Chapter 10
Education
Gen and Byron walked into the Inn. The scent of baked bread and slow-roasted mutton wafted across the room. When it reached the pair Byron's stomach growled so loudly the small crowd stopped chatting and turned to look at them. “Excuse me… I am quite hungry.”
“Ha, come young student. Let us get some grub.” Gen led the way to the bar.
As they sat down Theodor walked over to them. “Here for some supper?”
“Gods, yes please!” Byron begged.
“For me as well, And two Zip Berry Juices!” Gen shouted after The Mayor as he went through the rear door.
Theodor quickly came back with two plates of roasted mutton, sauteed carrots, and one large loaf of bread. “Jorn came by earlier. He seemed very excited about the dungeon. I thought it wouldn't be ready for a few a while.”
Byron dug into his food with gusto. Gen rolled her eyes but let the poor manners slide. He was very hungry after all. To Theodor, she said “Not officially no, but we went through it today. I'm actually very pleased with the progress I think by the time adventurers start arriving, probably within the next month, everything will be ready.”
“And Mitchel has been talking about that wood Jorn brought back. Seems he has some grand ideas for it.” Theodor chuckled. “What other resources can we expect to see?”
“I'll be making a list. It may take time before we know everything the dungeon will drop. But so far that wood, and some herbs. Maybe a few coins but a complete list will take time.”
“Excellent! Well, I will leave you to your meal. Some shepherds should be coming in soon.”
“We will need to take you to the blacksmith, your armor has a few dents,” Gen said to Byron when he came up for air.
* * *
Gen was resting at her desk after dinner making a list of items she would need to purchase when she heard a knock at the door. “Come in.”
Byron opened the door and sat on the bench by the window. “I was looking at the Dungeon stats. It has the coins listed under Drops now.”
“Good, we need to give it some time to acclimate itself. It may take time before it can create a proper entrance. The specifics on that are a bit vague. Too much too fast might be confusing, so we should plan on only being at the dungeon every other day. A day of learning and then a day of reflection. Have you found the Dungeon Keeper Interface yet?”
“The what?” Byron looked confused.
“Teaching the dungeon from inside is only the first aspect of caring for it. The Dungeon keeper interface will allow us to manipulate things… up to a point. You won't see much yet but as you increase your skill you will gain more access. But try accessing it.”
Byron concentrated, much like pulling up his own status or the dungeons' status, once he knew about it he could feel another but slightly different status available.
Dungeon Keeper Interface
EXP: (Unavailable)
Mana: (Unavailable)
AP: (Unavailable)
Skills: (unavailable)
Map: (unavailable)
Monsters: (Unavailable)
Traps: (Unavailable)
Monster Customization: (Unavailable)
Loot Table: (Unavailable)
Excitedly Byron shouted, “I found it!” But his hopes were quickly dashed. “Everything says it's unavailable.”
“It does for me too, The Dungeon is low level, so even it probably doesn't have access to most of these options yet. As you and the dungeon increase levels and skills you'll gain access.” Gen stretched. “There are also possible hidden interface options that only appear if you or the dungeon have the right skills.”
“Dungeons gain skills?”
“Yep. It will have several already such as trap making. It should get the puzzle skill soon, you spent quite a while teaching it. Over the next few days, we need to see the Blacksmith, the farmers, and any other professionals in town.”
“What for?”
“To get more raw materials. Just like the coins and herbs we need to teach more drop items. But for now, let's get to bed, I am exhausted.”
* * *
Gen entered the carpenter’s shop the next day. She was still sore from her time in the dungeon but it had settled down to a dull ache.
“Greetings!” a bearded man called to Gen as she stepped inside. “What brings you to my fine shop?”
Gen looked around. The Shop was set up around the craftsman’s workspace with a small table and a pair of chairs off to the side. The center of the room had a large wooden table with several holes running through the thick wood. One end of the table had a large wooden vice or clamping things in place as the wood was shaped and worked.
“Hi, I am Gen the new Dungeon Keeper in town.” She smiled at the man. “I am looking to buy a set of tools and supplies to make a few simple pieces of furniture.”
“You can call me Weatherby.” The man smiled as he gestured to the small table. “Please sit, The mayor has been all bragging about you.”
