I now had a problem on my metaphorical hands, that the literal hands of my dungeon were scrounging for a fix, even if a temporary one. For the moment I had my core moved to the eastern chapel, most of my spiders moved to that room, and Laginn hanging onto my core. Not ideal, but it seemed the delvers understood.

At least when Keystone caught up to the panicked Rogue talking about how Bonehead had him lifted off the ground in a choke hold til he coughed up a gem he'd found.

"Lad," Keystone laughed as he took the man's report. "You'd found the Dungeon's core. Had you managed to make off with it. Well." His amusement faded, "We've never seen a core leave its dungeon and the dungeon survive. Given the creatures Lonely Hill keeps, that skeleton could have killed you had the dungeon wanted it to." There was a pause as he checked the written report, "So, Dill. I'm going to suggest you stay scarce for a few days. Maybe visit the new dungeon that's opened up. Considering what could have happened, I don't think Lonely Hill will hold a grudge, but some time for it to calm down and relocate the core would be good."

The elfin rogue grunted, rubbing his neck for effect. "So, you don't think it's murderous considering what it did to me?"

Bonehead walked downstairs from the crypt/chapel and paused, seeing the elf before walking up to Keystone. There was a head-tilt as he handed over a scrap of paper.

Keystone looked from the paper, to Bonehead, then back. On seeing Bonehead's slumped posture. "I dunna see any problem wi'it. Other cooperative dungeons have posted quests, but... a quest to another dungeon?"

He stroked his beard before handing the paper to Dill. "Alright you want to make sure you stay on Lonely Hill's good side? Do that. "

Dill looked from paper, to Bonehead, to paper. "You want me to.... kill five slimes from the new dungeon?" His eyes narrowed. "Do it yourself I'm not your step and fetchet."

Bonehead took the paper from Dill's hand, shrugged, and walked off. I wasn't wanting to be vindictive. The man made a mistake. Now, if he starts harassing people? I did a quick survey and realized I could bury him in spiders if I felt like it.

Man. I really needed to work on critter variety.

Attention briefly flicked to one the fungal growths I'd put in the western chapel. Wait.... was, it moving? I watched, fascinated because yep, it was moving. Slowly, but this was interesting. Was this a monster? A resource? It rooted itself to the side of one of the pews, spreading out til it looked almost like an off colored moss, but it couldn't hide from me.

Don't worry little one. You're safe here. So long as you don't play too rough with the guests everything's cool.

Now I really wanted someone to take that quest. I wanted to see if those putties good neighbor had were fungal based or were based off rendered animal fats. They were alchemical creations after all. A quick glance at my new resident showed that it would give a contact debuff to anyone trying to harvest, but what they got were listed high tier reagent components. So, needed to be paired with something that would wait til Delvers got their harvest, and only attack when they were weakened. Seemed a bit underhanded, but part of the peril wasn't just getting the loot, but getting away with the loot.

I could hear Laginn snap his fingers to get my attention. Seemed the Hands had finished making their initial tunnel. Good. If this place was burried in a hill I may as well take advantage of that. For now my core was the size of a bird's egg, but nothing said it wouldn't keep growing, and even if it would take awhile. I wanted a heart chamber that would be large enough for creatures, traps, and a few other niceties if someone found the entry tunnel. Still. The tunnel was complete along with room enough for my core to be put inside.

Once my core was moved, I allowed delivers back into the eastern chapel, though I had barred the adjoining rooms, and just to keep everyone guessing, I barred the west chapel now. Come now little one. I coaxed the little fungoid creature into moving, which went well until it came into my entry chamber. Instead of going into the other chapel it went downstairs, and settled to a stop just at the throat to the arena I'd made for people to fight Bonehead.

...OK that is honestly kind of evil. Then again, a little bit of schmuck bait never hurt anyone, and considering not everyone played nice, it wasn't a bad idea to have visitors learn to not trust every little goodie they saw.

Jen accepted the quest! I managed to pull my awareness there right as her and Bonehead fist-bumped. She wasn't exactly a child, but she was still young. I hoped Good Neighbor would live up to the name I'd taken to calling it.

So my awareness spiraled out then down until I centered myself near to my ally's throne-staff. they were about to get visitors. Delvers come to collect bits from defeated putties.

WHY?

If you drive Delvers off, you get a lot of mana. If Delvers complete quests in you, they get mana and you get mana. I figure it is better to introduce them to you than for me to just trade directly. That way you get experience, and hopefully they tell their friends you're a nice dungeon. Someone that won't give everything away, because that's boring, but if they lose they just get dumped at the door instead of hurt.

IS IT OK IF I TAKE SOMETHING FROM THEM IF THEY LOSE?

