A small cube – roughly six inches on each side – waited for Vee and Reginald back in the office. It was made of bronze, and there were a bevy of enchanting symbols on each face. Some were connected to crystals by way of long, straight lines that formed complex patterns, while others were hinged and looked like they could move. Beneath the cube was a note written by Hanako.
It said:
Vee,
You mentioned before that you were looking for things that Reginald could power in order to get his [Core Spirit] levels back, and I thought this might help. It’s a testing cube my dad uses for some of his work. All you have to do is put Reginald’s core in and let him push his energy around. Successfully doing so will light up the crystal or activate the moving parts on each face.
(Also: don’t worry about me having taken it. I asked him if it was okay before I brought it over here. He has like a million of them and won’t miss this one in the slightest. Still, please make sure that you don’t like drop it on the floor or something. It’s surprisingly delicate and I don’t think I can fix it if it gets broken).
Also, I’ve gone ahead and improved the efficiency of some of the trap crystals I’ve been working on. You might be able to activate a few more of them than you have been for the past few days.
Also also, I won’t be able to make it to the dungeon for the next week or two. My mom is making me practice my dancing for this big art gala happening in Bardis. That’s where you’re from, right? Anyways, I guess they just got some famous painting that’s worth an absolute ton of fleurs and there’s a big party to show it off. I’m going to have to learn like three new dances!
Anyways, I’ll see you when I get back!
-Hanako!
The [Dungeon Master] put down the letter and picked up the box with both hands. It was heavier than he thought it would be, and he was careful not to drop it as he rotated it around to get a better look.
“Well? Is this going to help?”
Reginald looked at it for a few seconds, his yellow spirit hands probing the sides slowly. He worked his way along the different designs, his felty mouth curling into a frown as he made his way along. “Maybe? Technically I wouldn’t really be powering it, so it might not want to work properly, but it doesn’t hurt to try. After we finish the day’s runs let’s go ahead and give it a shot.”
Vee nodded and set the cube back down on the table. He walked over to his console and activated his viewing crystal. It crackled to life, summoning a blueish image of the line outside the dungeon. There were a decent number of adventurers out there, but Vee didn’t see many familiar faces. He wondered if that was the high levels acting up or mere coincidence; it was pretty much impossible for him to tell.
He turned his attention back to his console. More than half of his dials, knobs, and switches were inactive, which bothered him in a way that he couldn’t properly articulate. Idly, he flicked a few back and forth, missing the way that they responded to his touch when they were fully powered.
“You ready for this all to get going, boss?”
The [Dungeon Master] nodded, and his [Announcer] started the day’s business.
“Welcome to Crestheart, adventurers! Enter the dungeon and test your mettle!”
----------------------------------------
An adventurer walked down the long hallway that was normally home to all sorts of nasty little traps with his bladed shovel raised. Unfortunately, providing power to that section of the dungeon wasn’t really an option just then, so Vee refrained from twisting the dial to his right that would have dropped the [Gruesome Gravedigger] right into a nice little pit of slimes, even though his instincts told him that it would work perfectly. He could see that for all the man dealt with holes and pits in his day to day duties, he was deeply afraid of what lay below the earth.
Instead, Vee had to content himself by opening the man up to a volley from the skeleton archers and mages made possible by a judicious use of [Walking Walls]. The adventurer failed to block more than a few projectiles and surrendered soon after. The [Dungeon Master] smiled inwardly at how much easier the skill was to use now; he’d shifted Crestheart’s walls multiple times each run the day before and had been barely winded afterwards. He returned the walls to where they were supposed to be while he waited for the next runner to come into the dungeon.
It was a level 21 [Stridebreaker] that Vee had seen once or twice. The salamander carried a large mace that was equipped with a chain, which she swung around herself every minute or so. It seemed to provide some degree of self-buffs, or maybe a slight passive healing? Vee wasn’t sure. He knew from experience though that the adventurer would probably make it down to Alforde without issue. Normally she struggled with some of the obstacle course type rooms, but most of those had been deactivated and were virtually empty now.
For better or worse, the run was basically decided, unless the adventurer screwed something up or made an uncharacteristic mistake. Vee didn’t think either of those likely, so instead he trusted in his [Dungeon Champion] and let his mind wander to other issues.
There were twenty one days until the circuit started, and with each one that passed, Vee felt the tiny knot of worry in his stomach growing bigger and bigger. He didn’t feel ready for it in the slightest, but had no choice but to do the best he could. This wasn’t like the banquets his father had often tried dragging him to as a kid, where he could simply fake a stomachache and get out of going. He couldn’t hide away like he had in school, either, pretending that he was busy with other things or that he wasn’t really interested or invested. He was responsible for the dungeon and all it represented, including all of its potential.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He had to make a good showing, but how could he when his resources were so limited and time was so short?
The expectation shifted, and its movement gave Vee an idea. He couldn’t change his circumstances, but he could manage the way other people interpreted them.
Drawing his fountain pen from the upper pocket of his coat, Vee started to sketch.
He was interrupted about an hour later when Thien came up into the office. Clutched in her hands was a case filled with the trinkets she’d made for the circuit. While she’d only had access to the brief description Vee had provided her with, she’d made a lovely collection of pendants.
