There was a moment of silence as his daughter processed his question.
“Well…” his daughter said, drawing out the word. “I suppose I don’t have any plans for traps in this room. Maybe you could teach me how to make magical traps now like we talked about before?”
Dug immediately nodded. He had forgotten about that conversation in all the hullabaloo of discovering the two small races that made their home in these mountains. After that he had gone through the process of raising Razum to sapience and the ensuing days since had pushed the promise from his mind. He was more than ready to do so now.
“Dis beez a ting I can do. Yousa already haves dah most ‘portent part already dones.”
“I do?” Obu asked.
“Yes yes. Yousa ‘ave summoned dah Waag. Notta powerful, notta yet, but et beez dah firstest ting needed.” Dug drew on his power and a finger length of green flame sprung to life in front of him. He waited and at a little mental prompting, Obu summoned her own flame, causing it to hover parallel to his own. He opened his mind to his daughter for the next few moments, showing the basics of communing with the flame.
Many of his kin made a show of controlling the Waag, manipulating it into feats of prowess and showboating. That was the reason they never went further. One of the Waag’s major aspects was Freedom and Freedom refused to be chained. A goblin Shamaan had to listen to the Waag, had to divine how the flame wished to move, and then move with it. In the process, they could take the lead at times, and in others, they let the flame lead. It was a sacred dance and only by partnering could you really appreciate it.
So, he began showing Obu the first steps of the dance. One of the reasons her first attempt at summoning the Waag was so weak was because she had forced her will upon the flame. He could feel her chagrin through their bond but let her push through it on her own. He could only set his children on the path, not lead them the whole way. If he did that then the triumph would be his, not theirs.
Once the first steps had been shown, he let himself dive into the flame, letting Obu watch through their bond. He slipped into the fire’s embrace easily, his mind dancing even as his mouth muttered words of power. They were requests, hints to the Waag about where he wanted to lead, and suggestions on how its power would best be spent. He went slow, intent on offering his daughter a glimpse into how the dynamic worked.
The Waag didn’t disappoint. It probed the suggestions, filled the words of power, and ultimately agreed to his leading. Aether flowed out of his body, eyes flaring with green flame as sigils scorched themselves onto one of the four main pillars that extended upwards to meet the ceiling. The sigils glowed for a moment more before the light faded to a dimness that made it hard to perceive in the general light of the cavern.
Dug leaned in studying the work before nodding, satisfied. He turned to Obu and waited for her to ask him any questions she might have. Instead, he watched gobsmacked as runes of fire were carved into the floor at the center of the cavern. He had heard no words of power nor felt the flame dance in tune with another. It was only after the runes activated with a flash of green flame that he felt the aftereffects of the dance his daughter must have shared.
Truly his daughter was uniquely gifted in the ways and touch of Aether. To have the Waag respond so quickly and easily while retaining the privacy of the dance was something even he aspired to do better at. Indeed, with the aftereffects of the dance so present in his mind because of their bond, he had learned some nuance not yet known to him. He stomped his feet and cackled loudly in the goblin manner of applause.
Obu’s crystal flushed a deeper color and her voice broke through his celebration. “I guess I did a good job?” Dug guffawed at the question before turning to survey the runic carving. Despite the quality of the dance, the carving itself was substandard but the power present was leagues beyond what it should have been.
“Dis beez good work. Much beddah den dah torchies.” He pointed to various parts of the carving to make his next point. “Yousa still ‘ave much tah learn doh, ‘specially bout runeys an’ ‘ow tah carve em. Dese spots ‘ere beez too deep,” He said pointing to a particular spot, “and dis one beez too shallow.”
He continued to point out discrepancies, patiently teaching his daughter how to better form runes so the Waag would be held better. By the time they were finished, the cavern was filled with the ringing sounds of pickaxes on stone. It seemed that the Gitboss Foreman was putting his minions to use despite the fact that there wasn’t anything to mine. Dug shrugged. If he had to guess, it probably had something to do with ingrained instincts from the system.
“Isa leave it tah youz den. Practice beez all yousa need now.”
“Are you sure?” His daughter asked, a hint of uneasiness in her tone.
“Yes I beez. Yousa will do fine. Iffa I do it for youz den youz will notta learn for yourselffy.” With that he patted the gemstone that technically contained her soul and began stumbling away. “Iffa someting goes wrong jus’ hollah.”
