Khenal

Peek: Opened Eyes

Dergol lays in his assigned cot, trying not to flinch at all the movement around him. Today has been difficult, in more ways than one. He still hasn't gotten over the deaths of Lechula and Merrik in that freak cave-in. Even Jayle was troubled by it. And today has been so much worse.

Invaders came, much more organized and powerful than any before. He and Jayle were assigned to help push them out of Silvervein proper, and when they saw the shiny metal they wore, everyone devoted to t...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Seven

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Nova

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Nova isn’t so sure she’s cut out for fighting, no matter how potent her name is.  Voice Teemo smoothly deflected the Redcap’s opening attack like it was nothing, and he’s supposed to be bad in a fight!  When he called for her, she rushed to help, but only made a mess, at least at first.

A lot of magma would keep the Redcp at bay, right?  But he didn’t sound worried, didn’t stagger back or gas...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Six

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The Redcap

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The lanky fey takes in the details of the central kobold chamber, not especially concerned about the invaders currently in it.  The Pantry has been breached, but the kobolds are still safe.  He can see the loyal ones incapacitated in several ways, but they’re in no danger.  If they’re lucky, the Redcap will be allowed to make one of them a hat, though come to think of it, he has plenty of mater...

Peek: A Baker's Birthday

Surprising a baker with a gift is rather difficult, and Hjerl's wife is no exception. You'd think she'd be too busy baking to notice him quietly preparing, but more than one birthday surprise has been spoiled by her sharp eyes. It'd be annoying, if it wasn't one of the many things he loves about her.

But this year he has an idea, one that, even if she discovers it, she probably won't quite get what he's doing until it's too late! He does his best to suppress his chuckle as he tests the ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Five

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Aranya

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The red kobold can’t help but keep a hand at her pendant as she, Ragnar, Aelara, and Yvonne follow Teemo and Nova.  She should be confident, especially after that miracle from Lord Thedeim and his scions, but she can’t keep her nerves fully in check.

Should she have tried to insist her friends stay behind?  What if they get hurt because of her?  Not for the first time, she crushes that line of thou...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Four

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Queen

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The ant scion wonders if maybe she should step out of her lab more often.  Working with the catkin on the way gave her so much information to work with!  If only she could have another month to really iterate on the armor designs… but no, the Emperor was right in striking now.

Prepare too much, and opportunity will pass you by.  Jumping too quickly is just as dangerous, but she suspects the Emperor ...

Peek: The Splitting Dungeon

With winter coming to an end, there's a lot of change in the air, and not just for our nomadic caravans! Sure, melting snow makes the terrain difficult, but life is all too eager to get back to the chaotic business that is life. In fact, chaotic business reminds me of probably the strangest dungeon I've ever personally been in! Let me get my tent and pack squared away, and I'll tell the tale while we walk.

This dungeon is located on the far side of the Beastkin Principalities, I beli...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Three

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Vernew

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If she wasn’t already devout towards the Weaver, watching that miracle be cast would have done it.  His presence has always had a quiet power to it, a subtle surety of safety, making it easy to forget He is more than able to take a more proactive stance in protecting those He cares about.

She’s not exactly a mage, able to analyze magic, but even she could tell that was something significant.  W...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Two

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Vnarl

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The troll reflects on the events of the last couple months, and not for the first time, has to admit getting captured by Thedeim was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to him and his party.  In the moment, it was painful and humiliating, but looking back, it really helped recenter them all.

They started out so idealistic, wanting to help people.  It didn’t take long for the politics of a large guil...

Peek: The Twisters of Fate

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Violet

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The young dungeon watches as her Mentor works an incredibly-complex spell, only wishing she could observe more through the bond they share. As it is, she can feel something huge forming, and also feel something she hasn't seen in her mentor before: his mana draining. He's always seemed like an endless font of mana, a fungus always spreading and growing mushrooms, always knowing just where the best nutrients lay. To see his reserve...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-One

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The Maw

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For once, the Maw is glad it has no mouth.  It can only imagine how much it would be drooling at the prospect of what’s happening.  The surface alliance is finally making their move, and in the Maw’s opinion, they’re already making mistakes.

