World Sphere - 183 - The Overseer

Chapter 183

I was excited to hear the news that the beast tamer was close to arriving in Skyholme. Adrial and Kiara were becoming loyal companions, and I had started thinking of them as family. They were growing rapidly, and Kiara’s intellect grew with her. Adrial was not quite as quick on the uptake but was trainable. The more the cats matured, the more independent they became. I was following the text on training them, and I was confident they had bonded with me, recognizing me as the alpha.

After playing with the cats and feeding them, Aelyn brought out purple silk robes and tight-fitting black clothes to be worn underneath. The outfit was definitely attention-grabbing. The entire ensemble was fit for a cult, not as clothes for a ball. “Looks great,” I said, holding my criticism. “I will head down to the kitchens and prepare something to eat.”

The cats didn’t let me out of their site and followed me. Every staff member and guard at the Shiny Platinum was familiar with the phantom cats. The kitchen was bustling with twice as many cooks as I had initially hired. The smells of oil vats making our various fries and fatty burgers sizzling on the grill pleasantly assaulted me. The crew was a well-oiled machine as they worked.

“Dee!” Someone yelled. “Your turn to get fitted for the new uniforms.” A young waitress came rushing from the front to race into the back.

I was disappointed to see no open cooking stations. I went into the massive walk-in freezer and shopped for things to cook in my apartment. As I came out of the freezer, Kiara was emitting a low throaty growl toward the back room where the staff was being sized for new uniforms. Something was bothering her, and I could feel it.

I had the cats stay and peeked into the back room. A middle-aged tailor with a few days’ stubble was taking measurements on the young waitress. A disinterested young girl wrote down the measurements as the tailor called them out. All eyes turned to me as I carefully scanned the small office. I studied the tailor for a long moment, but I didn’t see or sense anything amiss.

The young waitress asked, “Can I help you, High Mage?” The waitress fidgeted nervously. I think she had delivered food to my room a few times. The tailor fumbled his measuring tape, realizing who I was. The young girl’s eyes focused on me, and there was fascination in her eyes. It wasn’t a surprise as I had developed a kind of mythos among the people.

I scanned the room again, not sensing any invisible persons or danger. “No, I just thought there was something odd going back here.” The girl suddenly tensed, and I put them all at ease. “Don’t worry, it appears I was mistaken.”

I left the room but waited to make sure the waitress came out and was fine. “Kiara, there was nothing wrong back there.” The young girl came to the door, and Kiara growled much louder, scarring the girl so much that she slammed the door. “Kiara, head back to the room!” The large white cat sulked as she headed up the stairs, a confused Adrial following as she didn’t understand her sister’s uneasiness either. I gathered what I needed to cook and headed up the stairs. I guess I couldn’t let the cats down into the kitchen if they were going to threaten strangers. Still, it all felt very odd.

Sana arrived with a soft knock as I was cooking some fried rice with marinated cubed pork. She entered with a smile, and I could tell she had plans within plans for the academy. I increase my portions to feed her as well. “Have you heard back from your invites?”

Sana looked at the meal, extremely interested. The smell of cooking fried rice always made my mouth water, too. She focused on me as she sat at the table, Adrial and Kiara didn’t fuss over her, so I assumed the tailor must have just had an unusual smell that made Kiara uncomfortable.

Sana settled into her chair, “A few already agreed and are on their way here. I have already communicated with my friend, who is the Dungeon Overseer. Logan is also coming and will be here tomorrow. Remy will check with you about using the empty rooms at the Shiny Platinum.”

Surprised at how fast everything was moving, I arched my eyebrow in surprise as I added the cold rice to the large pan. “Less than a day, and he agreed to come and is going to be here tomorrow. Will there be an issue with the Black Spire and Toblin’s work on the door?”

Sana paused and considered the question. The Progenitor Dungeon was close to the Black Spire, and the Overseer would most likely become aware of Toblin’s efforts by all the racket he was making in mapping the runes. “I don’t think so,” she said, slowly with some doubt in her voice. “I will handle it as he does know Toblin and his specialty.”

“I will trust your judgment then,” I indicated the fried rice, and she nodded as I made her a plate.

Sana began eating and continued explaining why she was visiting me. “Seeding a dungeon is always an interesting affair, and Logan will be occupied with it. He just wanted a break from his normal duties. You are going to have to discuss how you want to tailor the evolution. It will not matter much as the dungeon usually only manifests one in ten items seeded. And it is usually not how you would expect.” Sana said while petting Kiara, who was nuzzling her. The phantom cat was probably seeking attention after I had scolded her.