The two sat down at the table. “If you need furniture, I would be happy to make some for you at a reasonable fee. I'm sure you have much on your plate to spend time putting a bed together.”
“Oh no, once my house is built I will definitely be needing your services to furnish it. This is part of Keeper business.”
“Ah, I see. Well in that case do you happen to have a list of what you are needing?”
It always astonished Gen the kind of reputation for quirky eccentricities the Keepers built up. If anyone needed to buy something odd or had a strange request if you said it was keeper business everyone seemed to understand it was for a strange and weird purpose only known to the Keepers. And no amount of questions, threats, or kind friendship will get them to divulge anything other than they were buying weird things and it was for the dungeon.
“Yes,” Gen pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Weatherby.
Weatherby looked through the list and mumbled to himself, before he spoke, “Well this seems like a little bit of everything but the kitchen washtub.” He chuckled at his own joke. “I can get you the lumber and the…” he paused to be sure he was reading correctly. “Small samples of wood varieties?”
“Yes any scraps you happen to have will be fine.”
“Very well, but you will want to see the blacksmith for the tools and nails.” Weatherby paused and seemed to come to a decision. “If you are looking for small samples of things there is a jeweler in town, Ms. Coronett, she may have something for you as well.”
Gen hoped she hid her surprise as she answered, “Really? thank you for the suggestion. But I am curious, why is a jeweler in such a small town?
Weatherby grinned,
“Ah we have quite a few old prospectors that run around the mountains nearby, they come to town and sell bits of gold or gems that they may find. She sort of fell into the trade when she took up jewelry making for fun. Turns out she was quite talented and started selling to the merchants as they came by.”
This could be quite the stroke of luck depending on the gem quality available. But try not to let too much slip Gen decided to cut the conversation short. “Well if you can get me the wood, then I’ll go talk to the blacksmith about the tools."
* * *
After speaking to the blacksmith Gen asked for directions to the Jeweler's shop. It was on the same side of town as the inn but didn’t have a sign so Gen had believed it was just a small home. Gen knocked on the door and waited, and waited… and waited. She was just about t knock again when the door creaked open and a woman in a bright blue dress opened the door. She had her hair up but several flyaways had gotten out of her bun and had tangled themselves in the glasses perched atop her head. The unusual glasses had several lenses on swivels that could move up and down allowing the wearer to change the magnification, a perfect tool for a jeweler.
“Can I help you?” The woman asked.
“Hello, yes my name is Gen I am looking for the Jeweler Ms. Coronett.”
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“Well, you have found me.” Ms. Coronet said, “What is it that you need?”
“I was wondering if I can purchase some gems from you,” Gen explained.
“No.” the jeweler said succinctly, “Now is there anything else, or may I get back to work?”
“Oh, um well may ask why?” Gen asked trying not to irritate the woman.
“I only sell finished pieces.” The severe woman said tersely.
“But I am sure you must of some gems that aren’t up to your standard? With flaws or something?” Gen tried persuading.
“My dear, there are no flawed gems only flawed people who lack the vision to see the gem’s inner beauty. Now, I am sorry you walked all the way over here but if you wish to buy single uncut or gems with no setting you would have to speak with the prospectors. Have a nice day.” And with that, she shut the door.
“Well, at least she wasn't directly rude.” Gen thought to herself.
* * *
Several days later Byron and Gen were walking through the forest toward the dungeon. Both of them had large bags on their backs stuffed with all sorts of odds and ends. The size of the bag strapped to Byron’s back would have been comical had Gen not had a bag of equal size on her own back. The trek through the forest to the dungeon felt twice as long.
“I can’t wait till the town builds a road to the dungeon,” Byron said between puffs of air.
“Once adventurers come they will help us tread a well-worn path, a road won’t make much of a difference.” Gen chuckled. “And quit complaining this is the only big load we will be bringing. Future trips will be for just a few items. Besides we have… arrived?”
Byron moved up next to Gen to see what made her pause. In the small clearing where the pit trap that led to the dungeon used to be stood two large slabs of mossy grey stone. They were propped up against each other, creating a passage about 6 feet across at the base, and stood over 10 feet high. Just inside the archway, they could see the tops of stairs that led down into the earth.
