Khenal

Peek: Tales From the Guild

Karn looks out over his guild as he cleans a tall mug, smiling at the boisterous noise of the adventurers.  Last year, the hall was pretty quiet around this time, with no dungeons really worth delving this deep into winter.  But with Thedeim around, people still go delve while doing various upkeep on their gear and training.

And, as any group of adrenaline junkies will do when socializing, they love to trade stories.  Karn listens in as he tends the bar, glad to have his ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Seven

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**Lechula**

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The pale dwarf warily peeks out from the cave she and Merrik have been staying in.  The surface is… nothing like she had expected.  She would take consolation in the fact that Merrik has been blindsided, too, but he hasn’t been having a great time of it either.

The first day, they could hardly see anything for how bright everything was.  It only made her and Merrik both concerned when the ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Six

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**Honey**

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Some small part of the bee scion was worried the Emperor might reject her verdict, but he seems to accept it easier than even she is willing to.  How can her map be wrong?  She and Leo worked together on it with the reports from the rockslides, and while her affinity is certain it’s accurate to those reports, her affinity is also certain the adventurer’s map is much closer to the actual truth than her ...

Peek: The Certainties in Life

It's not often that Joole is at a loss.  The changeling sits at his desk in his natural form, his pale skin mostly hidden by his well-tailored robes.  His large eyes take in the paperwork on his desk, and one of his hands rubs his bald head as he tries to come to terms with what he's seeing.

A death certificate is not something especially surprising, especially when the career listed is Adventurer.  The next several pieces of paperwork are all simple as well.  Offici...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Five

Information is starting to flow like… hmm, what is it flowing like?  Water flows nicely, but my information isn’t nearly that swift nor clear.  Honey and Leo are receiving and organizing the reports from the field, which makes me very glad to have both my Warden and Librarian on the case.  When a report gets to them, I get a rush of information, but it’s not especially organized.

It takes me a bit to focus on what’s new, organize it into a way that is actually hel...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-four

The rockslides are slowly getting into position and actually sending back reports now, so Honey and Leo are turning their attention more towards that than trying to wring more from Merric and Lechula.  Not only do they get to go through the scout reports, but they also are getting adventurer reports to organize, too.

Teemo is more than happy to help be an interpreter, and not just because it lets him hang out with Yvonne.  Fluffles wanders by a few times, getting a few more po...

Peek: Size Doesn't Matter

Ah, it's so rare when we shelter in caves anymore, but the Seer says a nasty winter storm is headed this way.  While we could probably weather it in our tents, why bother when there's a perfectly serviceable cave system right here?  I don't believe it goes into the true Depths, but we should be able to do a bit of hunting and foraging before we head out.  Let's make sure everyone has their bedrolls properly stuffed before I tell tonight's tale.  I've slept in a cave withou...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three

Teemo gives me a mental poke to get my attention, pulling my focus out and away from toying with some composite ideas.  I’ve seen Queen working on what looks like a composite using spidersilk and lacquer, and I’ve been doodling ideas for how to get some carbon fiber going.  I’m pretty sure that’d all be on Queen to manage anyway.

“You probably want to hear this part, Boss.”

Sorry, right.  What do I need to hear?

“The Maw’s denizens.”

Th...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Two

I let my attention wander as Lechula and Merrik are questioned.  The two have really loosened up, though it’s a bit more difficult to tell with the elf than the dwarf.  Lechula happily talks about life in Silvervein, though she gets significantly less happy whenever she notices another disturbing fact about life there.  Merrik gives his own stories as well, and gives wry commentary on Lechula’s accounts, too.

Honey takes diligent notes the whole time, gleaning tidbits...

Peek: Queen Multitasking

The ant queen hardly has time to gather her thoughts with all the work she has right now, and she couldn't be happier for it.  While it was nice to have the latitude to experiment with her own projects for a time, a project from the Emperor is always a treat!

And what a complex treat it is!  She needs to not only teach the magmyrm some basic alchemy, but she needs to kick up her alchemical production, too.  Honey, dear friend and fellow scion she may be, but the bookish i...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-One

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**The Harbinger**

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The amorphous mass of eyes, teeth, and tentacles glowers as it stalks the tunnels, making itself look even more unpleasant than usual.  That’s fitting, as it’s feeling rather unpleasant at the moment, and the last thing it needs is someone trying to engage with it right now.

