The Beginnings of a Dungeon
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It was rather sad to end the moment so soon, but this was important. It must protect them.
January.
“Yes, It?”
It is a Core. People will want to destroy It. To destroy you.
January’s posture drooped a little. “I know, It.”
Do not be afraid. It shall build a dungeon that will keep It safe. Keep you safe.
Their mouth opened a smidge. Perhaps if January had been made with lips, it would have been a smile. “That is good.”
When a safer room is built, you must carry It inside.
“I understand!” January proclaimed.
Good.
It looked at one of the walls across from It, and imagined carving a doorway into it large enough for January to use comfortably. Glowing energy lashed out from the Core and struck the wall. Where the lashes struck, the rock was gouged and rent apart, creating sharp pieces of gravel that collected at the bottom of the wall. January, startled by the noise, crouched behind It. After several seconds, a clear shape began to emerge, and a rectangular doorway became distinct from the wall. It continued the barrage; It felt energy leave It’s Core, but it was replenished just as soon as it had left It. Over the course of minutes, the doorway transformed into a tunnel. The only issue was that It could not see the end of it. The light of the multicolored Core, while enchanting, only stretched so far. It did not like the idea of mining blindly.
It ceased It’s volley and pulled the excess energy away into a glowing glob. Now that It looked, the energy itself glowed differently than the Core glowed. Where the Core illuminated the surroundings, the energy did not. Maybe the energy only glowed to It?
Regardless. It knew what It wanted to create. It looked at the glob of energy and told it to become a living light so it could hover around and illuminate things for It. The glob complied, and quickly became a more uniform sphere of light. January, who had peeked over the pedestal when It stopped mining, ooh’d at the floating golden light.
Go over to the end of that tunnel and light it up. Continue to move to the back of the tunnel as It mines it out.
The thoughtless lantern moved to obey It instantly, darting to the tail end of the tunnel. January followed it with great interest, until It began mining again. Then they ducked behind the pedestal once more.
Minutes stretched on, and the tunnel grew longer and longer. The light grew farther and farther away, but It still saw. Eventually, It decided that the tunnel was long enough, and began carving out a square room at the end. By the end, It did not know how to measure it, but knew that it was spacious enough for January to run around in. At It’s behest, the light hovered in the center. In this room, It sculpted a new pedestal, but this one was different.
It created a base of stone, the same as It’s first, but added silver to the design. It took more energy to form silver than stone, but It saw that as a small price to pay for a beautiful throne for It’s glorious self. The new pedestal was a rectangular pillar that caved inwards towards the center before returning to its original dimensions at the opposite end. Running down the middle of each side was a silver strut. The four struts followed the curve of the stone, and then continued upwards a short ways before they stopped. Between the four prongs these struts formed, a bowl of pure silver was held. It was wide and shallow for its size, with a divot at the bottom. The overall structure became a mix of a birdbath and a brazier — It was pleased with the result.
January.
“Yes?” January chirped eagerly.
Carry It down the carved tunnel and into the new room.
“Got it!” With nearly boundless enthusiasm, they scooped It up in their arms.
January walked fairly steadily, and took special care to never drop It or let their grip loosen. The friction between the smooth gemstone Core and the smooth wood was minimal, but they did a good job of keeping It secure. After a full minute of slow and careful steps, the walk ended. It could hardly see anything past the motherly cradle January held It in, but It knew that they stood before the new pedestal.
Place It in the divot.
“Okay,” said January.
As the living doll lowered It towards the bowl, their grip slipped — and It rolled smoothly into the concavity at the bottom, taking nary a scratch in the process.
“I’msorry!” Blurted January instantly, shrinking back and clasping their hands over their mouth.
It has not been damaged. It is not upset with you, child.
The panic left their posture, but the guilt remained in their voice. “I’m sorry… I wasn’t trying to drop you…”
It knows, January.
“I’m sorry…” The doll slumped over the pedestal, doing their best to hug the glowing stone atop it.
It’s okay.
A few dull memories surfaced, reminding It of children It had once had. They were emotional creatures. Easy to please, and easier to hurt. If January had been made with tear ducts, they would probably be crying. Instead, they whispered ‘I’m sorry’ softly over It, cradling the Core in their arms. They understood the gravity of anything happening to It. They would be alone, then. A child without parent. And It would cease to exist. That was the fate of a Core when it died; It’s soul could not be saved and reincarnated like others. It would simply perish.
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It shook Itself from the melancholy thoughts. It would survive and build a home for January.
That began with cleaning up.
January, be at ease.
“But… I dropped you…”
And It forgives you. No damage was done. Please, be at ease child.
January whimpered softly for a moment, but then withdrew from the pedestal. “Okay… if you’re sure.”
It is. Besides, It must work. There is much yet to be done.
January nodded, more for self-reassurance than anything. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”
It formed a stone bench anchored to the wall.
You must sit there.
“Yessir!” They cried. “… Yessit?”
Yes, sit.
“Oh, right.” January walked to the wall opposite the doorway and sat down on the bench.
It internally chuckled at It’s child’s antics, despite lacking the organs It needed for laughter. With January seated, It put It’s energy to work once more. The sharp gravel coating the floor was swept out into the hall — it wouldn’t do if January scratched her wooden soles on the floor, after all. Once the bare, smooth floor was fully exposed, It attacked it with the Core’s energy, making It’s child flinch and bring up their knees. This time, however, It attacked not with sharp lashes that gouged the stone and broke it into shards, but with crushing waves that ground the rock into powder. Dust filled the room, but neither occupant was affected in the slightest.
