Akahana needed assistants for the rituals she was to cast, which meant at the least Kazue, Moriko, and several bunkin and rabkin, but often required Mordecai to step in as well. These were not easy rituals, even for the experienced druid.
The first ward Akahana raised took a day-long ritual to cast, with help, would last only a week, and still cost more than a decent magic weapon without any special abilities. And that was for the actual cost of materials, so it cost the dungeon twice that. But it locked the central area down pretty effectively, blanking out scrying sensors and creating another layer for a teleport to try and punch through, which would be dangerous without a scrying lock. By Mordecai’s estimate, the dungeon would need to have eight floors before he was even ready to try that ritual, and it still wouldn’t be quite as easy for him as it was for Akahana until they had a few more floors.
The next ritual was a binding ritual. Or the next several actually, and it was even more expensive just to get to the negotiating stage in addition to the day-long ritual, with no guarantee that the investment would pay off after the potential ally arrived. While Akahana was performing the summoning and binding ritual itself, Mordecai, Kazue, and Moriko were the ones to negotiate services and payment for the individual planar creatures that answered the summoning. They spent a total of three weeks in this process, restoring the warding ritual twice during that time.
The service being asked for was to spend one year as reserve guardians for the dungeon. If the dungeon were assaulted, they were to defend the core itself and were to act only if all the dungeon’s other defenses and guardians had failed. If they did have to act on the dungeon’s behalf, then their contract only lasted for one day after that combat finished, to give the dungeon time to recover from the assault.
During their period of service, they would have free access throughout the dungeon as if they were a guest or inhabitant, and when there were no delvers present that lower floors needed to be reserved for, they were free to challenge the dungeon floors starting at the fungal forest or lower, though Mordecai and Kazue held the right to veto a challenge if they felt that the planar creatures had formed too strong a group for the floor they were starting on. And that meant it would be a while before they could challenge in more than pairs, which was going to be difficult enough to cope with. Especially as the dungeon would gain no mana from the exchange, any extra energy going to the temporary guardian instead.
In addition to this, those who did accept a binding pact each had their own particular price to be negotiated.
The celestial agent was the easiest to negotiate with. He was interested in saving and guiding souls, so he intended to interact with many of their visitors, and any time a new animal was brought to the dungeon with the intent of making it an inhabitant, the dungeon was to also present the option of being awakened to sentience by the deva’s power instead. He served Fisaga, a sylph and the Primogen Goddess of Air, but saw no conflict in his general duties if he were to temporarily focus his guidance here.
The three Einherjar shield maidens were almost as easy. While their personal interests were in having an unlimited amount of feasting and drinking available to them, as well as the occasional dungeon run and challenging visitors to battle, they were also going to receive the finest weapons and armor that the dungeon could produce for them at the end of their service. Plus a bottle of Golden Opalfire Mushroom Elixir. Each. And that was to go, they were to have access to some every day to enjoy while they were here. The three of them were sisters-in-arms and servants of Diasthian, a Risen human goddess of protection, community, and loyalty.
Mordecai was amused that such a raucous lot of spirit warriors served a goddess more commonly associated with knights and complex codes of honor, but there was still that strong bond of camaraderie and fellowship.
The first of the trio had been the link to make sure that the dungeon could call up her friends directly, but then the three of them decided to help guide the ritual to a specific Shield Archon. His expression when he saw who helped call him specifically to the mortal realms was that of a long-suffering, often tormented older brother who possibly took his role a touch too seriously. He still demanded appropriate payment in enchanted weapons and armor; if he was to be unavailable for a year then he should at least return better able to carry out his duties but his motivation to agree to the pact came from a sense of obligation to keep them out of trouble. Or keep them from troubling others, as the case may be.
The most powerful planar entity they were able to summon and were able to negotiate into staying was a genie. Specifically a Zuhra, a genie with a strong affinity for metal. They had been negotiating hard with the genie, who might have been more willing if Mordecai hadn’t placed restrictions on the zuhra’s ability to grant wishes three times a year, when Li wandered into the room where they were negotiating. When the genie recognized who the ratling was, he became much more amenable, and later admitted to Mordecai that he was certain that Li’s simple presence would cause at least as much entertaining chaos as any three wishes he could possibly give.
