Untitled Dungeon Story 5 & 6! (Patreon)

Author note: Hey there folks! Chrysalis will come in the morning, but in the meantime, have some more Dungeon fun. Needs an edit, I know.

ALSO. If you missed the edit I made to the poll, I made the decision to go ahead and write the top two vote getters. Namely: The forging of the first ant armor! And Beyn meets the Queen! Whoo!

Turns out, there was more than just spiders roaming the space outside his Dungeon entrance. He was fortunate that no more rats appeared, even with his third beastling defender in place, he wasn't sure what would happen if two or three of the things were to enter at the same time. Instead, a variety of twisted creepy-crawlies slithered through the entrance. First came what looked to be a mantis, except the size of a small dog. It's limbs were twisted and deformed, with sizzling venom dripping from each of its blade-like arms. His three loyal defenders had leapt into action, biting, ripping and tearing until the creature was no more.

The remains provided four mana and three taint, allowing Wallis to summon his fourth beastling warrior! What a proud legion they were, marching up and down in front of the core in pairs. With the four defenders, he was able to force them to take rests in pairs to heal the injuries they amassed in their skirmishes. And there were skirmishes. Once the creatures had started coming, it seemed as if it was impossible to stop them. Perhaps that spider had broken a seal of some sort? Regardless, for the next two hours, an invader would slip into the Dungeon every ten minutes or so.

They ranged from the bizarre to the downright repulsive. Possibly the worst for Wallis was the legged snake, a malformed beast with a hundred, millipede like legs but the undulating fanged form of a serpent. It managed to sink its fangs into one of her beastlings before it was dispatched, forcing an extended recuperation session in the burrow to ward off its venom.

Despite the success of his defenders protecting him, Wallis was growing nervous. The attacks were becoming frequent, if the creatures started to come in greater numbers, he'd be in real trouble. 

"Since I have this mana income, I may as well try and get something done with it," he said to the air.

Indeed, he had fifteen mana in the bank, along with a small nest-egg of taint being purified, it was time to consider his next expansion.

"So, any advice?" Wallis turned his attention to his first and oldest warrior.

The badger person looked up him, its expression as fierce as always.

"More rooms, more traps, more creatures. Make Dungeon. But bigger," he snarled.

"But like, any types of rooms in particular? I don't even know what sorts of rooms I can make."

The beastling seemed to think for a moment. 

"Core," it ground out eventually, "defend core."

"Ah, right. I'm an idiot."

Of course, defend the core. It's only my life. Wallis shook his invisible head at his own foolishness. Expanding the Dungeon was, in a way, expanding himself, and the very thought seemed to ignite something primal in his new form. He'd need to be wary of that emotion creeping into his thinking in the future. He'd nearly passed up the opportunity to make himself safer, and for what? A new room? What would he even do with it?

After summoning his newest beastling, he still had five mana to use, enough for a tunnel, which he immediately put to use, blasting a tunnel out the back of the beastling lair. As soon as he had the mana, he'd place room back there and then move the core. Once that was complete, he'd have the luxury to start looking at other ways he could improve his Dungeon. For now, with zero mana in the bank, there was little he could do but wait for it to regenerate. He almost found himself wishing more monsters would trickle through the front door. In small numbers, of course.
 

Four of the strange badger humanoids now marched backwards and forwards in the core room, their shoulders hunched forwards and claws extended as they kept a watchful eye on the entrance. Every now and again they'd snuffle with their long noses as they tested the air for the scent of foes. Wallace had grown quite fond of his furry little defenders. Not only where they fiercely loyal, they were almost suicidally dedicated and ferocious in battle. Didn't hurt that they were quite cute as well, with their sleek, dark, badger fur and pointed snouts. 

Once he'd shifted his core to a more defensible position, he should try and do something more for his soldiers, he decided. Was there some way he could upgrade them? Provide them with weapons? He knew he could evolve them, but he wasn't sure exactly how, or what would happen when he did. Evolution made it sound like they would improve in some way, but it was the details were a bit nebulous right now. Was Wallace just supposed to take a stab in the dark and spend the resources to see what would happen? 

In the interest of trying to determine exactly what he could and could not do, Wallace took it upon himself to explore his options when it came to upgrading the Dungeon and the creatures living within it. It wasn't like he had anything better to do while he waited for his resources to fill up. His first port of call was to approach a beastling, the very first one he had summoned. The creature stopped its patrol to look up at him as he approached, a whiff of impatience on its face.

"Yes?" it ground out.

Not exactly sure how to proceed, Wallace stared at the creature blankly for a moment as he made vague attempts to prompt a menu with his mind. When that yielded no result, he tried a more direct approach.

"Evolution," he said.

The beastling stared at him.

"Uh… can you evolve?"

"No."

"You can't?" Wallace was dissapointed.

"Not yet," the beast elaborated.

"So you can!"

"No."

"Right. Will you be able to evolve in the future?"

"Yes."

"Great. What do you need to do so that you can evolve?"

"More fight."

