Luné Alpenglow
Luné was walking about. Thinking on what to do next. The sawmill was just about done, so she could have a Sprite set up to work there. Or she could wait for full Mana and go on a spree. It wouldn’t take long at all. She begins returning to Codex, where the two merge once again. She watches quietly, waiting for full Mana. In the meantime, she opens the rooms menu. And stares at the options. She then looks at the Voidic Oracle’s Room. She then decides to check what it does and what the price is, only to see that it costs 50 Void Sprites, and 200 Mana. It must be very good for that price, or it would not matter. The description reads, “This room allows Codex to create more dangerous Voidic Creatures from Void Sprites, by using Mana. The higher level the Void Sprites, the more possible options unlock.” She considers it, but decides to instead focus on upgrading one of her monsters. She has yet to do this, and decides that the Wolves are the ones she should upgrade. But then a thought comes to her mind, should she not just go with the Oracle? The Void Sprites have been here the longest it seems. And were the first to reach level 10. She should do so. She begins designating a room on the second floor, away from most things. She then expends the mana. A Void Sprite enters the room, and heads for the center. When it reaches the center, it bursts into a pulse across the room, and she sees that it no longer exists. It hurts slightly to have watched that, but this is apparently necessary.
After a few minutes, another sprite enters and bursts at the center. This seems like it will take a while, so she looks elsewhere, and begins to watch the final stage of Cloud’s armor, the fitting. The Smith levitates the armor over Cloud, and sets it down softly, where the straps at the bottom are tightened. The armor is not intricate yet, but functional. Cloud begins running around, and doing all kinds of things to try getting the armor to fall off or shift uncomfortably. As she returns, the Smith and Luné can tell Cloud is satisfied it will protect her body. Luné, satisfied as well, orders the armor to be removed for now and placed somewhere safe. And the Smith gets to work on the many ores it has to melt, as a Sproutling comes over to take the armor away for now. Cloud isn’t fussed about the armor being taken, and seems happy to just be her normal unarmored self for now.
Luné begins thinking about what else to do while she waits, and decides to look into upgrading the Smithy. As she looks through it, she realizes she needs a Miner’s Guild. Now that she has wasted 200 Mana on the Oracle, she frowns at the cost of 100 Mana. Instead of doing anything, she decides to wait. Better metal production allows for better equipment to be produced, after all. Looking away for now, she starts watching the happenings around her. Eventually she realizes that Zeuz and Imai are at the Smithy requesting today’s ingots for sale. Luné speaks, as she sees the ingots produced total out to be 10, “I would say don’t take the copper, but we don’t need it right now. If you want to wait, you can take 20 with you.” Zeuz shakes his head, “Nope! We gotta go find out what they decided on before worrying about upping the sales. I do have a question though, little Lady. What if they want to send someone to find out what we are?” Luné speaks immediately, “We let them. We show them we are not an enemy, and to that end, I want you to take Cloud with you. Armor and all.” Zeuz frowns, “I understand, but I’d personally rather go just with Imai and me. But your wish is my command. Send your big doggy and we’ll get going.” Luné calls Cloud over, after having a Sproutling apply her armor to her, and the three are off soon after. While they do that, Luné tries to think of what to do.
Zeuz Balró
Zeuz walks with the Wolf Boss and Imai. He doesn’t really know what to say right now. Walking in silence, he just begins listening to the forest. The forest is full of life, and excitement. He hopes that silence does not overtake the forest at some point today. After about fifty minutes of walking, Cloud begins letting out a low growl. Zeuz looks at Imai, who gets ready for a fight as they still walk. Zeuz stops walking after a bit, as he can hear what Cloud heard. Gruff voices in the distance. He thinks for a second, then continues walking towards the noises. Planning to listen in.
As he nears the area, he shushes Cloud, and they all hide, listening to the conversations being had. “-ucking Knights.” A second voice pipes up, “Why the hell do you think they’re here?” The first speaks with anger, “Because of us, of course. We’re a threat to one of their towns, so of course they sent Knights. They’ll be here by tomorrow.” The second voice pipes up with even more worry in his voice, “Should we just abandon the ring?” There is an audible smack, “Are you fucking stupid?! They’ll kill you!” The second voice, now terrified, apologies, and the first demands they get back to walking. Which they do.
