Dungeon Life

Chapter Two-Hundred Sixty-Three

Alright, let me see… most of Silvervein is kinda handling itself as far as clean up goes. I should probably ask Teemo to thank the Shield followers for how well they dealt with securing the town with minimal collateral damage. A few of the… are they technically buildings if they’re carved into the rock with tunnels connecting them? Having windows and… I dunno, exterior walls seem like a pretty big requirement for a building. Whatever they are, while a few have collapsed from the fighting, it’s way fewer than if they were actual free-standing buildings.

Structural stability is not the only metric to measure a fight like this in, and I think they’ll be cleaning up for a while. Broken things, stains, scorches, gouges and more show that it wasn’t a peaceful transition of power. From what information Leo and Honey are getting, the townsfolk are still trying to figure out where to go from here. Most of the people who were high in the Maw’s clergy died when the Harbinger ate the Maw, so a lot of people are trying to figure out where they stand.

It’s looking like sentiment for their clergy is unfavorable, to be polite, and I expect any of them who aren’t dead will want to vanish off into the tunnels elsewhere before they get vanished by angry citizens. Silvervein isn’t the only group of people needing to figure out what they’re going to do, either.

Teemo heads back to Aranya and her party, looking to help sort out the kobolds who are definitely going to need a lot of help. They’ve basically gone from being livestock to being actual free people, and that’s a lot to try to take in. He pops in at what sounds like the tail end of Aranya explaining what happened since they all saw her last, with her grandpa sitting near her, and the other kobolds seated around her in the large central chamber. Aelara, Yvonne, and Ragnar are working to get the chains off the rest of the kobolds, with the freed ones joining in the circle around Aranya as she speaks.

“-planned to attack the Maw and liberate us all, and not only has He done so, but He’s been recognized as a true deity now! You all felt the energy of His apotheosis!”

“You’re gonna make the Boss blush, talking about him like that, Aranya,” quips my favorite rat, and Aranya smiles brightly at him.

“Well, it is my job to talk him up, Teemo.” The other kobolds put two and two together and shift to start bowing to Teemo, but he sticks a couple fingers in his mouth and gives a piercing whistle.

“No bowing! I know it’s a lot different than what you’re used to, but please. I’m just a normal rat.”

Aranya laughs brightly. “No normal rat is a Herald, Teemo.”

Teemo looks as confused at that as I am, and I can feel him checking his status as I do the same. Just like she said, he’s not only my Voice, but also my Herald, as well as the Opener of Ways. When’d you get that last one, anyway?

“I think from trapping the Harbinger? But I want to know what’s with the Herald title.”

“You speak for Lord Thedeim, so of course you’re his Herald,” points out Aranya.

Teemo shakes his head. “I should have known you’d get some of that apotheosis on me, Boss. Gross. At least it seems like it’s the same job as being your Voice.”

“What’s to become of us?” interrupts Aranya’s grandfather, getting to his feet with the help of his cane. “Aranya has said so much of you, but… it’s difficult to believe, after having been at the mercy of the Maw for so long.”

Many of the kobolds gasp, with those nearest him quickly scooting away from the aged kobold, not wanting to be caught up in whatever violence he brings down upon himself. Their fear starts to slip to confusion as he continues to not be smote.

Teemo shrugs. “What becomes of you depends on you. The Boss wanted to free you, so now you’re free. You can stay here, or head out to the caverns, or join Silvervein, or Fourdock. The Boss could even make an enclave for you… maybe? Can you do that, Boss?”

Uh… maybe? I don’t have any options for it yet, but a lot of things don’t really show up until it becomes relevant. If enough of them come back with Aranya, I’ll probably be able to?

“I think you should all come with us,” suggests Aranya. “It was difficult for me to believe at first, too, but Lord Thedeim is a Sanctuary in the truest sense. Even if you don’t decide to form an enclave with him, Fourdock would be a good town to settle in. Even with the people of Silvervein trying to find their feet after all this, it will take some time before they will see us as equals.”

Her grandfather peers at her. “Are you truly equal with the people of Fourdock? Our legends say the surface is not any kinder to us than the deeps.”

Aranya nods. “When Lord Thedeim found me, I was half starved and wore rags. He fed me as well as he could, he clothed me, he armed me, he showed me the surface is not just a place of terror. I made friends. I even joined the Adventurer’s Guild.” She pulls out her badge to show, which helps deflate the elder.

“I can see you’re healthier than when you left. It’s just… difficult to trust. It all just seems so unbelievable.”

Teemo chuckles before slipping through a shortcut to perch on Aranya’s shoulder. “Unbelievable is basically the Boss in a nutshell, pops. I get that it sounds too good to be true, but if we were like the Maw, would we have bothered to get those chains off you? Would we be taking the time to try to convince you, instead of just marching you off? The Boss likes to say actions speak louder than words, so what do our actions say about us and our intentions?”

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The wizened kobold contemplates for a few long seconds before sighing. “Are we to be your followers, then?”

Teemo shrugs. “That’s also up to you. The Boss didn’t do this for followers. He didn’t even know he’d be in a position to get more until not long ago. He’s not here to put new shackles on your people, of any variety. You really are free to follow whatever path you think is best. You could all walk out into the tunnels and the Boss wouldn’t stop you, even if Aranya went with you. He’d be sad to see you all go, but it’s your choice.”

