At the eastern edge of Calamvor’s mansion, deep in the gap that separated the outside stone wall from the inside wooden one, the Core claimed its first scrap of territory. It would be an exaggeration to claim that the Core had completely claimed the mouse. In truth, all it did was form a bond of sorts with the creature, inclining it to protect its treasure a little more fiercely than it might normally do.
It would also be an exaggeration to claim that the territory it had claimed was a large one. The domain it claimed was a portion of the wooden inner walls, the stone of the foundation it sat on, and the stone of the outer wall.
The other “treasures” of the mouse were claimed as well. The mouse itself sat looking at the Core quizzically, mostly uninterested but it could not deny the tentative bond that now bound them together.
Once more moving by instinct, powered by its half-sapience, the Core began to create its first room. It found that it could manipulate anything its breath touched and it began excavation of the surrounding area. First, it moved to dig deeper into the stone it sat upon, shaping a rectangle roughly the size of twenty inches by forty.
The mouse stood stunned as its nest transformed from a simple collection of mothballs and grasses stuffed in a corner, into a large hole in the rock. It hurried to protect its different treasures, scurrying back and forth carrying them to higher ground.
The Core hollowed out the large foundation rock, forming a tiny cavern. It took time as it required the tiny core to exert itself to both move the rock and reinforce the walls so that the foundation stone didn’t just collapse. It also took time for the Core to inhale Aether before using it to claim more stone. The stone it moved was either used to reinforce the walls of the cavern or broken down into Aether which it used to move more.
It then followed its instincts, moving its body via Aether into the back of the cavern and raising the rock to form a pedestal to rest its crystalline body. It sat content but knew it wasn’t yet complete. It reached out through the bond it shared with the mouse and coaxed it inside, soothing its anxiety with its Aether.
The mouse, calmer now that the stone had stopped moving, made its way down the narrow tunnel and into the cavern. Seeing the pedestal and the Core, the mouse moved closer until it was standing right in front of the tiny glowing gem. The Core, acting quickly, drew in more Aether and then blew out, fully claiming the mouse by flooding its Conduits with its Aether.
It heard a phantom chime on the wind as the mouse, its eyes glittering, turned and began to move its treasures and nest down into the cavern, creating a new nest around the pedestal. The Core knew it had achieved a milestone somehow and was also aware on a fundamental level that it could influence the mouse and order it to obey. It also knew that it could create more.
The Core immediately began working to draw in more Aether so that it could start making more mice but ran into a problem. The amount of Aether in between the walls of the cabin was thinning, akin to the feeling of air being sucked away. The Core knew it needed to fix the issue before it got any worse or else it would be unable to grow further.
Using its senses it tried to find further sources of Aether and settled on a section of wall that its instincts seemed pleased with. So, using what Aether it had left, it began to claim and shift stone away from the outside wall, drilling a hole through it to the outside. With a comically small burst of energy, it broke through the final layers of rock.
Directing its mouse up to the hole, the Dungeon peered through its eyes and found itself looking upon a huge shaded area. Wooden beams extended from the outside stone to run crossways across the expanse, joining with pillars of stone that jutted from the earth. Across these beams lay smooth wooden paneling that formed the Archmage’s porch, not that the Core knew what a porch was.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The sudden rush of Aether that followed its next breath, shocked the tiny Core. Vibrant and full of life it flowed from the hole outside to stream through its first room, drenching the pedestal and its crystal occupant. The Core felt the first fluttering of what would become the emotion of delight at the sensation and breathed deeply for its next step.
It reached for its new knowledge, flooding the idea with Aether, and watched as a tiny baby mouse formed in its cavern. Sensing the movement of Aether its adult mouse came down and watched as its tiny brethren formed and then breathed its first breaths. The baby was a curious thing and immediately began exploring its surroundings, including the older mouse. Sniffing the young one, the older mouse licked the top of its head before heading over to the pedestal and its nest.
Not satisfied quite yet, the Dungeon Core waited for more Aether and spent the next few hours creating a handful of baby mice, six, to be exact. The older mouse didn’t seem to care, content to lounge in its nest. That changed when another creature entered the Dungeon’s domain.
Antennae prodded and poked as an ant calmly began moving through the massive (relative to its size) hole in the wall. It moved in the awkward way that a mostly blind creature does, moving haltingly and exploratorily to the wooden inner walls of the cabin. It took a single bite of the wood. Wood that had been claimed by the Dungeon. A Dungeon that responded to this perceived danger by summoning its guardian.
The older mouse immediately perked up its head and sniffed, swiveling its head and letting out a mighty bellow, which to a human would sound like a high-pitched squeak. It charged through the cavern and up the tunnel before falling on the ant-like a hammer of doom. Its hands held the smaller creature still as its large front teeth tore and gnashed at the kicking body of the ant, piercing easily through its tough outer chitin.
With its prize firmly contained it dragged the helpless ant into the Dungeon proper, depositing its lifeless body in front of the pedestal. The Core, which had watched this go down with what amounted to its version of satisfaction, was surprised when a rush of Aether flooded the older mouse and itself when the ant finally died.
It reached out and tried claiming the ant, watching as its body dissolved into motes of light that were drawn into the Core. Another phantom chime sounded but Dungeon Core paid it no heed as it basked in the new knowledge it possessed.
End of Chapter System Notifications:
Floor 1 Created!
First Dungeon Monster Claimed!
New Framework Acquired!
House Mouse (Mundane)
The common house mouse would normally never be considered worthy of a Framework of its own as it is a humble creature, rarely magical, and is often prey for larger more worthy creatures. Usually relegated to being at the bottom of a Dungeon’s ecosystem, most Dungeons eschew such basic non-magical creatures for their more magical and larger cousin rodents. However, basic as they are, they are highly territorial and will fight to protect their space making them a loyal, if weak and tiny, Dungeon Monster.
As the first Dungeon to use such a creature as a Dungeon Monster, you will be able to create and modify its Path of Ascension freely.
Warning! May have unforeseen consequences.
The Core has created its first floor and claimed its first Dungeon Monster.
The Core has acquired its first Framework.
Progress to Core Ascension
33.3%
Dungeon Entrance Created!
New Framework Acquired!
Carpenter Ant (Mundane)
While dangerous magical races of ants do exist, this is not one of them. The mundane carpenter ant exists in temperate climates where they build nests in the wood of trees and homes. Commonly considered a pest by the larger races these ants are dangerous to nothing except decorative wood paneling and other ants and insects as well as plants. Fiercely loyal to the queen that births them, ants can be quite aggressive when the colony is threatened.
Note: This is a multilayered Framework consisting of separate, internal, Paths of Ascension. Those Paths are Queen, Worker, and Drones. These Paths may be summoned as separate Dungeon Monsters but be warned. Ant monsters made in such a way will see themselves as belonging to another colony and will fight to the death.
As the first Dungeon to use such a creature as a Dungeon Monster, you will be able to create and modify its Path of Ascension freely.
Warning! May have unforeseen consequences.
The Core has created its Dungeon Entrance and defeated its first intruder.
Progress to Core Ascension:
50%