They all have a nice night camping, and I have a nice night roughing out where to put my ant enclave, and how to get started on the forest of four seasons. The ant enclave is easier to actually prepare for, and I even get some tunnelbores working to dig out an area near the exit from the labyrinth to the volcanic region outside. I’m pretty confident they’ll have both the desire to explore out there, and the ability to handle the temperatures involved, too.

My notes for the forest are a lot messier, and I don’t bother much with cleaning them up, at least not yet. I can already tell I’m going to need to upgrade my spawners to populate it properly, and depending on what I get with the expansion(s) required for the land, I might need to take up the Southwood’s offer of a denizen or two. I can already think of uses for his foxes and bears.

I’m looking forward to getting into the weeds of proper planning for the forest, but I want to get that quest finished first, so I’ll have an idea of what I’ll have to work with. Not only will I get a bunch of mana, but I’m also curious what the fast tracking will give me. I know the Southwood has more options than I do, so I can’t wait to get a chance to browse them for myself!

Even just the rough outline takes the night, so I focus back on the group as they resume their journey. Teemo opts to hitch a ride on the Stag for this leg of the trip, letting Mr Kennith and Aranya chat about their respective faiths as they walk.

“So, even before apotheosis, he’s been a catalyst for change?”

Aranya nods. “He very rarely does what people expect, though it’s hardly out of spite. He likes to approach problems from different angles, and is very good at predicting possible complications. I think the Scythemaw migration was a good example of that.”

“Scythemaws?”

Aranya nods. “That’s what Lord Thedeim calls them. Tunnel horror is the more common name.”

Kennith jerks to attention at that name for them. “Ah, horrors! I’ve only ever heard tales of them from the dwarves. You say there was a migration?”

Aranya nods. “Right through Lord Thedeim’s cavern layer, his spiderkin enclave, and his protege.”

The gnome winces at that. “I imagine that was an unpleasant mess and a brutal fight.”

My High Priestess shakes her head and snickers. “That’s what most were expecting, but Lord Thedeim had a different plan. From what I’ve heard from Yvonne and other rangers, His hesitancy to simply fight them was wise, and not simply because they are difficult to combat. They are an apex predator, so culling them from the area could have had countless unknowable ramifications on the underswamps and aquifer lake habitats.”

Kennith looks conflicted at that. “I understand that, but what about the impact on his dwellers, his protege, and his own territory?”

“It wasn’t as severe as you might expect. The spiderkin were able to move off the floor of the caverns with little difficulty, and could largely continue their lives above the scythemaws. They count as delvers, not invaders, so Lord Thedeim was able to send ordinary encounters at them to continue getting mana for that section, and with a door erected outside her cavern, even Lord Thedeim’s protege was kept safe. She even got quite a boon of mana later, after they had left and she expanded outside. The scythemaws laid their eggs, and she got a significant sum of mana from it.”

Kennith looks impressed. “So rather than a chaotic and costly fight against the horrors, he was able to take advantage in his own way, with minimal disturbance to the balance of nature.”

Aranya beams, and if I could, I’d be sporting a bashful blush. It really did go smoothly, way more smooth than it had any right to, especially considering how worried about it I was at the time.

“Is he interested in joining any pantheons?” Kennith asks, and my High Priestess politely shakes her head.

“He isn’t against cooperating, but He prefers to minimize His dealings with other deities. I believe he’d like to secure his position before considering expanding it. His dungeon territory works similarly, with Him taking his time to carefully craft and utilize each section before moving on to another.”

Kennith nods at that. “Understandable. The pantheons have been stable for quite some time now, but legends say that hasn’t always been the case. A new deity is probably wise to come more into their own before trying to deal with divine politics.”

Teemo retches all the way over from the Stag’s head at that, earning a laugh from Aranya, and a confused look from Kennith. “And I thought the Boss’ idea of waste processing was disgusting! I can’t imagine anything he’d want to stay further from than divine politics!”

My High Priestess nods. “I think He likes to stay away from those topics because He knows how chaotic changing them can be. Now that change is officially part of His portfolio, the potential for chaos only increases.”

It’s Kennith’s turn to look uncomfortable at that, and he quickly nods. “Yes, I see. There is wisdom in staying out of things that one knows could lead to disaster.”

Aranya titters and nods. “Though I think he’s doing a remarkable job of keeping Silvervein stable, even if the Shield is helping.”

“What happened in Silvervein? An adventurer mentioned a Maw and a large battle, but was sparse on details.”

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Aranya sighs and takes a few moments to gather her thoughts. “I escaped the Maw and eventually found my way to Lord Thedeim many months ago now. Near the end of Fall, the Southwood asked Lord Thediem for help with strange invaders, and He investigated, eventually discovering the hostile dungeon was the one I hailed from. He allied with the Southwood and fought the Harbinger back, then fought the Maw itself. He knew about Silvervein, a town of emancipated dwellers from the Maw, and took steps to minimize the damage to the town and its people, with the help of a group from the Crystal Shield. In the fight, the Harbinger consumed the Maw, and Teemo was able to trap it afterward.”

Kennith frowns in thought. “What is the Harbinger? And the strange invaders? I’ve not dealt with dungeons much, though I’m familiar with the required contracts involving them.”

Teemo speaks up from the Stag’s head. “The Harbinger and the invaders are definitely what Order wants to get a better look at. The invader’s type is… weirdly wrong. The Boss calls it a corruption or an error, but there’s connotations I don’t know how to explain. The Harbinger has a title with similar weirdness.”

