Khenal

Peek: A Brick in the Wall

Hilloy tries not to fidget in his seat as the ship sails.  The young elf would have never expected to have to take a boat to a building, but that's exactly what he's doing!  In fact, he's been doing it for close to a month now, and each day is a new chance to learn from the masters.

It's even a chance for the masters themselves to learn.  Most have been eager to figure out how these new bricks work, and to see what strange things the dungeon has come up with.  The st...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Nine

It’s around sunset when the last of the miners either walk out or give up.  It’s also about the time that Tarl and Berdol enter through the main gates.  Tarl looks relaxed as he follows Berdol, who looks a bit nervous.  I watch them curiously for a few moments before remembering they want to inspect Violet again before giving her an official categorization and recognition.

I don’t even need to ask Teemo to say anything before he hops out of a shortcut at the porch a...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Eight

I don’t pay too much attention to Gerlfi the summoner as he leads the miners out, instead choosing to watch the other two as they try to navigate the labyrinth without the help of the brownie to point out the traps.  They do better than I would have expected.  The mage is able to sense when a magical trigger is nearby, and the two take time to carefully find each one they come across.

Most of the magical triggers are just proximity sensors and are basically just fancy tripwi...

Peek: Business as Usual

To the delvers of Thedeim, the dungeon is an oddity.  Simply being cooperative makes him a strange dungeon, and even the ordinary citizenry of Fourdock is pretty sure his growth has been quick.  But for all that the outsiders find Thedeim strange, the insiders feel similarly.

The scions are better able to grasp the strangeness of their home, thanks to their possession of higher thought.  They can think in the abstract, plan for the future, analyze the past, and have a vag...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Seven

The new dawn brings the first official visitors to the lava labyrinth.  I’ve had signs at the entrance saying it’s still a work in progress, but I couldn’t technically force people to stay out.  Still, most stayed away, or were happy to harvest the metals closest to the entrance.  It’s one of those natural things: put a distraction out to keep attention away from what you still need to focus on.

But with the labyrinth being finished, I can seal those nodes behind ...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Six

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**Elsewhere**

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Deep beneath the surface lays the dungeon known as the Maw.  Just outside the Maw, lays the town of Silvervein.  The inhabitants, almost-entirely pale elves and pale dwarves, are emancipated dwellers, released from the Maw so they can better provide it with mana.  The priesthood of The Great Maw holds sway over the town, with varying levels of enthusiasm by the inhabitants.

Most of them, lik...

Peek: Kobolds of the Pantry

Klore sometimes wonders what the point is.  He also sometimes wonders if he's blessed to even have the motivation to wonder, or cursed to not simply accept.  Sure, the ones with vacant stares are hardly alive, but they also don't have to actually process what life is.

He at least counts himself lucky to not embrace the insanity of this dungeon, as some of his fellows have.  It's a different kind of insanity, to worship the Maw and even hope to be chosen to be its...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Five

Much as I’d like to brood over the implications of the mystery dungeon being Aranya’s old dungeon, I’m not the only one considering the information.  Larx is frowning as he thinks, while Folarn looks determined.

“We’ll need to start marching soon,” declares the large spiderwoman, before turning her focus to Larx.  “We will need your help in the cold, as well.  Once back under the ground, we should be able to move fine, but even with the Scout’s shortcuts, ...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Four

Leo’s probably right in that I should upgrade the dragon spawner if I want some heavies, and I’m pretty sure I do want some heavies.  Dragons are never pushovers, and even the wyrms are pretty tough, especially for the initial spawn!  The rest of the debrief and chat takes us until dawn, and Teemo says Leo would like to do a bit of sparring with Fluffles before going back to the front line, if that’s alright.

While I’d like him back quickly, I think he can tak...

New Nudge in the Spoopy Month!

Yes, it's been a while, so lets get a new nudge going!  Ask questions for a potential Q&A, suggest topics for a peek, and have fun!  I'll keep an eye on the comments here, so anyone with anything they'd like to see me write as a peek, please post here, even if you've posted it before.  I can be a bit scattered at times, so most often I've simply missed your question if you've posted it and I haven't responded.  Thank you again for all the support!

