There were countless plots and schemes worldwide—actions taken by individuals or groups. The town of Shadow Vales was seeing far more and their effects rippled out, affecting others in ways known and unknown. This was no different from the last few years since the town was established, only the number was still growing.
One man and a male Shi'Tan were on a ship docked on a pier, receiving and sending messages. For those who could monitor such things, the volume of messages coming and going hinted that something was happening. They had devised a plan with options to match his choices and thought they knew how to control the conversation with the local Lord. Their cunning was unmatched and they had sought to manoeuvre him into the choice they desired.
It turned out that the young man was not as easily controlled as they had assumed. His unexpected resistance added a dramatic twist to their carefully laid plans, leaving them utterly surprised and off-guard.
They thought they could pin him in place, bend him to their will, or trap him in a decision that would only benefit them. They came prepared and made their move.
They offered him a deal that would be a poisoned chalice. They wanted him to allow the Shi'Tan access to the town, which would trigger the other Lords around him to react negatively. History could not be ignored. Its echoes and scars are still present to all with the wisdom to see them. Ostrul and the Shi'Tan sought to bind him to them and make him reliant on their mercies.
That was the plan.
He, it turns out he, had other ideas.
He was expected to reject the Shi'Tan Imperium's offer, which would allow them to manoeuvre against him in different ways. But instead, he offered them something else, a move that could be a trap by giving them what they wanted. This unexpected turn of events added a thrilling twist to the narrative, a shame no Bard was present to record it.
This led them to withdraw to understand and dissect what he offered. On the surface, it was what they wanted, but the offer had teeth. He had strategically placed the responsibility for the trade's mission security on Ostrul's shoulders. They sought to have him take responsibility for it, but he had turned the tables on them with his cunning counteroffer.
And that was the trap he laid for them.
The messages understood this and debated whether they would take him up on it. Ostrul firmly believed in their hidden power of having others deal with their problems, leaving their hands "clean." This deal would expose them in a way that they had not been for centuries. Everyone knew Ostrul had dealings with the Shi'Tan, but it was always as "intermediaries" or "independent" merchants. This would solidify the truth of the relationship.
Ostrul's leaders were not happy. The Shi'Tan were unsure.
They were still debating.
Just as the young Lord had hoped.
## ## ## ## ##
Comus was in a new laboratory within the Alchemists Guild. He was hunched over the table before him. It was dark with the room shutters closed and was lit by a single lantern on the desk. Vellum was scattered across it and his scrawled handwriting covered much of it. Formulas and designs of wards dominated them. The walls had bottles and containers on shelves all over the room. Some glowed and others contained strange herbs and compounds.
He had started muttering to himself as he worked in private.
He was pale and looked stressed. He was trying to understand what had happened that led to all the death and destruction in his Guild. He was hiding his obsession now from his Guildmates and friends. He looked better in public; this was from a combination of acting and alchemic potions he was creating. In private, he looked worse.
Obsession.
It had started small, but it was growing slowly day by day.
Like all obsessions that were left unchecked, it was taking over his life.
What he did not know was that he had not left the disaster in his Guild unscathed. The healers, both mundane and divine, checked him over and scanned him, but they missed something. During the chaos, a tiny sliver of void corruption wormed its way into him. It was so small it was easy to miss, but as it continued to reside within him, it slowly began to grow.
If Comus was aware that he was being corrupted, the alchemist within him would see it all as fascinating. The man would have been horrified. The corruption moved differently in each infected, making it hard to spot until it was too late. With Comus, it was fuelling his obsession.
Everything would look fine if you could see the energy flow within his body. Taking your time and travelling these routes, you would start to see small things that would be no cause for concern on their own, but adding them all together would be concerning. He was being changed.
Like a bitter seed, the corruption was slowly growing and none were any the wiser.
What would be born from it?
## ## ## ## ##
A young Lord was sitting in his office reading the report of the silver that had been mined from the new Dungeon floor. Fourteen ingots of good silver were now in his possession, which could be turned into six hundred and thirty coins of the quality he desired. This was going to save him from ruination for now. Two adventurers died trying to secure the node for the miners, but that was not unexpected. This saddened him, but not the author of the report he was reading.
Stolen novel; please report.
In the neighbouring building, his newly appointed treasurer looked over the same numbers and others. The office was sparsely furnished, not because she disliked them but because she was not planning to be here that long.
Again, she thought about the tax system he had established here. It was easy to understand and hard to abuse. She smiled to herself, thinking she would have to use it herself in the future. She was the type of woman who respected efficiency.
He was safe for now with the injection of the silver he had gotten and the additional Dues he would receive from the Dungeon and taxes. By next year, he would even start showing a small surplus.
Sighing, she placed the report down. Looking around, she might have to get settled in after all.
This was going to make it harder for her to ruin him for her true employers.
## ## ## ## ##
The Adventurer's Guild was as busy as it was most days. The sixth floor was the primary source of conversation. More teams had been arriving and were planning to visit different floors. The fifth was interesting to many new teams as the traps were considered difficult to get around. Rogues and other trap-focused Paths were now far more interested in the Dungeon. They were coming up with exciting and novel ideas to get around them.
Many were talking about the other floors. Elain was reading the new requests for Dungeon resources in her office. A new request now dominated them.
Silver.
The town's metal workers had taken the news well. She saw it as a good sign that they had not tried to storm the Dungeon to get to the node. The find would attract new opportunities and businesses.