“Alright! The dungeon rolled out the welcome mat for us.” Byron set his pack down and stretched. “I was not looking forward to lowering this pack down with a rope.”
Gen approached the stone and set a hand on it. “Huh, This dungeon may have been slightly older than I thought… that or our two forays into its depths gave it enough experience to make a proper entrance.”
“But it didn’t kill anything, how did it gain experience?”
“Dungeons grow through several factors.” Gen sat to rest and began lecturing. “The first, like any living thing, is through experience from combat, training, or quests. The other is unique to dungeons. Like mages, Dungeons use Mana absorbed from the world. This allows them to reset their monsters and traps when no one is looking. But the other factor dungeons have, we keepers call Activity. As adventures work through the dungeon everything they do contributes to the activity points the dungeon gets. Even walking generates activity points. The dungeon can use those points, converting them to exp, or mana as needed. Activity points are more valuable due to their versatility but the conversion rate isn't very good, But being more versatile allows for many things to be accomplished, once a dungeon realizes this they can become less dangerous.”
“Less dangerous? My father’s dungeon was definitely not less dangerous.” Byron said flatly the thin lines of his scars standing out in the bright light of the day.
Gen grimaced. “Yes but that is because your father’s dungeon is old and strong. In comparison, you and I are no match for anything in its repertoire of monsters or traps. It was raised to expect a certain level of adventurer. While all dungeons are incentivized not to kill any adventurers, they still need to make things challenging to keep the adventurers in the dungeon as long as possible to generate as many activity points as possible. Once your keeper skill level is higher you will be able to see the dungeons Exp, Mana, and AP on the Dungeon Interface.”
“Ok… so how do I increase my skill? You talked my ears off about Dungeons but I never got any levels in the skill till we did the bonding ritual.”
“Me talking your ears off is what made your skill a trained skill.” Gen replied, “To raise your skill you have to practice it. Today you will teach the
dungeon to make a torch.”
Byron stared at Gen confused. “So I just light a torch and drop it inside?”
“No, just tossing it in wouldn’t work. First, it wouldn't know what to do with it. It may understand to put the lit torch on a wall sconce but it wouldn’t understand why the torch burns. Once the oil runs out it would waste resources replacing the whole thing rather than just the fuel. You should always bring two sets of items you intend to teach to the dungeon. So today we have two sticks, two lengths of cloth, and enough oil for both. You set the components down for the dungeon to look at and absorb when we leave. But with the other set, you show the assembly process. All dungeons learn fairly quickly, but after the assembly, you light the torch and use it. Teaching the dungeon how it is created and how people will use it. This will grow your skill.”
“Ok let's get started then.” Byron hoisted his large bag and the pair began to shuffle down the stairs.
Several hours later in the entry room of the dungeon Byron had assembled or demonstrated the use of dozens of items. From torches to sharpening stones, to potions. Tools like hammers, wedges, and screws. He even built some very basic furniture. They also laid out the base components for all of them as well as many raw materials from local craftsmen such as iron, bronze, steel and various types of wood, treated with various resins or dried to certain moisture contents. He had even set out several books with architectural drawings and slowly flipped through the pages.
“I thought you said future trips would be lighter. But anything else we need to teach we will have to bring twice the items.”
“No, once the dungeon is familiar enough with the crafting process and gains enough intelligence it can figure out many things for itself. We won’t need to provide any more lumber or nails if we want to build something else, and Adventurers will demonstrate the use of many items for it as well such as weapons, or rope, We just need to give it a good base to work from.”
“Ok… I kind of understand the wooden chest, but was building the table and chair really necessary?”
“Absolutely! Not only does it teach the dungeon construction, but next time we come we might get a bench to sit on and rest.
“But I’m not even good at building things. The chair collapsed under me the first time! And no one would be caught dead in that bed we made.”
Gen laughed “Maybe the dungeon will use that as a trap then… But eventually, the dungeon will be able to make more and more complex things and even special rooms. It needs certain things for those rooms. With basic furniture, the dungeon could create a library or crafting rooms for its more intelligent mobs which can provide combat skills and enhancements. But we won’t see those till the dungeon is much more advanced. And as we get more resources we can give examples of better furniture.”
“Great, so more trips with heavy bags in the future?”