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POV Obu
Obu watched her father stump away with equal measures of fond amusement and anxiety. Her father’s perspective on life was decidedly laid back. While he cared immensely for her and her brother it was the goblin way to let children find their own way. Personal achievements were terribly important and they could not be given by others. They were the way through which goblins found their place in society. Goblin society was a meritocracy and those with the greatest achievements helped lead the tribe.
Her memories were foggy the further back she went. Those first few years in the goblin caves of Dug’s apprenticeship were the foggiest but she remembered the basics of how the mines were run. There was a boss whose achievements in battle and mining both were great enough to elevate him in the minds of the goblins around him. The Shamaan Dug had apprenticed under likewise had his own achievements solving disputes and putting spiritual matters to rest, enough that he was given a voice in the larger tribe.
That was the way of it. The more skilled and accomplished you were the more weight your voice held. It made sense, then, for her father to teach them in the goblin way. He gave direction and then let them make their own way so that the achievement would be their own. So, despite her misgivings she got to work filling one of her trap slots with a magical effect as the Waag allowed.
She could feel the dance that her father had spoken of. The Waag was almost alive in a way. It was still formed out of Aether but there was a history and presence that was introduced that shifted the feel of the magic entirely. It felt similar to her memories. Like a deep river of emotion and memory, Waag contained every practitioner that had ever partnered with it stretching back to the first Shamaan.
At the same time, it was just another affinity of Aether itself. Deep and immovable at times, malleable at others. The dance was learning when to push and when to let go. To Obu it was simple to feel the nuance as in tune with Aether as she was. Finding suitable vessels for the Waag was the difficult part.
She called and the Waag answered, coursing through her as she put a leading foot out. She wanted a runic formation on one of the fake mining carts that would release a gout of flame if someone came too close. The Waag refused to take the shape. Obu felt the resistance as a guttering of the flame within and she went back and forth until she figured out why. Simply put, the Waag wanted a more interesting function.
Obu shifted to fiery chains that would bind an individual until they either escaped or died and the Waag flatly refused. She shifted to a fiery whip that would distract and chase people around and the Waag seemed…amused. Eventually, they settled on a whimsical rat made of fire that would be summoned and connected to a leash of flame. The rat would then chase around and distract whoever had triggered the trap until it was dispelled or ran out of magic.
She then added two other more mundane cavern traps to complete the requirements for the room. Obu confirmed the room as completed and the System blared at her.
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have completed the Quest [Building Plans] as shown below!
* You have completed the Quest [Preparing the Floor] as shown below!
[Building Plans]
Type: Chain, Repeatable
Step 1: Build a new Room [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 2: Furnish your Room [Completed +100 Xp]
Step 3 (Hidden): Give your Room a Theme [Completed - Reward (Adjusted Boss Framework)]
Description: Furnish your room with the following to complete it:
* Boss Spawner 1 / 1
* Monster Spawner 2 / 2
* Traps 2 / 2 + 1 Arcane Trap
[Preparing the Floor]
Type: Chain, Repeatable
Step 1: Choose an Environment for your Floor [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 2: Choose a Monster Type for your Floor [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 3: Choose a Trap Type for your Floor [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Step 4: Complete the Floor [Completed - Reward +100 Xp]
Congratulations Dungeon Core!
* You have enough Xp to ascend to Level 13!
* For completing Quests you have been rewarded 700 Xp!
* 100 Xp from the Completion of [Building Plans]
* 600 Xp from the Completion of [Preparing the Floor]
* You have enough Xp to ascend to Level 14!
Obu cheered as she read the System notifications. She had done it! She had finally finished her First Floor. Not only that but with the additional levels she had gained she would even be able to begin building her Second Floor once she assigned her attributes. As she had that thought, however, she paused and hummed to herself in consideration. Perhaps it would be better to wait until she reached Rank E. That way her Dungeon could proceed in a measured manner. It would mean that she would need much more Experience to fuel further levels but that wasn’t a huge issue.
There was also the fact that she wanted to reach further Ranks in order to receive new features from her Cornerstone. Once she reached Rank F(4) she would get more and perhaps have further options for the next Floor. For that to happen she would need Delvers to run her Dungeon and her newly finished First Floor. It would also help her iron out any kinks remaining as she wasn’t naive enough to believe she had done everything right the first time.
Still, she could dream and plan until others arrived. Perhaps Razum would be finished with his training soon and would be willing to brave her Dungeon again. Obu settled herself and sent her senses spiraling throughout her finished caverns. Plans upon plans for the future Floor spun through her mind as she contemplated what would come next.