Deem 2014/03/10(Mon)00:41 No. 565840 ID: 256d52
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Hrrrm, I suppose if a good dungeon site was easy to get to, it would have already been claimed.

As my group drew closer to the mountains, I could pick out other sites but they didn't really speak to me like this one. What I'm really looking for is... potential. And for it to sing to me like this from such a distance, it is deep and untapped. Even with so much work ahead of me to harness it, I could not resist. I know now there is something old and powerful and hidden much deeper into the mountains. I might need to be careful.

The caves are rudimentary near the surface, but starting completely from scratch is far from ideal. The earth pulse can be fickle. So what I need is an accessible site that will at least provide me a start and that won't be too troublesome in terms of procuring food, water, shelter and the other basic necessities while a more permanent set-up is established. It'll be too much trouble trying to lug all the baggage up here until I'm sure it's the right way to go, but I should take a companion with me for a second opinion.

>Hin
>Merud
>Moriko
>Reisarf & Stargazer

>>565840
When are you planning on revealing your true nature to your recruits? Never, aside from Merud? Once we get them set up in a completed dungeon? After they've done some work for us already?

Let's bring Hin. We've been around her the least, and having her for stone analysis could be good.

>there is something old and powerful and hidden much deeper into the mountains
Do you mean, like, near the middle of your planned spot, or like, farther than you're planning to dig, but still close enough to potentially notice you?

>>565841
>Hin
Agreed. Good point about assessing the rocks. My other choice would have been Reisarf and Stargazer, with the logic that maybe they're good at seeing things otherwise unnoticed, but I actually forget their true specialty.

>telling everybody about you
I kinda forget, what's everybody not-in-the-know think you are? Just a golem, or what? I mean, you'd think they'd have figured out by now that something's odd.

hin is a smith not a miner. want to talk about ores and metal? sure go ahead. regular rock? doubt she knows much.

go with Reisarf & Stargazer, star may have a very interesting opinion that only her kind could think up.

Probably Reisarf and Stargazer or Hin would be the best choice. We want someone who'll give us an educated survey of our site while being pretty good in a fight. We don't know if there are any wandering monsters that we may have to fight. Hin might be better at finding ore sites while Reisarf and Stargazer would be better at a more magical outlook.

I think it's best to go with Reisarf and Stargazer. We would like our heart to be healed and at full strength faster and futhermore I don't think we can do the blacksmithing thing too quickly. It's more of a medium term goal

I'd say Moriko because we're walking into a series of potential ambushes with unknown current residents and hazards. She's also reasonably in tune with the earth pulse so she should be able to grasp your considerations. Otherwise Reisarf and Stargazer between them are most likely to notice or know something you would not.

Searching seems to me like the realm of the eye. That's certainly Stargazer's strength. She might see things that aren't obvious, even to you.

...although, you're probably pretty good at the mystical earth aspect of this. Might not be the best choice if you're looking for grounding in human practicalities (supplies, food, getting to, etc. ...although maybe Reisarf's stature would pose a natural restraint on picking too hard to access a site?). Of the others, Hin might be the best for that? She's the only one of them to have actually run a business.

I guess which you go with kind of depends on what you feel you need augmented.

can you tell if there are any streams or underground rivers in these mountains? because if I recall correctly Stargazer wanted somewhere to swim, it would also give us a fresh source of water, and Hin could use it to cool her weapons once we get a forge going for her.

I also think we should bring Reisarf & Stargazer because they seemed the most willing, know how to fight, and stargazer might be go at seeing things we might miss because she is basically an eyeball on a stick.

I'd go with Moriko for the reasons >>565849 stated.

I'd say Moriko since we are as likely as ever to need protection searching random caves, and her connection to the earth pulse should make her in tune with a suitable site same as Deem would be.

But after that uncomfortable moment I think giving the two of you some distance is a good idea. Reisarf and Stargazer seem a likely choice. Alienest magic isn't something we are familiar with but when you met stargazer it clearly was able to see some things about you that weren't readily apparent, perhaps it can lend that same trained eye to this task.

Take Reisarf+Stargazer! Reisarf would be the best at understanding what this old and powerful thing is. Stargazer also seems to be very detection-oriented so far, he might might be able to gauge a sites potential for power much better than anyone else.

Whoever you bring might be worth having a chat with. It would also let you explain a bit more about yourself and your motives. Ask a bit about why they agreed to join you. Also ask them what they need for a good site. Suggest somewhere closer to a mountain peak so there can be an observatory for them near or at the top.

Also, are these mountains... volcanic? I think a lava pit would be awesome.

Reisarf + Stargazer
an extra, unique point of view, and reality-rending magic all in one relatively tiny package.

This should also ensure you end up with a place that has a great view.

Reisaf and Stargazer! Who better to notice things you don't or can't? You will have to concentrate more on the physical necessities yourself, though.

I say we bring Hin

Bring Reisaf and Stargazer because it's important to focus on recon for now.

Moriko, we should get to know our newest party member a bit better.

Yeah, lets bring Moriko.

Reisarf.

ask him if he senses anything from this place as well.

Buddying up with Moriko is all well and good, but let's bring someone who's likely to be useful.

Like, say, the guy with the eye staff when we're looking for shit. Reisarf.

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:17 No. 568350 ID: 256d52
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>I kinda forget, what's everybody not-in-the-know think you are? Just a golem, or what? I mean, you'd think they'd have figured out by now that something's odd.
Knowledge of Dungeon Hearts apparently isn't too widespread and an intelligent golem is very rare, but not completely unheard of.

>When are you planning on revealing your true nature to your recruits? Never, aside from Merud? Once we get them set up in a completed dungeon? After they've done some work for us already?
When it's appropriate.

>There is something old and powerful and hidden much deeper into the mountains
>Do you mean, like, near the middle of your planned spot, or like, farther than you're planning to dig, but still close enough to potentially notice you?
The latter. It's significantly deeper into the mountain chain.

>Probably Reisarf and Stargazer or Hin would be the best choice. We want someone who'll give us an educated survey of our site while being pretty good in a fight.
Sound reasoning. Merud and Moriko both seem deficient in one or the other.

>Searching seems to me like the realm of the eye. That's certainly Stargazer's strength. She might see things that aren't obvious, even to you.
>...although, you're probably pretty good at the mystical earth aspect of this. Might not be the best choice if you're looking for grounding in human practicalities (supplies, food, getting to, etc. ...although maybe Reisarf's stature would pose a natural restraint on picking too hard to access a site?). Of the others, Hin might be the best for that? She's the only one of them to have actually run a business.
'Pretty good'? Oh, you wound me. I think I will take Reisarf. You're right about the unknown.

... he seems to be struggling a little.

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:18 No. 568351 ID: 256d52
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>Whoever you bring might be worth having a chat with. It would also let you explain a bit more about yourself and your motives. Ask a bit about why they agreed to join you. Also ask them what they need for a good site.
We stop to rest. I tell Reisarf I'm a little curious about how where he came from and why he's here with me now.

"There's not much to say, really." Reisarf says after he catches his breath. "I was born in a little village on the seaside.

"One day I happened to be away at a remote part of the coast by myself and I met Stargazer there.

"We helped each other but she was lost and very far from home so we decided to stick together.

"The other villagers didn't want her around and I wouldn't be parted from her so they were talking about exiling me too. There were a lot of arguments about it. Eventually they said that, since I didn't have my parents any more, I could live there until I came of age."

He seems so calm. I'm finding it a little eerie. "Don't you hate them?" I say. "Don't you resent what they did?"

He sighs. "No. A lot of them, they were trying to be as kind as they could under the circumstances."

I can't understand him at all.

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:20 No. 568352 ID: 256d52
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"So why did you decide to join up with me then?"

He half shrugs, leaning on Stargazer for support. "Because you were nice. Because you were interesting." he says, with that strange little half smile on his face. "What about you Deem? Why did you decide to start a dungeon?"

I suppose I should try to get fired up talking about gold and glory and blood and fire and the dark roar of the the earth-power within. But in this clear mountain air, though I know it will not help me to admit it, some imp of the perverse touches me.

"It's all I know." I say.

I start walking ahead. That cave's close, it's close. A measure of urgency creeps into my stride.

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:21 No. 568353 ID: 256d52
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Ah... here it is.

No wonder it was muffled. There was a cave-in long ago. It goes in some distance. Three forks. One's caved in, one's partially flooded, and the last is a narrow little fissure in the rock that goes higher all the way up to... I think there's a tiny enclosed valley?

And deeper I can feel heat and the dull burn of gold. It sends a shiver through my body. Wild gold that has never felt the hand of man, beginning to be freed from a reef of quartz.

>Also, are these mountains... volcanic? I think a lava pit would be awesome.
Lava's a bit hard to work with just starting out!

