Khenal

Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty-Three

The Tree of Cycles came out even better than I had hoped.  I hadn’t even been able to decide on a name, but now the huge thing is there, it has one all the same.  I think Order might have done it, or maybe it’s just something that happens.  I dunno, and honestly, I don’t think it matters.  What matters is that it’s there.

And that I vastly underestimated how much it would cost to actually populate the entire area.  The First Mate couldn’t...

Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty-Two

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Earl Paulte Heindarl Bulifinor Magnamtir if'Gofnar

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What had at first seemed like it was going to practically be a vacation is quickly spiraling into a challenge.  He hasn’t even laid eyes on Fourdock in decades, and yet news of the town has him sailing in an emotional hurricane, his vessel riding waves high only to sink low and threaten to capsize, often in ...

Peek: Fellowship

"So let us strive to uplift each other even as we hold each other accountable. Never be afraid to ask each other for help. Someone might just have that missing piece to make a struggle into something trivial," finishes High Priestess Aranya, smiling at all those gathered in the growing ratkin church. Most of those here for the sermon are from the enclaves, but there is a large minority of people from Fourdock, too.

The couple Shield scribes were confusing at first, but they're the ki...

Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty-One

Olander and Tula have a nice little delve together, and I mostly let them do it without me constantly hovering.  Tarl can sense when I’m focused on him, so I don’t doubt Olander can, too.  They visit the antkin, where Tula talks nerd with the enchanter caste, and Olander gets to see the progress being made on the composite armor.  He’s deeply interested in it, of course, but even offering his advice doesn’t keep him distracted from Tula for too long.

In the end, h...

Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty

It looks like Coda’s planning session with Rezlar went really well.  As the surveying efforts under the forest wind down, Coda is more than happy to snatch up the denizens and point them at surveying and preparing the path for the road, as well as getting a better look inside the mountain Rezlar wants to build in.  From what I can tell from the initial reports, the mountain itself seems pretty boring, as far as mountains go.

There’s enough soil for trees and bushes and stu...

First Nudge of 2025

It's time for a new nudge post! Be it a simple question or a suggestion for a side story along the lines of the Casuals, this will be the simplest way to suggest it to me! The peeks are very often inspired by the suggestions from all of you, and it's fun to see what little pieces of the Dungeon Life world have made you all wonder and desire to know even more. It's still amazing to me to have so many amazing supporters like yourselves, and to be able to be supported by your generosity. It'...

Peek: First Day of School

Parm tries to keep his nerves at bay as he waits in the lecture hall. The medical ants have been nothing but kind to him since he expressed interest in learning how they heal, and from the little pieces he's been able to grasp in passing, their methods will be nothing short of revolutionary. It's exciting and terrifying at once, his old instincts of avoiding attention warring with his need to understand how it all works.

He hasn't curled up into a ball when thinking about it in a coup...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Nine

Spring is one of those seasons I often forget actually exists, probably because of where I used to live.  North enough and high enough that winter would often muscle into the territory of the other seasons, and though I think Fourdock is definitely north enough, being close to the ocean makes it difficult for winter to really try to dig in its fingers and hang on.

I also wasn’t really involved in farming, so it’s not like I had to pay attention to when crops were planted. ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Eight

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Rezlar

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He feels… good.  He would even go so far as to say he feels great!  Thoughts of the future still make him nervous, but not the kind of paralyzing fear he used to feel.  He thinks it might be because he actually feels like he can affect what will happen, now.  For a long time, it felt like the entire course of his life was plotted out by his father.  It had seemed inevitable that he would effectivel...

Peek: Thedeim's Notes: Spawners

Rats tier: max enclave: complete number: 2 specialization: resources spawns: rats, swarms, packrats, dire rats, ratlings Overall solid. Migh

Rats

tier: max

enclave: complete

number: 2

specialization: resources

spawns: rats, swarms, packrats, dire rats, ratlings

Overall solid. Might need to add another in the tunnels under the tree once it's done. Gotta keep that loot flowing. Commonly given the go juice to give lightning affinity.

