Teemo gives a ntal poke to get my attention, pulling my focus out and away from toying with so composite ideas. Ive seen Queen working on what looks like a composite using spidersilk and lacquer, and Ive been doodling ideas for how to get so carbon fiber going. Im pretty sure thatd all be on Queen to manage anyway.
You probably want to hear this part, Boss.
Sorry, right. What do I need to hear?
The Maws denizens.
That certainly gets my attention, and Teemo chuckles as he motions to Lechula and rrik. Could you repeat that? The Boss was busy with sothing else, but now you have his full attention.
The female dwarf looks a bit uncomfortable at that, and reaches her hand towards her beard for a mont before forcing it down. Uh the Maws denizens. Well, almost everyone in SIlvervein has fought at least a couple of them. They pretty much need to to get their class, right? Even the crafters. It has two types of spawners, and I think has multiple of them, too? It has fey and elental spawners, and at least one of each is maxed out.
rrik speaks up to give a bit more information. I have personally seen at least three spawners, and I dont think theyre maxed. Im not an expert, though. I saw two elentals and one fey, but from the numbers in and around the Maw, Id expect at least one more fey spawner. The Redcap was his first scion, and I dont imagine it would invest in a fey spawner like that and not keep its numbers on par with the elental spawners.
They keep a lot of the details pretty secret, admits Lechula. Im pretty sure I saw a different fey spawner than rrik, but we didnt get our classes together, so its hard to say. She pauses as Honey scribbles, letting my Librarian catch up. She soon moves to a new sheet and buzzes her readiness, and Lechula continues.
Im pretty sure the weakest of the fey are needleslinks. They always make think of weird beetles, but theres not much resemblance. They have four legs and one little weird arm thing, with their needle-like head on a long neck. They have a smooth shiny body, but just stepping on them is usually enough to finish one off. They dont do much damage on their own, but they like to sar the needle with dirt and other things. Theyre usually not dangerous imdiately, but it can take days to recover from a delve if you encounter a swarm of them, and they do usually swarm. They dont fly, at least.
Bladesprites do. They have small, thin bodies and one weird foot/hand thing. On their backs, they have bladed wings, shaped kinda like axes, but a lot thinner. The whole thing is about hand sized. They sotis swarm, but I think a swarm is one of the higher spawns from the spawner. They like to charge at targets, flying in a straight line, then close their wings and flip over and hit like a throwing hatchet. The swarms sotis try to surround soone and slice them up like that, but I think they tend to get in each others way when they do that. Or they werent trying too hard to kill anyone when I delved.
Lechula gets lost in thought at that for a few monts, wondering if the Maw was being magnanimous, or if the bladesprites are just kinda stupid. Im going to assu any bladesprite swarm will be similar in power to that bladewall spell rrik showed off, and from Honeys notes, I think shes on the sa page. My bee finishes her notes and buzzes to get Lechula back on track.
Oh! Sorry. Uh I think the bolties would co next? she asks, looking to rrik. He shrugs in response.
In rough order of estimated power, Id say so.
Lechula nods at that and returns her focus to Honey and the other scions. Bolties then. Im pretty sure theyre a type of brownie? I dont know enough about fey in general to really say. Theyre around two feet tall and are pretty thin and wiry, but with oversized clawed hands. Instead of getting into lee to slash, they launch their claws like darts. They sotis will taint them like the needleslinks, but theyre big enough to be dangerous even without that. She pauses again to think.
I only fought a couple. Theyre thin enough to be able to hide in cracks and crevices and stuff, but tend to just stand there and shoot if they have the option, once the fight is started. Then Id put the bladesprite swarms She shudders as her thoughts land on the next threat.
Then the pricklethorns. Theyre only a little shorter than a dwarf, but just as stocky. Theyre covered in small hooks and barbs, and have weird wide forearms, like small shields. Their hands are too stubby to really hold a weapon, but they make good fists. Ive never fought one, but I heard about a couple people who tried. It uh it sounded like you should try to keep your distance.
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The last ones are the thinlinks. They look like a really lanky elf covered head to toe in chains. Ive only ever seen the chains, but Ive only seen one once, and I didnt want to get its attention by staring. The rumors say they use the chains to grab and choke, or sotis pull, and just one can be a threat to a full party.
Honey scribbles as I take that in, comparing it to my own spawners. It sounds a bit like the progression for my spiders, and theyre probably physical focused like mine. I consider my potential counterasures as Lechula leans back against the wall, letting rrik step forward with what he knows.