>Can you tell if there are any streams or underground rivers in these mountains? because if I recall correctly Stargazer wanted somewhere to swim, it would also give us a fresh source of water, and Hin could use it to cool her weapons once we get a forge going for her.
It looks like water collects higher in the mountains and enters this cave at some point. All these small rocks got washed down because of it. It's dry at the moment. I can easily build a cistern and yes, I think there is something deeper too... I don't have a very good affinity for water.

"What do you think?" I say to Reisarf. The gold is closest here. My mind is more or less made up. "We could try higher? Closer to the peak? You said you'd like an observatory."

"No!" Reisarf takes a breath. "Er, I mean you don't want to make it too hard to get to. There's some things you'll probably need to haul up here as well, wood especially." He turns to look back out at the landscape. "You can see the trail down the mountain fairly easily. You'd have a lot of advance warning if someone's coming. It's so pretty too. You can almost see the town from here..."

>This should also ensure you end up with a place that has a great view.
Oh? I hadn't even noticed.

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:26 No. 568356 ID: 256d52
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This will be the place. We head back down - downhill is much easier on Reisarf - and meet up with the others.

We manage to get ourselves and the golem-horses carrying our supplies up there, it's time we started setting up our camp.

There is one thing I'd like to take care of first though. It's time to bring out the last member of our group.

I get the others to find a pool. It's half dried up and murky with pond scum but that just makes it better for this purpose. We add some moss and a little food, mashed up. This is all to help Alkaline change from a royal jelly into her second instar. You could call it a princess. She still won't be able to bud off slimes, but it's a critical development period.

With the pool ready I uncork the stopper and try to drop the royal jelly in. I think it's stuck? I waggle the inverted bottle up and down experimentally.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand, Deem?" Merud says.

"I've done this before! She, unf, doesn't want to come out and shaking it up is no good for her! Maybe if we put some blood in the water..."

"They're like sharks?" Reisarf asks.

"I don't think it's a good idea to give it a taste for blood!" Hin adds.

"But blood's good for you, right?"

"Snrrrrr?" Charkarchelou purrs.

I tap the top of the bottle with my free hand.

PLOP

Deem 2014/04/01(Tue)05:28 No. 568358 ID: 256d52
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The jelly falls in and seems to dissolve, the crown floating on top as the water slowly changes colour. Alkaline starts to pull herself together in the middle, rising up under her crown.

"Everyone, this is Alkaline. She'll be a slime queen one day and provide us with slimes for the dungeon. Until then you'll all have to look out for her." I lean forward pat her on the head. She's a little sticky. "Hello Alkaline."

"Bluuuuu?"

ALKALINE HAS BEEN RECRUITED

"Cute." Hin chuckles.

"Can they learn to talk?" Moriko asks.

"Sometimes." I reply. "It helps if they're encouraged to mimic people while they're growing. There's a critical stage near the end that has a lot of influence on their abilities as an adult too. It's a good sign she's so well formed already. She just needs a little longer to figure out her arms and legs."

I wipe my hand off.

There's a lot of things to start thinking about with designing a dungeon but I need to settle something even more elementary than that for the moment. A work roster. We need to start digging right away, we need guards, it would help to explore the area, and Alkaline needs to be taken care of too.

Oh and food. They all seem to be getting sick of just trail rations. Now we have time I suppose someone needs to cook?

Well ask your followers if anyone knows how to cook over a campfire. We shold also see what wild game is around since fresh meat is better then stored goods. Your dragon should be a fairly good hunter if no one else is.

Otherwise you can set up some traps along game trails.

work roster: We have Deem and Merud to provide golems that can do gruntwork, which is good...
Hin, I think, should join whatever golems we have on that digging job-she won't be able to start up her forge right away and she should be doing something.
Reisarf&Stargazer probably would make good Alkaline-sitters, maybe with Merud there if he can have his golems work autonomously.
Moriko along with a few of the Deem Golems could gaurd the camp.
Exploring the area...No one seems particularly suited for it but I feel like if we don't put something into this it's going to come back to haunt us...Maybe Deem can do this from time to time.
Food's pretty much going to be an issue. I figure of everyone here...Hin or Reisarf might know the most about this, as for gathering food, maybe Charles could hunt some grub up?
In effect, here's what I think:
Digging: Merud Golems.
Gaurding: Deem Golems& Moriko.
Alkaline: Reisarf&Stargazer.
Exploring: Deem
Food: Hin& Charles (Hin cooks it, Charles gets it-should be declared lest kitchen shenanigans happens.)

>I don't understand him at all
He doesn't judge or hate them for being afraid, even though he suffered from that fear.

>work rotation, what do
Digging (at least the main, big thrust of it) seems like that would be your realm. Shaping the earth is your power, and you didn't bring a team of miners. You should probably install your heart in a temporary location near the entrance of your dungeon to be, until you have a proper chamber deeper to move it to.

For construction tasks other than gross magical tunneling, Merud and Hin are the two with experience in well, making things. And conveniently, between Merud's golem stuff and Hin's strength, they may actually be up for the work.

Moriko may have a tactical insight into how parts of the dungeon should be setup (although I'd think you'd have that as well) and is certainly capable of physical labor (though that's hardly the best use of her skills) and Reisarf might be useful in helping set up some of the magical stuff (especially water related? That's more their element than yours. We'll need a good water supply for living creatures, the forge, traps, other things) or seeing hidden things to dig for, but those abilities will be less relevant in the initial stage of the dig.

Developing golems to help with labor (either of your design or Merud's, or both) is obviously a good idea. Anything that requires a lot of repetition, or more strength than the others can supply, is where they'll shine. Might also be worth making the guard and security problem easier by setting up a network of small golems to watch the perimeter and stuff (think security cameras, or if we want to put in more effort, little spy drones).

Do we have sufficient camping gear / shelter for the mortals, or do we need to erect temporary shelters before the dungeon's living spaces are complete?

Alkaline should be taken care of by different people. It will be good for her to be exposed to more than one of you. Reisarf seems one obvious choice (he's water attuned, and already been shown to be good building a relationship with one unusual creature). Merud has the giant golem hands if she proves a handful, and will probably be at least a little interested in her. Plus, if you want her to learn to talk, having your most verbose ally spend time with her is useful. Depending on how well behaved she is, spending time with her could even count as a sort of break from other labor. Obviously you need to spend time with her as well, if she's to be your creature, she should know and trust you.

Exploring (or hunting in) the immediate area might be done by quasidragon (this is sort of it's enviroment) possibly accompanied by Moriko. Another means of exploration might be escorting Reisarf and Stargazer to an appropriate vantage point to scan around.

Golems, Moriko, and the quasidragon are probably the best suited to guard duty as well. Reisaf / Stargazer would make a damn good sentry if they're not doing anything else, and are certainly capable of defending themselves (and his physical endurance is less of an issue standing around guarding some place). Hin's really not a fighter, and Merud would be better putting golems on the job.

>I suppose someone needs to cook?
Well, that would depend on who's actually good at it.

a possibly weirdly effective way to clear out the collapse would be to just turn the entire thing into a golem rock snake, and have it just slither out of the hole.

Oh, another possible bonus for slime baby-sitting. Stargazer can certainly teach shapeshifting by example.

Yeah, I think main guard rotation is Merud, Chakarchelou and Moriko. Main babysitter/backup/camp necessities rotation would be Reisarf/Stargazer and Hin, and you're on dungeon delving, exploration and digging since you're the only one here who knows how to dig out and build a dungeon properly Deem. Everybody besides you absolutely needs backup and time to rest, and there should always be someone not doing something as reserve in case there's a crisis with raising Alkaline, security or your exploration and delving.

If, and only if, it turns out that my prospective main rotation is under-using someone's talent and leaving them too bored we can add additional duties. Until that happens I really don't want to cause a crisis by leaving people overworked or insufficiently supported however, and I'd really like it if we taught Alkaline some useful skills like speech, literacy and smithing (or maybe even some magic or combat skills if possible) while she's in her formative stages.

First of all you should probably TELL people that you can already sense gold underground. That should provide a sense of long-term security. If people get wet and cold then they'll know that there's literally something shining at the end of the tunnel.

A work rota would probably be something like:
>>568368
However it would probably be best to discuss these tasks a bit with the rest. We don't know our comrades very well and they might have hidden strengths or skills we don't know about. How strong is Hin actually in a fight? What can Merud provide in terms of golems?

Moriko should probably lead small exploration and hunting parties during daytime, taking whoever is available with her. She can then do a bit of guarding at night or in the morning with others filling the gaps.

Would Deems avatar body be able to contribute to the digging significantly or can that work be done just as well or better using earth magic directly from the dungeon heart and work golems?