Kennith looks concerned. “Would I be able to negotiate for information on those as well? If there is more to concern Lord Order than just the Harbinger, I would like to bring it to Him.”

Teemo shrugs. “I don’t see why not. Honey would be happy to share her notes, and I’m sure there’s a lot of bits and pieces of the invaders around.”

Yeah, we got a couple diced up lessers and a few whole leasts from the group of scouts. They apparently have a really high level field dresser. I don’t know how a whole corpse counts as being dressed, but they haven’t dissolved into background mana yet.

“Yeah, we can share, and the Boss is happy to. He thinks there’s more to all this than we know, and if anyone can figure out why it’s causing system weirdness, it’ll be Order.”

Kennith looks relieved and nods as they round the last bend in the shortcut, and are soon deposited back into normal space, not far from the milkworm fields. “That would be appreciated, thank you. Are we now in Silvervein? Can we go to where this Harbinger is being held?”

Teemo nods before focusing on the Stag. “You wanna come with us to see it, Stag? Or do you want to wander around a bit, first?”

His ears flick as he listens for Southwood’s answer. “My Lord would have a look at the Harbinger, if possible.”

“I would also like to go,” speaks up Aranya. “As Lord Thedeim’s High Priestess, I should offer my help in negotiations, if He would have it?”

Teemo snorts. “Yeah, he’d like your help. Sounds like we’re all going, then. We’ll take the normal way, it’s not far. The main tunnel is that way, and we can take it all the way to the Harbinger.”

They make their way to the main tunnel, drawing some looks, and sometimes being ignored as the people focus on restoring their disrupted lives. A lot more looks are hopeful instead of fearful, so I can’t help but be happy with how everything has gone so far. As they near the Maw’s temple, a wolfkin paladin approaches, and Teemo waves at him.

“Hey Unsil! The Boss is thrilled with how your guys have been keeping the peace around here.”

The grizzled wolfkin raises his shield in salute before smiling. “I think he can take at least a little of the credit with that spell of his. This whole situation could have been a catastrophe, but it went better than it had any right to.” His smile slips a little when he notices the gnome, and he looks a bit uneasy as he continues.

“So… you’re all going to the Harbinger, then?”

Teemo nods. “Yeah. Is something wrong?”

Unsil shakes his head. “Not wrong, but… may I come with you?”

Teemo gives him a confused look. “I mean, the Boss isn’t opposed, but it’s a dangerous thing to get close to for idle curiosity.”

“I know… but it’s not idle curiosity. The Shield itself appeared to me in a dream and wants me to get whatever information I can.”

Kennith gives him a suspicious look. “Is the Crystal Shield wishing to dispute Lord Order’s claim on the Harbinger?”

Unsil quickly shakes his head again. “No! It doesn’t want to interfere, It just wants a better idea what we’re dealing with. It can’t protect people if It doesn’t know what to protect them from.”

Kennith still looks suspicious. “So long as you don’t intend to interfere, I don’t object.”

“Cool. You might want his help too, Kennith. If you want to get a look at the Harbinger, it’s going to try to hit you with a mental attack. Having a paladin keep your mind safe is probably a good idea.”

The gnome looks even less happy about that, but relents as everyone gets moving again. “I haven’t had much opportunity to test my mental defenses. I can comprehend a lot, but there’s no point in taking risks just for my pride.”

There’s not much other conversation as Teemo guides them to the Maw’s former Sanctuary, or rather to the corridor just outside it. Once they get close, Kennith starts looking all around like a tourist. Teemo’s feeling of satisfaction makes it pretty clear why he’s rubbernecking, even before the gnome opens his mouth.

“Fascinating! You’ve folded a three-dimensional space down to two, before twisting it onto itself to form a subspace!”

Teemo smiles wide. “I sure did!”

“How?!”

“It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. The Boss has some math for it, but it’s the kind of stuff to test your mental defenses, heh. I do more by feel than by math.”

“Remarkable…” absently mumbles Kennith as he peers at the Mobius Trap. With normal vision, it looks like he’s just staring at the hall, but with Teemo’s spacial sense, I can feel the twisting that is the Harbinger’s prison.

“Ready to take a look at the thing inside?” Teemo asks, pulling Kennith from his inspection.

“Oh! Uh, yes, if the kind paladin is ready to keep my mind from being shattered?”

Unsil nods. “Crystal Shield, please offer your bulwark to this gnome to keep him safe in this task.”

“Probably be quick as you can taking a peek, Kennith,” warns Teemo. “It has the mana of a whole huge dungeon behind it, so you don’t want to give it a chance to do anything too strong.”

Kennith nods and stands straight, and I can feel him carefully bringing his affinity to bear on the Harbinger’s prison. He pierces a pinprick hole into it to see, before slamming it shut. He and Unsil both stagger back, with the gnome sporting a fresh nosebleed and the paladin looking like he got his bell rung good.

“Queen’s Balm,” chants Aranya, and I give her a sliver of power to enhance the effect as orange mist settles on their heads. The two afflicted sigh in relief as they straighten, and Kennith quickly puts on his business face.

“Thank you for your help, Shield and Thedeim. That… that thing is absolutely what Lord Order is after, and I can only guess the danger it truly poses. Please give me a few minutes to recover, then I shall write a contract to seal its fate.”