It is now just about mid day and I am dying of boredom. I did a few tests with my shotgun, turns out that shooting it then reverting to my floating form then materializing as my avatar does in fact cost mana, it's about half the cost of materializing one in my hand normally, but it also freezes my mana regen for about an hour if I do it more than three times in a row, at least I think its about an hour. Time feels funny in the dungeon. Maybe I should put a sundial outside so I can know for sure. I also thought about using the shells as improvised grenades in an emergency but I feel like that would just be a waste, I can get more destructive power from the shotgun itself, and having accidentally been the test dummy for using a shell as a grenade I can attest to that. I float my form outside and take a look around my courtyard. It's been a gravel pit since I showed up here and I feel it is time to finally clean up a bit, first I absorb all of the gravel down to dirt, there was a fair bit but I can feel I got a few different kinds of stone from it, I'll have to look them over later.
For now, I just pick one of the more common light gray ones, some kind of mafic rock I think, and I make the floor a nice smooth flat surface until it reaches the slope of the bowl where I turn the entire surface into a circular staircase leading into the bowl. Over the ant tunnel in the center, I form a little bunker of sorts. It's a dome of solid rock with three open faces big enough for Cardinal to fit through, if anything other than making it less of a hazard to walk near it should keep stray projectiles from netting down the center of it. On second thought I flatten the top and place a brass rod dead in the center of it. Now I just have to come back as close to noon or as close to midnight as I can to place the numbers to finish off the courtyard for now, I carve away a circle around my entrance and form a decent sized, eight sided gazebo in the new space. I chose to go with oak for now since I only have the choice between that or yew, and oak seems to be more on theme with the rest of my dungeon but it's all open to change eventually. And of course, it wouldn’t really be part of my dungeon without my Celtic aesthetic flair climbing up the pillars and forming a ring on the ceiling and floor that perfectly mirror each other. I placed another table with chairs in the gazebo, an exact copy of the one inside but instead of a candelabra I went with a brass chandelier.
After considering what one of the first intruders said about stealing furniture, I fuse the bottom of the table to the floor and connect an iron chain to the bottoms of all the chairs, and anchor them through the wood floor into the stone below. Satisfied with the furnishings I look up and turn the half of the ceiling facing the mountain into clear quartz. The view of the mountain behind the giant stone tree is quite a nice one, and I can even see some workers weaving away at the external hive. They are about the size of regular ants from here and it's almost dizzying to look at for too long. The quartz distorts the image and it makes my eyes feel weird, well, if I had eyes in this form they would feel weird. Nonetheless, I stop myself from looking and return to my building. Underneath the gazebo, I form a wide shallow trough at the same angle of the slope and run it out of the bowl and underground until I break through the surface halfway to the treeline to hopefully keep water from running into my dungeon and then turn the entire surface on the inside of my drain pipe into a thin layer of stone the whole length the avoid erosion. Next, I leave the gazebo and head up the stairs in the direction of the mountain towards the tree. I have been trying to figure out why it looks strange from the ground and I think I just realized why.
I didn't add any texture to imitate bark so it looks more like a giant smooth pillar than a tree until it gets to the branches. I place my mental feelers against the trunk and force my mana into it while visualizing the way a redwood's bark looks. The surface cracks and forms into what I was imagining over the entire tree, or at least close enough. I turn around and look over my clearing and the forest and I have to say, it really is beautiful. I make a wooden platform under where I am floating and then take my best attempt at a gray flagstone path that winds unnecessarily down to the gazebo and form a wooden bench with a small table and a hook. Then, changing my mind, I replace the wood platform with flagstone to match the path and add a small circular firepit in the middle with a simple grill and a shallow iron hook on a swivel to hang my kettle. Satisfied, I enter my avatar and make my way to the tree from my sanctum just to take a seat and enjoy the light breeze. The view is like something out of a nature magazine so I sit there for a while before adding wood and kindling to the fire pit and a small stack of split oak rounds next to the bench before standing and heading down the path and back into my dungeon, passing a few curious ants that are investigating my new additions along the way.
