The adventurers didn’t come back. Assuming my sense of time was anything close to accurate, it’d been far more than 24 hours since they were last here. If my timing was right, the man wearing all black had come sometime during the night, which made some sort of sense to me. He felt like a thief of sorts, so the night suited him.
After my fatal altercation with him, I tried deciding what I should do with him. Obviously, I couldn’t send him back to the outside and have him pretend everything was fine. He was dead. That would be rather hard to hide. It wasn’t like I could just dismiss the consequences of my actions either, not like I could with a dream. No, I had to plan my next actions carefully.
Cleaning up the blood was an obvious first step. I even had the corpse drag all three thausen corpses into the water in order for it to wipe the blood stains where they’d once laid. Since the man was dead, I had him use his shirt as a cloth. Not like he needed it anymore.
The sight of both the dead thausens and a walking corpse gave me another idea. I should try and animate the other dead bodies as well. But I didn’t really want rotting corpses wandering around. Skeletons were much cleaner. Easier to maintain. That meant experimentation.
After the blood was cleaned, I had the corpse skin one of the thausens. It removed as much flesh as it could from the body while leaving the attachments between bones mostly intact. It obviously wasn’t perfect, but once the body was at a point where I felt happy, I had the human corpse bring the skeleton over to me. It placed a bloody, skeletal hand against my core.
Obey.
The thausen skeleton shivered. Mana flowed out of me and into the skeleton, animating it. It took about half of my remaining mana. Meaning about half of what it took to subjugate the human body.
I sent the human corpse back out to collect a different thausen body. It didn’t skin this one, and just brought it to me as it was. I animated that one with the exact same amount of effort it took to animate the skeleton alone.
I judged my mana for a while. Although I would have assumed that the skeletons would consume a constant supply of mana, they didn’t. The only cost in creating the undead was the initial investment. Regardless, I do think that I should find a new source of mana if I ever wanted to create more. A constant source, somehow.
Interestingly, the skeletal version of the thausen corpse seemed to move much more smoothly than its fleshy counterpart. I played around with ordering a number of tests between the fleshy and skeletal versions. Speed, strength, dexterity, whatever I could think of. With the exception of dexterity, the skeletal version beat the fleshy one in every aspect. And at that, there weren't many situations I could think of where dexterity mattered. At most, the fleshy thausen could wield a knife better than the other one. But they could both hold a rock equally well. Good enough for me.
I ordered my human corpse to remove the flesh from the fleshy thausen corpse. I’d have the human remove its own flesh eventually, but for now I required its fine manipulation of tools.
After that, it was time to expand.
I’d been stuck in this room for far too long. I was tired of the same old scenery. And since the adventurer pair weren’t here yet, now would be a good time to do so. Especially considering the fact that I maybe didn't want them to see the walking human corpse if I had a choice. With that in mind, I ordered my walking corpsed to leave the room, heading out the exit that the humans didn’t use. Assuming the human entrance led to the surface, I wanted to expand downwards.
The human skeleton, with its ability to use the knives it wielded effectively, would take lead. The skeletal thausens would guard its back, carrying a throwing stone in either hand. Their purpose was information gathering, so they were instructed to remember the layout of wherever they headed. After they searched a reasonable amount of area, they’d return to me and I’d ask them questions.
But since I couldn’t see beyond the black veil outside my room, I had to give them conditional instructions.
No harming humans or their companions. If you see humans, retreat back into my domain. Do your best not to get hurt in all circumstances, unless that means harming a human. If you find anything else of interest, try and bring it back with you. Come back to my domain before you overburden yourselves. If you encounter a dungeon or dungeon bound monsters, report back to me as fast as possible. Got it?
All three of my corpses nodded in the direction of my core.
Good. If there’s anything non-sentient just on the other side of my domain, kill it. I want to see something.
They nodded again. As instructed, the larger human corpse took the lead, leading my two thausen skeletons out of my domain.
A few seconds later, I felt a sudden influx of mana. Not a lot, but some. I ordered them to come back for questioning.
Did you kill something? I asked.
A nod.
Was it smaller than my fish?
Another nod.
Was it a mouse, rat, or bat?