Generally yes, but I've been keeping it mostly to common items or things that they have more than one of. You're just starting out so it would be bad if you took their best things and they told everyone to steer clear.

I SEE. WOULD YOU MIND IF I MADE A QUEST OF MY OWN? I WANT TO SEE WHAT I COULD DO WITH HARVESTED SPIDER SILK AND BONE MEAL.

Oooh, good idea! Might also want to make a quest to gather fungus. I've got this new monster that's kind of like this moving patch of fungus. It's parked where Bonehead's arena area is so if they try harvesting before the fight they have to fight with a debuff active.

NEAT! ALSO. THAT THING YOU WANTED IS TAKING TIME. I'M STILL LEARNING, AND THE IMPS AREN'T VERY GOOD BLACKSMITHS YET.

Mentally I smiled. Don't worry about it. This is a long term project I gave so you'd have a reason to start trying to work on improving and learning. I need more loot, and it's easier to make better loot if I'm starting with Something rather than straight from Mana. Once you get to the gear I want I can start cycling my troops out to collect.

IT'S BEEN GOOD WORKING WITH YOU SO FAR. BY THE WAY THERE'S AT LEAST ONE OTHER DUNGEON ON THIS SIDE OF THE FENCE. MY SLIMES HAVE HAD TO CHASE OFF THEIR BEATLES.

Wait Beatles? Seriously? I didn't realize that was an option starting out. Thanks for the tip. The Delver coming is an apprentice to one of my regulars. Be nice, but try making her work for it.

I left that meeting in good spirits. Using the Delvers as intermediaries basically incentivized everyone to get at least a little piece of the action, hopefully would encourage Delvers to explore a bit more, and if Good Neighbor can make its imps crank out socketed gear. Well. that would lead to me having something for not just my bone guard, but for their goblins since soul tears were part of the rewards pool I had access to.

Instead of withdrawing back to my dungeon, my attention was focused on Jen when she entered Good Neighbor. Her movements were slow and deliberate as she looked about in the dim light. Several of the half-walls got turned into full height walls. Good, don't give clear sight lines across the whole room.. She darted from wall to wall, watching patrol pasterns.

There was value in being conservative.There was also value in being decisive. Jen sprinted then. Vaulting over a half wall, and sprinted through the hallway, knife sinking into an imp that had spotted her before she ducked into a side room. She was breathing hard. The central hall was wide enough for two side by side, and there were rooms on either side of the hall. She happened to be in one of those that had full height walls.

At least I thought those were walls until one of them drooped, curling and trying to close around her.

That... was diabolical. Turn the creatures into part of the dungeon. Jen shrieked, slashing at the putty, scrambling to leave that room, only to see a pair of goblins, not the big guy just regular goons, approaching. She was scrambling on all fours when they approached, and to her credit she kicked one hard enough to cause its knee to fold and was on her feet at the same time the other had its short sword drawn.

I looked about. The Wall putty she'd slashed at was mostly dead, but a piece of it hung back. Waiting. How smart were thesethings?

"Sorry bug eye," Jen grabbed the wrist of the goblin's sword hand as her dagger sunk between its ribs. "Nothing personal."A look around after making sure it was dead before she moved on. Jen you're getting greedy. No shame in falling back, calling for backup. Come back in with a proper group.

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Instead she picked up the goblin's blade and went back into the room she'd been chased out of, hacking at the putty. Frowning when it fragmented. "Nope! NopenopenopeNOOOPE," Her mini-freakout as she continued slashing at the creature, "monsters should NOT be allowed to do this." The last of the putty's fragments went still as she collected her loot. "Nuugh, why'd I only get one piece from all that?"

The noise brought more imps. "One of you guys wouldn't happen to have a health potion would you?" Jen sounded on the verge of a breakdown as she attacked the nearest imp.

She was on her third imp when a putty wrapped around her ankles, holding her in place. As the imps carried her to the exit one of them grabbed the putty fragment she'd gotten.

NO. THAT IS PART OF THE QUEST SHE TOOK. IT WOULD BE UNFAIR IF IT GOT TAKEN FROM HER.

Consider my non-existent heart warmed. I was going to ask that they not do that and here we are. Way to go my guy. Take the goblin's sword back, or some coin. I love that trick with using the putty as false architecture.

I love that trick with using the putty as false architecture.

������

Jen was found by Keystone at the entrance to Good Neighbor. The old dwarf looked at the teenage rogue as she stirred. "Well lass, ye learn anythin?"

"Yea," The young rogue leaned against the door to Good Neighbor's crypt. "If it were playing for keeps, I'd be compost by now."

Keystone handed her a health potion, "Dun beat yerself up ov'r it. Lonely Hill has fairly strong minions, an y've been able t'go toe to toe wi'Bonehead pretty consistently. Did y'get anythin?"