I was about to reform a new kettle since the last one had a hole in it from being shot with an arrow but stopped before I could lift my hand, the kettle was in its place on its stand over the firepit. Curious I pick it up and turn it around in my hands inspecting it. There was no hole and it didn't even have soot marks from when I used it last night. I know I didn't replace it since I didn’t have the spare mana to at the time, do the things in my domain respawn like I do? I opened the chest and wouldn't you know it, the meat package I had chosen for dinner was back, and on top of that none of the meat in the chest was starting to smell, but it may take more than two days at room temperature to begin rotting. I opt for the newly respawned meat again since it should be the freshest of the lot and manifest a silk bag, likely one of the ones I had gotten from Cardinal when she was still my only ant, and gather a few things. The meat parcel, my fire starter, a jug of water, and a jar of dried tea along with a plate, mug, and some eating utensils. I then hand carry the kettle since the bag was full and make my way back up to my new favorite spot and unpack my goods, making a small wooden crate to hold the tea jar and water jug, I think these will be staying up here permanently. Before I light the fire I check my mana, 62 of 100.
Mana density was a very useful attribute, I'm sure without it I would be down to the thirties or forties by now. I invest the mana into the fire starter and light my kindling. Enjoying the area and watching the forest. An hour or two passes as I wait for the fire to burn down to enough coals to cook my deer slab, I hang the filled kettle and let it sit to boil before walking back down to my sundial and carving the time in Roman numerals. It's close enough to noon so this should give me a good enough estimate of the time, hopefully.
I sit back at my bench under the tree and pull out my shotgun to disassemble and clean it even though it's already immaculate. The main reason is I want to try oiling it since it is overly clean and there is no lubricant on any of the moving parts. I had used Alchemy-I to pull pure oil out of some deer fat earlier in the day, I know it's not anywhere near what I should be using, but I don't have any actual mechanical lubricant or synthetic grease so I will make do with what I have. I really just want to see if the oil will stay when I next reform into my avatar. I eject the magazine and lay it down on the small table before disassembling the bolt and using a leather and copper dropper I lightly oil all the mobile parts then reassemble it and dry fire a few times. It seems to be moving smoother but I will just have to wait and see. I load the magazine and stow my weapon before unwrapping my slab of meat and placing it on the grill. The smell is wonderful and doesn’t take long to cook, as I prefer my steak rare.
I settle down with a plate of meat and a nice mug of tea, I savor the moment as I cut off a small corner, raising it to my mouth; but before I can take my first bite I see a small group of people leave the tree line, headed straight for my dungeon. At the front is a familiar looking hobbit. Behind the group is a small procession of ants following cautiously, getting the occasional worried glance from the others in the group.
"Why can't I just have a nice relaxing meal without interruption?" I mumble to myself aloud before I scarf down my deer steak not getting to enjoy it in the slightest before standing with my mug of tea and I decide to carry the kettle with me, even if I can’t enjoy the meat I won’t let them stop me from enjoying a mug or three of this tea. As I stood the whole party stopped, I guess they didn't see me in the shade of my tree. As I make my way down the path at a leisurely pace sipping tea and fighting the urge to yell at them to get off my property like a crotchety old man, they begin walking again and stop at the lip of the bowl before I can get there. I stop near the ant tunnel, leaning my hip against it, and watching as they take it all in. the stone bowl and gazebo and the absolutely massive tree seemingly made of granite growing out of the foot of the mountain.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“How can I help you this fine afternoon?” I call to the odd group snapping all ten eyes to me and one of the humans even puts his hand on his dagger before the hobbit elbows him making him remove his hand.
“Good afternoon dungeon.” says the hobbit while eyeing an ant passing by them relatively close before it makes its way down the bowl and into the tunnel to my right. ”We are seeking information you might have. You're ants may have seen our quarry in the Greywood and we wanted to barter for their whereabouts if that is alright with you.”