Once they are gone, Zeuz exits the brush, and starts heading to the town, with Cloud and Imai following. As they approach the Town of Woodshade, the Guards panic seeing the Wolf walking at the side of Imai and Zeuz. The two are not the same Guards, and raise their spears, then Zeuz calls out with a wave, “Hello! Here to trade ingots again!” One guard calls out, “H-Halt!” Only to cause someone to come around the corner as if she were anticipating this. The Priestess steps up behind the Guards, and speaks, “They are not enemies. They came and traded yesterday, along with bringing us back Naomi and Randal’s ring.” The Guards lower their spears, confused, but stepping to the side. The Priestess looks at Cloud a bit concerned, “You are a bit larger than a normal wolf.” She squints for a second, getting an annoyed huff out of the Boss Monster, and then the Priestess continues, “Are you perhaps a Boss Monster?” Cloud lets out a small “boof” of acknowledgement. The Priestess takes that as a yes, and says, “Well that confirms Codex is a Dungeon.” The Guards are now tense again. The Priestess looks at Zeuz, “What is your reason for bringing a Boss Monster here. They are the most dangerous of all Dungeon creatures.” Zeuz laughs heartily, then calms down and smiles gleefully, he then points at Cloud, “That? The most dangerous? No. Not at all. She may be Level 12-” He smirks at the panic on the Guards’ faces. “-but she’s not even the highest level. Try 100.” The Priestess scoffs at that, while the Guards virtually faint, “You mean to tell me you are Level 100?” He shakes his head, “No, no. I am only Level 15. Imai is Level 33. But Sebastia? There’s a reason you don’t fuck with her. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably betray the little Lady, and go on my own. Same as Imai, but you don’t want a Swordmaster coming for your head.” The Priestess is stunned, not seeing any tell of a lie.
Zeuz speaks with a grin, “Now, shall we enter?” The Priestess shakes herself back to reality, and nods, stepping to the side to let them pass, which they do. Cloud decides to sit with the Guards, watching the west. Imai doesn’t care at all, and just walks toward the Blacksmith. Zeuz happily makes his way to the Blacksmith. The Priestess follows them into the town, and as they get to the Smith, she speaks, “Please do your business, and then the town has business with you itself.” Zeuz nods, and walks up to the Smith, who is smiling and getting up from the grindstone, “Welcome back! What have you got today?”
After some trade at the same price as the last time, Zeuz speaks, smiling as he puts the 15 silver coins into the bag, “Pleasure doing business with you. Now, what was it you wanted?” He looks at the Priestess, who speaks in response, “Mr. Smith. If you would. Please gather the Mayor and Town Investigator. I shall get the Captain, after showing them to the council room.” The Blacksmith puts up his thumb and begins putting away the ingots first. Imai pushes off the wall, keeping her arms crossed. Zeuz closes the bag, and picks it up, holding it out to Imai. Imai grabs it, and slings it onto her back, and then crosses her arms again. The Priestess turns around, and begins walking, speaking, “Let me show you where the Town Council will be speaking with you.”
Zeuz and Imai begin following, and soon enough, the Priestess enters a building and lets them into a room with a circle table and six chairs. “Please take a seat. The Captain tends to stand instead of sitting, so you may take two seats.” She turns and begins leaving. Zeuz smiles at Imai, and says, “Will you be taking a seat?” Imai shakes her head, and leans against the wall to the side of the door. Zeuz shrugs, “Your loss. I’m going to enjoy resting my little feet.” Zeuz walks to a chair, and uses the aesthetic bar in the middle of the legs, as a ladder, and climbs up onto the chair. He sits for now, but will have to stand when the meeting begins.
After around forty minutes, the door opens and the Council begin entering, almost all jumping at Imai standing quietly beside the door. The only individuals who do not jump at Imai are the Old Man in a trench coat, and the Captain, who have completely different reactions to her. The Old Man looks at her inquisitively, while the Captain simply blinks at her, and moves on to his standing spot. The Council take their seats, and Zeuz begins standing up in his seat, then speaks, “Hello, Councilors. I see faces I have yet to meet, and faces I remember. To the two who do not know me, I am Zeuz Balró, Merchant and servant of Codex.” He does a bow, “Whatever your decision, we will continue trade, as it is beneficial to both parties. Especially with production ramping up on our metals.”