“For now, yes. But first, did you advance your Keeper skill at all?”
“Yes actually. Level 2. And I gained the untrained carpentry skill.”
“Ok try pulling up the Dungeon Keeper Interface, let's see if you have any new access.”
Dungeon Keeper Interface
EXP: (Unavailable)
Mana: (Unavailable)
AP: 100 (10 available)
Skills: (Unavailable)
Map: (Unavailable)
Monsters: (Unavailable)
Traps: (Unavailable)
Monster Customization: (Unavailable)
Loot Table: Select for options
Byron smiled, “I can see the AP and the Loot table has options now.”
Gen nodded “That makes sense we have been teaching it materials and loot drops, and you have the appraisal skill so the first area to unlock would line up with those things. If you had a geography or cartography skill you may have opened up the Map area. Now as my apprentice you don't have direct control without my permission but for training take a look at what our options are.”
“What does it mean 100 AP, 10 AP available?”
“The Dungeon has 100 AP unspent at the moment I don't believe it can spend any while we are in the dungeon, As keepers, we don't have direct control we can only influence the dungeon in small but meaningful ways. It looks like we get about 10% of the AP accumulated to spend in our Dungeon Keeper Interface.”
“Will the Dungeon ever spend AP from the Keeper Interface?”
Gen Shook her head, “The Dungeon does not have access unless it gained the Dungeon Keeper skill and I have no idea how to teach that to a dungeon. Focus on the task at hand you are digressing.”
Embarrassed, Byron looked into the Loot table section of the Interface.
Loot table (available options only)
Coins: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold
Increase drops (50 AP/Type)
Herbs: Caredenil, Koric bark, Mage Root, Rock Moss, Red Stem Mushroom, Ironbark shavings
Increase drops (10 AP/herb)
Potions Rank 1: Slow Healing potion, Healing Potion, Slow Mana Potion, Mana Potion, Slow Stamina Potion, Stamina
Potion.
Increase Drops (100AP/Potion)
Increase Doses (250AP/Potion)
Tools: Fire Starter, Rope, Pitons, Mirror, Bag of sand, (expand list? Yes/No)
Increase Drops (50AP/Tool)
Weapons: Dagger, Club, Hardwood Great Club
Increase Drops (250AP/Weapon)
“Well can't afford any of this except the herb drop increase… and only one of those,” Byron said disappointed.
“Spend the 10 AP on the Herb Drop increase for Caredenil for now. Once adventurers come we will get more, but it will take time to build up.”
Gen stood and dusted off her pants. We should tour the dungeon. With a new entrance and the Dire Pheasant, we will need to map it before adventurers come.”
“But I didn’t bring any gear!” Byron explained nervously. Looking for any mobs that may be about.
“We are the bonded keepers, nothing in the dungeon will harm us unless we act hostile.” Gen stood and offered her hand to Byron pulling him to his feet. “But you still need to watch out for traps. They will be highlighted in our dungeon sight but that doesn't mean you can't still trigger them accidentally.
* * *
Gen decided to stop in at the Bowyer’s shop on the way back to the inn. But sent Byron ahead, he was hungry after his time in the dungeon.
The shop was just as clean and ordered as the first time she had been in, but Jorn’s father was at his workbench when she entered. Keeping quiet so as to not break his concentration Gen kept to the front and observed.
Mitchel was taking a small pale bow out of a form used for steaming the wood into a recurve shape. He then put the bow in a vice to begin sanding the bow smooth, and adding a few finishing touches. As he worked Gen could feel the flow of his mana flowing into the wood as he worked it. A few minutes after she entered the shop he took a step back and turned to Gen.
“I apologize for the wait, it wasn't at a point I could stop. What can this old man do for a fine lady such as yourself?” Mitchel asked
“I understand the necessity,” Gen waved his apology away, “But I am here on business, I was interested in buying a good starter bow and some solid arrows.”
“Well, I have lots of variety available, who is the bow for? Can’t imagine you taking up archery with you being a mage.” He smiled
“For my apprentice, he might need some ranged skills to fall back on.” Gen lied smoothly, She wanted to add some basic weapons to the dungeon as loot or someday for the creatures to use.
“Ahh, how tall is…” Mitchel trailed off thinking to himself “Shorter fellow? Young? Usually follows you around?”
