to the other emotions she was deliberately stirring in him and he growled at her. "Stop this, now."
"Stop what, exactly?" She asked in a husky tone. "I''m not doing anything we haven''t done so often before. Surely you can remember those delightful times?" She bit her low lip as she looked up at him with wide, dark eyes.
He couldn''t, actually. Or rather, he wasn''t letting himself unpack his knowledge of her any further than he already had and he ignored that faint whisper of thought pointing out that his core had plenty of space for that information now.
Before he could reply, Satsuki shook herself in what looked almost like a violent shudder and stepped back away from him. "I''m sorry darling, I know I shouldn''t have done that, but it wasn''t a game. At least, not that sort of game." With the change in her posture and attitude, the allure was gone as she buttoned the top of her dress once more. "I am a vain and selfish creature in some things."
Satsuki looked embarrassed as she glanced down. "I needed to be certain you still saw me as attractive. You have no idea how much it hurt to see that you recognized me but to not see even a hint of desire. While I''ve worked to wear down your self-control, I can not recall ever having to work so hard just to invoke a small spark of heat from your gaze."
Without looking at him she gathered up the materials she had been using for her rune crafting. "I know that I should apologize more, that was going a bit too far. But to say I was completely sorry would be a lie, and I am not going to start lying to you now. We''ve been through too much for me to do that. So I will leave it at the acknowledgment that I was wrong."
Mordecai noticed that she did not promise to never do anything like that again. He was fairly certain that she would try to behave, but he also doubted she could say that promise even casually in front of him.
Yet he could not find any residual anger or resentment for her actions. Satsuki was simply herself and he completely believed her when she said that she had been soothing emotional pain, even if it might not have been her only motive. The outer layer of knowledge and impressions that he had unlocked regarding her did include the awareness that he''d been drawn to her from the very first time he''d seen her.
He just couldn''t remember exactly when or where that was or what happened, nor would he let himself remember.
There was no point in berating her, there was nothing he could say that she didn''t already know.
Really, her honesty with and about herself was one of the things that he found attractive, and she could be just as soothing as she could be provocative and seductive.
Hmm. Soothing and comforting. Painfully honest in her own way. Open about her desires. Knew him as well as Gil did, if not better, so could attest to his character, but would not glamorize him.
An idea bloomed, and he did not know if it was one of the best ideas he had ever had or one of the worst ideas he''d ever had. Or both. Quite possibly both.
"Satsuki," he said thoughtfully, "I don''t think we''ve had a chance to bring you up to date on all that has happened recently." She paused in her work to look at him with a puzzled expression.
Mordecai smiled widely, which caused her some consternation. "You may be aware that after the last attack, we kept two prisoners. One of them is irrelevant, but the other is someone we are trying to treat as a guest as much as possible."
"And?" she asked.
"She''s chosen to go by the name Deidre." Mordecai''s smile faded as he continued. "She''s the avatar of the core that has helped in the attack. Or rather, the core that has been forced to help attack us. I''m afraid she''s been bound by the leaders of the cult in Trionea for several generations. And she has been treated very, very poorly."
The bloom of heat from Satsuki nearly matched his own elemental aura, and the anger suffusing her spirit was enough to drive the water away from her skin and fur. There was more fur than usual for a moment too; a snarl had rippled across her mouth to reveal elongated fangs, her hands had curled with her nails hardening into proper claws, and several streaks of fur had started growing along her skin.
A nine-tailed kitsune''s strongest battle form was a giant, monstrous fox, and Satsuki had learned that technique long before his war.
Mordecai waited for Satsuki to regain her self-control before he continued. "We''ve done what we can for her in the months that she''s been here, and in the spring or early summer we will be moving to free her core, but until then she is bound by the enslavement of her core on one end, and limited by the binding runes I needed to carve into her flesh to keep her contained."
"You, WHAT!?"
"Satsuki," Mordecai replied calmly, "we''ve gained two zones since then, if we include this one. Her avatar still has more depth of power than mine. My only other option was to kill her because I have no other way to contain her."
She sighed as she ran through the scenario in her mind. "No, I can see it now. That''s still awful, but killing her would have just given information to your enemy and allowed the abuse to continue. So why are you bringing this up now?"
"Well, I just checked and she''s in her suite reading a book, along with the small fairy that has chosen to become her familiar, Payne," Mordecai said. "I think it would be good for her to have some company that, while somewhat biased in my favor, is otherwise outside of the current struggles. I was thinking of sending you along with some food and drink. She''s tasted plenty of alcohol during her stay, but her avatar is a pseudo-demon. She''s barely gotten tipsy, let alone completely drunk."
Satsuki gazed into the distance for a moment before saying, "If she''s been here for months, then maybe it is about time she did get thoroughly inebriated. I certainly can help with that. But first," her eyes refocused on him, "how far into Trionea?"
"Way too far, even at your fastest. You''d never make it."
"Damn it," Satsuki growled.
While Gil could cross the territory of Baba Yaga so long as he was cautious to stay clear of her, Satsuki could not come within a mile of The Witch''s territory without a chicken-legged hut showing up. Even Satsuki''s battle form couldn''t outrun that thing.
Mordecai didn''t know what Satsuki had done to piss off Baba Yaga so thoroughly, Satsuki refused to talk about it, but he could hazard a guess. Though Baba Yaga is often thought of as being a hag, that is only one of many faces that The Witch could present to the world. A less infamous form was that of a beautiful young woman. It wasn''t hard to imagine the two coming into conflict over a pretty young man.
Even without the issue of Baba Yaga, Satsuki using her power to blow her way into a dungeon would force other people of power to act against her, namely, those invested in maintaining the status quo of the empire. It was better for everyone if people of such power did not directly clash.
The thought tickled a memory that he allowed to unfold, which treated him to the vision of Gil''s form smashing into a granite cliffside, to the detriment of the cliff in question, as Satsuki''s scream of ''Oaf!'' rang off the mountains. Right. The two did not get along at all. That made sense.
"Very well then," Satsuki said, "I''ll meet with her. Hmm, food and drink. Mordecai, are you setting me up with her?" she asked teasingly.
"Not really," he replied back with a smile, "but honestly, if it is what she needs and what happens, well, I trust you to be careful with her."
Whatever the complicated issues lay between him and her, Mordecai was very certain that Satsuki would never do anything to harm someone so vulnerable and in need. Mordecai could play the vixen''s dangerous games safely. Deidre could not.
249: Overcoming Obsession
While Satsuki followed her guide toward Deidre''s suite, she took some time to contemplate her complicated feelings about Mordecai.
Satsuki knew she was, by any reasonable standard, ''obsessed'', and she knew that it wasn''t healthy. She was also well aware that this particular issue did not fall under any simple, physical aspects of her brain.
There were advantages to traveling between worlds, especially when self-improvement is an eternal goal. Satsuki knew herself very well after visiting places with advanced analytical mental care and taking some time to work with a therapist.
Mind, she was pretty certain that most experienced priests could do the job just as well for most people, but she was also certain that a freshly trained therapist would usually be better than a freshly trained priest for this sort of care. For especially difficult cases, a therapist combined with other mental health experts was going to be better than a priest, given equal levels of experience.
It might be easier to deal with her emotions regarding Mordecai if she could point out some key thing that was the focus of her attraction and obsession. But no, nothing like that seemed to exist. For every aspect of him she could identify, she knew a man or woman who was better.
Mordecai wasn''t a dedicated hedonist, he could never be the best possible lover from a technique point of view; though she was painfully curious what new tricks he might have in his current avatar.
There were both men and women who had been more of a challenge to seduce than Mordecai at his most stubborn and business-focused. Well, no one could be more stubborn than him about not cheating, but there were plenty of people who were his equal there.
Which was to say she''d never seduced him when he was in a relationship, excepting the couple of times where she had seduced them both of course. But that wasn''t cheating if everyone was involved and on board.
He was a fine technical artist and skilled dancer, but he was not great with more free-form artistic expression. Supposedly. As far as she was concerned, that was a mental block given how creative he could be when it came to designing creatures and dungeon environments. Still, Satsuki had been as much of a ''muse'' to great artists as any Faerie Queen had ever been, and Mordecai certainly did not rate as one of this world''s greatest artists, let alone among the worlds she had traveled during his sleep.
Warrior, mage, priest; Satsuki had lain with dozens of each who were better than Mordecai had ever been at any one of them or similar skill sets, though the trajectory of his current avatar might change that eventually.
Nor was he the only one that she''d ever fallen in love with. The biggest difference was that she kept coming back to him; with others she had either seen them to their mortal end or had eventually broken up with them and not come back.
The first few times Mordecai had broken up with Satsuki, she had thought it would be the end of it. Her biggest flaw had been an inability to never stray. As open-minded as Mordecai might be about specific arrangements, an ''open'' relationship with him had never been in the cards.
That particular flaw she''d gotten better about, and it helped that she''d been able to convince him (or occasionally her, depending on the avatar) to enjoy a third''s company for a night or week. In Satsuki''s longer-term relationships since Mordecai had been sealed, she''d managed to be faithful in most of those without even that extra aid.
Still, there had been other things to fight about, other buttons to push, ways to press him too hard to do something that she wanted. Satsuki found it very hard to not push him like that; whether he gave in or pushed back even harder she got an extreme thrill out of it.
Thankfully, he could be willfully oblivious. Satsuki was pretty certain that Mordecai had not realized the full reality of her reaction when he''d shoved her back. She felt a little guilty about that as it felt like it was close to making him cheat without him even being aware of it.
The biggest question in her mind now was how she was going to deal with this permanent change in their relationship. For over two thousand years Satsuki had kept a spark of anticipation alive and had been so eager to see him again. Why, she''d even been considering having a second child with him.
Oh, now there was one of the few things Satsuki had serious a complaint about, even if she kept this gripe to herself. Mordecai was the father to her only child, but Mordecai had been significantly less picky about whom he had children with.
Especially when he was male, given how she''d never seen one of his female avatars pregnant. Oh, she was certain he''d done it at least once; if Mordecai had one hedonistic weakness it was in the pursuit of new life experiences. But that particular aspect of him was a bitter taste. Just thinking about it made her angry.
Unfortunately, being angry at Mordecai was one of the things that made her want to pin him to the ground and ravish him until she didn''t feel angry anymore. Or get him angry enough to do the same thing to her. So she shelved those thoughts.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Satsuki also felt a little cheated. She''d been becoming better in the way that might make things work out better between them, and here he was already bound to a pair. For all that he''d had long-term relationships before, Mordecai had never formally and officially married anyone. But here he''d effectively sold himself in an oath that Satsuki knew he would consider binding, especially given their connections. Divorce wasn''t really an option when your souls could feel each other.
It was good that everything had worked out, and for his sake, she was genuinely happy that they were happy together. If Mordecai had been bound in an unhappy marriage, well, Satsuki wasn''t sure what she''d have done. It was probably best to not explore those thoughts either.
But being happy for his sake didn''t mean she couldn''t be jealous too. Satsuki wanted to become part of that relationship. Mostly because of Mordecai of course, but Kazue and Moriko were also both interesting on their own.
Self-reflection also meant that Satsuki was aware that she was being sneaky and manipulative and probably just delaying the process of coming to terms with everything. She had slipped the thought of her joining them for at least a little while into each of their minds and was quite willing to see if it came to fruition eventually. It wouldn''t be what she originally had in mind, and that soul-bond of theirs made everything trickier.
Mordecai may have hacked into well-established forms of bonds, but the resonance between them had shifted and adapted to match the use it was being put to.
There was no way for Satsuki to accurately duplicate it, at least, not from the outside. Oh, she could make a working duplicate, probably. It just wouldn''t be compatible with theirs.
This meant that Mordecai, Moriko, and Kazue would have to be able to do all the work themselves. If they wanted to. Which they were neither capable of nor interested in right now.
It was almost certainly foolishness on Satsuki''s part, it wasn''t going to help her issues.
Well, she certainly didn''t want to fall into the role of the clingy former lover. So it was time for her to wrap up all of her thoughts and feelings on the subject and tuck them away. Satsuki made a promise to herself to not dwell on any of that for the duration of her stay. She might need to recall some details during conversation, but she was going to keep the memories at a distance.
The bunkin guiding Satsuki had guided her through a rather large feast hall, and Satsuki couldn''t keep from glancing up. Their core was up there, they were not yet strong enough to hide its presence from her, and that knowledge was another temptation to keep tucked away with everything else.
Her guide took her down a corridor hidden by a hanging tapestry. It was rather a nice touch, keeping the private areas a little more private by the simplicity of hanging a tapestry in front of the hallway. The dungeon certainly didn''t need the tapestries for their insulation properties, but they were still pretty and had a nice secondary use here.
When the bunkin knocked on a door, a blond woman wearing a white robe opened the door and glanced between them.
"Hello Deidre," the bunkin said, "this is Satsuki, another guest of Azeria. Satsuki, this is Deidre."
Satsuki inclined her head in greeting with a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Deidre. I understand that you are expecting me?"
Deidre returned the gesture before replying, "Yes, somewhat. I was informed that there was someone whom I might be interested in getting to know, but not any details. So I do not know what this is about. But I suppose you should come inside so that we can talk about it." She turned to Satsuki''s guide and said, "Thank you for bringing her here."
"My pleasure. Did the food and drink arrive already? Excellent. Someone will be available if you need anything else."
Satsuki followed Deidre into her room, or rather, her suite. It was not a terribly large space, but there was a small kitchen set up and a couple of doors leading to what Satsuki presumed was a bedroom and a bathroom.
There was also a faint smell of smoke and char.
Her glance toward the kitchen and slight wrinkling of her nose had been noticed.
"I have been attempting to learn how to cook, to try to understand people better," Deidre said. "I''m afraid it''s not something I''ve had to do before, so I am not very good at it yet, but it seems important to a lot of people."
"Don''t worry about it!" a high-pitched voice piped up, "I can''t cook either!"
The dubious encouragement came from a pixie that swooped into view to land on Deidre''s shoulder. Satsuki was amused by the creature''s fashion sense; those clothes did not belong to this world and were clearly the result of Li''s influence upon the dungeon''s small fey creatures.
"You must be Payne," Satsuki said, "it''s a pleasure to meet you as well. As for the cooking, I can help with that later if you wish. For now, I do believe my purpose is to be a wicked little gossip."
"A, gossip?" Deidre asked.
"Oh yes. You see, I am one of his former lovers and the mother of his daughter Norumi, the kitsune founder of Kuiccihan and Azeria." Satsuki rather enjoyed the looks of surprise on the pair. "Now, why don''t we settle in with some food and drink, and I can tell you Mordecai''s dirty secrets."
"I don''t understand," Deidre replied even as she moved to where the food and drink were laid out on a counter. "Why would Mordecai want you to tell me his secrets?"
"It''s simple, though many people don''t understand it. To know a person, to truly trust them, you need to know their flaws. I am going to help give you a more rounded perspective on Mordecai. Though it''s not my only purpose here." As she spoke, Satsuki followed Deidre to the refreshments, where Deidre served a plate for her before making one for herself.
"What is your other purpose?"
Satsuki smiled gently at Deidre. "Well, I have some experiences that are rather the opposite of some that you''ve had. Within your limits, I am available for you to talk about any unpleasant experiences you''ve had. Or if you prefer, I can simply tell you about some of my amorous adventures, to give you a different perspective."
Deidre took a short, sharp breath. "I see," she said as she took a seat. "This is supposed to help me?" Deidre did not look at Satsuki when she asked that. Payne landed on Deidre''s shoulder and stroked her hair soothingly.
"Yes, it is dear," Satsuki replied. "You have suffered in a particularly awful way, and for a prolonged time. Even if you intellectually know better, there will be an association built up between the way things are supposed to happen and what has happened to you. I am, hopefully, to be your antidote."
Satsuki settled into her seat before continuing, "But, that requires trust and bonding first, so let me begin by earning that trust and telling you a bit about my dear Mordecai.
250: Satsuki Tells All
"Do you mind if Lady Kazue listens in?" Satsuki asked Deidre. If she was going to gossip about Mordi, it seemed meet that his wives get to learn his ''secrets'' too. Not that Mordecai would try to hide most of it, but he''d almost certainly not think of bringing up certain things. Some of what Satsuki was going to talk about might be considered a bit much to tell someone else''s current lover, but however sweet and seemingly innocent Kazue might be, the girl was certainly a kitsune. Satsuki didn''t think Kazue would be very shocked or scandalized. While kitsune could certainly be as possessive or focused as other people, they tended to not experience the same form of jealousy.
When Deidre nodded her ascent, Satsuki asked Payne, "Could you please let Lady Kazue know? Thank you."
She could feel it when Kazue shifted her attention this way. It was a relatively simple matter; a dungeon''s focus always included an act of will. The dungeon isn''t just seeing what is in its focus''s area, it is looking at the area. Being able to feel when you are being looked at is a talent most people who lived dangerous lives eventually developed.
Satsuki closed her eyes as she brought back old memories. Time faded most things for there was only space for so many memories. Well, for most creatures at least. But for memories precious enough, those with sufficient power could etch them more indelibly than flesh was normally capable of.
Of course, that could become a deadly trap for an immortal who clung on too tightly. If one accumulated too many memories, one would reach the limits of flesh. Even in her obsession, Satsuki knew to keep her memories trimmed. Some days wanted to be remembered in detail, but most wanted to be combined into vague memories of a type of day.
This was a day Satsuki had etched in detail. Well, the evening at least.
"We met at a party," Satsuki said to Deidre and Payne. "The party itself was nothing special, a little coming-of-age celebration for a noble family from a kingdom that no longer exists. Mm," she paused to take a sip of her drink before continuing, "I think this particular one was gone well before Mordecai had his war. The area used to be quite volatile compared to what is here now."
Deidre sighed and said, "I''m afraid I mostly know what I have read recently, here. I have not experienced what it is like."
"Something we will have to change," Satsuki replied. "Anyway, as kitsune were not very common in this area at the time, I was in a human guise and mingling as I sought to amuse myself. When I was first introduced to Mordecai in passing, he didn''t stand out particularly, but later that evening there was much dancing to be had." She smiled in reminiscence.
"Most of that is a blur of faces long forgotten now, but against my expectations, this was where Mordecai made an impression. It was just the normal exchange of partners during the changing of the song. But then his eyes met mine and he gave me the most knowing smirk."
Satsuki''s grin showed fangs as the memory brought back a mix of emotions. "His eyes flashed ever so briefly from tawny to molten gold and it felt like the light might sear me."
She ran a finger around the rim of her cup as she stared down into it. "He knew I was a kitsune of course, that was what his smirk was about. I, on the other hand, did not know what he was. Which was part of what made him alluring right then, the mystery."
"You sound like you were annoyed though," Deidre said.
"Oh, I was," Satsuki agreed, "but I was also intrigued. There are many different types of annoyed dear, and all those types can mix with other emotions. Wonderful, awful, messy things, that''s what emotions are." She selected a honey-glazed treat from her plate before she continued.
"He was a perfect dancer, at least, with dances that have set patterns and variances." That little display that Moriko had prompted during the feast had shown Satsuki that some things had certainly not changed. Mordecai did not feel comfortable with free-form dances.
"Which is not to say he didn''t know how to cheat. When it came time to change partners again, he gave me that parting twirl, only I found myself in his arms again. Mordecai never did tell me exactly how he managed that, though I suspect it was something as simple as having great timing with a flash-step ability of some sort. There are many varieties, though Mordi''s favorite has always been the shadow step."
"That''s because he follows Ozuran, right?" asked Payne.
"That''s part of it, but it also can have more reach than other maneuvers and can let you move past things like walls and he likes that feature. Most far-step abilities require an unobstructed line, but take less effort and have smaller chances of something unexpected happening. Anyway, there is little privacy during that sort of dance, so all we really did was exchange a few flirtations, such as me commenting on how wicked he was being by keeping me all to himself."
Satsuki smiled again, this evening was one of her fondest memories after all. "By the time the dancing was done, I was determined to bed him at least once. I knew that having that sort of molten gold color in his eyes suggested a connection to dragons, but what sort of connection was not answered and I was curious. Sleeping with someone is often the best way to satiate certain types of curiosity and I''ve never been one to bother with a prolonged chase. Usually."
Her voice was a touch huskier when she said, "He proved to be an adept lover, though his technique was only a small part of it. Despite me being the initiator, he was able to take control, which can be quite lovely with someone who knows how to do it right. Which he did."
She cleared her throat and took another sip of her drink. "We could both tell that the other was experienced enough to not need many words and most importantly, he knew when to pause just long enough to let me catch my breath. A moment open to protest if I wanted to, though I certainly had no desire to do so."Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Deidre shook her head with a look of bemusement. "It sounds so much like a game when you describe it like that. So, playful." The pain in her voice was clear and caused the pixie on her shoulder to hug Deidre as best as she could.
"My dear," Satsuki said softly, "the best sex is always a game where both people win. You can both compete and cooperate in this game. Oh, you might ''lose'' a particular challenge, especially during more intense play, but it means your partner was able to invoke more pleasure or desire than you can resist in that moment. So you also win."
"That is very foreign to me," Deidre said.
"That is something that will hopefully change," Satsuki replied, "but one thing at a time. Now, Mordecai did not fully explain his nature right then and there, he teased me with hints instead. We only had a few days together before our paths in life diverged, but we ran into each other several times over the next couple of years. Then he told me to meet him at a different coming-of-age ceremony scheduled in just over a year''s time."
Which was a long time to ask someone to arrange their life around if they were inclined to travel at all, but Satsuki had been entertained enough to promise that she would also be there, barring anything urgent. "I admit that when I arrived, I was a bit tense with anticipation. Mordecai had hinted at a surprise of some sort. But I saw no sign of him amongst the guests and was feeling disappointed along with a small amount of anger. Then I felt a light touch on my back."
Satsuki laughed briefly and said, "I was shocked and startled by the touch. After all, I had been doing my best to pay attention to everyone and yet someone had sneaked up on me like that. When I spun around, I found this tiny, slender little waif who looked to be no older than the girl whose birthday it was. She appeared nervous, but there was also something familiar about the small smile she gave me."
"It was Mordecai, I assume?" Deidre asked.
"Yes," Satsuki said with a nod, "though it took me a moment more to realize it. The golden eyes helped a lot, otherwise the pale purple hair wouldn''t have meant as much. It was when I felt out her aura in detail that I was certain."
She shook her head in remembered disbelief. "It brought the clues together for me and made me realize Mordecai was a dungeon. This wasn''t the previous avatar being shape changed, this girl was a brand new avatar, and a kitsune at that. That was a delightful surprise, but it wasn''t the only one."
Payne eagerly asked, "What else? Did she have magic presents for you or something?"
"Presents?" Satsuki replied, "Not in the way you mean. More, she was my present." The memory stirred some of her more predatory emotions and pleasant memories. "Mordecai had taken control during our first time together. He''d even used a trick to force me to return to kitsune form that first night."
Fighting that sort of thing and losing could hurt and leave one dazed. But Mordecai knew that Satsuki wasn''t going to fight; even so, he''d paused at the right moment for her to realize what he was about to do and protest if she wanted.
"She was her gift to me. At first, I thought she simply meant that she was encouraging me to take charge and make a game of it for a short while, but she meant more. When Mordecai had designed this avatar, her knowledge and memory had been filtered heavily. An avatar can''t carry all the memories of a dungeon anyway, but she had been left with less than usual and had been brought to the party via previously arranged transportation. She was fresh, new, semi-naive, inexperienced, and mine to use, teach, and train as I wished."
Deidre looked shocked. "That seems a bit extreme of a gift, even given the games you described."
"I felt much the same," Satsuki said, "but I still couldn''t resist taking advantage of the gift, and her. If she''d truly been the vulnerable girl she appeared to be, I''d have only been a mentor, but the offer was being given by the more complete version of herself."
Not that everything was quite what it seemed. "Of course, what I didn''t realize yet was that Mordecai was using me in return. This avatar was crafted so she could experience something new to Mordecai by being so eagerly enthralled by an older woman. When I figured it out, I was somewhat upset at Mordecai for using me that way but at the same time felt honored that he''d trust me to do that without going too far with the game."
"Her avatar would have been weak in magic or martial skills too," Deidre mused, "so even more vulnerable."
"Exactly," Satsuki replied. "Now, to my knowledge, she was the only avatar Mordecai ever made like this. She''s usually had a specific goal in mind for an avatar; this time her goal was to experience a life where someone else held sway over her."
Not that the experience had lasted a full lifetime. Even as sculpted for submission and vulnerability as she had been, the avatar had still been a variant of Mordecai''s personality. "So I had a version of Mordecai to myself for over a decade. The first time we''d really been together instead of enjoying a dalliance. But I''d never been good at staying with only one person and no version of Mordecai had been good with an open relationship. So it ended with our first fight over my attention wandering."
It had hurt, but at the same time, Satsuki hadn''t been willing to be limited to one person and had been angry at Mordecai''s words. "We met again, with Mordecai as a male avatar once more. There was no attempt at a long-term relationship in that period, but we did try several more times over the few centuries we knew each other before the village was attacked." She''d only had six tails when they met and he''d been very inspiring to push herself further.
"I am a bit surprised he ended up with two wives, even if it was decided by the circumstances. At my insistence, we did try out many combinations and I even convinced him to go to a couple of orgies with me. After the second one, he refused to even try again. Mordecai can be selfish in some ways, but not here, which was the problem."
Deidre tilted her head curiously and asked, "How do you mean?"
Satsuki smiled. "He wants to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. The more people involved, the harder that is, so the less focused he became and the less he enjoyed himself."
From there, Satsuki shared more of their adventures, romances, and breakups, as well as talking about some of their mutual acquaintances.
Gil she couldn''t stand and only tolerated his presence for Mordecai''s sake. Satsuki felt he was a buffoon and an oaf. It wasn''t even that she couldn''t see his good qualities; if it came down to it she knew she could trust Gil to be loyal, brave, honest, and even kind. But everything else about him irritated her far too much for Satsuki to want to be around him.
Li she adored, though she admitted she couldn''t help but treat him as a bit of a toy. The eternal child was very sweet, but also easy to wind up with a story of adventure or tales of unfound treasure. Creating stories of such treasures sometimes even made them real, but Satsuki had heeded Mordecai''s advice and never tried to benefit from such tricks.
She also admitted that Li''s presence always made her cautious. He had a knack for showing up when Satsuki''s emotions were running hot in a bad way around Mordecai and she wouldn''t be surprised if the timing of Mordecai''s freedom hadn''t been in part to interrupt her plan to rescue him. Not that Li would know he had done that, but his luck and unconscious instincts did tend to cause such events.
Hours had now passed, with plenty of time for food and alcohol to warm and relax along with Satsuki''s tale-telling. "Deidre," she said, "if you don''t mind, I would like to take a look at what Mordecai did to you. I have the start of an idea that might be good for everyone."
251: To Wash Away Sorrow
Kazue was fascinated by the stories Satsuki was telling, though she was surprised to find that she wasn''t jealous. After a bit of self-reflection, she was able to figure out that she simply didn''t feel threatened by Satsuki. At least, not in that way.
She was confident in Mordecai''s love and certain of his dedication; he would not waver and could not be ''stolen''.
That didn''t mean that Kazue wasn''t a bit envious, she certainly wished she and Moriko could have had some of those adventures with Mordecai instead of Satsuki, but she didn''t feel any urge to supplant Satsuki''s place in Mordecai''s past.
When Satsuki asked about the seals that Mordecai had placed in Deidre''s flesh, Kazue''s curiosity was stirred. She could never bring herself to ask Mordecai much about them and was very interested in what Satsuki had to say about them.
Deidre left the room and came back after she had changed into a belt-closed robe. This was easier to slip down her shoulders while preserving some modesty.
Satsuki took her time examining the flesh-carved symbols, the tips of her fingers tracing lightly over the scarred edges. Kazue was fairly certain that the touching wasn''t needed, but Deidre didn''t seem to object.
"Interesting, and clever," Satsuki murmured. "I was wondering how he managed to make these work given the power discrepancy. Mordecai attached three to seven minor sigils to each major one to reinforce and define it more thoroughly. If I were to bind using the same base method, I would not have needed any supporting symbology and fewer major ones as I could supply more power and thus more of my will and intent into each one."
Deidre considered this a moment before saying, "I think I understand. My, mm, opportunities, to delve deeply into magic have been limited, but I do have a question. What you describe seems inefficient, wouldn''t it require more mana to craft them the way Mordecai did?"
"Yes," Satsuki replied, "but Mordecai''s current pool of mana is ridiculously vast given the relatively small amount of power he can use at a given moment. I might put more power into a single symbol than he can, but he can then spend more energy by overlaying additional runes. In total he spent about five times as much mana as it would cost me, and I would guess about thrice as much time. So for me, it would be inefficient because it would not be more effective. For him, it was more effective and thus not so inefficient."
Her fingers rested a moment longer on the flesh-carved runes before she said, "I might be able to make these unnecessary."
"How so?" Deidre asked in a carefully neutral voice.
"Your circumstances do require you to be bound, but there are many ways of binding." Satsuki smiled at Deidre and said, "Some ways of being bound can even be, mm, fun."
Kazue was suddenly uncertain about what types of binding Satsuki was talking about.
The woman continued on before anyone had a chance to reply. "Fun would be involved with what I have in mind. I can remove Mordecai''s bindings on you easily enough, but I will only do so if you agree to my bindings. Only, simple, intellectual consent to being bound won''t be enough."
Satsuki''s voice lowered and softened as she said, "I need your emotional surrender as well, to ensure that my bindings sink in deep enough without harming you. That sort of submission is generally induced, but I need your active consent to begin, given your circumstances."
Deidre didn''t give away her thoughts or feelings immediately and instead asked, in that same neutral voice, "Are you saying that Mordecai is not capable of doing this himself? After all, I am technically his prisoner, and you have no authority."
"Authority? No, that''s true, but Mordi does know I am here and his wife is a witness, so I would consider that permission enough. As for the ability, I am fairly certain that with your cooperation and surrender, he could bind you this way, but he won''t," Satsuki said.
"Aside from his marital status, he''s your captor. He''d consider it inappropriate on many levels." Satsuki''s smile was predatory. "I admit, I am not quite so well-behaved, but in this case, I am not your captor, so I am not in a position where you are likely to feel too pressured. So his ethics would be satisfied and I think you would find having your will bound to mine for a few months much easier than having all your powers actively suppressed this way."
She paused at a realization and said, "Though, it means I am making a promise to stay here for several months to watch over you, but that should be fine."
"How is your offer different than what I have been through?" Deidre asked.
"My dear, it''s simple. Someone used power to control, abuse, and hurt you by twisting what should have been pleasure and joy into something awful. I intend to use pleasure to make you happy and willing to temporarily give a part of yourself over to me."
Deidre took a deep, controlled breath and then slowly said, "You know that other bindings could win out over yours, yes?"
"Mm, technically true, but if certain people dare come close to you while I am here, it won''t be a problem love. If he gets somewhere I can reach him, he won''t last. I will not let harm befall Mordecai or his wives and within that limitation, I will act to protect you as well."
"I''m afraid," Deidre admitted.
Satsuki smiled softly and stroked her hair. "I know, and it''s okay to be afraid. This has been used as a weapon against you for most of your life. But I can show you something better."Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
After a long moment of silence, Deidre practically whispered, "Alright, I will let you try."
Satsuki drew Deidre forward to kiss her lightly on the lips, then pulled back and turned her attention to Payne, who was watching with a stunned, slightly confused expression. "Little one, I don''t think you intend this to be part of your relationship with your friend. Perhaps you should go play with your other friends for a while?"
"Ah, right," Payne replied before shaking herself like she was trying to clear sleep fog out of her head. "Yeah, I''ll go do that." She took off and began flying toward the door but then hesitated. "You better be good to her. Deidre, you can call on me if you need to. I''ll make sure you are okay."
As the pixie left, Satsuki cast a glance toward Kazue''s focus. "I think this is as far as you will want to witness as well. Go on, tell dear Mordecai what has happened. I''m sure you will have plenty to talk about."
Kazue fled.
Well, her focus did at least. Once she had pulled far away from the suite, Kazue had to take a moment to calm down. She''d fallen so far into the ''scene'' before her that she''d forgotten she was an actual presence there. It was somewhere between watching a play and reading a good book. Being called to directly like that had kicked her out of that mindset and disoriented her.
Once that was done, she contacted Mordecai. Kazue felt a bit annoyed because it felt like doing as she had been bid, but having been told to do something wasn''t a good reason to not do it when it was the correct thing to do.
"Hey, Love," Kazue said across their connection, "um, so, Satsuki and Deidre, they are, um, well, were you expecting Satsuki to seduce her? Cause she did and offered to remove your bindings and place her own."
Mordecai sounded slightly amused when he replied, "The first part, yes. Can you think of anyone better suited to treating that sort of trauma? Satsuki will teach her real pleasure, and then teach Deidre how to be the one to give. As for binding Deidre to her personally, I did not consider that, but that could work out better for everyone."
Kazue wasn''t as certain about the situation. Satsuki certainly seemed to have the skills to teach Deidre things, but Kazue thought a deep emotional bond would be a better first step before intimacy. But maybe that was just what she would need, it wasn''t like Kazue had a lot of experience one way or another.
That thought about experience stirred an idea. In the future, could she create an avatar that was even less aware of her situation than the one Mordecai had made? Should she? If she did, what limits should she give her spouses? What would she want to specifically request? Kazue put those ideas aside for now, there was a long time before that was even possible, and she should probably experience a few avatars before she tried that.
Instead, she focused on Mordecai''s work. "How''s the zone coming along?"
"We have a way to go," he replied. "The snow and ice are about half melted, but that just means the water is frigid. For the moment I am leaving it as an environmental challenge. I don''t want to evolve any inhabitants until the environment is stabilized, so there''s no combat challenge yet."
Their wetlands were noticeably chilly as well and there tended to be a draft headed toward the icy ''ocean'' from any direction and opening, whether in this zone or in earlier zones. "How did your other experiment go?" Kazue asked. She''d been nervous about this idea, but Mordecai seemed confident.
Mordecai replied, "The water from the dark sea diluted out into the contained area. Its aura diluted with it, leaving that area mixed. Its effects will be a little unpredictable of course, so I think the next test should be to drain that section into the new area of the sewers."
That area was still a bit dry too, as it had only received overflow from the wetlands section, and that was also receiving less water than it had before. "Alright, let''s do it." If things started getting weird and dangerous down there, at least it would be in the area already marked as more dangerous.
While the earth zone was the most physically complicated floor, logistically their ocean zone had the potential to be the most complicated. While the aerated underwater path was going to be a dedicated combat path, there were going to be options for surface combat, which was going to overlap into areas with non-combat parties.
Kazue was fairly certain that the narrative she had crafted for this section would help blend it all together into an interesting option, but she and Mordecai were going to have to put a lot of work into safeties to make sure that no one got caught up into the combat who didn''t want to.
With little to do in the zone for now, Kazue shifted her attention to catch up with her Other Self and Moriko.
They had finished showing their visitor Cliodhna around for now. The tour had taken her up through the faerie side of their territory and then through the gate to the mortal side, where they had shown her the mostly empty trading town and explained the setup.
Cliodhna was considering delving the dungeon herself, though on the non-combat path. She said that while she had more than a little skill with magic, she wasn''t skilled or practiced with it in combat. If something needed to die as part of her fulfilling her duties, it generally took no more than a declaration and act of will. She didn''t really fight, she just channeled the powers of her lord and lady as needed.
That was vaguely terrifying. While Cliodhna didn''t otherwise feel as strong as some of the folk delving the dungeon, Kazue wasn''t sure anyone here outside of Satsuki could resist Cliodhna declaring their death.
That wasn''t the only worrying thing that Kazue''s avatar had uncovered during the tour. They had all assumed the books on the faerie side of the library would duplicate the books on the dungeon''s side if they weren''t simply nonsense.
But no, life was not that simple for them.
The books and scrolls in this ever-changing library contained knowledge and stories known by a portion of their visitors. While they rarely contained direct biographical information, whose knowledge was contained within a given book was often clear, in addition to the person''s name being on the cover.
The limitations seemed to be that the visitor had to pass through any portion of their library zone, even the associated sewers, and they had to have less personal power or strength than the library''s bosses did. So while her parents did not appear to be involuntary donors to this library, the soldiers from Trionea were.
The three of them needed to set aside some time to debate whether ethics required them to disclose this fact. It wasn''t true mind-reading or anything, but it could be seen as a violation of privacy.
Interestingly enough, these materials were not automatically integrated into the dungeon''s knowledge. Any given volume needed to have one of the cores focus on it to analyze it. A bit of testing showed that an inhabitant could also read a book or scroll and have that knowledge integrated, so long as they were acting on behalf of the dungeon. If they were perusing for their own entertainment or knowledge, it remained only their knowledge.
Once Kazue saw that their visitor was settled in for now, she turned her attention to that library and began scanning over the titles. Announcing this power was up for debate still, but she was certainly not going to pass up on this opportunity to collect information about Trionea. If she combined all the knowledge she could collect this way, she could pull together some interesting bits of history as well as lore about how things worked plus some bits of genealogy that might not be public knowledge.
While they might trust some particular individuals from Trionea to greater or lesser degrees, as a whole they felt rather on guard about the empire and knowledge is a very valuable weapon.
252: Experimentation and Prep Work
Waiting for the ice to finish melting was a little annoying, but it was the only way for Mordecai to be sure that he didn''t make any mistakes adapting their inhabitants to the environment. At least in the meantime, it made for an interesting environmental challenge; even with the airy water runes in place, the water was cold enough to be hazardous, plus the occasional flow of slush across the shallower portions of the path could make traversing it difficult.
So, instead, he turned his attention to the sewer. The diluted dark waters from the underground faerie lake had proven stable when he isolated it, and now the fae waters were carefully introduced into some of the isolated ''wilds'' they had preserved when claiming the main sewer route. These wildlands were kept entirely separate from the main route and all other interference for now; they were needed to help them maintain Kazue''s life-saving boon, thanks to some of the creatures there having crossed the spiritual threshold where the boon would ''notice'' them.
There wasn''t much immediate impact when the fae waters mingled with the mire and came into contact with the wild creatures, but after some time spent in observation, Mordecai could pick out a few trends and predict where they were going to develop, though not every creature acquired every trait.
The first was ''stillness''; those creatures affected by this trait were able to go into a very still, death-like state.
In this almost-stasis, they could wait indefinitely for a target to approach. Coming out of the stasis did slow down the launch of their ambush, but given how hard they were to detect beforehand they could wait until their prey was very close, making that delay matter less.
The second was just a simple resistance to both void energy and instant death spells.
Death-attuned spells came in two varieties. The spells that could ''simply'' cause a healthy target to die were not common and were amongst the highest-ranked spells, though life''s natural resilience rarely allowed such a spell to be completely successful unless there was a vast difference in power between the caster and the target.
Other, more common ones ensured the death of targets that were brought to the knife-edge of life and death if the spell was not resisted. Spells designed to take advantage of a weakened state were much harder to resist.
Targets of such spells completely died, down to the smallest bit, which in a small twist delayed the onset of decay by killing the multitude of minor creatures that were hosted by a larger creature''s body.
The third was the ability to become slightly spectral.
They could not become truly intangible or ethereal, but they could shift slightly out of sync with the physical world. This made purely physical attacks and defenses less effective than they otherwise would be.
The future potential of such a power to bypass physical walls was concerning enough to cause Mordecai to double-check the dungeon''s ability to contain such creatures. A wild ecosystem like this was not controlled the way inhabitants would be.
Mordecai manifested his avatar near a section of living crystal and cast a spell to make himself intangible before he attempted to walk through it, and then repeated the test with other variations such as becoming fully ethereal.
Living crystal alone proved sufficient to stop him from passing through with simple intangibility, while fully ethereal transformations required the living crystal to be infused with Sarcomaag''s tendrils, and thus his spiritual presence, before it could prevent Mordecai''s passage.