Khenal

Peek: Order

The god of Order exists quite comfortably in his domain.  The other gods like to joke about him being antisocial, but they don't have 4th dimensional forms.  He is quite happy to not have to unfold his tesseract self to fit properly into the mortal plane, thank you very much.

It helps that his adherents are few and regimented enough to not require his direct involvement often.  Besides, in his estimation, he interacts with the mortals plenty, as his system is the backbone...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Three

While I wait for Leo and Honey to respawn, there are at least some things I should do.  For one: I should gather my peoples for a meeting.  Somewhere around noon tomorrow sounds good.  Aranya and Yvonne are obvious to invite, as well as Tarl.  My High Priestess and the Inspector both know way more about dungeons than I do, and my favorite birb deserves to have her opinion heard on any risks I’m taking.

The Spiderkin Triumverate and Larx also should hear what’s go...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-Two

I wish I could survey the entire battlefield right now, but Rocky is my last scion standing over there.  My zombie boxer is trying to get himself back under control as he stares at the smoldering remains of the Harbinger, and I can’t really blame him.

That thing was a nasty piece of work, and I could actually feel it’s magic subtly influencing Leo and Honey both through their bonds with me.  It couldn’t control them, but it could give them little nudges, little suggestio...

Peek: Distractions and Battles

Lately, Folarn has been feeling a little distracted.  With all that's going on right now, she might be forgiven for it, but she's not distracted by what she might usually be.

The new armor being produced is excellent, and the smiths are really coming into their own with the production.  And thanks to the ingots of the ratkin, the smiths are able to only stop because of fatigue, rather than a lack of material.  That's not what's distracting her, though.  While she app...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety-One

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**The Maw**

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The dungeon watches through the many eyes of the Harbinger as it bursts onto the surface, greedily devouring the sights.  It’s clear immediately that the Maw made the correct decision to invade the surface.  There’s so many different things to savor!

Even the chaotic mana of the battlefield makes the dungeon practically drool at the idea of Devouring all of it.  The Maw makes notes to it...

Chapter One-Hundred Ninety

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**The Harbinger**

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The Harbinger glares across the battlefield at the opposing force.  Rage threatens to overwhelm it, but it can’t let itself fall to that.  There are three scions arranged against it, as well as an army of mixed denizens.  Seeing the opposition, it has to admit the least are not to blame for having failed to overrun everything.

It can taste the mana of the surface forces, and there ...

Peek: A Day in the Life of Tiny

As the sun rises, Tiny enjoys a few minutes to simply bask in the warmth and to gaze upon the weave.  The sunlight almost seems to make the possibilities sparkle like dew on the ephemeral tapestry of Fate, and it makes him appreciate his attunement to that particular affinity all the more.

He can't spend forever appreciating it, though.  Truth be told, he can barely take a few minutes before he needs to get down from atop the maze and prepare to the delvers to run it.  Mo...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Nine

So… that’s less than optimal.  The invaders are building up their forces with each passing minute by using some kind of sleep or hibernation to conserve their internal fuel.  Even worse: there’s something big coming, and I get the feeling it’d be a bad idea to let it get to the group of invaders without throwing some kind of wrench into its plans.

It seems like Leo feels the same, as he pretty quickly orders just about everyone to move.  Honey did some quick math ...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Eight

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**North of Southwood**

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Many underestimate what earth elementals can do.  They see the stony exterior and conclude all that can do is crush and smash, with even the clever ones only being able to add impale to the list of abilities.

In the defense of those who think that way, most earth elementals would agree.  Their nature suggests they should deal with problems rather directly.  The rockslides may not be...

Peek: The Origin of the Crystal Shield

I hope you all have chosen a subject for your final paper of the semester.  Deadlines have a habit of sneaking up, you know.

Anyway, on to today's lesson.  This subject is one of the most wide-spread religions on the continent, and it's not difficult to see why.  When someone thinks of a paladin, the image most associate with it is one of The Shield.  There is even evidence to suggest The Shield is one of the very few deities to have a paladin before apotheosis.

