No Need For A Core? 247: Dungeons, Domains, and Duties

Mordecai had just started laying out the stones that would be the foundation of his enchantnt when Kazue's worry caught his attention. With a sigh, he carefully put away his tools while his core began organizing events, and then he moved his avatar up to their chambers.

Where he found Satsuki helping Moriko and Kazue get dressed. He was just in ti to hear her saying, "I should probably walk a little behind you two, as I'll be your attendant. I don't think I should play that role for Mordecai, it might have so other connotations given our history. And there he is. Don't mind dear, you go ahead and get changed." She finished that with a smirk.

He smirked back and shifted his outfit to the uniform that Kazue had designed for him. "Already done, thank you."

Satsuki pouted. "I forgot you are using a limited avatar. It's too easy for you to change outfits like that. Well, never mind, co on, let's get your wives ready to go. My dress should be fine for the role. Oh, don't look at like that, we both know you can't afford the ti and effort it would take to keep from going, and look! I've hidden five of my tails so as to better look the part."

The damn woman was right, leaving Mordecai with little recourse but to scowl briefly at her before he turned to help Kazue adjust her dress.

Moriko and Kazue's dresses were now all modified with the addition of extra padding around the shoulders and upper arms. The little dragons were getting better about claw control, but they were still very excitable and their claws were sharp. Besides, the padded fabric was more easily patched or replaced than an entire dress. Especially one commissioned from miles away.

Once everyone was ready, they headed down to the shortcut entrance near the base of the tree. All of them could fly, though for Satsuki that involved a brief invocation to cast a spell first, so there was no need to wait for a platform to take them down. They had decided not to involve Fuyuko; they were only involving Carmilla because ti was short. After all, this was not a formal court.

That shortcut took them to the feast hall, but that was not where they wanted to cross into Faerie. Instead, they took another shortcut, this one taking them to the top of the river zone and that was a safe location to make the crossing into Faerie from.

On this side, the river did not split down into two tunnels. Instead, the entire area was one space with a single river winding through a forest of stalactites and stalagmites. Waiting for the group was a ferry crewed by so of their rabbit folk inhabitants. It was not their fastest option for traveling here, but this wasn't the sort of ergency that called for speed over decorum.

While the ferry carried them down the river, Mordecai reviewed the mories stored in his core of how Carmilla’s tense eting was going.

"I assure you that it was not the intent of my Lord and Ladies to intrude upon the domain of your Lord and Lady," Carmilla reassured Cliodhna. "It ca as a surprise to us to realize where this lake extended to. The nature of our realm is sowhat complicated and the way it grows is hard to predict."

The pale woman tapped her lips thoughtfully for a mont before she said, "That is very strange. Even stranger, I can sll the life of the surface world here. Why would a domain of the surface wish to grow so deeply beneath the ground?"

"As I said," Carmilla replied, "it is complicated. I think it would be best if my king and queens explained the situation when they arrived. In the anti, we have arranged for refreshnts. If you would follow please?"

Carmilla led Cliodhna away from the shore of the dark lake and up to the area that reflected the wetlands. Instead of a swamp, most of the zone was a series of ponds and interconnecting streams. Carmilla instinctively found the one winding path that allowed one to walk all the way to the large 'island' set in the center of the space, which now held a round table with five chairs.

Naturally, their servers were bunkin, rabkin, and buzzkin. Cliodhna eyed the rabbit folk curiously and said, "They certainly look like they belong to the faerie realms, but they sll rather mortal. Only not quite mortal sohow. It's like their souls are just outside of the reach of death." Her hounds sniffed at the passing rabbit folk but stayed at their mistress's heels.

"That is a fair assessnt," Carmilla said, "but as I said, our situation is complicated. Please, enjoy so ad. It's a local brew from the mortal side and we have both a young, sweet vintage available and a more well-aged wine with a stronger bite." Which was literally true, even if the vintages in question were their own.

"Curious. I should like to sample the sweet vintage first, but if my next cup could be the stronger vintage I would appreciate it." While Cliodhna tasted the sweet vintage, raw bones with a bit of at on them were offered for her hounds, who only ate when she nodded her approval. The bones were crafted of dungeon mana of course; at was not one of the things traders generally brought.

