Dungeon Life

Chapter One-Hundred Fifty

So, Im looking at the map for the stuff beyond my borders, above and below the ground, and I think I have my timescales messed up. Below the surface, I was expecting to be tripping over Aranyas old dungeon fairly quickly, or at least finding some trace of it with the long scouts. But so far, theyve not seen hide nor hair of the thing.

Its making me wonder if I could expand underground and maybe set up a third enclave after all.

Above the surface, Ive underestimated how much the snow will slow things down. While the tundra wolves have been making great time with actually moving around, setting up the outposts is going a lot slower than I was hoping. Travel time isnt a problem for them, but building is. I should probably try to design something to standardize the outposts, too.

Or maybe not. Coda could probably make quick towers or something even with just wood and whatnot, but thats not exactly stealthy. And hes a bit preoccupied with the concrete. He had a really good idea with the dragline silk, and I hope he can get it to work similarly to rebar. It could also be a good use for the metal elixir, depending on how resistant it ends up being to rust.

None of the mixes seem quite right yet, but with the baked limestone, they seem to be making some real progress. I almost wish Fourdock had an actual need for an aqueduct or a dam or something. Probably better to start with roads anyway. Waterstuff is big and impressive, but roads are the ultimate test for durability and longevity. If Im really being honest, though the lighthouse might be the first large-scale use of the stuff, once Coda gets a mix he likes. Hard to say, really. My personal instinct is to go with the lighthouse since it will be able to start on bare rock. Ive dipped my toes into a lot of waters, but one of the things Ive never had to deal with is soil stuff and how it will react to say, a huge slab of concrete being poured over it. It might make a nice road to start with, but then water can erode the soil away and make potholes, or all sorts of problems.

Ugh, I really hope we dont have to make a sewer system before putting in roads. I think Fourdok has some kind of sewer system already, but not the kind of thing that can handle the change in drainage from concrete roads all over the place.

Anyway: expansion. I really am starting to feel a bit cramped, and I dont know if its just from me being me, or if its something about being a dungeon and having a growing cache of mana that I could be using. Ive already basically upgraded my spawners as much as I feel like I can right now. Sure, theres a lot of upgrades left, but where will I let the new denizens do their thing?

I could also expand on the surface. Ive been so focused on the underground lately that its easy to forget I could expand out past the cemetery. Itd give me a place to really let the tundra wolves do their thing. I wonder if they could actually keep the area cold, even in the summer? Thatd be cool, pun only kinda intended. It could also be a place to let my birds do their things, too, stretch their wings and all that.

I could probably see about taking the forest towards Hullbreak, even, and do stuff in there. I could even be really stupid and expand above and below at the same time. Pretty sure thatd be stupid, but its still really tempting to take a big bite and test just how much I can chew.

I wouldnt go for two enclaves at once though, even if I do decide to be reckless. Testing limits is one thing, but I want to give each enclave the attention it deserves, make sure theyre going to be good to be mostly-independent before working on the next.

Besides, winter is a terrible time to try to set up a settlement on the surface. It might not be the worst time to set up a wintery section to give my delvers something new and challenging to face, though. I stare at the cost for a few seconds before noting it down. I want to know how much Id have left over if I do decide to follow this wild hair and expand both ways.

Deep underground, I look towards the volcanic area. Its a bit of a downward north direction to get there, and might end up being two expansions on its own to actually get to the volcanic stuff, instead of warmer and probably more dangerous passages. Looking at the maps and reports, it looks like I dont know if lava tubes is the right term, but it feels like something along those lines. Theyre not exactly lined with obsidian, but the way they twist and loop makes me think of lava tubes.

Whatever they are, they dont look like theyre even remotely active. The reports show all sorts of the glowmoss around, as well as other signs of life. Id imagine itd be a lot more barren and hot if lava was still occasionally passing through. The actual volcanic area isnt as well scouted, at least not yet. I hope my bats can handle the heat of an area like that. Can they even breathe there? If this was home, itd be a suicide mission to send them in, but here its hard to say. I trust Poe to know what hes doing with the scouts, though, so I dont worry too much about it.