One of the first things to be dug out should probably be temporary accomodations. Don't suppose you have a good trick for making reasonably comfortable beds quickly?

Might it be worth it exploring the flooded cave? You don't need to breathe, right?

actually, when we reach the flooded area, stargazer may be able to help. one of the requests was for an area for her to swim in right? so she must be good at swimming.

>>568358
Dig: You and Chakarchelou should be good at that, right? Or do quasidragons not have any earth manipulation ability to make their lairs? Maybe Hin could help too, if she has a special tool for it. I wouldn't expect manual digging through solid rock to work at any reasonable speed so it'd have to be magical. If Merud has something that could work as well. But if nobody else has any earth manipulation then I'm afraid you'll have to do most of the work here Deem. Well, moving the cavein could go faster with a bit of help from Hin.
Guards: Moriko and Reisarf should be good at this. They can take shifts. Hin might be too; you could ask her how good she is in a fight- she looks pretty strong but does she have skill to back it up?
Exploring: Hin or Moriko would be good at this, because they should be able to traverse the mountain easily and deal with any wildlife. Reisarf might notice things the others won't but he's a bit out of shape apparently. On the other hand maybe he could use the exercise? Oh, I wonder how good Merud is at climbing? His robe could help him get around.
Alkaline: uh, I don't know what skills are useful here, but Merud seemed to know about it, so you and Merud can take care of her. Mainly Merud I expect, though you may be able to teach Reisarf enough about her to let him help.
Cooking: Um, nobody here is a specialist on this, so you'll have to ask. Preferably it should be someone who isn't doing much otherwise.

instead of just telling people what to do, maybe first make a list of all the necessities mentioned here and have your party members tell you which of those duties they are most capable and/or willing to perform.

I wonder if Hin might want to inspect the excavated spoil for any minerals or any ores that couyld be there

>>568358
Reisarf & Stargazer to watch and maybe teach Alkaline, Merud will cook and when not cooking he can help them with getting her mimicking on.

you, hin and the golems dig/search. Moriko and Charkarchelou will guard.

None of these people make an appropriate cook so lets let someone volunteer for that duty.

For other tasks, Moriko and Reisarf should scout the area. You and Merud should start digging (I'm assuming he can shape stone like you can), and Hin should be along analyzing the stone for metal ores and maybe helping, though I don't see her being capable of doing much more than watching.

>>568814
>>568545
I agree with the initial suggestion for divvying people up to these tasks, but I still feel a quick explanation and check-in with the group would be nice. People might have some objections or preferences to work with and it'd be best to make sure people are doing what they're alright with/skilled at.

1/4 Deem 2014/05/04(Sun)06:37 No. 573075 ID: 256d52
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>Allocations!
Um, from all of that I think I'll manage the golems digging out the cave and get Hin to assist. The golems won't need much oversight for simple tasks like this, so Merud and Reisarf can be the ones to finish setting up the camp, guarding it and watching Alkaline. Moriko and Chakarchelou can sweep the immediate area to make sure anything dangerous gets chased off and hopefully catch something edible. Once we're a little more established I should have people freed up to properly explore the area.

>Might it be worth it exploring the flooded cave? You don't need to breathe, right?
I don't need to breathe air, no. On the other hand, prolonged submersion isn't good for me. I need to take in a little water regularly to stop the clay in my body from stiffening up, but soaking up too much would make my body go strange.

>Actually, when we reach the flooded area, stargazer may be able to help. one of the requests was for an area for her to swim in right? so she must be good at swimming.
I'm not so sure about that. She doesn't seem to do much on her own. There's the option of using her Independent Action though I suppose.

>Reisarf doesn't judge or hate them for being afraid, even though he suffered from that fear.
I just don't get it.

>Alkaline should be taken care of by different people. It will be good for her to be exposed to more than one of you. Reisarf seems one obvious choice (he's water attuned, and already been shown to be good building a relationship with one unusual creature). Merud has the giant golem hands if she proves a handful, and will probably be at least a little interested in her. Plus, if you want her to learn to talk, having your most verbose ally spend time with her is useful. Depending on how well behaved she is, spending time with her could even count as a sort of break from other labour. Obviously you need to spend time with her as well, if she's to be your creature, she should know and trust you.
Hmmm, I'll have to keep that in mind.

2/4 Deem 2014/05/04(Sun)06:38 No. 573076 ID: 256d52
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>First of all you should probably TELL people that you can already sense gold underground. That should provide a sense of long-term security. If people get wet and cold then they'll know that there's literally something shining at the end of the tunnel.
I get everyone together and give them the good news. It'll be a lot of work to dig that deep, extract the raw gold and tame it, but I think you're right. The guarantee of a payoff seems to have set a few minds at ease.

After that I explain how I intend to split the duties for the first few days. No-one objects to the roster I propose.

Reisarf doesn't have a very sturdy constitution and is still tired from the climb up here so he'll be watching the camp and Alkaline. Merud will help him. Maintaining a number of golems for a prolonged period of time is draining but they have simple instructions and if he's just hanging around the camp it shouldn't put too much further stress on him. Merud seems a little anxious for some reason but Reisarf seems as laid back at the prospect as always.

Moriko simply nods. I think she's pleased. She's been distant these last few days. I hope Chakarchelou listens to her properly.

Hin sees the logic about there not being much blacksmith work to do while we're getting set up but I'm not sure, she's on guard about something? She does seem to have less reservations when I say I'll be working at the cliff face too.

>Well ask your followers if anyone knows how to cook over a campfire. We should also see what wild game is around since fresh meat is better then stored goods. Your dragon should be a fairly good hunter if no one else is.
It seems no-one is particularly convinced they are a splendid cook, so I decide to make everyone do it in rotation. Except for me, because I do not eat and I do not know how to cook.

Since Merud and Reisarf have fairly light duties, I tell them to work out between themselves who will cook tonight.

3/4 Deem 2014/05/04(Sun)06:39 No. 573077 ID: 256d52
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>Digging (at least the main, big thrust of it) seems like that would be your realm. Shaping the earth is your power, and you didn't bring a team of miners.
Actually, I did!

>Would Deems avatar body be able to contribute to the digging significantly or can that work be done just as well or better using earth magic directly from the dungeon heart and work golems?
Manual labour can do wonders. Earth shaping is... well, it's not the most efficient option. It's good for things that would be otherwise difficult or impossible like repairing or moving stonework, but it's not terribly fast or efficient. I could move a lot at once but then I'd be useless for the rest of the day.

The most efficient use of it is temporarily weakening the stone where I intend to dig. It makes progress much faster.

With the golems and Hin's strength we split the bigger rocks and partially clear the entrance without too much trouble. We squeeze inside to inspect he interior and then rest for a moment. I just stand there, soaking it in. I feel a subtle tension leech out of me. A cave, soon to become my dungeon. What might I make of it, of myself this time?

"You're looking very relaxed." Hin says.

I smile ruefully. "I suppose I've finally realised this is actually happening."

"Well now we've got a moment alone, can I ask you something?"

"Go on." I say, tensing. Where is she going with this?

"You sure this is actually going to work? I've had a closer look at that Dungeon Heart you found. It's cracked and you've just got clay packed into the fracture."

"I'm sure!" I take a breath. I'd best try to be reasonable. "It worked fine when I fought Moriko. A dungeon heart has a lot of spell channels. Most of them shouldn't be affected and it's flexible enough to reroute them in the unlikely event all the specialised channels for a certain purpose are damaged. Besides, this heart is as old as I am." I say, "and I'm perfectly functional."

"...Haven't you blown yourself up twice in the last week?"

4/4 Deem 2014/05/04(Sun)06:41 No. 573078 ID: 256d52
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"Who told you?!"

I'm proud of my self control, I stopped short of a howl. "Was it Merud? It was Merud, wasn't it? Why was he talking about it? Did he somehow run out of other things to talk about? Oooooh I'll make him regret it! Why would-"

Hin hits me on the top of the head. No, she held back. More of a pat I suppose. "Calm down you dork."

"I... what?!"

"Yes, Merud told me. He wanted to be sure you wouldn't overexert yourself."

Grrrrr. I sigh. "Alright, maybe I'm a little damaged too. If anything, the Heart is in better condition than I am."

"So it is going to work, and it's not going to be dangerous?"

"I'll want to take some care as we activate each function, and the mana leakage-" that numb emptiness inside me - "is higher than I'm really comfortable with but even with that my Heart should be far superior to most dungeons."

"Then that's all I wanted to know." Hin seems indecently amused by all of this.

Time to think about the next step!

I can take some time to investigate the flooded section ahead - using either myself, Stargazer or the both of us. It's going to be tricky to drain though. We can start clearing the caved in branch ahead, though something about the formation is making me a little uneasy - we'll have to be careful not to dislodge more rocks from the ceiling in that part. Finally we can start widening that narrow fissure at the back and see where it comes out higher in the mountains. That would definitely take several days at best though.

