Chapter Nineteen

Building the Dungeon

“For the moment we are going to concentrate in getting three things done today. The first,” Toot said, “Will be to expand your territory. I think it is important that you get your environment under control before we do anything else.”

“After that?” Dev inquired.

“Then we focus on figuring out what its going to take to level you up. You’ll level fairly quickly in the beginning. Things will slow as you near mid-level range and will become a crawl as you advance to higher tiers. It takes most dungeons centuries to get out of the middling areas.” As he explained Toot’s hand indicated the beginning stage and moved upwards steadily, but as he raised it higher it began to slow. “Getting here,” he said as his hand reached his head’s level, “Is something very few dungeons ever achieve. Most are killed off or simply stagnate.”

“They don’t have you to guide them,” Dev pointed out, “Unlike me.

“Very true,” Toot blushed, “But even my knowledge will only prove to be so beneficial before everything evens out.”

“I am the deviate dungeon. That’s got to count for something in my favor.”

“I keep forgetting that you aren’t like other dungeons. I would suspect that the Overseers would have done something to keep some sort of balance in comparison to other dungeons. Having you become a top-tier dungeon overnight would make you so overpowered that you could become a rival to their power.” Toot stroked his chin whiskers thoughtfully, “Not that you, as a dragon weren’t before.”

“What do you mean?” Dev’s tone was one of interest and nervousness, he wondered if he should know this information and inquired of his fears. “Should you be telling me this? Is it something that will trigger my memories?”

“The only thing that will trigger a memory in you now is a scent, and you have no nose or your name. You might be able to discover information that will lead you to unearth who you used to be, but on this world it is impossible. Anoubliette is deeply centered in Overseer territory.” He held up a hand to stave off the exasperation his proclamation of their location was going to make. “Worlds this far in have never heard of dragons; the Overseers don’t want them to know anything about them.”

“You placed us in the heart of the Overseer’s territory? Isn’t that like hiding from sharks in a cloud of chum?” Dev was shocked that Toot would have done something so foolish.

“Believe me. They will be searching the outer worlds before ever considering the possibility of my taking us here. Believe me, if they consider it they’ll dismiss it out of hand. They’ll be certain that I went seeking asylum.” He nodded his head absently, “And to be honest, I did consider doing that, but I realized that they would never believe you were who I said you were, and in their queries to verify the truth they would have killed you, albeit accidentally. So, I did the unthinkable. I took us so deep within their space that they would need to perform an interstellar colonoscopy on themselves to find us.” Toot smiled at the thought.

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“I know,” Dev said, “I am going to regret asking this, but what do dragons have to do with the overseers?

“The great wyrms,” Toot began, “Have opposed the Overseers since the dawn of time. The Overseers is a misnomer. They are fractals of a singular consciousness. It’s all convoluted but they are designated by their distance from the prime consciousness. As fractals, they are a part of the whole, while simultaneously being distinctive from the source mind. All the while being identical to one another. It is confusing. It is my belief that the original mind was fractured and splintered, creating minds that thinks of themselves as separate but still part of the collective.” Toot took a breath and continued.

“Dragons, on the other hand, are fiercely individualistic and believe that the universe should unfold, for better or worse, as it will on its own. They clash with the Overseers because the collective seeks to create order and control all aspects of life. They guide everything under their control.” Toot chuffed, it was a powerful exhalation filled with exasperation, “The irony is, the Overseers feed on innovation, which does not come from strictly controlled areas. They have been slowly starving themselves by not allowing free thought to exist. They created dungeons to circumvent this issue, and then placed them into tiny little boxes that did not permit them to grow.”

“Which is how I came to be,” Dev said, “They were hoping I would do something strange and exotic. As a dragon soul I would have been full of individualistic sass and been all about creating new and never before seen things.”

“Yes,” Toot clapped his hands together, “You were their last hope. They need a wild and crazy thinking dungeon that isn’t going to listen to them.”

“Problem is,” Dev said smugly, “I didn’t listen to them at all. And,” he mentally smirked, “I have no plans to do so in the future.”

“Bully!” Toot cheered him, “You don’t want to. If you create something new, then they’ll zero in on you like going after someone who bothered their nest.”

“What does creation have to do with attracting their notice?”

Toot began to speak, then stopped himself. He was clearly considering his words carefully. The old man’s eyes looked to the ceiling of their cave, then he closed them slowly and spoke, letting the words carry their weight on their own. He emphasized nothing.

The Overseers, for all that they are, are empty creatures. They lack innovation and creativity. In their formative years they, before they became an intergalactic force, they worked alongside of numerous species, ones that weren’t as intelligent, but were infinitely more creative than they were. It was a harmonious symbiotic relationship as the Overseers took nothing from their partners, but fed off the intellectual energies created from the act of . . . creation.” He stopped and took a deep breath, “I tell you the next part because I know that it will not hurt you, but if you feel anything strange as I continue please tell me to stop.”

Dev provided his tutor a mental nod.

“The greatest alliance was that between the Overseers and the dragons. Dragons are chaotic beings, and while that does not necessarily mean they are creative it does mean that their presence, or even simply passing through an area, generates new ideas.”

Dev could see that Toot was eying him cautiously, “I’m fine,” he said, “Please continue.”

“For one thing, dragons generate fear. Fear is a survival impetus. It makes you run for your life, but it also leads to the creation of armor and weapons; magic, as it is used by humanoids, was created to fend off dragons. Dragons also inspire awe. They are majestic creatures, and just seeing one might inspire a poem or a painting. Songs inspired by dragons are too numerous to count.”

“So, they worked together,” Dev asked.

“For uncounted and forgotten years,” Toot replied.

“What happened to them?”

“Dungeons happened,” Toot said with a wince.

“Dungeons?”

“Dungeons and dragons don’t mix well,” Toot replied.