Khenal

Peek: Water Temple

Hullbreak is glad his Voice has so many teeth to smile with. It almost does his happiness justice with the finishing touches on his cliffside expansion. He's finally charted the tides and how they work with his new territory, and with a few of his own attempts to do things differently like the Admiral, he's very happy with how it's turned out.

Designing the passages to fill and drain with the tides was one such attempt, but his pride is in coming up with floating chests. He may not h...

Chapter Three-Hundred Ninety-One

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Old Staiven

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The wizened old ratkin peers intensely at the recipe his enthusiastic apprentice gave him, carefully taking in every detail.

“Queen herself gave this to you?” he asks, not taking his eyes off the parchment.  Thanks to Rhonda’s large hat, he can see her energetically nodding her reply.  “Hmm… did you gather all the ingredients?”

“Yes!  Though we accidentally got the fool’s coal...

Chapter Three-Hundred Ninety

If I could, I’d be holding my breath.  As far as anyone can tell (and that includes Cappy, so I’m pretty confident) the thieves don’t know we’re in.  The reason I’d like to hold my breath is that I’m watching through Teemo’s eyes as he, Thing, and Queen work to get into the safe.

It’s interesting to see how the safe is constructed.  I’ve seen safes in videos and such, people having fun doing destructive things to them to see just how hard it is to get in...

Peek: Audition

Slash idly picks at his axe in his own form of meditation. The Composer may not technically have composed any of the music Slash can barely hear through the bond, but the sheer breadth and variety marks him as someone with a keen interest, right?

Sometimes he wants to ask Teemo about that, but more and more, he feels that might ruin the mystery, the fun. That Composer Thedeim sometimes focuses in to listen to him play is all the motivation Slash needs to continue to hone his craft.

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Nine

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Noynur

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The large orc bares his teeth in a smile much crueler than he intends as he hears a knock on his door, finally.  The newcomers to the guild have caused quite a stir, and he and his party have their opinions on them.  Jana says there’s no way they snatched the trophy without Karn letting them.  Noynur may not be an expert in thievery, but Jana is.  If she says it’s impossible, he’ll believ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Eight

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Queen

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Emperor Thedeim’s ant scion enjoys this sort of expedition to the long ones required to defeat the Maw.  She doesn’t hate having participated in the longer variety.  Quite the contrary, as she was able to save Vernew and many other dwellers and delvers.

But something like this is what she prefers: steady and quiet progress, rather than frantic necessity.  The calmer atmosphere is also nice, despite how impor...

Peek: Ranger's Notes

These are the notes of Ranger Ternly on my attempts to study and eventually tame a tunnel horror. Should something happen to me, may these notes guide those who follow to not make the same mistakes I did. And if I actually do it, these are my proof that I did it, as if me having a tunnel horror following me around weren't proof enough.

Entry 1

Base established at Fourdock Ranger's outpost. Local delvers have identified a tunnel horror migration, with one of the local Ran...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Seven

Alrighty… looks like Gerlfi’s in.  He made quite a show of it, by all accounts, too.  Daylight robbery is pretty bold, as is using Titania and my sprigs to do the heist.  It makes me wish Toja’s safe was made of wood.  That’d make things a lot easier.  So would my sprigs being metal, probably.

But that’s not an option, or at least not an option I’ll have ready in time, if ever, so no sense dwelling on it.  I need to make sure I’m as ready as I...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Six

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Gerlfi

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How best to ‘leave’ the Slim Chance?  Gerlfi considers that as his friends relax in the shade of the wall, letting him come up with the plan.  The simplest way would be to just quit.  Tender their resignation, pay the severance fee, and go join the Calm Seas.  If it were an ordinary guild, that’d be the option he would go with.

With them working with the thieves guild, it won’t be so simple.&n...

Peek: Poe and the Harpies

The raven harpies are... restless. Poe blames himself, as he often does when things aren't progressing how he prefers, but he feels especially at fault as he and they share a spawner. And yet, despite their similarities, he's unsure how to help them.