They were silver and designed to look like Reginald, with an outline of small blue gemstones around the outside. Slightly larger gemstones were socketed where the eyes were supposed to be, and they changed colors from red to blue depending on the angle of the light. The words Dungeon Victor – Crestheart, Oar’s Crest had been carefully engraved on the back, as well as an image of a hammer that didn’t really look all that much like Slammy but was impressive all the same. Their chains were simple, but surprisingly stylish and elegant. Vee was surprised by how heavy they were.
“What do you think of them?” Thien asked, looking slightly nervous.
“They’re incredible,” Vee said. “I never expected them to look so good.”
“So then you like them?”
“Love them,” Vee said. “But I’m afraid that our financial situation here isn’t great right now. We were robbed a couple days ago, and pretty much all of our money is gone.”
He carefully set the pendant back down in Thien’s case, then said, “I’m afraid I can’t pay you for these right now. Could we work out some sort of other arrangement? Perhaps we can set up a line of credit?”
“Maybe. I have a lot of materials tied up in those, and my own financial situation isn’t incredible right now. Could you pay any portion of it now?”
Vee opened the vault and showed Thien his measly collection of fleurs. “That’s pretty much every bit of money I have right now.”
“Wow. You really weren’t kidding about being broke. The mud golems?”
Vee nodded, and Thien let out a low whistle. “Bunch of places in town got hit pretty bad, but most of them weren’t foolish enough to keep all their money in a single place.”
“I know, I know. I’m going to go and set up a proper bank account in the city in the next few days. It was just one of those things I meant to get around to but never actually did. Getting back to our business, though, would you be willing to extend me some credit if I go ahead and offer you…let’s say six months of no rent on your new space in Westown?”
“Make it twelve and get me the money within ninety days and you have a deal.”
“Nine months and a hundred and twenty days on the fleurs,” Vee countered. “That’s more than fair, especially with all the extra foot traffic you stand to get this spring.”
He held out his hand and Thien took it. Vee tried to keep his relief from showing too obviously on his face.
[Persuasiveness +1]
[Bargaining +1]
----------------------------------------
Once the day’s runs were finished, Vee and Reginald decided to go ahead and test Hanako’s gift. After ensuring that Dheart could maintain some of its functionality for up to an hour – the most important of course being the protections for the vault – Vee carefully withdrew Reginald’s core and inserted it into the cube through a gap that appeared in the top as the stone drew close. That was a nifty bit of enchanting, Vee thought.
Reginald cursed and swore for a few minutes, complaining that all of his power felt like it was being “unfairly constrained”, but eventually the smallest crystal on the top face lit up and the hat let out a whoop of triumph. The rest of the faces lit and opened in succession, and after roughly forty five minutes, Reginald triumphantly announced that he’d regained one of his [Core Spirit] levels. There were still a lot to go, but it was encouraging progress all the same.
“We’ll keep doing this after the runs are finished every day and see how many of your levels we can get back,” Vee said. “But for now, let’s go ahead and put the core back into Dheart so that it can keep things running properly overnight.”
He withdrew the core from the cube and carefully inserted it back into the dungeon heart. He waited for a few minutes to make sure that everything was as it should be, and then headed back toward the boarding house with Alforde.
The street leading to the gate was freshly cleaned, but courtesy of Kai and Dandelion there were several small planter boxes that hadn’t been there that morning every few feet along both sides. They were filled with tiny seedlings. According to Kai, the flowers inside would start blooming in the coming days, and Vee was excited to see what types of flowers his [Menagerie Caretaker] had scrounged up.
As they walked, Vee let his thoughts wander. Once he got back to the boarding house, he’d get to work on his newest ghost.
Main Character Sheets:
Vee Vales
Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 30
Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 22
Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6
Might: 14
Wit: 35
Faith: 21
Adventurousness: 7
Ambition: 15
Plotting: 19
Charisma: 15
Devious Mind: 23
Leadership: 19
Guts: 14
Intimidating Presence: 10
Citizenship: 21
Public Relations: 8
Determination: 3
Persuasiveness: 4 (+1)
Bargaining: 2 (+1)
Patience: 1
Competitive Spirit: 1
<3<3 Infatuation <3<3
Alforde Armorsoul:
Primary Class: Hammer Afficionado (Self), Level 28 (+1)
Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 15
Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18 (+1) (Deferred Due to [Fair Fight]!)
Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 9
Might: 49 (+1)
Wit: 14
Faith: 28
Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9
Endurance: 27 (+1)
Intimidating Presence: 12
Heart of a Champion: 11
Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8
Vigilance: 7
Vanity: 1
Reginald:
Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ?? (+1)
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Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 40
Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 18
Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 9
Might: 1
Wit: 35
Faith: 16 (+1)
Ambition: 27
Greed: 23
Deceptiveness: 27
Manipulativeness: 39
$#&*!@!!: !!!
Loyalty: 47
Patience: 9
Irritability: 22
Remorsefulness: 17
[#&%%%@%!#@__--#%]
Hop@#!! @#$@!@#
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Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8