~~Magenta~~

While Cyan is seemingly distracted by the Guide talking to him about something, I have more pressing matters to deal with. One matter, really, but it is quite important.

Her name is Six Whiskers and she is extremely pregnant. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem if not for the fact that mice generally aren’t fond of giving birth in the open.

I lead Six Whiskers to the Core Room and behold the mouse-sized hole in the wall that leads to the Base. “This is your Base. It’s probably not much to sneeze at, but hopefully it’s enough to be comfortable. If I had paper scraps or leaves I’d happily give you some to nest in but we’re woefully short on materials at the moment.”

Thank you for giving me a home and a place to have my pups. I’m sure whatever there is, I can make use of it. Six Whiskers wiggles her nose in my direction, whiskers twitching. If you don’t mind… I'd like to be left alone for a while, I'm about to give birth and I don't want an audience.

“Of course! Take all the time you need. We’ll be.. Out here. Probably working on building up a proper floor plan.”

We don’t really have the Mana to build anything right away. Infusing Six Whiskers took up a pretty big portion of what we’d saved up so far. Planning is free, though, so we can do as much of it as we’d like to. As Six Whiskers disappears into the mouse hole, Cyan steps up behind me. He briefly explains what the Guide informed him of, detailing the more nuanced differences between Critters, Monsters, and Resources.

I turn, opening up the Map and staring at it for a moment. “I had a thought. We should start thinking about the layout of this Level.”

“Yeah, the guide warned me about invading forces. When I think those words, I get a horrible knot in the pit of my stomach,” he glances over to the core, which glows quietly in the darkness of the cave.

His words trigger a realisation in me. I notice the tension, anxiety, and an extreme urge to protect the Core. Even the smallest thought of something hostile touching it fills me with dread. I cannot help but be frozen in my tracks, transfixed by this fear for a brief moment.

Cyan snaps his fingers and pulls me out of the moment of overwhelming dread. “So, we need to make a plan. We kinda drained our reserves a bit turning Six into a monster, but the moment we have a little more saved up, it’s building time.”

I nod thoughtfully, using a little mana to shape some of the dirt into a smooth surface I can scratch a drawing into. It’s not as good as a pen and paper but this is all I have to work with right now. Cyan crouches beside me, looking like he is contemplating just as hard as I am.

“We have two basic options. Either a linear path or a branching one. The linear path is one upon which we focus all our energy on one path, filled with dangers and challenges. A single line of defense. The branching path is one which has many directions to travel. Some might lead to the Core, others to dead ends with possible treasures. Invaders would have to choose one path or split up and divide their forces. Either path could include maze-like elements. The benefits of a maze are, in my opinion, self-evident.”

“Maze is great for first-time visitors, would prolly confuse invaders too, but it wouldn’t pose much challenge for a fourth or fortieth round through.”

“The maze could have a shifting layout. Passages might change once a day?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. Hmm, and what if there were, like… challenges? Puzzles and stuff. You get through part of the maze and that brings you to a room where you have to cross a rickety bridge, or match up symbols, or something like that?”

“It could work.” I begin to scratch out a rough idea in the dirt, but even with the light of hte core to illuminate the floor, it is difficult to make out any detail.

Hey, if you want to draw and plan out levels, there’s a feature for that in your Map.

Armed with this new knowledge, we both open up our maps, and the Guide highlights a tiny pen icon in a corner. A tap on that expands the screen to a larger area and gives each of us a small stylus. “Convenient.”

“Makes sense, given the rest of the interface they gave us,” Cyan replies, and we begin to sketch out our ideas. “Kay, I have a couple of ideas in regards to possible challenges. It will depend on what kind of resources and critters we can get, but I’ve played a couple of skill challenge dungeons in my time and I think we could do something where there’s some kind of critter covering the floor or the walls and people have to get through without disturbing them. Failure means, maybe, a miniboss like G mentioned. I can imagine a couple of ideas. If it’s an insect, either they Megazord it or go giant. I dunno about other things, but I’m guessing for now it’s not likely we’ll be able to get anything other than small insects.”

I listen and nod while I sketch out a large area, placing eight rooms and making connections between them. I remember playing tabletop games with friends and the various challenges our DMs forced us to solve. “Here is what I’m thinking. The challengers have multiple paths and can choose which challenges to face. Firstly, two challenges like that, but with different animals. Following that, two physical challenges. A rock climb or tight-rope walk, perhaps. Two or three options for a puzzle challenge can follow that - something that challenges their minds. Finally, a test of skill, likely a Monster they have to fight or interact with in an interesting way. Once they make it out of the maze, we can give them a real fight, a proper Boss fight.”