“ I can’t make any promises but I can ask Onyx and Cardinal If they have heard anything.” I say before finishing the drink and pouring the last of the kettle into my mug without taking my eyes off them. “It may take a while as not all of my ants are present and we will have to wait for them to return to get all the reports. Feel free to wait with me inside for them to return.” As I say this, not waiting for a response. I send my senses behind myself as I make for the stairwell and I can see the party trade nervous glances and whisper back and forth for a moment before the halfling begins walking down the steps. The only thing I can hear from them other than heavy boots is one of the humans muttering “Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly.” I get to the bottom as the group stands at the top peering down, the stairwell is dark so I form some lumen crystals into the walls to help them avoid tripping but this does little to ease the tension I can feel in the air. I turn back around and reach through the bars unlocking the deadbolt and swing the door into the dungeon, leaving it open for my guests. I headed straight to the fire pit before realizing I had left my fire starter at the tree and instead improvised with a small pile of ignis powder and a rock. It works well enough, catching the tinder and starting a fire.
The hobbit is the first to enter and takes a look around before seeming to relax, if only a little, as the rest of his companions pile through the door. One is a dwarf with a short red brown beard and braided hair, the next is a platinum blonde elf, thankfully I am able to tell this one's gender right off the bat. She is wearing leather armor and has a fancy looking bow but I don't see any arrows. Then the two humans enter, they look almost identical, but one has a short ponytail and a goatee while the other is clean-shaven with a close cut hair style that reminds me of a university professor for some reason. I refill the herbs and water for the kettle before placing it on the stand to boil. I walk over to the chair closest to the hallway leading deeper into the dungeon and take a seat, gesturing to the table with my hands.
“Please, have a seat. No sense in standing around while we wait.” The group lets out a collective breath as I break the silence. "I still don't trust any of you as far as I can throw you aside from the hobbit, I could probably toss him a fair distance, and maybe the dwarf." I grin and chuckle at my own joke as they all uneasily take seats around the table. I was expecting my joke to fall flat and it did, but surprisingly the dwarf was the first to speak up instead of the hobbit.
“ I like ya sense ah’ humor. If you don’t trust us because ya don’ know us then let me be the first to introduce myself. I’m Marvik, adept fire and stone mage in service to our party leader.” he says as he places his elbows on the table and clasps his hands.
“I am Rennie,” says the hobbit, ”I don’t believe I gave you my name last we met, glad to see you haven’t become bloodthirsty and rabid since I stopped by last time."
“A pleasure to meet you two.” I say with a nod as I look at the three as of yet unnamed guests in my home. “And you are?” I ask
“Evaren, I'm the party ranger.” Her voice is sturdy but I can hear a small amount of unease in her tone. I nod to her as well and look at the two humans, the goateed one is frowning and the other is frantically writing something in a little notebook
“Darnell.” is all the goateed one says as he continues to stare at me. I like him the least out of the five so far. Finally, I look to the scholarly one and wait for him to finish his notes before clearing my throat to get his attention.
“Oh uh, sorry, I’m Erb. The party's alchemist, and brother to Darnell." Darnell just shoots him a glare before returning it to me.
“A pleasure to meet you all, you can call me Lance, now to business. What exactly are you hunting that I can help you with?” I say and all of them give me a wide-eyed look, a little mix of concern and wonder.
“You’re named? By who? And how long ago? Oh, how old are you?” This was Erb and the elf had to shush him before he could rattle off any more questions.
“No, I am not named, Lance is the closest thing to a name I can remember from my past. And as for how old I am, I’m 27 years old, but if you meant how long I have been a dungeon core maybe a month and a half, give or take." This gets me confused looks and a scoff from Darnell. “Cardinal thinks I should keep it a secret, but, I detest lying and liars. And if it can at least get asshat over there to trust me even a little then why not share.” I say pointing a thumb at Darnell while looking at Rennie and to my satisfaction I receive a few angry grumbles and the elf giggles a little at the expense of her companion. “I used to be a soldier, I was killed in action during a world war and I can only remember pieces of my past. I can't remember my name, if I had a family, if I had kids. Hell, I can't even remember my parents. I know I had them, for obvious reasons, but I don't remember the specifics.”