The delvers find them terrifying, which makes the harpies sad. Personally, he likes their unsettling nature, and the tactical advantage they have in constantly being mistaken for dire ravens when they're not specifically trying ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Five

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Gerlfi

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The goblin summoner surveys the battlefield, weighing his options and his opposition.  His former companions stare at him with level gazes, each calculating their own path to success… at his expense.  He glances down for a moment, more to buy time than to seek escape.  He already knows his options, what he needs for victory.  Does he take the poorer yet sure option that will only buy him some short ti...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Four

I wonder how difficult it would be to smite someone?  I never really gave it any thought, but after hearing Onyx give Cappy’s report, I’m sorely tempted to figure it out.  I should probably try to figure out this divine magic stuff eventually, and the Earl and the thieves seem like a good test dummy.

I quash that train of thought, and even chuckle to myself as Teemo sighs in relief.  Getting mad and flying off the handle is a good way to get collateral damage, and wit...

Peek: Teeth

The caiman scion nods to himself as he watches the putrid oozes start spreading out. The final septic pit has been cleared. Cleanup may have technically been Slimy's duty, but Teeth can't help but feel responsibility for the entire sewer section of Commander Violet. She had tasked him with eliminating the rat invaders, which he took to with aplomb!

Protecting the oozes is vital to the Commander's well-being, after all. The waste from the outsiders is a potent source of mana for her,...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Three

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Earl Paulte Heindarl Bulifinor Magnamtir if'Gofnar

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Earl Paulte keeps his pace steady as he makes his way to the thieves guild.  With any luck, he won’t need to come here again until it’s time to arrest Toja for murdering his son.  Too late to do anything, tragically, but in time for a grieving father to see justice done.  Yes, that should play ni...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-Two

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Doppler

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There is a lot to understand.  So much, Doppler finds himself at a loss for where to even start.  He can feel a purpose he was created for, but very little will from Creator Thedeim to speed him toward it.  He doesn’t like to think about it, but he doesn’t think it’s his true purpose to be an interpreter for some of the senior scions, but that was why he was created, wasn’t he?

There�...

Peek: Calm Seas

Coming to Fourdock was a mistake. Jondar Helmsplitter should have known something was up when he saw the proposed pay for himself, but he let himself be blinded by the gleam of gold. He thinks it's an understandable weakness to have, but it's also the only weakness he hasn't ruthlessly drilled out of himself. Too slow? Footwork and running regimen. Foes too strong? Practice and get stronger to use a larger axe. Getting hit too often? Get stronger still and wear proper armor.

But ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty-One

With that existential crisis handled and the next one scheduled for… what, two months from now, Teemo?

“Sounds about right, yeah,” he answers with a smirk as he works on the shortcut to the cathedral.  “You’ll either have enough on your plate that you’ll overthink things, or have things wrapped up and trip over it while looking for something to work on by then.”

Thanks bud.  We both enjoy having a bit of fun, both of us trying not to worry too much.  P...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighty

Doppler’s name for me fills me with conflicting emotions.  On the one hand, sure, I kinda created him.  Even more than the other scions, I didn’t just spend mana, I practically invented him.  Skynet was another name I had briefly considered, but quickly tossed.  A lot of the scions start taking after the names I give them, and I definitely don’t need to bring that sort of trouble here.

So I guess there’s a bit of pride in being called his creator.  It al...

Peek: First Inspection

Jarl keeps his eyes peeled as he walks the tunnel, the only sound the fall of his boots and the rap of his quarterstaff against the ground. He can't help but smirk at the staff, recalling the comments during his training about how maybe it should be called an eighthstaff. He didn't take it personally, and neither did the gnomes and halflings that trained alongside the dwarf to become inspectors.

Personally, with how thick he prefers his staff, he sometimes jokes about it being a long ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Nine

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Rezlar

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The young elven lord slowly goes through his forms, adjusting them to fit better with Rose’s influence.  When he first tamed her, he was focused on her spatial affinity, looking to take advantage of longer reach or maybe being able to have her guide his attacks in unexpected angles.

