Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty-Five

I’m glad to see the Earl seems to be on the back foot, even if that doesn’t mean he’s out of this fight.  Judging by the people he brought, and how quickly he’s getting his delving guild going, I think he meant to stomp in like he owned the place and change things over a couple days.  But the stunt with the tree seems to have thrown his plans out of whack, so he’s being a lot more subtle.

Which makes it all the more fun for me to not be subtle.  People who plan a lot are easy to mess with.  All you have to do is make them aware that you are aware they’re doing something, and they'll tie themselves in knots trying to figure out exactly what you know.  My way of letting him know I know is to keep a couple ravens watching his delvers whenever they delve.  They haven’t done too much of that just yet, but it’s easy to see how perturbed they are when my ravens stare at them the entire time.

Still, the Earl’s no fool.  He’s moving quickly, but I don’t think he’s panicking.  He’s going more slowly than I think he wants, but being able to shift his plans this quickly makes him someone to not underestimate.  In fact, if it weren’t for what Zorro found, I’d think he was taking everything in stride.

His description of the area sets off all sorts of red flags, so I have no problem at all with approving him meeting with Karn to try to get more information.  The skinny orc might be a reputable leader of the local delver’s guild, but he also doesn’t hide that he was a rogue when he was still doing his own adventuring.  Meeting with him is pretty simple.  He’s not exactly the most formal guy out there, so Teemo and Zorro can basically just pop down to the guild for a chat, which is exactly what they do.

The meeting is pretty quick, with Teemo relaying what Zorro found, and Karn simply saying “Thieves Guild,” like he stepped in something foul.  “I have a few contacts I could check with to see if they have anything to say, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.  Even if they respond, it’ll be through dead dropped notes and the like.”

“Do you think the Boss could get his own eyes and ears in there?”

Karn sighs and shakes his head.  “He’s pulled off the impossible before, but keeping out prying eyes is their biggest priority.  They have standing orders to kill any animals they find in the area.  Thedeim’s not the only one who can use them to spy.  While there’s magic to root out that sort of thing, they’re not subtle.  A few dead strays is a lot easier to explain than a privacy ward around a whole block.  I wouldn’t try the rockslides, either.  Earth affinity isn’t the most common around here, but there are definitely a few in the guild with it, and they’ll eventually notice.”

Teemo frowns for me at that, the both of us going over my standard procedure for infiltration.  The rockslides are great for stealth because they can just slowly move through the ground to get where they need to, and they look like rocks, so who’s going to notice?  Well, paranoid earth affinity people, for one.  We might be able to slip in a few living vines, but the area is full of warehouses and industrial-scale workshops, though ‘industrial scale’ is a relative term, especially when compared to back on Earth.  Still, there’s not a whole lot of greenery to be had, and I kinda doubt there’s going to be a lot of potted plants inside.

I think we’re going to have to rely on Cappy and some of Violet’s gremlins for this.  I might be able to make my own gremlin spawner, but I kinda want to play around with some other affinity than shadow, even if it’d be perfect for what I want right now.  Hmm… or maybe not.  If earth affinity people can detect the rockslides, I’d bet shadow affinity people can spot gremlins trying to hide.  I’d also bet that affinity is a lot more common in a thieves guild than earth affinity.

I’m kinda nervous about leaving this to Violet, but she’s the best positioned for it.  Even though I don’t know if she herself understands the importance of this, Onyx and Cappy are both smart enough to be able to guide her through this kind of situation.

“The Boss has an idea, though it’ll be slower than he’d like.”

“Good to hear.  Don’t tell me anything,” insists Karn.  He definitely understands the importance of operational security.  His office is probably one of the safest places to talk about this sort of thing in all of Fourdock, but the fewer people know the plan, the fewer people can overhear.  “I’ll check with my contacts, and I could even give Zorro a couple pointers with stealth if he wants them?  Usually you’re the one helping people with their classes.  I’d love to flip that around and try to help him get a title,” he continues with a smirk.

I can feel Zorro’s eagerness to learn through the bond, and I’m all for it, too.  Karn’s a good guy, and if Zorro is going to be sneaking around, getting information, he should learn as much as he can about the art of stealth.