Naturally, taking a full step into the shadow or faerie realm potentially bypassed such barriers, depending on the physical configuration of that realm relative to the dungeon, but that was not much of a concern given the nature of such realms and a dungeon''s spacial compression:
The shadow realm was already infamous for the treacherous ways in which it compressed and twisted distance and direction compared to the mortal world. Overlaying that with the spacial compression of a living dungeon made it even more perilous than usual for most to travel there. Naturally, dungeon inhabitants who traversed this region were not adversely affected by this combination, though they still had to cope with the effects of the shadow realm itself.
Faerie was normally a larger step away from the mortal realm and for any other dungeon, it would have the same issues as traversing the shadow realm. For the Azeria dungeon, well, that was no longer an issue as their faerie domain mimicked their dungeon territory''s spacial coordinates, but that did not make it automatically safer for others to traverse. If nothing else, such intruders would be quickly noticed and inhabitants could be diverted to deal with them.
Mordecai made a mental note to ask Satsuki to verify spiritual projection and whether it could penetrate the living crystal. He wasn''t particularly worried about it, that sort of non-physical planar travel was ill-suited to traveling in the physical world to begin with, but it was also not something he could check for himself, nor could he teach such a spell to Kazue, and it was not part of Moriko''s skills.
The problem was that such spells actually projected the soul while keeping a tether attached to the body. A dungeon''s soul did not leave its core, so an avatar attempting to cast a spell to project its soul automatically failed. In a way, an avatar was already a projection of the self, it couldn''t create a second projection. Spells that created temporary duplication of the body were a different matter.
Once he was done with that, Mordecai turned his attention to ensuring that the dark waters would not leech into the containment cells.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Finding that some of the wild sewer denizens had enough of a mind and spiritual self to trip the dungeon''s revivification safety had been quite a surprise and was a bit of a nuisance. The containment cells were much simpler than the prison cells that had been created for their invaders as Mordecai didn''t have to worry about spiteful self-harm or the like.
The rules about safety and the one-year waiting time applied to these creatures as well, so Mordecai had constructed these cells to hold and protect individual oozes and slimes that had become large and complex enough to manifest a significant enough sense of self, along with plenty of room to move about.
Mordecai tried to provide a bit of stimulation by varying which sections of the sewers their ''feed'' came from. These not-quite-prisoners were a little simple to experience much in the way of boredom, but they were hunter-scavengers with enough sense of self to trip Kazue''s boon, so they had need of some stimulation.
It had become one of his best bits of leverage for slowly recruiting them. Weeks of peacefulness with plenty of food and no threats tended to be calming, which let Mordecai try again on his offer to help them become something more. It was still basic, emotional communication in trying to offer the bargain, but it was enough.
A few of them remained perpetually hostile, however, and the boon required keeping revived creatures safe.
He could foresee a loop that he didn''t particularly like. Contain a revived slime for a year, release it into the wild sewers again, and at some later point have to do it again. As they became more intelligent, they would have more issues with containment, and it would slowly become more problematic to contain a free-willed creature. There was also the question of how long it was going to be between the release and a new revival. On the plus side, the organisms that tripped the boon tended to be a lot more dangerous than the ones who didn''t, which meant that as long as he kept them spread out enough to not encounter each other, they should not encounter any other wild creatures that would be hazardous.
Unlike with a normal delver, Mordecai couldn''t just release them someplace safe on the edge of their territory. Aside from the issue of them not being safe to others, they were not capable of complicated enough thought to understand the boon and be aware of the consequences if they died again inside of the dungeon''s territory.
That was as much as Mordecai felt he should do with the living creatures of the dungeon for now, so he turned his attention to the complicated matter of the materials Satsuki had brought them.
What almost no one outside of dungeons knew, or needed to know, was the true nature of materials like mithral and adamantine. If one scrutinized the strictly physical composition of the bits that had mass, the materials were generally not that exotic.
What made them special was the non-physical components. The tiny nodules of magical and spiritual energy that took up space and connected the physical components in a complicated web that had a specific resonance. That was why mithral and adamantine took so much more effort to duplicate than simple metals.
There were exceptions, but they were the sort that proved the base rule. Crystallized elemental essence was not made up of normal matter, it was condensed elemental magic frozen into a physical form that gave it a sort of false mass. It was easier to make a steel alloy containing elemental crystal dust than it was to shape a weapon out of pure elemental crystal, and this was still very far from normal metal alloys.
All of this was in contrast to what made the materials Satsuki had brought so very, very special.
The precision of composition and structure was no less complicated than the magic-infused materials, and the metals involved were often rare and exotic; at least, as metals. Mordecai had never realized that part of the base composition for corundum gems and emeralds was a metal, yet here it was in the trinkets that had been brought over.
It was even lighter than mithral, but it compared poorly to steel in strength by volume. While it took a bit more force to deform, it failed completely very shortly after deforming. In pure form, it was also disturbingly flammable.
This ''aluminum'', as Satsuki had called it, faired better than steel by weight, but that required increased volume so was a useless metric for most applications.
There were several more metals, such as ''tungsten'' and ''titanium'', that were also very interesting, but shone the most when alloyed. The precision with which they needed to be combined made them still more costly to create than simple steel and in some cases they were more complicated than mithral, but Mordecai foresaw a lot of opportunities to make use of them.
While he wasn''t ready to work directly on creatures, Mordecai was trying to figure out ways to integrate these metals and compounds into shell, bone, and claw. It turned out almost every metal could combine with the base organic material of carbon, and most could combine with each other or calcium, which was the base of bone and shell. Getting them to do both at the same time was harder.
Some of his experiments had resulted in immediate and very rapid decay of the material, with corresponding production of heat and sometimes concussive waves.
Recreating those experiments in a safe, ''dead'' atmosphere did not produce the same results. This was good to know as a data point, but not immediately useful.
Also, water not only didn''t help, but for some experiments it accelerated the process. Non-magical fire that could burn underwater was a novelty that had distracted Mordecai''s core for hours until Kazue mentally poked him.
He was able to show her several new crystals he''d discovered that made her quite pleased. Most of them weren''t useful as proper gems, but they were at least pretty display pieces.
Moriko was happy to be his materials tester. Any alloys he found suitable he either made a weapon out of for her or made into armor to put on a training dummy.
Mordecai politely declined her offer for him to be said training dummy. He loved sparring with her, he had no intention of just standing there being hit, no matter how dramatically she pouted at him. When she was done with her game, she gave him a kiss and ran off to play with her new toys.
While they could add items made out of these metals to earlier zones, the three of them talked about it and decided to introduce the new metals slowly, starting with this ocean zone.
Of course, no matter how many experiments he performed and creations he made, Mordecai couldn''t know for sure how they''d behave once the materials were fully real.
The mana set aside to make rewards became fully real material only when the items were claimed by delvers.
Similarly, the mana for their inhabitant''s bodies became fully real immediately, but with the caveat that some of their abilities were powered by the core, just as the bond between their souls and the core made it possible to actively retrieve their bodies and relocate them.
Internal avatars were more like his experiments: very detailed mana constructs running simulations of physical builds. It was the fully invested avatars like Kazue''s that were completely real.
But there were only a few days to play with everything before the midwinter solstice. Mordecai carefully made sure to unmake his experiments the night before the three-day celebration for the twin goddesses began.
253: Midwinter Solstice
The evening before the celebrations for the winter solstice began, Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai ensured that all delvers were at the trading post zone or invited down to the feasting hall near the core. The stone town sitting above was far too cold for most and had a relatively small number of buildings so far, making it unsuitable for hosting parties right now.
There was a bit of a social divide between the two locations, but this was one occasion where no one attempted to rectify it. The Trionean soldiers and others who were less familiar to the dungeon were in the town above. The buildings were warm and insulated, even if the traversal between them was not, and there was only so much trust to be had.
There were some exceptions. Captain Alain Vitomir was invited to join the festivities in the feast hall below, but he declined to participate for long, making only one showing early in each day and then spending the rest with his men.
After ''appropriating'' some extra drink of course. It was the same quality as what was available to them already, but the soldiers enjoyed it more for it having been supposedly exfiltrated from the dungeon''s ''private'' supply. No one saw any harm in helping the captain keep morale up.
Their family home inside the crystal tree was more insulated than the town below it, and Mordecai had used the oncoming winter as an excuse to teach everyone weather-warding runes. Rune crafting was an art most commonly practiced by those who already could use magic directly, but Mordecai had never met anyone who was truly incapable of touching magic. They might have been too inept to trust with magical knowledge, but being alive meant you had an interface with magic, and having a mind meant you had the tool to manipulate it.
So while Fuyuko was the least adept of the family at rune crafting, she was now learning the basics.
Mordecai didn''t expect her to ever be a master of the art, but he felt that this was a skill everyone whose path would lead them into dangers unknown should know the basics of. Being able to craft a rune slowly and with possible restarts was better than not being able to craft one at all.
The three days of the midwinter festival were full of feasting, drinking, music, dancing, and gift-giving.
Gift giving was mostly about personal gifts of course, but here they often held a secondary meaning regarding the goddesses of Amirume and Mericume.
Those gifts which were the accumulation of culture and civilization to create were considered acknowledgments of Lady Amirume. A gift like a book begins with the gathering of raw materials that are refined into usable materials such as paper and ink. These materials are then assembled and processed to not only combine them into one object, but to imprint upon the book knowledge, stories, or ideas.
Other gifts may be useful or beautiful items that were hunted, foraged, or otherwise gathered from the land, and might be altered by hand from there, such as wood and ivory carvings. These gifts acknowledged primal beauty and power, and thus acknowledged Lady Mericume.
Both of them were celebrated in music and dance of course, including some very difficult composition types and dance forms.
Amirume was best represented by stately, steady music and correspondingly ordered dance.
Mericume, in turn, was generally represented by powerful drumbeats and wild, frenzied dancing.
The height of honoring both was to have music representing both playing concurrently while remaining in harmony and having matched yet opposed dancers.
One of the easier versions of this was to have two bard-dancer pairs, where each bard has worked with their partnered dancer before. The music they played would then include a private code to give limited instructions to the dancer. The bards could more easily see both dancers and thus could guide them enough to avoid collision.
Another fairly safe variation was to play a single composition that contained strong elements of both the steady beat and the wild beat while dancers took turns competing, each focused on either the orderly aspects or the chaotic aspects. This was more difficult than some dance rituals that competed this way as each dancer needed to elevate the other at the same time. It also came with a subtle danger.
When people get competitive it can become tempting to elevate oneself at the expense of the other. But to downplay or deride the accomplishments of your competing partner utterly ruined the point of this dance. That sort of negativity could slide its way into an expression or body language subconsciously, making this a dance best avoided by any pairings with ill feelings between them.
For to insult one dancer, however indirectly, was to insult the goddess they represented. To insult one sister was to insult both. To insult a pair of goddesses during a celebration in their honor was unwise, though it was rare for this sort of slip to result in more than minor inconveniences for the next year.
There was a more rarely performed form of dance that required skilled dancers who knew each other well. The dancer representing Amirume had rules that limited what steps and moves could follow another and often had sets that were essentially choreographed for the duration of the set.
Mericume''s representative had no such restrictions. They were to dance wild and free around their partner, but they also needed to know their opposite''s rule set. They needed to be able to anticipate their partner and move to both complement and contrast their partner''s move set.
Part of the challenge here was that memorized dance steps could be very complicated and. Amirume''s dancer can push their partner''s skill by moving into ever more complicated sets, making it more difficult to match steps with the same speed.
A perfect dance where both were equally challenged was rare, but could bring the blessings of the goddesses upon all who were present.
This was also the time to honor Yu-kiang, the leviathan, elemental lord of water. There were many traditions to honor him with depending on location. Some take special care to purify and distill cups of perfect water that were drunk as part of a ritual. Others put their bodies on the line by swimming in freezing cold water for a brief while and some had special bathing or showering rituals. There was a surprising variety in just this section, ranging from quiet, private rituals where one focused on the act of bathing and the importance of water to rambunctious affairs where respected leaders were ambushed with barrels of water (or beer).The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
On a more somber note, this festival was also a time to pay respects to Lord Yamaraja and Lady Kikoi Muerte. While the dead themselves were remembered during the autumn, here in the darkest part of the year it was time to honor those who guided and protected souls on their way to the afterlife and sometimes returned them to the world via reincarnation.
This was usually done in the form of simple rituals and prayers. There was no need for ostentation, for in death all were truly equal. Emperor, priest, soldier, crafter, and farmer; all were the same when it came time to be judged.
True, most souls did not need to pass before the eye of Lord Yamaraja. Not if they were truly in harmony with the edicts of their chosen patron deity. But it was hard for any who was not a priest or champion to be certain of how well they have maintained their ideals.
Over the course of three days, there was plenty of time for everyone to pay homage to the deities of their choice as well as mingle and party and exchange all their gifts.
The dungeon had the role of host to play of course, and on both sides of the barrier between realms, but they did have one additional ''host'' to help.
Satsuki was technically a guest, but she knew the rules of hospitality as well as anyone here did and knew how to ask after a guest''s comfort with enough sincerity to ensure that the guest felt she truly cared while keeping her presence light enough to not intrude upon a private conversation, yet able to engage with more open conversations enough for people to feel included and welcome even when she disengaged to check on someone else.
This balance was a difficult thing, and one that Mordecai was only passingly good at. He could do it well enough to generally not offend anyone, but he was not the master of the art that Satsuki was.
Naturally, Satsuki was doing this mostly to entertain herself and show off. However, she also had a small group of people she was teaching amidst the festivities.
Deidre was there of course; she needed to learn many things about life outside of what she''d been trapped in and spent much of her time with Satsuki now. Mordecai expected Deidre to slowly become less overwhelmed by Satsuki as the kitsune woman did prefer partners with minds and wills of their own. He had no doubt that she''d train Deidre to steel herself against Satsuki''s non-magical charms, and the magical ones would be lifted in due time.
Kazue was involved in the training because she was lightly enthralled by seeing Satsuki in action and she wanted to be able to perform these duties just as well. Her role was more senior apprentice or journeyman as she already knew how from her shrine maiden training and was seeking to hone the art.
Carmilla had more training than Kazue but less experience and was cajoled into practicing the art as well.
Fuyuko had little choice in the matter; this was part of the extra training she was receiving due to her social flub when they were holding court.
Seeing Satsuki helping with the role of host motivated Orchid into competing with her distant ancestor, with Bridgette and Paltira assisting. This made things worse for Fuyuko as Orchid was one of her other trainers in social matters and rotated when she was playing host so that she and Satsuki were not doing so at the same time, which was more helpful to the dungeon and thus was technically earning her more claim on rewards.
Mordecai did enforce a small mercy for Fuyuko''s sake; Satsuki and Orchid only got to train or use her for three hours a day, each. Normally he wouldn''t have given her any duties at all for a holiday, but there was no better time than an event like this to enforce the teachings of social grace.
Paltira played a slightly different support role, which Fuyuko preferred learning and which was just as useful in some ways. While Orchid socialized and asked questions, Paltira listened. He then saw to it that any expressed needs were seen to, mostly by passing on the information. This also required paying attention to verify that food and drink were brought where they were supposed to be.
This required a particular type of situational awareness and it could be draining to maintain that sort of vigilance. It was also the same sort of situational awareness one wants on the battlefield; never too focused on one thing yet never losing focus on your primary concern.
Moriko had no interest in learning how to be that sort of host, and Mordecai had figured out a long time ago how much energy he was willing to invest in learning the art. They both still socialized and mingled, but they took advantage of the number of inhabitants willing to see after people''s needs and those of their guests who wanted to go that extra length to not do more. That left them with more free time, some of which Mordecai spent teaching Moriko how to perform the rare and difficult dance. It would require a long while before she was ready to tackle performing it during the festival, but they had the natural coordination. Moriko just needed some practice learning how to adapt around the ordered part of the dance, which Mordecai had more practice at. He might follow Ozuran, but the Lord of Shadows had a similar affinity for order to that of his aunt''s, making this the more natural fit for Mordecai.
The reason for Mordecai''s experience was present at the festival however, and by the end of the third day, her ego felt a need to show off. Satsuki promised Moriko to help train her, but she wanted one thing in return.
To demonstrate the dance in its entirety, with Mordecai.
After making sure Kazue and Moriko had no objections, Mordecai accepted but added a twist. Satsuki already mostly looked the part of Mericume, so Mordecai shape-shifted to take on the form of a blond, female kitsune. She only had seven tails still in this form, but she was able to add a pair of floating golden flames to represent the final two that Amirume would have.
Satsuki''s smile showed her teeth a little too sharply to be entirely happy. By Mordecai taking on the role of Amirume completely, Satsuki was denied any chance of flirting during the dance. They would be representing the sisters as completely as mortals could.
Still, she could not let herself do anything less than her best, as Mericume was her patron.
Mordecai brought up memories of the music played the last time the two of them performed this dance and created sheet music based on it for their musicians.
The two of them did not start off perfectly in harmony, it had been too long even for them, but it did not take long for both to find their rhythm. Once they were in harmony, the world disappeared into the flow of their dance, the sun and the moon in perfect balance until the musicians had to draw the song to an end.
They ended with a low, flourished bow to each other as the last notes faded away, and both of them literally glowed with soft radiance. Mordecai carried the golden luminance of the sun while Satsuki cast the pale glow of the moons.
The mark of the goddesses'' blessing began to fade after a moment, and as they rose Mordecai resumed his normal appearance and gave Satsuki a smile. "Well done, as always," he said, then hesitated before continuing with, "Satsuki, things have changed between us, but there is an offer I made to you once before. Kazue and Moriko are good with my offering it again; if you need a home, you will always have a place here, no matter how things stand between us."
He was expecting surprise on her part, he was not expecting her to suddenly tear up like that, and Mordecai spent the next few minutes holding her while she recovered herself.
"Thank you, my dear," she said when she''d straightened back up, "and I might even take you up on that someday. But I think that once Deidre is settled back with herself, I will be off wandering again for a while."
Her response did not surprise him, Satsuki always had trouble staying in one place, but the offer was sincere.
There was, however, one more surprise in store for the evening.
A few hours after the dance had ended, an adorable, fluffy white snow owl rode the winds into the Azeria dungeon territory while radiating a rather familiar spiky, angry aura. Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai had reached the entrance to the underground portion of the dungeon by the time the owl dove down to the ground and changed into a familiar teen kitsune witch while still moving.
"YOU!" Shizoku yelled, pointing at Mordecai, "This is your fault! You and your stupid rabbit boy messenger! Triplets! I am going to have faerie-touched, half-rabbit, triplet aunts who are FOURTEEN years younger than me! Gah, that''s so embarrassing. Did I mention the faerie-touched triplets part?"
Well, this was going to be interesting.
254: Hard Water
Shizoku''s sudden arrival earned her a round of lectures once she''d been talked down from hunting out Erryn. True, her magic skill in general should suffice for the weather and the shape-shifting spell she''d used was rather specifically useful, but if anything had happened, a slender, thirteen-year-old girl would fare poorly in weather this cold. Especially given how deep into the night she''d chosen to travel.
Fuyuko''s cold resilience was innate at least, Shizo needed to actively use magic to compensate for poor weather beyond what her furrier form could handle.
The lectures took place at a table with hot drinks and food, which she clearly needed despite her use of the transformation spell. Once she was settled, Mordecai went to talk with Erryn.
The young usagisune man was easy to draw into a conversation while they enjoyed some hot mulled mead. Mordecai found a spot to casually drop, "Oh, by the way, did you hear? The Azeria clan matriarch is pregnant. It turns out she''s having triplets, a rare treat for the clan given their birthrate issues."
"Oh?" Erryn replied, "That sounds like good... news..." His voice trailed off as he started working out why Mordecai might be telling him this news about Aia. He had visible trouble speaking for a few moments before he slammed back the rest of his warm mead.
Once he recovered his equilibrium, Erryn asked, "So, I can guess why you are telling me. Um, well, what is expected of me?"
"A lot different than having babies as just a rabbit without a care and barely a thought, isn''t it?" Mordecai replied with amusement.
He took a sip of his mead while he contemplated what to tell Erryn. "Well, Aia has had at least a few children and I believe she''s never been married, so I suspect that she will not have a lot of demands on you. The news was passed on via Shizoku who was practically bloodthirsty out of teen angst and embarrassment, so we do not have any official communications yet."
Erryn groaned at the mental image of the irate little kitsune. "That girl is insane."
"It seems to run in the family," Mordecai agreed. "Anyway, I suggest that you send a message back with the next group of kitsune congratulating Aia and saying that you intend to visit in, mm, two months from now. That would be two weeks before the start of the new year." Which was also the spring equinox and Zero Day. "This visit would probably only be for a few days, and then you could come back when the triplets are due so you can meet your daughters on the day they are born."
"That sounds like a good start," Erryn said, "but I''m not sure where to go from there."
"Well," Mordecai replied, "first keep in mind that this might not be how things work out. Aia may want to have you stay for the rest of her pregnancy and maybe sometime after. I don''t think that''s her style, but I don''t know her well enough to be sure. After that, the future is simply too uncertain right now. The two of you will need to figure it out by talking when you visit. Mind, I wouldn''t be surprised if she has a rough schedule for the next ten or more years already laid out, but don''t agree to anything you are not comfortable with. If you need advice, Moriko and Kazue can travel there."
An option Mordecai wouldn''t have until sometime after the tournament.
"Alright," Erryn said after a moment of silence, "I guess that works. I was kind of hoping for something more detailed, but I think you are right. Um, what about suggestions for how to be a good father?"
Mordecai shrugged and said, "I have a ton of those, but most of them start with how involved in their lives you are going to be, so they still depend on your conversation with Aia. They all have the same roots however; love your children, be kind, be available, and be supportive. Do not presume to know who they will be as adults; instead, learn who they are with them and help guide them into the best version of themselves. Oh, and a military motto can apply here as well, once they are old enough: praise in public, reprimand in private. There are exceptions, but it''s a good general rule once they become adolescents."
"Why is this so much harder and scarier than when I was a rabbit?" Erryn asked with a sigh. "I mean, it should be easier now, they are going to be so much safer and I have so much more ability to help."
"You weren''t a sapient person yet, nor did you bear the responsibility of helping to raise sapient people."
The two of them talked for about an hour more as Mordecai tried to set Erryn''s mind at ease regarding his impending fatherhood. He really didn''t think Erryn had much to worry about, there was little doubt that Aia would have had a plan in place before she announced her pregnancy over the midwinter festival. But she couldn''t have chosen a more dramatic time than during a major holiday.
Once he was done there, Mordecai checked in with Kazue and Moriko. As Shizoku was here alone, she and Fuyuko were encouraged to share Fuyuko''s room for now. Part of the reason Kazue had softly pushed for this was concern for Shizoku''s health after having strained herself with her nighttime flight after a three-day festival.
That same three-day festival made it the perfect time for Mordecai to begin working on their ''ocean'' zone. Although the dungeon had expended mana on ensuring everyone had food and drink aplenty, the nature of a dungeon''s ecosystem made such expenditures nearly net-zero cost in the long run, and that turns into a net profit of mana when the people eating and drinking expend a lot of effort and energy. Which most do while celebrating with song and dance.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
It would be better in some ways to wait even longer for the water to warm more, but this would suffice.
The first thing he did was create a zone-wide enchantment. This would be their actual last resort to prevent drowning, and would not be announced. It was a weakened version of a normal water-breathing enchantment, with one significant difference: it did nothing to alter the feeling of having water in your lungs, it just enabled air-breathers to use the water. So it would still feel like drowning to most people.
He also saved a bit of cost by not having any way of disabling the enchantment. It shouldn''t matter as any invaders would presumably have been routed into the sewers by this point, and the enchantment did not extend that far.
The next step was to start growing their ''flora'', though most of it was not actually plant life. Corals, kelp, sponges, and more created the oceanscape and became the start of their ecosystem, along with the endless flow of invisibly small creatures and plants. After that came the clams, shellfish, snails, worms, and other ''cleaners'' to populate the ocean floor.
Fish were next, and were quite abundant. There was a lot of variety to be had here, and Mordecai was being creative with their designs.
Growing and evolving all of these creatures was much more expensive than most of their other ecosystems. The biggest problem was that they didn''t have a lot of live samples from the oceans when compared to the breadth of land creatures they had access to, which meant that Mordecai was stuck finding the closest matches he could and speeding them through a guided evolution process that sometimes required drastic changes to basic biology.
Naturally, Mordecai sought advantage in the prolonged, iterative process. From the tiniest creatures that grew glass shells to the rigid, multi-layered structures of clams and their kin, he had a living laboratory to work with.
Iron was the easiest to incorporate. It was cheap and easy to produce in ingestible format and most life forms already had the biology to work with the metal in some form.
Adding in the new metals was more difficult. Most of them turned out to be passively toxic without fine-tuning the metabolism of the creatures ingesting them. With a dungeon''s resources, this simply took time and experimentation.
Based on the elements Mordecai could test with, it seemed that carbon could form compounds with anything, though some substances required the assistance of other mediators, such as the part of air needed to maintain life or another gas that can be several times as reactive.
This meant that with sufficient iterative experimentation, he could incorporate any material into a metabolism without it being toxic to that organism and from there find a way to bind it into shells, scales, bones, teeth, and claws.
Of course, he could only go so fast. Mordecai was working with life forms with too little self-awareness to be considered inhabitants and he was spending mana to manipulate their evolution and speed up their growth rate, but they still had to live and reproduce. It wasn''t like designing inhabitant bodies.
When he realized he wouldn''t have the final results he wanted before the first parties re-cleared their way down here, Mordecai withdrew most of his attention from the ecological tier creatures and focused on getting ready with what he had.
Iron-hardened coral made for wonderful ''walls'' to construct rooms out of, even if they weren''t as strong as what he intended to eventually replace them with. Mordecai also wasn''t creating ''strict'' rooms and corridors, they were simply strong suggestions. The coral was also not quite as hard as it could be; while Mordecai could tune the composition to be even harder, this came at the price of brittleness.
He further enchanted the pathways with the same ''airy water'' magic his avatar had engraved into stone manually. These overlapping magics created a visible contrast with the normal water a little outside of the boundaries Mordecai had laid out. If you venture off the path, you are entering harder, more dangerous territory.
At this stage, the small coral reefs were fairly bland in appearance, but that could be altered by simply decorating them with the rest of the creatures he''d been encouraging to grow and populate. Anemones could make for wonderfully colorful underwater ''flowers''.
Then it was time to wind in tendrils of living crystal and Sarcomaag''s mycelium. It wasn''t the dense matrix that it often was in other zones, Mordecai just wanted a loose weave to reinforce what was already here.
That crystal could also channel light from the world above to down here on the sea floor. The way water absorbed light muted the effect some which created an eerie sort of illumination filled with flickering shadows as creatures and plants swayed in the motion of the ocean water.
Mordecai''s work was somewhat hampered by frequently needing to adjust the metabolisms of almost all the sea creatures, even if they were not the targets of his experiments. In order for the creatures to ingest and metabolize odd metals, there needed to be enough environmental presence of the metals.
This meant that there were toxic levels of metal present in their ocean zone now.
All of this work meant that Mordecai only had a single, slightly meandering ''path'' built underwater for now. He would have to come back to that on a later day and start creating more options and crisscrossing paths.
While Mordecai''s core had been working on the oceanscape, his avatar had been trading off with Kazue''s avatar and Moriko to guide the construction of the towns at each end. Their various inhabitants had become swift and efficient builders, there just needed to be a guiding hand to make sure that everyone was working toward the same visual themes and that all the basic needs of the delvers were met.
The slightly toxic nature of the seawater and the creatures therein necessitated adding signage on both the shoreside town and ''volcanic'' island town. Not that they had ever guaranteed that everything would be safe to eat, but the toxicity of metal could be subtle and slow to show itself and it seemed best to ensure no one died from it after they had left the dungeon.
Of course, this meant that their seafood was going to be extra exotic. Certainly, combat groups that made it this far were going to have access to the appropriate magic to deal with anything that could be poisonous, they just needed a bit of forewarning.
Alright, the basic set dressing was complete, though he wasn''t entirely happy about his progress.
Now it was time to make things dangerous.
255: Ocean Dwellers
One of the important differences between inhabitants and ecological creatures is the precision and power available to evolving inhabitants.
Mordecai''s experimentation with incorporating stronger metals into the hard structures of mundane creatures laid the groundwork for his changes to some of their existing inhabitants as well as the new inhabitants upgraded from some of their ecological occupants.
He''d already established the template for upgrading river drakes to brine dragons, complete with breath weapons and water-based magic, but instead of gaining electric powers to make them eletsima dragons like Nezha and Ysi, he enhanced their scales, bones, claws, and fangs with a latticework of the new metals, though he adjusted the exact structure and mix to create different visual effects.
Their scales obtained a rainbow sheen that shifted with the angle of the observer. Claws and teeth shone with a slightly reflective metallic gleam that held a hint of pale blue in its silvery hue. Their bones, for those who might ever end up seeing them, were now a dull black from the dense metal that infused them. Mordecai added a final, invisible tweak that he''d learned from one of the samples: all of these were impregnated with microscopic flecks of diamond crystals.
Even magical weapons would have difficulty maintaining an edge after striking those scales or claws. Some enchantments were strong enough of course, but they were relatively rare.
This would make the hardened alloy weapons available as rewards even more valuable. Without the need to combine them with lots of carbon, it was much easier to keep the weapon and armor rewards from being brittle when hardened with the new metals.
For the crabbits and swamp drakes who were ready to migrate to a stronger zone, Mordecai gave the same upgrades to their hard tissues, with the exoskeletons of the crabbits obtaining the same sheen as the upgraded scales did.
The swamp drakes needed minimal changes to turn them into bottom-dwelling creatures that could hide in the mud and sand at the bottom of the sea. They also maintained the flexibility to swim up to the surface and use their claws to climb onto ships.
However, the crabbits needed a little more alteration. Crabs were never great swimmers to begin with, but the crabbits were really bad. So he went with giving them a small surprise instead. If they crouched down to make a jump like their swamp selves, the action also primed a powerful jet of water. They might not be able to swim properly very well, but this maneuver could catch someone trying to escape. As a final bonus, Mordecai didn''t have to do anything with their ''scream'', the unearthly harmonies would be amplified simply by being underwater where everything was louder. This applied to the shock waves of their hydraulic-powered punches as well.
When the king otters grew strong enough, they could migrate down with a simple increase in size, tougher hair impregnated with metal, and saltwater adaptations. The dungeon still only had the initial pair as adults, plus their young ones.
While the bunyips were also few in number, they did have a trickle of dire rabbits interested in the upgrade, so the saltwater adaptation was an easy minor upgrade. They weren''t very strong combatants to begin with, so they retained the roles of rescuer and healer for the most part. Mordecai gave them the option of participating in combat as support for the inhabitants, but with the restriction that they had to wear a scary mask with some matching costumery to designate them as combatants, separate from the normally non-combat bunyips. He didn''t want there to be any mix ups when bunyips were trying to help delvers in trouble.
Mordecai created an upgrade template for the giant axolotls as well, granting them saltwater adaptations and toughing their skin and bones. They would not receive a size upgrade; instead, they were given the ability to adjust their skin''s color and texture to provide deep camouflage.
The final current species of inhabitant to receive an ocean upgrade was the pixies. Their flighty nature made it harder to nail down what they truly wanted instead of what was simply an interest of the moment, so Mordecai created the upgrade template with a requirement for a pixie to acquire it; they needed to have both a strong enough will and spirit, plus enough focus and resolve to ensure that it was a real desire.
The upgrade itself was simple enough. It gave them a ''mermaid'' form that retained their wings, though the wings now looked almost like flying fish fins rendered iridescent by fey magic and a faint trace of one of the new metals. They could transform between mermaid and normal pixie form but retained the new style wings. Mordecai didn''t touch their ''flower'' transformation ability, but neither he nor Kazue were particularly surprised when they started adapting themselves to the ocean environment.
Sea anemones were the first flower-like form that was adapted to, despite them actually being animals. This trend towards taking on minor animal forms instead of plant forms continued with other bottom-dwelling but visually spectacular species like starfish and sea urchins.
They also had some options on the scale patterns of their new fishtails. Many of them enjoyed the rainbow sheen Mordecai had made common, but some also wanted other metallic patterns such as the wavy pattern common to certain methods of folding high and low-carbon steels. A few of those wanted the same pattern but in precious metal colors, such as silver and copper or silver and gold.
As a final touch, this was the first new form for the pixies and thus their first upgrade in power. This was reflected in their size; those with the mermaid upgrade were now at least a foot tall in either normal or mermaid form. This wasn''t really a choice but a natural reflection of increased power. There were few paths of increasing power that left tiny fey creatures at their original size.
After that, it was time to induce some new inhabitants from amongst their ecological creatures. He began by setting up a rule to automatically apply to all of them: ensuring that they could breathe both air and water. It was the simplest way to leave a lot of options open.
Mordecai wasn''t looking to make these immediately strong, instead, he wanted to make these new species have a slow growth pattern that would let them eventually become huge, but for now, they would start at smaller sizes in a ''juvenile'' form.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The first of these were crabs.
While there was some overlap with the crabbits, these were almost normal crabs in form and function, though their carapace was hardened and reinforced the same way as other ocean creatures in this zone.
The metallic crabs would start at about twenty pounds in weight, which was within the range of some species of normal crabs, and would act as ground support when delvers were dealing with swimming inhabitants.
However, they would slowly grow from there and after several decades they would be the size of a small elephant, weighing in at three to four tons. They were starting well below the power cap of this zone, and that cap would go up for quite a while given the current growth pattern for their territory.
The ''up'' and ''out'' zone sets still needed some rebalancing, but that work needed to wait until they did their next ''out'' zone.
For ranged support, Mordecai went with evolving sea urchins into giant forms that could fire off their black metallic spines. They wouldn''t move fast, but they were well-armored and able to shift the position of their spines by flexing, making them difficult to bypass. But just firing foot-long plus metal needles was a little boring, so he spiced them up by giving the fired needles a random chance to have other properties.
On impact, they could unleash an electric discharge, a cloud of acid or poison, a burst of super-heated steam, or instantly freeze the area around them. Only about one in ten fired needles would do this, and the urchin had no control over which ones would be enhanced or what the enchantment would be.
Given how fast they could fire their needles, this was still enough to make combat with them quite intense and interesting.
Next came the fish. Or at least, fish-like creatures, given Mordecai''s designs.
As they were going to be starting off relatively small, he decided they should also act as an aggressive school of fish, no matter which variety they were. As they grew larger, they would spread out and tend to become solo hunters. The schools wouldn''t have more than twenty members, which could still be an overwhelming number when they were all ten or more pounds each.
One of the stranger-looking ones Mordecai created was the turtle-sharks. The base body shape was that of a shark, but much of it was covered in a thick, hard shell like a turtle. They could also stretch out and bend their necks, which normal sharks could not do. Doing so created some gaps in their neck armor, so most of the time they had their heads drawn in tight, which made them look more like normal sharks. They were slower than most sharks their size, but it was much harder to damage them.
Razorfin sharks were going to be the fast attackers of the set. While they had hard sharp teeth and a sufficiently strong bite, their primary attack was going to be to run into and slide along their targets. Not only were the edges of their fins as sharp and hard as their name implied, but they also had sharp, raised ridges running down their long, thin bodies.
Evolving some fish into rays was a bit trickier than making shark-like creatures, but far from impossible. These he gave long tails with poisonous stingers, plus the ability to shoot either pressurized balls of water that would explode upon impact or high-pressure streams of water to knock people away. He also gave them the ability to launch from the water into the air and maintain flight indefinitely.
Freshwater eels were fairly easy to evolve into giant electric eels adapted for salt water. But even with strong jaws, that felt insufficient, so Mordecai also gave them snake-like muscles and flexibility, allowing them to wrap around prey and constrict them while giving off the occasional electric discharge.
After finishing with his fish-like creatures, Mordecai moved on to a couple of soft-bodied creatures.
The first one was technically related to slugs, though its translucent and delicate appearance had earned it the name of ''sea angel''. The normal version of such creatures didn''t generally make much noise, but these ones Mordecai gave the power to sing in the high-pitched ranges normally used by creatures such as bats and whales.
To that sea song, Mordecai added magic. The small creatures were going to be effectively bards, their songs enchanted to bolster and heal their allies, or to enthrall or instill dread into their foes.
He also gave them a small complement of normal enhancement and infliction spells, such as those used to quicken or strengthen allies or to slow or weaken enemies.
They were simple. His next project was a little more complicated.
No one had been able to bring a live specimen of a creature closely related to jellyfish from the ocean to their territory, so Mordecai did his best to evolve a close match from their existent slime creatures. The result was fairly close, so he was satisfied with calling them crystalline jellyfish
Their life cycle on the other hand, well, he was having some fun there.
At only a few pounds, they would be starting as the smallest of their new inhabitants. They were also smaller than a normal jellyfish would be for that weight, as they retained some of the living crystal properties of their slime ancestors along with a small crystal core to be a brain.
These tiny creatures could be almost invisible when they were drifting slowly, but their thin tendrils were already packed with a potent paralytic. If they were spotted early they could easily be killed before they were close enough to be dangerous, but if a group was distracted by a fight already when a few of these drifted out from behind a piece of coral, it would be fairly easy for them to slip in unnoticed.
They would be growing larger of course, and eventually reproduce when they reached twenty pounds. That was where Mordecai laid an eventual surprise. When they started producing young, the individual polyps would be mostly dormant and act as part of their parent''s body. It would be nearly impossible to tell where one ended and the next began, with many of the larger jellyfish''s tendrils actually belonging to its offspring.
All of this would change when the crystalline jellyfish received enough damage to make it ''shatter''. This would cause it to split into the parent and the swarm of tiny jellyfish, along with a cloud of connective tissue and gel. The parent would still be about half the size of the combined form and thus a significant individual threat, but its tiny children would be just waking up and running about in confusion as they learned to coordinate themselves.
While individually they wouldn''t be much of a threat, the pure chaos of those first several seconds after the split would make it very easy for them to accidentally run into people and hit them with flailing, stinging tendrils.
This would leave the parent at about ten pounds again. The next time it was ready to reproduce, the total weight would be forty pounds with the parent making up twenty of those pounds. The offspring would be the same size, and thus twice as many would be born when the larger form shattered.
Mordecai did not put a cap on this doubling pattern, he didn''t need to. Growth would be limited by what they could eat and the time they spent alive.
That was a rule he implemented for all of these inhabitants who were intended to grow bigger. They only aged during the time they were alive, so an inhabitant who died in battle during the morning would lose more than twelve hours of aging/growth for that day.
Individually, many of the new inhabitants would underperform compared to even the river level for a while. However, the environment made for unique opportunities for swarming and ambushing delvers and they had a selection of heavy hitters to back the swarms up.
With that, Mordecai was done with the inhabitants for the ocean zone. Next up was going to be the bosses.
256: The High Seas
Mordecai had been playing with several ideas for the bosses of this level, but it was time to start discarding some.
He was sad to discard the Leviathan whale idea. It was one of his favorites, but despite the vast amount of territory they had claimed and made even larger via spacial expansion, even a normal whale would have found this ''ocean'' too small.
The inhabitants that he was starting off small would have a chance to migrate later to a larger zone, but that wasn''t an easy option for floor bosses.
A kraken on the other hand, well, octopuses were comfortable folding up into small spaces and did not need a large amount of territory to roam. Fortunately, a trader had managed to get a single female octopus to the dungeon alive, which made things much easier, and Kazue had already decided her name would be Cephelia.
Mordecai would have otherwise had to figure out how to mimic a cephalopod from a freshwater clam, which was a long way to go.
