Untitled Dungeon Story 1.3 & 1.4 (Patreon)

Had to flesh this out a little more for my own satisfaction. Enjoy!

Wallis was pleased. The corrupted rat was gone, reduced to sweet, sweet mana which he could use to improve his cave. The tainted energy… he had no idea what to do with. He could sense it, trapped within his core. When he'd pulled it out of the rat, it had drained immediately into the gem without his control and now it hung there, stinking up the place. With reluctance, he drew himself back to the inside of his core to behold the filth that now occupied a space within his inner sanctum. It appeared as a pulsating ball, hanging in the centre of the gem. He'd feared that it would be polluting and corrupting him in some way, since it was apparently 'tainted' energy. What surprised him, was the opposite appeared to be true. The space inside the core seemed to be, leeching away at the black mass, dissolving into… something.

It happened without any input from him, and didn't seem to be costing him anything, so he shrugged his ethereal shoulders and decided to take care of something that he could influence. Which was to expand his cave. His badger gang had fought hard against the rat foe and needed healing and rest. To accomplish that, he needed to create a new room! Expanding the cave felt good and proper to him, some instinct of his new existence tickled at his mind and it what with some excitement that he began to charge the sigil within his core that corresponded to rooms. He currently had twelve out of twenty mana available. 

The floating symbol began to glow bright as he poured energy into it, only to find that he didn't have enough juice in the tank to get the sigil to fire.

[Insufficient mana. Room creation required 20 mana.]

Well… fantastic. At least the mana bled back out of the sigil and returned to his pool. If he'd lost all of his mana as well, he'd have been devastated. Since he couldn't create a room, was there something else that he could achieve? His options were to create an ambush trap, make a corridor, or create another beastling. He was tempted to make another beastling, since the two that he had weren't in top condition, but that would drop his remaining mana down to two and he'd be waiting a long time before he could create another room. He put a line through this option. More monsters would be nice, but if he delayed the room purchase and was invaded again, what would he do if his new badger was just as injured as the old ones? Create another beastling and delay the room purchase even further? 

Trap or corridor? Without knowing much about the ambush trap, he was reluctant to invest in it. The corridor appealed to him because it would allow him to create more depth to the cave. He could tunnel away from the entrance, create the new room at the end of the new corridor and then perhaps shift his core there, giving him more breathing room. Then the existing core room could be changed to the beastling room. That way, whether in fighting condition or resting, his brave fighters would always be between himself and danger.

The more Wallis considered his options, the more he liked the idea. He felt exposed having his core so close to the outside world. The sooner he could introduce a little more distance into the relationship the more relaxed he'd be. So it was that he charged the corridor sigil until it glowed bright.

[Create corridor, 5 mana. Choose direction.]

Feeling a touch silly, Wallis exited the core once more and indicated the centre of the rear wall in his core room.

"Uh… that way?" he said lamely.

He was shocked to find that he'd done exactly what was required. Energy flowed out of the core and into the packed dirt wall of the core room where he'd indicated. Immediately the soil began to dissolve into nothing at a steady pace. Wallis watched, mesmerized as the magic went to work, creating a new tunnel out of nothing. For their part, the beastlings were totally disinterested and continued to march back and forth in front of the core, eyes flicking to the entrance constantly. After ten minutes, another corridor was complete, an exact replica of the first. Ten metres long, one metre wide and two metres tall. It came to abrupt end, but soon enough that wouldn't be the case.

"Progress," Wallis said happily and drew his awareness back to his monsters. "As soon as we have the mana, I'll create a new room for you guys."

One of the badgers, Wallis felt it was the first one he'd made, looked toward him and nodded.

"Give thanks," it growled before continuing its patrol.

With nothing else to do, Wallis watched the two little creatures march back and forth for the next twenty minutes.

"You guys work pretty hard, don't you want to take a rest?" He asked.

He didn't really understand these creatures. He'd made them, formed them out of his own mana, and could feel a connection to them, but beyond that, he didn't know much. How did they feel about their environment? Were they happy? Was there something they needed? Was there more he could do to help them? Right now they were the only thing between him and a painful end, so he felt quite motivated to ensure they were fully catered to!

"No rest, must protect," the first one snarled.

"Cannot be careless," the second added.