>>573078
deem you are blushing so hard its tingeing the clay. Lets focus on the water for now, you need to cool off.

>Merud seems a little anxious for some reason
Maybe he's uncomfortable around naked slime girls? More silly human modesty!

Speaking of little slime girls: aww. She's already attached to you and looked sad when you pushed her away to be with them. You'll definitely have to spend some time with her.

>Stargazer doesn't seem to do much on her own
Maybe she can swim if Reisarf is nearby? Kind of hard to bring him along though, I'd think. There must be some way to use their water affinity. Unless we end up designing a waterproof golem for underwater exploration, or we just tame some aquatic monsters and get them to do it for us.

>you respond to accusations of blowing up by blowing up
Welp

>what do
I'd check out the water area before considering draining it, or digging out the other area. As for how we're supposed to explore it- I'd talk with Reisarf and Stargazer. They know their own limitations and abilities better than we do, and maybe you overlooked something in your initial assessment.

>>573078
>We can start clearing the caved in branch ahead, though something about the formation is making me a little uneasy
Does it look like a natural cave-in, or might someone have deliberately sealed this cave system?

>>573078
The flooded section seems like the safest and easiest option right now. The caved in section is probably blocking something dangerous. Plus we'll want to reinforce the ceiling with something while we remove the blockage, which could require buying planks from town or something. Unless you can shape some pillars there to hold up the roof?

>Alkaline
Hey, it looks like she's learning to form legs already!

I'm not entirely sure we should totally drain the flooded area. After all it makes for a very nice natural obstacle.

let's check out the water path first, I'm sure between you and stargazer you'll find something of interest.

...Got it. How about instead of draining it completely, we drain it to about half and make a bridge?

>>573078
>flooded branch
I'm inclined to at least scout this one, seeing as that's something we can do with comparative ease relative the other two branches.

>narrow fissure
This one takes the longest, but it doesn't seem to contain any inherent danger. Probably. maybe something lives in the tiny valley, we don't know. The valley itself seems like it could be useful, if for no other reason than being a stable tunnel for mana respiration that cannot be blocked off by enemy action easily. If it's large enough, security for minion habitats or maybe farms or something. It could come in handy, basically.

>collapsed tunnel
The fastest to clear out, and the cave-iest option available. Some cave-in risk if we're hasty; interruptions would probably be bad. I'll probably favor this one if scouting the water path doesn't turn up anything cool.

FLOODED BRANCH
Seems easy enough although only Stargazer and Deem can scout it. If it is just a stagnant pool, we might just want Stargazer to go it alone, but still it is safer with a partner.

NARROW FISSURE
Looks safe enough. Just needs a lot of time to break on through to the other side. We can probably let the golems handle this 24/7 with much supervision.

COLLAPSED TUNNEL
Unstable ceiling means that the golems will need constant supervision by Deem or Hin so it doesn't cave in on us. Might want to keep it slow and careful.

Deem and Stargazer should explore the flooded branch first, while Hin and the golems goes through the narrow fissure. That way, Deem and Hin and take turns supervising the collapsed tunnel so we minimise any chances for a cave in.

Side note: Hin might have been on guard because she's historically been faced with people who'd rather use her for the physical advantages her heritage provides than the skilled labor she's trained in. Actually finding training in her vocation might have been challenging. Or maybe not, who knows.

look at that cave-in-y place before it becomes more trouble.

For underwater exploration purposes, consider wrapping yourself completely in thin leather (or cloth) saturated with oil. It wouldn't be pretty, or completely watertight, but less water getting in means you can explore further. Once you've got mundane functionality worked out, try enhancing the 'watertightness' with magic.

As a longer-term project, get the blacksmith and golemeter talking about how to craft armor that would let an air-breathing humanoid survive underwater, particularly in conditions of extreme pressure.

new favicon up for approval, yo

Yeah, how about you get some help with covering yourself in fat or grease before going swimming through the flooded area? That should seal your clay to some extent and hopefully prevent the worst of the water absorption issue. If Moriko catches any animals for food then you can drip lots of fat off while cooking them!

While preparing for the swim try to make progress in the caved-in area. Use your earth magic to reinforce the walls and ceiling and have your own more expendable golems do the digging. See if Hin can throw up some designs for her workspace. Getting her up and able to do smithing is kind of a priority as it helps with everything else.

Also suggest to Merud that he needs to show his legs to Alkaline more frequently! If he goes around wearing his heavy robes all the time it'll take her longer to form limbs.

>>573647
>If he goes around wearing his heavy robes all the time it'll take her longer to form limbs.
If you'll look again at the last picture with Alkane in it, you will notice that everyone was wearing leg concealing robes/cloaks.

>Use your earth magic to reinforce the walls and ceiling

Deem, could you setup a ritual circle on the ceiling of the cavern, and cause the rocks above the meld together?

If you can't reach the ceiling, golemize some stilt arms and stilt legs!

Flooded Branch:
Needs to be explored before a decision can be made. If the water covers only part of the tunnel, a simple siphon might work. If there's a whole network of flooded tunnels, something else will need to be tried.
Until explored, consider that amphibious monsters might well emerge from there; it might be prudent to place some kind of alarm spell at the entrance.

Collapsed Tunnel:
It makes sense to fortify the walls with magic, for example if you can magically drive mud into any cracks, then petrify it into rock. Using golems to work here would make sure no-one's life is at risk if there's another cave-in.

Narrow Fissure:
The fissure seems promising; a hidden valley might be a nice place to forage, saving work in the long run. Or it could be a source of monsters.
How narrow is it, exactly? Could Stargazer or a tiny golem fit through and see what's on the other end? (Possibly with the help of some earth-moving magic directed at the narrowest parts.)
...It MIGHT be possible to widen it with Reisarf's offensive magic, but considering the combination of his subpar control, the risk of the disturbance causing further cave-ins in the other fork, and the possibility of setting this secluded valley on fire... Well, it could be kind of a bad idea. Still, if he takes one go at it - carefully! - before you even start digging in the caved-in branch, then that might save you a few hours of work. Assuming he has a good rock-damaging spell, that is.
You might also use Earth magic to create cracks in the rock at the right places, as the day's work is finished, if night-time will let you recuperate your reserves.

1/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:04 No. 578008 ID: 256d52
File 140241268352.png - (16.58KB , 600x400 , out_of_the_cave.png )

>You respond to accusations of blowing up by blowing up
>Welp
S-shut up!

>We can start clearing the caved in branch ahead, though something about the formation is making me a little uneasy
>Does it look like a natural cave-in, or might someone have deliberately sealed this cave system?
I... no, I don't think so? How would I know? What I meant is that it's unstable, so there's a risk of further collapse if I'm not careful with clearing it.

>The fissure seems promising; a hidden valley might be a nice place to forage, saving work in the long run. Or it could be a source of monsters.
It would be small if its there. Useful nonetheless. There wouldn't be much living there unless they could fly or climb or there's something else going on though.

>How narrow is it, exactly? Could Stargazer or a tiny golem fit through and see what's on the other end? (Possibly with the help of some earth-moving magic directed at the narrowest parts.)
I could slide my arm into the slit but not my body and it gets narrower in parts. The water filling the flooded section must have accumulated over a long time seeing it entered through here.

The smaller or more poorly formed a golem is, the lower the range it can move from its controller. Extremely small golems aren't particularly useful without specialisation and even then it's a bit of a niche area. Surveillance and detail work mainly.

Stargazer couldn't squeeze through either. Her shape changing isn't particularly developed.

>The flooded section seems like the safest and easiest option right now. The caved in section is probably blocking something dangerous. Plus we'll want to reinforce the ceiling with something while we remove the blockage, which could require buying planks from town or something. Unless you can shape some pillars there to hold up the roof?
Shaping pillars is doable, though its somewhat tedious. I could also cut down some trees and use them for temporary supports.

Investigating the flooded section can be done immediately so you're right, I might as well get it out of the way.

>Deem you are blushing so hard its tingeing the clay. Lets focus on the water for now, you need to cool off.
Right. Water.

Good.

2/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:06 No. 578009 ID: 256d52
File 140241276612.png - (32.84KB , 800x600 , see_slime_run.png )

I head back toward the tents, leaving the golems behind to clear some more of the loose stone. Hin follows me.

As I draw level to the tents, Alkaline runs past, Reisarf and Merud in hot pursuit. Ah, hmmm.

>Also suggest to Merud that he needs to show his legs to Alkaline more frequently! If he goes around wearing his heavy robes all the time it'll take her longer to form limbs.
I do not believe that will be necessary.