“It’s a good plan. I think for D&D I’d get rid of the maze part, players hate that. But we don’t have players who need to keep track of an overhead map. We have adventurers. It’s great. Ooh! What if we add small rewards and mini-challenges at some of the dead ends to encourage more exploration? It’d keep them busy for longer and if what I feel about this is right, it’d give us more Mana since they’d be interacting with us more!”

“Clever. Another thing to note is that even if this doesn’t work out, we always have the ability to alter the layout however we would like to in the future. In other words, there is no reason to stress too much on the exact layout of the Level.”

“Awesome. Also, we should provide some kind of bypass system for friends or people who have defeated the first Level enough times.”

I give him a questioning look, confused by the idea. "Why would we give challengers an easy bypass to the challenges?”

“Imagine solving the same maze over and over again when you’re way too high a level for the challenge. That’s gotta get boring as heck. They’d just rush through, expending our resources and wasting time just to get to the second level. If we give them a bypass, they’d enjoy it more, and come back to adventure more.”

From what I’m feeling, I can tell he’s right. It’s just more cost effective. I nod my understanding, and we begin to consider and discuss the challenges. I already had the idea for a rock climb and a tight-rope walk, and without any better ideas, we stick with those for now. Cyan brings up the ‘jehovah’ tile walk puzzle from Indiana Jones as an idea and for a while, we brainstorm ways to make that work. Cyan is pretty sure an endless pit is beyond our reach right now, and I agree. Also, perhaps we don’t want to give an endless pit as a challenge for our first Level.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

In the end, we aren’t able to come up with all the ideas, because we are interrupted by something exciting happening.

I’m the first to notice it. A welling up of joy and life inside the Dungeon. Inside the Mouse Base. I turn my attention to the small den, finding that I am able to view the inside from a not-quite top-down perspective, like the view in a video game like the Sims.

I can feel Cyan’s presence joining me as he’s just as excited to meet our new… residents.

Six Whiskers notices our presence almost immediately, her eyes meeting ours. Despite being quite certain that mice aren’t capable of grinning, I can see the smile on her face, ear-to-ear as she looks from us to her three healthy pups. Speaking of the pups, they’ve got their fur already grown and are chasing each-other around the small den. I’m pretty sure that isn’t how newborn rodents work.

Ciao, Capos! What do you think of my pups?

“Well, they are a little… more grown than I was expecting, to be honest?”

Ah, of course! That’s because of you, Capo. Being born as part of a Dungeon makes them stronger and grow faster than they would otherwise. I would have had more pups outside, but here I have fewer, bigger pups. Very good, Capos. Very good.

“That’s awesome! But, uh, what’s with the ‘Capo’ this, ‘Capos’ that?” Cyan interjects.

It's… how do you say… boss? Yes. You're the bosses here. You take care of family, and family takes care of you.

It is at this moment that I notice a slight accent in Six Whiskers's voice. Little Italian mouse…? But if we're on another planet, how can there be Italian mice? I think about it for a moment, then I decide to file that question away for later. Or maybe not question it.

Another prompt shows up from the Map.

Base - Deer Mouse

Deer Mice are small but mighty little creatures. This Base is home to Six Whiskers, Unnamed Pup #1, Unnamed Pup #2, Unnamed Pup #3

Monsters require Names.

Cyan taps on it, but it doesn’t change. “Do… we have to do the naming?”

I look to Six Whiskers.

They are my pups but you are the Capos. Naming is your right.

That settled, I begin to consider.

“It feels wrong to name them before we know who they’re going to be,” Cyan comments sadly, a forlorn expression on his face. I don’t understand the emotion behind it, but I think it has something to do with his comment about names earlier.

“Babies are named before we know who they’re going to be. Sometimes they’re named before they’re even conceived.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I watch the pups. They’re bigger now, about half the size Six Whiskers is. I can tell instinctively that one of them is a girl and the other two are boys. One boy is larger than his siblings and is rushing at the sister, trying to play-fight. She dodges nimbly, avoiding his play-attacks. The third pup is holding a tiny piece of dirt, examining it with curiosity. “I think I have enough of a read on their personalities,” I point out their behaviour to Cyan, who agrees with a small, amused nod.

“Kasimir,” Cyan gestures to the quiet pup, and I nod. It feels like a quiet name.

“Bruce,” I suggest for the more aggressive pup. Cyan silently agrees.

“How about Spring? Since she’s so jumpy?”

I agree, and we can feel the change happening.