Then they kept pacing.

"Are you… happy to be here? Are you enjoying the cave so far?"

The two beastlings turned to look at him for a moment before they returned to their pacing.

"Is fine," the first growled, "exist to serve. Made that way."

"Dungeon fine. Is new," the other added.

Dungeon? Wallis decided to leave them be. It was clear that they weren't going to stop doing what they were doing, which was probably a good thing for him. If anything, him distracting them was probably just annoying the poor creatures. The best thing he could do for them was save up and purchase that room. Determined to do so he returned to watching his mana count and poking his nose into the core to check on the tainted energy. After creating the corridor he had seven energy remaining. Should nothing else come into the … Dungeon? Then he'd have to wait thirteen hours before he had the twenty mana it would cost to make his planned purchase.

Time ticked by and the beastlings continued to serve loyally as Wallis watched his mana slowly rise. When two hours had passed, Wallis was shocked by a notification.

[Taint has been cleansed. 5 Essence awarded.]

Wallis dashed into the core to find that hateful black goop had been replaced a perfect sphere that emitted a soft light. It was quite beautiful, but he had no earthly idea what to do with the stuff. He admired it for a time before he returned to waiting. After another hour the Dungeon received its next visitor. Once again a filth encrusted rat sniffed its way through the opening and into the tunnel, the wrongness of the creature immediately polluting his senses.

"Another rat!" He warned his defenders who had already spotted the thing.

The two badgers hissed, snarled, spat and generally drooled everywhere as they peeled back their lips to bare their teeth. They stalked towards the front of the tunnel where the rat, similar in composition to the first, began to leak its foulness onto my precious floors. An encrusted mass of metal and growths, the creature was just as horrific as the first. 

Please, Wallis prayed, let my badger warriors destroy this hideous rat safely.

When the two opposing forces met, it was just as shockingly violent as the first time. Biting and clawing in a ball of fur that rolled about the tunnel, the beastlings bit, tore and scratched the creature as it did the same to them until side no longer moved. Victory, a glorious victory, but at what cost? Both badgers remained standing, but only barely. They panted as bright red blood stained their fur as it leaked from their many wounds.

"Stay put!" Wallis urged them. "I'll get that room going straight away!"

With some idea what to do, he was able to rip the taint from the rat and watched it dissipate with glee. He ignored the notifications and immediately began to pour his energy into charging the sigil for rooms. Brighter and brighter it became until the sweet voice of the conduit echoed in his mind.

[Create Room, 20 Mana, Indicate location.]

He flew out of the core and gesture to the wall at the end of his new tunnel.

"Right there!"

The mana poured out of the core and into the dirt, which immediately began to fade away as the new space took shape. The outflow of energy left his core drained to nothing, which made him feel oddly tired, but it was worth it! The new room had been secured! For thirty nervous minutes he watched as another three metre by three metre space was carved out. The beastlings had picked themselves up and staggered back to the core room where they'd collapsed well before the room was completed.

"Come on, come on, come one!" Wallis muttered.

When the room was done, he felt it immediately. It was part of him, connected to his core, a new arm or leg. 

"Great!"

He had no mana and five essence, whatever that was. Hopefully it wouldn't cost anything to shift the core and make the room?

…

How did he shift his core anyway?

[Shift core? 5 mana, 10 essence.]

NO! Damn. At least he had the room.

"Hey! I've made a new room for you!" He rushed to tell his injured warriors. "Go rest and heal!" 

He tried to usher them into the new corridor, but they wouldn't budge.

"Is room. Not beastling room."

He gaped at them.

"How do I make it a beastling room?!"

"Don’t know," one of them groaned wearily. "Not core, don't know."

Was he supposed to know?! He flew back to the room and tried to think hard at it.

Beastling room!

[Designate empty room as Beastling Lair?]

YES!

[10 mana, 10 essence required.]

NOOOOO!

1.4

After some time passed, he was able to secure the required essence. The second rat had provided five more 'taint', or whatever, which became essence after the core had cleaned it up. The trick was, he needed to wait ten more hours to get the required mana. If another enemy appeared in that time, his two beastling warriors would surely be unable to fight it off. Even another rat would be too much, let alone something more serious.

