Peek: Inspecting the Maw

Berdol is pretty sure no other inspections have quite started like this one. He's also pretty sure that, when it comes to Thedeim, he should expect the unusual. There can't have been many inspections that started with following a group of a different dungeon's denizens and basically partying up with them for the duration, right?

He looks over at Tarl as they follow the tunnelbore ant, seeing his mentor looking calm and collected. It's only thanks to how much time they've spent together that he can recognize the look of eagerness on the elf's face, the slight leaning forward in his body language that says he's looking forward to getting into the Maw proper.

"Do you have your initial observations yet, Berdol?" the elf asks, glancing at his apprentice.

"Yes, though there's not a whole lot I can really say so far."

"Oh? What did you classify it as, and why?" he counters, making Berdol examine his notes as they wait to break through. He levitates his metal clipboard with his paper notes attached, checking they say what he remembers they should.

"Uh... Maw, Deep, Murderous, metal affinity. Two scions: Redcap, Voice; Harbinger, unknown title(s)."

Tarl nods and motions for him to continue, which confuses the tabby catkin. "What else should I have?"

"Why did you label it murderous?"

"...because we're attacking it?"

Tarl sighs and turns his gaze on his apprentice. "I hope that's not your only reason. Give me details! If I'm reading a report from some random inspector on the edge of the kingdom, I can't know what context there is behind the decision if you don't tell me."

Berdol sighs and jogs his memory for details. "Ah, right. A hostile expedition was intercepted and eliminated at safe distance from Fourdock. The denizens in said expedition were unknown to the guild, as far as I could tell, and seemed uniquely dangerous for what seemed to be bottom tier spawns."

He looks to his mentor, and is surprised to see him still wearing an expectant look. Unfortunately, Berdol can't think of anything else. "That makes it murderous, right? It tried to attack Fourdock?"

Tarl shakes his head. "It didn't. It attacked the Southwood, not Fourdock. That said, it's still technically murderous."

Berdol looks at his mentor with confusion. "Only technically? How is this thing only technically murderous?!"

Tarl smiles. "I think you know. Though I wouldn't be surprised if you missed it. It's easy to overlook."

The catkin tries to go over what he knows of the Maw, but he can't think of any technicalities involved with it. After a couple minutes, Tarl has mercy and illuminates what he's getting at.

"The Enclave is emancipated, which means they count as a free town. It's easy to forget that with how tightly the Maw's clergy control Silvervein, but it's still technically independent. While the clergy is mostly responsible for bringing in people and technically ensuring they die while delving as sacrifices, the Redcap is also known to take people occasionally from town to turn into hats. That is a hostile expedition against an independent settlement, and so qualifies the Maw as murderous."

Berdol looks incredulous at that. "So it only qualifies as murderous thanks to the Redcap?"

Tarl shrugs. "There's reports the Harbinger might do similar, but with the Maw's clergy usually being involved, it's a bit of a mess to untangle."

"So you think the Maw could be reasoned with?"

Tarl laughs at that. "Of course not! But that's the point I'm trying to get to: murderous is just a designation, as are the others. No matter how charged the word might be, never forget it's a technical term. Even if the Redcap only hatted people the clergy brought him, the Maw would still be a threat to everyone around it, even if it would have been simply belligerent were that the case."

Berdol thinks that over for a few moments before scribbling a note on the bottom-most page of his clipboard.

Remember that classifications are technical terms and may not mean the same in Dungeoneer jargon as they do in ordinary life.

"We're almost there now. Most of the denizens will simply rush in and engage with the Maw's forces, but we'll have a widow and a pair of wyrms stick with us." Tarl draws his daggers as Berdol levitates his blades. He's not used to working together in a party, but the basics are pretty simple: mind your attacks don't hit friendlies, don't go charging ahead, be aware of dungeon tricks.

The wall ahead crumbles and he and Tarl press themselves against the tunnel, letting the throng of Thedeim's forces rush in. It sounds like there's not too much immediate resistance, but he's in no hurry to rush. In fact, he starts taking notes.

The tunnelbore has breached the Maw, and the denizens are rushing in. Little sound of combat yet, so the confusion sewn appears to be bearing fruit. Tarl and I will be joined by a widow and two wyrms once this beachhead is secured, and we will explore deeper. Safety is our first priority, with second being to confirm that we count as invaders. If we do, we will inspect as normal. If not, we will look, but not touch, as is standard for murderous dungeons. Denying the Maw mana is vital to this fight.

"That's almost everyone, Berdol. Once we're in, we'll follow your lead. Note nodes and confirm denizens, and of course, don't die," he adds with a wink, which actually helps ease Berdol's nerves. He's used to only having a crafter or two along, people who can barely watch out for themselves, let alone watch out for him. But with Tarl and the denizens, there's a lot more room for error. Of course, this isn't Thedeim, so there's a lot less room for error in that way. Even so, it's good to have people around he can trust, even if the widow and wyrms wouldn't fit most people's definition of people.