I do look at the cost to potentially expand out that far, and whoof, thats spendy. I could get the tubes without too much difficulty, but the volcanic area beyond it would be a lot more than I want to spend right now, even with reckless being on the table. Ill want to wait for the scouts to get a better idea of it, first, and let that lower the cost.

That still leaves me feeling kinda cramped, though. The woods could give me a good place to do some stuff, but no enclave yet. The lava tubes could get me an enclave, but I dont know how good of an area itd be to set one up. Of course, the volcanic area isnt going to be all sunshine and roses, even if magic will let people actually live there.

Theres really only one enclave Id put in the tubes, at least right now: the snakes. Itd just be cruel to put a birdkin enclave so far under the ground. Oh, wait theres one other enclave that might work perfectly in the tubes.

I have one other spawner that Ive been kinda neglecting, partially because it just works so much differently than the others: the ant spawner. Queen technically produces most of my ants, but the hill still spits out other varieties seemingly on its own, and I think two of them could be very useful in the lava tubes, if I do end up expanding that way. Firstly, the fire ants. Fairly obvious why they might be good in there. Fire affinity has to count for something close to magma and such, right?

The other would be the carpenter ants. Bigger ants in the tubes could make the whole system into basically a huge antfarm, which would be neat. But how do I make an ant enclave? Is it even an option? I take a closer look at the hill, and see a confusing mess of options. Right theres a reason I havent kicked this particular anthill very hard.

Well, youre out of excuses now, my guy. Get in those trenches and figure this thing out. I mentally roll up my sleeves and dive in.

Well, the first thing I can do is to just immediately rule out various things. While the hill will happily spit out practically any ant up to the tier the hill is at, the odds lean it towards the specialization. It also looks like Queen has more than a little influence on what it makes, too, as it seems like leafcutters are the top, followed by carpenter ants, then alchemical, then fire, then arborists (which look to be a subclass of the carpenter ants), and then a huge list that I dont think Queen even bothers to add to her army. That particular list is gigantic, and just snipping it off at everything below 1% chance helps clear the confusion a ton.

Theres also an option for other entrances to the hill. While I can feel that the hill takes up a space on my lawn, the feel of it gets a bit fuzzy as it goes deeper, reminding me of one of Teemos shortcuts. Which would make sense, if Im allowed to put in little entrances practically wherever. They look to have a lot of restrictions, though. For starters, only ants can use them, and any ant that wants to go back in looks like it has to wait for a respawn timer like everything else.

Still, the advantages are pretty nice. While most of them dont really matter to the leafcutters, the other ants will have much easier times getting to where they need to get to. Queen cant just hatch a carpenter or fire ant, so I could put an exit in her lab marked for them, and shell be able to integrate them easily. One more for arborists in the lumber nodes would help, too.

And thats without upgrading and designating more ants. The leafcutters are basically as good as theyre going to get, seems like. Well, without Queen further specializing them. She definitely has more leeway here than what I seem to. Could I make a leafcutter enclave, then? I dig a bit, but dont even see an option for it. I wonder why not? Are they too closely linked to Queen? Whatever the answer, the hill isnt telling me.

How about the others? I dont even bother looking at the huge list, and instead focus on the fire and carpenters. The carpenters seem to have the option well down the line, but I can see it requires access to a forest. While I do have access, or I guess could have access with an expansion, Im not going to make them try to get situated in one in the winter. Looking at the fire ants, they also have the option to make an enclave, and they dont even have any requirements! Well, they cant be placed underwater, but duh.

I eye the costs for the upgrades and the expansion, and how much it would cost to put in hill access that far down. Oddly, it doesnt seem to matter how far from the actual hill I place them, just the maximum allowed rate for that exit. While it looks like the whole thing will cost a lot, I dont need to spend everything all at once. In fact, Id prefer not to. Not only can I keep a healthy reserve in case I actually need to do something in an emergency, but if I take my time, I can get more used to the new ants and how they behave.

Nodding to myself, I purchase the lava tubes and sprinkle in hill access for the fire ants. What better way to help keep me sane in the winter months than an ant farm?

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