Making a giant octopus was insufficient to earn the title of Kraken in Mordecai''s opinion, and he decided to be creative with the concept. The first thing he did was give her rapid regeneration and healing, including complete regrowth of lost limbs. He considered a couple of options of where to go from there and discarded the idea of regenerated limbs splitting in favor of giving her more size and shape-changing options.
The splitting option would have allowed for potentially unlimited number of temporary extra tentacles, but by enhancing an octopus''s natural shape-changing abilities with sufficient magic Cephelia would gain a lot more tactical options.
Plus it made an easy stepping stone to giving her the ability to shift all the way into a bipedal form that could walk on land, along with being able to split the ends of her tentacle arms into ''fingers'' of smaller tentacles, for fine manipulation while in her normal form.
While Cephelia''s natural form would be about five hundred pounds with tentacle arms reaching over sixty feet in length, she would be able to shift her mass to as low as five pounds and, hypothetically, to at least five thousand pounds.
The hypothetical was because Mordecai was leaving that ability open-ended, based on how strong she was. That strength would increase as more zones were added topside.
Additionally, she would be able to grow more pairs of tentacles as she grew above her natural size. She might be starting from the base of an octopus, but Cephelia was going to be much more than that.
Mordecai then gave her enhanced versions of abilities from across the cephalopod family. Her suckers had tiny barbs to inject toxins. She had additional ink sacs along her arms allowing her to release as local a cloud as she wanted, and that ink was corrosive to most creatures. The ''ink'' also came in a bioluminescent variation, though it was just as corrosive.
Cephelia''s skin had spots of mild photosensitivity that were just barely enough to sense changes in light/shadow and a vague direction, to be used to supplement her tactile sense of taste and smell along with the ability to detect faint vibrations and electrical signals.
Even her ability to jet along using compressed water was enhanced, letting her hit bursts of two hundred miles per hour while underwater. The shock wave of that move alone was enough to kill a person who had not been toughened through training and combat.
Then it was time for special powers. Mordecai chose to not give Cephelia a specific suite of magic. Instead, he took what he already knew of different forms of elemental magic and combined that with what he had learned from observing Derek during the boy''s training. He filtered out everything that didn''t resonate with water and imbued her with that package of energy and potential.
Water, and to a lesser extent ice and mud, would be hers to command, but it would be up to her to learn how to do so. This meant that Cephelia would have fewer and weaker abilities initially than if he''d granted her specific ones, but these powers would grow in variety and strength as she grew in power and practiced more.
Cephelia''s biggest weakness was her passive defense. Mordecai could enhance her skin''s slime coating to make it briefly harden on impact and he could toughen her skin within certain limits as well as embed it with hard nodules and metallic grains to make clean strikes difficult, but in the end, she was going to be very reliant upon her regeneration. There was a limit on how resilient her skin could be while still being as flexible as her limbs should be.
He was able to do more with her beak, however. Here Mordecai decided to go a slightly different route with the metal it would be infused with. While it would only be in traces at first, her beak was going to contain adamantine. As the zone''s power increased, so too would the amount of adamantine that she would be able to incorporate, making it able to crush and pierce ever tougher foes and armor.
To accommodate her potential combat styles, Mordecai riddled the terrain near the end of the designated area with tunnels. Not only could she readily dive in and out of tunnels to attack and retreat, but if pressed she could dive into a deeper cave and grow large enough to attack with her tentacles alone, making it almost impossible to injure her main body without squeezing through narrow tunnels.
Getting into close-quarters combat with a cephalopod, the master grappler family of the ocean, was not a good idea.
These tunnels were also training for Cephelia to fight in the sewers. While her elemental powers would enable her to use her water jet to ''jump'' even when not submerged, she would be better off changing into a giant form and attacking at a distance around corners, in support of the sewer-dwelling inhabitants.
For their second zone boss, Mordecai went back to their slime-based jellyfish, picking a particularly enthusiastic one to grow into a giant jellyfish with a ''bell'' over ten feet wide. Dhamini, as Kazue named ''her'' when Kazue knew Mordecai''s plans, would not have an explosion of baby jellies when struck a strong enough blow, but there were plenty of other surprises in store for their delvers.
First of all, the boss jellyfish had an eight ''lobed'' main body, and at the edge of each lobe''s section of the bell was a large crystalline eye. The eyes swirled with light in shades of yellow, gold, and amber that created magically infused hypnotic patterns. Any foes with vision, which would be most delvers, that faced off against her would have to keep their minds steeled against the hypnotic effect lest they be left defenseless until the effect was broken.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Each of the eight lobes had a small cluster of crystalline ''nerves'' that acted as secondary cores for Dhamini''s primary crystal brain. This meant that each lobe could control all of its tendrils independently while being coordinated by the primary brain.
And there were a lot of tendrils to control. Between Kazue''s boon and how tough people had to be to make it this far down the combat path, Mordecai felt free to be thorough. The tendrils varied from thick, heavily barbed ones designed to wrap around a target and draw them in close to almost invisibly thin ones that could drift lightly with the currents until they brushed up against an unsuspecting body.
Some tendrils started off coiled and were intended to be shot like a tethered harpoon. Others carried rows of tiny spikes that were coiled instead, to be shot from a shorter range. Still others looked like feathery fronds and were intended to help channel Dhamini''s powers, but they still came with tiny toxic barbs.
As for toxins, well, Dhamini was going to begin with only ones already found in other inhabitants, but she had the ability to ingest new toxins and add them to her repertoire permanently. Still, the selection currently available was enough to make her a dangerous opponent, though a rather one-note foe without more to back it up.
Which Mordecai did by imbuing her with elemental lightning powers, much as he had gifted Cephelia with water elemental powers. These were physically enhanced not only by Dhamini''s frond-like tendrils but also by the tiny crystalline hairs covering her everywhere.
This allowed her to constantly and passively generate a weak but widely spread electrical field. She could feel even a tiny fluctuation in that field, giving her a rather detailed awareness of the world around her.
It not only allowed for rather precise aiming of her attacks and powers but enhanced one more ability set Mordecai was giving her. Dhamini was their first inhabitant to be given direct mental attack and control abilities, though they were limited to creatures whose biology included electricity in some manner.
So most elemental creatures, constructs, fully spiritual entities, and so on were immune to her mental powers, with the exception of her hypnotic eyes which were visually based instead. Many of those were immune to toxins as well, leaving her with lightning as her only weapon against such foes. None of her attacks were physically powerful, but that limitation was part of what let him concentrate so much of her potential into toxins, lightning, and mental abilities.
As for defenses, well, her crystal slime base still provided her with the same defense against physical blows as other crystal slimes, hardening against attacks briefly and locally while the rest of her remained malleable.
Dhamini could also break off individual lobes if needed to protect herself from an attack. The lobe would act independently for about ten minutes before its metabolism and limited awareness began to fade. Any separated lobes would eventually die if not reintegrated, which Dhamini preferred to do rather than slowly regenerate the lobe.
Her core could continue to function even with all eight lobes separated from it, but she would be greatly weakened in this state.
Mordecai''s final touch for her combat abilities was to add the ability to float and fly in the air as easily as she floated and swam through the water. For out-of-combat abilities, he and Kazue had agreed to work toward all their zone bosses being able to interact with delvers as people, so Dhamini was also given the ability to take on a bipedal form. The result looked a little bit like a human wearing a living jellyfish hat and a jellyfish-inspired dress, but that was Dhamini''s preference when Mordecai asked for input on shaping her form. It also caused her to fit in with the local pixies, who had taken up the habit of wearing some of the smaller jellyfish inhabitants as living hats.
Giving Dhamini the power of flight caused Mordecai to backtrack to the other jellyfish inhabitants and enable them with a similar ability.
As long as he was doing that, Mordecai decided to go back through the inhabitants for the ocean zone and add flight to several of the others as well. The brine dragons already had it as a secondary mode, but giving even limited flight abilities to their shark-type inhabitants made the skies an even more dangerous place.
This train of thought made Mordecai realize that there was a place for the feathered serpents in this zone as well. They wouldn''t see a lot of combat, but there was room for a small nest of the strongest of them on the volcanic island on the far side of the ocean.
Now it was time for the third boss.
There were several possibilities still. A were-shark, a water-elemental dragon, and so many other ideas were floating around.
But in the end, Mordecai discarded the directly powerful options for a very different idea. He''d already been planning on introducing a special group of inhabitants for this zone, but making the leader of the group a zone boss and attaching his six underlings to his status, making them support and part of his power, was a perfect way to create something very different.
The group was comprised of ratlings with ship-handling expertise and a talent for ship-board fighting in even the roughest weather. Their names were Cashew, Cherry, Chocolate, Cobbler, Cranberry, Custard, and their leader, Cheese, also called The Big Cheese or Captain Cheese.
They were the seven pie-rats of the sea; and of the seven C''s.
Kazue and Moriko had thrown pillows and cushions at him when he''d told them his idea.
Fuyuko had looked both pained and embarrassed, which he took as evidence of a job well done.
When Carmilla had found out, she had simply rolled her eyes and stalked away from him, though he was pretty certain he''d heard a muffled giggle after she''d turned away.
As for their special abilities, well, Mordecai did something relatively simple in concept. He intensified their nature, enhancing the concepts involved with being a rat. They were fast, agile, sneaky, smart, and most of all, lucky.
That last part was incredibly important, and Mordecai was deliberately calling upon his knowledge of Li to imbue them with the Shattered One''s blessing. This wasn''t something that was going to be immediately obvious if it was successful, so Mordecai backed up his plan by giving them each a holy symbol of Li, much like Fuyuko''s.
The ratlings were also all made immune to harm from poisons of all sorts, though not to all effects. This meant that they could get drunk or otherwise intoxicated, but tying inebriation to a boost in luck and chaos was so easy in this scenario that it would have taken a bit of effort to prevent it from happening in a milder manner on its own. Plus they had to be able to sing, in high-pitched voices naturally.
Of course, pirates of any nature needed the right gear. Each of them came with a pair of cutlasses and a bandoleer full of four-barrel pistols. With their long tails that could wrap around objects to help keep them anchored, they did not always need a hand free on a moving ship and so could have two weapons in hand even during rough seas.
Naturally, all of these weapons were made of corrosion-proof variants of the hard metals that Mordecai had introduced into this zone. They were classified as potential rewards, and Mordecai set them to be enchanted with a random set of runes, with the runes being changed during every reset so long as the weapons were in the possession of the pie-rats. Even during the middle of combat if needed.
He also tasked Fuyuko with being the ratlings'' teacher. While the pie-rats all outclassed her in combat ability just from being inhabitants and semi-bosses of a zone this dense in mana, the girl had much to teach them about being followers of Li.
Mordecai didn''t leave his daughter to flounder with just her own knowledge, he made sure to give her access to every bit of lore that the dungeon had accumulated as well as Mordecai''s previous personal knowledge. But assimilating and passing on that knowledge was going to be her responsibility, with a little help as needed. This would also act as training for Fuyuko, for one of the steps towards mastery was to relearn the basics by teaching another.
As for when and how they would get involved in the available routes, a lot of that depended upon the storylines Kazue was creating for this zone. They could just show up at the end of the combat path as a fight if needed, but they were going to mostly be involved in more complicated roles.
There were several adjustments that needed to be done with other inhabitants to accommodate all the aspects that the dungeon had acquired, but those were going to wait until after Kazue had finished with her section, as a simple matter of prioritization.
257: Sea Stories
While Mordecai had been working on the sea floor path and their inhabitants, Kazue had been busy working on the towns.
It was a little odd working on the first town. Previously, the towns she had set up had been further away from the transition between zones but now she was working rather close to the invisible demarcation. It didn''t help that the transition area was becoming larger and fuzzier, making it harder for one to know for sure which zone one was in at times.
This proximity also meant that boss fights with the swampland''s dragons were quite visible from town.
When she''d commented on it to Mordecai, he''d pointed out that the other option was to make more closed transition areas like the stairwells they''d used in their early zones. Kazue much preferred their current setup, even if it didn''t come with a method to make it easy to force people into the sewer path if needed.
In the future, she did want to connect these towns to the sewer path in order to spin off more stories for their delvers. Kazue knew many of them didn''t care about the narratives she was creating for these zones, but they made her happy so she wanted to expand on them. But those plans were on hold until the Trionean soldiers had finished their training and gone home.
So for now she was creating mostly empty docks for sea-worthy ships along with dry docks for ships in various stages of construction or repair. The seaside town was also given a minimal amount of other buildings to flesh out a small settlement, with plenty of room for the town to grow by manually constructing future buildings. Besides, they didn''t have enough available inhabitants to staff a bigger town yet anyway.
This was part of her narrative for the noncombatants; there would be various ways for them to contribute to the construction or repair of ships or the town itself in order to earn passage across the ocean to the distant island with the barely visible plume of smoke from its volcanic core.
Not that they had actual magma going yet. At this point, the island was only superficially volcanic.
This was not the only way forward for the noncombatants, however. Offset from the town was a cove hidden by a combination of rising cliff walls and dense vegetation. It was here that one could potentially meet and speak with inhabitants local to the zone and work out deals for safe passage.
What exactly those deals would entail Kazue left up to the inhabitants in question. The only hard rule Kazue put here was that any escorted group was to be left alone, though other inhabitants were allowed to put on a little bit of a show by looking menacing in the distance. It did help that the route leading from the cove and deep into the ocean water skirted the outer edges of the airy water enchantment, keeping such escorted groups away from the fighting.
It was all designed to look and feel more dangerous than it actually was.
She had two reasons for creating this alternative path. The most important one to her was that she wanted everyone to be able to see the magnificent vistas under the water, which were likely to become even more elaborate and vivid as time went on and everything had time to grow, multiply, and spread out.
The other reason was simply an acknowledgment that not every non-combat delver was going to have the time to spend putting in the requisite amount of effort into assisting with the building and repair of ships to earn passage. Simply paying their way forward wouldn''t quite do either.
Instead, they had to barter with the inhabitants, and it had to be something that suited the inhabitants they were bartering with. Kazue and Mordecai didn''t particularly care about the exact barter, and it could be anything from items to knowledge to some service the person could perform.
Her scenario development wasn''t quite done yet, there were more hooks to set.
For one thing, the ships served a hybrid role. Not only could one work to repair or build a ship, one could work on the ship during the voyage to earn passage, though that would not be enough if one wanted to get any rewards from crossing the zone.
Also, up to three delving combat groups could sign on as protectors for a given voyage, in order to rotate shifts. Naturally, any ships that were guarded would come under assault several times a day, at least twice each shift, and it would take a minimum of three days to cross the simulated great distance to the island.
This was rather slow, even taking into account that the ship would be tacking against the small amount of wind the entire way. All the space that Kazue had managed to claim combined with the spatial compression only provided the zone with about a dozen miles of length and breadth. That would be two to three hours for most sailing vessels.
Illusion magic came into play heavily here, making the town behind them visually shrink faster than their actual distance would cause. Kazue was also able to use a bit of their faerie power here, enchanting the ships to travel only a small real distance for any given amount of apparent distance traveled.
It was the exact opposite type of enchantment one would want on a ship traveling a real ocean.
Once those ways of crossing the ocean were added to the underwater combat path, Kazue started adding her story elements to motivate groups.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The ''locals'' would have tales and rumors to spread, all of them true to some extent. Or at least, made ''true'' by virtue of the appropriate treasures being created for the purpose.
There was a ship that had been lost at sea carrying a small cargo of weapons and armors made of exotic metals, amongst other treasures. This rumor also came in a more challenging variant, where the ship was at a deeper section of their mini ocean that was far away from their airy water enchantments.
A merchant''s cargo had been mysteriously ransacked and looted one night, with the trail of wreckage leading to the sea and the enchanted path that let one breathe under the water.
The natural hot springs of the distant volcanic island were blessed with magical healing properties and the onsens there were staffed by beautiful men and women. Both parts of this were true, though there was a strong emphasis that the positions were strictly volunteer and not an expected duty. While the job description was not terribly demanding, it did include specifically looking casually appealing in either elegant, beautiful outfits or lightweight ones, and some positions included giving massages.
Being on display like that was not something everyone would be okay with, so only those usagisune who wanted to have shifts there would have them.
Not that they were going to be the only potential staff, but that was part of what Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai were going to be working on together later.
Kazue also created some potential stories with a bit more drama. A delver might be told a tale of woe where someone had been kidnapped for any of several dozen reasons. Of course, the in-story truth of the matter might vary. The target in question might need rescuing, they might have already rescued themselves by the time the delvers arrive, they might have decided this was a much better life and might resist being rescued, they might be a runaway, or other such variants.
She did have an ever-growing collection of books to draw upon after all.
To spice things up, Kazue also included an option for delvers to play the role of ''victim'' in this scenario, for proper rewards of course. This was generally going to be non-combat delvers, but Kazue also foresaw the possibility of people wanting to use this as an opportunity to play out romantic roles involving a heroic rescuer.
In an entirely different style of story, Kazue had the seven pirate ratlings to work with. She didn''t need to have the same sort of outlines for this lot. Instead, she handed them excerpts from various stories involving pirates acting in dramatic, and melodramatic ways along with some complete books and plays.
Then she created templates to act as different sorts of settings for them. Ship wreckage to litter across a section of the airy water path; a pirate''s lair to place at the end of the path; drifting wreckage on the top of the ocean sufficient to support the ratlings who would appear to be in need of rescuing; a small, stealthy pirate ship designed for sneaky night-time boarding; and a brightly colored and dramatic pirate ship for daylight challenges.
More would be added over time, she was certain there would be plenty of suggestions.
The onsen was going to start small for now. After all, there would only be so many groups who would be able to make it this far. But there was plenty of room on the island for the complex to grow and they could always expand the island itself if needed.
It was also not free. One could either pay upfront or take on a debt. That debt defaulted to reducing the rewards that the delver might be presented with later, but it could also be worked off or otherwise bargained for.
The onsen was fairly expensive, but it was rather lavish too.
While the guest rooms for those who cleared the dungeon were still available, and for now were not too far away, the facilities at the onsen were much more appealing and luxurious if one could afford them. When the next zone down is eventually built, Kazue was going to make sure to have a basic camping area of some sort there, for those who do not want to pay for the onsen.
Kazue consulted every book and person who had any sort of ideas for available services and locations for the setting and did her best to include them all as options. She also had one thing not found elsewhere: a clay dragon that could breathe steam infused with tea that had various sorts of healing (or intoxicating) properties.
Cimbu''s personalized services were amongst the most expensive available.
He also made for a wonderful, looming presence if needed.
Once both she and Mordecai were done with their primary creation process for this zone, it was time to sweep through and make any needed adjustments.
Their new floating jellyfish slimes were introduced into the sewers as well, along with creating a subsection of the warrens designed with partitioned entrances to keep the seawater from draining into the sewers, though the process did deliberately allow a tiny bit of briny water to slowly seep down.
The sewer inhabitants were easily upgraded to be able to live in salt water with high levels of various metals, and the ocean inhabitants had already been upgraded with flight and air breathing. Now they had even more interesting combinations available.
There wasn''t much to do with their raid bosses, though Mordecai did make sure to at least give Zushi the ability to breathe and move underwater, just in case. Enki and Cimbu didn''t need to breathe and Enki was dense enough to walk along the sea bottom unhindered. Sarcomaag still had the ability to grow one of his mushroom trees anywhere and was able to adapt to the cold saltwater without much issue. Still, if Zushi needed to fight underwater, the state of his fur when he got out was going to be, um, well, it would probably be best to not laugh about it in his presence.
Kazue also took this time to review some of her puzzles and rewards, as she had a lot more to work with now. Her changes were not very visible in most places, but the new materials gave her some ideas to add fun touches, such as in the crystal caves with the rhythm and harmony games.
Previously, the rewards had explicitly not included any of the crystals. As they had been built with their base mana pool instead of their dedicated rewards pool, the crystals would collapse back into mana if taken outside of the dungeon''s territory.
Kazue removed that restriction and instead posted new instructions. Crystals that were not part of the puzzle could be extracted from the walls, but they were highly prone to breaking during any sort of mining or excavation attempt. Great care would need to be taken with no guarantee of success.
The crystals would not be particularly valuable normally, but Kazue could now coat them with an invisibly thin sheen of their new metals, giving them spectacular appearances without increasing their material value.
Increasing rewards this way helped keep up with the effectively deeper zones caused by the surface growth.
After she and Mordecai finished making balancing tweaks like that and implementing some new signs and policies to make sure people knew about the possibility of the dungeon gleaning knowledge from their minds, it was time for a sweeping change.
The proper introduction of new fey into the dungeon, possibly as inhabitants.
258: Fey Bindings
Moriko was both excited and nervous about the adjustments they were going to be making regarding faeries and inhabitants.
This was the first time where her role as Faerie Queen was going to directly affect the dungeon''s rules and inhabitants, and she was eager to participate in this aspect of her spouses'' lives while also having some concerns about her inexperienced performance.
To help alleviate her concerns, Moriko had been spending a lot of time on the Other Side while Mordecai and Kazue had been working on the ocean zone. She''d been meditating on her connection to their faerie domain and expanding her awareness of it as thoroughly as she could.
Now Mordecai and Kazue had let her know it was time to begin.
With the two of them sitting in the back of her head to help, Moriko began the process. First, she made herself aware of all the fey creatures who owed allegiance to them and were within their borders. These were all citizens of their faerie domain.
After that, she filtered those who were already inhabitants into one category in her mind, holding them off to the side. This was almost exclusively the little pixies born of Kazue''s whimsy, and they vastly outnumbered all the rest.
She then created an empty category that Moriko mentally labeled ''future inhabitants''.
Separately, she started creating role concepts, such as playing the part of townsfolk or working at the onsen but also including participating in various combat roles.
The non-combat roles were then attached to both the future inhabitants category and the broader citizens category, while combat roles belonged exclusively to inhabitants, whether current or future.
These roles then had filters applied to control which types of fey might fill which roles. Moriko made sure to include fey from clans that were not represented in their current citizens, such as selkies.
Selkies were appropriate for any role in the ocean zone and creating this preset filter might make Azeria an inviting potential home.
Some roles had general filters rather than specific ones. Working at the onsen required having the ability to take on a bipedal form that would be considered at least aesthetically pleasing to most people, though this was not exactly the same as attractive. Physical transformations were required as they expected delvers who could get to the springs to have the skills or abilities to be able to casually see through illusory glamours and wanted a more unified experience for the onsen''s customers.
Combat roles in the river or ocean zones required the ability to breathe underwater and live in that zone''s type of water, while the ocean zone had the additional requirement of being able to fly. The wetlands had looser requirements as there were multiple ways of being functional in that environment.
Creating this mental framework and holding it all in her mind at once was extremely difficult. In fact, Moriko would consider this impossible for almost anyone who didn''t have some sort of extensive mental training. Her past training and her recent experience in aligning herself with the Other Side were just barely enough to keep a mostly stable mental construct of this size and complexity, and that was with Kazue and Mordecai able to provide a little bit of assistance in keeping track of it all.
Moriko spent several hours building this construct using all the information she and her spouses had collected and discussed previously. One of the cores could have done it much faster, but Moriko wanted to be more involved and this was one of the few things she could do that was integral to how their home worked.
When it was complete and verified by both Mordecai and Kazue, Moriko started implementing this rule set.
The first part wasn''t difficult as she connected to the fey citizens as their Queen and attached them to this mental construct.
Then allowing citizens to act in non-combat roles was only slightly difficult, though the connections were thinner and weaker than those between inhabitants. In short, any citizen working in the dungeon''s territory under one of these roles would be acting like a lesser version of a contractor, and be recognized as an ally by inhabitants automatically even if they could not mentally communicate the way that a proper contractor could.
Bridging that final gap to enable citizens to choose to become inhabitants and fall into roles automatically, was the part that Moriko couldn''t quite do. It fell too far out of her powers as a Faerie Queen and solidly into the power of the cores. Even with the passive authority that came with being their spouse and viewed by the inhabitants as nigh equivalent, the magic of the dungeon didn''t respond to her attempt to set rules.
When Moriko reached her limit, Kazue gently took over for her and finished laying the connection and rules that implemented the mental construct. It was emotionally painful to feel so close to that final bit of connection yet to be so completely unable to reach across the gap.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Releasing the last of the work to Kazue brought Moriko''s attention back to her body, which immediately collapsed with exhaustion and strain. That strain came with a hefty dose of pain racing along her nerves.
While she had gotten used to her personal powers, Moriko had little experience with her powers as a queen and had pushed herself to her limits. Mordecai was there in an instant of course, and Kazue only took a little longer as her invested avatar couldn''t be moved the same way. The only reason their avatars hadn''t been with her was because Moriko had insisted that they take care of business as usual while they were doing this.
Mordecai''s healing touch felt good, but the sort of strain Moriko had undertaken wasn''t so simple a matter to fix. She''d pushed the limits of her power, spirit, and mind, and the pain of her body was mostly a reflection of that. "Thank you loves," she said with a smile, then slowly sat up. "That really took a lot out of me. Your cores do this and more all the time?" It gave her a whole new perspective on how distracted her husband and wife could get when working on parts of the dungeon.
"Yeah," Kazue replied as she fidgeted with a tail, "but, our cores are built for it. It''s what that part of ourselves does."
Moriko wanted to be part of that aspect of their lives more, which was the reason she had pushed for trying to implement their faerie rule-set framework. An option only possible this time because of her connection as a queen over the faerie half of this equation.
"I appreciate that you want to be a part of this," Mordecai said, "but the way you push yourself does worry me at times."
"What''s to worry about?" Moriko asked with a smile, "In the worst-case scenario, I wake up on the next reset."
"Mm," Mordecai said, then shook his head, "Yes, probably, but that''s not the absolute worst case."
Moriko stared at him for a moment and could see Kazue doing the same. Mordecai gave that little half smile he tended to use to soften a topic he didn''t want to talk about. "It''s not something I''ve seen happen, but I''m not sure how much our core can help a soul heal. It''s very hard to harm a soul, but your soul''s raw material is the same as your spirit''s raw material, so it could happen. Your spirit will not heal instantly the way your body would."
Mordecai sighed and said, "I''m probably worrying too much. Your spirit is strong, it''s just not used to this particular application. Think of it like having had to use several muscles you''ve never had to use before, and coordinating that motion. While your stronger muscles can help to an extent, your weaker muscles still take the brunt of it. But like other exercises, this is something you can adapt to, within limits."
"You are a worrier," Moriko acknowledged with a smile, "and I think one of the things I love about you is that you can worry without trying to coddle me." Thinking back on it, he''d always been willing to fight by her side and never tried to keep her out of harm''s way. The closest was when he''d bought time for her to catch her breath after her run from the bandits.
"Now," she said, "you two help me up. I figure by the time we get me bathed and cleaned, we''ll have a few folks wanting clearer answers. Hopefully, I will be steady on my feet by then." Moriko didn''t mind getting sweaty from being physical, but pain-induced sweat always smelled different. Neither form of sweat was particularly regal, so she needed to get clean anyway before meeting with their fey citizens.
Nearly two hours later, Moriko and her spouses were seated on their thrones on the faerie side of things, though it was far less formal than the party that they''d first held here. The group gathered to ask questions was small as they represented only a portion of their faerie citizens, and they had less than a hundred of those right now. Many fey were not bothered much by the cold of winter, but it was still not a time of year that encouraged much travel.
Not that they were certain that there was going to be a rush of applicants come spring either. Reputation was a currency, but different types of reputation bought different things. Being new and exotic brought visitors while uncertainty about their future and stability limited people who wanted to settle here.
Which meant they were getting many of the more desperate folk.
Well, there was only so much they could do about it. For now, Moriko was going to try to be a responsible queen at least. Not that she felt very queenly.
The whole thing was still weird. While traveling, she had been mostly concerned about the impact her title had on herself and her power. When they had arrived at home, there wasn''t much change in that immediately as their domain had been a growing and shifting thing that was not fully stable nor inhabited, so it didn''t matter much.
It was only when they had their opening ceremony that it started to hit home that she really was a queen of sorts now, however small that kingdom.
She also found that it was easier to be formal and more distant with their fey citizens. While the rules that Moriko had laid out earlier were known to all citizens of the domain as soon as they were created, this connection only applied to rules.
There was no mental or emotional communication or other connections like a dungeon''s inhabitants had. Part of her had been expecting there to be more, but that expectation hadn''t been thought out. It had simply been an instinctive anticipation based on her experiences with the dungeon.
After a couple of hours, everyone''s questions and concerns had been answered as well as they could be. None of them were eager to jump at the idea of becoming an inhabitant and being bound so thoroughly, but some were certainly considering the option.
However, more of them were interested in the non-combat roles and she was pretty certain that over the next week or so they would begin trickling in.
Fey didn''t always need to have jobs in the same way more mortal beings did, many could happily subsist on a wild way of life, but some thrived the most when they felt useful to others.
With faerie matters tidied up, Moriko was happy to head back to their home and enjoy a relaxed evening with family. Tomorrow she had different duties to perform, as it was her turn to give some training to their group of youths. Derek wasn''t here yet, but Fuyuko, Shizoku, and Galan were all available for the sort of physical torture that made for strong bodies.
259: Training Days
The meaning and purpose of training had changed over the years for Fuyuko.
When she was young, it was just something fun and playful she did with her parents and was a part of them telling stories about their past before they settled down and had her.
After that night of fire, it had been something she''d done with other kids, whose features and names were blurred and hazed in her memory. That training had been simply what they could figure out to do with sticks, stones, and their bodies and had been about survival on the streets.
Although it was often still play, they also trained with a purpose. They''d done so because there were other kids their age on the streets who were not with them; those who did not hear or refused the call of Sanctuary. Those kids were usually junior members of a gang, and conflict could get violent. Plus there were always the older kids who had grown in violence as part of being more useful to the gangs.
Not that the caretakers had wanted them to fight. If they got into trouble, they were supposed to run home. But that wasn''t always easy and sometimes one had to fight free just so that they could run. But they always worked to keep each other safe and never left one of their own behind. And with shadow''s luck, one way or another they had always escaped, even if sometimes one or more of them had to be carried or dragged by the others.
The memories were still vague and spotty, but they were slowly returning.
After she''d left, Fuyuko''s training had become a whole lot more intensive and involved. During those weeks on the farm, she had to unlearn tricks that were useful for a pack of kids and learn new ones suitable for a hunter with a bow. Fuyuko had continued training with what she had been taught almost every day while she traveled, up until she''d been injured fighting the peryton.
When Fuyuko was well enough, Gil had started training her as well. She had to admit that nothing before compared to the intensity and precision of his training. All of Gil''s training had been simple practicality; after all, she had no way of knowing what her future was going to hold and what skills she might need, so he made sure to give her a solid base to grow from.
Now, here, in her new home, she continued to train, though in ways more varied than everything else together. At first, that training had been mostly to make sure she could do what she wanted in the future, and partly to do her part in being someone that others could rely on.
However, her training had slowly grown into a purpose for its own sake. It felt good to be able to accomplish things she''d not been able to do before and to feel herself becoming stronger and faster. Fuyuko was now in an ongoing competition with herself to ever improve, and in a competition with her friends to see who could improve the fastest and the most.
Well, that competition was mostly with Galan and Derek, once Derek had arrived with the scheduled caravan. Notably, the caravan that had arrived just days after the caravan Shizoku would have been arriving on had she not flown off the handle and arrived early to air her outrage over Aia''s pregnancy. They certainly weren''t going to send her back on her own, and finding a group for her to travel back to the clan with made no sense when she''d be due to come back again so soon.
Shizoku was diligent, but she didn''t get competitive about this sort of thing. Even in the bookish stuff, Shizo wasn''t really competitive, she just loved learning and reading a lot and didn''t need to compete to keep improving.
Still, Fuyuko found that she loved the rush of pushing herself and continually improving.
Usually.
There were some days that made her feel differently about the matter.
Right now, Fuyuko was sprinting across an open field with a light coating of snow while the sun shone bright in the sky above her.
While she kept shadows wrapped around herself as well as she could while the bright light tried to burn it off.
Again.
Fuyuko had lost count of how many times she''d done this exercise today, but it had been enough that Fuyuko had to dig deep into her will and the powers of her heritage to stand at all, let alone sprint.
The agony of her protesting body might make her resentful if Mama M wasn''t pushing herself just as hard and in a similar way.
Her adoptive parents had discovered that a sufficient amount of earth-attuned mana canceled out Moriko''s ability to walk through the air without effort. She could still do it with a little bit of effort, but the more earth-attuned energy she had on her person, the harder it was to simply step up into the air.
Moriko was currently wearing a thick, padded outfit covered with heavy plates of enchanted stone and metal as she sprinted across the field while several feet above the ground.
This was how most training days with Mama M went; she would find something difficult for both of them to do repeatedly that was similar in some way, and they would both do it until one of them couldn''t move anymore.
So far, that was always Fuyuko, no matter what insane challenge Moriko gave herself.
Once Fuyuko was unable to continue and often unable to move, Mama M would take care of her until the evening reset. Combined with her own healing powers, that meant that they could now train in unarmed combat. This was Fuyuko''s favorite part, because Betty also trained with them for this now that she''d had her child, and Betty always brought her son Boril with her.
Fuyuko always managed to find a way to sneak in a little bit of time with the adorable usagisune baby boy with his shock of dark, blue-gray hair.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
Boril''s arrival had surprised Fuyuko at first, but she''d only been vaguely aware of the fact that dungeon inhabitants had accelerated pregnancies.
Mordecai had commented during that night''s dinner to Kazue and Moriko that his personal biases seemed to have tweaked the usagisune default form as Boril was born in his almost-human body type. With Betty being a first-generation usagisune, Gil being human shouldn''t have influenced her child''s base form.
Betty had been pretty bored those last few weeks before giving birth and had spent a considerable amount of time in the library researching names. She said that she''d picked the name because it meant, roughly, ''to fight'' and it contained parts of her name and Gil''s name. Though she''d also mentioned that it was similar to a word in a different language that meant ''wolf'', which Fuyuko rather liked.
While she wasn''t interested in having one of her own, Fuyuko liked babies a lot. Especially since she could hand them back when they got smelly. Her nose was sensitive enough to notice that fast and early.
Training days with Kazue were very different from those with Moriko. Mama K mostly focused on reviewing what Fuyuko had learned from other tutors like Horace, the librarian orangutan zone boss, and touching up anything Fuyuko was having trouble with.
But they did do some training too, it was just not focused on pushing themselves. Instead, Mama K wanted to test things like having Fuyuko figure a way around a warding spell or Kazue trying a spell to see how well Fuyuko could resist or shake off its effects.
These were all done very carefully and any experiments were called off immediately if it seemed like something might have gone wrong.
Neither one of them felt confident enough to try direct sparring, their combat styles were too different without either of them having a great understanding of the other''s style. They just couldn''t spar safely unless they both chose to do only unarmed fighting. Fuyuko won the few times they tried that, but she still felt foxfire was cheating, even if it was a natural weapon for Kazue that she always had available.
Bellona''s training was great as far as Fuyuko was concerned. A lot of fighting practice; exactly what she wanted. Not that Bellona always trained her directly; a lot of the time she wanted to have Fuyuko work with one of the rabbit folk who had a specific style that Bellona wanted Fuyuko to get used to.
Even better was the occasional training with ''Gramps''. Thinking about Ricardo''s expression when she''d called him Gramps still made Fuyuko want to giggle. Still, they had a similar fighting style and the ''old man'' seemed both eager to both prove he still had what it took to keep up with Akahana and to teach a new disciple more than a few tricks.
Fuyuko had not tried to give Akahana a nickname. She''d paused after calling Ricardo ''Gramps'' and given Akahana a questioning look.
"Auntie," Akahana had said, resolving the matter firmly.
The only reason that Fuyuko didn''t get to train with Gramps more often was that he was often delving. This was also why Fuyuko didn''t get to see Shizoku, Derek, and Galan more often, though she always got a free day whenever they returned from a delve. Right now this meant every few days as they couldn''t delve very far, even with a team.
Mordecai had become her least frequent trainer, but he had also become a specialist for Fuyuko. He was the one who brought together all of her disparate lessons and taught her how to do things like combine her dagger work with her shadow powers and the techniques she''d figured out from working around Kazue''s shields. That one let her attack with one of her daggers and let a shadow of the dagger pass through many physical and magic barriers, with some limitations.
Whenever Fuyuko mastered one of these synergies, she always felt a little stronger and more confident. It could take weeks to master them after Mordecai had taught Fuyuko enough to continue practicing on her own, but Fuyuko had some very good reasons to spend a lot of energy mastering them.
They also unlocked a little more of her memories.
She''d considered asking Mordecai about it when she realized what was happening, but Fuyuko waited to give it some thought first as the idea felt familiar. After thinking about it for a while, she remembered that Mordecai had already told her that her memories would return when it was safe for her to have them.
Being strong and self-sufficient was the best way for her to be that sort of safe. The techniques and skills that combined different aspects of her training into something that was hers were the most concrete advances in her personal power.
Fuyuko was hoping to have most if not all of her memories back by the time they finished their trip to the southern dungeon. Although she could tell that Mordecai had some lingering reluctance to do so, he wanted to gather as much information as possible to allow Fuyuko to choose if she needed vengeance. To this end, Mordecai had said that since they were going to be going up to Trionea, it would be best to make a visit to where she had lived before they dealt with the wizard who held Deidre''s core in thrall.
He had two major reasons. First, time mattered when it came to the scrying of past events. While a few months might not make much difference at this point, a few more years easily could. This brought up his second reason: They didn''t know what was going to happen after the dungeon raid, and they might not have the luxury of visiting the city afterward.
There was one problem: Fuyuko wasn''t sure she could remember where she lived more than six years ago. She''d only been eight!
But she had a potential solution to that problem that would also involve doing something she wanted to do anyway: see Caretaker Yvonne again, and maybe some of her friends too, if she could remember them well enough.
So she trained as the weeks rolled by without major incident.
Mostly.
Shizoku only stayed in Fuyuko''s room for two nights, but that was enough.
Her room was now permanently contaminated with white fur and sparkling faerie dust from Shizoku''s tails, all of which showed up easily against Fuyuko''s mostly dark clothes. It was only occasionally irritating, but one time she had been particularly annoyed about it and tried to purify at least what she was wearing by being extra selective when taking a small shadow jump. Fuyuko had been trying to filter out anything ''foreign'' to her, other than her gear.
Fuyuko didn''t entirely remember how her experiment ended, she mostly remembered feeling particularly awful almost immediately. It wasn''t pain exactly, but it was weird, uncomfortable, and a little panic-inducing.
Papa had swooped in immediately of course, but normally Fuyuko would have expected her Mamas to nurse her beyond those first moments of crises. Instead, Mordecai was in more often than they were to check up on her, though they were both there frequently as was Shizoku.
More than once she''d heard him muttering something about the short life spans of prodigies.
Hey, at least she was a prodigy?
It turned out that by filtering everything that was supposedly ''not her'', she''d filtered out a lot of symbiotic life that was a normal part of everyone''s bodies. For her, this was about three pounds of weight according to Mordecai.
She found that number disturbing to think about.
Unfortunately, Fuyuko had a few days to think about it. The dungeon''s reset didn''t really see the missing life as damage, and Mordecai had made her repeatedly take pills through each day, along with a few very herbal-tasting drinks and giving her a few injections.
That was a new and scary experience. She didn''t know that there were medicines you could inject like that. But you could inject poisons, so why shouldn''t you be able to inject good stuff?
Oh, and between repeated visits by both Shikoku and Kazue, Fuyuko''s room was now infested with both white and red fur.
260: Finessing Forms
Mordecai swore as he shook his head to clear his thoughts in the wake of the sudden explosion. It didn''t help that the flash and bang of it had left even his senses dazzled.
Nearby, Crios was dancing happily at his successful experiment. Fortunately, they weren''t in Crios''s normal zone right now, so there was no one who would get seriously hurt by that underwater explosion.
The crab zone boss of their second downward zone had been a little jealous that ''normal'' crabs in their ocean zone were more powerful than he was, and Mordecai had been running a couple of experiments of his own to help alleviate the issue.
