I don’t go blessing any more armor yet, because I want to save it for the actual production model, not the prototypes. I do take a little bit of ti to nose through the enchantnts that’ll be going into the armor, and while there’s a lot of standard defense enchantnts, I’m also seeing my antkin toying with the formulae for Aqua Affinity, trying to make it into magma instead.
If we do end up having to go through the mantle to face the Betrayer, my people will definitely need sothing like that. Thankfully, with the extra enchantability of the composite armor, it looks like there’s plenty of room for the classic defensive array and whatever it’ll take to let them swim through molten rock.
Well, if the enchantnt takes up the sa amount of space as the Aqua Affinity. I think it’ll be a good subject for Old Staiven to dive into when he cos to visit the college.
And thinking of visitors, I seem to have so. I feel three very familiar presences, and three vaguely familiar ones just entering my manor gate. Gerlfi, Vieds, and Wold, the goblin, changeling, and bearkin that I had asked to infiltrate the forr Earl’s adventurer’s guild, are looking pretty expectant. Beside them stand Noynur, Jana, and Driough, the orc, foxkin, and elf that tried to tip off about the Earl… and apparently helped out Gerlfi’s group.
Teemo soon crawls out of a shortcut near the six and gives them a wave. “Heya guys! What’s up?”
“Just turning in the quest,” replies Gerlfi with a smile, and I get a notification that the quest I gave them is complete. I… had actually forgotten I even gave that, but with the popup, I’m reminded of what I promised them as reward.
“Ah, you guys are ready to get so tutoring ti with so scions then? You’ve all picked soone already?” Teemo asks, eyeing everyone gathered. Wold nods and speaks first.
“I wish to learn from Fluffles, the Storm Eater. I want to learn to be a Storm Shaman, and if I can create a totem of his likeness and hear his wisdom, I think it will help greatly.” Teemo nods to that as Vieds speaks up next.
“I want to learn from Nova. Just her na speaks of the sort of flas beyond imagination, the sort to burn the very stars.” The pyromancer looks very excited, and though I don’t know if Nova can give him any advice about coronal heat, I don’t think it’ll be bad for him to talk with her about it.
Nobody else cos forward after that, making Gerlfi chuckle after a few seconds of silence. “The rest of us are still figuring out exactly who to talk to, so I suggested trying what I did to be able to pact with Titania: ask.”
Teemo barks a laugh at that. “You guys wanna follow down to the war room then? I an, you can talk about your plans out in the open if you want to…”
Noynur shakes his head. “No, the war room will be fine. Thank you.” Teemo smirks and leads them through a shortcut and into the war room. It could be more secure, this is the public one, but people don’t just hang out here, so it should be fine.
“Alright, so, what do you guys want to know?”
Gerlfi speaks up first, the goblin summoner more at ease with than Noynur and his group. “I want to be better at leading my summons and my friends in a fight, but I’m not sure which of your scions would be the best for that.
Teemo taps his chin as I consider that, then he starts laying out my thoughts. “Well, if you want to learn buffs and such, you should talk to Slash, but I dunno if you want to try to add so bardic flair to how you do.” The way Gerlfi grimaces makes think he can’t carry a tune in a bucket, so Teemo continues.
“If you want to take up enchanting or alchemy, Thing or Queen would be your best bet. It’ll take a bit of your downti to set that up, though. You know how to plan with your summons, so either of those could fit, if you have the ti to take to be able to prepare.”
Gerlfi doesn’t look too confident in that. “I feel like I’m already pushing things with down ti. I dabble in enchanting, but… I don’t think it’s for . And I’d expect alchemy to be the sa.”
Teemo nods along with that. “Well, if you want straight up leadership and tactical stuff, you should talk to Leo or Poe. Probably Leo. Poe’s important for the Boss, but I don’t think logistical expertise will be all that useful at the single party scale. Leo still specializes in larger scale, too, but his base can be scaled down enough for you, I’d imagine.”
Gerlfi looks intrigued as he thinks that over, giving Teemo a chance to look at the others. “How about you three? If you have an interest in sothing, Boss probably has a scion for it.”
Jana, the rogueish foxkin, decides to take her chance first. “I’ve heard sothing about a new rogue class?” She fights a flinch as Teemo’s eyes start to subtly glow orange, letting him take a good look at her as I do the sa. A rogue foxkin going ninja sounds like a natural fit, but it just feels… off, for her.
Teemo shakes his head. “Boss is keeping that one a bit closer to his chest, not to ntion that it took several scions working together to make it happen. But most of all… it just doesn’t fit you. The path you’re on is just about perfect for you already.”
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Jana sighs. “I’m good at what I do, sure. It’s just… I’ve been feeling a bit lacking in straight fights lately.”
Teemo grins. “That’s an easy fix. Go talk to Rocky. He’ll be able to figure out sothing for you.” Jana’s eyes widen at that, and the elf at her side smiles.
“I was hoping to speak with him, too. If he’s half as talented with affinities as the rumors say…”
Teemo snorts. “The rumors probably undersell him. He doesn’t have the Affinity Savant title for nothing.” Driough looks eager to grill my boxer, which just leaves Noynur. He’s easy to underestimate with the huge axe on his back, but that to at his hip isn’t so trophy, it’s his notebook. I looked over his shoulder the last ti he ca in, and it’s honestly hard to resist taking a closer look with him sitting there.