A blink as Jen searched herself, frowning at the lost coinage before palming her prize, "Yea actually. Pretty sure it left the quest items alone. So..." She trailed off, filling the silence by uncorking the offered potion and upending it.

As those two talked my awareness moved to the staff Good Neighbor's core was embedded in. I was honestly proud of that trick with the putties making false architecture. That was genuinely inspired. I might want to pull something like that in the future considering how close I got to having an adventurer just randomly mistaken me for loot.

Confusion from Good Neighbor. Then I explained, pulling up the feel of my essence being leeched at the Delver's touch. Then said delver's less than gracious response to the olive branch of a quest offered.

SO PERHAPS THE STAFF IS LESS THAN IDEAL AS A THRONE.

Maybe make it more a piece of architecture than make it appear to be a piece of loot? Then again? If either of us could figure out how to make glass, with your alchemical setup decoys could be made, or at the very least I imagine that staff properly enchanted and infused, would make one hell of a find for a proper boss fight. Would need to be very sparing with that kind of gear though, don't want people thinking they can just chainsaw through you with no effort.

AGREED. GIVEN THE EFFORT YOU DESCRIBE, I WOULD WANT ONLY SOMEONE WORTHY TO WALK AWAY WITH SUCH ITEMS. ALSO. WHAT IS A CHAINSAW?

It's ... Give me a moment. I keep having these fragments of memory without context. Like there was a 'Before' to my being here.

I KNOW NOTHING BUT THIS PLACE. I KNOW THINGS. BUT IT IS AN ALMOST INSTINCTIVE KNOWLEDGE. I AM SORRY.

Nah, it'll either sort itself out or it won't. I just wanted you to know that presenting your core like that isn't an entirely smart move, but I do have to compliment you on the execution. Anyway, many things to tend to. If you have an older dwarf roll in with a mace. That's the same guy that's been giving me evaluations. Apparently, Delvers have whole guilds dedicated to exploring Dungeons to see if they're safe for others to wander in casually if they need to be treated as hostile but not dangerous, or what. Probably would decide to starve one if it got murder-happy. He's fairly experienced, so don't feel bad piling on, but don't get too nasty.

SO NOTED. IN ADDITION TO THE QUEST I WILL POST, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU SEND ONE OF YOUR LESSER SKELETONS LATER FOR FITTING SO MY GOBLINS HAVE SOMEONE TO TRAIN AGAINST.

I found this arrangement agreeable as I withdrew my attention. Good Neighbor was living up to its given name and working with it felt like I was making the right call. Granted I COULD conquer everything here and even tell myself it was for the sake of being strong enough to oppose Kronos, but I'd rather there be others as a second layer between Kronos and anything else if I fall.

Happier thoughts now. Kronos wasn't something that could feasibly be dealt with, so focus on what could be. For me, that meant go see if I could find the new neighbor by sending spiders out. Mostly I sent tarantulas, but each group of tarantula had a weaver with them to trail silk back to my territory. Even the groups that didn't find the new neighbor could help weave a net for me to get more accurate tracking on anything coming and going.

I could have just sent skeletons to where Good Neighbor told me, but I wanted to explore. Was there a third dungeon? Did Kronos somehow have another surface exit I didn't know of?

Granted I did send a few skeletons but they knew they were in no real rush.

In the meantime, I re-focused on Laginn's reshaping the tunnel to my core. People could get in if they crawled, which would severely limit options. I would need to be creative there in time, but for now, I had to focus on the doorway.

Thinking... ...Thinking...

Hrm. I had an idea, but I haven't the resources or mana to make a trade with Good Neighbor. Not yet. So for now I had to rely on the tried, true, and overused trick of shoving a bookshelf in front of it. Far from ideal, but it could be moved for when resources are built up to line the crawlspace with traps, spiders, and other ways to make it clear to everyone that no, you do not go in there. Ever.

That was going to let me open the east chapel back up. A few more coins scattered about, a flawed soul tear added to the loot Delvers could get. The spell on display was actually not the same one from before. It was still invoking Gaia, but it was a more powerful magic that now included fighters and rogues on the list of classes that could get something out of it.

I needed new creatures.

QUEST COMPLETE

Wait. What? My awareness flicked and of course, Keystone would have gotten the five putty bits. Had hoped he'd leave it off for either Jjaro, Arin, or someone else but done is done. The added mana gave me an idea.

This was a graveyard. This was a chapel. Did I have access to Spirits?

I could see the milky outline of a vaguely humanoid-shaped thing floating in the room, but on doing what passed for squinting showed that was a 'for my convenience' effect and it should be near invisible to Delvers. Also, it didn't have a traditional spawner. If I read this right, It would respawn in the room it was assigned to, but I would have to actively buy more, and I was limited to twice the number of crypts I directly controlled.