It had thought things couldn’t get any worse after being saddled with the responsibility of training the a...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty

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**The Redcap**

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The unsettling fey scion oversees the excavation, his placid blue eyes at odds with the gruesome thing atop his head.  He likes the shadow it casts over his face, though he needs to refresh it soon.  This hat was a singular masterpiece, in his opinion, but time marches on, and this hat is spoiled now.  Such is the ephemeralness of art, he supposes.

His eyes wander the workers, wonde...

Peek: Denizen Types

Denizens are  a vital part of any dungeon.  They are second only to scions for carrying out the will of their dungeon, and scions are really just a subset of powerful denizens.  As Dungeoneers have studied dungeons, we've slowly discovered the types of denizens.  Those with power identification and divination abilities can see these categories directly, though not all at once.  So let's go over the broad types.

We will start with the broadest type: beasts.  ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Nine

As the party closes the distance to the surface, Teemo explains the general tone for good cop/bad cop.  The Stag still looks confused about the whole idea, but he’s willing to try.  Teemo even tries to get a few of the illusion foxes to fake an interrogation room like on tv, with a one way mirror and everything, but I have to shoot the idea down.  Even if the idea of the Stag and Teemo giving significant glances to the mirror and grabbing the hanging lamp to shine in their ey...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Eight

It takes Teemo about a day to get to Leo, which gives him about a day to prep him for the two refugees.  Sure, prisoners, but I don’t see much point in pretending they’re anything else at this point.  Yvonne and company have already undone Merrik’s hand binds.  I think the two young adults are a bit too marveled by the stories of the surface to try anything.

It also helps that Lechula is likable.  I wouldn’t go so far as to call her adorkable, but there is a ...

Peek: The Grand Horlon Labyrinth

Nobody is quite sure how old the Grand Horlon Labyrinth is, not even the dungeon itself.  It knows it's existed for quite some time, but when it decides to count time, it doesn't use the same scale as the small pocket of chaos use.

The dungeon is vast, even discounting its spacial affinity.  It owns a large chunk  of ruins as well as a rocky hill and a bit of grassland, before the main body of the dungeon plunges into the earth.  From the accounts of the more powerfu...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Seven

Down in the tunnels somewhere around that Maw’s territory, Nova watches as the party sleeps.  The prisoners are sleeping, too, but I think their status as prisoner will pretty quickly change to defector or maybe refugee after Teemo and Leo get a chance to talk with them.  I’d say interrogate, and while that’d technically be accurate, the pale elf and dwarf seem pretty relaxed and accepting of their situation.

It could be a trick, but the kind of paranoid fishi...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Six

Watching, or rather: listening through Nova is an odd experience.  I’ve checked in on her a few times while she and the others have been scouting, but her spike in anxiety drew my attention.  I can’t really blame her for being so nervous.  That group was plainly different from the very start.

I’m glad the ambush went so well, and I just wish I was better able to communicate with Nova so she could ask what I want to know.  Of course, she doesn’t talk ...

Peek: Castleview Deliveries

Horlon City, capital of the Kingdom of Horlon, is a very busy city.  Not only does the royal family live there, but so do to much of the nobility, no less than three major adventurer guilds, over a dozen lesser ones, a major guildhall for the dungeoneers, several major merchant guilds, and all the ordinary people that make up the hustle and bustle of city life.

In an awkward cul-de-sac atop a small rise is the main stockyard of Castleview Deliveries.  They're hardly the larges...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-five

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**Nova**

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The wyrm scion does her best to stay calm as the two dwellers head deeper into the cave, unknowingly getting closer and closer to her party.  She sighs in relief when they finally stop.  They’re close, but at least not directly outside the hidden camp of her friends.