Wallis wasn't going to waste time thinking that tainted rats were going to be the greatest of his challenges. If anything, they were probably the easiest! But without mana to summon more, he could only depend on his two heavily injured monsters until the required energy was accrued.

As the hours ticked by, the two creatures began to look a little better. Their wounds closed and their breathing steadied, but it was a slow process. Wallis was beside himself as he hovered near the entrance. If anything were to come through, he'd be dead meat. 

Please don't come!

It appeared that the Pantheon of light were listening to his prayers this day, as the time passed without incident. He was saved. In the end, it didn't take quite ten hours. The creation of the new room appeared to have increased his mana generation. After he added more rooms he'd be able to get a more accurate read on how much extra each room provided. As it was, he was just happy to have survived to this point.

[Designate empty room as Beastling Lair?]

For the love god, yes!

[10 Mana, 10 Essence.]

Paid!

This time, every resource collected in his core was expended at once. As the mana and essence drained away, Wallis felt as if he were a water balloon with a puncture. He was deflated. But it was all worth it. The dark and empty room with its dirt walls and floor, shimmered as it began to transform. Object materialised out of nothing with a flash of brilliant light as the mana combined with that strange glowing substance to create something entirely new.

Dirt vanished and rearranged itself as the room changed around him. The process was mystical and bewildering and Wallis could only stare as the transformation took place over the next few minutes. When it was done he took a moment to take in the changes. The space was now almost enclosed, with the entrance narrowed down to a small opening. The inside of the room was larger and felt like the interior of a burrow. Tree roots and moss riddled the ceiling and walls but rather than spooky it felt cosy and inviting. Basic furniture occupied the lair, a few beds, a table and chairs along with a fire pit in the centre of the burrow. The beds were simple, packed straw and leaflitter to make the floor more comfortable but the table was constructed from fallen branches. The wood was clearly carved, the claw marks easy to make out against the grain.

[Beastling Lair. All beastling summons and evolutions are reduced in cost by two. Beastlings will heal and rest faster inside the lair. Beastling Den Mother evolution unlocked.]

So much stuff! Cheaper beastlings! Healing! Evolutions!?

Caught up in admiring the splendour of it, Wallis nearly forgot what he needed the room for! He raced back to the core room.

"The beastling lair is done! Go rest!" He said to his two weary monsters.

The first one shook its head.

"One must stay, protect core."

"Hell no!" Wallis declared. "Both of you get your backsides into that burrow and heal up. I'll keep watch and call for you if I need you, alright?! Shoo!"

The beastlings were clearly reluctant, but Wallis refused to take no for an answer and he soon had both of the badger-people inside their new lair, resting. From the relaxed looks on their faces it was clear they found the room soothing and they assured him they were healing much faster, which helped to put his mind at ease. No matter how much he ordered them though, he couldn't get both to sleep at the same time, so he could only sigh as they took turns, the second beastling summoned getting the first snooze.

Knowing that his two loyal defenders were comfortable and healing was a huge weight of Wallis' mind. Every moment that passed brought increased safety. He was determined that as soon as he could, he would summon more beastlings to protect him. With more numbers they could support each other better, take shifts if they were injured. Once again he returned to watching as his mana rose slowly as time passed by.

When another intruder did come, Wallis was relieved to learn that he had been wrong. The tainted rats were not, in fact, the weakest creatures he was likely to encounter. The moment he sensed an intrusion he panicked and rushed into the burrow to rouse his defenders. Having nothing between his core and the intruders just felt wrong in a way that alarmed him greatly. To his relief, the badgers sprang into action and ran to defend him, meeting the intruders before they were even halfway down the first tunnel.

It was only after his protectors had engaged the enemy in battle that Wallis was prepared to come support them. The two beastlings weren't fully healed yet, he was afraid they wouldn't be up to the challenge of another rat. Thankfully, it wasn't another twisted rat, but a cat-sized spider that crawled in, fangs gleaming. When confronted by my two warriors, the spider reared up its front legs and threatened them with its bite, but the two badgers showed surprising wariness, shifting their positions and making short feints until the spider lunged for them. The second badger was the target and brought up both claws to press the spider down and keep its fangs away as the first badger stepped forward to pierce it with one hand.