The first of those was fairly benign; he was simply trying to improve Crios''s defenses in passive, non-magical ways that would still count as fair. Crios''s carapace now included enough iron to make it somewhat harder to crack while maintaining the little bit of flexibility exoskeletons required. Mordecai had also been working on armored plating that would be externally strapped on, making it equipment.
This had only been going so well. Figuring out ways to strap metal plates onto a crab without hindering movement was complicated for the legs and head. Crios''s main body was fairly straightforward, but most people only had a chance to attack his body if they had already damaged his legs.
The second thing Mordecai had been doing was to indulge Crios with the use of a bit of polymorphic magic. Battle-form spells were not terribly complicated to create if you understood the target form well enough. Once the spell was created, just using it didn''t require the same knowledge, and self-only versions were simpler than spells that could target others. So Mordecai had created a single-use talisman that Crios could use to cast the spell on himself.
Crios had enjoyed the experience, but that had only been one variation of the metal-shelled crabs in the ocean zone and Crios wanted more. The back and forth on the topic had required a promise from Crios to only indulge himself once per reset and only if it was certain that his floor would not have any combat parties visiting before the next reset.
Mordecai''s part of the bargain involved designing something new. There were potentially a lot of variations of metal-shelled crabs, far more than actually existed in the Azeria Dungeon, and Mordecai didn''t want to end up needing to craft a new spell for each variation Crios wanted to try out.
While it was possible to craft a spell that could incorporate all the variations, selecting a variation required casting the spell yourself rather than using spell-charged items.
Instead, Mordecai had created an interface in the warrens that let Crios select different potential traits. This automated the process of generating a custom spell that was dispensed as another single-use talisman. Well, sort of automated. It was still his core that was doing the work, but it took up less of his attention.
Over time, Crios¡¯ requests had led to Mordecai being able to significantly expand, refine, and modify the available possibilities. While continually modifying the interface was more work, it was also free variation testing that Mordecai didn''t have to do himself.
Today''s explosion was the result of Crios''s experiments. He had been working on having stripes of different metal compounds positioned in specific locations, and the first thing those experiments had taught him was to specify that the stripes be thin if the metal in question wasn''t strong.
With the right metallic stripes in the right locations, it was possible to grind off powders of burnable metals. Another shell modification allowed the creation of a ''pouch'' of sorts near the tip of a claw, and a final modification allowed grinding two bits of different metal plates together inside of the pouch to ignite the metal powders in a sudden flash.
It was Mordecai''s bad luck to be there when Crios had finally gotten the combination right. The most reactive metals could ignite in tiny puffs during the first grinding process, while less reactive metals were hard to set burning while underwater. But he had fine-tuned an alloy that worked.
Mordecai paused in his own experiments to ensure that this new form was still appropriate for the challenge their ocean level was supposed to present. Power alone became less reliable as a measure of fairness when a dungeon grew deep enough. Much like what Mordecai had done with his avatar, it was technically possible to create inhabitants that were good at everything simultaneously while not exceeding how much power a given zone could support and one had to develop a better sense for what was fair.
Creating an unfair challenge for normal delvers didn''t always create immediate problems, but eventually, it would come back around to bite the dungeon. At a minimum, the inhabitant''s mana cost would start to increase, reducing how many inhabitants they could support. Other backlash effects could include a compulsion to migrate the inhabitant to a stronger zone or a spontaneous change to a weaker version of the form. Mordecai had always considered these reactions to be similar to how other life forms developed stress reactions, but now he suspected it was a case of divine enforcement of a dungeon''s constraining rules.
Once he felt certain that the innate rate limitation of the bright explosion could work with certain crab types to make a more balanced build, Mordecai formalized that variation as a possible evolution for some of the metal crab types that he''d found to be underperforming.
With that done, he turned his attention back to what he had been doing with his own form. While he had done some limited underwater work when setting up the airy water path, Mordecai had not extensively tested the underwater performance of his avatar.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
There were some minor issues, though only because he was being finicky about optimizing everything. For example, in his ambassador form, the scales on his arm were facing the wrong way for optimized swimming.
If the scales pointed toward his hands, which was less efficient for swimming, downward strikes were easily deflected, and those were more common than upward strikes. However, strikes coming from in front of him potentially had an angle to better attack his forearms.
If he reversed them, it was better for swimming and protected his forearms better, but his upper arms were less well protected. Also, it ran against the pattern of his body scales, so there was a line where the scales didn''t mesh well.
In the end, Mordecai decided to have the scales run up his arms and to have the patterns meet at his shoulders. The meeting patterns created a bit of a weakness at his armpits, but with a little tweaking he could make the rest of the line overlap in a way that created a ridge that would help protect his neck, not unlike the ridges found on some pauldrons.
The difference in his swimming was small enough that it was not a deciding factor, it had simply drawn his attention to the direction of his arm scales and made him think about the possibilities.
Another thing he was working on was improving his senses. It was very hard to have acute senses that were not easily overloaded, but he was slowly enhancing them via constant small tweaks and adjustments. Mordecai''s physical senses combined enough specialties that they surpassed the performance of any species he knew of, and his non-physical senses were extremely keen as well.
Crios''s little experiment provided an accidental test for his sight, hearing, and bodily sensitivity to vibrations. Any one of these could be easily dealt with and compensated for, but when combined that way it was harder to process and filter everything quickly, leading to overloaded senses.
Testing other senses such as electrical sensors and detecting subtle changes in current were why Mordecai was currently only wearing a pair of short trousers. He still had to figure out how to best optimize clothing to not interfere with such senses while still be appropriately dressed.
Mordecai was determined to refine every form that his body could take before he awakened his invested avatar. He had a lot more time now than when he''d created this pattern for his avatar, and that was giving him some leeway with the invested avatar.
As it hadn''t been awakened, it could still be edited. It was already taking up an unusually large portion of his core''s memory, though that ratio had shrunk as the core had grown. Mordecai was slowly feeling confident enough in what he wanted or needed to start deleting some features of his secret form.
These changes would only affect his invested avatar right now, but that was the one that mattered.
His biggest concern with the existence of that monstrous form was the possibility of being forced to shift into it. That might seem a bit vain at first, but he was mostly thinking about how it would look to the public if he suddenly became an eldritch horror. He did not need to hand any more political or social weapons to his enemies.
Various spells and abilities specialized in revealing shape changers by forcing them to shift, and Mordecai was pretty certain that this was the form he would be forced to take in such a situation as it was the one least like all the others.
Therefore, it was Mordecai''s goal to completely delete the secret form from his invested avatar.
While it was the ''source'' for a lot of the abilities he was imbuing into his other forms, Mordecai was modifying that by the way he was incorporating the traits he wanted into his other forms.
It did help that he had a lot of ''base'' forms to spread some abilities amongst. Kitsune, tanuki, and shifters all had at least two forms, and he had included other species as well who had more limited shape-changing, such as the merfolk bloodline that could shift between having legs for land and their swimming form.
Merfolk were a species Mordecai suspected was crafted; there were too many unrelated variations of fish, sharks, octopuses, and more for him to believe they could all be the same species unless they were designed with that variation.
He shook off that thought and focused back on his current testing. By taking advantage of the multitude of forms available to him, Mordecai could migrate everything he wanted to keep into other forms. This did mean his invested avatar had unusual forms; after all, bear shifters didn''t usually have stony quills hidden in their hair that they could fire at enemies behind them.
This didn''t come without a price, though it was one that mostly aligned with his goals anyway. For every feature that he incorporated into a base form to make it non-standard for its type, Mordecai had to completely unmake a feature of similar complexity or energy cost from the secret form without moving it.
Reshuffling a future avatar''s features shouldn''t require this normally, but there was a soft strain from its size. Each deletion created a little ''space'' and allowed the pattern to briefly relax, and it was during that window of time that Mordecai could move components around and cut old links after new links were established.
While his plans made some of his choices easy, such as deleting crab-like claws, some were harder. Mordecai liked having redundancies, but he was having to trim down. Previously he''d had a fairly wide range of toxins available to him, now he had just over a dozen scattered across all his future avatar''s forms.
The pattern of his invested avatar was slowly reducing in complexity and size, though it had no effect on his current one.
It made Mordecai a bit nervous; once he fully invested in this avatar, he wouldn''t be able to edit it anymore. There was so much depending on his power and ability in the near future, but more than that he wouldn''t be able to make a new avatar for decades and even then it would be hard to consider any new form to be anything other than limiting and constraining when compared to this one.
Of course, he could just wait until their core had enough power and space to duplicate the pattern, which would also mean having the ability to create a variant of it that was focused a little differently and required learning some new skills, but that could easily be a century away.
He tried not to think about that too much. He''d never had an avatar out for that long before; even when he was young, it usually only took two or three decades before an avatar had achieved the readily reached limits of mortal skill and power. As he''d gotten older, his avatars had usually started off with a stronger base set of skills, quickening their progress to mastery of a particular style or ability that he had focused that avatar on.
Once Mordecai was satisfied that his four fully customized forms were operating as well as he could expect when underwater, it was time to head back up for dinner. Crios had already run out the duration of his spell and left for his home zone again. He was a little disappointed with how long it took to grind up enough metal powder to set off another flash again, but overall, he''d had fun.
261: Playing Dress Up
When Mordecai returned to their rooms up in the crystal tree, he found a rather interesting surprise awaiting him.
There were two women on the bed, and both of them were his wives, but neither of them appeared to be Kazue. Instead, there were two nigh identical copies of Moriko lying in sultry repose amongst a decorative scattering of pillows.
The two of them watched him with matching smirks. "Can you guess who is the real one, lover?" one of them asked with a purr.
The other one added, "We might even reward a man who can readily tell apart his wives."
"Although," the first one continued, "we might have to express our disappointment in a man who could fail what should be such a simple task."
Mordecai shook his head with amusement.
The two of them had really done an impeccable job. Both of their, um, outfits were new as well as identical, giving no clues there. One of them, he was guessing Moriko, had mingled their auras into a complicated mess to confuse identification that way. He rather had to approve of that, it was much easier and more reliable than mimicking someone else''s aura, though mimicking was more useful if you were trying to disguise the act of swapping with someone.
The near-perfect matching of their bodies was a testament to Kazue''s growing skills, and he was pretty certain that she was also maintaining a spell to let her mimic Moriko''s body language and speech patterns.
Unfortunately for their game, Kazue had missed something. To be fair, it involved one of his senses that most people don''t have.
He decided to play along for the moment and said, "Alas, it seems my wives have become corrupted by their fey titles. Playing such tricks upon their loving husband, whatever is a man to do?" He walked toward the bed slowly while he made a show of examining the two of them.
"Hmm," Mordecai murmured with exaggerated thoughtfulness when he leaned over to sniff each of them, nuzzling into each one''s neck to make her squirm. "No, no clue there." He was fairly certain that Kazue had done a perfect job even here, but she''d also taken the precaution of having both of them wear a mild perfume that neither one of them had worn before.
After indulging in several minutes of making a show out of examining both of them in minute detail, Mordecai ended with Kazue pinned beneath him. Her defiant expression still mirrored Moriko''s perfectly. "You know," he said, "it could be a problem if I got it wrong and got carried away with Kazue, thinking she was Moriko. While my adorable fox loves a bit of rough play, she much prefers ''scary'' foreplay that isn''t too rough. Just imagine what it would be like if I played with her with the same level of vigor that I use with Moriko."
Kazue lasted a few moments longer while wearing Moriko''s ''I dare you'' look that was an invitation, but she broke after a few moments of him staring down at her. She shivered as her body language went back to her own, though she didn''t change her shape. "How did you figure it out? I think you knew immediately."
"That''s simple my love," he replied with a grin. "The two of you have very different stripes."
"Stripes?" Moriko asked with confusion, "What do you mean?"
Mordecai looked at her with a smile. "Exactly what I said. Everyone has stripes. It''s just that most people can''t see them. I, however, can see them clearly."
"Oh!" Kazue said as she pulled the pieces together with a little help from her other self. "That bluer blue! I didn''t think to look at us through my focus!"
"Correct," Mordecai replied. "Now, about that prize for seeing through your clever disguise..."
In the end, he didn''t ask anything too arduous from them. Mordecai simply continued the game they''d started. At first, he just had Kazue maintain looking like Moriko while the three of them enjoyed each other. When he felt that part of the game was played out, Moriko accepted a spell from him that transformed her to look like Kazue.
Such spells were difficult to inflict upon the unwilling, but with a willing target, they were only a little more difficult than targeting one''s self. Now he had them each do their best to pretend to be the other, which was entertaining by itself, even before accounting for their other activities.
Finally, he had Kazue revert to her normal form so that Mordecai had two little red-headed kitsune to play with and have play with each other.
Once their games were played out, the three of them cleaned up and settled into a bath together.
"You know," Moriko said, "it was rather strange kissing ''myself'', even when you had me wearing Kazue''s form."
"Well, yes," Kazue said, "it was. But, um, I thought it was a kind of fun game still." She was adorable when she blushed.
Moriko smiled and admitted, "Yeah, it was. Though I don''t think the accounts are quite balanced yet." She finished that last statement with a meaningful look at Mordecai.
He laughed and replied, "Fair enough, but Kazue has to master becoming a convincing duplicate of me first. Then you two can dictate the games." Given the fire he saw light in Kazue''s eyes, Mordecai was certain he''d successfully provided her with even more motivation to train.
There wasn''t a lot to do other than train and play right now. The weather was slowly warming toward spring and there were a few more groups willing to travel as the weather improved, so the dungeon was getting busier but it was all still routine as they continued to gather mana toward their next zone.
Kazue had her theme picked out already. She intended to work with the existing terrain and create a ''mountain forest survival'' scenario, complete with the ability to make base camps and such. Spacial compression was more difficult in open terrain, but with the influence of their faerie domain, it was going to be easier for them than for most.
Mordecai had a few entertaining ideas to add to the zone within that theme, but all of that would wait until after the beginning of spring and the new year. Once they had confirmed the weather was trending in the right direction for a normal springtime, they could claim the zone and announce the one-month timeline for people to clear the ocean zone if they wanted to participate in the tournament.
After the tournament, they''d hopefully have the mana to claim one more zone above the earth zone, and after that would be when Mordecai planned to finish his redesigns and finally invest into a fully incarnated avatar.
Which reminded him of another thought he''d had.
"Hey loves," he said, "I have a request. I need at least one new outfit for when we head out for our training mission and then to help Deidre''s core. There are some specifications that make it a little more difficult than normal. If I was just going for my minimal needs, I could wear short trousers or some variation on a long, sleeveless tunic, but I rather suspect that neither of you want to be seen with me in public like that."
That got their attention and curiosity, and soon they were barraging him with questions.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"So," Mordecai said, "I''ve been making some adjustments to my avatar''s different forms over time as I''ve resolved how to make more abilities work in every shape. One of the things I''ve been able to do is make my skin mildly sensitive to light and shadow, enough to help me see motion even behind me. But that requires bare skin. Similarly, I need the soles of my feet to touch the ground in order to feel faint vibrations. That same type of sense also means I want my arms and legs bare so that my skin and hair can feel every slight change in the wind and air."
Kazue nodded as she took physical and mental notes. This was going to be an interesting challenge. Although seeing her husband run around in near nothing, or maybe even less, might be entertaining in private, she admitted to herself with a small blush, she didn''t think it was quite the look for a faerie king in public.
"Alright," she said after trading looks with Moriko, "We''ll work on it and see what we can come up with." She was certain, given the glint in Moriko¡¯s eye, that her wife was also interested in scheming together to create some special outfits for Mordecai in addition to the ones he was asking for. Outfits that would be for private entertainment only.
By the next day, she had gathered together a small conspiracy''s worth of cohorts, and Mordecai was not invited. If he was going to make a request like this, he had to live with the results they came up with.
Moriko was going to be part of this of course, and Moriko had brought up the idea of roping in Satsuki with all of her experience. With Satsuki naturally followed Deidre, though she didn''t seem particularly interested in adding to the design process.
With this set of peers gathered, Kazue decided that it would be appropriate to get their adoptive daughters involved. She wasn''t expecting either Carmilla or Fuyuko to have a lot to add in the way of suggestions, but it seemed a good idea to make sure their daughters didn''t find their father''s battle outfit too embarrassing.
Satsuki, unsurprisingly, made the first suggestion: Tapping her lip, she said, ¡°I have been to a few places where fighting skirts were worn by men, some on this world, some on others. That might be a good place to start."
She started weaving an illusion to illustrate what she was talking about."Specifically, the one I¡¯m thinking of is made of one continuous piece of somewhat heavy fabric, a blanket, if you will. It is left flat in the front and pleated along the back. That should give him space for whatever tail configuration he has under the skirt."
The kitsune woman couldn''t resist a small, predatory smile when she mentioned what would be under Mordecai''s skirt, but she continued without missing a beat.
"Once the skirt is fixed in place with a belt, there is still enough fabric to either belt around the body or toss over the back to wear as a cloak; or even a hood. Once that fabric is pinned into place, he should be able to hold minor items in the folds. And, of course, it is bulky enough to somewhat obfuscate his shape as well as be used to ward minor blows."
¡°That seems rather casual, though. I mean, it¡¯s just a blanket, isn¡¯t it?¡± Carmilla asked.
¡°Don¡¯t scorn a well-placed blanket, darling,¡± Satsuki said with a wink.
Carmilla got a rather thoughtful expression and Kazue decided it was best that she didn''t know what the faerie was considering. She just sent a prayer off for whatever poor soul Carmilla roped into ''helping'' her.
Kazue quickly moved the conversation on to other ideas, though she and Moriko shared an amused glance at the thought of how their husband would have to contort to put it on properly. Based on the design shown, he''d be rolling around on the floor a lot.
Moriko had the next suggestion. "There are sleeveless designs for lightweight gi, and people are often barefoot when wearing them for training. I''m sure we could make it look dashing as well. Um, the pants are usually ankle length, though they are loose enough for airflow. I''m not sure short pants would work. Maybe some cutouts could be designed for the back? I think that would get most of the effect Mordecai is looking for."
That was an interesting thought and after some discussion with the whole group concerning the possibilities of heavy embroidery with large openings within the pattern and mesh to create holes in the fabric that would allow air and light through to the skin below, they had a small selection of variations on the idea created via dungeon magic. These would only be patterns of course, the final clothing would need to be made from outside materials.
The next idea came from an unexpected place. Deidre looked at Fuyuko, asking ¡°How much do you know of your people?¡±
¡°Uh, not much,¡± Fuyuko answered in surprise, a small frown on her face. ¡°My parents died when our house burned down. I was only eight at the time, so I only knew some stories they told me while they were teaching me their crafts. My, um, new parents gave me a book with even more stories, but that still only tells so much.¡±
It was sweet watching her stumble and blush over differentiating between her two sets of parents.
¡°Ah, so they were not clan warriors," Deidre replied."I have seen the traditional outfits of the luponi clan, and they might suit his needs well. After all, they also often have tails to take care with, though you do not. As your father, it might behoove Mordecai to dress so.¡±
With that, Deidre described a warrior¡¯s skirt while Satsuki gave the description form with illusion magic. This one was made of multiple leaves of heavy fabric overlaying each other like petals, the fabric black and the hem uneven. Over the torso and continuing onto the upper arms was a harness made of a complex series of metal chains, circles, and brooch-sized engraved shields that were both beautiful to look at as well as creating a multitude of places to fasten anything to himself that he might need, from a cloak to pouches and weaponry, and they offered a light amount of armoring.
For footwear, she showed them a strange pair of sandals. The very thin soles had holes in them, specifically placed so that the balls of the feet and the heels would touch the ground, while adding protection to the other parts of the foot as well as transmitting any sensations from the ground up through the sole to those parts that would not normally touch the ground, actually adding to the amount of sensation the wearer would be able to read through their feet.
It was a very fierce looking outfit, showing off well-toned muscle with glints and sparkling metal. But once again, not really the look for a faerie king. Or not a very civilized one, at least. Although, it made for a great mental image of a conquering faerie king, especially one who was looking to conquer... Kazue made herself shut those thoughts off and tucked them away for future story-writing ideas.
Kazue went next and presented her ideas using a little bit of dungeon magic. Utilizing fabric with the open, airy weave of cheese-cloth so that Mordecai could use his senses through the holes in the fabric, Kazue created a puffy shirt.
She then took the idea of the harness from the clan outfit Deidre had described, but instead made it of soft black leather and had it continue slightly further along the upper arms, as a stabilizer for the puffs of the mostly decorative fabric it was attached to and ending as a leather cuff just above the elbow to where the bracers would lay.
The pants were made of the same material as the shirt and stabilized with the same soft leather strips, they ended just above the knee. Sandals were also taken from the clan-warrior outfit, with the straps wrapping around the calves and ending just above the knees, in line with the pants.
Fuyuko suggested running threads of silver and cold iron through the fabric, both to help stiffen it as well as to make it better armor against fey and other creatures sensitive to such. She admitted that the idea came to her because of how she''d almost caused more trouble with her daggers when they held court in Faerie.
¡°That¡¯s a good idea!¡± Kazue said excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ll also run some gold through it. It won¡¯t help with any creatures I know of, but it¡¯ll also help stiffen those puffs out to make sure they don¡¯t interfere with Mordecai¡¯s senses while helping me do this.¡±
Kazue created a motif of the four seasons over the entire outfit.
First, the pants were patterned with a vine motif for summer, the gold threads becoming glinting wood.
Second, a panel of spring flowers bloomed over the chest, with petals of silver and gold interspersed among the delicate hues.
From there, autumn leaves overlay the arms, with glints of sun-dappled gold and dewy silver.
Finally, across the back, surrounding the shield-shaped panel on the front, and as a single stripe going down each arm and leg, was a dark wintry landscape of falling silver snowflakes and golden stars.
Now that was an outfit for a faerie king.
¡°Well, they¡¯re all so different from each other. I don¡¯t think I can choose.¡± Moriko said, reviewing the designs.
¡°They are,¡± Satsuki agreed. ¡°You know, he doesn¡¯t have to have just one. You never know what the situation will call for, after all.¡± The group quickly agreed that having all four designs available was a good idea, and the gi could sort of count as multiple outfits as there were a few different coordinating motifs.
Now it was time to enjoy a show. When they had all the dungeon-crafted samples ready, Kazue sent a message to Mordecai letting him know it was time to try on his new wardrobe so that final adjustments could be made before having the outfits crafted properly. Naturally, her core would be ''peeking'' during his changes and passing on the visuals to Moriko.
This was fun, but it was also a part of the ongoing preparations they were all making to get ready for their training trip and the small war that would follow afterward.
The days continued to pass and spring approached with both painful slowness and terrifying speed. It was difficult to not be able to take the next major step in their plans, but there was so much small stuff to do that it was easy to worry about missing something.
But spring would inevitably come, no matter what any of them felt about it.
Glossary (Volume 4)
Gods
Zagaroth, dragon god, primary creator deity, Emperor of the Gods
Amirume, kitsune goddess of the sun, mother of Zagaroth¡¯s daughter
Mericume, kitsune goddess of the moon, mother of Zagaroth¡¯s son
Sakiya, lady of passions, Zagaroth¡¯s daughter
Ozuran, lord of shadows, Zagaroth¡¯s son
Li Zarb, chaos incarnate
Danu; elven goddess, queen of the elven pantheon
Yamaraja; judge of the dead, husband of Kikoi Muerte
Kikoi Muerte; goddess of the transition between life and death, wife of Yamaraja
Bedelia; phoenix, elemental goddess of fire
Fisaga; sylph, elemental goddess of air
Kamatha; tortoise, elemental god of earth
Yu-kiang; leviathan, elemental god of water
Xiyual; demon-slaying hero risen to become a god
Dormire; a risen human god, believes in acquiring power through almost any means above all else
Diasthian; a risen human goddess of protection, community, and loyalty
Primogen Deities: Any of the gods present as part of the creation of the universe
Empyreal Pillars: The central family of the primogen deities; Zagaroth, Mericume, Amirume, Ozuran, Sakiya, and ¡®adopted family¡¯ Li Zarb
Mortals
Main Cast:
Mordecai; ancient dungeon core, husband to Kazue and Moriko, priest of Ozuran
--- Shenlong; a dragon eidolon
Moriko; elf-blooded monk, wife of Kazue and Mordecai, follower of Sakiya
--- Thunder and Lightning; a two headed dragon hatchling familiar
Kazue; former kitsune, reborn dungeon core, wife of Moriko and Mordecai, former shrine maiden of Mericume
--- "Raimi Darlington", her pen name
--- Carnelian Flame; a felinesque dragon hatchling familiar with six legs
Secondary Cast:
Bellona; orc champion of Amirume
Fuyuko; a young luponi specialized in skirmishing styles
Moriko¡¯s Family:
Mother: Kaoru Father: Jhaeros
Moriko(36)
Ayred, Brother(32)
Kameko, Sister(30)
Shoko, Sister(25)
Hainako, Sister(21)
Galan, Brother(14)
Mordecai¡¯s Family:
Traxalim; elven priest, grandson
Norumi; kitsune, a founder of the royal family, daughter, forest spirit of Azeria
--Satsuki, Norumi''s mother
Haolong; Norumi''s husband, guardian spirit of Azeria
Kuiccihan¡¯s royal bloodline
Azeria clan¡¯s matriarchal bloodline
Kazue¡¯s Family:
Akahana; seven-tailed kitsune druid, mother
Casey; cassowary animal companion
Ricardo; human merchant, father
Azeria Clan:
Aia, 9-tail matriarch
Shizoku, 4-tail heir presumptive, 14 year old witch
--- Bip, small slime familiar
Takehiko, 6-tail cousin of Shizoku, guardian thereof
--- Kayda, fey eidolon
Orchid, 6-tail, also Princess Orchid Apifera of the Kuiccihan Kingdom
Paltira, celestial nephilim, consort of Orchid, Marked by Kuiccihan
Xarlug, fiend touched nephilim, close ally
Gako; shrine maiden of Amirume and friend of Kazue
Tia; shrine maiden of Mericume and a friend of Kazue
+ 4 more, currently unnamed, who visited the dungeon with them
Royal Family (Apifera):
King Yoshihiro (56M)
Queen Phaedra (54F) (Formerly of a coastal duchy)
Princess Kagami (34F)
Husband: Zarod - From a barony in the south
Prince Ailwin(33M)
Wife: Amhis - rich merchant half-elf, sweet little thing who is actually in charge
Princess Kitiara (31F)
Wife: Catherine, daughter of a Marquess along the northern border
Princess Tiriana (28F)
Engaged to an elven noble, Ilimater.
Princess Orchid (25F)
Consort: Paltira
Princess Bridgette (21F) -phoenix bloodline
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.--- Fintan (White Fire); a rainbow-colored, bird/phoenix like dragon hatchling familiar
Prince Gou (16M)
Kuiccihan; kingdom sized living dungeon
Others:
Brongrim; dwarf, mercenary, briefly part of a bandit gang, Nainvil¡¯s partner
Nainvil; half-orc, mercenary, briefly part of a bandit gang, Brongrim¡¯s partner
Dara; human guard for Riverbridge
Yambul; friend and former lover of Moriko
Jexim; gnome, mayor of Riverbridge
Pasu; tengu, captain of the guards
Derek; human, 12, has elemental powers that draw on his physical vitality
Allannia; young elven acolyte under Traxalim
Rika; young half-elf ranger
Viris; kobold, grandson to the shaman Crizdirk who has now joined the dungeon
Am¨¦lie/Zelda; 18, human disciple of Ozuran from another realm
Tsukiko; 17, kitsune disciple of Ozuran from another realm
Lena; former succubus, agent of Ozuran, rising to become something new
-Has an unaccredited second appearance in the story
Ualiar; elven priest of Amirume
Amator Helmbreaker; halfling champion of The Twins
Kansif; royal guard and former bodyguard/trainer of Princess Orchid
Brianna; a merchant friend of Theodoric
Ula; clothier, favored by the princesses
Yuriko; ''auntie'' of the princesses, seven-tail kitsune
Elyon, an elven agent of hers.
Chaxiss; monk and primary gardener at Sakiya''s monastery
Theodoric; Moriko''s master at the monastery
Dhossun; fire-type elemental/jinn kin
Asti; earth/crystal and lightning type elemental/jinn kin
Zara; an alicorn pretending to be a horse
Tiros; a kelpie pretending to be a horse
Yvonne; human, a Caretaker of a northern Sanctuary
Emmanuel Demidov; the Baron of Cantraberg
Captain Alain Vitomir
Masa and Tsuki; brother and sister, children of Melchior
Melchior; a village smith, has a family treasure of a broken orichalum sword
???; Melchior''s wife, who was visiting their eldest child
???; Melchior''s eldest child who has moved out
Gil; a wandering immortal warrior and an old friend of Mordecai''s
Queen Sylphine: Faerie Queen
Lord Silvander: Queen Sylphine''s Seneschal
Ranulf: a Cuiwan boy, son of the clan leader
Cliodhna; a Pale Lady, servitor of Lady Kikoi Muerte and Lord Yamaraja
Named Dungeon Inhabitants:
Kuni; bunkin, mistress of arms, Zone 0 boss
Seon; rabkin, mistress of magic, Zone 0 boss
Jiah; buzzkin, mistress of skills and lore, Zone 0 boss
Owlbert and Owliver; Ursaviane sumo-wrestlers, Zone Up-1 bosses
Amber; earth drake, Zone Up-1 boss
Freya and Belle; Sun & Moon bats, Zone Out-1 bosses
Menhit; caracal, Zone Out-1 boss
Zushi; Void Rabbit, Zone Down-1 Boss, hidden Raid Boss
Ryohoho; Dracobit, Zone Down-1 Boss
Haruka; Dracobit, Zone Sown-1 Boss
Hildegard; Carbuncle, Zone Down-2 boss
Crios; giant crystal crab, Zone Down-2 boss
Beeatrix; bunbee queen, Zone Down-2 boss
Betty; The Beautiful Bouncing Blue Boxer Bunny, Zone Down-3 boss
Umbrowl; cat-owl with shadow abilities, Zone Down-3 boss
Annur; crystal elemental, Zone Down-3 Boss
Biblios; paper-craft dragon construct, Zone Down-4 boss
Horace; ook, librarian, Zone Down-4 boss
Aiden; spellslime, Zone Down-4 boss
Sarcomaag; mushroom king, Zone Down-5 boss and Raid Boss
Klastoria; slime girl boss of Zone Down-5
Sporewhisp; pixie druid, Zone Down-5 boss
Glimmermold; porcini boar and animal companion
Jasi; naga boss of Zone Down-6
Kulle, kelpie boss of Zone Down-6
Tohil, feathered serpent boss of Zone Down-6
Nezha and Ysi; masima dragons, bosses of Zone Down-7
Carmilla; faerie swamp witch boss of Zone Down-7
Cephelia; Kraken (giant octopus), Zone Down-8 Boss
Dhamini; Jellyfish with electric and psychic powers, Zone Down-8 Boss
The Big Cheese; Ratling ''pirate'' captain, Zone Down-8 Boss
--- Cashew, Cherry, Chocolate, Cobbler, Cranberry, and Custard: His minions
Enki; earth elemental, Raid Boss
Cimbu; living-clay elemental dragon, Raid Boss, tea pet
Dairell; bunkin, head chef
Keelina; bunkin, captain
Briant; bunkin, head playwright
Crizdirk; kobold, shaman
Erryn; usagisune, runner
Aliyah; usagisune, runner
Cimbu; tea pet, dragon
1 celestial agent of Fisaga
3 einherjar(female)
1 guardian archon
1 zuhra (metal djinni)
Species Names of note:
Dire Rabbit (variants: piercing horn, blunt horn, slicing teeth)
Magic Dire Rabbit (variants: fire, ice, electricity, corrosion, poison)
Rabbat; flying dire rabbit (variants: any of the above, plus ¡®vampire¡¯)
Bunbees; hive creature, producer of sparkling crystal honey
Laganthro; any of the humanoid species that began is a rabbit. Clans:
Bunkin; from dire rabbits
Rabkin; from rabbats
Buzzkin; from bunbees
Usagisune; evolved from any of the other clans, will potentially have visible signs of their other clan heritages.
Bunbrarian; template applicable to any laganthro other than Usagisune
Bookwyrms; small paper construct dragons
Biting Words; animate books that bite
Bunyip; mer-rabbits
Bronze Bats; sonic screams and the occasional blinding flash of light.
The Cuiwan: Silver-furred and wolf-headed fey
Umabel; shadowy divine agents of Ozuran
Ursaviane; variations of bear/bird crossbreeds
Antagonists:
Antoine Demidov; son of a Trionea noble
Akuma; Oni bandit/merc, presumably hired by the above noble
The Puritasi, a blood-purist cult
Dimitri Igorek; head priest of the Puritasi cult in Trionea
(Technically)
Deidre; chosen name of the avatar of an enslaved dungeon core
--- Payne; a fairy familiar
???; the enslaved core, true name unknown
Locations
Darsal; the planet they are on
Kuiccihan; neighboring kingdom
Azeria Forest; kitsune clan home to the west of the dungeon
Riverbridge; small city to the east of the dungeon, connects to the elven kingdom
Ekuilance; capital city of Kuiccihan
Raincatcher Mountains; a range of mountains just to the south of the kingdom
Crescent River; a river flowing north from the mountains, then curving west to flow into the ocean. This makes the eastern and northern borders of the kingdom
The Azeria Mountain Dungeon / The Azeria Court; the home and dungeon of Kazue, Mordecai, and Moriko.
Danuana; the Elven Kingdom
Trionea; an empire to the north of Kuiccihan and Danuana
Azanxuan; a continent across the sea, to the west of Kuiccihan
The Allied Nations; a collection of smaller nations, most of them on large islands, to the east of Danuana and the south-east of Trionea
The Southern Plains; though lacking a specific national identity, the plains to the south of the Raincatcher Mountains have many nomadic tribes. What ever their differences, all the nomads will band together should an outside force attempt to claim any part of these lands.
262: Zero Day
After the last day of the year and before the first day of the year there is a day outside of the calendar and the year.
Non-Day. Zero Day. Null Day. Void Day.
These were all various names that the day was referred to by.
While in physical reality it was a part of time like any other day, for legal and social matters it was a day that did not count. It was not a work day for anyone, no matter their social status. If someone''s work contract was measured in days, this was not considered one of those days even when other holidays were.
It was a day to break routines, to just exist for a day. Even food should require a minimal amount of work to prepare, and most people ate cold meals and leftovers on this day.
There were exceptions of course; critical care and other urgent matters would always exist. But outside of important needs, one was to rest, relax, and otherwise be outside of all the normal events of day-to-day life. Even fancy dress should be avoided; simple robes or tunics and trousers were the outfit of the day for all, even for emperors.
Mordecai had always considered this his least favorite holiday.
Inactivity was difficult for him to begin with. The day also brought with it reminders of the worst aspect of chaos. Entropy and emptiness.
If one meditated to pass the time during the empty day, this was the topic they were encouraged to meditate upon.
The chaos that a person like Li brought was the chaos of life. It was activity and movement and energy.
This chaos was the chaos of decay. A faint echo of what the existence of the unending void was like, and a preview of what the universe could become once more.
He did his best to while away the day quietly, but Mordecai could not say he enjoyed it. Stillness and quietness, a full day of the quiet most often found in the pre-dawn twilight. A short period of it was good and refreshing, a full day of it was a burden.
In this, he envied both Kazue and Moriko. They were both able to fully indulge in having a low-energy day. If this was an awakened avatar, he''d at least be able to sleep some, though that wouldn''t help his core. Kazue''s core was able to daydream readily and it allowed her to pass time without feeling it heavily.
Though he was not alone in his suffering; Fuyuko was painfully restless. During the day it wasn''t as bad for her as she could just hang out with her friends and talk, but later into the evening she had far too much unspent energy to fall asleep readily, and Mordecai decided he should help, which might help him a bit as well.
So they idled away the time playing simple card games that took little effort to keep track of. Depending on the game, you either won or lost when your hand was empty. During that time their conversation was just as idle and they avoided speaking of anything important.
Fuyuko''s problem was that she was a very energetic teenager and had gotten into a routine of physical activity and training of some sort every day. This left all the things she would normally do to burn off energy as things she was not supposed to do on this day of broken routines. The girl''s unspent energy caused her to practically vibrate even as she yawned. Tired, but not actually sleepy.
Mordecai stayed up late enough with her that sleep eventually won out. They''d been hanging out in her room and she was already in her bedclothes, so it was easy to put her in bed and tuck her in. He left a note telling her to sleep in as late as she wanted and that she could eat whenever she chose; breakfast would be waiting for her.
The next day was the first day of the year, the first of the month, the first day of the week, and the first of spring. This left every year identically aligned with thirteen months of twenty-eight days each.
The Spring Equinox was also Sakiya''s holiday. It was a time to celebrate one''s passions as well as new beginnings, and some passions were best seen to in private.
However, Moriko had come to a realization that caused her to swear. She could only indulge so much now that she was a priestess because she needed to be available for others to consult with if they wanted advice.
Mordecai and Kazue had teased her of course, talking about what they would be getting up to without her, and that led to a rather passionate outlet of energy early that morning. Neither of them meant it of course; on a normal day any of them might pair up based on simple availability, but for a celebration like this, it would be mean to leave out Moriko. So further fun activities would have to wait.
There was still plenty for them to do. Kazue''s avatar was focused intently on her writing while her core was preparing for their next zone. While the three months of winter had in a sense been very quiet for the dungeon, it had also been steadily providing mana gained from the soldiers training in the sewers along with the occasional delvers from the Kuiccihan guard and the kitsune hunting groups from Azeria that were currently stationed at the dungeon full time.
Mordecai''s core was helping Kazue''s core as much as he could, but the final steps would be up to her. If the rebalancing went according to plan, this should be the last truly difficult zone to claim. The rest would still require effort, but there should not be anything tricky involved.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
For his avatar, Mordecai finally decided on some dungeon business that was related to something he was passionate about. He was looking forward to this tournament after all.
The next zone should be ready within the week, so setting the tournament date for five weeks from today would give plenty of time, as they had declared there would be at least a month for people to clear the downward zones and make it to the arena. It wasn''t going to be a lot more than that four-week time frame, but it would still be at least a few days more.
Mordecai spent much of the day wandering the trading post and striking up conversations with their various visitors. He made sure to bring up the tournament and hand out at least one flier to each group. The word had already spread from when they''d given the rough timeline, now he was confirming the date.
Right now their inhabitants were celebrating too, but tomorrow he planned on tasking them with making fliers that inhabitants could take out of the territory and a few days later he was going to send out a couple of groups to spread the news.
He didn''t want them to go farther than Riverbridge or Azeria, but if one went north there were still some small villages and individual farms in that radius as well as travelers on the roads. More importantly, having the inhabitants be seen would make an impression on some people that words alone would not.
For spreading the news further afield, Mordecai was mostly counting on Ricardo''s network of merchants, though he had also made sure to send word to the capital thanks to Bellona''s secretary desk. It wasn''t exactly a direct way of spreading news, but he had invited the royal family to attend or even participate. It wasn''t hard to include some wording to let them know that both Orchid and ''Ruby'' already intended to compete.
Mordecai was fairly certain that Bridgette was going to qualify, but that was in large part because she was delving with Orchid''s group. Bridgette, Nainvil, and Brongrim were consistently the ones pushed to their limits. Orchid, Paltira, and Xarlug struggled significantly less, but they still had to work for it. Kansif, the most experienced of the group, remained true to her background as royal babysitter to a much younger and even more mischievous Orchid and deliberately focused on protecting people so that the others were the ones to do most of the work in overcoming the inhabitants that they faced.
