Kaden poured directed mana into the room and let it take shape. “No water, so no water beasts. What do you want down here?”
Slowly, dirt formed and then changed, becoming a rusty bed with a rotten mattress, a wormy wooden desk, several glass bottles with different color liquids—and a spellbook. A spellbook that had obviously been dropped by one of the parties that wiped. Kaden picked it up. “[Freezing Blast]. Minor debuff.” He looked over the other loot options. “Can you rotate spell books based on the college of the mage? You know what, it doesn’t matter. But you can’t give away loot for nothing.”
A shimmer of light formed, then intensified.
The dungeon had held a [Ghost Seed] since the second rank, when Kaden needed entity seeds. This was no ghost, but a minor vengeful spirit. Kaden willed a set of stones to recess in the wall. Looking down, one wouldn’t see them, but looking up, they formed handholds, ones he tested to climb out. One final touch, a single copper on the edge of the well.
A wishing well.
This was the sort of detail that would reward Adventurers being smart. Taking chances. Taking risks. Pocket the copper or make a wish, and get a clue that perhaps everything wasn’t as it seemed. And the core had sort of, almost done this on its own.
A cry of fear sent Kaden sprinting through the Dungeon to find Cloud…unharmed. Simply unhappy at being alone. Vip continued to whine at him in ways that [Beast Soul] translated as *Really, it’s going to be ok. And if you’re going to eat anything, I’ve heard that couches are really comforting, not that Love ever leaves me long enough to find out. Though you, on the other hand, he doesn’t seem to care for. I wouldn’t wander too far. Accidents happen.*
Kaden scooped them both up. “That’s enough of that. No jealousy allowed, I love you both. Who wants some fish?”
The squirming, frantic shrieks from Cloud gave him his answer. But when Kaden emerged from the Dungeon, he faced a new problem. Crossing Echo Lake with the griffin. “Listen, I need you two to go across on the ice and wait for me. Just follow Vip, she’s smart and fast. She won’t leave you.” He wasn’t certain the hatchling would follow. Or stay, but slowly they clawed across the ice.
Kaden didn’t mind falling in. [Resist Suffocation] combined with [Resist Cold] let him swim along under the ice and then smash his way through. He pulled Vip into his soul and carried Cloud back to the farmhouse, where he broke the ice off his skin and fed the Griffin one of three remaining Crystal Lake Bass. As always, the hatchling ate until he could barely walk, then waddled to the fireplace to sleep.
*Could you open the back door?* Sara sent with [Mind Speech]. As best Kaden could tell, the master bedroom had been the original cabin, and everything else was added on. The back door opened out of his bedroom, and Kaden raced to open it.
Sara walked through, carrying a plump mattress, with each of her pseudopods lifting a bag. “Mattress, beding, and I paid for disposal of the evidence—I mean, old mattress.”
“What do I owe you?”
Sara laughed. “Quests. So many quests.”
With Vip watching the griffin, Kaden quickly delivered the old mattress and remade the bed. This time, he wouldn’t be leaving Cloud alone. At all.
Instead, in between Messenger Birds, Kaden discussed his plans. “I’m going to pick up the second, third and fourth Inheritance packages. The first went to Sevin. The second I haven’t gotten yet, but the owners are dead. The third and fourth I want to know about at the same time.”
“That makes sense, except that carrying too many valuable items at once is a recipe for disaster. Several [Thief] variants see valuable targets highlighted with a glow.”
“I’ll at least find out what they are. I’m—” Kaden stopped as an owl swooped in and spoke in a man’s deep voice, a voice Kaden recognized as the Druid Centurion Olidar.
“Kaden Birch, a friend says you need to be introduced to a griffin colony. Winlock will want you to head north, and the South East Tangle Colony is always looking for hatchlings. But you have options. There’s a colony to the south that’s fallen on hard times. Come by the grove. I’ll take you to see it.”
“Are you going?” Sara asked.
“Not yet. Not on my own. Not without my Party. Why don’t you show me where we are on resettling the town and how I can help?”
“You gave the right answer.” Sara drew a binder from Inventory. “If you ever know someone needing to level a business profession, I can recommend Town Planning. The number of contracts, the alignment of schedules, the meetings. It’s thrilling.”
Over the course of hours, she explained how repairing stone gates was the least issue (and already done). Guild Scouts had assessed the remaining structures and assigned a Town Capacity rating with a minimal population and a maximum starting population.
From there, a [Town Planner] had offered several recommended configurations for required professions. The real problem was that the Town would require an economic function.
“The Mana Ore Mine.” Kaden didn’t need to guess, the entire section labeled that way gave him the answer. “You said it would need to be cleared.”
