Chapter Three-Hundred Seven

I leave Teemo in charge of the inspection, trusting my denizens to know how these things go by now.  I’ll check back in on them when they get to the forest, but for now, I turn my attention to the arena.  Rocky is doing a little last minute practicing with his affinities, but nothing especially strenuous.  No, what I’m here to watch is everyone else getting ready.

I’ve been treating this a lot like a big sporting event, and what’s a sporting event without souvenirs and a concession stand or five?  No bookies, though.  I understand that angle is already covered by Karn of the Adventurer’s Guild, and probably shadier people, too.  My enclaves have enough to do without trying to figure out the odds for the outcome.

The spiderkin have been making a lot of hats and shirts.  I’m not quite sure where they got the patterns for baseball hats and t-shirts, but I bet they’re going to make a killing on them.  They’re mostly pretty simple solid colors.  Yellow and Blue seem to be the easiest with what we have available.  I don’t think they’ve figured out how to do silk screen printing yet, but they still have Rocky and Olander's names clearly written on basically everything.

Not to be outdone, my ratkin have made noisemakers.  Thankfully, a vuvuzela needs plastic, or Teemo kept that particular abomination under his hat.  That didn’t stop him from explaining the ratcheting clackers the ratkin are selling.  They also have bells, chimes, and other metal noisemakers to sell, too.

Anyone not actually in the arena is still going to be able to hear when the fighting starts, if my ratkin have anything to say about it.  Them and the spiderkin are both also selling all sorts of food.  It looks like the bakery across the street even got ahold of a stall.  The troll woman is incredibly round, but she moves around the kitchen like she was born in it.  She doesn’t look too impressed with the ovens available, but she’s clearly a pro and starts adjusting them for some good bread making, instead of a more general baking setup.

For my dwellers, griddlecakes are probably going to be a big hit, as well as cavelobster on a stick.  It doesn’t look like they’ve quite figured out how to batter and deep fry everything like at a fair, but I think the food on offer would make any carnie proud.  It makes me wish I could have a taste, and makes me debate if I should unleash the true potential of oil frying things.

Maybe later, once someone shows a substitute for powdered sugar, or actual powdered sugar.  It just wouldn’t be fried anything without the option to bury it under powdered sugar.

The antkin are helping with the seating for now.  They didn’t really have a chance to prepare much, what with getting their leadership established.  They also don’t have their food sorted, so they can’t really run any concessions, either.  They’re making up for lost time, though, with a bunch working on sculpting seats better than boring flat benches.

Nova is helping them out, too, ensuring they have plenty of magma to sculpt with and adding her own touches as they make more ergonomic seating like seen in a lot of modern sports complexes.  Stone might be harder than plastic, but plastic isn’t exactly known for its give, either.  With a good shape, they should be comfortable.

They even make sure to put in that hole in the lower back like a lot of those seats have.  I think they’re usually for air flow, but the position and size is perfect for anyone with a tail.  For the nonstandard body types, like my spiderkin and snakekin and others like that, they have to settle for a flat area of gravel to sit in.  Nova and Slash work together to make sure there are no sharp pieces in there, and though I think it could be better, I don’t think we planned far enough ahead to get better.

At least not yet.  I’m pretty sure we can get some kind of fungus that grows like grass to help soften things for people who don’t fit into normal seats.  The gravel was actually the kobolds’ idea.  They’re still adjusting and pretty wary around anyone not in an enclave, and even most in the enclaves, too.

Still, they saw the need for a solution, and suggested the gravel.  Apparently, it was a common thing for them back in the Maw.  It’s tempting to just ditch the idea for the inspiration, but I have to imagine it’ll be more comfortable than regular rock.  There’s even a couple wyrms moving around under that section, keeping the gravel warm.  The kobolds really like it, with more than a couple groups of them opting to get early seats in the gravel section rather than the molded chairs.

Townsfolk are starting to funnel in, too, and the flow only increases as the day continues.  Rocky accepts a few challenges, giving the people a good chance to see what he can do, and to whet their appetites for the main event, too.  The fights aren’t especially strenuous, with the challengers forfeiting before Rocky needs to knock them out.  I think they mostly want something to do, or to show off a bit.

Soon, Berdol and Olander get to the forest, where my newest scions are waiting for them.  Poppy and Titania look excited to meet the two inspectors, while Zorro and Goldilocks are a bit more subdued.  I think they’re still under the impression that my scions are dignified, like the Stag.  Tiny is probably the only one that even comes close.  They’ll learn, I’m sure.

Berdol takes notes as Olander and Teemo watch, the catkin noting each scion down before introducing himself.  “So a pixie, a living vine, a fox, and a bear?”  He points at each, and they nod in their ways before he offers a hand to each.