Even if the Harbinger hadn’t suborned the rockslides around its territory, the surfacers are either ignoring the town or underestimating the impact they coul...

Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty

I look through the eyes of my scions at everyone gathered, and can’t help but feel humbled.  Having everyone gathered puts the upcoming battle into perspective.  There’s a lot of people willing to risk everything for this, and that only counts the ones actively here for this ceremony.

Every single one of my wayward dwellers is here, from support to combatants, but they’re not the only ones.  There’s a surprising number of adventurers joining in this, too.  I ...

Peek: Waiting in the Molten Abyss

The peoples of the depths know they can only dig so far. Do mine deeper risks falling into the Molten Abyss, an endless sea of magma. Clever and careful miners can breach the Abyss carefully, flooding a tapped mine with fresh molten earth and often fresh molten resources. It takes some time to cool to usability, but it's a lot easier than trying to go out and find fresh veins regularly.

Such endeavors must be done with care. A mistake can be a miner's last if the magma rushes in whi...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Nine

I can’t believe the changeling actually found the enclave.

“Jen, Boss,” absently corrects Teemo as he studies the updated map.

Right, Jen.  Not only has she infiltrated the town, but she’s found sympathizers!  It doesn’t seem like they’re going to actively fight on our side, but they should be able to keep at least some of Silvervein from joining in the defense.  Even more, we have not just the info for where the enclave is, but where the core is, also.<...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Eight

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Jen

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The next time she enters the tavern, she takes the time to appreciate the cheese kobold.  It really is a good mold the cheesemaker is using, or two molds, rather.  Now she takes the time to pay attention, she can see each figurine must have two molds: one for the cheese, and one for the cheese to rest in once dipped in wax.

She takes careful note of the subtleties that transform a figure from looking peaceful and sere...

A Disturbance in the Deep

The First Mate still finds herself marveling at the transformation of the Captain at times. The early days were bright and vibrant, and after the Tragedy, she thought they would never return. In some ways, there's still a long way to go. But in so many others, the Captain is doing better than ever. She can still feel his apprehension around the delvers, but it's nothing like the anger and fear of the dark times.

Even the merfolk growing more independent is showing to be healthy for ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Seven

The next couple days are almost a bit of a halfway point between waiting and doing, like packing your bags for a big trip.  It doesn’t feel like there’s much to do, but you’re also incredibly busy while doing it.

Berdol actually works great with Thing and Queen.  They have him test all sorts of things for moving metal embedded in other materials, and he heads to bed with an eager tiredness each time.  The kind of tired that makes you look forward to getting tired ag...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Six

As everyone gathers on the far side of the cemetery wall, I watch through Teemo’s eyes the growing throng in the pre-dawn light.  Every last basilisk of mine is there, and I’ll probably keep sending them as they spawn.  It’s still pretty slow, and I’m tempted to upgrade the dragon spawner again to increase the speed, but I hold off.  A couple dozen more basilisks could be nice, but I want to make sure Fluffles has plenty of my mana to throw around when the time comes. 2024-04-09 02:25:54 +0000 UTC View Post

The Dungeonless Voice

Ah, spring is in the air, no matter how winter tries to pretend otherwise. The early flowers are in full bloom, the birds are making their racket, and the beasts are venturing from their dens, not caring for the last desperate attempts of winter to maintain its hold on the land. It reminds me of an odd legend I've heard many times, of a dungeon behaving contrary to how winter is right now, a dungeon that saw the end coming.

Long ago, so long ago that the elven kingdom didn't exist, so...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Five

I spend most of the rest of the day watching the enclaves, and let Teemo catch Rezlar up on what’s going on.  He doesn’t really have anything new to add to the planned fight, though he does have a few questions about resources.  A full on iron vein would be pretty cool, and I don’t doubt it’ll be sustainable.  Just the limestone quarry is pumping out tons of mana from how much the people want it.  Making an iron vein won’t exactly be cheap, but the upkeep is pret...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Four

After all that with the adventurers, I’m feeling more motivated than ever to make the fight with the Maw a quick and decisive one, if at all possible.  The adventurers probably would prefer a bit more of a fight, but I’d rather have them disappointed and all coming home.  The frustrating part is that there’s probably not a lot more I can do to try to influence that particular outcome.