Akahana and Ricardo had also managed to clear the ocean zone with the right groups, but Ricardo needed to travel to maintain his business as a successful merchant and caravan organizer. Of course, the winter had provided him with some serious upgrades for his primary wagon and gear for Zara and Tiros, and he had promised to return either before or shortly after the tournament in order to provide transportation to the southern dungeon.
The disguised alicorn and kelpie now had paired harnesses spun out of starlight thread. The harnesses let each of them use many of the abilities of the other; the most important of those for this purpose is that they would let Tiros fly and let Zara breathe underwater and swim as perfectly as Tiros. The harnesses only worked when both were being worn of course.
The wagon itself no longer needed wheels. Instead, it could simply float passively and indefinitely. The indefinite nature of its ability to float was a trade-off, compared to a vehicle that could actively fly by itself. That was why the harnesses were important, the hover enchantment would let the wagon remain mostly level and steady while being pulled by flying steeds.
Ricardo decided that he was going to keep it looking grounded for now, with wheels rolling along the ground. The floating was fully functional but it normally hovered low enough that with wheels the wagon simply appeared to not be carrying much.
When Mordecai could no longer find any new groups to spread news about the tournament to, he switched to his training. No one was delving today either, so the inhabitants had plenty of free time on their hands. Mordecai sent out a challenge through the dungeon for sparring partners to meet him in the arena.
He didn''t limit it to individuals either. Pairs were always allowed to meet his challenge, while trios or more could ask and he''d judge if it was a match-up that would be useful for everyone.
Enki and Cimbu proved to be a potent combination and were the only pair to win their match against him. While both were focused on earth related powers, there was also only so much one could do against earth as well. Fire, ice, electricity, corrosion, and other such energies could all be warded against.
It was much harder to ward against a boulder to the face.
Zushi''s abilities were similar to Mordecai''s specialty, which gave Mordecai the advantage. Mutually balancing out void abilities meant that Mordecai could then use his other abilities while Zushi''s defenses were weakened.
Sarcomaag''s power was too diffuse for the mushroom king to bother considering a challenge. He was a strong match against large groups of weaker foes, but he was not a good match against singular strong foes.
Mordecai had a fun time against the ocean zone bosses, including the entire pirate crew. Cephelia and Dhamini were at a disadvantage compared to their normal environment, but training for other situations was good for them and the match also gave them the opportunity to improve their teamwork with each other and the Big Cheese.
The ratlings were in perfect if chaotic harmony of course. It was coordinating outside of their group that was the problem.
He worked his way up through larger groups of different compositions. Mordecai won a little over half of the spars, even when facing multiple opponents, and his losses all included at least one raid boss or a zone boss from the marshlands or ocean.
Even Carmilla joined in for a match, though she insisted on a solo spar and to have it on the Other Side so as to be at her full strength.
This meant they had to go topside for the match. While the zones were reflected across to Faerie, the arena and other areas near the core were not represented and the space was simply more of the dark underground sea. Mordecai suspected that it was because these areas moved every time the dungeon got deeper, making them too ephemeral to leave a mark on Faerie.
It was a rather close match, and in the end, they called it a draw. If it had been an all-out fight, Mordecai''s more destructive powers would have tipped things in his favor, if at the cost of massive damage to the area nearby. But spars were as much about skill and control as they were about power, so within those limitations, a draw was a fair conclusion for a duel against a faerie princess turned swamp witch.
That was the last spar Mordecai accepted for the day. It was almost time for dinner, and both Mordecai and Carmilla had to get cleaned up before they were to join the others at the dining table.
Kazue, Moriko, and Mordecai retired a couple of hours earlier than they usually did, and everyone else pretended to not notice.
After all, it was still the first day of spring, and there were still celebrations to be had.
263: Sparring Lineup
Fuyuko was very curious about the group that Mordecai wanted her to meet and spar with this morning. Papa had let her know last night that a group of trainees had arrived and that he was going to want her to work with them, starting early today.
Over an early but thankfully large breakfast, he''d told her more. They were from a temple of Zagaroth, specifically the one in Ekuilance, the capital of Kuiccihan, and from what he''d seen it looked like the trainees were within a couple of years of her age or equivalent.
This group of seventeen trainees probably represented the entire current cadre of champion trainees who were in the final stages of their training process for the whole kingdom, and possibly even a bit beyond.
Fuyuko had gotten a brief overview of the selection process for Lord Zagaroth''s champions; it seems that while just about anyone was allowed to enter training, the screening process was known to be very thorough about who got to advance, and Mordecai would be surprised if more than about half of the current set were selected as champions.
Fuyuko approached the older human woman who seemed to be in charge of the group. "Excuse me, Ma''am? I''m contractor Fuyuko. My," she coughed to cover that she''d been about to say ''papa'', "er, Lord Mordecai said he''d like for me ta be the evaluator for yer group, instead of Miss Kuni or Miss Seon. Um, but that''s just combat stuff, for non-combat stuff they should still see Miss Jiah."
The woman seemed amused and said, "Interesting. I''d heard about the evaluations for less experienced delvers, but I don''t recall hearing of contractors filling in for them. I''m Priestess Helena, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"It''s new to me as well Ma''am," Fuyuko replied, "but he said he thought it''d be good training for me if I sparred with each of them. Um, I guess Kuni and Seon will still be evaluatin'' everyone, but they''ll be just watching."
"I see," Helena said, then tilted her head as she looked up at Fuyuko speculatively. "May I ask how old you are?"
"Er, fifteen. Mordecai said that your trainees seemed to be about the same age."
The woman nodded thoughtfully. "Do you have magic training?"
Fuyuko hadn''t been expecting to be quizzed, but it seemed like it would be fair for Helena to know a bit about her before agreeing to this. "Not as spells and such, but I have some special skills and I''ve trained against casters before."
"Very well. Please, lead the way to where the spars shall be held."
Once Fuyuko had lead the group to the proper place, she checked with Helena and then addressed everyone else directly.
"So, um, Lord Mordecai said he''d like ta have me spar with each of ya, and Priestess Helena has agreed to it as well. This will be yer evaluation. Those two will be doin'' the evaluatin'', I''ll just be sparring with ya. Ah, oh yeah, that building there is an armory of sorts. The weapons are wood, but they all have the same enchantments; they''ll do less real damage but will make you feel the pain more and will leave colored marks. You can also ask Jiah ta have a weapon made for ya if we don''t already have it. These are dungeon rewards, so you also get to keep them after the spar."
She was doing her best to enunciate better, especially in front of people, but speaking in front of a bunch of people made her nervous, which made it easier to slip into street talk.
"I''ve already got mine," Fuyuko continued, showing off two long daggers, "and you can take what ever ya need. Oh, and you can use any magic ya know, if I take a bad hit the match is yours." Of course, she had more than those two daggers on her. Since she couldn''t have returning enchantments on them, she had several additional daggers tucked away where she could draw them quickly and a pair of wooden falcata were taking up the space in her bracers normally occupied by her ice pistols. This way she could retain her fighting style.
After all, only the weapons had to be changed out for the spar. Everyone got to wear their normal armor and such.
While the trainees were gathering their weapons, Helena asked, "Is there any particular order that they should spar in?"
Fuyuko started to shake her head, then paused and raised up a finger, "Wait, let me ask... okay, Moriko suggests that you start roughly from weakest to strongest." Fuyuko frowned after she said that and thought the suggestion over.
Even with healing spells, that would leave her the most tired when she was facing the strongest, and they would have had the chance to see her fighting style already.
Maybe she shouldn''t have asked, because of course Mama M would choose the order that would make Fuyuko work the hardest. Well, it was too late now; she''d already passed on the suggestion and she wasn''t going to make a fuss about it.
She couldn''t help but be nervous as she waited for her first sparring partner. Fuyuko had no idea how they fought and she was sort of representing the dungeon right now; she didn''t want to make a poor showing.
Her first fight was with a dwarven woman in heavy armor, wielding a sword and a wooden shield covered in knobs meant to represent spikes.
When the signal was given, Fuyuko immediately flipped her left dagger to grip it by the blade and charged forward. She extended her left dagger in a pommel-first thrust. The dagger met the shield in a solid hit that was useless in itself but allowed Fuyuko to pin the shield long enough to slide past on the outside. Her armor included heavy gloves when she wanted them, so even a live blade wouldn''t have cut her palm so long as it wasn''t allowed to slide. Using the tip to attack with would have made it more likely that the hit would slide instead of pressing briefly.
It was hard to be faster when you are on the outside of a turn, but pinning the shield let Fuyuko get in a kick as well. Again, it did no damage but it interfered with the dwarf''s movement, letting Fuyuko turn in to smash the pommel of her right dagger down on the helmet.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Her attack was intercepted by a slightly wild parry from the dwarf''s sword, but the pace of the battle had been set. Fuyuko was faster and had longer reach, and she used those to her advantage as she refused to take the heavily armored woman head-on.
It would never have worked nearly this well on Bellona, but it was also the sort of thing Bellona had been helping her train to do. Daggers would almost never break through a heavily guarded front and even her falcatas would have trouble if she didn''t have power to knock the other person''s shield away.
So she continued her battering assault, using footwork to slow her opponent and let Fuyuko stay mostly behind her. If Fuyuko had to choose a side, she went for the dwarf''s sword arm, because she could parry and deflect a sword far better than she could deal with a heavy shield.
They were still face-to-face occasionally, but Fuyuko used every trick she''d been taught to maneuver her way behind the dwarf again.
Her efforts were hampered by a bit of spellwork on her opponent''s part. The woman seemed to mostly be focused on magic to enhance her defenses, but Fuyuko did have to dodge a few beams of fire and a couple of ice shards.
It took a few minutes, but Fuyuko was able to bash her foe enough to start crimping the armor in a few key places. Unlike her real daggers, hitting metal that hard with the wooden ones caused them to rapidly start splitting despite being enchanted, and she had to drop them to pull out new ones.
She was eventually able to get in clean strikes against the tiny sections of exposed buckles and leather, though her height made it harder to get at some on the much shorter dwarf woman.
This was the entire point of her training against heavily armored foes, there was always a connection point that couldn''t be inside the armor in any standard design. You had to be able to tighten the last few buckles from the outside. You could make them be exposed only at certain angles, but they had to be exposable within the normal movement range of the wearer, and the wearer had to be able to get at them.
There were designs built from the ground up to only be equippable because of the magic that was built into them. But if the magic was interfered with, they either fell apart immediately or were impossible to get off without a lot of time and physical work by others to pry the metal open.
Once she had enough colored marks scored across the weak points, the match was called in Fuyuko''s favor.
She didn''t come out of it completely unmarked, but she''d avoided the sword and the shield''s ''spikes''. Getting bruised by the edge of the shield or being slammed in the gut with a backward headbutt was a small price to pay.
After time to catch her breath, replace her daggers, and drink a mixed healing and stamina potion to speed up her recovery, it was time for the next spar.
The next several matches ended in wins for her as well, though she was having to work harder and change up her weapons more. Not everyone was wearing heavy armor, and despite the similarities in their uniforms and fighting styles, there was clear customization as well. They were developing their strengths as individuals more than they were training to be a unit, which made each fight harder for her to predict.
Then came her first draw, followed by her first loss. She won the next match, then lost again, and then another draw. Over the course of these bouts, Fuyuko was forced to use more of her tricks as well as occasionally swap to her wooden falcatas. She was better with her daggers, but they were not always the best tools.
Fuyuko was fairly certain she''d have won them all if she''d been using her ice pistols, but those could be too lethal. She was the one who was guaranteed to be able to come back if something went wrong, they only had that emergency safety once each.
Not that she was eager to test that safety for herself. Fuyuko was willing to take slightly larger risks than she might have otherwise, but there were sane limits to what a person should be willing to risk for a spar.
Eventually, it was down to the last two opponents. Since she needed to take the time to eat as well as use potions to help her armor repair itself anyhow, Fuyuko took this time to observe these last two young men.
The younger-looking one was about Bellona''s height, so almost as tall as Fuyuko. The slightly older-looking one seemed closer to Mordecai''s height. He was also vaguely familiar, though Fuyuko couldn''t place why. She was pretty certain she''d never met him though.
Soon enough, it was time to resume the spars. The two had been gesturing in a way that had Fuyuko guessing they were deciding who went first. The conversation ended when the taller one made a somewhat mocking bow while motioning to the sparring ring. This earned him a punch to the shoulder, then the shorter one shook his head and smiled before turning to make his way to the ring.
The guy facing her was strong, and not just because he looked like he had the most muscle out of all the trainees, other than possibly the friend he''d been arguing with. She could feel his aura more distinctly against her own than her previous opponents.
"Hello Fuyuko," he said jovially, "I''m called Yugo, and it''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I''m looking forward to our match. I think I''ll win of course, but I don''t think it''ll be easy, so please, give me all you have. Hey, I might even be wrong."
''Called'' Yugo, huh? So not his real name. He''d known to be careful about naming himself too. Even if Fuyuko was only an adoptive faerie princess, it was difficult to lie to her directly for most people. She guessed that he used the name regularly too.
"A pleasure to meet you as well, I think," Fuyuko said as she studied his familiar-looking features. "I''m guessing you chose the ''strong'' meaning of Yugo?" It could also mean gentle and soothing. Kazue''s lessons were sinking in, if slowly.
Wait.
''Strong''.
It was hardly the only name that meant strong and there were plenty of people who were named for such. But people who weren''t trying super hard to hide often took names with similar meanings or sounds to their own.
How many of the people using a ''strong'' fake name were as tall as Papa while also looking familiar to Fuyuko despite never meeting him before? Or rather, a few inches taller than Mama M. Plus even the way he spoke was familiar. She inhaled deeply and focused on the nuances of his scent, just to be sure.
That too had familiar notes, though not exactly the same either.
Fuyuko smiled and held up her hand in a ''wait'' gesture. "I think we want a couple of guests to watch this match." Why should she be the only one having to deal with having people watch? "If ya don''t mind the presence of a delicate-looking flower matched with a fiery gem?"
Yugo had looked wary when she''d smiled at him, and Fuyuko guessed that she might have shown sharp teeth. Now he looked amused and resigned. "Well," he said, "that didn''t take you long."
"It does help that your sisters have talked about their little brother. Yer face looks similar to theirs too," Fuyuko replied.
"Hmm." He considered her with narrow eyes for a moment and then said, "If you don''t use my name and title, I won''t use your titles, fair?"
"Fair," Fuyuko said with a laugh.
Soon enough a pair of amused-looking young women had arrived to watch, one of them with her paramour in tow, the other with a brightly plumed dragon hatchling.
Some of the other trainees looked confused, but Yugo''s friend clearly knew what was happening considering the way he was trying to not laugh. He wasn''t doing a very good job at it, which might have been deliberate given the glare Yugo aimed at him.
Then Fuyuko squared off to duel against His Royal Highness Prince Gou, youngest brother of Princess Orchid and Princess Bridgette, aka ''Ruby''.
She hoped they were this bad at hiding their identities only when it wasn''t really important.
264: Dancing Wolf, Sparring Dragon
Fuyuko had been studying Gou''s equipment while they were talking, and it made her a bit nervous.
The metal parts of his armor were a breastplate, bracers, greaves, and a helmet that kept his ears and eyes clear. Normally a poor choice for a helmet to leave that much exposed, but for someone whose senses were keen enough it could be more important to not obscure them.
The rest of his armor was thick but flexible hide. Fuyuko guessed that he was fast enough that too much metal near his joints slowed him down. Jointed metal plates could provide as much freedom of movement as not wearing armor, but it was harder to move quickly when you had metal sliding against metal.
As for his weapons, the prince had a large pair of ''claws'' strapped over his bracers and wrists. The hooked triple blades were as long as her daggers and had the advantage in certain attacks, such as being able to punch instead of aligning his wrist for a thrust the way she had to.
She did note that the oversized base of the claws also let them act like bucklers and gave them enough length for a total of three straps. The one across his palm gave fine control, but Gou could also open his hand without the strap shifting much.
He was wearing partial gloves, leaving the outer half of his fingers exposed. The only reason that she could think of for that choice was that he needed to make sure he could feel something. Given his size and visible strength, Fuyuko suspected that he was a grappler as well.
Her number one priority was therefore to not be grabbed. Fuyuko was strong even for her height, but she was dead certain that Gou was stronger. A grapple was not going to work in her favor even with the advantage of her leverage.
Hmm. Fuyuko glanced down at his greaves again and verified that the top of them was slightly shinier and scraped up, like an attachment had been removed. If that was a spot for a small spike or something, Gou''s normal fighting style was rather brutal. Hook or grab a foe with one hand and then begin a close-range assault designed to tear a target apart as much as pummel them.
A third princess had joined Gou''s sisters; Carmilla, Fuyuko''s sister, and she was standing behind Orchid.
That subtle hint affirmed what was already in Fuyuko''s mind. Carmilla could have told her over the link, but Fuyuko had to be able to read clues and not just depend on that communication.
When the signal to start was given, Fuyuko didn''t simply leap backward, she flowed at an oblique angle that gave her the room to begin a dance of blades.
Fuyuko had been in awe of Carmilla''s fighting style when she witnessed her sister''s duel, and she had been determined to learn how to be as beautifully graceful without taking away from her fighting prowess. On top of that, Orchid had been one of her etiquette trainers after Fuyuko''s slip-up. The deadly little princess had naturally started adding more training on top of that, including Orchid''s style of fighting.
The ways one could use even a small blade to inflict deadly wounds were a little horrifying. They also required precision along with deceptive grace and speed to inflict such wounds in the middle of combat.
These were incorporated into a style Mordecai taught her specifically to take advantage of what Orchid and Carmilla had been training her in, and now Fuyuko''s wooden falcatas spun and flickered in a constant weaving pattern designed to maintain a constant guard even against attacks she was slow to react to and give her an ever-shifting set of points to attack from.
Fuyuko loved the display and beauty of the maneuver, but it came at a cost; it was tiring to keep up for too long.
But that cost quickly proved worth it when Gou''s wooden claws clashed with her swords hard enough to almost interrupt her pattern. Fuyuko ignored the shock up her arms and kept moving. It wasn''t just her arms either, she had to keep moving her entire body like she was actually dancing. She was setting a pattern and a beat and using them to demand control over the battle despite the overwhelming strength and speed of her opponent.
Their blade crashed repeatedly and each scored only light marks on each other''s arms. Fuyuko might be able to keep Gou from getting a hold or a solid hit on her, but it was also difficult for her to score a solid hit in return.
As they sparred each kept working to force a break in the other''s guard. Fuyuko''s nose saved her from a surprise, and she dodged to the side just before he spit lightning where she''d been standing just a moment before. Fuyuko had trained far too much with Mama M to not catch that faint whiff of forming lightning.
But that attack had brought Gou''s guard lower when he leaned slightly forward to release that blast, and Fuyuko tried to take advantage of that faint opening as she rolled back to her feet. She didn''t quite make it and her blade smashed against his wooden claws hard enough to snap off one of the blades.
She''d been aiming for his chin.
"Oh, Sparks is gonna like you," Fuyuko said with a grin as she recovered her stance. The quip also helped her cover for her concern about one of her blades. The balance was off and there was a faint sense of give to the wood. Fuyuko decided not to trust that one to guard with at all, and she might have a single attack left before it broke.
She also took note of the fact that the royal family had some interesting heritage. That hadn''t been a spell, the prince had spit lightning like a dragon. There was a reason that Thunder and Lightning had come to mind.
"Looking forward to it," Gou replied. He sounded a little winded, but Fuyuko was sure that she sounded rough too. Nothing for it but to continue. She didn''t feel confident that he was getting tired faster than she was, so she didn''t try to wear him out and instead pressed an assault.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
In the following exchange, her weakened falcata shattered against the outside of the brace for his claws, though it created a crack in exchange. It was also the closest he''d come to grabbing her, but she managed to drive the broken end of the wooden sword against his palm. It bought her enough time to fall back and throw the ruined blade at his face before drawing a dagger in replacement.
That was when the match was declared a draw, a decision that drew brief glowers from both Fuyuko and Gou. Neither of them felt quite satisfied with that result, but she understood the logic of the call. This was as much evaluation as it was a training spar and having their equipment breaking could be dangerous for both of them.
Fuyuko rolled her neck to crack it and declared, "Alright, well, I need a break and some more food before I spar with yer friend. C''mon, it looks like yer sisters and mine have some for us."
Her final sparring partner for the day was slightly closer than the two of them were and beat them to the food, though he was polite enough to wait despite looking over the food longingly.
Carmilla intercepted Fuyuko before she could quite reach the food and gave her a hug. "You did well, and I''m looking forward to seeing your next fight."
Fuyuko returned the hug briefly and fought down a blush at the praise. "Thank you. Um, but I am really hungry, can I..."
With a laugh Carmilla let Fuyuko go and gave a slight shove toward the food. "Go on, eat." Carmilla rejoined Orchid and Bridgette while Fuyuko went to where the two boys were waiting. Personally, she was rather amazed at their patience and restraint.
Gou''s friend looked up from the untouched food when Fuyuko got close and gave her a smile before introducing himself. "Hello, I''m Amrydor. I hope my friend ''Yugo'' wasn''t too much of a bother. Um, are you sure that''s enough food? I think all three of us eat a lot."
It turned out that Amrydor was correct to be concerned. Thankfully, her parents were on top of it and had plenty of food brought for the entire group. After the first round of food was finished, Gou took a second serving and moved closer to his sisters to chat with them and Carmilla.
Amrydor''s appetite seemed second only to Fuyuko''s, with ''Yugo'' a close third. She was a bit surprised, there were few other people willing to eat a lot before a match or other training. This was going to be an interesting fight.
Despite Amrydor''s earlier outburst of laughter, he seemed a bit more somber now that he wasn''t teasing his friend. But she did get a little out of him over the impromptu meal and found out that he''d been training to be a champion since he was nine.
"Er, isn''t that kind of young?" Fuyuko asked.
He shrugged and said, "A bit, but, well, I only had a couple of years at most to stay where I was, and I liked the stories of the powerful heroes. So, um, I decided to become one." Amrydor''s gaze dropped to the pendant at her neck briefly before he added, "It was a safe place, but I think you also know there is a limit to the safety they can give."
Now that was a surprise. Fuyuko took a moment to make sure she''d heard everything correctly as she ran her fingers across the coin-like pendant of Li that she wore and then quietly asked, "Um, so, ah, have you been able ta visit since ya got stronger?"
Amrydor shook his head. "No, though when I remembered enough, I was able to meet with a couple of the caretakers again. I don''t think my old friends and I have much in common anymore."
"Oh," Fuyuko said. "Um, I am not sure how things will go for me. I left less than a year ago, but that means everyone still there was a lot younger. I think I liked them, at least, I don''t remember not likin'' them, but them bein'' so young, I don''t think we had a lot in common even then. I''m not sure how I''d go findin'' my friends who left earlier."
"I have so many questions," he said thoughtfully but was interrupted before he could ask any of them.
"I''m glad you found someone to talk with about your obscure childhood," Gou said, "but I think people are starting to get impatient waiting on you two."
Oh, right. Fuyuko stood hastily and said, "Sorry, um, we should take care of that." She was slightly annoyed that ''Yugo'' got to just stay here and talk with his sisters and Carmilla, though maybe that was just because her own conversation got interrupted.
Amrydor looked embarrassed as he rose too. "Yeah. Um, just to make sure, you''re okay to fight again already?"
Fuyuko nodded. "The honey drinks I had were also recovery potions. Um, I assume they gave you normal ones since you haven''t fought yet. Oh! I need to replace my weapons first."
She focused on her link to the dungeon and asked, "Papa, could I have some new weapons, please? I think I want two pairs of swords this time though. Oh, and can ya tell me about that weapon I saw with him? I don''t think I''ve seen one quite like it."
Fuyuko discarded all the weapons she had used even once as she walked back to the ring and started snatching new weapons out of the air as Mordecai manifested them for her. The first pair of falcata she placed into the available storage on her bracers, while the second pair she was going to start with in hand. She refilled her dagger sheaths too of course, but Fuyuko wasn''t sure if they were going to be useful.
The weapon Fuyuko had asked about was familiar in general form at least: a long blade at the end of a long pole. But the shape of the blade was not familiar; it had a wide base that tapered while curving inward toward its edge.
"Yes, that''s fair as he''s seen you fight," Mordecai said. "Because of its inward curving edge, it''s called a war scythe. Most people think that term refers to a large, reinforced version of a field scythe, but the blade starts parallel to the shaft rather than starting off at a sharp angle and there is no secondary grip. For the most part, you can treat it like other polearms, but the curved edge has one special quality. If an opponent is inside the reach of the weapon, the wielder can attempt to force them out by pressing with the shaft and shoving them toward the blade where it can catch them and slice deeply. Most pole weapons don''t have an edge facing toward people inside of the blade''s reach. Naturally, this means it has less utility in other areas. The curved blade is not as good at thrusting as a straight one and there is no way to try catching a weapon. It also has no crushing surface for dealing with heavy armor. "
That was somewhat troubling as Fuyuko was going to have to fight inside of his reach. She might have the longer arms, but it wasn''t by much and he had the much longer weapon. Throwing her daggers wasn''t going to do a lot of good either; Amrydor''s helmet was much more enclosed than Gou''s had been and he was wearing a mix of plate and chain. Even her real daggers would have trouble getting through chain armor when thrown, though she''d proven strong enough to drive a dagger through steel plate, given that the dagger was tough enough to not bend or break.
Of course, that test had not been done with one of her real daggers. It was much better to just ask for a temporary creation from Papa or Mama K.
Fuyuko had been double-checking her gear during her musings, but Papa had one more bit of interesting information.
"You might want to know some mixed news. Priestess Helena had already informed us that Amrydor was still trying to find his preferred weapon; none of what they had at hand seemed much better or worse for him. However, the moment that he tried out the war scythe from the selection of less common weapons I''d made, Amrydor seemed certain that this was the perfect weapon for him. His practice seemed rather smooth too. On the upside, he has no experience with this particular weapon. On the downside, that means he will be experimenting and be less predictable."
Great. Fuyuko sighed and settled into her stance before signaling that she was ready.
265: The Quietus Dance
When Amrydor dropped into his ready stance, Fuyuko felt a strange, quiet stillness settle around the area.
There wasn''t an actual change in how loud things were, everything just felt more still and quiet. Despite the feeling of peace in that stillness, Fuyuko became abruptly anxious.
At the starting signal, Fuyuko burst forward. She deflected the war scythe far enough to slip past the blade and start to close on Amrydor, but then she had to block the return swing of the polearm.
The impact drove her in a straight line to the side, but Amrydor''s swipe was an arc, so her straight line brought her closer to the outer edge of that arc where the blade awaited, as she had been warned.
Her test now complete, she twisted and ducked, using her blades to force the war scythe up at the same time. Fuyuko slipped under the shaft and managed to shorten the distance a small amount before the weapon came swinging back. Fuyuko''s opponent had the power, control, and reflexes to reverse his swing almost as fast as she could dodge past it, and he''d be expecting her maneuvers better now.
So she let the swing push her this time, moving with it to build up momentum until she crossed a shadow cast by one of the nearby trees.
Fuyuko erupted from another shadow about five feet behind Amrydor, leaping into an attack that brought both of her falcatas down in a heavy attack at his back.
He reacted to her attack almost as quickly as if he could see her, twisting to catch one of her swords on the back end of his polearm. The other wooden blade impacted against his side hard enough to make the wood explode and leave a small dent in the plate of his armor.
Part of her mind noted that she really shouldn''t be hitting that hard during a spar. However, that voice seemed isolated from the part of her that was taking action.
She snarled and leapt back as she tossed the broken hilt of her sword at Amrydor''s hand which had just started to lift off the shaft of his war scythe. The plate on the back of his chain gloves cracked from the impact and Amrydor was forced to step away from her while he pulled his weapon into a shorter grip that let him wield it in one hand. The one she had hit didn''t look like it was working properly, though from the way he was flexing his fingers that was only temporary.
Fuyuko was already back on the attack, a fresh falcata summoned from her bracers. Amrydor fell back, focusing on deflecting her blows as he frowned and shook his head before saying something. She couldn''t make sense out of the noise.
Something was very wrong, why was she acting like this?
All she could do was desperately attack and lash out in a panicked fury when he started to reach for her again with his injured hand. Something was tugging at a part of her, trying to take something was part of her.
It was a different sensation than when the peryton had tried to take over her shadow, but it was close enough to make everything worse.
She''d already shattered all her weapons, breaking the shaft of the war scythe in the process with every following strike denting or cracking metal, so now she clawed at him as she drove him to the ground. That was much more effective than wood had been and she tore away his helmet before trying to pin him down long enough to clamp her jaws onto his throat.
The part of Fuyuko''s mind that had not lost itself to this sudden berserk rage desperately wrested back control and Fuyuko froze in place for a brief instant, noticing for the first time that the tip of Amrydor''s broken weapon was dripping with her blood from where it was thrust just below her collar bone.
Fuyuko''s mindless fury had been driving the weapon deeper in her attempt to tear out his throat.
She threw herself away from him with a sudden cry, confusion and fear clouding her mind as she reverted back to her normal form. What was wrong with her?
Arms wrapped around her and picked her up, causing Fuyuko to flinch before she recognized Mordecai. Instead, she turned to cling to him and started sobbing. Why had she done that?
"It''s alright, everything''s fine, I''ve got you and you will be alright," Papa murmured as he cradled her. A soft wave of soothing energy flowed through her body and Fuyuko felt her wounds knit together faster than her natural healing would have done.
Nearby, metal creaked and then cracked before falling to the ground. How badly had she damaged his armor that Amrydor had to break it to take it off?
After Fuyuko had calmed down enough to stop crying, she felt Mordecai shift to look away from her before he said. "Now, tell us what happened to set her off like that. It''s been months since she could be forced into an uncontrolled transformation and I''ve never seen her be that savage."
"Um, yes sir," Amrydor replied, "but perhaps it would be best if we all went somewhere more private first? Ah, maybe Yugo should come too? I am guessing it would be best if Priestess Helena stayed with everyone else, and either of them can verify anything I say."
"That''s fine, but you wouldn''t be able to lie to me anyway." Mordecai''s statement was calm and certain, but Fuyuko heard a strange coolness to his tone. Oh. He was mad. A tiny part of her worried for a moment that he was mad at her for losing control again, but she was able to crush that stupid voice. Her papa wouldn''t be mad at her for that, he''d be worried. Being worried was why he was mad.
Heh, it was like all that stuff Mama M and Mama K had been teaching her had sunk in after all. She could practically hear Moriko''s lessons on how people reacted to their emotions.
For now, Fuyuko stayed curled up in Mordecai''s arms. She didn''t want to know who ''all'' included yet, though she could tell that Moriko and Kazue were there.
Even when she felt Mordecai sit down, Fuyuko didn''t look up and clung tighter. Right now, she just needed to be held.
When everyone had settled in, Amrydor began. "Well, I am not entirely certain what happened, but maybe I should begin with explaining something I know that I think is related." He paused for a moment before saying, "I can tell that she''s killed a person before and that she''s been very close to experiencing a violent death. Probably at the same time."
"Mostly correct," Mordecai said. "Fuyuko had to fight to the death against a peryton that attacked her while she traveling at night. I do not know if I would quite call them ''people'', given how driven by murderous instinct they are, but they are technically sapient. Also, she helped defend the dungeon during the second invasion, though her kills there were mitigated by our boon."
"I don''t think those count if they didn''t actually die," Amrydor replied. "I can''t tell what she felt about them, I can only feel things related to death, and thus to life. Like, those wooden weapons you gave us. Normal ones would have felt dead to me, but these ones were neither dead nor alive, no more than a rock would be. I can always tell what''s alive, dead, neither, or, um, other."
He paused a moment before answering an unasked question. "And no, I don''t know why I can feel this. But refining that sense is how I can tell that she has killed and has almost died. This also seems to be where things started to go wrong. I can only get details like that if I my aura touches someone while I am focused, and she started to act weird right after I settled into my stance, which is when I also extended my aura." She couldn''t see him right now, but it sounded like he was used to answering that sort of question a lot.
Fuyuko was beginning to figure out what had caused her to panic like that, and it was embarrassing. She''d felt his aura and the aura of death had reminded her of the fight with the peryton.
She had also calmed enough that curiosity was beginning to surface. "What did you say?" she asked, only to realize her voice was muffled. She shifted enough to bring her head up and look at Amrydor and asked again, "After I had hurt your hand, you shook your head and said something, but I, um, couldn''t hear the words. What did you say?"Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Mordecai was the one who responded and Papa sounded amused as he said, "He was asking me to not interfere. I was directly behind you, but you were blind to my presence."
Oh. She frowned in thought for a moment, then squirmed out of her father''s embrace to stand up. Now that she was feeling better Fuyuko had become self-conscious about being curled up in his arms like a child.
That was when she got a good look at who was there, and it was mostly whom she expected: Her parents, Carmilla, Amrydor and ''Yugo'', the princesses, and Paltira. Fuyuko was not surprised that Orchid and Bridgette followed their little brother in this scenario, and Paltira was usually where Orchid was.
The person she wasn''t expecting was Cliodhna, the pale lady who was acting as an envoy for the Lord and Lady of Death. Though given the topic, she shouldn''t be surprised.
Also, she felt a little sorry for Amrydor. There were three displeased-looking little dragons surrounding his chair.
As for where they were, it took Fuyuko a moment to recognize it, but it was the private room where she and Gil had gone when they had first arrived. Where she''d first met Papa and Mama K, and first seen a shard of Li.
Mama M had stood with her and was now pulling Fuyuko into that chair. Moriko kissed Fuyuko on the forehead and then stood behind her and scritched the back of Fuyuko''s ears. It was a little embarrassing, but it felt good and she was still on edge. Though she thought Amrydor looked a little bit jealous, and the idea that he might want to get head petting but couldn''t gave Fuyuko a small bit of petty satisfaction.
Which she recognized as being really petty. It wasn''t actually his fault. Fuyuko did her best to ignore that lingering feeling of resentment and asked Amrydor, "Why did ya do that?"
He shrugged a little and glanced around before saying, "It has to do with some of our shared background. I don''t think you''d have been allowed to stay as long as you did if you were becoming that sort of person, so I was hoping that drawing it out would give you a chance to recover. But, um, well, while I am glad you did, I thought I was going to be able to fend you off better."
So, he trusted her to stop because they had both been in a Sanctuary? That might make sense, but Fuyuko wasn''t sure about that yet.
Amrydor smiled and added, "It was a little scary I admit, but I still thought you were magnificent. I''ve never seen someone move like that."
Fuyuko wasn''t sure how she felt about that compliment and ignored it as she said, "Well, I am glad I didn''t seriously hurt you. Er, did someone help you? Oh, and did I hear you breaking your armor off?"
"Yes, Lady Moriko checked out my wounds, and yes, your strikes had damaged the metal enough that I could use the cracks as weak points."
That was good. Now to deal with another idea she''d been considering. It had taken a bit of mental probing to make sure it was just her own idea and no instincts were pushing her. "I am glad to hear that you are well."
Seeing the surprised looks on Amrydor''s and Yugo''s faces was amusing, but there was a reason she was shifting into ''princess talk'', which also had the benefit of completely suppressing her street accent. Fuyuko''s shift also had her parents and sister suddenly trying to ask her what she was up to over their link.
She asked them to just watch and not interfere before she continued, "However, I am a princess of the Azeria court, and I have unduly threatened and harmed one of our guests. Because of this, I have decided that I owe you a small favor."
Faerie magic immediately bound her to that declared debt. It didn''t compel her to satisfy any favor he might ask for, but there would be a pressure to oblige any request that did not seem outsized.
Amrydor''s eyes widened in surprise, but then his posture and voice changed too. "Lady Fuyuko, I am humbled by your offer, but I do not feel it was necessary. I prom-"
"STOP!" three voices called out. It was bad enough for Fuyuko, who felt her body stiffen and her thoughts stumble in the backlash, but poor Amrydor briefly looked like a living statue under the weight of her parents'' combined command.
The three of them glanced at each other and then Mordecai spoke. "I''m sorry we had to do that, but all things considered, perhaps it is best if you do not declare any hasty promises or oaths, yes?"
Motion slowly returned to Amrydor, though he looked a little disoriented for a moment. "Yes sir, you are correct. That was ill-advised of me. If you would give me a moment?"
While he was thinking, Kazue contacted Fuyuko over the dungeon link. "Are you sure you wanted to offer that favor? It''s not a large burden, but it was not necessary."
"Yes Mama," she replied, "it''s fine and you tell Papa and Mama M that too. I feel like I failed something, and this makes me feel less bad."
"Lady Fuyuko," Amrydor said, waiting for her attention before continuing, "while I would like to have your favor in general, I find that I do not wish for you to feel obligated to me that way, and thus I would like to discharge that favor soon in a way that we both find satisfying. Related, I suspect that you do not like having reacted this way to my aura. So I would like you to consider doing me the favor of letting me help you overcome this, and be your trainer in this matter."
That was, well, something. Fuyuko stared at him for a moment as she considered this. "What would be involved?"
He shrugged, looking a bit uncertain as he did so, and said "This will require controlled exposure to my aura. It will be simple enough, but distance influences control. So, um, it would be best if we were touching during your training. Just having you touch my hand or arm would do and that way you could break contact easily."
Fuyuko could feel part of herself panic at just the idea of touching him, the source of that serene aura of death. She hated that sensation, but it confirmed that she did have a weakness here. Fuyuko used the weight of her owed favor to help control that fear, but it still took her a few deep breaths to completely control her reactions.
Then she replied, "It appears that you are correct, I do need aid in this matter. I am not certain how much of a favor this truly is for you, but it is difficult enough for me to commit to your plan that it makes up the difference. So yes, I accept your request and acknowledge myself as your student until I learn to overcome this weakness." As soon as she finished speaking, everything inside of her relaxed a little.
He didn''t reply and Fuyuko realized that he was sweating profusely. No longer distracted by her internal struggles, she realized that everyone in the room was staring at Amrydor and that her family''s gazes were pressing him with their will.
Before she could ask what was going on, Mordecai asked, "Intentions?"
Amrydor gasped at the weight behind that single word, then slowly said, "To aid Princess Fuyuko in overcoming her fears, as I am uniq-", he broke off with a choking sound and glanced at Cliodhna with confusion before continuing, "Um, unusually well qualified to do so; it is my duty to help others as part of my devotion to Lord Zagaroth, and I desire to help Lady Fuyuko as someone who would like to become her friend."
She wasn''t quite sure why he sounded sort of defiant with that last part, but it seemed to satisfy her family as the weight of their attention lifted. Fuyuko had to admit she was a little impressed; her parents and sister had been very focused on him, though she didn''t quite understand why they felt it necessary.
There was no way he could have lied either, not in front of all of them. It would be nice to make a new friend. Fuyuko smiled and said, "Well, if you want to be friends, then I should introduce you to my other friends. Um, I think they are all delving right now, but they can''t get very deep yet, so it should only be a couple more days."
"I think we''re about done here," Kazue said, "but I do have a couple of things I''d like to ask about first. Amrydor, what did you mean when you said ''other'', when you were talking about what you could sense?"
He looked tired after dealing with her family, but he gathered himself together and replied, "I would have previously said ''undead'' instead, but today has shown me I don''t understand enough yet. First, Fuyuko''s armor is somehow only slightly alive, but not in an almost-dead way. Second," he paused and glanced at Cliodhna again, "the Lady there feels like shes both, but in no way undead. I don''t understand either of these things."
"Mm, my husband can teach you about the armor, and I think he should. Anything that helps you here should in turn help our daughter. But that brings us to my second question. Lady Cliodhna, what is your particular interest here? I do not think it is just because death magic was involved."
Cliodhna smiled and inclined her head. "You are correct." She rose from her seat and walked toward Amrydor slowly, examining him thoroughly. "I am glad you came here while I was visiting, child. I know much about you, but it is not yet time to tell you everything." She stroked her fingers through his hair tenderly and said, "For now, I can tell you this. There is a reason for the powers you have, but that reason also ends there. Reasons to use your powers are up to you. There is no destiny, duty, or obligation. Your life is yours to live."