"So, as long as you fight enough monsters, you'll get the option to evolve?"

The beastling nodded and Wallace decided to let the creature get back to its business. The beastling in question was quite grateful when the Dungeon moved away, allowing it to resume its duty, namely keeping said Dungeon alive. With a shake of its head, it resumed marching and hoped that the mind in charge of their home worked out how to keep itself alive. For his part, Wallace went to the only room that he had, the Beastling Lair.

If the creatures themselves could evolve, be upgraded, in a sense, then it stood to reason that rooms could as well. After all, this once plain room had been improved to become the cosy den for mini badger-people it now was, perhaps there was something else he could in here. Surveying the room, with its little beds and warm, crackling fire, Wallace tried to think of how he could engage with some sort of menu. He tried focusing hard on the room. He tried spouting a range of keywords. He tried waving his hands in a mystical fashion. When none of that worked, he just stood and thought about what he could improve in the room if he had the chance. 

Which was, of course, what he'd needed to do.

[Beastling Lair improvement options:

Increase capacity. Allow two more Beastlings to reside in this Lair. 10 Essence.

Nourishing Flame of Wodra. Enchant the fire with a blessing of the nature goddess to enhance the strength of those who rest in its light. 10 Mana, 10 Essence.

Assign Den Mother. Appoint a den mother to care and provide for her burrow mates. Beastlings of this Lair will be better organised and fight harder. 5 Essence

Healing Spring. Create a trickle of Mistras holy waters to create a small spring within the Lair. The waters can be used to increase the speed of healing. 10 Mana, 15 Essence.

Homeliness improvements. Improve the comfort level and amenities of the Lair, improving happiness and sense of belonging for the beastlings assigned here. 5 mana, 3 Essence.]

Oh, ho! Here we are! Wallace was quite pleased to see the unfolding list of improvements that he could purchase for the beastlings, none of which were really within his budget at this stage, but none of them appeared to be useless. Right now, the Lair held four beds, so he assumed that it was now at full capacity. If he purchased the upgrade, then he could have two more beastlings reside here? So, if he summoned another beastling now, would they just refuse to enter this Lair because it was 'full'? How did that work?

Obviously, some of the options were not available to him right now, such as 'Assign Den Mother'. He didn’t have a Den Mother to assign and wouldn't until there had been enough fighting for one of the beastlings to evolve. Without any other rooms to examine or mana to spend, Wallace was forced to return, all too soon, to the waiting game. The natural rate of mana regeneration was still pitifully slow, but if a few more critters slithered into his Dungeon, then perhaps he wouldn't have to wait too long to move his core. After that he could start doing something interesting.

So he settled in to wait. The four loyal Dungeon creatures continued to march backwards and forwards before the core as Wallace just floated about, waiting for something to attack. It was, he reflected, quite the stressful way to live.

As it turned, only three hours were required before the necessary mana to create a new room was accrued. In that time, two small incursions took place, warped critters than wormed their way through the Dungeon entrance, seeking the core. The beastlings set upon the intruders with their customary ferocity. A flurry of fangs and claws that ripped and tore until the enemy moved no more. Fortunately, no injuries were sustained over the course the battles and the badger-people resumed their vigil without hesitation the moment they deemed the core was safe.

Over those three hours, Wallace had been pleased to note that he had gathered three Essence from the earlier intruders. Not enough to relocate his core but hopefully when the last two creatures that had been defeated in his land were finished… processing, then he'd at least have half the required number.

Excited, Wallace rushed into the core and quickly spent his mana charging the 'room' glyph. With that done, he moved through the Lair and down the corridor extending from the back of it and directed the mana toward the dirt wall in front of him. Just as it had done the first time, the dirt and stone boiled away to nothing as mana poured from the core, down the corridor and into the wall. In short order, another square, ten by ten metre room had been created. 

Wallace had to admit, the glyph did very precise work. The corners were as neat as if someone had carved them out with a knife, and the soil seemed to have been nicely compacted. He idly wondered if he could get any improvements to the walls, a nice brick finish, or polished cement, perhaps? Actually, the more he considered it, the more important reinforcing the walls became. What the point moving his core to this back room and creating layers of defences to protect himself, if all someone had to do was dig their way past his protections?

Just as he as considering how he might approach the problem, a cacophony of growls and hisses emanated down the corridor, the undeniable sounds of beastlings preparing to fight! He could feel it as the intruders crept inside the Dungeon, as if they were polluting his being with their presence.

This was something he'd felt before. The more corrupt and tainted the creatures were, the worse they felt. So far, nothing had come close to the rats that had invaded early on, but judging by what he felt, the invaders this time were close to that level. Anxiety spiked in Wallace's immaterial chest as he flew back through the Lair and into his core chamber, just in time to see a trio of hideous dog monsters pad into sight as they passed the wall of impenetrable darkness that was the Dungeon entrance.