Spiders...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Seven

I’m impressed with Gerlfi and Titania both.  I knew he summons fey, but I just never connected the dots that he might like to summon my fey.  I’m also proud of Titania for her deal.  She’s going to be double dipping to make a ton of mana whenever she gets summoned, which is great for me, and she’ll get to see more of the world, at least if Gerlfi and his party ever wander on to a new dungeon, heh.

I’m also glad she didn’t go for some of the nasti...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Six

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Gerlfi

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The goblin summoner nervously watches as Kelpie and Titania square off.  With Kelpie, Gerlfi is well aware of what she’s capable of.  She’s fast, strong, and devious, and only the promise of new and interesting foes was able to convince her to deal with him.

Titania, however… he doesn’t have much to go on.  He’s pretty sure she’s life affinity, but he has no idea how she might wield it, or if...

Peek: The Crown's Leisure

King Horlon wears a contented smile as he make his way back to his chambers. Open court can sometimes be so chaotic as the citizenry make their impassioned pleas for certain things. That one's brother is innocent without needing a trial. This one has been wronged by a minor noble and is in danger of losing their home. These merchants hate the new tax, those other ones much prefer it.

Trials are for the courts to decide, the Crown's own agents will investigate the noble, the tax was rati...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Five

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Gerlfi

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The goblin summoner eyes the cemetery gates, his friends and party members at his side.  He had been hoping for an opportunity like this, but once it actually became an option, he found himself scrambling to prepare!  He’s formed pacts with dungeon fey before.  It’s his specialty, in fact, so he knows he has to have something to offer that the fey actually want.

But what could a scion want?

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Four

The atmosphere in the antkin enclave is tense while they wait for the hunters to return.  Aranya, Larx, and Folarn stick around and try to ease everyone’s nerves, but they can only do so much.  It’s a big risk they’re taking, and vital for them to succeed if they’re going to finally fill those bars and become dwellers.

The castes all try to keep themselves busy, trying to kill time with tasks that aren’t too important, lest they cause a mess by working while so distr...

Peek: A Shift in Current

Warnd and Marle idly chat as they head for Parval's shop, enjoying the company of the other and feeling warm and full after the meal. The roast chicken hit just the right spot for Marle, and Warnd is already looking forward to taking her out to dinner again some time. As they near the shop, he steers the conversation toward the impending shopping spree.

"So, have you thought about what you want to try?"

"Some... a lot. But I haven't really narrowed it down any yet," she admits, an...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Three

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Bem

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The worker antkin tries to keep his cool as he walks with his fellow hunters.  The others have dug an easier access tunnel to the volcanic area, where the Deans and the High Priestess are waiting to send them off.  He glances at his fellow workers, Gim and Tob, and hopes they’re dealing with nerves better than he is.  At first glance, it’d be easy to think they are, but Bem can see the rigidity in their posture a...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Two

The next week or so goes by in a blink of an eye as I watch things settle from all the upgrades, and the delvers get used to having someone like Olander around.  He doesn’t get a chance to delve in that time, probably dealing with all the political stuff he was trying to avoid, or maybe stealing time to just hang out with his friends.

The forest is seeing a lot more adventurers now, even if it’s still a work in progress.  The basic format is settled, and the denizens are a...

Peek: A New Course

Lem vanishes after he and Warnd get off work, filling his friends hands with his coin pouch before the elf can throttle him. Before he could weigh the benefits of chasing the changeling down, Marle speaks up from behind him.

"So, where should we go to eat?" she asks with a smile, banishing all murderous thoughts from Warnd's mind.

"Uh... what do you like to eat?" he asks, pocketing the coins without even making a mental note to do something terrible to Lem later.

Marle hums ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-One

While I’m pretty sure Zorro will need a trim if he’s going to pass as a hungry stray, I don’t rush him in getting it.  He’s practicing his illusions a lot, so I think it’s only right if I upgrade the spawner and give him not only a bit of a boost from that, but also some more foxes to practice with.

I still only have the basic foxes, though they did at least come with illusion affinity.  It costs a bit extra to set a specific affinity for a spawner, but it wasn’t m...

Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty

I come back to normal reality to see Teemo perched atop my core.  Was I out for long?