He’s seen Teemo work the affinity enough to have at least a small idea of what can be done when playing with distances.  But...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Eight

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Boss Toja

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“Aahh, much better.”  The spiderkin woman smiles to herself as she enjoys the shadiest corner of the bar section of the hideout.  The thieves always enjoy the shady corners, and the highest ranked get seniority on the best spots.  She doesn’t care much about how dark the corner is, but she appreciates the feeling of seclusion even with the loud hangout all around her.

And in her opinion, the...

Peek: Gofnar Pond

The feathered not-invader is acting strange. Why is it sometimes attacking the denizens? The other not-invaders leave the denizens alone, which makes it easier for them to deal with the actual invaders. The dungeon even takes a few minutes to check on the other not-invaders, making sure they're still acting like they should.

They are. They are gathering the tigertail reeds from the shallow water and producing mana for the dungeon. It's glad they produce mana like that. The first not-inv...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Seven

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Pul

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The disguised changeling lays on his bed in the workhouse.  On the outside, he’s enjoying a day off.  On the inside… ok, he’s also enjoying the day off, but he’s also thinking about a lot of things.  He’s not only getting a break from hauling as the miners and masons meet with Coda and Rezlar to ensure everything is as they need it, but he’s also enjoying a bit of a break from delving and from what Teemo ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Six

If I could, I’d be grinning from ear to ear as I settle in to work on a speaker spawner.  First thing I try is to try to pretzel the null elemental spawner into giving me what I want, but it stubbornly refuses to cooperate.  Maybe if I was trying to make a speaker elemental, but I’m working on a construct of some flavor.  I know it, the spawner knows it, Order probably knows it, too.

Still, it was worth a shot.

My next try is to see if I can’t adjust any of th...

Peek: The Crypt Complex

Lusse meets his companions' eyes as they stand in the tunnels, steeling themselves for this delve. The elven rogue hasn't lead them wrong before, and he doesn't intend to change that now. They may still be a long ways off from having to delve the Shrouded Bog, but early preparation is always a good idea.

Undead will be a challenge for their small party. They're notoriously resistant to sneak attacks, have unnatural stamina to try to wear down Klarquer, the badgerkin fighter and frontlin...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Five

Someday, I’ll learn to not pile so many things onto my plate.  Oh, I’ll make a huge tree made for combat!  A cubic mile isn’t that much room, right?  A hold for the town?  Sounds good, sign me up!  Dealing with Rezlar’s dad and the thieves guild at the same time?  Childsplay!  Why not add in training a kid to be a ninja, too?

Really though, it sometimes feels like a lot, but it’s nice to have so much to do.  I think if I didn’t ...

Patreon is being weird, so here's chapter 372 until it actually lets me change who has access.

The trio easily enter the Forest of Four Seasons after a quick inspection of the cemetery.  With the wolf spawner moved out, the whole place is a lot more peaceful, and so simpler for them to inspect.  The three greet Grim, who waves as he mows, and then they’re into the Forest.

Goldilocks doesn’t bother starting slow with them, and the denizens get to have some fun with the inspectors.  Berdol’s progress is showing as he fights alongside Tarl and Olander, with the ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Four

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Pul

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He had been pretty sure the others would take his reveal well, but he had expected a few more questions.  He even asked about it, with Rhonda acting like the only important point was that he’s their friend.  Then Freddie threw her under the cart.

“She got it out of her system with Vieds already.  He says he’s not very good at changing, but he knows how it works.  So now she does, too.”

“Fredd...

Peek: Pushing Papers

The young elven woman pants from the exertion as she watches the foes fall, ink and viscera strewn about the tunnel in equal measure. She's much more used to using her ink and quills on parchment than to fight for her life, but if she wants to get further in the Dungeoneer's Guild, she needs to advance her class past a simple scribe.

"Hah! And they said you'd need help delving!" exclaims the smug elven man, glaive over his shoulder as he surveys the damage. He takes a few long second...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventy-Three

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Pul

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The disguised changeling has just enough energy to aim so he doesn’t go face first into his bowl of stew.  The stew would have probably been softer than the table, but his stomach has designs on the stew.  Once he can convince his arms to gather the energy to actually let him eat.

“Uugh…” he groans, fully aware of the smiles and suppressed laughter of his friends as they sit with much more dignity in the gui...