Oh no, wait, she tripped.

Perhaps more time should be spent on that.

>Maybe he's uncomfortable around naked slime girls? More silly human modesty!
I'm starting to think he suspected she'd be a handful.

3/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:08 No. 578010 ID: 256d52
File 140241288603.png - (30.08KB , 800x500 , status_report.png )

I sit down next to Alkaline as she attempts to rediscover the correct configuration for limbs.

"Are you giving my wizards trouble?" I ask her.

"Blooorb?" She looks away, trying to avoid making eye contact with me.

Merud kneels near me as Reisarf tries to catch his breath. He looks tired.

"Ah, hello Deem. I'm afraid we just weren't sure what to expect." Merud chuckles weakly. "She's, ah, she's very curious? While we were unpacking the luggage she seemed interested and tried to help, but we had to shoo her off when it came to the food. Then it was difficult to keep an eye on her because she kept getting into other things or trying to wander off.

"I tried to keep her entertained with a little golem made of leaves but she ate it and a pebble one scared her. We might have to think about toys."

"Did she eat much of the supplies?" I ask.

"Some preserved fruit. She seemed to like it, so we gave her a little more when she was behaving."

Ah. "That was probably a mistake." I say. "She doesn't need to eat very much if she's not budding slimes, and especially not sugary things like that."

"Oh." Merud gives a rueful smile. "Candy to children, eh? I should have realised. Aside from that, she's a sweet natured little thing, but I don't know how much she understands. I think she's a little afraid of Stargazer too."

"Well, she is fresh out of the bottle." I say, looking at her. "She'll learn." I climb back to my feet before she can crawl into my lap.

4/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:09 No. 578011 ID: 256d52
File 140241294307.png - (33.65KB , 800x520 , E_ranked_vitality.png )

>I'd check out the water area before considering draining it, or digging out the other area. As for how we're supposed to explore it- I'd talk with Reisarf and Stargazer. They know their own limitations and abilities better than we do, and maybe you overlooked something in your initial assessment.
Hmm, he looks as though he might actually die if I get him to do anything else strenuous today. Chasing a little slime around after the trip up here seems to have almost done him in. It might have been useful to have Stargazer along, but her independent action does use a lot of Reisarf's mana.

I'll search the flooded passage alone. While the water does confuse my senses, I am certain it's a dead end. This cave has been sealed up for many years. Of the things that could survive it, I very much doubt I would run into any of them here.

It's my own turn to give a rueful smile. "I'm sorry she's given you so much trouble. There's a flooded passage inside the cave and I'd hoped to ask if I could borrow Stargazer to help me explore it, but I think its best if the two of you get some rest for now."

"But I haven't even started making the dinner." he protests dazedly, leaning on Stargazer for support.

Boy's dedicated, if nothing else.

>Speaking of little slime girls: aww. She's already attached to you and looked sad when you pushed her away to be with them. You'll definitely have to spend some time with her.
I suppose I will but that has to wait for a little later.

5/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:09 No. 578013 ID: 256d52
File 140241298299.png - (28.97KB , 800x500 , slime_minder.png )

"Tell you what." Hin says. "I'll look after Alkaline, get her to burn off some of that excess energy. Then you can explore tht seciton today, like you want to. Take Merud in the cave so he's there to send in golems in case you have any more little accidents," I purse my lips at this last statement, "and since I'm a terrible cook, Reisarf can make dinner. Hopefully Moriko will be back soon and he's found something that's good eating."

I consider it. That seems like a good plan.

"Uh, it is safe to touch her little crown, right?" Hin adds, perhaps wondering if she wants to reconsider putting her hand on Alkaline's head.

"She can't bud yet. It's fine."

"They come out of her head?" Hin raises an eyebrow. "Never knew. And why does she like you so much anyway?"

"What?"

"You don't...?" Hin shakes her head. "Never mind."

>Side note: Hin might have been on guard because she's historically been faced with people who'd rather use her for the physical advantages her heritage provides than the skilled labor she's trained in. Actually finding training in her vocation might have been challenging. Or maybe not, who knows.
I suppose that would explain why she keeps her horns covered. She must file them down too.

6/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:10 No. 578014 ID: 256d52
File 140241303899.png - (9.62KB , 800x450 , spelunking.png )

Back into the cave then.

>How about you get some help with covering yourself in fat or grease before going swimming through the flooded area? That should seal your clay to some extent and hopefully prevent the worst of the water absorption issue.
What? Letting someone rub their hands all over me? No!

It won't be a problem for a short dip. It would only be if I was underwater for a prolonged period of time. Half an hour or more. The flooded passage is short and I'm just going to have a quick look.

>I'm not entirely sure we should totally drain the flooded area. After all it makes for a very nice natural obstacle.
It does have a certain atmosphere. The tunnel descends, the sloping ceiling eventually meeting the water. There's a beach of sorts. Little particles of rock have been carried down here and built up on this rock ledge. The bottom must be very silty.

I wade into the cold, dark water. Merud hangs back. He seems nervous about the water's edge.

7/7 Deem 2014/06/10(Tue)08:12 No. 578015 ID: 256d52
File 140241313578.png - (18.19KB , 800x500 , underwater_adventures.png )

The slope steepens. I skid down, a trail of disturbed sediment floating up behind me. It's deeper than I expected. I don't like how the water confuses my senses. The weight of it surrounding me presses in on my body.

The expected silt at the bottom blooms around me when I land in it. It's like sitting in the smoke of a strange, slow bonfire. I let it settle a little.

The distance to the surface is perhaps three times my height. There's jumbles of loose rock down here. Washed down here since the cave in? Something is nagging at my senses here.

I think the passage is shaped in a U-bend - it rises ahead of me. There might be an air pocket there.

>>578015
Well? head for the air pocket! If we're lucky it'll be a big cave network we can set up our dungeon in!

>Extremely small golems aren't particularly useful without specialisation and even then it's a bit of a niche area. Surveillance and detail work mainly.
A network of tiny Surveillance drone golems sounds pretty useful to me. I assume you have your own sense inside the your own dungeon, but they could be useful for picking up approaching adventures before they arrive, giving us time to prepare, arrange rooms and defenses as we like, etc.

>Hmm, he looks as though he might actually die if I get him to do anything else strenuous today.
Jeeze, we need to put that kid on nutritional supplements, or something. Granted, it's not like we can reverse the effects of his contract with Stargazer, but once we've established I'm sure we can help somewhat.

>why does she like you so much anyway?
That's an interesting question. Did she imprint while you were carrying the bottle? Because you were the one to open her? Is it because you're blue? Because you're the only other person here not made of meat? Is the monster in her drawn to the dungeon in you? Or did she just fall for your winning personality?

>Skid down the slope
You'll be able to walk back up that, right? You're rather too heavy to swim.

Anything unusual or different about the rock / rocks down here, compared to what you explored above?

>u-shaped bend
Might as well see what's around it. Keep your eyes sharp.

I hope you've got a decent mental sense of time, since there aren't many good references in an underwater cave, and you'll want to double back before Merud assumes something has gone wrong.

Could 'something nagging at my senses' be an active enchantment of some kind, or you noticing someone watching you? A U-bend like that seems like it could be a very useful security barrier for a fortified cave/tunnel system set up here. It would be a geologically-maximized ambush point as an obvious way into a hidden place that sets up visitors/invaders for observation and attack either inside the water or where they leave it, and a perfect trapped bottleneck for any conventional invasion force.

>>578015
...what is that dark patch next to your hand?

>>578038
If I had to guess, I'd say its the top of a rock.

Looks more like an eye slot to me.

>>578011
ok we're defiantly going to have to get this kid to do some morning jogging or something just to build his stamina up a little. I'm not expecting him to be able to run marathons or something but I still think he needs to do something so he's not winded every time he has to move at a brisk walk past or faster

>>578013
I also think you should find some time to spend with Alkaline as she does seem to be really attached to you AND you seem to be the only one in your little group that has any idea on how to rise a slim child.

>>578014
Did you have some kind a signal to give Merud if you need help?

>>578015
is the nagging feeling just you not being use to water since it's not one of your elements or something else, anyways might as well head towards the u-shape bend. We are exploring are we not?

>>578015
>Nagging senses
If this is related to the jumble of rock, poke around the floor a bit before moving on to the u-bend. Something small like a gem or the like. Even just walking around to narrow the range of whatever's bugging your senses is worth the time, especially if there is an air pocket further on you can dry off a bit in.

>>578046
She should be able to direct one of her golems to get help if the need arises. Our best bet for assistance is part of an exhausted pair at the moment though, unfortunately. It's too bad we forgot to remember the knife, since slashing or stabbing attacks would be less hindered by the water than the bludgeoning she's left with, but maybe she can pull off the bone-sword enchantment, even improvisationally, in case of an emergency. I'm not too worried.