After maybe an hour, It had made the floor several feet deeper; at the bottom was a layer of fine, gray sand nearly as smooth as January’s own wood. It lifted the sand into a ball above the pedestal, and then swept the excess gravel from the hall back into the pit. At roughly the halfway point between the pit and the original floor, It stopped adding gravel and placed the sand back. There was not enough to fill the pit, and left a gap of several feet between the floor of the room and the hall. January just watched curiously from the bench.
To fill the space, It began carving the roof with the same technique, but left slightly coarser sand. It cut a dome into the roof with the diameter of the room’s length, and made smaller divots in the four flat corners. It filled each divot with a living light, and then turned It’s attention back to the sand. It dusted off January, who was looking quite dirty, and spread what had fallen to the floor evenly across the room. The slightly coarser granules would still be fine enough to not damage January, and would additionally provide cushioning if It ever fell from the pedestal. There was enough to fill the room’s floor level to the hallway with a little leftover.
There. That should be softer for you to walk on.
“Wow! Thank you, It!” January hopped off the bench and began walking around in the sand.
Perhaps It should have chosen a name.
Pah. No matter.
January jumped in the sand, making a small puff of dust, while It turned It’s attention to more important matters than architecture. It needed eyes. All It could see was what was within the light and range of It’s Core, which simply was not enough. It needed a minion that could see in It’s stead. Something small and sneaky, that wouldn’t be noticed. Something tough enough not to become collateral damage.
A rock would do nicely. Or rather, a pebble.
It sent out a tendril of energy to snatch up a smooth pebble from the tunnel outside of It’s hall.
The pebble came zooming back to the Core room, where it levitated above the pedestal. With a delicate touch, It chipped away at the small stone until It had a hollow, shell-like structure. It moved all of the leftover energy inside the shell, and told it to become a gray beetle. Within the pebble, the insect grew to fit its shell. It was quite stunted in size, but that would not be an issue. It moved more energy towards the beetle, soaking the stuff deep into its carapace. With the creature saturated, It focused on what It wanted it to become. Stealthy. Durable. Perceptive. It needed a minion that could see clearly in darkness and light, and be nearly undetectable in both. When the energy was used up, It inspected It’s work.
[ Minion : Pebblebug ]
Insect (Beetle), SL: 6, Male
( Skills ):
[ Sensory Bond (Mighty) ], 3 SL
[ Superior Shell (Lesser) ], 1 SL
[ Keen Eyes (Lesser) ], 1 SL
[ Sunless Sight (Lesser) ], 1 SL
Perfect! It could see through the eyes of the tiny beetle at will. Absolutely wonderful! It must make more, immediately.
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Dozens of pebblebugs were now roaming the pebble filled tunnel outside, blending in perfectly with the myriad smooth pebbles covering the floor. Once It had made the first one, the rest had been nearly instantaneous to make, shell included. January had wandered off to go follow one of the beetles, and was happily roaming the tunnel. Of course, another beetle followed them in turn. Better safe than sorry, It always said.
Now, It would see any threats well before they arrived.
Which meant It now needed a way to deal with them when they arrived.
January, return.
Before a pebblebug’s eyes, the frolicking doll spun on its heels and began running back to the Core. The skittering of pebbles and the word ‘coming!’ echoed down the tunnel to where It waited. January soon entered the room at a sprint, coming to a dead standstill upon hitting the sand. The lantern It had sent to follow them hovered to a stop over their head. A cloud of dust rose from their feet as they saluted the Core with a clack. What an amusing child It had made.
January, you are still weak. It will make you stronger, for the good of It and you both.
“Yessit!” The doll merrily replied.
Ha, ha. Now, hold still.
It drew out a mass of energy, placing it within January. The wooden monster giggled, seeming to find It’s touch ticklish. Focusing, It began to shape the energy and guide it. First, It would make January’s natural ability stronger. They would be able to speak with greater volume, producing mighty shouts if needed. Alternatively, they could use it to create targeted shockwaves that would rupture eardrums and disorient enemies. Around half the energy dispersed into January’s body. When no more would soak into the wood, It began on the next ability.
Grace. January was a fine creation, and moved naturally, but not with grace. It wanted to give them the grace and balance of a dancer, and the speed of a sprinter. Its child would be nimble, dexterous, agile — untouchable. The energy began taking shape, and January fidgeted. More energy was absorbed into the wooden body, and It feared for a moment there would not be enough. To compensate, It pulled more energy from Itself and added it to what already swirled around in January’s abdomen. Eventually, it would accept no more energy, and It was satisfied.
With the remaining energy, It focused on a single concept. Voodoo doll.
January was fidgeting with their finger joints as It finished It’s work.
[ Monster (Sentient) : Dancer Doll (January) ]
Wooden Doll (Humanoid), SL: 13, Inapplicable
( Skills ):
[ Mimic Voice (Mighty) ], 3 SL
[ Wind Mastery (Mighty) ], 3 SL
[ Dancer’s Poise (Mighty) ], 3 SL
[ Rapid Sprinter (Middling) ], 2 SL
[ Voodoo Puppet (Middling) ], 2 SL
Good. You are stronger now, January.
“Cool!” It’s child chirped. “What do I do now?”
Now, you may do as you please. If an enemy appears, It will call upon you.
“Okay! Thanks, It.”
January was indeed much more capable with the improvements It had made. It got a general sense of what each skill meant and was able to do when It examined them, and Voodoo Puppet seemed like a powerful weapon. Unfortunately, it would only work against humanoids of similar or smaller size. January’s other abilities were more suited to disorienting enemies. What It needed now was a minion with a more traditional weapon. An idea occurred to It — a very good one, It believed.
Inspired, It began work on February.