Nod.
Good. Keep exploring.
One other thing I wanted to experiment with was whether I got the same amount of mana if my minions killed something out there, compared to if it died in my territory. However, that was something I could easily test at any time. And catching similar creatures for my purposes would take time I did not want to waste.
Twice now, humans have raised their weapons against my core. One had even attempted to smash it. A few days ago, I’d encountered a dungeon core that just radiated hatred towards me. And above it all, every single creature I’d encountered wanted to eat me.
Clearly, I was a priority target for many things.
It was about time I secured my safety.
Stone tendrils grew out from the pillars of my alcove. They snaked in organic patterns, melding through one another across a 2D plane between my core and the rest of the room. My mana decreased slightly faster over time, but it was being supplemented with my corpses killing creatures outside my barrier, and the fish overfeeding themselves in my bloody pond. My mimic crabs joined them, eating their fill.
Eventually, over the course of many hours, a stone mesh barred my core from the outside world. There were gaps large enough for my crabs to come get me, and only one gap large enough for a human hand close to my core. My core was also raise a bit higher, perching precariously on a thin bit of stone, poised to fall backwards should any danger ever threaten me again. At the bottom of my pedestal, hidden from view at the back, an indentation was made in the stone, sloping towards the wall, where a tiny curved path would completely hide me away, should I desire to escape.
All this effort exhausted my mana supplies. My undead supplied me with occasional bursts of mana, but it wasn’t enough. I ordered them to return.
Once they had returned, the only new thing I noticed they brought back with them were a bit of bloodstains and some new rocks for the thausen skeletons.
There wasn’t anything interesting? I asked.
All three shook their heads.
I suppose the humans would have collected anything if there were… hm. Fine. What does the layout look like? Draw it on the floor.
My human corpse sheathed his knives in their hidden compartments. He knelt on the ground and began tracing lines. The first he made was a box, with a circle in the center and some waves surrounding the circle. Obviously a representation of my domain. He even orientated it such that it mirrored the layout of my room as it was.
From there, he drew a corridor out from the exit they had left through, bulging outwards in certain areas. Rooms began appearing, one after another. I studied it as he drew, indenting the ground as he traced his finger along. I wanted the map to be permanent, even if that meant losing out on some mana to reshape the stone.
You didn’t encounter any dungeons? I asked once he was finished drawing.
He shook his head.
Then, without my prompting, he stood and approached my core. He reached through the stone mesh and gently touched my core.
Images of Abby and Owyn came from the touch. The dead human pressed his intent through the contact, focusing on the bag that Abby carried, and a book within it. Though the book never revealed any details, I knew my corpse was trying to communicate the feeling of a map within the book.
You knew Abby and Owyn?
The corpse nodded. Feelings of acknowledgement and approval came from him. Pride as well.
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… What’s your name?
Whispers flooded out from him. Rushes of wind that carried false sounds, heard only within my imagination. Faux.
I see. Why were you trying to kill me Faux?
Faux practically withered at the question. Shame, disgust, and pitifulness emanated from him. He hates his former self for ever considering harming me. Still, he answers my question. He wanted to claim me for magic purposes. He wanted me to perform a single spell of someone else's choosing until the day I died.
My avatar furrowed nonexistent brows. I recalled the black voids that Abby had on her shield, and the ones Owyn had in his helmet and on his necklace. I passed these images along to Faux with my intent.
Are these dungeon cores?
Formerly. Was his answer. They’re magic cores now.
The distinction between the two flowed across the statement. Dungeon cores were free beings. They consumed life for their own growth, bending creatures to their will. Magic cores were similarly subjugated by humans, for the purpose of acting as a medium for spells. One spell per core. The larger the core, the more powerful the spell. The more intact the core, the stronger its will. The stronger the will, the harder it was to subjugate.
I digested this information with a neutral expression. The information was useful, and concerning all the same. Still, I couldn’t help but feel there was more to what he didn’t say as opposed to what he used to answer my question.
What did you do when you were alive? I ask.
Librarian. He answered. Spy.
I raised my eyebrows. Spy? On who?
The image of some rich looking lady came to mind, as well as a name. Baroness Bellamy.