“I’m Berdol!  The other scions have probably mentioned Tarl as the usual inspector, but he’s busy with the new dungeon in Silvervein.  Do any of you have any titles yet?” he asks as Titania shakes his finger, and Poppy extends a few thin tendrils to shake his hand as well.  Zorro looks uncertain, but raises his paw to shake also.  Goldilocks offers hers, and it’s Berdol’s turn to struggle with the size difference as he does his best to shake hers, too.

“Nah, no titles yet,” supplies Teemo.  “I think Poppy is probably on the way to one.  They’re all working hard, but hers is a kind of work I don’t think dungeons do a lot of.  That seems to be a good way to get a title.”

Berdol jots that down as Olander nods.  “It’s partially why so many scions don’t gain additional titles.  Even the different boss titles are usually only gained after killing a number of delvers.”

Teemo snorts at that.  “Hopefully we’ll continue not picking up any of those, then.”

“Hopefully, yeah.  With the danger of your new expansion, it’ll only get harder to keep that streak going, you know,” points out Olander.

“Yeah, but with everyone working on it, and my shortcuts, anything not instantly fatal should be able to be handled.  What do you think of the potential with the spawners the Boss has planned so far, Olander?  He thinks there’s a lot of potential, but you’re the one with experience in high-level fighting.”

He takes his time to formulate his answer, following Berdol as he wanders the forest.  While there’s still a lot to be done to really solidify the seasons, there’s still a definitely contrast to the different sections.

“The fighting bees are unusual, but should be a good baseline encounter, especially when combined with the later fey and plants.  Rumblebees are good for mid-tier groups, but the Armory Bees that come next can be a real threat to delvers who don’t know what they’re doing.  They are among the most tactically-minded denizens I’ve met in dungeons, despite their relative individual weakness.  When backed up with stronger denizens, I think you should be able to push even someone like me to keep on his toes.”

“Cool.  Any suggestions for the bears or foxes?  I know the Boss likes the idea of magic for the foxes, but he’s open to suggestions.”

“Foxes almost always go with illusion magic, which can be a real force multiplier for your denizens.  In a fair fight, I could probably handle any encounter here without much problem.  But with the Armory Bees and illusion foxes, fair fights should be basically off the table, not to mention the vines and elementals.  I’d suggest making the bears fighters.  Most of the other denizens you’re planning for aren’t really made for the front line.  The elementals can do it somewhat, but they’re usually better for harrying attacks, instead of wading in and trading blows.”  Olander shakes his head, chuckling.  “It’ll be like fighting a full party, or several full parties, depending on how many you send.  That kind of coordination will push the delvers to their limits and force them to improve.”

Teemo nods at that.  “That’s basically the Boss’ plan, yeah.  Let me show you guys the garden and the planned central tree, then we can head for the arena.”

Berdol nods at that, and Olander tries to hide his excitement at the prospect of finally getting to square off against Rocky.  “What kind of tree are you going with?  You’ve been having trouble getting one just right, right?” asks Berdol, and Teemo nods as he leads them down a shortcut.

“Yeah, the Boss has a specific look and structure in mind, and we haven’t been able to find a tree that matches all the needs.”

“Until now,” comments Olander, making Teemo smirk and shake his head.

“Not really.  It’ll technically be two trees, but they’ll be so deep in symbiosis they might as well be one.  Yew will be the base, with its twisting branches and reinforced roots.  Willow will be changed to more of a vine, seeping water and soil nutrients from the yew, and giving back the fruits of photosynthesis.”

Berdol notes all that down as Olander considers that.  “It sounds workable to me, but I’m no druid.  I bet you’ll have more than a few want to come look, if it works,” the elf eventually comments as they exit the shortcut to Poppy’s garden.  It doesn’t take them too long to look around, and I pat the bond with my vine scion to make sure she doesn’t feel dejected about them not seeming that impressed.  I don’t think either of them are really into plants.  Don’t worry, Poppy.  I’m plenty impressed to make up for it.

They might also be distracted with wanting to finish up and head to the arena, which I don’t blame them for.  It feels like the entire town would be down here if I had room.  There’s even a rivalry building between people supporting Rocky and those supporting Olander.  So far, it still seems to be healthy, instead of one that will lead to a riot no matter who wins.  Berdol officially calls the inspection done, and he and Olander waste no time following Teemo through a shortcut and to the arena.

A guitar riff quiets the crowd as Slash spots them, and he holds out a finger for Aranya to speak into, amplifying her voice for all to hear.  “And here’s the challenger Olander!  Let’s give him a warm welcome and a few minutes to prepare!  Because soon he’ll face Rocky, Lord Thedeim’s fighting scion!  Will the delver give Rocky his first defeat?  Or will Rocky’s streak only grow!  We’ll soon see!”