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Seven

I watch Leo as he and Honey seem to be working on two potential plans for the situation.  It’s a different kind of battle than we’ve had to deal with before.  With Neverrest, I was basically besieged, but I had an out with the surface that the other dungeon seemed to never consider, which let me sneak in a decapitating strike.

With Hullbreak, it was an infiltration mission mixed with a rescue, and though Hullbreak pulled a couple good tricks, there wasn’t anything outsid...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Six

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**Leo**

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The wolf scion’s tail slowly waves as he ponders the map.  He’s hardly pleased with the reports he’s getting, but he’s more thoughtful than upset about them.  H-14 doesn’t seem to be the base of the invaders, though it does seem to be something like the tip of their territory.  Unpleasant as it is to lose scouting teams, thanks to Honey’s idea of dividing the area into sections, even a...

Peek: The Worst Murderous Dungeon

Gather and get comfortable around the fire, as I decide which dungeon to talk about tonight.

Ah, I know.  This is the tale of a dungeon that seems to be dedicated to eradicating life, but is also terrible at it.  This is the odd dungeon of Centerpoint, located deep in the elven kingdom.  It's nestled between three villages: Northtown, Easttown, Southtown.  The villages are odd as well, as the time I went to delve this dungeon, Southtown was to the west, Northtown was...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Five

There’s just something different about watching the kids delve, but not delve me.  It’s also really difficult to not backseat Hullbreak as he works on challenging them, but not too much.  But if I just give him the answer, he’ll never figure it out on his own.

The kids are after a ton of that kelp, too.  I’d probably challenge them a little harder for how much they’re taking, but Hullbreak also wants to get the kelp harvested, it’s a bit shag...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Four

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**Hullbreak**

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Getting used to lubbers… delvers again has been difficult, but Hullbreak can’t act like it hasn’t been better for his dwellers.  Having his own mana to expand and work with has been a warm current to his mood, too.  Despite his fears, his dwellers were not immediately gobbled up by some monstrosities from the deeps, nor fished up and smoked by the lubbers as a snack.

Some of ...

Peek: Cobbler Brade

Deep beneath the ground, lays the dungeon known as the Maw, and most know to stay well away.  The ones that don't are the ones that descend from the Maw's own spawners, the emancipated dwellers, their enclave outside and theoretically independent from the dungeon.  The town of Silvervein is rather busy, especially of late.  The Maw has been getting more and more active, and so has the priesthood around it.

Activity is good for Brade.  More activity means shoes and ot...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Three

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~~Rezlar~~ **Larrez**

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The discussion about deities occupies Rezlar’s thoughts as he returns home, and makes him wonder if he should try to attend some services regularly.  He’ll need to talk to Larx or maybe even Lady Aranya, to see if they’re willing to talk more, too.  He may even try to attend to both faiths, at least to a degree.  He doubts he’ll ever devote himself to anything wholly enough to...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-Two

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**Rezlar**

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The young noble isn’t certain how he feels about paperwork.  He certainly prefers it to peoplework, but that’s not really saying much. He feels more confident about getting back in the ring with Rocky than he does with talking to people, generally.  His acting at being one of his own guards is helping with that a bit, but he’s long come to terms with the fact that he’ll never be the boisterous, outgo...

Peek: The Crown

King Edwuarl Horlon the Third sits regally in his chair, listening to the initial taxation reports.  Few others in the throneroom are able to mimic his poise as he listens, though he can't really blame them.  It's not even the royal ego pointing out flaws in others while ignoring his own.  He actually quite enjoys statescraft, even if few of his nobles do.  One of his most potent political threats is to offer a noble a seat at these reports.  More than one noble has c...

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty-One

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**Rocky**

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The undead scion smiles as he walks with the large group of denizens.  His day has been very good so far!  First, Coach asked him if he wanted to help with the Southwood, which of course Rocky would.  He didn’t just jump at the chance, though.  He had been thinking about why Coach Thedeim hadn’t sent him earlier, and he decided Coach must want him to help if anything happens here.

T...