I had no clue who that was. It didn’t affect me. The politics of the world outside shouldn’t affect me too much. Or at least I hoped.
Should the fact that you disappeared from the surface concern me?
NO! Faux practically shouted. You’re too magnificent to need to worry about such frivolous details! A being as magnificent such as you should-
Take your hand off me.
The instant his hand left me, so did his thoughts. He shuffled in front of the stone cage I’d built myself, obviously uncomfortable. I suspected he thought I was upset with him. In a way, I was, but probably not the way he was thinking.
Continue exploring. Prioritize speed and discovering a new dungeon. As soon as you see one, I want you to return immediately. I need to know where my closest threat may be coming from.
Faux’s expression never changed, since he didn’t have control over his muscles, but he still seemed happier. He ran out of the room, followed by the two thausen skeletons.
My avatar floated through my stone cage, deep in thought. I’d learned far more than I thought I would with that experience. The least concerning part was the fact that Faux approached me out of his own volition. That was actually good, as it meant my minions had some agency. This fact was offset by the disturbing revelation that it seemed he was fully and entirely devoted to me. In a sort of fanatic, cultish way that I was really not comfortable with.
A third, neutral fact I’d learned was that despite commanding just the skeletal structure beneath his flesh, the entity of ‘Faux’ still retained his memories from when he was alive. I already knew my minions retained their memories thanks to Courier, but this was different. This was a sentient human being. And that made it disturbing.
I should probably be feeling guilty about it, but honestly I really didn’t. He was a jerk, and deserved to die. He tried to kill me.
I noticed Mimi and Rab standing on my staircase, staring up at my core.
What? I asked.
They waved their arms about. I couldn’t understand what they were trying to say.
If you wanna talk to me I think you need to touch my core.
They rushed into my cage. I watched with mild interest as they clambered up my central pillar, eager to get to the top. Mimi got there first, and reached a claw for my core.
Lo-
My core toppled. Its precarious perch was not made with claws in mind. It tottered for a second before falling down the tower I’d built it. Even as I felt the sharp pains with every impact, I smiled at my crabs as they scrambled after it. My core splashed in the shallow water at the bottom, eventually rolling to a stop against a wall. My crabs caught up and Rab picked me up in both claws.
Sorry! Fall! Sorry! Love! Sorry!
I smiled. Mimi caught up to Rab and touched my core, giving very similar sentiments with a lot more sorry’s. I just asked them to return me to my perch first, and then they should continue disposing of the corpses in my pond. I needed the mana to maintain my skeletons.
A sudden, constant flow of mana began flowing into me. I recognized the source.
Abby and Owyn had returned!
Abby stood defensively in front of Owyn, who had his bow drawn and aimed at my cage. Abby nodded ever so subtly, and Owyn responded by silently shaking his bow. They shuffled sideways, coming deeper into my domain.
Maybe you should hide me a bit. I mentioned. Rab was all too happy to oblige.
Mimi scaled down my tower. Abby and Owyn watched as she entered the water and disappeared from sight.
“Where’s the thausens?” Abby whispered.
Owyn turned his bow to my snowball fort made of stone. Silently, Abby and Owyn made their way around the room, ensuring their backs were always to the wall. I found it very interesting that they took steps at the same time. Inevitably, as they circled around my room, my map on the floor came into view. They both seemed to take note of it, but they didn’t stop. Eventually, they came close enough to my fort that they could confirm that there was nothing inside.
Owyn relaxed his bow and touched Abby’s shoulder. He kept his arrow nocked and held it there with one hand. With the other, he gestured to the map on the floor.
“I think they’re out exploring.”
Abby nodded.
Mimi exited the water and walked closer to them. Abby and Owyn watched as the little crab stopped short. She waved a claw in a very human greeting. Then, she waved them over, trying to entice them closer.
She’s trying to lead you to your prize. I told them.
Abby and Owyn’s eyes flicked off to the side, staring at nothing.
“What ‘prize’?” Owyn asked.
“The dungeon said something about a reward last time.” Abby mentioned.