You should have made a hamster-ball golem with an eye on the outside. That would have kept you dry and safe, and you could have also created a ballast-layer for sucking in and spitting out water for depth control.

Deem, get out of the water and do that shit right now. You've got the golemeter Merud there to help you set that up, no excuse for not being smart!

After this, it's looking like the best person to take care of Alkaline is you. Do you need to be present while the golems work?

How soon can we get a forge running, anyway? We can't just have Hin doing grunt work.

Unless what's nagging you is farther in, look around, the bottom till you can pinpoint it

If your safe immersion time is half an hour, do NOT continue exploring for more than ten minutes, especially if anything might be interfering with your sense of direction or making you lose track of time. Rule of three for diving: one third for the trip out, one third for the trip back, one third for emergencies. If your fingers and toes start to get squishy in a way that impairs your ability to climb back out, that could be bad.

Should a rescue become necessary, who can see in the dark and operate under five yards of water for a useful period of time? Stargazer, presumably. Anyone else?

Well try to go further and explore as much as you can. Try to keep a mental map of the underwater area.

1/4 Deem 2014/06/23(Mon)09:00 No. 580320 ID: 256d52
File 140353920908.png - (14.69KB , 500x600 , lets_talk_about_minions.png )

>How soon can we get a forge running, anyway? We can't just have Hin doing grunt work.
For something extremely basic, as soon as we can get under cover. Hin brought a basic set of tools. It's more about when there will be raw material and when will it be useful to start producing items, be they swords or hinge pins.

>Reisarf
>Ok we're defiantly going to have to get this kid to do some morning jogging or something just to build his stamina up a little. I'm not expecting him to be able to run marathons or something but I still think he needs to do something so he's not winded every time he has to move at a brisk walk past or faster.
He did climb a mountain this morning. Chasing Alkaline around seems to have been the final blow. I can create special rooms for training which would help in that but, well, it comes to down to a question of playing to strengths or reducing weaknesses.

>You should find some time to spend with Alkaline as she does seem to be really attached to you AND you seem to be the only one in your little group that has any idea on how to rise a slime child.
Later then. Now's definitely not the time. Bodies of water, especially running water, can be dangerous when they're young, since it dilutes them and they don't really have the control to stop it happening. Hmm, I suppose I'd better make sure she doesn't run into here. Perhaps I should have said something. I suppose I should keep someone with me while I watch her to mention these things as they occur to me.

>Why does she like you so much anyway?
>That's an interesting question. Did she imprint while you were carrying the bottle? Because you were the one to open her? Is it because you're blue? Because you're the only other person here not made of meat? Is the monster in her drawn to the dungeon in you? Or did she just fall for your winning personality?
If I had to guess, it's probably the last two.

2/4 Deem 2014/06/23(Mon)09:01 No. 580321 ID: 256d52
File 140353927754.png - (21.44KB , 800x500 , look_around.png )

>Skid down the slope
>You'll be able to walk back up that, right? You're rather too heavy to swim.
I'll be able to climb back up.

>Anything unusual or different about the rock / rocks down here, compared to what you explored above?
More loose rock and sediment. It's mostly gotten washed down here. This and the blocked entrance were the lowest parts of the cave accessible, so water flooding through the fissure is what's moving it down here. It mustn't have flooded for a while - water wouldn't go to the entrance until this flooded section fills a little higher.

I think the section blocked by the cave-on goes deeper underground, but the entrance is well above the water line. I'm still not used to running around like this, I couldn't get a clear read of it. I'll have a far more precise understanding of my surroundings once I establish my Heart.

>If your safe immersion time is half an hour, do NOT continue exploring for more than ten minutes, especially if anything might be interfering with your sense of direction or making you lose track of time. Rule of three for diving: one third for the trip out, one third for the trip back, one third for emergencies. If your fingers and toes start to get squishy in a way that impairs your ability to climb back out, that could be bad.
A sensible precaution. I will keep it in mind. This isn't exactly a substantial cave so I don't believe it will take too long unless I find something truly unusual down here.

>Did you have some kind a signal to give Merud if you need help?
IF it comes to it, I will use a golem to alert him. I'm not particularly worried. This place has been sealed up for years and I personally opened the only entrance. A cave breathes. I'd know if there were any other passages in or out of here.

I pick my way forward across the rock strewn floor, steadying myself with one hand on the wall. The alien sensation of the water pressing on me is still disorientating and I have the irritation of that nagging feeling about my surroundings, but there is still something pleasurable about being here, alone down in these secret places under the earth. I have slept more than a thousand years and now only a few days after awakening, gathering companions and gaining some measure of freedom for myself, I'm happy to be alone again. I suppose there's irony in that.

3/4 Deem 2014/06/23(Mon)09:01 No. 580322 ID: 256d52
File 140353931332.png - (14.03KB , 600x400 , found_a_thing.png )

>If this is related to the jumble of rock, poke around the floor a bit before moving on to the u-bend. Something small like a gem or the like. Even just walking around to narrow the range of whatever's bugging your senses is worth the time, especially if there is an air pocket further on you can dry off a bit in.
I advance slowly, sweeping side to side and am able to roughly locate the origin of this sensation in one of the larger piles of rock, half blocking a little cul-de-sac. I dig through it, lifting the smaller rocks and rolling the larger ones aside.

I've found it.

There's some remains and some sort of large medallion or plaque. I pick it up, the plaque still tickling my senses.

4/4 Deem 2014/06/23(Mon)09:03 No. 580323 ID: 256d52
File 140353939526.png - (22.04KB , 600x640 , you_got_the_thing.png )

It's made of silver, it's magic and it's damaged. That flickering, tiny release of mana as it tries to store mana to recharge and then immediately loses it as it tries to activate is what I was sensing. I'm not sure what exactly it's for or how it's supposed to be used. Perhaps it's a broken cloak clasp or supposed to be a piece of armour?

The decorations on the front don't make much sense to me. It's circular, has a crescent of five engraved circles on one edge, with a smaller raised circle in the middle shape, then a recessed channel leading to another larger circle on the opposite edge that's been divided into three. An anchor? A key hole? A cousin of Stargazer?

I suppose I'll need to examine it further when I have the opportunity.

Hmm, perhaps I should have brought a bag along.

Bring it back up, and have Merud take a look while you Check out the rest of the passage

there seems to be something on the back of it. check that and then lets keep going. unless we find something else we can deal with only one hand being free.

>>580323
I might be wrong, but it looks like there's writing on the back. I don't know if the light down here is good enough to read though, or if it's even in a language we know.

>Hmm, perhaps I should have brought a bag along.
Well, if you really need two hands free, I suppose you could stick it in your mouth.

>I suppose I'll need to examine it further when I have the opportunity.
Probably the best approach. We'll have time to examine it back at camp, and it's possible one of the others will recognize it's purpose.

All right, how much time do we have left? Assuming we haven't burnt through your ten minutes yet, continue forward, see if this underwater passage leads anywhere. If we're past or at a third of the dive time, turn back.

>>580322
spooky.
>>580329 is right, there's writing on the back.

I wonder if it's a (damaged) Resurrection Talisman, like the ones meant to work with the Revive Fountain.

>>580359
Just in case, we should get the bones somewhere safe in case we can resurrect us a nice new ally.
I mean shit, he's been down here for AGES if his bleached bones are any cue, who knows how much information we can prize out of him when he's up and going again?

The way resurrection was described, it catches people before 'true' death. I'm guessing it's too late for this individual.

>Patterns
Wild speculation: it depicts 5 elements sealing the 6th.

>>580376
we can't resurrect things long dead, the whole resurrecting thing is simply grabbing the person's soul AS they die and then pull them back before the soul passes on. you have to be there when it happens or not at all if I recall correctly.

Also read the back if you can and move on ahead if you can. We can worry about exploring the blocked off section of the cave after we see all the sections we can reach first.

>>580329
>Well, if you really need two hands free, I suppose you could stick it in your mouth.

Supporting this idea. Also, next time you go into town for supplies, ask about what sorts of waterproof fabric (or leather, etc.) are available. It's a port city, so they've got to have something, and customized flexible watertight containers could have a lot of uses.

Could a diving suit be animated as a golem, and carry an unresisting person inside itself?

>>580502
Well, if the thing grabbed the soul AS the owner died, but the "and transmit it to the Fountain" part is disabled, I guess it might be possible?
Or it might be, say, a "breathe underwater" charm, explaining the death of the wearer by the very fact that it malfunctioned.

It IS probably worth considering what might have caused the death of the wearer (Trap? Monster? Unstable ceiling?) in case whatever it was is still dangerous.