Ive dealt more with the elentals than the fey. The weakest, easily, are the living caltrops. They like to lay in wait rather than actively attack, though they will sotis try to trip soone to make them fall onto the little spikes. tal boots dont hinder them much.
After those the lode wisps. Theyre floating rough spheres of tal and can attract or repel tal at will. They probably won't see much use in this fight, though. When I encountered them, they were always alone. I believe they cant exclude anyone or anything from their influence, so deploying them in the fight would disrupt the Maws forces at least as much as your own.
Rust elentals I would put next. They look like a roiling mass of scrap, and while they can hit hard if given the opportunity, their main threat is in their ability to rust tals with a touch. The guards are always complaining about their new sword getting ruined after encountering a rust elental. If you dont have anything tallic, theyre not much to worry about. He pauses and frowns before moving on to the next elental.
Sliverstorms are a threat. They look like a gnashing maelstrom of needles and razors, and if thats all they were, thatd be bad enough. But they feed on tal, making themselves bigger. An armored opponent would find himself minced as his own armor unravels like a cheap cloak to feed the sliverstorm. Keeping them away from tal will lessen the threat, but they are still dangerous even without making themselves bigger.
Then there are the iron maidens. I dont think theyll be on the battlefield, but they will be abundant within the Maw itself. As far as I know, they cant move around, but they can be exceptionally dangerous. They will camouflage themselves to look like the floor or wall, or sothing else innocent, and usually leave a bit of gold or other valuable tal as bait. When a hapless delver thinks theyve found a nice treat, they instead beco the treat as the maiden snaps around them. They co in a lot of varieties, too, and Ive heard them sotis called steel mimics. Ive heard of ones that disguise themselves as chandeliers, or even as chairs or doors, only to rapidly engulf their victim when they reveal themselves.
He sighs before continuing. But I think the most dangerous of the Maws denizens are the forgemasters. They look like crude statues of dwarves, or maybe dwarves in crude tal armor. They are tal affinity mages, and tough to kill. They will support and repair the denizens, manipulating the tal directly, without needing any fire. They will also hinder or even kill opponents wearing anything tal, twisting armor and weapons to terrible effect. They are rare, but the Maw will certainly use every single one it has if a fight cos to it.
I digest that as Honey scribbles, and Teemo has a question before either I or Honey can co up with a response.
What about the weird leech-headed things?
rric and Lechula exchange a glance, with Lechula looking a bit embarrassed and rric looking uncertain as he answers. Ive only heard rumors. Everyone knows the Harbinger has a spawner, but I dont know anyone whos actually tried to fight what it spawns. The rumors call them least, but dont say much. Dergol said a friend of his heard a drunk ranting about monstrous lessers, but the guards showed up before he could give any details. I dont know how much Id trust that as a source, but there you go.
That doesnt sound good. The rest of the info sounds great, though. Most of my denizens shouldnt be outright countered by anything, and I think the wyrms and basilisks will be a great counter to the swarmy things. Ill need to watch through Leos eyes as he and Honey start working on our plan to deal with everything. Those pricklethorns and sliverstorms both sound pretty nasty, especially if they have foregemaster backup. Well also need to be aware of the least getting used as sappers and tunnelers to get behind our positions, or collapse them outright.
Before all that planning, though, I think its ti to officially change the status of Lechula and rrik. Teemo hops onto the Stags head to whisper to him, and he nods.
I and my Lord agree, Voice Teemo. While it would be wise to await confirmation from other sources, these two have been very cooperative. My Lord would like to offer them the chance to stay as delvers for as long as they wish.
Teemo smiles at that. Sounds like about what the Boss would like, too. He turns his focus to the two refugees. If youre up for it, Ill lead you out to the Boss dwellers and the adventurers. Im sure theyll love to chat and maybe fill you in on what your options are now. You can stay here with the Southwood if you really want, or maybe try to join one of the enclaves back with the Boss. We can even try to get in touch with the mayor of Fourdock if you want to try to seek refuge sowhere thats not a dungeon. Id ask you stick around sowhat close for a bit before taking off to explore the whole continent, though. We wouldnt want the Maw to sohow find you.
I ntally nod at that, and am glad Teemo left the other reason unsaid. I like the two, but I cant give them full trust just yet. If it was just , I might give them the full benefit of the doubt, but theres a lot more people than just involved in this. One source is good to start, but I want as many as possible before I start actually making any decisions. And if theyre an unreliable source, Ill need to be able to ask them more questions to see if theyre deliberately lying, or just wrong about the Maws forces.
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