The non-inquisitive Old Man speaks, “Mr. Balró, before continuing we would like to know your classes. You and your friend. Along with that, we would like to know everything you and yours wish from us before a proper conclusion is made.” Zeuz frowns, then says, “If you do not wish for a healthy relationship between Codex and Woodshade, then you should simply say.” The Old Man shakes his head, then says, “We mean no offense. We wish to verify your supposed levels.” Zeuz sighs and waves for Imai to walk over, “There is a problem with that.” The Old Man asks the question of, “Why?” Zeuz looks at Imai, who reaches him and lets out a small huff. Zeuz raises a hand, and Imai places hers on his. Zeuz hears her voice, “I don’t think we should tell them. I still have that status after all.” Zeuz nods, knowing it as well, “I do not quite understand why you have it, while I and Sebastia do not.” Imai shrugs, only for them to hear the Old Man in a trenchcoat speak, “What is taking so long? It is a simple matter. Show your stats, and we will trust you. Do not, and we will not. It will not change our decision.” Imai rolls her eyes, and walks over, showing her stats screen:
Imai
Female Human
Berserker Level 33
Experience: 81/135
Armor: 8
Dodge: 2
Health: 150/150
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 15
Spirit: 1
Status Condition: Carcere Burn, Those afflicted with this curse cannot remain away from the influence of Codex, or Dungeons underneath Codex, for more than three days, or they will become violently ill until returned to Codex proper.
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Zeuz sighs, “You have decided then. No hiding.” He reveals his own stats.
Zeuz Balró
Male Dracan:Dracenewt (Kobold)
Thief Level 15
Experience: 0/45
Dodge: 2
Health: 50/50
Mana: 10/10
Strength: 1
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 5
Spirit: 7
“Happy now,” Zeuz asks in an annoyed tone. The Priestess gasps, and then says, “A curse!?” Imai simply nods in response, and hides her stats, she then turns around and goes back to leaning on the wall. The Old Man speaks again, “As Mayor of the Town of Woodshade, I accept the proposal of alliance with the Dungeon Codex, against the Slavers and the Dungeon Fort Pontifex.” Zeuz is startled by the Mayor already knowing Codex is a Dungeon, he gets defensive, “How did you know Codex is a Dungeon?” The Captain speaks, “Calm down. Your friend there gave it away while meeting the Priestess.” The Priestess speaks, “Along with allying with the Dungeon Codex, we will provide requested information that is publicly available, and have already sent a letter to the Prince of the Kingdom of Humanity, to get his support in an alliance with the Kingdom as a whole. All we ask in return, as negotiated by the Lily Imai, is information on the whereabouts and condition of the Hero Luné Alpenglow.” Zeuz turns to face Imai, “You did a deal behind my back!?” Imai simply nods a bit tense, like she’s about to get chewed out, but Zeuz is impressed, not pissed, as he says, “ATTA-GIRL! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!!” He grins madly and laughs loudly. He then goes completely serious, “I will still be withholding your pay for this, and the next two, trade missions for not telling me.” She frowns heavily at that, but seems to accept that.
The Council were startled by the sudden laughter, and yelling, but seem calm as Zeuz turns around grinning happily, and he speaks, “We’ll bring the good news to the little Lady, expect Wolves, Bears, Sproutlings, Sprites, and Merlings to be spotted attacking Slavers, and freeing slaves.” The Council seems to be about to ask questions, but Zeuz hops off his chair, and yells out, “Come, Imai! We must return to speak the good news! Perhaps the little Lady may find this extremely interesting!” He’s already at the door as he says, “Ooo! I wonder if she will order up some special things to help us trade! Perhaps a wagon and road?” Imai exits behind him, leaving the Council with questions still burning inside them.
Isabell Jordan
“Meeting adjourned.” On hearing those words, Isabell stood immediately and started running. She had already said her intent during the meeting, and none stood in her way. She ran through the hall, and out of the main door. She looked down the road, and continued running towards the west gate. As she neared it, she could see the Wolf Boss standing up, and starting to walk, with Imai and Zeuz following her. The Priestess called out, “Wait!” The three turn to look at her, and she slows to a walk as she enters the gate’s shade, breathing heavily, she speaks as she nears them, “Take me with you. I wish to meet this Codex in person, and get the information I requested in our deal from them. Along with that, I can take a look at your curse while there.” She looks at Zeuz first, during her words, then to Imai when she changes who she is talking about. Zeuz shrugs and says, “Alright, let's go then.” Imai frowns at the Priestess, and the Boss Monster, Cloud, as she had been called, just starts moving into the Deadgrave Wood.