Aranya’s grandfather inhales to reply, but Teemo interrupts him. “You don’t even need to make that choice right now. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. The Boss will probably be keeping a lot of his forces around here for a while so Silvervein can stabilize. If you want to try to get a look for yourselves about what’s going on out there, this is probably your best chance to do it. Go see for yourselves how Silvervein has changed, and see if you want in on the kind of change the Boss likes to bring.”

Aranya smiles as the kobolds start talking amongst themselves, some clearly wanting to explore, some worried about what they should do. She pats Teemo as she lets them figure out what they’re going to do first. “See? You’re already a good Herald, Teemo.”

He sticks out his tongue, though he doesn’t resist the pats. “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it. I fully intend to leave that sort of thing mostly to you, thank you very much.”

My High Priestess smirks. “But you’re developing your own mystique with it, Teemo. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Teemo grumbles at that and I chuckle before turning my attention to the last major thing that will need to be dealt with here: the Harbinger. Teemo’s confident it can’t wiggle out of the Mobius Trap, and though I believe in him, I don’t like the idea of just sealing away ancient evils. They tend to escape after a millennium or two and get right back to wreaking havoc.

And the thing has a veritable ocean of mana after eating the Maw. It’d be a shame to let that all go to waste. As I prepare to start poking my scions to gather up to discuss how to lay a beating on the thing, I get a new popup. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten one, and I don’t know if I’ve gotten this one before.

Quest Received!

Deliver the Harbinger to an agent of Order

Reward: Mana, Fast Tracking

“Fast Tracking?” asks Teemo, which knocks me out of my thoughts.

You can see that?

“Yeah. Have you gotten a quest before?”

I don’t think I have? I’ve given a few, but I don’t think I’ve gotten one before.

“What’s an agent of Order?”

A follower of Order, generally a Head Priest or greater in rank.

Teemo and I both squint at the new popup. “...what’s Order?”

The god of order, overseer of the system.

“Boss, I think you might need to build a guest room if you’re going to keep getting visitors like this.”

At least the Shield has a place close enough to not need to couch surf. Teemo chuckles at that as I consider the quest being offered. On the one hand, I would like to try to stay neutral and out of any dealing with the gods. On the other hand, that’s looking less and less viable by the minute. I’m not against the quest, not by a long shot. I remember the weirdness of the Harbinger’s actual name, or actual title, or whatever that was. That weirdness is why I don’t want to take any chances with destroying the overpowered shoggoth.Ne/w novel chapt𝒆rs are p/u/blished on no/vel(/bin(.)c/o/m

Making it be someone else’s problem is pretty appealing though, especially since this specific someone else is probably a lot more qualified to not only end the Harbinger, but also understand what shenanigans were involved with it. From all accounts, the Harbinger joined the Maw at some point, it wasn’t a natural spawn like the Redcap. It doesn’t take a genius to suspect more at work than meets the eye here.

The only reason to refuse would be if I don’t trust the quest here, and the popup messages. I let my paranoia chew on the possibilities for a few moments, but there’s not a lot of meat on the bone for it. If the messages aren’t from a god of order, and are trying to trick me, why wait until now? Sewing confusion might have kept the Harbinger free if it happened earlier. It could be the Harbinger itself, somehow using its mental affinity to mess with me, but that doesn’t hold water either. It practically left a yellow trail behind it when it fled from Teemo tossing around a few concepts. If it was peeking in on my mind, I think it’d probably be dead.

Not to mention that something like that seems to be against the rules. From what I’ve seen, anyone can talk to me, but if they want me to talk back, they need to do it through Teemo. The Harbinger possibly sending these messages seems like that would be breaking that rule. So paranoia doesn’t get to win the day on this one. So now to just make sure I’m making a good deal here.

“It says mana and fast tracking. How much mana, and what’s fast tracking?”

Mana reward equivalent to the mana the Harbinger is carrying, plus triple the amount its defeat would usually bestow.

That sounds like a lot of mana. Rocky brought back a pretty big pile the last time he defeated it, though it might have been inflated from the Harbinger killing Honey and Leo. Worst case, it’ll be the amount Rocky came back with, on top of the net worth of the Maw.

“And fast tracking?”

Acceleration of dungeon options gained from age.

That gets my attention, and gets a raised eyebrow from Teemo. “Yeah? Like what?”

Acceleration of dungeon options gained from age.

Teemo squints at that, but I’m not too bothered. He’s probably restricted from detailing them by some other rule. Or he just wants it to be a surprise. Or he might not really like me. The Raven said I made him patch the library signs, remember? Besides, I’m fine with that part being a bit muddy. It’s a positive on top of a bunch of mana, so I’m not going to look this gift horse in the mouth.

“Alright Order. The Boss is willing to give you the Harbinger, but I can’t just pick up the Mobius Trap and walk off with it. Just making it was about as much as I could manage.”

An agent of Order has been dispatched. Thank you for your cooperation.

“When will they get here?”

An agent of Order has been dispatched.

Teemo grumbles at that, but I mentally shrug. It shouldn’t take that agent long to get here. I imagine Order is chomping at the bit to get the Harbinger, and he said agents were priests. If he tells a priest to haul rear here to get a thingy, I imagine they’ll make all haste.

So now all I need to do is start rotating out my denizens and scions. We don’t have mana from subsuming the Maw, but there were still a lot of denizens beaten up, and delvers saved. I doubt it’ll be enough to pay my friends back, but it should be enough to make sure they know I appreciate their help with Murphy’s Law.

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