Amrydor''s eyes opened wide, but she interrupted him with a shake of her head. "No, you are no blood or descendant of mine, nor have you lived a previous life. Still, I have known who you are since you first drew breath. I can not tell you more, nor can I help you any more than I can help any other mortal-born person. If you wish to know more, you will need to be patient. Growth is needed before you are ready, and power is only a small slice of that growth. When you are ready, I or another will guide you to where that knowledge lays."
She glanced over toward Kazue''s family with an amused look and added, "But thanks to certain events, that will be easier than it once would have been. Still, it will be years and perhaps decades before you are ready. For now, simply lead your life whilst being true to yourself. That is what we consider important."
"Now," Cliodhna said as she stepped away and turned toward the door, "I believe it is time for the rest of us to take our leave. I bid everyone farewell for now."
As everyone but her family started filtering out, Moriko gave Fuyuko a hug from behind. "Come on love, let me put you to bed for a nap. That had to have been exhausting."
She was right of course, but Fuyuko shook her head. "No, I don''t think I can sleep. Not yet. I don''t know what I need yet. But, um, well, I don''t want to be alone for a bit I think."
"Why don''t we start with food?" Mordecai said with a smile. "We''re in a good place for it, and we can just talk for a while."
Yeah, that sounded good.
266: Stalking Death
By the next morning, Fuyuko had decided she was ready to work on dealing with her issue. When she told her parents, they were a bit skeptical at first but then Papa said, "You might be rushing more than you need to, but perhaps that is for the best. If you are this dedicated to the issue, then I don''t need to worry about you running away from death."
It took a moment, then she realized he was talking about what could happen if someone was seeking immortality from fear of dying. "Oh, yeah, that," she said sheepishly. "I didn''t even consider that." Fuyuko didn''t think that it was quite the same thing for her, but it was close enough that Mordecai was probably right to be concerned.
After breakfast, Fuyuko asked where Amrydor was, and Mama M told her that he and Gou were starting up the earth zone.
Well, that was convenient. She could just wait here, but that just felt like a waste.
Instead, she went down to the stone city and walked the ''wrong'' way into the combat path of the earth zone. Fuyuko wanted to practice hiding and stalking someone who didn''t know she was trying to do so and it would be fun to see how close she could get before they spotted her.
The weather and the shifting terrain provided plenty of cover for her to work with, and even more shadows for her to use as needed. It also made her ''prey'' a little harder to find, since they were starting at the opposite end and the zone was wide enough to possibly miss each other.
Scent and sound were enough to let her know when she was close, and Fuyuko worked her way closer while listening to their conversation. They weren''t saying a lot at first, mostly some occasional conversations about tactics and the creature they were fighting, but then Gou said, "So, you are looking forward to holding hands with the pretty girl?"
Fuyuko nearly stumbled.
"Please don''t," Amrydor said with a sigh.
When Fuyuko recovered her balance, she decided to pace them instead of trying to get closer. Why did he say that?
Gou continued with a teasing tone, "I mean, I agree she''s really cute, but in your position, I''d be awfully worried about getting close. She might do more than just-"
"Yugo!" Amrydor said sharply, "Don''t be an ass."
There was a beat of silence before Gou calmly replied, "Then tell me what''s actually going on. You''ve never been this cagey about a girl you liked before."
The sudden change in tone confused Fuyuko for a moment, then she realized that Gou had been baiting Amrydor.
"Fine," Amrydor said in a flat tone, "but I''m not going to try delving at the same time."
"Yeah, I was thinking this was the perfect place for us to pause for a conversation."
Fuyuko thought Gou had chosen well. The two of them were on a section of flat, hard ground with no cover, which would make it easy for them to watch for approaching danger.
She was hiding behind a boulder in an adjacent area and she could only hear them this well because she was already downwind from them. Even with her hearing, she''d have to be closer without that aid.
Amrydor took a moment before he spoke. "Well, let''s get part of this out of the way first. I don''t think she''s just cute, I think she''s beautiful, and the way she moves when fighting is incredible. When she shifted during her fury, she was more savage but just as beautiful."
"See, I knew you had-"
"Yugo," Amrydor said with annoyance, "just listen, because that''s not the important part. She, well, I''m not sure exactly what''s going on, but she''s absolutely not interested. No, more, she seemed completely unaware. Her father asked me about my intentions right in front of her, and she just seemed to be confused for a moment before ignoring it. Like she was so used to being confused by certain things that she''s learned to not think about them."
Gou sounded a bit confused as he asked, "Are you sure? That''s, I don''t know, kind of odd. She seemed pretty sharp and aware to me."
"I don''t get it either, but I don''t need to. I''m just going to do my best to be her friend."
"And?"
"And nothing. That''s it. I have no plans or ideas. I can be her friend and it doesn''t matter if we''re ever anything more. Don''t give me that look, I mean it. I don''t know what''s going on, but she''s uninterested in anything more to the point of being oblivious to the idea. Maybe that will change, maybe it won''t."
"Huh," Gou said thoughtfully, "so if you''re going to be just friends, you''re still going to see other girls? Because you seemed to be smitten by her pretty hard yesterday."
Amrydor groaned and said, "Why''d you have to ask that? Alright, yes, just not right now. If she''s not interested, she won''t care. If she decides she cares, she can tell me. It''s out of my hands."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"Why are you giving up so fast?" Gou asked.
"Because," Amrydor said, "I think I''d hurt her if I did anything else. I don''t get it either, but I''m not going to risk that. So, friends it is. And friends help each other, so I am going to help her. That''s all."
"Alright, if you say so."
"I do. Now come on, there''s plenty more to do."
Fuyuko waited for a moment while they moved further away, and then started working her way around them. She decided she didn''t want to meet them down here after all, waiting for them up top was fine.
It gave her time to think.
She was probably the only one who had not noticed that Amrydor wanted more than being friends. Fuyuko felt a little dumb about it now. That''s why everyone was staring at him when he''d talked about touching her hand.
Was that just something he was trying to do? No, he couldn''t have lied, not there.
One thing he said just now was bothering her more than all the rest. Fuyuko didn''t like the idea that she was missing stuff because she ignored it, but when she thought about it she was certain he was right. She was uncomfortable with the topic because she didn''t understand what everyone else was feeling. Great, another thing she had to figure out.
Maybe she should talk with Mama M. She knows this sort of thing, right? But not right now. Especially as there was something else she had to think about while she waited.
When the pair were done, they found her waiting on a bench near the entrance to the stone city. Amrydor didn''t look the least surprised, though Gou looked a little startled at first. Hmm.
"Hey," Fuyuko said as they got close. "Um, I think I''m ready to start training. But, I want to ask something else first. Yesterday, you said you can sense death stuff and tell what''s alive and dead and such. Does that mean you can also tell when there''s something living near you?" She couldn''t help but think of how quickly he''d reacted to her attack from behind.
Amrydor nodded. "Yeah. Especially if it''s someone I paid a lot of attention to. Um, if I do that, I can feel their life from further away."
Fuyuko considered that a moment and then asked, "So, there''s something different about everyone''s life the way you see it?"
He smiled a little and said, "Right. Some people are really distinct immediately, like you. But a lot of your inhabitants feel the same at first until I look close enough. Um, not the kobolds though for some reason. Most people are somewhere in between."
She thought that might make sense; their inhabitants were mostly raised recently from animals. The kobolds had all been old before they joined the dungeon. "So," she asked, "you would be really hard ta sneak up on then, right?"
"Yeah."
As she thought. That was embarrassing, especially with everything he''d said. But if he''d known it was her listening, she didn''t think he could lie easily. Which meant everything had been true. She could work with that. Some of what he''d said was stuff she''d have to think about more if he''d said it while knowing she was listening.
For now, she just smiled and said, "Right then. Friends it is. I like that."
Gou finally figured out what was going on and looked flustered. Fuyuko considered letting him suffer, but she didn''t really feel mad at him. So she let him off by saying, "At least ya called me pretty. I do like that, just not all the stuff a lot of people add after that, alright?"
"Um, yeah, sure. I''m good with that." He replied.
"Good," she said. "Um, I was thinking about where ta go, and I think it''s just best if we go up to the tree. We can sit in the main room."
"Er, you two go up without me," Gou said. "I''d just be sitting around anyway, might as well see what''s down here instead."
That felt a little awkward too, but his sisters had already been escorted down to resume their delves last night, so there really wouldn''t be anyone for him to talk to.
At least she got to enjoy watching Amrydor''s reaction to the floating mushroom cloud. That part was always fun when she got to introduce a new friend to them.
Fuyuko showed Amrydor where he could go get cleaned up from his delve and then made a couple of sandwiches each for them. He seemed to eat as much as she did, so she put lots of meat into all of them.
After they ate, she said, "So, yer the teacher. What do we do?"
"Um, right." He seemed uncertain as he looked over all the chairs, then shook his head. "Let''s make it easy. Let''s sit on the floor. Over here."
He had her sit first, and then he sat down facing her, but off to the side. Then he put his hand on his knee, palm up. "When you''re ready, just touch my hand. You can, um, use just a finger or something if you want."
They went slowly from there. It took only the slightest touch of his aura to make her breath catch and her skin prickle.
Fuyuko had never done anything quite like this, but she''d spent more than half a year both training and learning how to train herself. That included figuring out what she was doing wrong. It was a little different here as she picked at her own thoughts and feelings, but the process was similar.
His aura was quiet and serene death, whether in the silence of violent aftermath or the somber stillness of a well-tended graveyard.
There wasn''t a threat of death, for death had already come. What was to die was already dead. It was what she had felt in what seemed like her final moments when she was bleeding out. Hope was already gone, there had been nothing left to fight for life with.
That was why it was so terrifying when actual danger was not. Danger was only a threat, a possibility. Threats could be struggled against.
She couldn''t accept death like that, not if she had a choice. Feeling his aura was feeling like that last moment all over again, but lasting for as long as she was exposed to it instead of for a few seconds.
Understanding her panic helped, but even after several hours Fuyuko could only take a small amount of his aura for about ten minutes. It was also exhausting to keep dealing with the waves of panic trying to take her over.
Fuyuko stubbornly refused to stop or admit how tired she was until she found herself swaying, unable to keep sitting upright. That was when Amrydor called off the training. She tried to get up, but Amrydor had to catch her and carry her to the couch.
She didn''t even remember him setting her down.
When she woke up, she found a blanket over herself, and one over Amrydor who was curled up on the floor. There was also a dragon on top of each of them; Carnelian Flame was on top of her while Thunder and Lightning were on top of him. Naturally, this meant that moving in the slightest would draw a complaint from the sleeping dragons, thus letting Kazue and Moriko know the moment either of them woke up.
At Fuyuko''s insistence, Amrydor stayed for dinner, which was enough to also get Gou to accept an invitation up. From there, the boys could be pressured into accepting a couple of guest rooms. The rest of the group had already begun delving down; Amrydor was staying behind mostly because of training her. Gou was keeping him company for the moment but was waiting for a time slot where he could attempt a solo delve and see how far he got.
She wondered how they were going to react when the new zone was claimed in a couple of days.
267: A Blast From Their Past
Two days after Fuyuko''s sparring session with the champion trainees, Bellona waited with anticipation as her ''prey'' came to where she and Xarlug waited. Helena had agreed to this little training bout on behalf of her trainees and had passed on directions to Amrydor and Yugo to head here at dawn.
"Oh bloody hells, of course it''s her." Yugo''s curse was sweet music to her ears. This was far from the first time they''d met as the temples and monasteries regularly cross-trained with each other.
While Bellona had never been in charge of their training at an organizational level, she had been in charge of specific training sessions that included the pair. What made them especially fun to ''torture'' was that they could both take just about any regimen she threw at them, even if neither had yet to best her in a spar.
"Hello boys," she said with a grin, "it''s good to see you again. But it seems someone has been getting in trouble with girls again already." Her gaze landed on Amrydor, whom she noted had caught up to her in height.
Amrydor returned her look with a steady gaze of his own as he replied, "We''ve worked that out and there will be no problems there, Champ- er, Lady Bellona." Despite his bravado, Bellona was pretty certain that she caught a hint of a blush on his cheeks. The youth had grown both tall and wide of shoulder, drawing the eye of more than a few other girls his age or older.
"Hmm, we''ll see. Amrydor, Yugo, I want to introduce you to Xarlug, who will be helping me with your training this morning. Xarlug, please meet Trainee Amrydor and Trainee ''Yugo'', or so he is called."
Bellona had heard that Yugo often had authorized absences, now she knew why. It had been obvious enough that he''d been a noble''s son going incognito for whatever reason, she just hadn''t expected him to turn out to be Prince Gou.
Said prince looked pained as he said, "Can we please not play with names? I am quite happy to leave things as they have been."
Amrydor grinned at his friend and said, "I''m just amused that Fuyuko called you out on it so fast. It took me years to figure it out, and I had to stalk you first."
"Alright you two," Bellona said, "enough of that. Xarlug, you get to start with Amrydor here since it seems he''s finally picked a favored weapon and it''s a polearm. I''ll see if Yugo here has learned anything since I last ran a training session for this lot."
She''d always had an edge on both boys, being three years older than Yugo to begin with and having the advantage of the faster maturation of orcs. Amrydor''s height and weight had him most often training with people older than him, but it also meant that Bellona had even more years of experience on him.
As it was a training session rather than a straight spar, after each contact and clash they separated, and critiques and suggestions were given. Bellona was satisfied that Yugo''s growth had mostly kept pace with her own, leaving them with about the same gap in power and skill as before. However, she was also not taking advantage of her elemental skill set, yet. This was about combat techniques and needed to stay focused on weapons and footwork.
After about an hour, she called their first break. All of them could use it, even in the slower pace of a training session there was still plenty of exertion. It would be far too soon if this was a stamina-building exercise, but alertness and energy were needed for learning.
Bellona was pleased with how both of these young men were shaping up, but she wasn''t going to let them off the hook yet. Once everyone had their wind back, it was time to switch partners. She''d been keeping an eye on Xarlug and Amrydor, and while Xarlug had the overall advantage, their training session had been closer to equals as each had techniques to teach the other.
Now it was time to find out how well Amrydor faired against axe and shield.
As it turned out, fairly well. While his war scythe wasn''t as good at thrusting as other polearms, the curved blade could also maneuver around shields easier and attempt to hook them out of the way, and the young man had the strength and agility to keep her from knocking the longer weapon out of the way readily.
A polearm''s greatest weakness was its slow speed. If you fully commit to a swing and miss, it''s very hard to recover quickly. Amrydor chose not to commit his full strength to a swing, content to probe and attempt to work his way past her defenses rather than trying to overpower her.
For most people, she''d find the approach timid. But she knew him, and he''d always been a patient fighter. Now that she knew the nature of that strangely serene battle aura, Bellona couldn''t help but think of it as the patience of death. All things come to it in time.
Well, almost all things. People like Gil and Satsuki defied that expectation. Nor would the boy''s patience be enough to overcome Bellona''s defenses. "You''re strong, but not strong enough to avoid committing to your strikes." As she spoke, Bellona demonstrated her point by slapping the war scythe with her shield at the same time it came sweeping in. Without having committed his strength to the attack, she was able to knock it away and give herself the opening to move in and strike with her axe.
He adjusted in time to block with the haft of his weapon, which was certainly better than nothing, but Bellona shook her head as they reset for another exchange and said, "That works here, but we''re both using wooden weapons. Try that in battle with live steel and you are likely to have the haft broken in one or two strikes."
Amrydor frowned and then sighed, "I know. There''s something else I''m missing, maybe some fine adjustment to the shape or such, or maybe it''s a technique I haven''t figured out. It feels right overall, but there''s a lot of refinement left."
Hmm. Bellona checked an idea with Mordecai and then said, "If you delve, Mordecai can ensure that there''s a series of variants for you to try. Most of them will be normal dungeon constructs like these are, but by the time you are really pushing yourselves he believes that he can have your ideal customization figured out."
"Oh? Huh, that sounds nice. But, um, I''m supposed to be training with Fuyuko."
She snorted at that. "The girl can meet you at any of the rest points and train with you there. There are shortcuts for a reason and she knows how to travel the warrens. You''re here primarily to get training, so that''s your first duty."
"No." His denial was flat and hard, which surprised Bellona. "My first duty is to protect and help others, always. I believe that there is no one else here who can help Fuyuko in this specific issue as well as I can, though I am willing to be proven wrong."
A moment later, Amrydor seemed to recognize the tone which he''d spoken to her in, and he cleared his throat before he said, "Er, but, um, your recommendation lets me do both, so, um, thank you Lady Bellona."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Bellona started laughing and Amrydor''s look of consternation did not help her stop, but she recovered before too long and gave him a grin. "Oh, I''ve always liked you, but that was perfect for a future champion. Absolutely and unabashedly sincere in its delivery. Also, we had already drawn Mordecai''s focus this way, so he heard your comment."
She took a moment to organize what she''d just been told. "He''d like you to know that you are almost correct. He can not reproduce your exact aspect of death, though with a bit of work he can put more energy into a general-purpose aura aspected with the concept of death. Fuyuko''s training would indeed go better with you. However, Cliodhna probably can produce a very similar aura to yours, if she so chooses."
Amrydor shivered and asked, "Just who is she, anyway? I felt weirdly helpless in front of her, but it didn''t feel scary until after she''d left."
Bellona shook her head and said, "Not my place to talk about that one more, and no, I don''t know what connection she might have to you. Now, back to training! Head over to the fence there, Mordecai created a selection of variants for you to try out."
When Bellona was satisfied with the progress of their training she called for a pause and gathered everyone together to discuss the training so far and exchange thoughts and observations. They''d been doing this sort of training long enough to know how to give feedback of their own, especially for each other, and were not afraid to ask questions either.
After that, it was time for a bit of fun. Well, fun for her at least. "Alright," Bellona said as she cracked her neck and stretched, "here''s the deal. If you two make a good enough showing, you get to have dessert with your lunch. Do decently, you at least get good food. But if I am too unimpressed, I''m going to feed you stale bread and dry cheese."
The pair eyed her suspiciously before glancing at each other.
"You know," Yugo said, "I''ve heard some rumors about her cooking, but I haven''t had a chance to find out the truth."
"Well," Xarlug interjected, "I don''t know about your rumors, but I can verify she makes the best food I''ve ever had." He headed to the outside of the ring and added with a smile, "But I admit I might be biased. She wooed me with her cooking."
Funny, that''s not exactly how Bellona remembered it going down. She gave him some side eye but the unrepentant man just winked at her. Fine, she''d deal with him later. "This is going to be a full spar, so I want to see everything you''ve got. Two on one, and I am fully expecting to come out on top."
Young men were easily riled sometimes, and it made her happy to see the spark light up in their eyes. This was going to be interesting.
When the spar started, Amrydor took the lead attack and used the long reach of his weapon to engage her shield in an attempt to create an opening for Yugo, who was trying to come in at her side. But this was a full spar and almost all powers were on the table. Instead of wood contacting wood and briefly sticking from the impact, the tip of his war scythe met her angled shield and a briefly conjured coating of polished stone with an even thinner layer of slick ice.
His tip slid off to the side, guided by her maneuver to twist toward Yugo.
Both of them disengaged without hitting each other and paused as they tried to understand what just happened before they attempted another attack.
Bellona kept her elemental manipulations subtle at first, but after several minutes Yugo tried to hit her with his lightning breath attack. Instead of dodging it, Bellona created an arc of metal that coated her her shield and then went across the back of her shoulders to guide up the haft of her axe. Combined with her own elemental control of lightning, she was able to guide most of the blast through that arc and aim the wild energy toward Amrydor.
Most of it. She could feel a few spots where tendrils had made their way beneath the padding under her armor, but the pain was minor and ignorable for now.
The maneuver had caused the tight blast to disperse into a wider but less intense blast, so while Amrydor was able to avoid most of it, he still caught the edge of it. He swore as his leg briefly went numb and unresponsive, but retained enough composure to force himself into a roll that sent him away from her and let him come up on one knee while his leg recovered function.
Yugo smiled widely and said, "So I heard correctly, you are Marked. I hadn''t heard what clan, but I''m guessing something elemental. Metal and lightning at least, hmm, Amry, expect any element until we figure out her set."
"Oh, I''ll tell you my set," Bellona said sweetly. That made Yugo visibly nervous and she took delight in telling him, "Everything."
"Frozen hells," Yugo responded as she launched her attack. The earth under her feet had shifted to give her an ideal surface for her leap and the wind helped launch her toward him, whirling as fire blazed over her shield and axe.
He dodged, but she hadn''t been expecting to land the blow directly. Her attack carried through into the ground which then exploded into a burst of fire and stone shrapnel that he could not entirely avoid. The speed of the spar picked up from there, but Bellona still had the clear advantage. For one thing, she could judiciously add stone to the edge of her axe when she had a clean hit on armor, increasing the force of the impact as stone gave less than wood.
Using metal on an attack would have been closer to a live steel spar than she was comfortable getting into with these two.
They were good, and as the back and forth increased in intensity she could feel their wills and spirit focus and sharpen to the point that the wood in their hands was more dangerous than sharp steel in the hands of an inexperienced warrior.
But she''d had plenty of practice against that thrice-be-damned Mordecai and all of his blasted tricks, in addition to the wide variety of inhabitants she''d been both training and training with. Yugo''s strikes were fast and his hands would often blur during his attacks, but she could still read his attacks while tracking Amrydor.
Meanwhile, Amrydor had started to develop a technique with his war scythe. The blade began drifting oddly and it wasn''t always where it seemed to be, but it wasn''t quite enough to keep Bellona from dodging or deflecting the attacks.
The spar ended after Yugo attempted a new trick that didn''t quite go right. She saw him swallow hard just as he leapt at her, and lightning blasted out of his elbows right when he struck out at her in a double-handed attack. The burst of speed and power made his strike land solidly against her shield instead of letting her deflect it as she normally would.
All of his wooden claws shattered against her shield, and even with her reinforcement of earth and metal, Bellona''s shield cracked in half from the impact.
But instead of trying to follow up his attack, Yugo leapt back with an oath and began ripping off the metal parts of the armor on his arms. Bellona could smell scorched hair and skin and could guess what had happened.
"END!" she called out as she dropped her axe and shield and rushed over to help. The metal of his armor had channeled too much of the lightning without proper control and overheated, burning him even through the hide padding.
After they''d gotten the metal off, Bellona cooled down his burns before applying a healing prayer to make sure the burns were reduced to superficial skin damage. She deliberately did not quite heal him all the way.
"Idiot, trying a stunt like that without practice. I''m not sure I should let Fuyuko near you two, the girl gets enough bad ideas on her own." When she was done cussing Yugo out, Bellona sighed and shook her head. "Well, you earned dessert at least, but there is another price. You are going to practice that trick all afternoon, just without the armor."
At Amrydor''s snicker, she whirled toward him. "Oh, don''t think you are getting let off either boy. I couldn''t entirely make out what you were doing, and I suspect you aren''t sure either, but I figured out one thing: it''s tied to your aura. So you are going to maintain your full battle aura while you drill with the war scythe variants."
A battle aura was mostly about projecting one''s spirit and will into the area around you. While most did not have a distinct aspect or sensation the way that Amrydor''s did, they all took energy to maintain. It was going to be exhausting to maintain for that long.
"Now come on, we''re going to eat first. You''re going to need a lot of food to power through this. Oh, and Yugo, I''ve got some elemental salts you might want to try. Just don''t try any of them other than the one I hand you. If you don''t have a handle on the elemental energies they can be bad for you, and you don''t have the control to handle more than a light dash of lightning salts."
She certainly didn''t have any ''death'' salts. Ice/cold salts seemed the closest, but not quite right, so she wasn''t going to give Amrydor any of them for now.
268: Claiming The Mountain
None of their previous zones had required quite this much planning, but the way they were growing was making things harder already, in addition to the things they specifically wanted to accomplish with this new zone.
For one of those things, Moriko had been preparing the location for the past two days, but her work was going to be the last of the major pieces to be completed.
Right now, Kazue was checking that everything was ready one last time during the dark of the night. They would begin a few hours before dawn as they didn''t want any surges of inhabitant strength to cause a battle to go wrong and get someone too badly injured.
There was no question about how much territory they were going to claim, they''d calculated out the space exactly against the maps they had available. It cut across the outer hunting grounds of the kobold tribe''s territory, so there had been some negotiation to purchase that land from them.
Thankfully, being an established political entity ensured that there was an established methodology for negotiating such a thing, though that did not mean it was simple. In the end, the elders of the tribe had negotiated that any tribe members delving the dungeon''s outer zones would have a small increase in their allotted rewards.
Kazue hadn''t even known they could do that. But when the kobolds had suggested it, she had tested how the balance of that bargain felt and was surprised that it resolved so readily. A permanent and ongoing gain offsets a permanent and ongoing loss. However, what they could offer the kobolds was less of a boost than the kobolds had asked for.
After experimenting with possible scenarios, Kazue had determined that they had simply reached the limit of how large a permanent bonus could be granted to that type of group. A group of specific individuals had more leeway, but a tribe was a population with changing membership as people were born and died.
Another bit of preparation had begun shortly after they had finished working on their ocean zone. Sarcomaag had grown tendrils of mycelium past the borders of their territory and into the land they were going to be claiming and then used his presence as a sort of scaffolding to coax thinner roots of living crystal to do the same. This growth had only happened with the expenditure of mana, and it cost far more mana than one might think.
The initial expenditure had been easy to determine, but this subtle breach of their territory was also causing a small but steady leak proportional to the amount of fungal boss and crystal matrix that existed outside of the dungeon. A normal inhabitant or boss could step outside of the dungeon and they would simply lose access to the dungeon''s mana and support, but having such an unusual inhabitant extending this way caused mana flow down the mycelium, keeping it just as strong as the rest of their raid boss''s body.
This process was only done on the mortal side of reality; space was more flexible in Faerie and the proper amount of land would grow to match their territory.
It was along these tendrils that Kazue slowly extended grasping threads of dungeon mana that sought to claim the territory. At the same time, she was drawing similar threads of mana down in a long arc through the air from their crystal tree, though these threads had no physical matrix to support them. As each thread reached the ground, she tied it into the network of threads that were already present.
As the network of mana grew denser and more of the area began to fill in, the density of the mana started fluctuating. Without regulation, this new zone would be slightly stronger than the earth zone, but that was not the goal Kazue and Mordecai were aiming for.
Now the living crystal came into play. Kazue shunted excess mana down into the crystal matrix, where it was immediately channeled down into the first underground zone, which had slightly less dense mana than the earth zone did.
This was the difficult balancing act that they had been preparing for. Mordecai and Kazue had already figured out how the zones were going to expand if they didn''t interfere: in any ''direction'', the power of the zones was going to jump as if a person had traversed three zones instead of one.
Neither Kazue nor Mordecai felt that this was a good idea, and this was their solution: rebalance the mana density of the zones, shoving a portion of the power from a stronger zone into a weaker zone to even them out.
It was something that would never have worked with a normal dungeon growth pattern; they could only do it here because of the many ''edges'' to the zones. The territory that Kazue was claiming right now touched three other zones, and might touch four in the future. A new zone normally only touched one other zone, and eventually two.
While she was doing this, her avatar was flying around the zone and looking for any unstable spots her core might have missed. Mordecai''s core was doing the same, focusing mostly on the outermost part of the zone.
Mordecai''s avatar wouldn''t be able to step out into the new zone until it was fully claimed, so he was traveling along the outside of the Hunting Grounds to see if he could detect any issues from inside their territory.
The mana did not want to cooperate and Kazue found her endurance being tested by having to continually wrestle with it. She had to get it under control before the territory claim was finalized or it would be even harder to change in the future.
For all that this process was going to violate the way a dungeon ''should'' grow, they had two things weighing in their favor. First and foremost was the simple awareness that keeping jumps in power smaller would be fairer for delvers wishing to travel along a single direction or theme, which would be most of them. They were basically normalizing the delvers'' experience.
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The second thing was that growing ''out'' indefinitely could be problematic, so they might have to have far more ''up'' zones than ''out'' zones. Prearranging their zone pattern to grow in jumps of ''two'' instead of ''three'' would keep the growth pattern stable instead of having irregular jumps of power between zones.
Admittedly, the outward growth issues were political, not fundamental to the nature of an environmental dungeon. The vast expanse that the southern dungeon occupied was an example of that. But they had bound themselves with political agreements, so for them the issues were real.
Kazue and Mordecai kept both of these concepts near the front of their minds, maintaining a focus on why they were doing this work while they wrestled with the recalcitrant mana.
It took several hours to complete and stabilize, with the inhabitants having to inform the delvers throughout all the underground zones that it was not safe to proceed once dawn arrived. Kazue was mentally exhausted by the end of it, but they accomplished their goal before the new shape of their reality snapped into place.
The earth zone, the new zone, and Kazue''s original underground zone were all maintaining the same density of mana and power.
She could even feel that her intention for the zone''s theme had partially manifested, but she stepped back to let Mordecai take over from there. He''d had to let her shoulder most of the burden during the process of claiming, so it was his turn to work hard while she rested.
Mordecai''s first step was to sweep over the new territory to find as many animals as possible to invite as new inhabitants. The ecological tier creatures, such as the vast majority of plant and insect life, were simply incorporated automatically. Anything with more sense of self and a stronger spirit had to be manually invited.
He did find two exceptions amongst the insects.
The first was a species of praying mantis that had adults weighing between ten to twenty pounds. Such large insects had an innately magical aspect to them of course, but the growth also allowed further refinement of their evolution.
While he wasn''t quite sure what their natural life span maximum would be, at the very least he expected them to live more than five years, while normal ones often barely lived a single year. This included survival mechanisms for surviving harsh winters in the forested regions of the mountain, more advanced senses and neural network, and a slower reproduction rate matched with better caretaking of eggs and hatchlings.
While they certainly weren''t sapient, they had about as much spiritual presence as a normal mammal or bird of their size, and thus required invitations to join as inhabitants. Mordecai was a bit surprised at how quickly all of them accepted the invitation, but that surprise was mitigated when he noticed that the few older males were the ones to accept first. These would be the ones with the best survival instincts. Younger males followed in emulation, and the females followed from the instinctive drive to not be deprived of potential mates.
Given the mating habits of mantises, their social dynamics were going to be interesting as their minds awoke. Kazue reacted swiftly to the dawning realization of potential issues and quickly started organizing those more mature inhabitants who had found that they were good at helping others through emotional trauma. Neither of them knew that the mantises would necessarily develop trauma from their pre-sapience memories, but no one wanted to take a chance.
The second exception amongst the insects was a strange species of beetles. Namely, a eusocial hive of horned beetle relatives.
While the praying mantises might be the result of a natural mutation, these most certainly were not. The first sign of this was that a quick observation identified what looked to be several dozen species and a deeper inspection of the occasional dead body showed that each contained the information for over a hundred different ones, though clearly not all were being used at the moment.
The individual beetles ranged from two to five pounds each, and the queen was a little over thirty pounds. She was also the source that left Mordecai very confident in his assumption that they were an escaped experiment: she was incapable of producing eggs that had the right information to become new queens.
Additionally, the rest of the beetles were evenly divided between males and females, rather than the males being reserved for breeding. Combine all of this with a true, if non-sapient, hive mind and you had the picture of an experiment with several levels of safeties built in. The hive could grow within feasible limits, but it could never produce a second hive and it would not survive the eventual death of the queen.
When the queen accepted the invitation, there was some internal confusion for the hivemind as it started to adjust to the new reality. Mordecai honestly wasn''t certain if the individual beetles would gain sapience over time or if only the hive as a whole would be sapient.
As for plant life, there was only a singular example that was going to need to be talked with, and this wasn''t a job for his core.
Mordecai''s avatar slowly walked toward a great tree that was high up on the mountain. From below, it only stood out a little, and that small bump in height made it seem like a normal tree growing on top of a small uprising or such.
The truth was quite the opposite. It was growing at the very end of a deep but narrow ravine and simply grew far above the lip of that ravine; Mordecai was approaching from the top of the cliff, which was how he was able to see the top this clearly. He glanced into the ravine and noted that there was a well-worn dirt trail and some small signs of respect being paid to the tree.
Obviously, the kobolds had known it was special, but if they had understood just how special, he doubted they would have sold the land for anything!
Well, this one was well asleep or it would have noticed them claiming territory around it and done something. Time for negotiations, he just hoped that this one wasn''t going to wake up grumpy. Mordecai took a seat at the edge of the cliff looking out on the tree.
Let''s see, normal language probably wouldn''t work here, that would be just so much noise right now. But Mordecai had much more than that to call upon. He exhaled softly and upon his breath rode scents designed to be picked up by leaf and root, though they would have to sink into the soil before the latter could happen. The message here was simply a sense of urgency, though no warning of danger came with it.
After a few minutes of letting that build up Mordecai spoke, but it would not sound like speech to most. Rustling leaves, cracking wood, and low deep vibrations meant to travel through the earth; these were the components of this language.
"Greetings great one. Happenstance has placed us in a position to need conversation with unseemly haste, and for that, I apologize. I hope that my disturbing your rest will not be too great a bother."
Several more minutes passed before the subtlest shifts began, and the tree replied, "Hmm? Mordecai, is that finally you?"
Or, possibly, the kobolds knew exactly how special this tree was and had pranked him.
269: Wooden Speech
It took a moment for Mordecai to search through his memories and pull out the name of the giant ''tree'' before him, which was made harder by the xyloid having grown so much since Mordecai had been asleep. Fortunately, xyloids were extremely patient and tended to move at a slower pace than most other species did.
"Machineel," he finally said, once he managed to find the right patterns to match. Despite what some stories said, most xyloids did not have faces, so visual identity lay in less obvious aspects of their appearance. In this case, it did help that the former zone boss resembled an apple tree.
Mordecai''s naming sense and humor had only changed so much over time. It was the scariest name he could think of for a tree-like guardian of a giant underground forest.
He continued, "I had not expected you to be here when we claimed this land. So many of you were being very stubborn when I went to sleep, all I could do was hope you''d find a way forward to your own lives."
"Mm," Machineel rumbled through the creaking of wooden limbs, "some did stay, some of us did not. Of those who did not stay, well, I have been asleep for a long time." There was the barest pause before he asked, "Did you say you claimed this land? Yes, I see now, this is your territory, but, the aura is different. Very different. What has changed?"
For a xyloid, Machineel was talking rapidly, which still meant it took several minutes for him to say his piece.For a xyloid, Machineel was talking rapidly, which still meant it took several minutes for him to say his piece. Mordecai was doing his best to keep his speech just as slow, but it did not come easily to him. Especially when he had so many thoughts and ideas racing through his head and he had so much to say.
"Many, many things, my friend. For one thing, I am married. One of my wives is Kazue, another core, though she was reincarnated as such. My other wife is Moriko, a disciple and priestess of Sakiya. When we have a moment, I would like to invite them both to meet you."
While he was talking, Mordecai also checked with Kazue about an idea, and then lightly brushed Moriko''s mind to ask permission to act on her behalf. Given what she was occupied with right now, he didn''t want to disturb her more than necessary with details that might be distracting.
Mordecai smiled at Machineel, though he wasn''t sure that the expression was very visible to the xyloid. Their vision operated differently and it would depend on how focused he was. "There are some other big changes, but there is one that I think is particularly relevant. There is no way we could invite you as even a raid boss for a long time. But, if you are willing to lend me your support once more, there is another option."
Wind whipped around Mordecai as he called upon a different source of power, one that should be quite compatible with the xyloid. "Machineel, on behalf of Queen Kazue, Queen Moriko, and myself, King Mordecai, I humbly request that you join Our court as Our druidic advisor and council member. In return, We offer you the title of Faerie Noble and all the bonds and duties that go with granting you a position in Our court."
The air stilled and not even Machineel''s leaves rustled for a long moment.
Then the entirety of his tree-like form began to shake with laughter. "You, a Faerie King? Whom did you annoy to be granted such a title and power? Oh, I need to know so much more. Very well, I accept; the bonds of faerie nobility will not alter the nature of my existence terribly much."
Mordecai''s awareness of Machineel shifted to acknowledge the xyloid''s new status, and he said, "Thank you. Now, I can offer you a separate but compatible deal. How would you like to also be our contractor?"
There was more flexibility in how strong a contractor could be, but Machineel''s existence had more pressure than they could normally bear right now. Making him a part of their court helped offset that pressure. This second offer was also accepted, followed by Machineel saying, "I get the feeling that you already have something in mind for your new advisor."
"Indeed," Mordecai replied, "I do. If you reach out with your roots, you will find a web of mycelium and living crystal roots. The first is our raid boss Sarcomaag. The roots belong to the crystal tree rising from our elevated earth zone. You should be able to communicate with Sarcomaag and use the crystal to focus your attention on a room where you will find Moriko next to a sapling. We will be attempting to bring the sapling into harmony with the crystal tree and blend them together into one life form."
While the crystal was alive, it was simply a living mass, given structure by their wills but with no more spiritual presence than moss. If their plan worked, the Yggdrasil''s nature would infuse the crystal and they would merge into one new life form. Physically, the crystal would appear dominant at first, but the world tree''s spiritual presence would be the truly dominant one.
"But that is not the end of events that we could use your assistance with. Norumi has transformed herself into a dryad, and she is currently awaiting in Faerie for the opportunity to give her blessing to the Yggdrasil once the merge is complete. There is some uncertainty of how well the blessing will take, and it would be a comfort if you were available to offer your support."
"Norumi? A Dryad? I had not heard of this. Interesting. After we are done, perhaps she would be willing to visit me."
Mordecai''s eyes narrowed.
A dryad was typically bound to a single tree, and though there were ways to move the tree by transforming it into a sapling, a dryad could not normally become bound to any other tree.
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Xyloids were one of the very few exceptions to that rule.
While the activities common to all animals held no interest to the tree-like entities, a dryad''s bond contained a certain amount of emotional and spiritual intimacy even when shared with a normal tree.
"First," Mordecai said, "you should know that she is a forest-bound dryad, and happily married to a human who has become a guardian spirit of those same woods. But while she would probably be happy to see you again, in the way she had when you were my zone boss, you need to be aware of a particular danger."
He paused to let the anticipation build up before he said, "Her mother is visiting. Oh, and Satsuki is not entirely pleased that I am married, so her mood might be a little more volatile than usual."
Machineel took that in for a moment and then replied, "I would certainly not wish to suggest anything that might upset Norumi''s mother. It would simply be pleasant to spend a bit of time with Norumi again, and it would be an honor to meet her husband as well." He did not seem eager to mention Satsuki''s name, on the small chance that it might draw the nine-tail''s attention.
Much like a dragon, xyloids grew stronger simply by living, and Machineel was now nearly three thousand years old and when it came to managing a forest and the environment around it, they were second to none. However, they were not very effective at direct, personal combat.
"That can probably be arranged," Mordecai replied, "though in all likelihood you will need to shift to the Other Side first. She has difficulty being away from her forest on this side, but it is much easier for her there."
Xyloids were mobile, but moving location became more difficult as they grew larger, so it would probably be easiest to let Machineel remain rooted where he was. His power, now enhanced with this faerie title, should ensure that Faerie matched his current environment well enough that he could shift across without uprooting himself. He would simply appear on the other side in the equivalent location.
"Now," Mordecai said, "let me tell you how this all happened. Oh, and feel free to talk with Sarcomaag at the same time, I am sure he would be happy to have someone who he can speak properly with through his mycelium.
Mordecai settled himself into a position to be comfortable for a long period. Given the slow nature of the language they were using, this was going to take a while.
During his conversation with Machineel, Mordecai''s core had continued with setting up the basics of their new zone. The theme was ''mountain survival training'', which was going to be interesting to flesh out.