Base - Deer Mouse

Deer Mice are small but mighty little creatures. This Base is home to Six Whiskers, Spring, Bruce, Kasimir.

“Now that your pups are born, I guess we need roles for all of you? Not much point having a Monster who hides away and does nothing…”

“I agree. I have ideas for what they might do, but I think we shouldn’t just give them roles without making sure they’re happy with our ideas.”

Happy! Spring exclaims, running out of the den. She’s nearly reached her mother’s size now, and Bruce, who runs after her, is definitely as big as Six already.

Kasimir is quieter than the two rambunctious pups and looks up at us with curiosity in his expression. Capos. I thank you for allowing me and my siblings the opportunity to serve you in a greater capacity. We will protect you with our lives, as many lives as are needed.

I don’t entirely like the sound of that, but before I can think too deeply about it, Cyan begins to tap my shoulder urgently. “We need to guide them! Quickly before they’re grown up.”

Guide… Ah, I see. “I’ll take the rowdy ones if you handle Kasimir. I have a feeling he will be more complex.”

Cyan nods, and I turn my attention towards Spring and Bruce, guiding the final aspects of their growth with my Will. Small streams of Mana flow into them, changing their bodies according to my whims.

Once I’m done, I take a look at my work.

Bruce is huge (for a mouse), with nearly twice the mass of his mother. His shape is reminiscent of a gorilla, with most of his mass in the upper torso and arms. He puts his weight on his knuckles, increasing the comparison. This stance is mostly due to the massive claws that come out of his paws, as walking normally would make them get in the way. His teeth are large, and he seems to have boar-like tusks. His ears and eyes are tiny, and his dark fur is stiff and looks sharp, almost like porcupine quills, all in an effort to reduce his weak-spots. His tail is thick and has a bony ridge on the top, making it yet another weapon.

Spring is almost the exact opposite of her brother. She is almost as tall as him, but all her height comes from her long legs. Her body is long and lithe, built for speed. Most of her claws are dull and short, made to dig into the dirt and keep traction, but her thumbs have sharp, retractable claws that she can stab with. Her tail is long and covered in soft fur, and as she tests out her new abilities, I notice it behaving like a rudder the same way that a cheetah's tail does. Her entire form is aerodynamic, allowing her to move quickly and silently. Her fur is a pale brown with patches of grey, and seems very soft. She barely makes a sound as she tests her speed.

Cyan seems to have gone in an entirely different direction, something I realise when I turn to examine what he’s done with Kasimir.

Kasimir steps out of the mouse hole and into the larger Core Room. The third sibling stands upright, unlike the other two, and seems most comfortable that way. There is a clear intelligence in his large eyes, and hands that are built to hold and use tools. His fur is the same colour as that of his mother, unchanged by Cyan's meddling. Large ears swivel to track any small sound. He wears a belt and a diagonal strap that look almost like a seat-belt. Attached to the connection point of the two is an empty quiver. Little loops in the strap contain what can only be several large mouse incisors he can probably use as knives, and a small pouch is attached to the belt opposite the quiver.

“How did you give him equipment?” I demand, looking at Cyan with jealousy. If I’d known I could have given them equipment, I could have made a stealthy cloak for Spring or given Bruce some kind of sword instead of heavy claws.

“It drained a lot of Mana, but I was able to convince myself that the presence of mice meant we had access to hide and leather. Uh… don’t think too deeply about that.”

I wince at the implications, shaking my head. “I think I will avoid copying your methods.”

“Yeah, I kinda regret it now… ugh. We’ll figure out a nicer way to get them cool stuff in the future. And replace the… mouse-leather.”

Kasimir seems unbothered, holding a tiny dagger in one hand and examining it. He reaches up to compare the size of his own inscisor to the size of the dagger, and glances over to Bruce when he realises the difference in size.

Bruce and Spring are testing one-another’s abilities, play-fighting or possibly even training together. After a few long moments of watching them, then looking up at us, Kasimir speaks. I feel a longing to see the world beyond these dark tunnels, as though seeing the sky is part of my very nature.

“I think it might be,” I reply, glancing over to Cyan, who nods.

“I gave him the ability to be a ranger-type build. He can navigate, trap things, and collect resources. Combat isn’t his primary ability, but he’s still relatively good at it. The daggers are there so he can throw them from a distance, since he’s not the most resilient. I also tried to make a bow and arrows but wasn’t able to.” Seeming to remember Kasimir is there, Cyan turns to look at the mouse. “Does that feel right to you, Kas?”

The mouse nods, slipping the dagger back into its place on his belt. I will gather resources so that this home may be fortified!