On the other hand, what was this person even doing here in the first place? What's the history of this place?
If they were here looking for something valuable, but died before they could get it out - might it not still be here?

Bringing the bones back (and perhaps performing a burial rite?) could be an objective for a later trip, when you have a suitable bag with you. If nothing else, having a bunch of bones strewn around your dungeon is untidy...

1/2 Deem 2014/07/06(Sun)05:09 No. 583053 ID: 256d52
File 140464856632.png - (17.43KB , 750x501 , complete_gibberish.png )

>Could a diving suit be animated as a golem, and carry an unresisting person inside itself?
It's possible but it would be exceptionally clumsy - there'd be no coordination between the golem and the passenger if either attempted to move. Unless the passenger was the golemeter, of course. Some of the more martial doll mages do exactly that in fact. They ride inside an armour golem to remain protected.

>I might be wrong, but it looks like there's writing on the back. I don't know if the light down here is good enough to read though, or if it's even in a language we know.
I turn the plaque over. There are some markings here. I can't read them.

>Just in case, we should get the bones somewhere safe in case we can resurrect us a nice new ally.
Resurrection only functions if it is able to intervene at the time of death. That moment is long past.

>Bringing the bones back (and perhaps performing a burial rite?) could be an objective for a later trip, when you have a suitable bag with you. If nothing else, having a bunch of bones strewn around your dungeon is untidy...
I suppose they do need to be disposed of. I have never been especially fond of the idea of leaving such grim tokens lying around a dungeon.

>What was this person even doing here in the first place? What's the history of this place?
Whatever the history of this place is, it has lain lightly on it. There's no sign of any sort of man-made alterations so far. Perhaps it was a hiding spot or they were simply exploring the cave.

2/2 Deem 2014/07/06(Sun)05:10 No. 583054 ID: 256d52
File 140464861969.png - (20.63KB , 750x500 , now_to_find_the_key.png )

>If they were here looking for something valuable, but died before they could get it out - might it not still be here?
Hmm, I believe you may be right. The answer lies ahead then.

I follow the tunnel around and reach the position of the air pocket. The slope here is easier than it as coming down. The rocky surface gives me no trouble climbing up.

A treasure chest. It reeks of mystery. In a true dungeon it would serve as a locus of the earth pulse, a prize to be wrested from it. It is a finely crafted one, made of thick, heavy wood, banded with metal and decorated with a dragon motif.

The chest's obdurate impenetrability defies my senses. I do not know what is inside it. It's locked, of course.

A single person couldn't possibly have moved this here unaided, unless they were exceptionally strong. I doubt I could even budge it.

I suppose I might have to just leave it here for now.

So the token says "Ersa, may this token help you shed your burdens and fly far from here", and you're holding it upside down, Deem.

Crazy idea, perhaps this item aids in the bearing of heavy loads? It could be a way to transport the chest out if it could be patched up to functionality.

That's probably a long shot though. A much more feasible course of action is unlocking the chest by putting a finger up each nostril. The chest's, not yours, though you never know....

>>583054
so.. there was a dragon here once, i take it?

I would suggest we not use the medallion until Merud and Reisarf have examined it further. It could be like a teleport beacon that might move the chest to who knows where. Let's just go back out and show the others the medallion and tell them about the chest. Then we can make a plan on how to extract the chest

try opening it, and yeah, you held the medallion upside down. :V

>>583054
I don't see a keyhole. I'm thinking there's a secret button or something to open it. If you can't feel it out, we can just come back later with someone who is good at opening locks. I wonder if our blacksmith has any experience as a locksmith?

...okay, is it just me, or does this chest here scream trap.

I wouldn't open it yet. You're cut off from your allies, they're mostly worn and tired, and there's no one else in the area who can readily access this thing. We can afford to come back later to investigate it further.

If you want to be really paranoid, you could seal it beneath the rock or leave a golem sentry to watch over till we return, so we're doubly sure no one gets to it before you.

Go back, get your mages to investigate the medallion, if they're still up for anything, tonight.

>>583056
Whoops, looking again, it says "Esra" not "Ersa". This is significant because Esra is arse backwards. A vital clue to opening this chest, no doubt!

Gotta put your butt on it, then. Might need to bring in a bigger butt to open it though.

Look around the room, but be wary of the chest. Are there any other passages leading anywhere?

Don't touch the chest with your bare hands. It might be a mimic or some other kind of trap. Form some stone into a rob and give it a prod perhaps. Do you know how to tame mimics?

is that what a mimic looks like?

Deem, you are a dungeon, how does one go about opening trapped chest to get the loot without any harm coming towards the one who opens the chest?

1/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:36 No. 583409 ID: 256d52
File 140484820378.png - (26.92KB , 750x550 , mimimimimi.png )

>So the token says "Ersa, may this token help you shed your burdens and fly far from here", and you're holding it upside down, Deem.
Well maybe I can't read, alright!?

>Is that what a mimic looks like?
I know a mimic when I see one. Not a psuedopod in sight. They can hibernate for a decent time, but a mimic would have dug itself out and found a better place to impersonate a chest in by now.

Ones that could impersonate a finer made chest like this are quite rare. They're usually not too good on the details.

>...okay, is it just me, or does this chest here scream trap.
That seems like it would be needlessly elaborate!

Unless you can think of a reason why someone would place a trapped chest in an otherwise undeveloped cave which has had its entrance sealed for many years by rubble?

>Deem, you are a dungeon, how does one go about opening trapped chest to get the loot without any harm coming towards the one who opens the chest?
By disarming the trap? Sometimes there's a puzzle built into the lock and failure triggers the trap. A terrible person could smash it open, but that might damage whatever is inside and is terrible.

2/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:37 No. 583410 ID: 256d52
File 140484825894.png - (22.17KB , 750x550 , tell_me_your_secrets.png )

>I don't see a keyhole. I'm thinking there's a secret button or something to open it. If you can't feel it out, we can just come back later with someone who is good at opening locks.
I sit down in front of the chest and investigate the front. Part of the snout's a cover for the keyhole. It flips up on a hinge.

>Unlock the chest by putting a finger up each nostril. The chest's, not yours, though you never know....
No good.

No secret catches as far as I can determine.

>I wonder if our blacksmith has any experience as a locksmith?
She does. I asked her on the way here. It's a very useful skill in a dungeon.

>So.. there was a dragon here once, I take it?
This cave is a bit small for a dragon. I'd expect to see shed scales or claw marks on the stone or perhaps a bone pile if one had lived here for any amount of time.

I suppose a greater dragon might be vain enough to decorate with its own face. They're not an uncommon heraldic symbol either though.

3/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:38 No. 583411 ID: 256d52
File 140484830737.png - (23.23KB , 400x700 , booty.png )

>Crazy idea, perhaps the plaque aids in the bearing of heavy loads? It could be a way to transport the chest out if it could be patched up to functionality.
That would seem to fit. But then was that person trying to move the chest into here, or out?

>Whoops, looking again, it says "Esra" not "Ersa". This is significant because Esra is arse backwards. A vital clue to opening this chest, no doubt!
No doubt.

>Gotta put your butt on it, then. Might need to bring in a bigger butt to open it though.
Hmmm, I think I will need Hin after all.

>Are there any other passages leading anywhere?
There's just this little shelf out of the water. That's all there is to this air pocket. As this chest shows, it could be useful to hide something here as part of my dungeon's design, though it isn't as well hidden if I do drain the passage.

I'm at the end of the flooded passage, so it's time to head back.

4/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:39 No. 583412 ID: 256d52
File 140484835237.png - (23.62KB , 550x640 , not_again.png )

A shiver runs through me, I feel a whisper of cloth and then something burns, blinding me for a moment. Is there a trap? I stagger away from the treasure chest, feeling strange phantom sensations run through me.

My Heart! It's supposed to be packed safely away with the other goods we brought. Something has my Heart!

5/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:39 No. 583413 ID: 256d52
File 140484839573.png - (21.54KB , 650x500 , only_a_matter_of_time.png )

Something's happening outside! My Heart is moving, exposed to the air and the Sun. I gulp uncontrollably, panic sending a burning pain throbbing in my chest. It reminds me of how broken I truly am, sweeping around the numb ache inside me where my mana, my consciousness slowly bleeds away.

I can't walk, I can barely think. This unexpected twinning of sensation is confusing me. I stagger drunkenly and pitch forward into the water. I thrash at its embrace, the return of that cool pressure adding to my disorientation.

6/6 Deem 2014/07/08(Tue)12:40 No. 583414 ID: 256d52
File 140484842792.png - (36.79KB , 750x600 , a_conspiracy.png )

"I really don't think this is a good idea!" Reisarf says.

"I'm just looking at it. Deem doesn't have to know." Hin says. My Heart. She has my Heart! "She watches over this thing like a hawk. This might well be the only chance to have a proper look at it before she tries to mount it. See how damaged it really is."