He shakes his head at me.  “Nah, not too long.  I moved here because it felt like you were further away than you’ve ever been.  Did you somehow pick up spatial affinity, Boss?  It felt like you were about a mile sideways.”

I’m pretty sure it was a god thing.  There’s some kind of plane where I can sorta see people.  It’s difficult to explain.  D...

Peek: Passing Ships

Warnd tries to keep his focus on his work, rather than the new hauler in the shipyard. He can hear Lem chuckle and scratch another shallow notch where it'll never be seen, so he knows he's not being nearly as subtle as he thinks he is. He glances up from his work setting the deck planks above the bilge and meets his friend's eyes, and the changeling only grins wider.

"You should talk to her."

"What would I even say? 'How's it like not being a slave?' I doubt that'd make a good...

Chapter Three-Hundred Nineteen

I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do.  It’s like meeting a celebrity and they say they’ve heard about you, not the other way around.  The Shield’s chiming laughter sounds, and I wonder how long I’ve just been staring at it.

“Sorry.  I’m… still pretty new to all this,” I admit, and the Shield bobs in the air in understanding.

“It is no problem.  I think most dungeon cores would have difficulty adjusting to divinity.  Though I...

Chapter Three-Hundred Eighteen

“Right, what were you wanting to talk about, before I told you about Parm?” asks Teemo as he heads back to the Sanctum to relax a bit.  I dunno how much relaxing he’s going to get to do once I tell him about the need for… politics!

Teemo shudders at that.  “Is it too late to volunteer to interpret for everyone in the lecture hall, ever?”

Yes.  Luckily for you, I don’t intend to just jump into those uncharted waters without some prep.  If ...

Peek: Christmas Special

In the city of Fourdock, a nice coastal town,

in a certain odd dungeon, a plot's going down.

In the middle of winter, a season of drear,

he feels what it needs is some good Christmas cheer!

He summons his scions, arbiters of his will,

and deep in the Sanctum, his plan he did spill.

With the season of coldness, there's two issues I take.

One with the chill, and one of some cake.

Of the frost and the snow, the peopl...

Chapter Three-Hundred Seventeen

It’s looking like I’ll need to expand downward in the forest once everything is ready.  I have a little bit of depth available in there right now, I’ve been able to dig a pretty shallow couple of caves, but my claims basically stop once we hit rock.  I’ve been paying attention to Leo’s scouting efforts, and it’s looking like the area under the forest is pretty solid, so that’ll be good, even if I’ll need to spend more than expected to make room for roots.

Thank...

Chapter Three-Hundred Sixteen

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Parm

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In the ratkin enclave, many of the displaced kobolds have come to settle.  For some, it seemed the most quiet place to call home.  Others thought it would be a good place to stay to try to be close to Aranya.  To call her an inspiration would be an understatement, and though they’ve since learned she splits her time evenly among the enclaves, the initial assumption was that she would spend most of her time with ...

Peek: The Shield's Vanguard

Unsil smiles as people shuffle out of the day's sermon, most returning to their homes or going to their jobs in Silvervein. Him standing guard at the entrance is more for tradition than any need for protection, but it gives him time to think while he listens. This whole chapter of his life has been a strange one. He chuckles and shakes his head as he looks down the tunnel, seeing the adherents of Thedeim meandering into their own modest temple. Very little around Thedeim is ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Fifteen

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Rezlar

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The young Lord Mayor does his best to not fidget as he sits at his large dining table.  The fight between Rocky and Olander was beyond his wildest expectations, even with Miller quietly making him aware of who Olander was well beforehand.  It really makes him appreciate the fight he and his friends had with the boxer, and see just how much further they can all grow.

He’s still not cut out for ...

Chapter Three-Hundred Fourteen

While there’s still a lot of prep to be done for the upward expansion in the forest, there’s still a lot of other small things to do, and things for Thing to do, too.  The anti-lifedrinking enchantment is simple enough to make once you know what you’re doing, so it’s not a big deal for Thing to make two copies of it: one for Olander to give the king, and one for the enchanter caste of my antkin.

I expect I’ll have it be relatively common to find in the forest once it’s ...