“Assessed, which is one level of protection, and then cleared. And the timing of all of this is critical. Ideally, we’d want [Miners] ready at the moment the mine is cleared. An active mine doesn’t attract monsters.”
Kaden saw the interconnections. “Those miners need food and housing. Someone to move the ore to a place that processes it, healers, teachers, merchants, guards.”
“The smallest villages exist with only a [Mayor] and various logging or mining professions. This Town is too large for that.” Sara’s tone held out an option. It wasn’t too late to let Ashi practice [Fireball] everywhere.
Kaden shook his head. “One day at a time. When’s the mine assessment?”
“He’ll come when we’re ready. We’ve had so many other problems, I deferred the gold until later.”
That brought something different to mind. A Town wasn’t a business. When Kaden had faced off against Mr. Dervish it had been because he couldn’t stomach the idea of demons destroying one more thing. “I wouldn’t ask anyone else, but how does someone make money off a Town?”
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“Taxes—don’t look like that. The tax rate is something you control, and it’s usually deferred for the first five years. The larger the city, the lower your percentage, but the more you make. Would you appreciate a graph of profit over time?”
Kaden would not. “I don’t want Party money going to this. If we need money, I have a ton of loot stashed.”
“I think our [Mirror Shield] income will cover your portion for now.” For the next few hours, Sara cast [Speeding Wind] whenever her mana was up, trying to level it, and practicing summoning a [Crawling Horror] and having the Falcrow drag it to target. “I also have been breeding Pop Waddler plants which can carry them. They’re just Waddlers, but they’re so much faster than the Crawling Horrors anything is an improvement.”
Kaden proposed wrapping them in meat and using [Blasphemous Flesh] as a weapon. Attempts to lash one to an arrow ended poorly, with a splash of barren earth scalded by the [Crawling Horror’s] flesh. “Let me show you something.”
He summoned the [Thornling], ignoring the gasp when Sara saw it. Kaden drew an arrow from [Mana Quiver] focusing on a specific idea. A wide, blunt head, which he then let the [Thornling] grip. “Mr. Dervish said how I used it was up to me. If I’m up against boss monsters, I want every edge I can get.”
He dismissed the [Thornling] and the arrow.
“Be careful. That’s all I’ll say.” Sara’s tone told him everything she didn’t say.
Kaden leaped to his feet as Dominion told him Trella and the others had crossed out of the Dungeon. “They’re all walking, and that’s what counts.”
Cloud sensed the tension and rose. Also, Cloud wanted a bass, so Kaden dumped the remains of the previous meal, saving the last Crystal Lake Bass for tomorrow’s breakfast. Or a midnight feeding.
The farmhouse door opened and Kaden couldn’t help rushing to pick Trella up. “Are you ok?”
Trella kissed him, then ghosted out of his arms, leaving her Dark Deception with its arms around him. “We’ve got a map of Fangwood. A real map. Bringing in twenty-fives is going to be a breeze now. Of course, I’ll get paid for every party that uses it. But really, I did it out of the goodness of my heart. Also for the [Rogue] quest. I get an auto-map scroll every time I turn in a complete one and a slew of XP.”
Kaden looked to Ashi, who dragged, barely walking. “Do you need help? Mana? Food?”
“I need sleep. I had forgotten what it was like to run a dungeon with your Love.”
It could have conceivably been a compliment, if heard from a distance during, say, an avalanche.
Eve sat down and put her head on the table. “Kaden, would you mind cooking something?”
Now he knew it had been rough. While Sara watched Cloud and the others showered, Kaden cooked roast chicken and potatos with gravy and salad.
Your skill with Cooking has increased.
Recipe slots have been unlocked.
You have received a Recipe (Scorpion Steak with Garlic and Mustard Sauce).
You have received a bonus Recipe: Braised Short Rib with Rosemary garnish.
He plated the dinner with pride. Recipes could be cooked almost automatically. He’d make sure to have a few of all of them ready. That’s when he realized. “Where is Trinity? Where is my TriTerror?”
The silence was deafening as he charged into the master bedroom with Cloud bounding after him. “What happened to Trinity?”
“She left the dungeon and headed out hunting. All of us were exhausted, but your monster hadn’t had enough blood and violence. Can’t you sense what she’s doing?” Trella asked as she dried off.
The stronger Trinity grew, the more she leveled, the less he could. Vip. He concentrated on her and knew she was laying on her back in Eve’s lap, paws in the air, sound asleep. Kaden just couldn’t be jealous. Vip had a hard start to life and deserved to be treasured by everyone.
Rocky was asleep in a pool of bubbling acid he’d imagined for himself.