“I am aware. A few years ago, someone seeded the Frost Vault with an ice ball spellbook from another dungeon. One of the hobgoblin shamans ended up being able to cast the spell. The alteration caught us off guard. But the spell book for the ice ball spell was part of the loot.” I said as sat across from her and began eating. Aelyn came out from the bedroom and joined us now that the work of cooking was done.

“You were lucky then. Most times, when you seed a dungeon, the items are lost forever as the dungeon just metabolizes the aether. The Duskhunters are sending their own experts to help. Maerlyn is also ready to capture tier-one creatures you want to transplant into the Progenitor Dungeon.” Sana spoke excitedly.

“I expect the iceball spell was not the only thing they tried to seed in the dungeon.” I cast the spell to produce one of my round, dense ice cubes and dropped it in my drink. Aelyn held out her cup, and I made one for her as well. They kept a drink cold for hours.

I sipped and asked about her other duties. “How goes your preparations for the Dungeon Academy?”

A grin formed on her face. Sana produced plans from her dimensional space, unfurling them on the table. “I have sketches for the central block. You said I had a budget of one million?”

I swallowed as I took the plans. They were not actual plans and mostly just sketches. Isla’s mark was on the bottom right of the images, which made sense how Sana had gotten something done so quickly. She moved remarkedly fast. I was surprised after figuring out the plans. “You want to demolish the whole block and build this?”

“After some discussion, it was decided this would be the faster and cheaper option.” I arched my eyebrow as I looked at the massive rectangular six-story building with a large central courtyard that took the entire block. “It will only utilize half the budget you offered,” she said proudly. “But we need to move on construction before the cost of stone rises more in the islands. The western block will expanded with more apartments and a dining hall. The eastern block will be left as is for the moment but will eventually be renovated for classrooms for delving supporting professions.”

I did make the promise of one million gold, but I figured the improvements would take years and not all be done immediately. I was torn about heading out immediately to hunt some pirates or waiting for Toblin to make his attempt on the Black Spire. “Impressive. Can the entire structure be built during the academy break?”

“It will depend on how many construction mages we can lure from the lowlands. I think there are a number in the Sadian Empire that can be convinced, and Relik said we could hire some of the Duskhunter specialists, but they are not cheap.” Sana finished and was clearly waiting for my approval and coin.

“How much do you need to get started?” I felt an ulcer forming. I needed my aether to level my spells, not devote to making mithril or platinum.

“Two hundred thousand. Three hundred would be better.” Sana said, looking for a reaction.

I bit my lip and thought about going to sell runic blades in Llorth, but that market was saturated. I probably had a fair amount of gold waiting there from swords in Tallot’s shop that had been sold in my absence. I also needed to establish a trade route to Crenia where I had contracted ale shipments. Using the portal network would cut into profits too much unless I had someone with a large dimensional space. I pulled out my communication stone and called Remy who arrived a few minutes later.

As he entered the apartments, Sana questioned him,  “How many apartments?”

“Four in the Shiny Platinum. Two more after Ennet and Wynna vacate theirs.” I was about to ask why my friends were moving out when Remy answered me. “Wynna is living with Callum in the Capital, and Ennet has purchased a shop in the upper city with a residence above it. It is near the Adventurer’s Academy. They are not angry with you and understand you need the space. Ullmark’s room still has things in it, but he has not been here in over a year.” Ullmark was still living with the Wolfsguard.

“You can take Ullmark’s things to him. At this point, I do not think he is returning to Shiny Platinum Delving. What about Aelyn’s room? She doesn’t use it.”

Aelyn, who was on the sofa, dissented immediately, “Absolutely not! Your closet up here is not big enough for my things, and the spare bedroom smells like cat.” Adrial purred loudly from the floor, and Kiara let out a soft roar. “No offense,” Aelyn directed at the cats. I thought it was best not to pursue reclaiming Aelyn’s room. But I did like the idea of powerful adventurers living at the Shiny Platinum. I was trusting Sana’s judgment on who would be a good fit.

Who will be moving to the Shiny Platinum?” I asked Sana, who was grinning halfway through my question.

“Well, me, of course! Elora Cassior will take a room as well. I am sure she is going to want to make sure your staff skills have not deteriorated. A few other trustworthy instructors I am recruiting. I will have to see who accepts before making a final decision on who goes where. The rest will quartered at the Academy once I have some rooms renovated.” Sana finished.

“Remy, do you think there is a market for runic weapons in Skyholme? Should I be selling my runic weapons here or transporting them to a larger city?” Remy was an engineering genius, and he treated trading like a game.