Nodding Gen confirmed, “Yes that's him.”
“Well, I’ve got one like I'm making here. A sturdy short bow of ashwood, nothing special but it has a strong pull better for single but powerful shots.”
“That sounds perfect. Jorn said he was going to bring you that cracked club from the dungeon were you able to use it?”
“Oh yes! Working around the cracks I was able to shape it down to a reasonably strong longbow.” The bowyer took down a short bow from a side shelf and then pulled down a longbow from higher up.
Short Ash Power Bow: Damage 5-10. For every 10 points of strength the wielder has the damage is increased by 2.
Hardened Long Bow: Damage 10-15. The effective range of the wielder is 10% farther.
Gen’s eyes widened in surprise, “Wow! How were able to do so much with basic components?”
“Ha,” Mitchel chuckled “That's just what you can do with a high skill and know-how.”
“How much for the short bow? And a bundle of arrows?”
“That would be 4 silver and 8 coppers.”
Gen paid and took her leave, heading back to the inn.
* * *
The next day Gen and Byron Sat in Gen’s room and spent time organizing the shop they would have set up in the tavern room.
“How many maps am I drawing?” Byron asked as he tried for the third time to copy the map Gen supplied.
Gen smirked as she organized basic delving kits into bundles. “Well, it depends on how many teams they send. No more than five teams but each team may want multiple copies… so unfortunately we will need about 15.”
Byron Groaned. It seemed that he picked up his mother's hatred for paperwork. But he still rolled up his sleeves and got back to work.
After his third successful copy, he asked, “Won’t this information be old by the time the adventurers get here?”
“Yes, but that's fairly standard. Adventurers know they will have incomplete information. Even the Adventurers guild won't have all the information. They get a map and all possible monsters and traps known. But they don't get location information.”
Gen looked over at Byron's Progress. “How about we swap? Make sure each kit has one of each item on the floor. I'll take care of the maps till you get better at the cartography skill.”
Byron looked at the 100 some odd empty bags for newbie adventurers. Then back to his crude map. “Ok sounds fair.”
They traded supplies and Gen began drawing the maps out at a steady measured pace ensuring everything was neat and tidy. Despite taking her time it was clear that she would be done in short order.
While they were working Byron asked, “So the dungeon loot only has money, herbs, and a couple of weapons. How do they generate magic weapons?”
“Well, they have to get old enough and develop the right rooms,” Gen replied as she worked. “For example, I Ordered a bunch of basic weapons and leather armor that should be coming in the next caravan that I will sacrifice to the dungeon once it gets here. That will allow some basic gear to drop, though it will be rare. But I bought a bow from Mitchel that has a special property that can only come from a bower’s skill. The dungeon won't is able to replicate that till it gets a room devoted to ranged weapons or learns the skill itself. For now, it will only be able to create basic short bows, not the Short Power Bow. But it retains the memory”
“But I thought one of the points to entering a dungeon is rare powerful weapons,” Byron stated.
“Ahh I see,” Gen chuckled, “What you are talking about is called a dungeon’s Signature Set. Yes, and we will get there eventually. It’s not entirely known how these develop but the prevailing theory is unknowing symbiotic education.” Gen paused to rest her hands. “For example, Mitchel made a longbow from the large club that Jorn brought him from the dungeon. Resources from the dungeon lend themselves to crafting more easily and will be able to be crafted into stronger weapons. Someone with that weapon may re-enter the dungeon and shows the dungeon what can be made from its resources. They may even perish or lose the bow allowing it to be absorbed by the dungeon and that will help it learn stronger weapons.
“This keeps happening as more adventurer's run the dungeon repeatedly or enter with a weapon from another dungeon. Eventually, part of the dungeon's personality and all its experiences with the weapons passing back and forth will allow it to create a Signature Set. It will make weapons and armor that cannot be found in other dungeons. Comparing sets, they may have similar powers and effects but usually, something makes them stand out or they synergize with each other.”
“So Jorn just entering with his Father’s magic bow, helped the dungeon?” Byron asked
“A little perhaps. But not too much as the dungeon didn't know what a bow was before that.”
Byron sat silently contemplating what sort of set this dungeon would create.