Skully—Kaden looked away. He didn’t want to know what the undead monster was doing, but it probably involved spreading [Plague Crows] to empty skulls. Kaden hoped that was what Skully was doing to those bones. The Falcrow was dropping…candy? Candy on children. Maybe those were coins. Or beetles, it was hard to be sure and the children sure seemed excited. Then again, Kaden would have loved to have beetles dropped on him.
Cloud. Oh, no.
“Kaden!” Trella shouted.
Cloud was making a not-cloud in the middle of the fresh bed. “I’ll clean—”
“That’s an alchemical reagent!” Trella shouted. “Yes! You are the best griffin ever. Hey, did you change the sheets?”
“I had Sara get a new set. The old set should be clean, I’ll put them on in a moment.”
Trella was scratching Cloud’s back while Eclipse hissed from under the bed, then she moved to gather her ‘prize.’
Kaden cleaned the bed and privately asked Sara to produce the rest of the ‘present.’ “Tomorrow I have an invitation from Olidar to show us a griffin colony. I think that’s a good idea. I’d like for all of us to go, just in case. Plus, I want you to meet all the Druids there.”
That put a little bounce in Trella’s step. “Come. Sit down, I’ll tell you all about Fangwood, or as I like to call it, ‘Trella’s Personal Shopping Spot.’”
He could listen to her forever.
On the couch in the common room, Kaden sat with Vip in his lap while Ashi let Cloud [Hover], which delighted the Griffin. And Trella began to explain. FangWood’s open air, top dungeon was in fact a set of concentrinc circles with rooms branching off them. The Fell Woodsman, the sub boss, probably couldn’t have been a worse room to start in—or a better one. Trella had used alchemical potions to burn down a set of stumps, making a clear place to fight, then let Ashi take the lead with Fire College spells while Bleed dosed weapons drained the woodsman. “His throw is dangerous, but if you never close on him, ever? He glitches and performs it over and over while his health drains. Then he raises the trees and continues to bleed.”
“And as long as you have a Healer to put your entrails back in the one time you don’t dodge, it’s ‘easy,’” Eve added. “Otherwise it’s not easy. In fact, it’s not easy at all. And [EverCut] will outpace my healing handily if someone doesn’t put it away. And then there’s the Inkblades. Why don’t we talk about those?”
Trella shrugged. “They’re really sharp and the warning is serious. Mana regen goes to zero and the effect spreads. They came with a warning, and I didn’t mean to cut myself.”
After the Fell Woodsman, the Patrols hadn’t stood a chance, Trella would maim one with [Backstab,] nick both with Inkblades and then kite them along until the Gloom Wolves were weakened, by which time [Backstab] would let her kill at least one.
“Unless,” Ashi added, “one does not watch carefully. And one brings down two patrols. And the second patrol attacks from behind. Unless that.”
“Next time, we’ll kite into the Fell Woodsman’s clearing, or the Urgol Spider’s nest. That’s actually far better, come to think of it. Move clockwise with the patrols, take down the spider, then use the terrain there to kite.” Trella seemed far less repentant than he would have thought.
Ashi drew a dagger from Inventory and dropped it on the table. “Even once, have you seen me use this? You have not. And yet today I was reduced to knives. Forced to struggle just to survive. I approve. We will repeat.”
“You have to brew more mana regen potions. I am a well of health if I have mana.” Eve looked exhausted but less angry than expected.
“Thank you both. Oh, and this.” She drew the Rescue Reset coin. “This is wildly overpowered. We figured out a fantastic strategy for using it. It lets me burn all the way down in an alpha strike and then reset and do it again. The burst damage is insane.”
It wouldn’t fit Kaden’s needs. Reseting somewhere else meant having to close the distance again. Perhaps if he were fighting a stronger monster, one near guaranteed to kill them, it would be worth it. No wonder Rogues loved their rescue skills.
“Griffin colony, tomorrow, at dawn—or after breakfast.”
“I’m eating Druid food,” Trella said. “And I want to see Ravena. And I want to see you see Ravena. Also I want to talk to the Rangers who thought it was good idea to send you into Hell.”
“I volunteered,” Kaden said.
It was, based on her looks, not a good answer.
Cloud attempted to pounce on Eclipse and then sprinted in a circle as the Shadow Cat taught an important lesson on who was not a target, before hiding under Kaden’s legs. He brushed Cloud’s wings. “Ashi, have you ever heard of Dungeon monsters growing? Cloud’s feathers are longer today than they were yesterday.”
“Mother’s beasts continued to grow in Vichor, but they were not born of the dungeon. I do not claim to understand this.”
Kaden had exactly one Crystal Lake Bass left.
Tomorrow, something had to change.