He only thought for a moment before answering. “You will get 20 to 30 percent less in Skyholme than a larger city in the lowlands. But they should sell faster here. A lot of merchants will see the profit margin and buy your stock. We have trade ships visiting from over fifty cities in the Sphere.”

“Can you open a Runic Equipment Shop for me then?” I mentally inventoried what I had in my dimensional closet. About nineteen long swords and half a dozen daggers.

Aelyn leaned forward, interested in the conversation. “My half-brother, Travaran, is a runic fletcher in Cullinbar. Maybe he would want to relocate to Skyholme and run the shop for you and sell his goods here.” I was mildly surprised as she had never talked too fondly about her family.

“You can ask him,” I consented. I just hoped her mother was not part of the deal. I was certain Niserie Imiduis would not be welcome back to Skyholme as Loriel knew she was the one who had taken the Heart Stone.

Remy looked excited and started talking to himself. “Since most of the traders dock in Aegis City it makes sense to open the shop here. We will need guards for all hours of the day. We can shift the minor enchanted dungeon artifacts the Delvers are getting to be sold in the shop. We should be able to get better margins. The question is where in the city and how big of a shop?”

He had muttered to himself the entire time but loud enough for all of us to hear. Sana had a twinkle in her eye, “I think it might be prudent to have the shop part of the Dungeon Academy. We can put it below the apartments for the instructors for added security. We can sell general delving supplies as well. If the quality is high enough, it might irate Guildmaster Huckle.” Sana was baiting me, but I didn’t care.

“It is probably best if the store for the building was built from scratch to reinforce and artifice its defenses. Add it to the plans for the third block’s development.” I decided.

The rest of the evening was a lively discussion that mostly involved spending coins I did not have—yet.

The next day was a whirlwind of activity as Remy and Sana sought to secure builders, and Isla had to recruit help to draft the actual plans for the new Dungeon Academy central building. They were so excited that they wanted to tear down the old building even before classes were completed for the year. For my part, I was organizing what runic weapons and enchanted gear I planned to give Remy to sell. I was also artificing simple daggers to add to the lot.

Sana was also receiving messages from the local Adventurers Guild all day as her contacts either accepted her offer, delayed a decision, or declined. I was happy to hear Elijah Habriel had accepted. Elijah was a monster hunter and a master axe wielder. I had practiced against him many times out at Twin Rocks while I honed my lightning reflexes spell.

Some of Sana’s twenty-nine invitations went unanswered as the recipients were either no longer at the Guild Hall they last used their Guild card, or possibly they were dead. But only one of her contacts was confirmed as such. All these Gold Adventurers would be a huge boon to the Dungeon Academy. A few Silver card holders were mixed in, but Sana said their rank was not a true indication of their ability.

Remy found the time to review the Dungeon Academy finances. There were no major red flags other than several instructors had received gold for research over the years, yet their findings had yet ever to be published. This accounted for a relatively modest sum of one hundred and fifty-six gold over the last five years divided among nine instructors. I cleared everyone to remain employed. Sana could evaluate performance and fire instructors after observing them.

We had just finished a working lunch when Sana looked up sharply and smiled. “Overseer Logan just arrived through the portal. I will go and greet him, and we can all talk at dinner. I think Galaeron should be at the Duskhunter Guild Hall by the Progenitor Dungeon. We can sit and formulate a plan for seeding tonight.” Everything was moving much faster than I had anticipated. Just three days back and we were already planning to start seeding the dungeon. 

I had some time to work on some artificed weapons before dinner and took advantage of it. I had to pause as Mia, my guard captain for the Shiny Platinum, asked to speak with me. Remy had sent her to me as he thought it was best if we employed our own guards for the Dungeon Academy and arcane shop, separate from the Dungeon Academy itself. More expenses.

I gave her leave to hire another twenty guards for now. It was a relatively minor expense considering I was going to pay each instructor five hundred gold a year. I needed to offer a wage to the guards that would lure the best of them, so we decided on twenty-five gold a year in wages with a five-gold equipment allowance. Skyholme city guards made around ten gold annually with a much smaller allocation for equipment. We would need to double the guards once the Academy was rebuilt and had a full enrollment.

I was called to the function room in the Shiny Platinum to join Overseer Logan, Galaeron, and Sana. Overseer Logan was a monstrous man, closer to a giant, with a gut to match and an infectious smile. He would make Gareth look small. Gareth was definitely going to be surprised when he returned to Skyholme. The Dungeon Academy would be rebuilt and staffed with gold adventurers. Maybe the Progenitor Dungeon would be improved as well.