“I want to speak with you, Teemo,” he says simply, earning a curious look from my Voice.
“? I’m flattered, but why ? I was expecting you to want to talk to Honey. She’s even more obsessed with knowledge than you are.”
Noynur’s lips twitch like he’s trying to smile, but never learned how, and he nods. “I may try to seek her out on my own later, but if I want answers, I need to ask you. A dungeon’s Voice has the closest connection to it.”
“...Boss isn’t against an interview, but just because you ask, doesn’t an he’ll answer.”
“That’s fine. Even knowing what he can’t or won’t discuss is an answer in itself.”
Hmm.
“Alright. I’ll take you guys back up to the surface. Leo, Rocky, and Fluffles will et you guys in the Lecture Hall, and if you take the orange shortcut near the gate, Vieds, it’ll take you to the cathedral where you can et up with Nova. Just don’t go burning down the forest or the tree, yeah? And for you,” Teemo says, turning his focus on the orc whose brain might be bigger than his muscles. “I’ll bring you down to the old Sanctum for our talk. You helped out, so Boss is willing to answer more than usual, but he wants it in a place more secure than any of the public places. You good with that?”
Noynur nods, and it’s only a minute or two of directing the others before Teemo cos back and hitches a ride on his shoulder. “Alrighty, Aranya and Yvonne still live in there, but the old spot for the core should be enough for us to have a talk without disturbing anything. They’re both out right now, but still.”
Noynur nods and lets Teemo lead him, and I wonder what he’s going to ask about. The urge to peek into that book of his grows by the second, but I resist… for now. Noynur eyes Queen and Thing’s labs as he passes, but doesn’t slow his pace, and Teemo soon has him behind the curtain and letting him try to get comfortable in the large bowl in the floor where my core used to sit.
He eyes the indentation, and I wonder if he’s actually had a chance to check out the cathedral yet. His continued silence has drifting toward his to before I resolutely tear myself back to watching from a bit above and behind Teemo.
“Has he looked in my to yet?” he asks, and Teemo smirks.
“Not yet, but he really wants to.”
Noynur snorts and pulls his book up, flipping through pages as I force myself to keep my view where it is. “You said last ti he thinks it’s rude to look. Why?”
“Because it’s yours. Boss has enough crazy ideas that he needs to write them down, too, and he wouldn’t want just anyone going through them. He tries to give the sa courtesy.”
The large orc nods as he finally finds his place. He glances toward Teemo before returning his look to his book, his free hand uncapping a flask at his hip and dipping a quill in it, ready to write down the answer to whatever he has to ask.
“You’re not a Cloistered dungeon, are you?”
Teemo shrugs. “You’ve read the Dungeoneer’s packet.”
He nods. “I have. I’ve also read their classifications in every edition I could get my hands on. Cloistered would account for most of what I’ve seen, and you having Fate affinity could explain the rest… but I think there’s a better explanation, a better classification. I think you were Lost.”
Teemo plays it cool. “Lost?”
Noynur nods. “Cloistered dungeons manage to get sealed in one way or another, usually from a cave collapsing or sothing similar. Their isolation leads to them developing… quirks. Lost dungeons are also often sealed with a collapse, but that’s after they’ve had a long ti to grow. I’m not aware of any active Lost dungeons, but they’re supposed to often have strange loot and magics that differ from the established norm, because the norms were much different when the dungeon was active.”
He stares at Teemo, waiting for an answer, while Teemo glances up where my viewpoint is currently floating.
“Boss is older than he looks, yeah.”
Noynur smiles and makes a quick note. “Has he always been here, or did he figure out how to move his territory sohow?”
“He’s only been here.”
The orc frowns but makes a note anyway. “How long?”
Teemo grins. “A little over a year.”
Noynur’s frown deepens, then deepens further as he correctly reads that Teemo isn’t lying. He flips through his book, cross-referencing sothing, before he returns his gaze to my Voice. “...how long has he been a deity?”
“A couple months now.”
“And before that?”
“Dungeon.”
“And before that?”
Teemo’s grin widens. “Can’t say.”
Noynur growls in frustration, but decides to let it drop. “What do you know about the Betrayer?”
That gets my attention, as well as Teemo’s, who keeps his voice carefully steady. “What do you know about it? Not many even know it exists.”
“I’ve heard kobold legends, and they line up well with my other research.”
“Boss’ High Priestess is a kobold, if you didn’t know. He knows what she knows. Big bad ancient dungeon that needs a good beating.”
Noynur looks surprised at that, his gruff and stoic facade cracking. “You think you can beat it?”
“Boss thinks if he doesn’t, it won’t end well for everyone else.”
Noynur’s eyes widen at that, and he returns to flipping through his book. After a minute, he closes his eyes, takes a calming breath, caps his ink, and closes the to. The frantic look he had while searching is gone, and when he opens his eyes, there’s a fire there as he looks at Teemo.
“How can I help?”
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