Teemo and I leave them to it, letting Zorro follow Karn as he gets ready to do his rogue thing.  I have another important thing I need to prepare for, too.

With the Tree finally up, the strong delvers are tearing through it like kids in a candy store.  Delver injuries are up again, making me wonder if I should make a gremlin spawner just to get a scion that specializes in treating injuries.  It’s tempting, and I’ll probably do that with one of my scions at some point, but not just yet.  Despite the injuries, the delvers are having the time of their lives running around and letting loose.  I hadn’t realized how underleveled a lot of my stuff was becoming for my delvers.  Sure, the grind helps hone their skills, but I haven’t given the fighting specialists a good workout since… probably the first introduction of the twinsnakes.  But now there’s room and strong foes for them to let loose on, the delvers are making much shorter, more violent delves as they really test themselves.

Fewer have outright fallen off the branches than I would have expected, but still more than I would have hoped.  So far, the vines and spiders have been great at catching people, so I’m not too worried on that front.  Still, giving the plants the spatial affinity would ease my concerns.  But more stuff with the Tree and Forest isn’t what I need to try to focus on right now.

Since basically the beginning, I’ve kept my core location a secret.  It’s definitely my biggest weakness, even if I’m pretty sure only invaders and other dungeons could do anything to it.  Still, I need to keep that thing safe.  I’ve seen how quickly they can be drained and the dungeon subsumed.  That’s why I’ve kept things secret.

But now my core is outgrowing the Secret Sanctum, so I need to move it.  Coda has been working on the designs in the roots of the tree, and I’m wondering if I should make my location public.  I have a lot of scions and denizens now, and a lot of ways to keep my core safe even on display.  Just because the location is public, doesn’t mean just anyone can come in and take a look.

There’s a reason to potentially reveal it, too.  Way back when I first hid my core, I remember there being a pretty big drop in the mana income to come with the security.  I can keep it secret and safe, like stashing cash under my mattress, or I can make it public and hopefully see my investments soar.

It’s real tempting to try.  Neverrest’s core was secret, but Hullbreak, Southwood, and even the Maw all had theirs public.  Hullbreak keept his with his enclave, and even after moving it, hes still letting them handle security, and the Maw did similar.  Southwood keeps his in an idyllic glade, and even though he periodically moves it around, it’s not difficult for someone to find it.  Well, as long as the Stag doesn’t stomp them into mulch for getting too close.

Should I make mine public, too?  The mana gains are very tempting.  I’m still running at a good profit, but the spending spree to get the spawners going for the expansion really hammered home how expensive things are, and I already know I need to upgrade them all to get a couple more spawns before I’ll be even remotely satisfied with the Forest.  I could slow down, take more time to plan things out, but that’s an easy way to fall into analysis paralysis, or just stagnate.  There are so many excuses to be complacent, sit back, relax, and take a pace closer to what other dungeons do.

On the other hand, my pace is a big part of why I’m where I am right now.  Would I have been able to help everyone if I played it slow?  Would I have subsumed Neverrest?  Would I have been able to keep Hullbreak from starving?  Could I have stopped the Maw?  Would I have been able to help Rhonda and Freddie get their classes?  Would I have even a single enclave right now, let alone three that are thriving?

I think it’s pretty obvious: it’s hard to get anywhere if you aren’t moving.  And public doesn’t mean insecure.  People can go look at the crown jewels of England, but good luck to anyone who even considers trying to take them.  And, even if my Sanctum itself is public, I can still have secret rooms for my scions, my residents, and anything else that I want to keep out of the public eye.

So… what kind of security system can I come up with when I actually don’t want someone to eventually get through?  If I could, I’d grin wide as I start sketching ideas in my library.  My Sanctum might soon be public, but the security measures don’t have to be.  Security through obscurity doesn’t only apply to the location, but to the methods.  I let my imagination go wild as I sketch ever more devious death traps, dipping into the truly absurd with a few of them.  I don’t even need to actually create most of these crazy things, either.  If I slip a few out for delvers to find, they don’t need to know they don’t actually exist.

It’s like the old gag of releasing three greased pigs in a college, labeled 1, 2, and 4.  Three doesn’t need to exist to cause mayhem, and will probably cause even more madness by not existing.  I wonder how paranoid the Earl would get if one of these made their way to him…