The spider twitched and fell still as the two beastlings shook themselves off and returned to their den as Wallis watched in awe. The beastlings were so damn cool! The sidestep, followed by the stab, so smooth! He took a moment to gather himself and reached out to collect the resources the spider contained. He was able to gain one taint and two mana from the insect, indicating it was far less corrupt than the rat, and much less threat. He supposed it shouldn't be so shocking that the two warriors were able to defeat it so cleanly. He just couldn't help but be impressed.

That little bit of mana helped cut the waiting time by over two hours, which was great. Thankfully there was no more interruptions before he reached eight and summoned his third monster.

"Who to kill?!" The creature snarled.

"No need for killing just yet!" Wallis assured it, "just stand guard here until the other two are fully healed, alright?"

"I serve!"

Once again his core room was home to the steady shuffle of marching badger feet, a sound that Wallis felt was quite reassuring. Back in the burrow, his first two monsters were healing nicely. After nearly ten hours of rest in the burrow, they were almost back to full strength, with only a few nicks to show for their earlier battles. Since he had another defender ready, Wallis insisted they stay until they were fully healed. So it was that they didn't emerge for another two hours when they joined their new brethren and resumed marching.

The first crises of the Dungeon has been averted! Wallis sighed with relief. He was low on resources, but his guard was at full strength. With the lair constructed, he was in a much better position than when he started. He felt determined to add one more warrior, then perhaps he could look at expanding his Dungeon more. Another tunnel and room would allow him to increase his mana generation, and he still wanted to shift his core further from the entrance. So much to do! So little time! Hopefully some more of those small critters would sneak in. The spiders might be gross, but they were far less threatening than those damn rats. 

-------------------------------------------------------

Rogg'an tasted the breeze with her black tongue as her Corbeast shifted uncomfortably beneath her. The taste of mana was in the air. Faint. So, so faint. But she feel it, tingle on her tongue. Perhaps it was nothing. Just a remnant of the old gods, yet to fade from this remote part of the world. Or perhaps it wasn't.

Her mount tried to rear up. He hissed and pulled on one of the hooks embedded in its flesh until the beast groaned in pain and subsided. The corbeast was a dumb brute, but it knew what would happen if it didn't behave as its rider wanted. Rogg'an eyed the creature and considered further demonstrating her dominance but decided against it. Mastering the powerful mounts was a delicate balance of patience and cruelty. Too much of one and they wouldn't listen, too much of the other and they would rebel, fighting their rider to the death.

A rustle in the underbrush startled her and she had her blade halfway from its sheath before one of her litter emerged into the clearing. The plague rat waddled forward, bloated with poison and the blessings of the Dark. Rogg'an relaxed. She'd released the litter a week ago and they were due to return hours ago. She slapped her mount.

"Down," she said.

Not daring to protest, the corbeast bent its legs and pressed its belly to the ground, allowing the rider to alight and approach her returned scout. From a scarred leather pouch at her waste, Rogg'an removed a small chunk of half rotted meat which she lofted toward the rat. The creature squealed with greed at the sight of the treat and pounced on the food, ripping it apart with its powerful fangs and claws. She waited patiently for the creature to feed, knowing better than to approach even a tamed creature of the Dark when it was excited. Food finished, the rat appeared calm, but she took no chances, approaching slowly as she stealthily drew a collar from a pouch attached to her back. 

Moving carefully to keep the collar out of sight, she trod toward the now still rodent until was nearly on top of it. In one smooth motion, she drew the collar around the rats' neck. The monster flinched and tried to bite, but too late. The collar flashed red and ignited the brand on the back of her right hand. Before the rat could strike her, it fell the ground, writhing in pain.

Satisfied, she stood and turned back toward her mount, but another rustle distracted her. Yet one more plague rat had returned from the hunt. Over the next two hours, her scout beasts would trickle back to her. She collared each one as it came, bringing them back under her control once more as she continued to wait for the full litter to return. She waited through the night, giving her prayers to the Dark at midnight, and remained through half the morning. Two of her litter hadn't returned. Rather than swear in fury as she might have, she instead watched the forest with narrow eyes. Once again her black tongue snaked passed her teeth to taste the air. 

The Warband would have to come this way. It's possible she'd caught the trail of their prey.