Surprisingly, silence is all she hears as she walks, ignoring the sounds of wildlife that is. She walks just behind the three. Cloud walks calmly. Imai walks with a relaxed gait. And Zeuz walks with a happy hum. As they walk, Zeuz speaks, “What exactly did you want to know, by the way? I’m mostly curious.” The Priestess thinks for a moment, then says, “That is not of importance to you, Mr. Balró.” Zeuz shrugs, “Still wanna know.” He then looks at Cloud, continuing, “Hey, Cloud, we’re close enough, you can go back and get the little Lady.” Cloud begins running, dodging around trees, and over all enjoying the sprint, it would seem. Zeuz speaks, “It will only be a few minutes before we get there.” The Priestess simply nods in acknowledgement.
Soon enough, Zeuz speaks, “We’re here. Watch your step around this area, especially. Sproutlings like to ambush everything and anything. Nearly got grabbed once because one thought I was a deer calf.” Imai begins taking off her sword. And a few seconds after Zeuz spoke, Isabell felt the familiar presence of a Dungeon. As she walks, she sees a Sproutling snatch up a fleeing hare, a Bear rolling a log, and a few Wolves walking around on alert. She has never seen a Dungeon being this passive and weird. The Bear rolling a log is likely the weirdest thing she sees up until the House, where she sees a type of Sprite that gives her pause. A small floating void. She cannot tell exactly what it is, but she can tell it is a Voidic Entity. The opposite of Material. She continues to follow, feeling more and more worried with each step.
As they begin going into the basement, she begins to think about how to escape, but she sees something even more interesting than the need to run. Luné Alpenglow, crouched giving pets to the Boss Monster Cloud, with two Beastmen begging for attention too. Isabell can’t help but freeze and become speechless. Zeuz is the first to speak, just after Luné looks over, smiling and also freezing at the sight of Isabell, “Little Lady, we brought one of the town’s council to meet you. Especially since she wanted to know what happened to you.” Isabell is silent, and Luné is the first to speak, her voice stunned and surprised, “Priestess Jordan.”
Chaos, of Probability
He smiles happily, and then looks back at Fort Pontifex. Moving a few things around, he smiles happily, and forces Pontifex to send some forces to attack Luné. A small expedition force that will get obliterated when it arrives, but will kick them into high gear. He chuckles slightly, and starts preparing the fighters he wants. Then he shifts his focus to the Slavers, and starts manipulating them behind the scenes. Trying to get them to increase pace on their plans. Especially before those Knights arrive. Speaking of which, he looks over to them in the far distance, and has a freak lightning strike make a tree fall in their path, and nearly crush their leader, but definitely the poor horse. He laughs at their misery, but also feels a little bad about hurting the poor horse. He watches as they put down the horse to release it of the pain of a broken leg, and then sky burial it a good fifteen meters off the road. Then their leader gets on the back of one of the other horses. It’ll be an uncomfortable ride, but she’s ready for it. He smirks, happy to have caused some problems.
Luné Alpenglow
Luné stands fully, as the others realize the two know each other. Zeuz speaks, “Alright! Let's get out of here everybody. Give the little Lady some time to catch up.” Everyone begins filing out of the room, and the Priestess begins stepping off the stairs to come closer. As everyone exits, she speaks, “Luné, everyone thinks you are dead. Where have you been this past year? What happened in that dungeon? They said you betrayed them and died, but we knew you didn’t. So what happened?” Luné raises her hands then shakes her head, “Hold on, hold on. Year? It's only been a day.” The Priestess shakes her head, “What are you talking about? You disappeared a year ago. It was Month 7, Day 13, Year 1015. It is now Month 7, Day 14, Year 1016.” She stops moving a few feet away.
Luné takes a step back, “No, no. That’s not possible.” The Priestess thinks for a second, then says, “It is.” Luné looks up at her, confused, “How!? That’s not a field of magic! No one can simply send someone to the future!” The Priestess shakes her head and answers, “Now it makes sense. You are right. There is no Chronomancy magic. However, there is something close. It's a theory based on the religion of Humanity. It goes like this. Teleportation, is the concept of moving someone from one place to another, on the same world. A theory is that there is also Transportation, which is the concept of moving someone from one world to another. For example, if I were to disappear from here, and find myself in front of another Luné, who has never met me. Within those two, there are certain things that can change. Time Dilation is one of those, which changes the time someone arrives at their destination. From the report the Prince got at the time, the teleport stone did not crack and break, but a black rift opened and swallowed you whole. The rift, as described, sounded Voidic in nature. Do you know the faith? Just to confirm if I am going to have to explain more than just that.” Luné shakes her head no, not understanding at all right now.