For now, he was rearranging the zone into sections with different types of mountain forests, complete with different trees and relative weather. They had plenty of open space to work with, as Kazue had applied a mild spacial expansion effect to the zone. The extra volume of earth had been automatically filled in from the earth they''d dug out for the ocean zone.
Modifying the weather for each section was a little tricky, but the important part was simply balancing them out. If you want to mimic a scrub land mountain, you need to move the extra moisture to the section you want to be a rain forest. If you want some mountain sections to be perpetually colder than the rest, you need to shunt the extra heat off to the section that was supposed to come close to being desert mountains.
Given how they were emulating multiple environments in a single zone, it was not perfect, but it would suffice. The seasons and weather would be a rough match to the local weather, but the processes he put into place would modify it to be closer to the equivalent weather in the simulated environment.
Of course, to be survival training, there had to be both the resources to survive off of and challenges to overcome.
A cave near a spring might be a source of shelter and safety, or it might be the den of hostile creatures.
Berries and other edible plants and mushrooms can be found, but one must be careful to correctly identify them lest they prove to be toxic.
Climbing a cliff to scout or climbing down into a cave to explore can be rewarding, but one must be careful of environmental hazards such as landslides.
As he created these hazards, Mordecai also made sure to mitigate them.
Some mitigations were simple; people were to be given the chance to run and would not be pursued beyond chasing them out of an area if they did; toxic plants and mushrooms were to be mildly debilitating, but not harmful, though they might make the delver consider whether they''d prefer death.
Other mitigations took significantly more effort to arrange. Even for a dungeon, creating wards to allow for rock falls or even avalanches to happen without doing serious harm was difficult. Though, as with many features Mordecai added for safety, he did ensure that it was possible for them to temporarily disable the wards too.
Maintaining this interleaved style of dual path was more challenging than simply splitting them, but intent and fairness were the keys. Also, safety.
To that end, it was time to create some barriers. When the hunting grounds were created, they still needed to be subtle as they were hiding how much they had expanded. This time, they had no such limitations.
Terrain, trees, and thick, thorny brambles were combined into a nigh impenetrable barrier along the outer edge of the zone, which was also the edge of their territory in this area. Between each environmental section, Mordecai created breaks in this outer wall along the edges between each terrain type and then a corridor leading toward the center. The barriers along this corridor gradually lowered and thinned, eventually leaving only a marked path one could diverge from. So long as one was on the path, one was traversing the zone rather than participating or delving.
It did the job; the terrain was so artificial that almost no one was going to accidentally wander in, and if they did, the safe path was marked. There was still plenty of space where a delver could cross between the different environments for different training experiences. The dungeon could always respond if somehow a child or other lost-looking person did come in, but reducing how much border they had to pay attention to or have inhabitants watch helped greatly.
There was one thing to add before Mordecai was going to be satisfied with the layout. In some of the combat-centric caverns, Mordecai laid deeper tunnels. These squeezed tight in places and occasionally had dips that were entirely underwater, and the final stretch of each had some dramatically placed old bones and fragmented remains of rusted swords and armor.
The very last warning was a ''wandering'' slime. Beyond that slime, it officially became the sewer path.
He was taking advantage of the power density being equalized between the survival training zone and their first underground zone to connect the sewers. In this way, for the first time, there was officially more than one way to travel into the lower zones.
Multiple entrances were always something to be careful of, but these would be hard for an invasion force to use and the dungeon had the additional safety that they had started reaching significant depths.
With the zone''s initial setup complete, Mordecai turned his attention to where Moriko was; working on the inhabitants and bosses was going to have to wait, though when that time came they needed to also make sure that the way to choose between combat and non-combat delving was clear. For the most part, simple location was not going to be enough of a signifier.
270: Krystraeliv
In the sunroom with the Yggdrasil sapling, Moriko sat lotus style while meditating and floating several inches off the ground. Even the tiny bit of habitual concentration it took for her to stay connected to the ground was too much distraction for her current task.
She breathed deeply and slowly, and as she did so, the world breathed with her. Every inhale drew Faerie mana across the thin membrane between the sides of the world, and with every exhale she used that mana to scoop a portion of dungeon mana and push it over to the Other Side.
While Moriko could not directly touch the dungeon''s mana, it also did not fight her indirect manipulation like it would for an outsider.
In some ways, this process was similar to what had already been going on to blend the two aspects of their realm, but this was a far more concentrated, and therefore dangerous, effect.
Moriko had been doing this for over two days in this exact location and had spent the previous day fasting in preparation, as one could not safely enter or leave the room. The way she was moving mana constantly between the realms had been thinning and slowly tearing the barrier between. Right now, the room existed simultaneously on both sides and its outer edges lead to both realms at the same time.
While Sarcomaag and the living crystal had managed to grow on both sides, any given piece was normally on only one side. The situation Moriko had created made traversing the borders of the room tricky at best, and perilous to most.
This is why, Crizdirk, the kobold shaman, and the twelve rabbit kin he was leading, had also been in this room for the past two days with her.
They were the ones who would be responsible for completing the ritual to integrate the sapling with the crystal tree. Moriko''s only job was to maintain this otherwise unstable overlap of worlds.
Mordecai''s avatar could have done either task, but not both at the same time and it would have left him unavailable for other jobs. Kazue''s avatar might have been able to do what Moriko was doing, but while creating the dual mana flow would have been easier for her, maintaining such a long vigil would have been much harder.
Moriko paid no attention to time, nor to herself. She simply maintained the flow and let no other thought intrude.
That is, until Mordecai''s mind briefly brushed hers. It was the lightest touch and a simple request to make a decision on her behalf. There was a small stir of curiosity, but such things were too distracting; so Moriko simply gave permission and sank back down into her mediation.
She''d barely done so before she became aware of a significant change somewhere in her domain, shortly followed by a new presence extending itself in her direction along the crystal tree. Once more, Moriko squashed curiosity lest other thoughts build up and distract her. No doubt she''d get an explanation after this was done, for now, she just trusted that Mordecai was aware and responsible for everything.
It seemed likely that this was a sign that the time was close, but that thought too was allowed to subside. Breathe in and draw faerie mana in, breathe out, and use it to push the dungeon mana out.
Eventually, the kobold and the rabbit kin stirred to begin their work, and Moriko could feel the new presence communicating with them and presumably aiding the ritual.
Their task was to perform a ritual to aid the merger and growth. There had been many similar rituals to choose between amongst the various druidic circles, and this one had taken points from several of them with Mordecai consulting with a wide variety of individuals including Norumi, Traxalim, Satsuki, and of course Chaxiss, the wise catfolk gardener from the temple Moriko had trained at. Chaxiss¡¯ help had come with the price of a promise to visit the fledgling tree once all was accomplished.
At the same time, Mordecai''s and Kazue''s cores turned their attention this way in order to guide and manipulate the living crystal. An outer edge of the room opened up to reveal the prepared ''pot'' and vertical recess designed to be the world tree''s starting point. Rich earth was already in place, and what was visible was only a small portion of the reality.
There was a system of ''tunnels'' for living roots loosely filled with more earth, and each tunnel had branching smaller channels in addition to its main route. Nor were they smooth; the rough surfaces had carefully designed shapes at multiple scales, encouraging and assisting the interlocking of living plant tissue.
While Moriko carefully maintained the overlapping realms, the ritual proceeded and the world tree was replanted into its new home. The ritual was designed to encourage trees to grow quickly and healthily, invigorating them to make sure they took root after transplantation.
The Yggdrasil responded readily and began to fill the prepared space much faster than a normal tree could have. There was a subtle flow in the mana around them as the world tree responded to the rich environment by drawing the mana in to fuel its growth.
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At first, it merely grew into and around the living crystal, much like a tree might grow around a fence, but the living crystal responded to the growth by sending tiny filaments of crystal deeper into the world tree.
This was an accelerated version of what happens when two normal trees grow next to each other, but most trees would not adapt well to filaments of crystal trying to integrate themselves. The world tree, however, adapted much better than even the hardiest of normal trees could, especially with the assistance of the customized ritual.
Moriko could feel the subtle change in the flow of mana as the structures began to integrate. A world tree passively absorbed a small portion of the mana around it while growing, and the denser the mana the more it could absorb.
Now the second part of her job began. She helped guide more mana into the young tree, stimulating its growth. She was feeding Faerie mana to it while Kazue was guiding in dungeon mana, and Mordecai was coordinating everyone, his focus moving constantly to monitor every aspect of the integration.
It didn''t take too long for the sapling to grow beyond the limits of the room, and thus breach the unstable boundary. But these are not called world trees just because of their impressive size and natural power; nexus points between realms were exactly where they thrived as they were natural bridges through such places.
The unstable nature of the merged space around Moriko shifted and the temporary dimensional nexus was absorbed by the Yggdrasil.
She pulled herself out of her trance and opened her eyes so that she could see what was happening instead of distantly monitoring it through the flow of mana. While the integration had not covered all of the crystal tree yet, where it had the results were spectacular.
Veins of green and gold grew into the translucent crystal, drawing their color from what would have been leaf and wood though they no longer bore those exact shapes or patterns. Likewise, thin veins flowed with crystalline sap throughout the organic tissue of the tree, occasionally visible near the surface as tiny sparkles.
Separately from her role as Faerie Queen, Moriko could feel the vitality blooming in this new life form. It was beautiful to behold and already growing at a visible rate without the further aid of the completed ritual.
To be fair, most of the growth was the organic tree integrating throughout the crystal portion, but the mostly wood side was also growing. It should continue to do so until it matched the crystal in height, though the rate was already slowing down.
Moriko rose up and walked over to the boundary of crystal and wood, admiring the beauty of the seamless fusion. "You''re an impressive one," she murmured as she stroked the surface to feel the differences between the sides.
There was a slight stirring of response to her attention. There was no mind yet, but she could feel a strong spirit and some simple emotions and instincts. "Don''t worry, we''re going to take good care of you, and in a little bit, we''re going to try to give you a friend you can grow up with."
Norumi and Haolong should be waiting on the other side, and Moriko prepared to step through so that she could go down and meet them. But her contact with the great tree interacted with her thoughts and she could feel the spirit of the tree respond.
"Oh?" Moriko asked in response to the impression she received. "That would be wonderful, thank you." It still took a bit of her own energy, but it was much easier to accept the tree''s offer than to create her own portal, and she stepped into the surface of the tree to slide across to the other side.
It also came with the advantage of stepping out from the tree near where Norumi waited, along with Haolong, Kazue, and Mordecai. She smiled at them and then patted the tree. "That was perfect. Mm, we need to give you a name soon. I promise it will be better than ''Little Death Apple''." Huh, where had that example come from?
Ah, the new mind that had become a citizen and contractor: a xyloid and former inhabitant named Machineel. Moriko arched a brow at Mordecai and then shook her head. "That name is so very you."
Kazue and Norumi laughed and Kazue said, "We said as much to him as well."
Mordecai shrugged and smiled. "I make no apologies. Especially as I did make sure he could live up to his name; he can generate and throw overripe ''apples'' of the type his name implies. On the other hand, he grows more normal apples most of the time, and occasionally golden apples with healing properties."
"Allow me to make a suggestion then," Haolong said, "to go with Lady Moriko''s promise. What do you think of Krystraeliv?"
"For the tree?" Moriko glanced back at the young world tree and smiled. "Crystal Tree of Life? It''s both pretty and direct, I like it."
"Krystraeliv it is then!" Kazue declared and then glanced up at Mordecai with a challenging look.
He laughed and raised his hands. "I have no objections. I don''t make all of my names puns."
"Just most of them," Norumi replied. "Thankfully, Mother named me. Now, are we ready?"
After everyone assented and moved away to give some space, Norumi and Haolong walked up to the latticework of crystal that formed part of Krystraeliv''s root system. They held hands and then each placed their free hand on the surface of the roots.
"Oh," Norumi said, "you are quite lively for one so young. I see; there is a lot of life energy in the crystal, and now all that energy is developing a spiritual density to match what you already have, and a little more besides. Mm, you are not quite awake yet though, are you? Well, while you sleep, would you like to have a friend and partner to dream with? Excellent, just take good care of her. Now, give us a moment."
Moriko''s recent experience helped her understand this interaction better. Krystraeliv was not capable of understanding the words themselves yet, but speaking them out loud helped shape the intent and emotions behind them, and that was what the tree was responding to.
Norumi and Haolong leaned against each other and were silent for a long time before Norumi shuddered and gasped. "That, that took a lot more energy than I thought it would." She clung to her husband for a moment before gathering herself to walk back over to them, while leaning slightly on Haolong''s arm.
"Don''t worry," she said with a smile when she saw their concerned expressions, "my fully invested energy was only a tiny bit more than I was expecting. It required more power than I had anticipated to complete the blessing, but nothing that won''t recover after a day or two of rest."
Although little had happened visibly, Moriko felt that they had all been allowed to witness something normally private and intimate, and she took that as a sign of trust. She also agreed with Norumi''s assessment.
All of them needed some rest at this point, and Moriko needed some food and water as well.
271: Surviving the Mountain
Kazue was quite pleased with how well things had gone with Krystraeliv. For all of the living crystal''s utility and power, it had little potential to become more than a tool. To invest that ability into a compatible being and empower it felt so much better, and the world tree had adapted so well once the process of integration had proceeded far enough.
For all of that potential, however, there was not yet a soul. Krystraeliv''s mind simply wasn''t complex enough to initiate that final condensation of spiritual energy. The same was true of the dryad spirit inside of her, who would still be ''sleeping'' for some time.
They would need to decide on a name for her eventually; Norumi had left them with a long list of names she thought suitable but left the naming of the dryad to them as they would be raising her.
Kazue thought it a bit unfortunate that her boon couldn''t come into play here, not even with the enhancement that she''d focused on when they''d claimed their most recent zone, as neither tree nor dryad were inhabitants. Krystraeliv was simply a part of their realm, and her dryad companion would awaken as a member of their Court.
The two halves of their realm were even more closely tied together now, and that also made Kazue happy. While this should make them stronger, Kazue''s primary concern was to avoid having their people feeling divided into two groups. If both could cross to the other side easily and interact, this should help the populations mingle.
Not, admittedly, that they had a lot of fey citizens outside of her pixies yet. But that was slowly changing.
For now, it was time to focus on the inhabitants for their new mountain survival training zone.
She started with the squirrels; though evil incarnate they might be, they were her little evil minions, and she would put them to good use. All of the squirrels were getting upgrades to being shade tails of course, but as ''juvenile'' ones, compared to those in the wetlands area. Creating a weaker version that would grow stronger also mean that shade tails could be found in all of the underground zones without there being any power issues.
There were some tree-dwelling creatures of similar nature such as chipmunks. Modifying the shade tail template to fit them as well was fairly simple.
As for their primary duty in the survival zone: they were to follow their nature and become little thieves. It was up to delvers to guard their gear properly.
This duty was aided by Mordecai''s new boon: All inhabitants were granted a limited amount of shape shifting, enough to allow them to stand upright comfortably and change their front paws into hands, or equivalent appendages or special abilities for other anatomies, along with full speech abilities.
This was less powerful than the shape-shifting that some inhabitants already had, but this ability was on top of any power already invested in their inhabitants, rather than being part of the power of each one. They should be able to enhance this ability with later boons, and Kazue hoped that they would eventually be able to grant everyone a similar level of shape-changing as usagisune.
Kazue''s next set of inhabitants to upgrade were the corvids. She had initially been thinking of ravens and crows, but when she focused her thoughts upon them she found how many related species there were. This gave her a larger pool to draw upon and evolve toward becoming the same species of inhabitant.
She had been uncertain of what she was going to name her new species, but grouping all the corvids into this evolution made it easy to name them corvidians.
Corvidians were notably larger than any of their mundane counterparts, with adults weighing about five pounds. The other easily distinguished visible marker was that they had three eyes.
Their third eye became the focus for some of the abilities that Kazue granted them, starting with their ability to see magical auras and look past minor illusions. They also had the ability to mildly hypnotize people who looked directly at their eyes, though this came with the drawback of requiring the corvidian to stay still in order to maintain the hypnotic state.
Kazue also enhanced their vocal mimicry ability to the point that they could sound exactly like specific people they''d overheard talking, as well as being able to make a lot of normally non-vocal sounds. But while that was useful for trickery, she also gave them an offensive power: Their caw could be loud enough to inflict damage if they focused the sound into a cone, and the sound always carried an ominous sense of doom, dread, and death that could potentially paralyze a person or cause them to flee.
Both of those abilities were greatly enhanced if a murder of them chorused together, growing ever more powerful as more individuals joined the group.
And like the shade tails, one of their primary duties was to steal from delvers.
Kazue grouped most of their other birds into two groups: songbirds and hunters.
Songbirds were, simply put, spies. They were adorable and innocuous, their songs were soothing, and if they nestled down into place they could camouflage themselves very well. After all, Kazue and Mordecai were not going to be supervising the entire zone all the time, so their inhabitants needed to be able to work together in teams, and reconnaissance was an important role that needed to be filled.
But Kazue did give them one important bit of self-defense: their beaks and talons were razor sharp and carried a paralytic toxin. She also gave them a few minor spells that created short lived auditory or visual illusions and similar effects, though nothing that was damaging. If they got into a fight, their job was to flee.
The hunters were made larger, stronger, and more resilient, especially their bones, plus Kazue gave them all a couple of ranged options. Their first option was to swing their wings in a sharp arc that flung special, metal-edged feathers at their target. The second option varied by individual preference; some were able to fly in a burst of speed that left a wake of wind blades, some could scream loud enough to damage opponents in a cone before them, and the third option was to have access to a minor spell.
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While most of those who went for that third option selected directly offensive spells, a few did select options that created brief protective barriers or wards.
The hunters would not be directly participating in harassing most survival-focused delvers, or survivalists as Kazue had started to think of them; they were part of the combat force for those who had chosen to participate in battle.
That was the selection factor for survivalists and combat delvers; survivalists either ran away from large creatures or shooed off/chased away smaller creatures. The moment that weapons were drawn or other serious force used, those delvers had chosen to experience the combat path. A fact that was going to be advertised to everyone and on everything as much as feasible. The path was metaphorical instead of physical, but it was still there.
With her aerial forces selected, it was time to focus on her ground ''troops''. Kazue continued to work with creating templates instead of creating specific species; there were just too many variations of different animals that had been incorporated into the expanding zones.
As there were so many species, Kazue offered any new inhabitants with close-enough biology to simply be evolved into one of their existing inhabitant species, though she made sure to also let the relevant creatures know about her plans for this zone. When that was settled, she moved on to creating her new evolutions.
For the snakes and lizards, she created two templates.
The first was ''shadow scales''; their name first came from darkening their scales with some of the compounds that they had worked out from the metal samples Satsuki had brought them, and then from giving them some basic shadow manipulation abilities. Additionally, all their attacks had a minor life-draining effect and they were given venomous bites if they didn''t already have one.
The second was ''rainbow scales''; a different set of compounds gave their scales shifting hues, depending on the angle of reflection. This was combined with the automatic chameleon techniques that creatures like octopuses had and topped off with minor illusion magic to fine-tune the effect. Offensively, they could manipulate light and their scales to create multiple effects ranging from rippling hypnotic patterns to blinding scintillation, along with the ability to release sprays of rainbow colors that had randomized minor elemental effects.
For all the burrowing mammals, she simply gave the same basic earth template that Mordecai had previously created, which would enhance their burrowing abilities as well as make them tougher.
Like most of her previous templates, Kazue wanted her land forces to also focus on theft and sabotage.
This was certainly far more aggressive and egregious than a person would expect to find in most of the rest of the world, but that also meant that people who could secure and maintain their equipment and campsites in this environment would be very well prepared for normal environments and would not be inclined to careless mistakes.
For all the small animals that had not already been swept up into other categories, Kazue made them ''judges'' for now, though the changes were minor enough that they would be able to select other evolutions in the future.
Becoming a judge first enhanced the senses of the inhabitant, along with their general speed, their reflexes, and the speed of their perception. That last upgrade was effectively a combination of making them think faster and making the world seem like it moved slower. Kazue was careful to make the perception speed trait something that they could engage or disengage with little effort, lest the world become painfully boring.
Unlike the rest, the judges were not going to interact directly with their survivalists, nor would they communicate information about what they observed to their fellow inhabitants. Instead, they would be creating certain types of minor rewards for the survivalists, based on the skills and techniques the survivalists displayed.
This idea had come from the realization that one of the major survival techniques was crafting snares and other traps. The idea of asking an inhabitant to willingly submit itself to a trap and the subsequent experience was rejected before it had even fully formed, and most appropriate animals who had not accepted the invitation to become an inhabitant instinctively left the zone and migrated outward.
Instead, judges would have a limited ability to tap into the dungeon''s reward-creation ability, and make thing such as mana constructs of appropriate carcasses. It wasn''t a perfect simulation of a real-world experience as many snares caught prey that was still alive when the hunter checked the trap, but it was the best that either Kazue or Mordecai were willing to do.
Fishing was at least easier; many fish species fell below the sapience/spiritual threshold that marked the boundary of creatures that were ''environmental'' or not. Those fish were simply evolved to be faster at reproducing and growing.
This was something that had come up because their territory now encompassed a section of a large creek as well as several smaller ones.
In addition to the natural ones, Kazue created several locally contained creeks and ponds to provide water sources for the various terrains people would be training in. This was also another exercise: some of the water was not safe to drink. Naturally, she toned down the effects of certain pathogens, but they would still leave people feeling, um, uncomfortable and distressed for a day or two.
Kazue shifted her attention back to the fish above that sapience threshold and invited them to become inhabitants.
Those who accepted were moved to appropriate places in the mushroom forest, river, and wetlands zones, and then enhanced in the much as Mordecai had done with fish in the ocean zone, with the biggest difference being the lack of exotic metals in their biology.
Kazue was able to simply copy the rest as Mordecai had deliberately started most creatures in the ocean zone at below their their potential to create more room for growth. This was going to allow their new fish inhabitants to simply migrate to lower zones as they grew.
Those who did not accept were guided out of their territory. Even the most stubborn of fish could not resist the simple effects of terrain manipulation, which Kazue used to flush them out.
She did feel a little guilty about pushing them out of their homes this way, but it was a necessity. It was more difficult for fish to simply migrate to a different area, and she needed to not be responsible for them en masse.
But she also wanted to be careful about her ecological impact here, so all waterways that traveled across their borders were reshaped to run along the inside of their border instead. These waterways were then carefully sheltered with the thorny growth Mordecai had previously designed to ensure that no one would attempt to fish from them or anything similar.
All the water that their delvers were to interact with was entirely contained inside of their territory now.
So, that took care of air, arboreal, surface, below-ground, and water creatures.
That left bosses, which Mordecai had some ideas for, along with probably weeks of fine-tuning the experience, and Kazue wouldn''t be surprised if they were still making tweaks months from now. There was a lot to account for and learn.
Rewards were going to be performance-based, as usual for Azeria. It was especially important in this case as there wasn''t the normal condition of ''clearing'' the zone. It was more a matter of how long a group or individual could survive in this environment and how well they fared.
Most rewards were going to be thematic: high-quality and lightly enchanted versions of survival and camping gear, right up to self-cleaning tools and large flasks that would automatically purify any water poured into them. It was a rather indiscriminate purification, so anyone who tried to store alcohol or other drinks in it would be in for an unwelcome surprise.
For combat survivalists, rewards might include similar tiers of weapons and armor.
Upon occasion, they might even reward survivalists with items of simple monetary value, such as minor gems or nuggets of precious metal. Those were especially likely for survivalists who were able to specifically prospect for such items while maintaining their survival needs.
Kazue was satisfied with her work, and eager to see what Mordecai had in mind.
272: Big Bug Bosses
When Kazue finished her work on the survival training zone, Mordecai traded duties with her.
One thing they both were keeping an eye on for now were certain functions they had imbued into the living crystal, especially its ambient light channeling and amplification. Because a tree naturally used light for its own needs, they found themselves needing to train Krystraeliv to not interfere with the light related functions of the crystal. The power for it came from the dungeon''s mana anyway.
Integrating the tree into their realm did make the Azeria realm significantly more powerful and there was a certain future utility Mordecai had started thinking about after they had claimed their most recent zone. It shouldn''t come up for years if not decades, but he foresaw a problem with Kuiccihan''s suggestion of them taking over part of her territory.
The power arrangement of their surface level, outward growing zones was predicated upon having that beginning zone adjacent to the Kuiccihan Kingdom. It gave a starting point for delvers to migrate to more difficult zones.
If Azeria simply tried to close the rings in their current arrangement, well, he wasn''t entirely certain what would happen but it would be unpleasant, and the more outward zones they acquired the worse it would be. Having massive amounts of mana density reorder itself without guidance could manifest itself in many ways, and Mordecai didn''t like any of the probable results.
Krystraeliv was a world tree; a natural moderator and arbitrator of dimensional nexuses. Mordecai''s idea was simple in concept, though not at all simple to execute, and having a world tree be part of the process would make it a lot easier.
The clean solution was ''simply'' to physically rearrange their surface zones, with the exception of the trading post, which would put the hunting zone on the outermost perimeter. There would need to be some power rebalancing as well, but it shouldn''t be as extreme.
It would also decouple the outward zone''s power from their downward and upward growth zones, but his estimations showed that it should be a naturally more stable configuration and thus not require that coupling. In fact, he was pretty certain that the outward zones would be slightly downgraded at first but also be ''counted'' before their other zones, so both the earth zone and their first underground zone would have a higher mana density than any of the surface zones, with the trading post area becoming the strongest of the surface zones.
These thoughts he made sure to keep deep for now. There was nothing that any of them could do about it right now and Mordecai didn''t want any stray thoughts to cause Krystraeliv or her dryad spirit to feel like simple tools. It might be in his nature to keep looking for advantages from every change and addition to their territory or domain, but he wanted all the people that he was responsible for to feel cared for first.
Utility could generally wait to be considered until later.
Bosses and other evolutions for their inhabitants were a bit of an exception, but that was also why they were offers, not mandates. He, Kazue, and Moriko all wanted their inhabitants to be happy in the roles they chose.
Which brought Mordecai''s wandering thoughts back to his current task. His idle musings were not simply a loss of focus; letting his mind drift for a few minutes let him relax and smooth out the transition to a new focus. It was time to be creative after all.
Another thing that they had agreed on was that the bosses for this survival focused zone were not to be enticing challenges, unlike the bosses of the hunting zone. They were to be scary menaces that were to be avoided.
The first boss he wanted to evolve was the beetle hive of course. Mordecai even had both a name and theme combination in mind now. But first, he wanted to dive in and take a better look at their existing biology.
Several minutes of analysis later and Mordecai was satisfied that he understood the hive much better now. This wasn''t to say that he was entirely pleased with what he found, but he had to work with what he had, not what he wanted to have.
Unlike the dungeon''s bunbees, the beetles were a true hive mind with intricate psychic connections running between the nervous systems of all the beetles. Without serious and deliberate intervention, the hive queen would never be able to lay eggs that were not part of the collective.
After some deliberation and conversation with Kazue, Mordecai decided to leave it alone. If at some point the hive queen asked about creating independent offspring, they could revisit the issue, but neither he nor Kazue wanted more queens or hives of this sort.
For now, he approached her with an offer to become a zone boss and a possible name. Hive Queen Tamaki became the first of their new bosses.
The name was aligned with Mordecai''s ideas for the hive''s abilities. Beetles already trended toward a jewel-like appearance and it was easy to amplify that tendency, first by the incorporation of their new metal compounds and secondly with some magic.
Sunny days were when the hive would be the most dangerous, as there would be no practical limit on the amount of light they could gather, reflect, and refract. Dazzling displays, blinding flashes, searing beams, and disorienting illusions were all on the table. A single beetle was generally not much of a threat, but they were almost always going to be encountered in large groups.
The beetles also stored up energy and could release it in shorter flashes when there was insufficient bright light available, and with Krystraeliv''s permission, they could recharge quickly when touching any crystalline surface of hers.
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Naturally, light was not their only attack. Individually, they shouldn''t be a danger to most seasoned combatants, but a swarm of the beetles could be disturbing to deadly, depending on the size and the ability of the target to destroy large numbers at a time. Strictly speaking, you didn''t need to have a spellcaster in your group, but few non-casters had the ability to deal efficiently with swarms at this point in their growth.
They were also adept burrowers, an ability that Mordecai enhanced to enable them to move through the earth quickly.
While she did grow another foot longer, with a proportional increase in strength and durability, Tamaki was not very powerful as an individual compared to equivalent zone bosses, but that was because a good portion of her power was invested in her swarm, which was an extension of herself. Mordecai was able to at least budget the power of a normal inhabitant of the zone for herself as an individual, but that would only ever come into play if her entire swarm was wiped out.
When Mordecai was satisfied with her abilities and how well the metal inclusions had fortified the exoskeletons of the beetles, he moved on to their second boss.
The eldest of the female praying mantises answered his call and became known as Kali.
As she grew to a little over six feet tall, her green carapace darkened and became subtly mottled, allowing her to blend into darkness even when not surrounded by greenery. Mordecai then altered her limbs, strengthening them and changing their shape so that she could rear all the way onto her back pair, allowing her middle pair to be used for more than walking
These were now designed to fold such that they could switch between helping her footing or speed, or being used as arms and hands. This allowed them to be used to wield weapons or shields, and while Mordecai was able to implant a certain amount of proficiency in her, Kali was going to be receiving a lot of training to maximize her ability to use her weapons.
She wasn''t going to be a specialist in any particular weapons as these were going to be secondary weapons compared to the lethal blades already built in to her front limbs. But depending on the situation, being able to use anything from a spear to a shield to a bow could be a useful addition to her arsenal.
Kali''s combat style was going to be primarily as an assassin, though with as much skill stalking prey as mantises already had in ambushing prey. To aid in this role, Mordecai also enhanced her climbing ability, including creating small hooks at key places in her carapace to allow her to crawl on the ceiling and still attack with her forearms.
His final touch was to give her a small amount of shadow blending ability to make it easier for her to hide.
Overall, Kali was a much simpler evolution compared to dealing with Tamaki''s hive.
Now it was time for his third boss, which meant that Mordecai was going to have to choose one of the two remaining options he''d been strongly considering.
While both of the new insectoid bosses could fly, he wouldn''t call either of them ''fliers'' in a combat role. Keeping with the creatures already present in the zone, upgrading one of Kazue''s three-eyed corvidians into a boss was certainly a tempting solution for filling that role, though one of the other predator birds could work as well. The biggest drawback was that a bird wouldn''t work well in the sewers.
However, remaining in theme with the other bosses while providing a contrast would be nice. To that end, he was considering evolving one of the tarantulas that had been brought to the dungeon by a trader. Given the survival training focus of the zone, having a flying boss was not a priority and a giant spider could participate in creating web-based traps and terrain complications for delvers, or survivalists, as Kazue called them, to overcome.
He''d had some other, vaguer ideas as well, such as creating a burrowing focused boss that would launch attacks from underground before retreating, but some of that theme could already be replicated by Tamaki, and a tarantula would also be able to launch ambushes from underground.
In some ways, it didn''t matter. This wasn''t a zone that would be primarily a combat zone, so Mordecai didn''t really need to have a perfect balance of everything. That made it even more tempting to delve into what he could do with the three-eyed corvidians, but in the end, the tarantula boss would simply be more useful for the purposes of the zone.
Mordecai took a moment to emotionally let go of the flier concept; sometimes, a technically less important decision could be harder to make. After that, he focused his attention on the tarantula who would soon become his spider boss.
Gogara was accepted by the male arachnid as his name, and with that name came the attachment to the final boss node for this zone. Then Mordecai went to work.
The first step was to make Gogara larger, which also included reinforcing his exoskeleton and improving his air circulation. Once size, strength, speed, and durability were properly enhanced to work in concert, Mordecai moved on to the most important ability set he was going to be granting Gogara.
Silk.
The dungeon had been experimenting with silk variants since the fungal forest was established. Now Mordecai put all of that to work by giving Gogara the ability to weave any of the useful varieties of silk, along with the ability to experiment with new formulations on his own.
This also included experimenting with the new compounds and alloys that Satsuki had gifted them with. While this sounded like a potent source of even stronger silks, so far the results had been relatively poor. Getting specific alloys to mesh inside of complex protein chains was not a very efficient process, and a lot of work had been and was going to be ''wasted'' in the process of experimentation.
But with sufficient time, Mordecai hoped that Gogara would be able to find some unique and useful combinations.
To help with Gogara''s work, Mordecai also gave him multiple spinnerets near the ''ankle'' of each leg in addition to the normal location. This was an incredibly unusual place for these organs, but Gogara''s size allowed for several of these internal organs for developing and dispensing the web fluid in all of its varieties.
Gogara''s web work could be used for anything from the common sticky traps to binding objects together to being the trip wire for a trap. In short, anything that you could use an endless spool of thread for, with the additional benefit of being able to control properties such as elasticity, tensile strength, and stickiness.
Combined with the ability to hand constructions over to other inhabitants, this could be very effective in immobilizing or hampering targets. Gogara could spin a net of almost any desired size that was mostly sticky threads in the center and all non-sticky threads along the edge, and then hand that net off to a group of birds or beetles who would move it into position or directly drop it over a target.
Once Mordecai was certain that his bosses were settling in fine, he turned his attention toward the upcoming tournament. Traffic had started increasing immediately after the spring solstice, which meant people had started moving before the exact date was announced. Mordecai was anticipating a very large turnout for the event, though he was not yet certain how many of them were going to be participants instead of spectators.
One way or another, there was a lot of organization and prep work to be done.
273: Unexpected Guests
Moriko shook her head with amusement as she flipped through Mordecai''s outline of the tournament to come. ''Propreantepenultimate''? Really? Now the man was just showing off his vocabulary. Not that Moriko was certain about the construction of that word, and less certain how to pronounce it, but she couldn''t imagine Mordecai using it here if it was not technically correct.
Also, having at least five rounds meant that Mordecai was anticipating about 32 people passing the preliminaries, aside from those he was going to seed higher up or had other plans for. That wasn''t huge, but it also meant that even more people were going to be clearing the ocean zone via combat.
Most of them would still be individually weaker than their strongest inhabitants, but they were inviting a fairly powerful and diverse set of people to be gathered relatively near the core.
It made Moriko a touch nervous, but she also trusted that Mordecai had layers of backup plans just in case.
The slightly distant sound of an armored person attempting to move quietly caught her attention, letting her know it was time to get back to work. Moriko let Kazue''s core take the papers away and replace them with a generic demon mask, to complete Moriko''s monster disguise. The ''disguise'' was quite obvious, but it was there only to temporarily hide Moriko''s identity.
She was currently in the upper rafters of the decrepit-seeming library of the combat path and was awaiting specific targets. Five young men were cautiously moving past the bookshelves, warily keeping an eye on the books in case they should turn out to be biting words or bookwyrms.
Two of the boys in question were able to move silently without issue, which was not surprising. Moriko had given Galan some of his training after all, and the other boy was the cuiwan boy, Ranulf. She would expect a wolf-like fae to be trained in being stealthy.
The other three, well, they''d clearly been trained, but it wasn''t a specialized skill and they were wearing armor. Then again, a champion of Zagaroth wasn''t often called on to be a scout; they were front liners.
These five people had been nudged into forming a group for a reason, though none of them knew it yet. Helping them focus on teamwork was part of the reason Moriko was going to be ambushing them.
The other part had to do with one of the three trainees having managed to avoid Bellona''s notice previously.
Moriko slammed down into the center of the group, a shockwave of air and lightning blasting them away from each other. All of them had managed to start to react to her ambush, but none had managed to fully brace themselves or dodge.
She immediately launched herself at Amrydor and Yugo and slapped a black lighting tether between them. While the two of them dealt with breaking free of the binding, the third trainee recovered from Moriko''s attack and charged in.
Taeko and Moriko both started high attacks, but both were actually feints. However, Moriko had been warned about Taeko''s abilities, and her feint was in anticipation of his next maneuver. The young man suddenly shrank just before they would have clashed, and he twisted to drive his blade toward her foot.
Unfortunately for him, her foot wasn''t where he anticipated. Instead, that foot landed against his chest as Moriko kicked him to the side. The tanuki flew toward Galan who neatly dodged to the side. Trying to catch the young man might have seemed the kinder choice, but even at his current size, Taeko and his armor combined to have significant mass.
With Galan delayed, Ranulf was the first to reach her.
His fighting style was not as dance-like as Carmilla''s, but it was still focused on being fast and light on his feet. The cuiwan''s rapier and buckler combination was about as heavy as most fae got in their weaponry and armor.
Moriko briefly engaged with him, sliding past his sword thrust to aim a fist at his gut, which Ranulf blocked with his small shield. Just as he recovered, she leapt away and kicked a table at Amrydor and Yugo, who had broken free of their binding.
She continued to harry and harass the group, aided by the bunbrarians that the noise drew in along with some bookwyrms and biting words. The five boys were forced to reorganize on the fly, but they did an excellent job. Moriko had to spend a fair amount of effort on keeping track of Taeko. The other four were occasionally tossing random objects at her and sometimes that object was actually the transformed tanuki, who could shift back fast enough to lash out with his sword as he flew past if she didn''t dodge far enough.
To make it worse, at least one of those times there had been an illusionary doppelganger of Taeko attacking at the time his transformed self was flying past. That''s the attack where he managed to crack her mask, though he hadn''t managed to draw blood.
In the back of Moriko''s head, she could hear Kazue grumbling about the displayed skill and Moriko had to suppress a laugh. Though kitsune had many other magical talents, tanuki were the true masters of shape changing and transformation.
Mordecai was suspiciously quiet on the subject, and Moriko wondered if there might be an ''unimportant detail'' he''d never mentioned about his own shape-changing skills in his current avatar. There were a lot of species combined in that form and there had been no point in explicitly listing each one.
But discretion is the better part of valor, and it would have been wise to ''forget'' to mention that detail early on, given the notorious rivalry between kitsune and tanuki.
Moriko kept up the game until the boys were looking ragged, at which time she leapt upon the top of a bookshelf and clapped her hands together, amplifying it into a thunderous sound. At that signal, the remaining inhabitants scattered, which left the group staring up at her warily.
She cackled and did her best ''hag'' voice as she said, "Well done, well done, but would you like to know the cause of this special treatment, hmm?" Moriko pointed at Taeko, which caused Amrydor and Yugo to narrow their eyes suspiciously at their friend.
"It seems Lady Bellona got a full list of all the visiting trainees, and she was a touch perturbed to notice that she had not seen the proper face to match a name she knew." Moriko paused briefly then said, "Consider this your welcoming party, trainee Taeko."
While most of the group was glaring at the tanuki, Galan was staring up at her instead.
Well, she only had a few voices she could do and her little brother had heard all of them when she''d read him stories when he was a child. Moriko lifted up her mask to give him a wink and blow him a kiss before scampering off into the rafters again, where she slipped into an entrance into the warrens.
Giggling like a madwoman was not very dignified or queenly, so Moriko worked on controlling that urge as she headed toward the nearest shortcut. As she walked, Kazue started swapping out Moriko''s monster disguise for more decorous clothing, to make her presentable for the next event on her list. On the way, Thunder and Lighting rejoined her, wrapping themselves around her shoulders.
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She was heading to meet Kazue and Mordecai''s avatars; the three of them were going to talk with some of the contestants who had already cleared the ocean zone, which was the problem.
Simply put, they were too strong to make a good show for the tournament.
Mordecai could probably have held this little meeting by himself, but it seemed appropriate to present the offer as a group.
Waiting for them in one of the arena''s side rooms were four distinct groups.
There was a trio of shifters; two men who were a boar and a bear shifter, and their leader, a woman who could shift into a moose.
Another group was just two people; a human war priest and a bakeneko woman who was a martial disciple and a druid. At least, Moriko assumed she was a bakeneko, given that the woman''s mostly human form had cat ears and two cat tails.