This all brought her new life's bane…. More paperwork.
The never-decreasing stack on her desk was her own personal hell and she glared at everyone who entered and added to it, then cursed them loudly.
Even a Guild Master who just laughed at her.
But with a new floor, the Dungeon got a new rating. Word was spreading and new teams would come. The Dungeon had reached the level now that fewer adventurer teams would risk the sixth floor, even for the silver node. They would come as word spread and the greedy would take the risk, with most of them dying.
Another day then as an Adventurer Guild Leader.
## ## ## ## ##
Further afield, those in power who were lucky enough to be on the new or reestablishing trade routes began to see the benefits of the new Dungeon and its new community. The biggest winners were the Nascan city-states to the south and the Skaald city of Vostog to the north. Many others found wealth by selling to them or through them.
Money followed along the river route like water. The crime rate increased as the Thieves Guild and others sought to profit.
Traders were sighted more often and the wealth generated by trade reached more people. This, in turn, led many hardy and brave souls to ask what else could be found in those abandoned and forgotten mountains. Local powers and leaders soon asked this question as well.
Employed or self-funded explorers soon searched and mapped the valleys and riverways. They had Old Empire maps to work from, but even then, these mountains were hardly known and the treasures and dangers were unknown. Many were never seen again.
Shadow Vale was the logical starting point and it saw another influx of groups who did not stay but used the town as a supply base. The merchants and traders cared not why but as long as their inventories sold. The smart ones factored the new explorers into their plans.
The new iron mine was an excellent example of a new business. Loggers were also finding their services in much demand. Mercenaries and adventurers found coin following quickly as the mountain monsters and apex predators did not tolerate such incursions into their domains.
Men and women were flocking to the town and mountains in ever-increasing numbers, but others were also coming from much further afield.
Elves and Dwarven figures and groups were being sighted along with ships from their races. The first were a mixture of adventurers and traders. Soon, others were being sighted.
This gave the local authorities another headache to deal with. Most humans were barely tolerant of their own kind, let alone others. Most only looked on or ignored the travellers. A few -mostly drunk- did cause issues and the local watch dealt with the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were handled by the targets of their hate and soon wished they were back home in bed.
Soon, new, never-before-seen ships along these rivers were heading all in one direction.
## ## ## ## ##
Within the Divine Realm, things were calmer but still tense.
Gods and Goddesses watched each other wearily as they all wondered which would be the first to cross the line regarding Void Corruption.
Most saw the danger for what it was, but there were always those who sought more, especially amongst the Divine. So, they watched each other, wondering who would be the first.
This was not all.
Oda was the leader of the Pantheon but, for the first time, had untied the two Courts and a few independents in condemnation of him. They had all agreed not to take action against him, but now five others stood watch over the Dungeon Core and the System he created for it. He was still present, but the others made the decisions. They were….
Nictor - God of death, darkness and endings.
Xandus - Goddess of light, life and destiny.
Hackyon - Goddess of magic and learning.
Nyralia - Goddess of nature (land/sea).
Lawdrun - God of laws, contracts and courts.
They were in his office looking at the replica of the Core, and its Dungeon floated above it as a translucent "holographic" three-dimensional image. Astraus had turned down being a member and suggested Lawdrun. She reasoned that this was not a true Dungeon and not within her area of control.
Most thought she was still angry with Oda and was unsure she could do the job correctly. Many respected her for putting the collective over herself, which was rare amongst them.
Why had this group gathered today?
Why the Core had expanded again, gaining a new mana type and creating yet another new kind of monster along the way, they had access to all the screens and "databases" the Core could. The problem was that Oda's system was a closed thing now; it was operating on its central instructions and could adapt itself as required. It never occurred to him to create an "admin" account option.
Oda had sought to cripple its ability to grow, but the Core was resourceful and stubborn. It found ways around the restriction by using the very system controlling it to its own advantage.
The Divine were both appalled and impressed.
"How dangerous are these "Diamond Head Snakes?" Lawdrun asked, the hologram changing to show the snake.
"If they enter the wild in the mountains, not very. If they emigrate to the grasslands to the south very." Nyralia spoke as the Goddess of Nature and they all listened to her words on this. "They would quickly rise to be one of the most dangerous predators in the grasslands. If they had venom, then they would be the area's apex predator."
"It's the floor Guardian that is the most concerning," Hackyon added.
"Why?" Lawdrun thought the snakes were numerous enough and could change sex. If they escaped into the wild, the issue would be obvious. The image changed again.
"Because of that." Hackyon pointed to a spell matrix woven into the creature's form. "That is an unpowered enchantment that the creature can activate with its mana."
"Such enchantments are common." Lawdrun was confused. What was the issue?
"True, they are, but not part of living creatures. This makes them impossible to disenchant until the creature's mana runs out as it will just reactivate it." Hackyon revealed the problem.
"If the Dungeon creates a new dangerous or existing enchantment and merges it with a monster's body…" Lawdrun then understood.
"Yes, the resulting monster would be terrifying," Nictor spoke.
All the Divine entities present looked at the floating image of the new guardian—all but one.
Oda, sitting at the desk in his office, looked on. He had made mistakes with the Core, but it was still the last hope. For he had not told the others everything as in his research, he had discovered what was coming and he was terrified as the knowledge had almost shattered his mind. Something was still niggling in his mind. Something he had done. He ignored it for now. He would remember in time.
He should tell the others…. But no, he must trust in his creation, as no one else can help it.