She can actually join them while still listening in, which she happily does.  She doesn’t feel very qualified for this kind of thin...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Four

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**Nova**

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As the wyrm scion quietly glides through the earth, she reflects on just how strange scouting duty is.  While she’s finding she quite enjoys it, that doesn’t make the duty any less strange.  It’s the juxtaposition of heightened awareness with lessened need to actually do anything that makes it so strange.  Feeling for vibrations keeps her mind active enough to pay attention, but not so active t...

Peek: Delver's Digest Awards

With winter here, it's time for the annual Delver's Digest awards!  While our editors and writers are sorting out the categories and nominees, it's still not too late to nominate your guild or team for one of our many prestigious awards!

The competition is looking fierce, though.  The Legendary Lockpicker category for secret or obstructed rooms is going to be difficult to take from Sigmund Bronzebeard, who has taken to challenging the so-called dwarven door dungeon to hone his...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Three

It’s time for the next wave to move out, which includes the dwellers.  While I’d rather they stay back and maybe go with the medics, I’d just have another excuse to try to keep them back when the healers head on out.  There’s nothing I can think of to actually keep them home, or at least not anything I haven’t expressed already.

My denizens are ready to go, this batch of reinforcements mostly has tundra wolves and basilisks, with a smattering of more arcane hands, to...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-Two

I’m feeling a lot better about things after chatting with Teemo.  He’s good at cutting to the heart of what’s bothering me and reminding me what’s important.  It also helps that he’s more than happy to point out mistakes, so when he says something is good, it rings true instead of just hollow praise.

I like to think I help calm him down some, too.  I’m not the only one worried about everyone, and both of us being able to vent those worries to each other really...

Peek Q&A Four!

It's been a while since we had a Q&A, so let's get right too it, shall we?

The Guy Who Asks has a very fitting name and several questions.  Are there ghost spawners?  Intangible undead.  They are rare, since the first two types of ghosts are basically easily-noticed illusions.  Fear can work on invaders, but delvers tend to get over it quickly, especially when they learn there's little the phantasms can actually do to them.  

Are there spawn...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty-One

Though I’m feeling a bit better and more motivated to go kick this dungeon’s butt, reality forces me to cool my heels.  I pretty much spend the entire rest of the day going over the vague plans and tricks, and have to grudgingly admit there’s not a whole lot extra for me to do at the moment.  There’s a couple things I could do, but I think it’d be better to keep that mana for reacting to whatever the dungeon throws at us.

Upgrading the dragon spawner, for example, wo...

Chapter Two-Hundred Twenty

I spend a bit more time trying to think through the impossibility of being in charge of the afterlife for my dwellers, but I make exactly zero progress.  There’s just too much I don’t know, and I can’t think of anywhere I could get that information.  While I think Torlon would share what the Crystal Shield knows, I don’t think he has that knowledge himself.  It also seems like the kind of thing that’d take a pact to get the Shield itself to share, and I don’t really...

New Year, New Nudge!

Yes, it's time for a new nudge!  The last year has been incredible, thanks to all of your support.  I never imagined my weird story about a living location could draw so much interest.  When I first wrote it, I wasn't expecting to share it with anyone, but now there's a book deal and everything!  I hope the new year goes well for everyone, and I hope you all have new things you'd like to have a peek of.  Thank you again, everyone, for your support.  It means so m...

Peek: Life in a Dungeon

Through the dungeon of Thedeim, most delvers notice the efforts of the scions or the dungeon himself, but there is so much more going on than those dozen-and-change beings.  The will of the scions and Thedeim shapes the behavior of the denizens and how they interact with the delvers and invaders.

Here, for example, we have one of the more ordinary spider denizens, weaving a web like any ordinary orbweaver.  but where a normal spider will simply make their web and hope, this on...

Chapter Two-Hundred Nineteen

“And that’s the basics for my Butterfly Effect, Fluffles.  Just subtle things lining up and leading to the next, like dominoes,” explains Teemo.  While he’s specifically explaining it to Fluffles, he still has Rocky, Slash, and even the Stag listening.  The big elk looks a bit lost, but I’m pretty sure it’s just because it’s a fate thing.  From the bond, I think Rocky is interested in the theory, but isn’t planning much in the way of application just yet. 2024-01-05 04:14:12 +0000 UTC View Post