While Mordecai was glad that things worked out with the Zuhra, he had been trying to keep Li entertained and away from the summoning. He had been trying to specifically avoid taking advantage of Li’s luck. It was what had kept him occupied for most of the three weeks' worth of summoning rituals.
Eighteen summoning rituals. Six successes after negotiation. If they’d been after simple tasks or favors, Mordecai would consider it an abysmal rate of success, but given that they were asking for a solid year of dedicated time he considered it to have gone rather well.
Unfortunately, they weren’t proper contractors, which was part of the reason that they were the very last line of defense. Unlike a simple summon spell, they were fully present and empowered, and as such they could actually die. Becoming a contractor was a different process, and was usually indefinite, though it did not come with the level of mental influence that being an inhabitant would.
If all went well for the next year, however, there was always a chance that some of them would want to become a contractor after that. The deva and the genie seemed the most likely, given that the genie was not a divine servant of any sort, and the deva’s duties might be sufficiently carried out through his presence here.
During the three weeks that they were focused on the summoning rituals, the dungeon finished wrapping up its business with the caravan, and most of them moved on to Riverbridge fairly quickly. The last to leave were the ones teaching construction, and once the first few small buildings were up the laganthro clans were confident they had a handle on the basics and were ready for the challenge of working on their own for a while. It’s not like the caravan had professional carpenters with them, so there wasn’t much more to pass on anyway.
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Messages had been sent out as well, the fastest one being a bird Akahana enchanted to send word directly to Aia about what happened, trusting that the Matriarch had the means to directly contact anyone she needed to at the capital. An airship with royal markings and a military appearance was sent to gather the prisoners, and they came prepared with their own enchanted bindings to prevent magic use and other tricks. It was seemingly expensive, but speed was always a factor in security. And it was a bad look for Kuiccihan that their newest ally had gotten attacked so quickly after the treaty was signed.
Once Akahana was the last visitor left, the dungeon set about claiming a new piece of territory, expanding to include the region surrounding the tunnel entrance. It was a strange experience, and by Mordecai’s estimation cost a little more mana than claiming a new floor in the traditional method. Only after that was firmly established did Akahana feel secure in leaving to catch up with her husband.
Now, a floor always needed a boss, or two bosses in this case. Mordecai and Kazue had agreed upon an idea that fit the theme of this village. During the teaching process, a pair of sparring rings had been put up near the entrance. One ring was under the auspice of a bunkin named Kuni, and the other was run by a rabkin named Seon. Kuni was a mistress of arms, and Seon was a mistress of magic, and a new rule was implemented by the dungeon: Those who wished to take the battle path needed to submit to being examined, and possibly tested, by the woman whose skills most closely represented their own. Several signs to this effect were placed around town, but not by dungeon magic.
To maintain their desired facade, not a single piece of construction was going to be crafted by dungeon magic, and even the potential rewards for how one handles this ‘level’ were going to be crafted by someone rather than simply manifested. It didn’t seem likely that a casual inspection could tell the difference, but dungeon-made items tended to be missing things like tool marks.
As for the rest of the challenges, well, creating more types of creatures didn’t seem truly necessary, but there were some other options. They now had the space to have a stable and pasture area, and other spaces appropriate for some of the animals who had become part of the dungeon but had not yet been evolved for a particular need. Instead, all the animals were slightly strengthened and were simply playing whatever role might be required of them as the village expanded.
While it was certainly going to act as a trading post, it was also ideal to act as a training ground of a more formal variety. Horses could be ridden to train people how to joust or how to fire a bow from horseback. Visitors could learn how to hunt with a pack of hounds, or the dogs could be used to train against being hunted by a pack of animals. Care had to be taken to treat it the way a non-dungeon group would, with wooden weapons wrapped in leather being used most of the time to avoid any serious injuries.