While Carmilla continued to play host, the ferry that carried the rest of them arrived at the first pond. Much as there was only one uninterrupted path to traverse on foot, there was only one path to go by water as well.

As artistic as that was, it was also sowhat annoying. Mordecai made a ntal note to have so retractable bridges installed and possibly have so more canals dug. There was no reason they couldn't change the environnt that ca to them.

But now was the ti to be serene and calm. Kazue was front and center of their formation, with Moriko to her left, Satsuki a few steps behind them, and Mordecai to her right. They proceeded in this order once their ferry had docked at the central island where their guest awaited.

Carmilla introduced everyone formally and they all took their seats, with Carmilla on Mordecai's right and Satsuki taking up an attendant's post by standing a little ways behind Kazue and Moriko.

With the pleasantries concluded and drinks served for everyone, Cliodhna said, "The situation has gotten ever curiouser and curiouser. This realm's royalty consists of a mostly mortal kitsune whose soul is not in faerie, a similarly mostly mortal of mixed elven and human blood, and a mana construct of complex design that appears to be a human touched by both dragon and faerie power. Whose soul also resides in the mortal realm, I might add."

That was an uncomfortably accurate assessnt. "Well," Kazue said, "at least this ans there is a limit to the infamy of our husband. We can tell you the story in greater detail if you desire, but the short of it is that Mordecai and I are both living dungeons with our souls sharing the sa core. Moriko is our wife and first contractor and our souls are tied tightly together. Through a combination of circumstances and the twisted logic of faerie magic, the three of us were suddenly bestowed the titles of Faerie King and Queens. This faerie domain is a reflection of our territory on the mortal side of the world, but it grows to roughly match what we design for our dungeon rather than being born directly of our will."

"Our newest zone," Moriko added, "is a pseudo ocean as the next challenge for our delvers. Kazue had just finished claiming the new territory and sculpting it into its basic form along with adding so of the water we will need. That was when she peeked over onto this side and found that the reflection here turned to a much darker vision."

"Infamy?" Cliodhna asked. "This does sound like an interesting story. But I find myself more imdiately concerned with the implications. I take it this area is different than your, um, zone I believe you called it, on the mortal side?"

Mordecai nodded and said, "Yes. We have simulated a mixed wetlands environnt for this zone. And for the area above, we have a fairly straight river split into two paths, while here there is a single winding river."

"So related, but different. Do you know what you have planned for your next zone?"

"That's, um, complicated," Kazue said. "I think you are interested in our next zone in this direction, but we are growing both out along the surface and up from the surface. As for our next zone going deep, we already intend to make the island at the end of the ocean zone volcanic so that we can have hot springs there. So for the next zone, we were going to grow the island and make an entire volcano-based adventure there."

Cliodhna frowned in mild confusion. "Hot springs? Calling a zone an 'adventure'? This does not sound like what I know of dungeons. Though, I suppose I had already gathered that you were unusual. As for what might be reflected if you do create a territory thed around a volcano, I have to admit that is tricky. The elental realms do have so connection to Faerie, but you seem to be wandering rather far afield already. There is so chance that you might connect to a realm normally bound to a hotter, less populated world. The further you diverge from the spaces teaming with living, mortal souls, the further you diverge from Faerie."

"I think we are going to have to work on sculpting our realm more deliberately," Mordecai said. "As we'd not been seeking to have this domain and activity here contributes minimally to our growth as a dungeon, we've devoted minimal attention to the realm so far."

"How do we do that?" Moriko asked.

Kazue shook her head, "I'm not sure either, it's different enough from a dungeon I'm not sure what we can really do."

"It's outside of my experience as well," Mordecai said, "I just know that we should be able to control it more."

"How about this," Cliodhna said, "Why don't you three tell your story over a al, and I'll give you so advice from my experience. I am very curious to learn how the three of you ca to your titles, claid a faerie princess as your daughter, and why a nine-tail is trying to disguise herself as your attendant."