“High Mage Storme Hardlight!” the Overseer bellowed after Sana whispered to him. “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to your dungeon’s advancement.” His hand engulfed my forearm as we shook.

I sat with across from the large man and risked using my assess person on him. It failed to garner a reading, but he did not look like he noticed; at least, he didn’t look upset. We all sat, and Galaeron offered, “Perhaps we should play some cards while we wait for the others?”

“Others?” I asked.

Sana answered for the group, “A few mages from the Duskhunters who will be helping with construction and the seeding.” I nodded but just wondered how much all this was costing me.

I smiled and addressed the group, “You are forgetting Galaeron, and I already know you cheat at cards.”

He laughed merrily, “It is only cheating if you get caught.”

“I know a few tricks myself, but I am fatigued from my journey. We can include the mages tomorrow in our discussion as we survey the dungeon. I just hoped to get dungeon’s owner aspirations for the seeding.” The overseer said. He actually appeared to be a likable man, unlike the Guildmasters I had dealt with.

“Skyholme does not have many dungeons,” I opened. “The Progenitor Dungeon itself is only five layers. I am hoping for it to evolve deeper and vary its rewards and harvestable to compete with larger dungeons of the lowlands.” It was a simple goal.

The Overseer nodded, “Excellent. How much do you know about dungeon evolution?”

“Just that it is not advisable to be inside a dungeon when it does happen,” I replied.

He laughed, “True. As you know, all the dungeons are embedded in the ley lines that run through the Sphere. They compete for space inside the ley lines. When you seed a dungeon with aether crystals of dungeon-created objects, the dungeon breaks them down and uses the extra energy to expand its borders. If you are lucky, it accumulates enough aether to add another layer. But there are many factors that come into play.” He paused to drink a large mug of frost mead the delight clearly on his face at the taste.

“First, the dungeon has to have room to expand. Many dungeons border other dungeons and can only grow in certain directions. The second factor is the dungeon has to want to expand. Believe it or not, some dungeons are fine with never growing for millennia.” The Overseer took a handful of fries and shoved them in his mouth like popcorn. I was going to have to add giant portions to the menu.

“The third factor, and one not fully understood, is the dungeon has to have enough variety to create the new floor. For some reason, a dungeon can not replicate an environment or creatures from another floor. Each floor has to be unique!” He said excitedly. “That is why during an evolution, they might shuffle things around!”

“So how will we go about seeding the Progenitor Dungeon,” I said, leaning forward.

“We start by feeding it small aether crystals based on their size. If the crystals are too large, it will give it ingestion,” he laughed at what was an apparent joke. “We also seed it with creatures from other dungeons and dungeon-created artifacts in hopes it will copy the aetheric blueprint. Usually, when we seed a dungeon, we focus on just one target. Either creatures or a specific enchanted gear.”

I knew what I wanted immediately. “Spellbooks. I want the focus of the seeding to be spell books.” It would make the dungeon profitable.

Galaeron entered the conversation, saying cautiously, “Generally, we avoid seeding with spellbooks. As that can give creatures unusual spell-like abilities. The strongest creature in the Progenitor Dungeon is a fire giant. A simple enough creature to fight. If it was suddenly casting ice storms and creeping death spells, it would be a nightmarish opponent making the dungeon undelvable.”

“There are always risks!” the Overseer added. “Half the dungeons I have seeded in my lifetime have relocated their entrances once we gave them enough aether crystals.” A cold chill went through me. I could end up investing tens of thousands of gold and lose the dungeon completely. Seeing my nervousness, Logan added, “I have learned from past mistakes. I say your odds are much better if we proceed slowly. Maybe a 25% chance the dungeon picks up its skirt and walks its access somewhere else.”

That did not make me feel any better. Still without risk came no reward. I placed all the tier one spells I had collected in the Snowhaven dungeon. “You can start with these. I will purchase or send my delve teams to collect more dungeon spellbooks. As for the creatures to be seeded, I will defer to the Duskhunters.” Galaeron nodded in appreciation. I just added another expense in purchasing tier one, two, and three spellbooks for feeding the dungeon. I hoped it appreciated my efforts.

We started discussing creatures for the next two hours when Remy knocked on the door. “Storme. Beast Tamer Ardendale has arrived with the Beast Core Inscriber.”

“If you will excuse me, I have some phantom cats that require my attention.” I stood, and Sana was explaining to the Overseer what I meant as I left. If everything went smoothly, I would soon be able to talk with Kiara.