I’ve done a lot of planning, and my denizens, scions, and dwellers have been doing a ...

New Nudge!

Since today is Easter, I won't be doing a peek this week, as I'll be spending most of the day with family. That said, it's a good time for a new nudge, and so here we are! Ask questions about the story, about me, about whatever! Depending on the questions, we might get another Q&A post, or maybe I'll be all set for peek ideas for another couple months.

And I also want to thank you all for your support. Making stories has been a hobby for a lot of my life, and I never thou...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Three

Teemo chats with Tarl and Telar for a few more minutes, before taking his leave.  I was hoping we’d be able to ask Berdol a couple questions about metal affinity, but it seems he’s delving right now.  I take a few minutes to search for him while Teemo heads to the Adventurer’s Guild, and I only just spot him before Teemo pops out of a shortcut.  The catkin is exploring the lava labyrinth, so I think we’ll have plenty of time to finish with the guild before trying to cat...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-Two

The problem of a bladed weapon helps distract me until Teemo gets here.  At least I have a good idea for a sharp weapon that’s not metallic, even if we’ll only really have a supply of it after the fighting: the blade limbs of the least monsters.  If I had thought of it earlier, we could have harvested them from the battlefield outside the Southwood, but they’ve long since dispersed into mana at this point.  But a properly field dressed limb with a durability enchantment w...

Peek: A Day in the Life of Slash

As Dawn breaks, Slash likes to make his way to the surface, specifically the manor yard. The early birds generally get a serene tune to help start their day, and to help choose a quest from the patio. The first week or so he started doing it, the delvers were nervous about him being there. Despite his gentle tunes, he has a pretty imposing visage. Nobody was silly enough to try him, thankfully.

Once the delvers start their delving proper, Slash usually heads to either the maze or jo...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty-One

Teemo’s on his way back home to get the medics and whoever else wants to come for the actual assault.  Most of the adventurers are going with him, either just to get back home, or to get a few last minute things so they’ll be prepared for the attack.  The scouting teams are already back out, setting up the basecamp to infiltrate from.

I’m still nervous about it, but they’re as prepared as they can be, and are all pretty experienced delvers.  It’s easy to forget ...

Chapter Two-Hundred Forty

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**Rezlar**

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Winter is a strangely-busy time for the lord mayor of Fourdock, especially now he’s decided to actually step up and do his job, rather than just let the guild leaders do it for him.  Winter is usually a time of relaxation for the citizenry, as the cold and snow make it difficult for them to do much work.  But for the people at the top, the ones who are supposed to direct that work, it is a vital time fo...

Peek: More Tales From the Guild

An interesting sight in Karn's guild the last few months have been the Shield followers.  Oh, there's always been a few playing support roles in parties, either temporarily or permanently, but only recently has he started seeing actual parties of Shieldies.  He's certainly not going to complain.  They tend to be polite and clean, at least for adventurers.

That doesn't really say much, but still.  And, even though they're followers of the Shield, they really are still...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Nine

I’m surprised any of the adventurers are willing to go back and try to keep scouting the Maw.  I mostly had Teemo suggest they come talk to us on the off chance, but there’s three groups willing to get a closer look.  That doesn’t count Yvonne’s group who will be setting up a forward base camp, and the couple other teams who will be ferrying the reports back.

The No-Longer-Terrible Trio is even there, though they’re going to be running messages and providing a bit of...

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Eight

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**Lechula**

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As far as Lechula is concerned, the surface dwellers can keep the place.  It’s bright, it’s cold, the sky is terrifying, and even if that massive void up there won’t swallow you up, it’ll still cook you medium rare if given the chance!

The healing salve helps, but she still has no intention of leaving the cave until she stops being as red as one of the Redcap’s hats.  Merrik seems ...