The Priestess then continues, “There are two main forces in the Pantheon. Material and Void. These are the Primals. From which all things are made. Material created the material concepts. Everything we can touch is its creation. Void is the opposite. Void created the immaterial concepts, things such as free thought and the spirit of a person. There is a third, neutral party, that of the Genesis Chaos, of Probability. A member of the gods who was born directly of one or both Primals. The Forged are the gods made from the Genesises, who act in exact matters. Eyalve, the goddess of Tricksters, implants tricks and lies into the minds of mortals, for example. Most Genesis gods are simple to understand, as their names are simply what they govern. Solus and Luna, the opposites of each other are the Sun and Moon respectively.
“Now for what truly matters in this case. Void is thought to be its own world. Such as Material being our world. If someone could tap into Void, theoretically they could Transport themselves to another world, or Teleport to a different area. If they have very fine control, they could use Time Dilation, to change when they arrive, or allow it to run rampant and spit them out whenever.” The Priestess is silent now, letting all of that information sink in. The important things to her keep, while the rest fades from her mind. Luckily she knows Codex is acting in her full capacity to archive what was said on a rock that was brought to the second floor. Luné soon speaks, “So, Chaos, of Probability, is a Genesis god governing the chaos of probability, and also leading a neutral faction? Along with that, I somehow entered the Void, and was spit out in Codex a year later?” The Priestess nods in response, “Yes. But why did you latch onto Chaos instead of just that last part?” Luné speaks in response, calm and collected, “Because he’s labeled as one of my Denizens.”
The Priestess is stunned by this, and speaks, “W-Wait. Denizens?” Luné nods in response, and speaks smiling slightly, “Carcere Fabricator got upgraded the moment I touched Codex. And at the same time, my burn scar disappears when in Codex’s area. Along with all of that, I can control Codex, and the Dungeon follows my whims. Instead of a Commoner, my stats show that I am a Dungeon Core.” The Priestess is silent, then says, “This is unprecedented.” Luné nods in agreement, but then says, “It's very interesting, but what matters right now, is that Chaos, of Probability, is a Denizen, yet I have never met it.” A voice is heard, a man’s, “His.” The two look around, startled, and then a figure begins appearing. A figure similar to the depiction of a Grim Reaper, however without a scythe, and with only red eyes visible underneath its hood. Luné reaches for her dagger, but realizes Codex senses no hostility, in fact, as she stares, she sees a corrupted Denizen Menu appear. The Priestess is on even more edge, and looks ready to bolt or attack, or both.
Chaos speaks, “None of that now, I mean no harm, I just wished to fix one of your incorrect statements. I am a ‘He’. Not an ‘It’ like my progenitors. No, I will not let you question me, as I have things I must do, but I will say this, grow strong and powerful. Use the sprites, and grasp your vengeance, young Luné, and then reach the end. There you will find me waiting. We will see your strength, and you will be tested until then. Good luck-” Before he disappears the Priestess speaks, “Wait! A Human could never compete against a god, not even a Hero.” Chaos laughs, then says as he begins changing form. Shifting into a Human in a coat, with five silver stars in a circle on his left shoulder, and a tiny flag on his right shoulder. A sword hangs on his side, and his buzzed brown hair is very short. A cold stare from the man is all they get, until Chaos speaks, “I beg to differ. After all, I have seen a Human best my daughters, and even gain their acknowledgement.” He smirks, “You are right about the theory of Transportation, Isabell. It does move someone to a different world. This man is from a different world after all.” He looks Luné in the eye, and says, “Perhaps you will see him at the end of your adventure.” He finally fades from view, disappearing, as Imai bursts in looking around for something.
The Priestess speaks, clearly far less tense, as she crumbles to the floor laughing slightly, “You just missed your god, Imai.” Imai frowns heavily and punches the wall, then exits. Luné had not realized she had also fallen to her knees. Holding her chest, and listening to Codex, she can tell her heart is beating faster than she realized. “Perhaps-” she says with a pause, “Perhaps we should call it a day. It is still early, but that drained my energy away.” The Priestess nods in agreement, “I completely agree. That was quite stressful. I never thought I would see a god in person. Not to mention a neutral creation god.” She looks over to Luné, and smiles, “Did you know, that it is believed the neutral faction have created more worlds and people than any of the other gods? It is why they are often called the creation gods, instead of the neutral faction. Though an introduction works best with just the ‘neutral faction’.” Luné smiles at the Priestess, and just lays down. Tired.