Mimi clicked her claws and did her happy, swaying dance. She then raced back over to the water, where a very particular stone was sticking just barely out of the shallows. Abby and Owyn shared a look with each other before ultimately following.
Mimi pointed to the stone, and then retreated a safe distance away. Owyn stopped to watch her, but Abby walked into the water. This time, there were no fish nearby to scare her, so she reached down and picked up the stone without fear.
It was their trophy, with the words ‘First Clear!’ written at the bottom. I’d repaired it, as I said I would. It took a lot out of me to reassemble the pieces, especially since I had no hands of my own. It was for that exact reason it remained where it had broken, just inside the shallows.
“It’s… it’s us.” Abby showed Owyn their prize.
Owyn’s eyes flicked off to the side for a second, reading something I couldn’t see. Then, his attention returned to the statue. Abby was turning it over in her hands, obviously impressed.
“It made us a statue.” She said softly. “It’s our prize.”
Owyn grunted. Suspicious probably. I wanted to give him a quest.
Owyn’s attention returned to his side. “What’s ‘tic tac toe’?” He asked.
“Huh?”
“The quest. What’s ‘tic tac toe’?”
“I didn’t get a quest.” Abby sounded almost hurt. So I shared the quest with her.
She blinked in surprise. “Win a game of tic tac toe against Mimi? Who’s Mimi?”
Owyn gestured to Mimi, waiting patiently off to the side. She stood over five colorful rocks. A tic tac toe board sat inset in the ground before her, with some darker colored rocks on the other side.
“I guess it was trying to play a game with me last time?” Owyn approached his challenger.
He crouched down before Mimi, and Abby peered over his shoulder. Mimi made the first move at my direction, placing her colorful rock in the center tile.
“Is it a trading game?” Abby asked. “Whoever has more rocks in the end wins?”
“No, I don’t think so. Why the colors?” Owyn picked up his own pebble. He hovered it over a different space on the board, glancing up at Mimi. When she made no reaction, he placed it down. A corner spot.
Mimi then picked up her own rock and put it down next to his. Owyn raised an eyebrow and placed his next rock next to Mimi’s leaving her open to win. She did just that. Mimi drew a line in the air over her winning pebbles. She then crawled over the board and approached Owyn. She made snipping motions towards him.
Owyn leapt to his feet, immediately drawing his arrow back. Mimi flinched.
Don’t you dare. I growled. I needed him to learn that this was a loss condition, and having Mimi pinch him was the first way I thought of doing so. In retrospect, maybe I should have kept my distance.
Abby and Owyn glanced at my core, now perched once again on its pedestal. Rab stood guard in front of it.
“I think it’s angry with us.” Owyn muttered.
“Lower your bow.” Abby suggested.
When he did, Mimi approached again. Owyn stiffened, but otherwise didn’t react. Mimi pinched his boot. Mission accomplished, she returned to the board, reclaiming her pieces.
Abby started to smile. “I think you lost.”
Owyn grunted. He took his arrow out of his bow and stored it in his quiver. He returned to the game, sitting cross legged in front of the board. Mimi pushed his pebbles towards him before placing her rock on the board. A corner this time. Owyn chose the center. Mimi picked a corner.
“I think you’re supposed to get three in a row.” Abby said.
Owyn silently blocked Mimi from winning. Just to get the idea across, I had Mimi place her next rock in a new corner again. Of course, that meant Owyn placed his such that he had three in a row.
Mimi danced, clicking her claws. Owyn’s eyes shot to the side.
“Guess I win?”
“Do we get a prize?”
Of course, I couldn’t respond, so I just let Mimi reset the board.
I wish you would talk to me. My avatar floated high above them, cross legged and resting my chin on a hand.
“I got a new quest.” Owyn said.
“Yeah, well, I still got this one.” Abby said, taking his place in front of the board.
A thumping sound came from an exit, drawing their attention. Faux came bolting into the room, knives at the ready.
I glared at him. Kneel.
Faux fell to his knees, skidding to a stop in front of Abby and Owyn. The adventurers had bolted into their ready positions, with Owyn already having an arrow trained on his face.
“Faux?”
I cursed myself. I hadn’t noticed him approaching.
This is going to turn into a problem, isn’t it…