Mordecai glanced at Satsuki who simply shrugged and said, "Well, I did try dear. Don't worry Cliodhna, there's nothing nefarious on my part. I've simply imposed myself in order to satiate my own curiosity and it's not like they could do much to stop right now. So please, don't bla them for my actions. Now, Mordecai luv, could I have a chair?"

As she spoke, Satsuki let the rest of her tails show again with a small groan of mild pleasure. "Much better now. It always feels too constraining to hide only so of my tails. Most of the ti it's easier to appear fully human or such." She settled onto the freshly conjured chair and spoke briefly to one of the bunkin to ask for a glass of the honey wine.

"Well," Kazue said, "I think I should start, as it was my circumstances that began the chain of events that brought us together."

Several hours later and they were enjoying post-dessert drinks while Cliodhna processed the tale she'd just heard.

"Lady ricu," she said with a sigh, "is very inclined to crossing boundaries. Your reincarnation was, strictly speaking, sothing that should have been judged by Lord Yamaraja and overseen by Lady Kikoi Muerte. I am not certain it would have been approved, at least in this manner, but it is far too late for that now."

Kazue shifted in her seat uncomfortably at that assessnt.

"However," Cliodhna said, "I think I now recall so of my sisters complaining about the sudden workload caused by a rampaging dungeon. I was focused on a different world at the ti, so I only heard about it secondhand. I suspect that there is still a bit of a backlog of souls to be reincarnated, as many would have been too young to be fairly judged."

That refreshed Mordecai's guilt over his actions and the results thereof.

"Normally, my lady takes care of such reincarnations by finding places where a child is wanted but could not be conceived without intervention, or sotis by breathing life and an old soul into a newborn that would otherwise have passed without developing a soul of their own. I am going to be recomnding sothing different, though I do not know if my Lord and Lady will agree."

Mordecai glanced at his wives with a bit of concern before returning his attention to Cliodhna.

She smiled at their consternation and said, "It should not be too hard a burden. The goal of such reincarnations is to not disrupt the world in a way that would prevent the formation of new souls. This clearly ans that no souls would be reincarnated as dungeon inhabitants, given that those lives would already be forming new souls. But for how vast your faerie realm is, it is rather empty at the mont, though I have no doubt you will be getting plenty of immigrants soon enough."

Which Mordecai was of mixed feelings about; it would be distracting to manage them all but they also couldn't leave their realm empty like this.

"We have a rare opportunity to readily clothe spirit and soul in living flesh through the simple process of sending them across the dark waters. My suggestion is that we ferry these souls through and give them newborn bodies of fey lineage, with their mories of their past lives repressed as normal. On this side, they will be t by female inhabitants or allegiant fey who are already pregnant, preferably with one or more partners, or by a bonded group that would otherwise be unable to conceive."

"A mont please," Mordecai said before conferring with his wives.

"Kazue, Moriko," he sent to them, "I believe I see what she is seeking here. Through our people and the burden of taking care of this wave of newborns, a small asure of balance would be restored. But this is no small commitnt, if she recomnds this and all are agreed, we will be taking in these 'foundlings' for decades, if not centuries, to co. It would be irresponsible to send more than we can reasonably take care of at a ti, so I expect it would be just enough each year for the burden to be felt and our resources notably taxed, but without overwhelming us."

"So," Moriko replied in a teasing tone, "Once more we are burdened by the sins of our ancient pervert dungeon. Hmm. Well, I can not say I am thrilled by the idea, but I am at least open to it."

"I kind of like the idea," Kazue said. "Can you imagine a bunkin couple with a faerie infant sharing a cradle with their own child? It would be adorable! I imagine such a couple would have to spend a lot of their ti on this side though, which I guess would be part of the burden. So, yes, in concept. I'm guessing that we will need to negotiate details later."

Mordecai nodded and looked back at Cliodhna. "We are tentatively open to the idea, but are not committing until a more formal agreent is reached."

"Excellent!" she said then turned to her hounds and whispered to them. The pair of spectral canines rose to their feet and bounded off back to the dark sea. "They will carry my findings and my opinions back to our Lord and Lady. Now, I would like to see more of this dungeon of yours. I have never had cause to visit one when I have been in the mortal world, but I feel that I should learn more in case I need to and my suggestions."