Dug directed the sporecap of his son Razum to a small ritual circle he had prepared for the occasion while he had been Awakening. The lines of the ritual circle were engraved with a paste made from Mindbender Spores and Hallucin Gelly, which would allow the minds of all present within the circle to hear the thoughts of every other individual. It took his son a while to find it and Dug’s awareness and experience with fungi let him quickly figure out the cause.
With a gesture and a thought he sent his son a familiar request and he could feel the gratitude that came with his son’s acceptance. Connecting to his powers over fungi Dug fed power and magically summoned nutrients to his son’s mycelium network allowing it to grow a new direct path through the ground. Razum rapidly grew a direct line to the ritual circle and Dug watched as the fruiting body moved to enter the circle.
Once it did so, Razum planted the sporecap more firmly into the ground, with it losing much of its dynamism. Even as it did so, Razum himself became more ‘present’ as Dug felt his mind approach and settle within the circle. Fascinated, Dug activated his Waag to peer into the fabric of reality that made up the in-between space where Aether flowed freely. What he saw filled him with excitement.
A mind of incredible complexity hovered just over the mycelium network that Razum had grown. It was connected organically to the mycelium through which Aether flowed to support the mind. Like a complex web of information, the mycelium provided the mind with what it needed to understand the world. The mind itself was almost completely created out of the same Aether Mindbender Spores released in small quantities.
Stepping inside the ritual circle himself along with Obu, who practically vibrated with excitement, Dug activated the circle. He was beaten to speaking by his daughter.
“Hi, Razum!” Obu said, exuberantly. “I’m your sister, Obu.”
“Obu…” Razum’s response was clear, his mental voice seeming to feel out his sister’s name. “Hello, sister. It is…strange speaking in this way. New…but not unpleasant.” Razum’s words lacked the zest for life that Obu showed but every word was weighty and thought out.
Dug smiled and listened as his children got to know each other better. Obu talked excitedly about her Dungeon and plans for expanding it while Razum listened politely, only replying here and there for clarification. It was clear his son was of a more contemplative nature than his sister but Dug was sure some of his reticence came from his having been so soon Awakened. He was, as of yet, only a couple of hours old.
Dug set aside those thoughts and tapped his staff, upon which Obu rested, on the ground to get his children’s attention. “Isa pleased with yousas conversatin, but weesa needs tah talk ‘bout tings.” His voice, both mental and physical, halted their banter and he felt their metaphysical gazes lock onto him. He smiled, letting his pride and joy flow through him and into them before speaking further.
“Weesa must prepare. Family we be but dah family beez in danger.” He chuckled softly to dispel the growing panic in his children before it could get out of hand. Pulling the shard of condensed sunlight, now full of green fire, out of the satchel at his side where he had been keeping its power smothered, he presented it to his children. “Yousa ‘ave no way of knowing what dis is but isa do. Per’aps dah Sysitem will tell yousa aftah dis but dis beez Autority. Pure dis power be and dangahrous.”
He felt at the power in the shard and was pleased when it came back stable. “When isa pigged dis up it was unstable, dah last dying breads of a ded god in crystal form. Now it beez attuned to dah Waag, not in dangah no more of going bad.” He made sure to look at each of his children to make sure they were following along.
“Dah man who had dis would ‘ave been important tah ‘is people. Deys will come lookin fah it. Yousas must beez ready. Isa will protect us but yousas must do yousas part.” He turned to Obu. “Dis means dat weesa must get yousa dah stuff yousa need tah grow Obu, tings tah challenge yousas dungeon.” He then turned to Razum. “Yousa too Razum. Yousa been named Faddah of Monstahs by dah Make-ah but before yousa can do dis yousa must first learn tah use yousa self.”
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He could see in the way the ritual energy fluctuated that his children were thinking deeply about what he said. He nodded with pride, glad that they were taking his words seriously. “Razum, isa will start wid yousa. Isa teach yousa dah wayz of dah Sporemeistahs. It ‘as served meesa well but will do yousa beddah. Den weesa can see about yousa learning tah use dah Waag.” He pointed to Obu with his offhand. “Yousa too, Obu. My children will use dah Waag and usa it proppah.”
So saying he began putting an end to the ritual but maintained his connection to his children through adroit use of both Waag and sporecraft. “Now den,” He smiled kindly at his children. “Let us’ns go see how our guest beastie beez doin. I tink she’s just woke from ‘er long nap.” So saying he led the way towards where The Hidden was beginning to wake from its healing-induced slumber.
Dug, using his powers to help Razum follow with his mycelium, reached where the large monstrous creature was opening its eyes. And it was an it. The old goblin hadn’t needed the System to tell him that. The fact that the creature was monstrous in the extreme had no bearing on his desire to help it heal. As a goblin, this was not his first time protecting an ugly monster from facing extinction. That realization had come from the System.
The Hidden
Umbral Symbiote
Rank: A(23) Level 112
Monster Core: Umbral Fleshcrafter
Affiliation: Hunted By All, Last of its Kind
Dug had wondered long and hard about what to do with his unexpected guest but in the end he had decided to just ask it instead. It wasn’t sapient but it was powerful and had evidently enhanced itself through the System in order to survive its various pursuers. Upon arriving he watched as the mass of twisted muscle and flesh quickly put on shadowy skin. Baleful blue eyes turned their gaze upon him and he met the beast’s gaze unflinching.
“Yousa wake now den? Dis beez good.” Dug moved swiftly, circling the beast and prodding it with his fingers lightly. The monster growled softly, guttural and strange. The sound warbled hollowly as if pushed out from deep within the writhing innards of the creature. Dug ignored it, finishing his check-up before nodding in satisfaction.
“Yousa all healed now. Dem spores did deys job well.” Dug looked into the creature's eyes and summoned his powers, spores beginning to float from his hair and beard to form a connection between him, the beast, and his children. “Now den beastie. What do yousa want? Weesa can hide yousa ‘ere in my ‘ome. Yousa can leaves and make a ‘ome elsewheres. Up tah yousa.”
For a long time, the two stared at each other but the one who answered his question wasn’t The Hidden.
“It doesn’t want to leave,” Razum thought-spoke. Dug turned to the sporecap of his son even as he continued speaking. “It has been seeking safety for a long time, somewhere to grow and propagate. We are similar in that regard.”
Dug winced but his son spoke quickly, “I do not blame you father for my inability to propagate more of my kind. The gift of sapience far outweighs any such consideration. I…have found solace in our family.” The goblin felt his son’s metaphysical gaze fall on the The Hidden. “Besides, it is not as though I cannot have children, they will simply be different than I imagined. This creature may help me in that mission.”
Dug felt something then, a pressure exuding from his son. Something he had only felt from the Waag once or twice as it thrummed through him. Authority. The inherent right to change the world as you see fit. His son’s next words addressed the creature directly.
“Creature of darkness. Do you wish for safety? I can give it to you. Do you wish for a worthy host beyond what mere flesh can offer? I offer myself. Do you wish to grow, propagate, and spread? So do I. Hide or join me in the light. Choose.”