The third group was a set of five mercenaries who had already shown remarkable teamwork but had also proven that they were almost as dangerous when cut off from their team.
The final group was another trio, this time of dwarves. Their passage had been perhaps inelegant, but the three warrior runesmiths had the tools to go through, around, or over all the obstacles in their way.
Moriko and Mordecai flanked Kazue, who was going to lead the presentation of their offer.
"Hello!" Kazue said as she beamed at the groups. "Thank you for meeting with us. You have done wonderfully, but unfortunately, this leaves us with a small problem. We''re concerned that with as well as you''ve done, your skills will outshine the rest of our contestants too much. As it is, you would be seeded during a later round, which would make you effectively a wall that we wouldn''t expect any others to pass. That, well, kind of makes the earlier rounds pointless."
The moose shifter woman frowned and asked, "I can see how that would be a problem for you, but I hope you don''t expect us to simply drop out or anything."
Kazue shook her head and said, "No, we have a much better plan than that. After all," she gestured toward Mordecai and Moriko, "wouldn''t it be much more fun if you all had a chance to go a round or three with these two?"
Moriko stepped forward to say, "We want to ask you to agree to exhibition matches, which could even begin before the tournament proper. You will receive all the same chances for earning prizes, and our tournament will be more entertaining for the audience."
One of the dwarves asked, "How does that work? I thought we had to advance to earn rewards."
Mordecai took this question. "That''s the simplified version, but any contest or battle works. Fighting and similar intense clashes are simply the most efficient way for a dungeon to gain energy. At the far extreme, a powerful mage could simply expel a lot of their mana, but that is only one form of the energy that a dungeon gathers and it would be difficult to gather mana released that way, so the mage would earn proportionally less rewards."
"So," a mercenary said, "you want us to do exhibition matches instead, put in just as much effort, and get the same rewards, while you get to put on a better show? Hmm, well, it''s somewhat fair in that we do the same work for the same reward, but at the same time, you gain from this agreement while it doesn''t change anything for us."
"Not quite," Moriko said. "If we do this, you all get to participate in more matches than you probably would during the tournament, which would thus affect your winnings."
There were some more questions and several small details to work out, but in the end the groups agreed to the dungeon''s deal.
Through this all, the war priest and the bakeneko had said very little, only speaking when needed. Something about them seemed vaguely familiar in a way that made Moriko feel suspicious, though she wasn''t sure of what yet.
As the discussions drew to a close, Moriko drew deeply on faerie magic, letting the chaotic mana mingle with her own chi before gently releasing an aura that crept across the room. When that faint bubble reached the pair, she was careful to not probe them. Instead, she just let her aura interact naturally with them. Moriko then examined the way her energy interacted with their auras, looking for anything that would give a clue as to why they seemed familiar.
Then she found it.
Once the meeting was officially over, Moriko turned toward them and said, "Excuse me, Master Chung, was it? Jacob Chung that is, and Miss Chirrhari? Perhaps the two of you might be willing to stay behind a moment to speak with me." She deliberately made her tone overly sweet.
When Mordecai and Kazue gave her concerned looks, she mentally waved them off with a bit of amusement. There was no real danger here, just a game to play.
The pair glanced at each other and shrugged, then waited patiently as the rest of the contestants left. When there were no other guests in the room, Chirrhari asked, "Is there something we can do for you, Lady Moriko?" There was a mix of amusement and resignation in the woman''s voice, but it seemed they wanted to play this out.
That was fine by Moriko.
"Well, I had this interesting thought. You see, I know a cat folk disciple with more than a little talent for tending to the monastery''s grove. It''s just occurred to me that this could be the result of actual druidic ability, not just her having a green thumb. Also, she is good friends with my master at the monastery, and he''s the one who taught me how to expand my devotion to be both a disciple and a priestess. I think it would be more than a little strange for him to not have mastered more than one set of talents himself."
"Really?" Chirrhari said, "What an interesting coincidence that you should know another feline with similar talents to mine. Though I am fairly certain that cat folk tend to be a bit, mm, fuzzier than bakeneko are."
"True," Moriko replied, "however, I can''t help but notice that your aura is not nearly fey enough for a bakeneko. In fact, it has the feel of a cat folk''s aura mixed with a kitsune''s aura, which would make for some interesting shape-changing options. Also, while I know that friend of mine fairly well, I am much more familiar with my master''s aura from our spars, along with being familiar with the way he speaks. If those two were to be trying to disguise themselves in front of me, it would be wise to have her as the spokesperson as just changing the sound of his voice might not be enough to mask it."
''Chirrhari'' and ''Jacob Chung'' glanced at each other and shrugged with a smile. "It was worth a try," Theodoric said as he reached into his hair to pull out a hidden hair clip that was the source of the magic changing his appearance and voice.
Chaxiss didn''t bother to shift her form, she simply returned to her normal voice. "I wasn''t expecting you to notice, you''ve definitely gotten better."
Moriko shook her head with amusement and crossed her arms. "You are in the realm of a Faerie Queen, hiding yourself from me is going to be a lot harder than usual. So why are you two disguised?" Moriko wondered if Chaxiss preferred this form as it looked younger than the appearance that she normally showed the world.
"We just wanted to avoid any biases in our challenge of the dungeon, in either direction," Theodoric said. "Also, I thought that the faerie realm effects were limited to the Other Side?"
"Normally, yes," Mordecai said, "but our mixed nature allows us to do more than most would expect, especially now with Krystraeliv''s presence. It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, Master Theodoric, Mistress Chaxiss."
Kazue nodded and said, "Yes, it''s good to meet you two again, but, um," she turned to Moriko and Mordecai, "does this affect their entry?"
"They''ve already agreed to the exhibition matches, I don''t see why it would have an impact," Moriko said. "Although I don''t know which identities they want to proceed with."
"I think our real names should do," Chaxiss said as her now-eight cat tails lashed. "My heritage and skills are not a real secret, but I have found that the information can be distracting for some of our disciples. It will be fun to have the chance to push myself here, assuming that your arena can handle it."
Moriko wondered if other kitsune hybrids with tailed heritages would result in similar abilities regarding shape changing and the number of tails a person had. She dismissed that thought and said, "Well, if the arena breaks, you can blame Mordecai. It''s his project, after all." She gave her husband a kiss on his cheek after teasing him.
Mordecai hugged her and smiled. "I''ve been putting a lot of work into reinforcing it, and have had some recent help with that matter from a couple of our longer-term guests. I think you will find it quite durable."
"It''s good to see that our wild child here has found such reliable support," Theodoric said and grinned unrepentantly when Moriko shot him a glare. "You are no longer under my supervision or authority, I get to tease you a lot more directly now."
She sighed at him before shaking her head. "Enough of that," Moriko said. "Well, while I think it is probably appropriate for your accommodations to remain the same until after the tournament, we can at least invite you up for dinner with us. I''d like you to meet our daughters, and I think some of our other guests would be interested in meeting you."
"Moriko, a doting mother," Chaxiss said, "the world truly is still filled with wonders."
Moriko had the feeling that she was going to be teased a lot tonight, but she didn''t mind. She was happy to have these two as guests after not seeing them for so long.
274: A Tourneys Laws
The day after arranging the bargain to have exhibition matches with the strongest of the people who had cleared the dungeon, Mordecai set about finalizing his rules and plans for the tournament. Most of them remained unchanged from what he had previously established; it was mostly about fine-tuning how the tourney itself would run.
Any deaths during the preliminaries disqualified both participants, as the killed person no longer had Kazue''s boon and the killer had demonstrated a lack of skill or restraint.
Any wanton deaths during the rest of the tournament would also result in disqualification. These battles were going to be more intense so there was more leeway, but no one here wanted to turn the competition into a blood sport.
The preliminary bouts would be randomized one-on-one fights, and opponents would be changed after each fight; a person was eliminated when they lost three fights. These would be taking place in smaller rooms branching off from the main arena and would be displayed as they happened at various locations.
Members of the same team who pass the preliminaries would be spread into starting positions far from each other, but the starting arrangement would otherwise be random.
Some participants would be exempted from the preliminaries and would be seeded into later rounds; they would be facing a winner of the previous round, with the winner of that fight moving on to the next round, but there would be no matchups during this semi-round that were not against seeded participants.
So if the previous round had eight matches, Mordecai could insert up to eight of those winners into the next round with eight non-seeded people.
It was a bit of a non-standard setup, but Mordecai liked it better than other methods of seeding in later participants. For now, he didn''t assign exactly where they were going to be as he did not have a final count.
This was also going to be used for a challenge round before the semi-finals. The four competitors for the semi-finals would first be facing off against an einherjar. It would give the semi-finalists a chance to show off, as well examine each other''s fighting styles one more time. Of course, there were only three einherjar working for the dungeon, but Moriko had been training with them a lot and had identical gear to create a disguise with.
Mordecai could have mimicked the divine warriors more precisely and much easier, especially with his transformation skills, but easy wasn''t always the point. Moriko wanted to participate in the tourney and enjoyed learning to fight the way the einherjar did. She just had to abide by the restrictions of the role, using only their fighting style and withdrawing if she took enough hits to down one of the einherjar.
Finally, the winner of the tournament was going to have the option of a bonus round with Mordecai. He was fairly certain most would take the offer, but making it strictly an optional bonus round should guarantee that the person was still seen as the tourney victor even if they lost the bout with Mordecai.
That just left the number of rounds in question. Even with the groups that had been switched to the exhibition matches, Mordecai anticipated having enough people to make interesting preliminaries to bring the first round down to thirty-two. They might even have enough to have a first round of sixty-four. That was going to be one of the very last decisions made.
Their preliminary rounds would be considered excessive by many standards, but Mordecai had a few reasons he wanted it this way.
It was very fair; unless someone had three bad matchups in a row, it was unlikely that someone was going to be eliminated just because a single person''s abilities were difficult for them. Increasing the number of required losses would be technically more fair, but there was a limit to what was practical.
Having all of the preliminary bouts would be beneficial to the dungeon''s energy reserves.
The preview of all the contestant''s abilities would affect betting.
While there was no fair way for the dungeon or major representatives to be directly involved in the betting itself, there was no reason most inhabitants couldn''t participate, and speculation was already running rampant for the main event with some side bets having already been placed on the exhibition bouts.
While they couldn''t fairly participate, the cores could fairly arbitrate and would hold all bets to be paid out later. It also gave Mordecai a chance to look over the wording of some of the more odd types of bets; when people wanted to bet on things like time spent fighting or the number of solid hits, there needed to be tight and precise wording and definitions.
He didn''t understand why some people liked this form of gambling and had mildly discouraged such bets, but for those determined to do so, it was best that he and Kazue remain arbitrators rather than have multiple organizations forming around the topic.
With the organization settled, it was time to check over who would be participating.
So far, Paltira, Kansif, and Takehiko were going to be seeded into a later round. Orchid would technically qualify, but she had declined to participate when the group to clear the zones was formed. Her skill set was not well suited for one-on-one bouts, though she was also certain that if she faced Paltira it would be an automatic win for her. As she put it, "I''m not as nice as he is, and I would feel obligated to take a tournament fight seriously. But against me, he''d not be able to fight his best even if that made him feel guilty for holding back."
For the preliminaries, Xarlug, Brongrim, Nainvil, and Bridgette had all qualified by clearing the dungeon. While the speed they had cleared was in large part due to having been partied with the other three, they had demonstrated enough skill and power to be contenders.
There was also a group of six elves who had cleared the zone last night. The woman who led them Mordecai was probably going to seed, she was clearly more experienced than the others by a large margin. He also suspected that she was their mother; they were all obviously trying to maintain a certain rigor of discipline, but there were little slips that felt more familiar than her simply being motherly in general would be.
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Also, she had said all four names of one of the men with a particular vehemence when he took a stupid risk. All five of the younger elves had flinched when she did so.
The use of four names also told Mordecai that they were probably minor nobility, with the emphasis on minor if this many potential heirs of a house were participating in something this potentially dangerous.
Mordecai was also making one more change to their original plans. The exhibition matches were outside of the original scope of the price of admission, so he talked it over with Kazue and Moriko who had agreed with his idea.
The exhibition matches were going to be shown at all the rest locations as well as in a few places through the trading post. Well, it was a small town now really, though more than half the population was transitory. Perhaps they should consider giving it a proper name? A thought for later.
It was now finally time for Mordecai to get ready for the first exhibition match, which would take place late enough for most people to be resting instead of delving.
While there would be different matchups later, the first sets were simply going to single-person bouts against him. That should satisfy any desire to take his measure as well as allow Mordecai to take their measure better. This should in turn let him arrange more entertaining matches with different combinations of people and inhabitants.
His first match was against one of the mercenaries, who had been part of the team of five.
All five of them used a spear and shield combination as well as a little magic, which was a very solid and versatile choice of armament, but there were some variants and specialties.
One of the three men was a priest of Diasthian, the goddess of protection whom the einherjar working for the dungeon right now served. One of the other men and one of the women used dipole elemental magic on their weapon and shield, which allowed them to quickly swap which element was on which equipment. Having a preferred and balanced pairing made it less tiring and more effective for them than a nonspecialist doing the same thing. The man used fire and ice, while the woman used lightning and earth.
The third man wove illusion magic into his fighting style, making it hard to be sure exactly where he was and making the terrain''s appearance untrustworthy. Trying to figure out which of six speartips aimed at you was real could be a difficult position to be in.
The second woman was simply a powerhouse of a build close to Bellona''s. Her magic was focused on the amplification of her strength and speed, applied in short bursts with precise timing.
This was Mordecai''s first opponent.
He was going to match her in basic armament, as he would for all of the exhibition matches, but he wasn''t going to mimic her fighting style exactly. Instead, Mordecai chose to focus on a theme of light and shadow, creating a dipole effect similar to what two of the other mercenaries used. So familiar in concept for her, but different in execution.
At the start of their match, light enveloped his spear while darkness shrouded his shield, and this acted as something of a counter to her fighting style. Light was aggressive and fast, allowing his attacks to strike harder, which countered her ability to strengthen herself against the attack. In turn, darkness had the ability to absorb energy, allowing him to block her amplified attacks more easily.
These weren''t exact offsets; he had a steadier boost while she had more powerful bursts, but he also had the option to reverse the elements. A brightly shining shield could be blinding, while a lance of darkness sapped at her vitality when he attacked with it.
Still, overall the power he was using balanced out with hers, leaving the two of them competing mostly in martial skill and physical prowess to find the victor.
If Mordecai had used more techniques in conjunction with the style he was using for the bout, the match would probably have been over within a minute. As it was, it took more than ten minutes of constant engagement to reach the conclusion of the fight.
While Mordecai had almost unlimited stamina, his opponent did not, and the pace of their fight took its toll. They had both chipped at each other, her armor and his scales both cracked in several places and both of them slowly bleeding in a few of those. He saw an opening as her shield dipped too low for too long, and he used the dipole style''s strongest attack: A spiral of light and shadow spun down his spear and lanced out in time with his thrust, though it also temporarily left him without the elemental enchantments.
This proved to be overkill. Mordecai had failed to notice how weak her armor had truly gotten, and his attack shattered her cuirass and pierced through the left side of her chest, leaving a hole through her lung and back.
Kazue''s boon snapped into effect before Mordecai had time to react and attempt to heal the wound. The woman was left gasping in shock, fully healed but with most of her torso armor falling away. Mordecai dropped his spear and shield as he conjured a robe into his hands, stepping forward to whip it around her shoulders and draped it forward.
Then he gently but firmly made her sit. "Let me examine you. That was my fault, but I think I should have had time to heal you myself. I want to make sure nothing is wrong." His core shut off the remote displays of the fight now that the match was over while his avatar began the examination, and her teammates were already rushing over.
Mordecai wove several minor diagnostic and divination spells together into a more thorough tool, though it took much longer to cast than the more common spells. If something was wrong, it was subtle enough that their cores hadn''t noticed it, even in the moment.
After a few minutes, Mordecai had found his answer. "It was backlash," he said with some relief. It had taken comparing his avatar''s findings with his core''s examination of every minute energy signature between Mordecai''s attack landing and Kazue''s boon activating.
"You had started to boost your strength because you were having trouble with keeping your shield up. My attack interrupted you and your own energy went wild while your body was also dealing with the trauma of my attack. The incomplete magic caused your heart to seize up. There''s a good chance I could have healed you in time even without Kazue''s boon, but I would have had to get your heart beating again too. That might have been unpleasant for you." Leaving electric burn marks as part of saving a person''s life was not Mordecai''s ideal form of healing.
"However," Mordecai continued with a frown, "it wasn''t just bad luck. Your fighting style puts a particular type of strain on all the tissues of your body. There are tiny scars throughout your flesh, including your heart." Well, close enough. He didn''t have a better word for the type of damage, and scar got the point across clearly enough that his truth-bound nature didn''t interfere.
"Standard healing spells are not subtle things and are not good with certain types of subtle damage, especially once your body is done with its normal, unaided healing. I can help you and your healer deal with your specific issues better, preventing more build up and slowly undoing the scarring. Now, as my attack has, by our rules, left you unable to continue participating in future matches, I feel obligated to provide this service for free, along with some related training. To be clear, this is on top of the rewards you have already earned to date."
"Er," she said, "I''ll think about it. It sounds like a good idea, but that was, um, not a thrilling experience. I''d like to get a good night''s sleep before making any decisions."
"That''s good," Mordecai replied with a smile, "you should get some rest. I''ll make sure someone brings you food as well. But before your friends help you back to your room," he looked up at the small crowd, "I would like to lay out an additional requirement. Given the agreements we''ve made so far, I can''t enforce this, but I want to have some of our specialists examine everyone''s gear and health before any more matches. This will include the main tournament matches as well. You don''t have to say anything right now, I think we are done with matches for the evening. We can talk about it in the morning."
A near-death certainly broke the anticipatory mood, but everyone should be feeling better by tomorrow.
275: Exhibition Fights
Mordecai''s second exhibition match was scheduled for the next morning against one of the rune smiths, and then in the evening, he would be facing the bear shifter, which was the pattern he was going to keep with for exhibition matches he was involved with.
For the spar with the dwarven rune smith, Mordecai couldn''t match styles very well. A large part of a rune smith''s fighting style was developing, crafting, and customizing a variety of tools as part of their kit. There was no way to replicate that sort of gear without resorting to dungeon magic to create new equipment on the spot.
Instead, he used his basic fighting style while limiting himself to runic magic instead of spell magic and no use of chi at all. Sketching temporary runes mid-battle had never been one of Mordecai''s favored techniques, which might be from having a lot of experience with spells before he''d learned how to be a warrior rune smith.
It certainly allowed for some flexibility when one strung a few runes together into a ''phrase'', but the longer the phrase the more time it took. This made solo fights trickier without the right preparation. Fortunately, Mordecai''s martial prowess provided the balance here and he was fast enough to finish longer runic phrases than most people would be able to.
Each phrase tried to alter reality by empowering a statement. The rune for weapon and the rune for fire could be combined to either set a weapon ablaze for use against one''s foes or to heat up the handle or haft of a foe''s weapon to make them drop it. Weight and slowness could be used on a foe''s armor to make it effectively heavier. Adding more relevant words could empower a phrase further.
Unlike most spells, active rune phrases took up a certain portion of the rune smith''s attention, creating a simple limit to how many could be active at a time. In contrast, you were able to have as many spells active at a time as you could cast before the first one begins to wear off. Usually. There were always exceptions.
Mordecai''s runes for this combat focused on symbols for Pierce, Break, and Burst while he relied on his own physical resilience and skills for his defense. Dwarven armor was already notoriously hard to breach, and the rune smith had clearly enchanted his set, along with enhancing several gadgets meant to be deployed mid-battle.
This left Mordecai having to dodge or break free of things like tangling wires that came alive with electricity or a spinning bladed disc that kept flying at him and releasing a wave of fire anytime it got near enough. It made it much harder to line up the sort of blows that could crack his opponent''s armor.
But eventually, he did succeed in forcing a breach, and the battle ended with the dwarf''s concession after Mordecai managed to grab a now-exposed shoulder with claws that sunk in far enough to make the point. He could have torn flesh open to the bone in a single motion, and the rune smith wasn''t going to be able to break away, which made crafting new rune phrases much more difficult.
With the fight won, Mordecai released his grip and unmade his runes, and with the runes gone the dwarf''s armor partially closed; he''d forced a small opening to become bigger with a repulsion rune. Unmaking the runes undid that alteration, though it did not undo any damage the armor received in the process.
The dwarf was undoubtably capable of repairing his armor, though he might want to see what the nexus core would be able to create as a new base for him. What made the better reward for a delver varied by their talents and resources; some people would do better being rewarded with a finished product, others would make more use out of a higher quality base product of the same value. Either way, the balance was maintained, but Mordecai preferred to put in the effort to offer the best customized rewards he could.
With his stamina and mana reserves, Mordecai probably could have done at least three more matches a day and been fighting at effectively full strength. Well, against most of the potential opponents. But he had other things to take care of as well.
Such as visiting Satsuki, in the room she and Deidre were now sharing, though Deidre was currently at the library.
"Now to what do I owe this pleasure?" Satsuki asked as she lounged across a small couch. "Your messenger said you specifically wanted to talk here."
Mordecai had regretted the necessity of meeting here before he''d even asked one of their bunkin to relay the message. But that had mostly been about dealing with her flirtations; it hurt a little to see her casually flirt without expectations while still seeing that faint spark of hope. That hope was the part that bothered him really; the casual flirtation was something some people just did reflexively.
For now, he simply ignored it. "I would like to ask a favor and place our trust in you. While I think we''ve made ourselves secure enough to prevent direct attacks for a while, there''s always a chance I am wrong." At his gesture, a portion of the wall slid aside, revealing a short corridor and a set of stairs.
Satsuki eyed the secret door and then him before saying, "I''m far too close for you to have just made that, so you had to have made it when I wasn''t here, and probably when neither of us was here. Which means you have been thinking about it for a while. Let me guess, it leads there?" She casually pointed with disturbing accuracy toward the dungeon''s cores.
She was correct about all of that of course; much like with Gil, Satsuki''s presence was strong enough to keep the dungeon from manipulating the environment near her. The true difference in their power showed by the fact that Gil''s suppressive effect was nearly twice as large as Satsuki''s, but conflicts between those two had never been about raw power or actual combat, which was good for her as she hadn''t been this strong when Mordecai had gone to war. Gil''s power hadn''t changed noticeably.
"Yes," Mordecai replied. "I want you to have quick access if needed, and we''ve agreed to let you decide on what to let Deidre know."
"Don''t worry darling, I''ll be sure to take good care of you and your adorable little redhead," Satsuki said with a purr. Then she paused before changing her tone to be more serious. "I mean that, you know. I won''t let anything happen to you while I am here, and it means a lot to me that you still trust me enough to give me easy access like this."
"Satsuki," Mordecai said with a soft laugh as he activated the mechanism to close the secret door again, "I''ve always trusted you. It''s just that sometimes, I trust you to be very much yourself."
She threw a pillow at him. He retreated with a grin as she grabbed a second one.
It was about the best way to end the conversation. They both knew everything else there was to say. Admittedly, there was more room for mistakes on his end as he was running on only his less specific knowledge and memories about her, and she''d had the time to grow and change. But Satsuki had clearly only changed so much.
He didn''t mind. Mordecai wouldn''t know how to act around her if she wasn''t mostly the same person.
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When evening came around and the dungeon''s refresh had passed, it was time to face the bear shifter. Here, Mordecai decided to show off and made a display of deciding what type of bear to be.
"Black bear? Too small. Brown bear? Eh, already been done. Dire bear? Overkill, and not a normal bear. Ursaviane? Well, not really just a bear. Ah, I know!"
Mordecai had been shifting to each form as he spoke, and now he shifted one final time into a normal, all-natural bear.
From the northern tundra and ice.
If the battle was to be decided simply on the forms alone, becoming a polar bear would have been a guaranteed victory over any version of a brown bear. However, these forms were backed by the power and skill of the combatants, and that meant much more than just the forms did.
While Mordecai was a very skilled warrior and his bear form was still bolstered by all the general enhancements his avatar had, this was not a form he was used to fighting in and he was still limiting himself by not using chi based martial skills, or any spells.
The two of them began the battle with suitably dramatic roars and charged in to clash. There was no dodging or weaving as a bear; instead, agility and speed were used to avoid and mitigate bites and clawing in the midst of dangerous grappling.
Mordecai won most of the clashes, knocking his opponent down or tossing him to the side, but every clash wounded both of them at least a little. It became a battle of attrition, and Mordecai was able to inflict slightly more wounds than his foe was able to inflict upon him. Still, even though he won the fight, it wasn''t by a lot, and when they both shifted back to their normal forms, Mordecai was rather tattered looking. His opponent was even worse off, and Mordecai''s first action as victor was to heal them both.
He had anticipated the shifters being the second-toughest set of battles during these preliminaries, and so far his estimation looked to be correct.
Two days later, it was time to face one of the strongest people here, based on those same estimations.
Moriko cheered loudly from the stands, though Mordecai couldn''t tell for sure if she was cheering for him or her former master. He suspected that she was not sure either. He bowed to Theodoric, who returned the gesture, and then said, "I think I need to allow myself to use more of my abilities; limiting myself to just your style and abilities would be foolish pride."
Theodoric smiled at the analysis. "I''ll take that as a compliment. Very well then, I accept that this will be an unlimited style and technique duel."
There was one aspect of their styles that was the same between them. Theodoric had chosen not to wield his weapon and shield in favor of bracers that had part of the same functionality as Mordecai''s own; both bracers could conjure projected shields. This left them both with empty hands, but in their case, this had no semblance to the concept of them being unarmed.
When the duel started, the two of them began circling the center of the arena, slowly working closer as they studied each other. Instinct drove Mordecai forward at the same instant that Theodoric moved. Both struck and both canceled the other''s attack with a solid block.
The impact of the charge deflected them away from each other, leaving them several feet apart for only a moment. Lightning crackled around Mordecai as he used it to power a spinning kick as he leapt toward his opponent. His kick was deflected by Theodoric''s shield, then a fist of stone erupted out of the ground in a giant uppercut. Mordecai blasted away with a burst of air in time to ride the fist rather than be directly hit and then slid into a shadow.
He erupted out of the shadow at the base of the stone fist with his clawed hand covered in razor sharp ice only to run into an aura of fire that forced him back. Some of that fire he was able to take with him and he flowed into a dance-like step as the fire swirled around him for a moment. He added to its momentum even as he converted it into water that he blasted at Theodoric, punching a brief hole in that fiery aura.
As the two of them battled, the arena''s fortifications were thoroughly tested. While Mordecai had a preference for shadow techniques and Theodoric preferred fire, both were capable of accessing many elements. Mordecai was more flexible and could use all of the elements through both martial technique and a variety of spells, while Theodoric had to call upon divine spells to access most elements and had little skill with shadow, though he proved adept at anticipating and countering its use.
Two spheres of energy erupted in the center of the ring, one of searing light and the other of devouring darkness; this exchange of magic barely slowed the pace of their melee, though it did leave its mark on both of them and Mordecai fared worse than Theodoric did.
Each of Theodoric''s blows contained more weight than Mordecai''s strikes did, and his strongest spells were more powerful than Mordecai''s strongest ones. But Mordecai had a far deeper reserve of mana and was able to maintain the same strength of spells even as Theodoric''s spells slowly started tapering in strength.
On the other hand, Mordecai was using three spells for every one that Theodoric used, especially when it came to healing magic. His natural regeneration was simply not able to keep up with the furious pace of the fight.
Several minutes into the battle, Mordecai figured out a new trick: he used his shadow to sketch out runic magic for Mordecai to channel his mana through. This helped him offset some of Theodoric''s power and enabled him to shift the battle towards one of endurance.
Unfortunately, Theodoric had plenty of that too.
Almost half an hour later, the two of them were slowly circling each other while picking their way through the devastated landscape that told tales of their battle; a shard of ice sparked with traces of electricity, the remains of entangling thorned vines still smoldered, several rocks half-melted from the effects of corrosives, and broken stone littered the entire arena.
"Hah, you just keep pulling out more tricks," Theodoric said. "Is there any end to that well of magic?"
Mordecai snorted. "Of course there is, but don''t think I''ll be telling you how much I have."
This was the first time the two of them had slowed enough to talk, a feat of endurance that could be deadly for untempered bodies even before one took into account the fighting. That was all the delay they took before they sprung at each other once more, creating even more devastation in their wake.
Over an hour had elapsed from the start of the bout when Mordecai leapt away and held up a hand to request a pause. Theodoric nodded in response and waited.
"I would like to offer a draw," Mordecai said.
It was a fair offer, all things considered. They were both worn down, and each had suffered close calls from their mental focus beginning to waver. If they continued, skill would begin to weigh less in determining a winner compared to simple luck, and neither of them would be satisfied with that.
Theodoric considered the offer for a few moments before replying, "Given how fast your territory has been growing and how strong your avatar is for a spiritual nexus of your size, this is the last time I''m going to be this close, isn''t it? Yet you haven''t used everything you could."
Mordecai shrugged and said, "True, I could use my shapeshifting and such as well, but my more powerful forms would only give me a small edge in this situation, and they certainly wouldn''t affect my magic. Using everything I have wouldn''t guarantee victory, but continuing as we have been does not assure my defeat either, by my estimations at least." He chose not to comment on the strength of his avatar, which was a touch more complicated. "I am pleased to say that I did learn a few new things during our fight; life is much more interesting when you don''t know everything."
Well, everything that his avatar alone could do, which was an unstated given. He knew how to use his core to give himself an advantage, but for a duel it would be cheating to have his core conjure healing potions into his hands.
"Very well then," Theodoric said, "I accept your offer of calling this match a draw."
They approached each other and bowed before extending arms to clasp each other''s forearms. "It was a good fight," Mordecai said with a grin.
After they both left the arena, Mordecai took a little bit of time walking back up to the surface and to home. While Kazue was ready to simply offer comfort and perhaps a bit of pampering, he could feel a bit of frustration leaking from Moriko.
It wasn''t her fault that she was having trouble keeping up with his avatar''s power; every zone they acquired increased the strength of his core and that was reflected in his avatar. This wouldn''t hold true for his fully incarnated avatar, though he wouldn''t be as far behind as Kazue was and he should be able to redevelop quickly from there.
At any rate, he was going to tease Moriko into working out some of her frustrations in a particular way that should improve her mood, but he needed some time to physically recover first. Mordecai appreciated her enthusiasm, but this was one of the rare times he needed a break before they indulged in any play.
276: Artistry
While Kazue wasn''t as enthusiastic about the tournament as her husband and wife were, she did appreciate the festive air and was happy that there were so many people enjoying themselves, and she certainly wasn''t bored. There were far too many things to take care of and people to manage for her to have time to be bored.
Such as Satsuki, due to some complaints from the library staff.
Kazue''s emotions were mixed but mostly amused as she approached the large plush chair that Satsuki had settled herself into with her legs tucked under herself. "Hello Satsuki," Kazue said as Carnelian Flame took off from her shoulders to begin exploring the library once again, "I hear you''ve been writing in our books, and it looks as though I heard correctly."
Satsuki glanced up and smiled, an enchanted quill hovering nearby to do her bidding. "Annotating my dear, annotating. That''s much different than simply writing random scribbles."
"Annotating then," Kazue conceded, "but nonetheless, that does involve writing in the books."
"Hmm, but these are mana constructs, are they not? Can''t you simply make more?" Satsuki asked.
Kazue shook her head slightly and said, "Not exactly. I mean, we can, but these are meant to be potential rewards, which locks up a certain amount of that mana pool. The ones you annotate need to either be unmade, thus freeing up the mana, or claimed to clear it out of our rewards capacity. It''s not a large amount, but it is one of those things that can build up, and I assume you don''t want your notes to be lost."
"True," Satsuki said thoughtfully, "I am making these annotations for Deidre for when I have her read these books. As fun as these stories are, they are not entirely realistic, and I want her to understand where the writer has taken some artistic license. Very well, I do believe this should be the right amount of mana to offset claiming them."
"Wha-" Kazue''s reply cut off as Satsuki pushed some of her mana out. No, she did more than that, the nine-tail was weaving her mana into the flow of the dungeon''s mana, allowing for a more efficient uptake than would normally occur with pure mana.
Ever so briefly, the first threads of Satsuki''s mana reached their core before she released her hold on the last of what she was giving to them, creating an ephemeral link. That experience was...
Kazue cleared her throat and refocused her attention on an amused-looking Satsuki, who had just claimed all of the books she''d written in, even those in her room, plus a few untouched ones that were in a stack next to her. "Well," Kazue said, "that certainly works. You calculated the proper value rather precisely."
In terms of total energy exchanged, bargains generally had to be in the dungeon''s favor by a fair amount; the ''profit'' was effectively their food. Satsuki had given just a little bit over the minimum amount needed to offset claiming the books as rewards.
"I should hope so, given how much research I put into the subject," Satsuki said. "After all, I was planning on helping Mordecai out when I freed him. I wanted to make sure I didn''t upset any balances or waste any mana, but he''d have needed to reach the surface again in fairly short order."
Huh. Kazue tucked that information away to examine later and said, "Oh, that makes sense." She was still a bit off balance from the sudden energy exchange and that made it hard to keep her tone even, but she did her best to recover as she smiled at Satsuki. "Thank you, and Horace would appreciate it if you made sure to do that before annotating any more books. I''ll leave you to your reading."
Kazue mentally called for Carnelian Flame, who looked up with a pout from where she''d been trying to convince a pair of delvers to give her some jerky that her nose had located in their packs. Kazue shook her head and smiled as she sent, "Sorry sweetie, it''s time to go. I''ll get you a snack in a bit."
When Kazue was well clear of Satsuki and had some privacy, she allowed herself to sag against a wall for a few minutes while she petted Carnelian for comfort. That was close. She''d almost told Satsuki ''I hope you enjoy the book'' and she was fairly certain that even such an innocuous statement would have clued the woman into Kazue''s secret.
Fortunately, Satsuki had begun her note-taking with some other romance books and had been focused enough on her task to apparently not notice anything about the author of her current reading material. If anyone could figure out the real author just from reading the books, it would be her.
Having one''s own romance novels annotated by your husband''s former lover evoked a rather complicated set of emotions, and some of the more explicit annotations told Kazue more about Satsuki''s experiences than she really wanted to know.
Kazue didn''t let that get in the way of using those notes to prepare some future edition edits and releases, but for now those were going to have to wait. Releasing new editions right after the books were annotated would be rather obvious, and she needed to make sure she wrote the changes in her own style, not Satsuki''s.
After that breather, Kazue made her way back to her art studio, which she''d created several weeks ago. It was time to get back to her projects.
In the main part of the studio were several partial portraits along with a selection of paints and special mixtures. The experimentation with new metals in shells and scales had inspired her to try creating new paint colors and types, with mixed results.
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The biggest hurdle she faced was that the effect she wanted was created in part by the way the material was layered. The best results she''d achieved so far involved creating paints that were mixed with the right metallic dust and after they dried were coated with a thin, transparent gel that added iridescence over the metallic glitter of the paint underneath.
This personal project had now been combined with something she wanted to do for part of the prizes they were giving out. Everyone who qualified to enter the tournament was going to get a personalized painting, done by Kazue.
Given the time constraints, she couldn''t do what she would have preferred, which would be to do them all completely by hand. Instead, her avatar would sketch out each portrait and begin the painting process, and then her core would do most of the rest of the work but leave it in a state that required one last layer of paint and the application of any coatings.
These were less perfect than what her core alone could do, she knew that, but that was the point. Kazue wanted these to feel personal, and that required a personal touch. Even with her avatar and core being the same person, the way her core worked tended to automatically create ''perfect'' versions of things, within the limits that she could calculate.
The very final layer of coating she applied had a special trait that would probably never be noticed; it absorbed the beyond-blue light, which would protect the painting from fading. It would probably not even be needed as the frames the portraits were going to be in would be given a few enchantments, including one to protect the painting within.
They would also be able to ''collapse'' into a tiny square with the use of some space-shaping magic, to make them easier to transport and store. This would keep the paintings perfectly flat on their rigid backings, as Kazue didn''t want to risk even magical folding with these paints.
Right now, all the paints in question were mana constructs and technically just simulations of what they''d be like if they were real, so she couldn''t yet confirm all the physical properties of the materials used and she didn''t want to take any unnecessary risks.
Of course, their rewards were still restricted by daily limits, so Kazue had started with participants who were least likely to pass the preliminaries or the first round. That way their portraits could be given to them as soon as their positions, and thus the value of the rewards, were finalized, along with the rest of their rewards.
That would also give time for some private negotiating with the participants afterward. They would be given an offer similar to the offer that had been given to Gil; a build-up of future reward value in exchange for being allowed to sell their likeness in the form of smaller versions of the portrait.
There was also a separate negotiation to be had for recreating their image as part of a larger, group portrait.
Partly because her spouses were so involved in the tournament itself, Kazue was going to be in charge of doing the negotiating, though it was also because she had become their most effective negotiator, barring extenuating circumstances.
Kazue had discovered the fun of the negotiation game after her parent''s wedding, when she and Mordecai had been dealing with all the merchants that had come as part of her father''s caravan. She''d also discovered the fun of harmless flirtation as one tool to give her a bit of an edge, though it had taken much longer for her to become comfortable doing so outside of the immediate presence of either Mordecai or Moriko.
It was a fine art, and part of it was learning to tell whom not to make the attempt with. For some people, there was no recognition of innocent flirtation and that could lead to problems, such as the one Moriko had dealt with at their first Faerie party. Kazue was now confident in her ability to read people and how appropriate it would be, as well as being confident about handling the situation if she was wrong.
She was pretty certain that becoming a faerie queen had made her a bit bolder here as well. It was a little disturbing to admit to herself, but Kazue had come to the realization that her personality had been subtly influenced by the acquisition of the title and power.
Naturally, Mordecai had been either not impacted or the influence was too small to ever be noticed. He had the weight of over a thousand years of life to solidify his personality, including already accounting for the influence of faerie nature upon some of his avatars.
Moriko might have been influenced if this had happened to her at a different time or place, but she had already made certain choices about prioritizing her passions and she had the training and experience to back that up. Kazue was fairly certain that Moriko was effectively immune to that sort of induced change.
Thankfully, Kazue didn''t really mind the changes themselves, despite being disturbed by the realization that they had happened. She was more confident and comfortable in being herself, and that was a state Kazue had already reached when with her husband and wife. Of course, being herself also meant retaining a certain amount of vulnerability to becoming flustered and such, though she could objectively recognize that as being part of her charm, from the viewpoint of Mordecai and Moriko at least. They were the only ones whose opinions mattered to her.
Now her new confidence applied all of the time, well, almost.
People like Satsuki were still overwhelming, but that was a problem most people would have around that woman. Still, Kazue was pretty certain that she''d not have held her composure as well as she had without that influence.
There might also be some other changes that were even more subtle and minor, but if so, those influences were competing against traits that were common amongst kitsune, which might simply be more visible now that Kazue was more confident in herself.
Plus, if being faerie-touched had been part of what had influenced Kazue into being bold enough to make the art projects that were kept in her very private studio, well it would be hard to be mad about that. Kazue had always appreciated Mordecai and Moriko''s bodies and now that appreciation was recorded in both paintings and sculptures.
Naturally, Kazue had shown her spouses these art projects, but their bedroom was not an entirely private space. Not only did they have their hatchling familiars to deal with, who naturally had no idea how or why to filter their words, but Fuyuko did occasionally come up to their room to talk with them. It was not needed given her ability to contact them mentally, but Kazue understood the need to go talk in person.
For now, they would simply stay here and Kazue would continue giving Moriko and Mordecai the occasional little tour of her latest projects. Some of which might be ''inspirational''.
With that happy thought keeping her occupied, Kazue verified that she was satisfied with the first batch of her paintings so that she could hand them off to their inhabitants, to be packaged for proper presentation and brought down to the arena.