The dogs themselves were heavily malformed, cracked abscesses that leaked a black fluid as thick as oil onto his clean floors covered their bodies. Their fangs were distorted, too large for their jaws and poked out at bizarre angles, sometimes even puncturing through their own flesh. Although the dogs appeared thin, and malnourished, they still moved with energy and power, prowling forward with crazed confidence. When they noticed the core directly before them, their eyes lit with purpose and they began to drip foul drool from their mouths.

For their part, the beastlings did not back down. Lips drawn back, they exposed their teeth and claws in a savage display of intimidation, low growls rumbling in their chests. Despite being only waist high, Wallace felt they were quite a fearsome sight, their black and white flecked fur raising up as they began to step forward. 

There was nothing that Wallace could say or do to help in the battle, he had no resources having just expended his mana, so he stepped back to watch as the badger-people moved to engage this new foe. The two sides inched closer to each, the volume of their aggression rising. When it began, it was sudden and brutal. One of the dogs lunged forward, jagged teeth snapping at the nearest badger, who darted back, then leapt forward. The rest of the dogs and beastlings surged into each other and like wild animals they did battle in a savage, brutal fashion. 

The melee became a whirlwind of fur and claws that seemed to go on and on, a blur of pure, animalistic violence that Wallace could only watch with horror. His side had the numerical advantage, and the dogs were smaller than the beastlings were, he only hoped that meant they were stronger. Blood, both red and black, spattered the Dungeon walls and floor. Flesh was bitten, torn and shredded as both sides sought to end the life of the other.

Eventually, it was done. The three dogs lay dead on the Dungeon floor and, after a pause, they began to dissolve into pure mana which Wallace felt the core absorb, along with the taint that had so corrupted these creatures. Unfortunately, one of his defenders also lay still on the ground, the others, battered and bleeding, stood over their fallen comrade in silence.

Wallace wanted to speak, but felt his throat clench when he tried. This creature had been summoned by him, now they lay dead, after fighting to defend his life. It was horrible. What right did he have to bring these creatures here, to make them kill and die in his defence? All of a sudden, the reality of the life or death struggle he was engaged in struck home, and he found himself listless. He couldn't even bring himself to move closer to the beastlings as they maintained their vigil over their fallen comrade. 

Ever so slowly, the fallen creature begins to fade into sparkling mana that drifts into the air and fades to nothing.

"I'm - I'm sorry. I wish I'd done more… maybe if I'd spent my mana on more help for you, then this would never have happened…"

Saddened and morose, Wallace stepped forward to speak to the others. As one, the three beastlings looked up at his immaterial form.

"Gone now," the badger that Wallace was able to recognise as the first spoke up, "but not always."

He tilted his head to one side, not quite understanding what was being said.

"What do you mean, not always?"

The beastling tilted its head right back at him, confused.

"Not always gone," it clarified, "back soon."

Wallace felt as if something was broken in his head. Hadn't the poor little creature died? He watched it fade to nothing! Yet here he was being told it would come back?!

"You mean that same beastling will come back?" he asked, trying to make sure.

"Yes."

"How?!"

The lead beastling was injured, tired and running out of patience. How did this core know so little about itself? Was it even possible to have such a small understanding of one's own body?

"Come," exhausted, the summoned creature decided to just show, rather than attempt to tell.

The weary group of warriors, plus one hovering, hopeful Dungeon, trudged back through the tunnel and into the core room, past the glowing gem and eventually into the Beastling Lair, that cosy space the creatures had made their home. Once inside the three survivors began to rest around the fire, licking and cleaning their wounds, grimacing with pain. The first one directed Wallace's attention toward the corner, where one of the four beds rested. Floating over, heart in his mouth, Wallace noticed something. The light, the mana, was starting to coalesce on the bed. Tiny motes of luminescence were drifting down to create a shape, the outline of which was already starting to form.

It was a beastling! The fallen beastling would be remade here? Cheating death!? He spun back to the others, desperate to understand.

"So you guys can't die? As long as the Beastling Lair exists, you'll come back to life here?"

The leader shook its head, tired and keen to treat the open cuts that still leaked lifeblood into its fur.

"No. Will take time. One day. If die too soon after come back, gone."

Wallace nodded slowly as he digested what he'd been told. So it would take a full day for the fallen beastling to return to full health, and even then, should they fall again not long after, they would be truly dead. Even with these restrictions, Wallace was delighted to know that his precious defender hadn't died. In one short day, they would return to life. It was like magic! Actually, it literally is magic, Wallace reminded himself. He had to adjust to his new existence faster, he'd pay for it if he couldn't.

Determined, he rushed back to the core to leave the badgerlings to heal from their severe wounds and check on his gains. The three dogs had provided a decent lump of taint that was in the process of being cleansed in the core, in addition, he had gained twelve mana from the creatures. An amazing haul! And he hadn't even lost anything! Although, his defenders were all severely wounded and his core now lay exposed. Wallace hesitated. Once cleansed, he might gain as much as six essence, enough to shift his core. But, he felt torn. Was it enough for him to shift his core, and do nothing for the creatures who were fighting, temporarily dying in order to protect him? It felt wrong.

No, he would do something for the badgerlings. They more than deserved it.