“How the hell can this thing even expect us to believe this horse shit, we should just go find the goblins on our own. We don't need this thing’s help.” Darnell says this to Rennie with contempt and anger dripping off his words and the halfling is staring daggers back at him.
“Darnell, if you don’t like how I am running things you are free to head back to Hoagen, you invited yourself on this adventure so shut up and don't piss off the dungeon any more than you already may have.” Darnell just sits and stares at the hobbit for a moment.
“I need some fresh air, I’ll be outside.” He says, standing from the table and heading for the exit.
“Wait,” I say as I form a medallion and toss it to him. “I can’t guarantee the ants will take kindly to you being outside by yourself without one of these.”
“I can handle a few ants.” he says as he catches the medallion and prepares to throw it back.
“A few sure, but how about eighty including two royals.” I shoot back and he stops his arm mid throw. Then looks at the medallion with a frown and stuffs it in his pocket with a huff before stomping up the steps.
“I take it he has a bad past experience with a dungeon.” I say to the group in front of me after I can no longer hear his boots in the stairwell.
“I’m glad you don’t have a short temper, but yes, Darnell and I used to have a sister.” Says Erb while casting his eyes down at the table and rubbing his thumb into his palm. "I'm sure you can put two and two together."
“You have my condolences. I would say I do have a rather short temper, however, you don’t see a reaction like that from someone without there being an underlying cause or some very deep seated feelings.
“Intelligent an’ wise.” says Marvik, “Now, what do ya mean by you were a soldier, you don’ seem like the common foot troop, too well spoken, and your only weapons are that knife an' strange club, ya' have no armor either. Were ya' uh mage?”
“No, I was a marine, a field engineer. And this isn’t a club.” I say as I pat my shotgun scabbard. "Can any of you use discern?" I ask. This time it was Rennie who spoke.
“No, that is a skill only dungeons have, if it's the same thing we're talking about. We can all use identify though, it isn’t as potent as yours probably, but as far as a weapon is concerned we should be able to see its information; as long as it doesn’t have a ward.” That is interesting I think to myself as I pull my gun from its scabbard. I eject the magazine and open the bolt to make sure it is cleared even though I know it already is before I place it on the table in front of the party and I can see all of them concentrate on it. The mana swirled in a wavy line from their eyes to the shotgun and then back. There were a few tilted heads and even a gasp from the elf. Erb was vigorously writing in his notebook before he blinked a few times and looked at me like a kid asking a parent for a candy bar.
“May I examine it further by holding it?” he asks
“Sure, but even though it's unloaded, always treat it as if it were ready to fire. Do not point it at anything that you don't want dead immediately.” As I say this I can hear the tea boiling so I stand and turn, but then turn back around and remove the loaded shell from its magazine before sliding the empty magazine over to Erb who has already discovered how to unfold the stock.
“What was that?” asks Rennie as I walk over to the fire pit.
“It is called a shotgun shell, Specifically it is loaded with a round called a slug. That's the ammunition that my weapon fires like how a bow fires arrows.” I can hear him get out of his chair and walk around the table to look at it.
“Are they all this heavy.?” I hear him ask as I fix myself a fresh mug of tea and Darnell walks back into the dungeon to see what all the commotion is about. I turn and Rennie is lightly bouncing the round in his hand.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” I say before blowing the steam from my mug.
“Why not if I may ask?” says Rennie
“Because if you drop it it will explode, anybody want tea?” Rennie then gently places the shell on the table and answers with a yes along with a nod from Marvik and Evaren. I pour three more and carry all the mugs to the table, spilling a little scalding tea on my hands and wincing slightly before putting them down and shaking my hands off.
“Now, I think we got a little sidetracked. What was it you wanted to know?” I ask before burning my mouth on some very hot tea.