Combined with so many optional shopping experiences and adorable bunkin trying to hawk their wares, there were a variety of hurdles to potentially overcome. And while most of the combat-related ones were technically optional, there were a lot of contests being offered. Archery, axe throwing, sparring, and more, each with an almost token cost of entry and a prize if you win.
They had come up with the scheme well before the territory was claimed and had tested their concept and intent to ensure that it fit the purpose behind their dual path even if it did not match the physical layout. They tested it one more time, and it still felt right, so they began having it implemented by their inhabitants as soon as possible.
This left them with little to do during the construction of the challenges, so once Akahana had finished helping them with the rituals, Mordecai decided it was time to turn their attention to Kazue creating a fully invested avatar and finalizing the travel plans for Moriko and Kazue. The three of them gathered in their bedroom for this, which is when Mordecai handed the two women packages that had been delivered several weeks prior. “I had these commissioned in anticipation of this time. I wasn’t sure if we’d have the proper materials to craft clothing for Kazue’s invested avatar, and I thought the two of you might enjoy something in a matching theme.”
The basics were the same for each of them, with the primary difference being color. The tops were tunic-length, closely fitted cheongsam-style shirts made from heavily embroidered silk brocade with high slits reaching nearly the hips. The cap sleeves wouldn’t impede arm movement but were still just wide enough to protect their shoulders from any bags they might be carrying. Kazue’s was green, embroidered with gold and purple featuring rabbits dancing amongst moons and stars, while Moriko’s was red, and her gold and purple motif featured rabbits and bees hidden behind and within flowers. The other significant difference was found at the high collars of the shirts. The frog closures were modified with designs on either side: Kazue’s collar had a dragon head on one side and a rabbit on the other, while Moriko’s had a dragon head and a fox head. The surprisingly hard-wearing fabric had been magicked to repel light precipitation, but anything stronger would require a cloak.
Soft black linen breeches were paired with the shirts, the material magicked to repel rocks, dust, and rough wear. They fit just tightly enough to outline shapes Mordecai had quickly grown fond of, but loose enough for easy movement and with short slits at the ankles to allow boots to fit under or over, as preference and weather dictated. The bottom hems of the pant legs were embroidered with feline forms crouched as if to pounce, in colors matching their respective top to make them easier to identify when getting dressed. The sharp contrast between the bright tops and matte pants was striking.
Both outfits also came with reversible hooded cloaks. One side was raw black silk; matte and slightly textured, so as to not stand out. The other side was magicked to be able to switch from either purple or gold silk brocade, the embroideries carrying the same pattern as their individual shirts. However, there was an addition to the full patterns: when the space between the embroidery was viewed as a whole, a dragon could be seen dancing. The hooded capelets were removable so that they could be worn with or without the long cloaks, giving the women more versatility so that they’d be better geared for any weather they might come across.
Kazue was additionally provided boots and bracers to match the ones that Mordecai had previously enchanted for Moriko, and her outfit had a little extra magic to accommodate shape-shifting and tails, or lack thereof. Both women received sarashi, breast wraps enchanted to fit quickly and reduce bounce, which for Kazue had the potential to be quite painful. And of course, the entire outfit was woven through with enchantments for durability, comfort, waterproofing, and cleanliness.
Moriko and Kazue loved the outfits, but one detail was starting to nudge a suspicious thought in Moriko’s mind, and she eyed the collars a moment before turning toward Mordecai. “Did you get an outfit made for yourself as well?”
“Of course.” He replied while giving his best sincere smile. “I used mostly the same design as the semi-military outfit that Kazue had made for me before. I had to alter the collar a little bit of course, and it now sports a fox head and a rabbit head.”
Kazue beamed at their wife as Moriko’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why, you ran back to us so fast that you had to take care to not lose your pursuers. And you know, foxes just adore chasing and catching rabbits. They are very … tasty.”
And that was how Moriko found out that her spouses had decided that she was going to be represented by a rabbit, and had been integrating her symbol into their motif for a while.