Alright, Nyx. You and two of the hands are to be the encounter for the spell book here. No, it's not OK if you kill Delvers and suck out their life energy that's a big no-no. Oops... dang it. I need a lefty here. I've got a cool idea. There we are. Alright Nyx, these two are in your group. They're support, and if you can, I want you to wield them- Yea like that.

I would have grinned were it possible as Nyx took both hands, making it seem as if they were its own.

Which gave me an amazing idea. After Laginn and a few other hands came over with what I'd asked, Nyx got a cloak wrapped around its non-existent frame, leaving a hood drawn up with two smoldering yellow eyes, bleached white hands holding an iron-tipped staff. The staff's topper would have to wait, but for now, it was good enough. For effect I made Nyx wear a pair of boots.

OK, that is amazing. Tattered red robes, an eternally shadowed face with soft glowing eyes, and a wizard's staff.

The best part was as soon as the first phase of the fight ends, the robes could vanish and the hands become independent attackers. I love this idea to death and after the delvers are done downstairs I'm gonna need Nyx here to train with Bonehead. Of course, I'll want a second one for the other chapel, but that's going to have to wait.

Mental note. Delvers can hear me laughing. I think I caused a few newbies to scatter, and the regulars are acting creeped out. Can't blame them really.

Slowly Finnal peeked his head through the chapel's entryway. "Huh, new boss encounter. This must've been the big surprise that was being worked on." Oh, that is such a great point. Only Dill and Keystone knew my Core had been found. So everyone else was probably confused about why the chapel was barred.

Now I'm going to have to keep the other one closed til I have a chance to summon Erebus as a match for Nyx here. Plus loot that'll be worth the encounter.

As Final explored the chapel Nyx watched for a moment, and tapped her staff against the floor before moving to leaf through the spell book at the pulpit. Every now and again she would look to see what Finnal was doing before going back to her book. Only when Finnal approached the pulpit would the book close and Nyx straighten. Her staff would rap loudly against the stone, the Metal on stone noise reverberating and echoing unnaturally as she walked towards the middle of the room before pointing to the door, giving Finnal one last opportunity to leave.

The Halfling-Rogue grinned and saluted with his blade before vanishing. No, not quite. I could tell what he did, which was to wrap shadows around himself. Yet I couldn't see him.

Nyx mimed laughter before jabbing the shadows nearest her with the end of her staff, causing Finnal to roll away. He frowned, "Oh... Kay, you have True Sight. This is gonna be annoying."

As he rushed her she cast a spell that slowed Finnal's movements. Which he countered with a potion that- No it didn't cleanse the debuff. Instead, it sped him up even more. His blade met her staff. "I've fought casters before."

They disengaged, and she tried casting something. A series of dark spikes lashed out from nearby shadows. Finnal danced aside, pulling a round canister. A potion? No, wait. A string was pulled and it started to smolder.

Wait, they've got grenades here?!

Nyx's staff rose to strike it from the air when Finnal lobbed it at her. Except on contact, it exploded in a flash of light, leaving Nyx dazed. The stun wasn't long-lasting, but it left my specter open for a series of attacks of opportunity.

Well done. Now, what about phase two?

The robes dropped along with the staff. Finnal started towards the book and was stopped as the pair of Hands grabbed his ankles. "Wha-?" A moment of panic, and then he saw Nyx as a heat shimmer. "Clever!" A barked laugh as he twisted, spinning like a dancer until the Hands were forced to let go. A second dagger now held as he kicked the first one, then the other hand away, to leave him and the specter to fight alone.

And yet, the Hands had bought Nyx time to cast an ice spell, freezing over the dagger in his right hand. Finnal lept into the air, and the dagger in his left hand flew, striking the space Nyx's spectral body occupied. She tried to move and found herself rooted in place, leaving her unable to dodge the rogue's iced-over dagger that then got plunged between her glowing eyes.

Finnal tilted his head this way and then that before picking the robes up and paused when he saw what fell out. "You've got to be kidding me." The Soul Tear Laginn had taken from him was now his again. Except the quality had been improved. Maybe from being in my care? Hard to say.

Still, that was something not random. I'd wanted him to end up getting the thing back but hadn't found a good opportunity.

NEW DUNGEON FOUND

Huh. My awareness spun, and twisted, then was beside one of my skeletons standing in front of a crypt much like the one leading to Good Neighbor. The one addition to this was a putty from Good Neighbor laying perfectly still at the crypt opening. Again, intelligent use of available minions. I love that. Leave it still and non-reactive and nobody would have reason to suspect someone is monitoring everything coming in and out.

Two questions were now immediate and on my mind: How did Good Neighbor get information from this watch-slime? How do I talk to it so I can get information on how to best proceed?