She looks at Reisarf. "Aren't you curious?" He rocks on the spot, indecisive.

Hin turns my Heart over in her hands. Pins and needles at every contact. I can't stand it. She shakes her head and clucks her tongue. "A rare relic like this and its got a lump of clay plugging a crack... The density of the spell channels is just insane. How would you even begin to repair something like this?"

I'm bare, vulnerable, wounded. A prisoner in her hands. I shiver. I have to get out. I haven't even the most basic of dungeons to support me. My mana churns inside me, I can feel it bleeding away, the broken parts inside me wanting to shift and slide and spill it all away. I'm broken, I'm bleeding and this intolerable sensation and it's all rising up like it's going to choke me and this needs to, THIS HAS TO STOP.

a fall to floor from that high can't damage it any more correct? can you have it release a burst of flame to startle them.

>>583414
Shit. Uh... can you make your Heart glow or raise its temperature or lower its temperature? Anything immediately obvious, really? You need to make Hin think she's disturbed something and cause her to put it back.

can you flash or do anything with your heart to make her put it down?

>>583414
Deem, calm down. It's fine, you can fix this. There is nothing to worry about. Just send one of your golems over to take it from her. She wont resist, she'll probably even look suitably embarrassed by her transgression.

Golemetry is your strength, use it instead of reckless fire.

This is a minor setback that you can handle with grace and confidence.

>>583423
this!

>>583423
Oh right yeah we can do that.

>its got a lump of clay plugging a crack
>Golemetry is your strength
Embed a frowning face into the clay. The frowningest face.

You're a dungeon, and you may be helpless, but you have exactly one monster within your range who can help.

Reach out to your slime, and get her to interfere. Something as simple as a hand in Hin's wrist, or a shake of her head, might be enough to dissuade her. And failing that, if the child reacts to your distress, that will likely be enough of a distraction to draw her from your heart.

It seems there's a disadvantage to keeping some things from some of your followers.

Make the clay stoppage form a mouth and tell her to carefully and gently return the heart to where she found it.

>>583414
Vocalize your pain in a pure, wordless form. Do not use your voice, as there is still a chance to retain the secret.

... didn't you have the quasidragon guarding your core?

>Well maybe I can't read, alright!?
Interesting that you can't read, but we can. More fragmentation from your damaged heart, perhaps?

Or is it just the language? Could you read anything you saw or where shown back in town?

>Unless you can think of a reason why someone would place a trapped chest in an otherwise undeveloped cave which has had its entrance sealed for many years by rubble?
Only reason I can come up with is this may not have always been an underdeveloped cave with the entrance sealed by years of rubble. Although I suppose if there had been time for the geography to have radically altered, the odds of the chest not being buried in the process is pretty low.

Well, if you're gonna place a chest in a secluded place so no one finds it, I see no reason you wouldn't ALSO trap it, just in case.

>>583423
This.

Your golems are still around, use them to signal at Hin; let one of them act panicked, let the other go up to Hin hold out their hands to receive the orb.

Taking it by force while being non-threatening would be a bad idea.

Is Merud around? If you got him into the tent, he would likely realize right away what the problem is.

As an aside, maybe devising a method of ranged communication between team members - or just a danger signal - would be a good idea for the future.

1/5 Deem 2014/07/13(Sun)09:02 No. 584035 ID: 256d52
File 140526736087.png - (29.84KB , 800x500 , externalities.png )

>Deem, calm down. It's fine, you can fix this. There is nothing to worry about.
There is everything to worry about! She has my Heart! It's all I have!

>A fall to floor from that high can't damage it any more correct? can you have it release a burst of flame to startle them.
As long as I have mana, my Heart is virtually indestructible!

Fire, fire, fire. Once, perhaps, I could have but even that is a lost element to me. I have only the earth. I've lost so much, I cannot even remember, and the irreducible core of my being is in another's hands.

>... didn't you have the quasidragon guarding your core?
Chakarchelou is a creature of the earth pulse and completely subservient to me. That's an entirely different situation!

Hin's touch. I can't stand it. Uninvited, unprovoked, unfamiliar. She's yanked me from where I rested to soak in the earth's pulse, if only weakly. A life that owes nothing to the earth pulse, driven by strange compulsions. It stirs up my thoughts,
and makes me keenly aware of my unsightly, broken form. Of my vulnerability. I can't ignore that flaw inside me. My mana is ebbing and she has me and I can't stand it!

2/5 Deem 2014/07/13(Sun)09:03 No. 584036 ID: 256d52
File 140526741130.png - (25.23KB , 700x600 , calm_in_a_crisis.png )

>Golemetry is your strength, use it instead of reckless fire.
What? But I can't-

>Make the clay stoppage form a mouth and tell her to carefully and gently return the heart to where she found it.
The clay stopping up the leak in my heart is completely saturated with raw mana! I can't make it do anything.

>Just send one of your golems over to take it from her. She wont resist, she'll probably even look suitably embarrassed by her transgression.
The golems, of course! There's nothing to stop me from doing such a thing.

Go, run! It's a way to go, but agh, what are you doing?! You useless dolls. That's the wrong way. I can't focus. Go, go! Crawl if you have to.

It's useless! I can't wait that long!

3/5 Deem 2014/07/13(Sun)09:04 No. 584038 ID: 256d52
File 140526748178.png - (11.07KB , 800x500 , kinda_spooky_here.png )

>Is Merud around? If you got him into the tent, he would likely realize right away what the problem is.
I don't know. How would I know?! He should be further into the cave, waiting at the flooded passage's edge.

>Interesting that you can't read, but we can. More fragmentation from your damaged heart, perhaps?
I never learned!

4/5 Deem 2014/07/13(Sun)09:05 No. 584039 ID: 256d52
File 140526750749.png - (30.07KB , 750x680 , take_control_of_the_situation.png )

>You're a dungeon, and you may be helpless, but you have exactly one monster within your range who can help.
>Reach out to your slime, and get her to interfere. Something as simple as a hand in Hin's wrist, or a shake of her head, might be enough to dissuade her. And failing that, if the child reacts to your distress, that will likely be enough of a distraction to draw her from your heart.
"Glburglulll!" With an urgency spurred by my own, Alkaline jumps at my Heart and wraps around around it.

"This isn't a toy, Alkaline! Let go!" Hin says, trying to pry her off.

>Vocalize your pain in a pure, wordless form.
She shakes me, trying to loosen Alkaline. I shiver, this is all too much. A thin, crystalline keening. The closest thing to speech my Heart is capable of.

"What the hell is that noise?" Hin presses on Alkaline more urgently to try and dislodge her. Alkaline presses back - if she goes she's taking me with her.

"Reisarf, can you put her to sleep or something?! Don't want to hurt her, but she's triggered something!"

5/5 Deem 2014/07/13(Sun)09:05 No. 584040 ID: 256d52
File 140526754843.png - (28.26KB , 800x500 , luckily_deem_cant_drown.png )

"Glburglulll!" I release the air in my lungs. Chill water takes its place. A disquieting feeling.

I'm at my limit, I need to escape this chaos. She still has me, I'm thrumming with tension, like I'm going to burst, spilling mana. My helplessness threatens to overwhelm me. I have to get away.

Enhancement, reinforcement. I could boost Alkaline. Earth magic. I could strike at the ground. I could cry out, draw monsters to me. A dark pressure sluggishly stirs in the back of my mind. I am not tightly bound. I am not prevented from striking at Hin. I could curse her.

>>584040
No, no curses. As much of an idiot as she is being right now, hin IS still our friend. We are definitely going to yell at her for this, though.
See if you can build another golem right in front of her to take it. Failing that, keep scooting outta there.

Boost Akaline's size, but also if you can give her some of your armor plates or otherwise something to indicate that this is your doing and not hers...
Could you reinforce the core itself? enarmor it and give it spikes, but direct Akaline to drop it first so it doesn't stab her in the process?

uhhh... a a chunk of dirt/rock from the floor, smack hin in the gut with it.

>>584040
Reinforce Alkaline. You can control her more than anything else. Unless you can straight up make a golem or something where Hin is? THAT would be an obvious sign you know and disapprove. Or, y'know, any sort of obvious earth magic directed at Hin.

The key here is being obvious and getting the Heart under your control. Doesn't matter at this point if she realizes you're a Dungeon.

You're struggling back and forth and yanking on a crystal. If it gets dropped, bad things are gonna happen.

Deem. Get up. You need to get out there.

Tell Alkaline to swallow Hin's hand (and your heart). The heart is probably immune to the acid and the clay resistant; living flesh, not so much.

If you can, use the heart to boost her immediately to prevent them from being grabby.

Get UP Deem! Get out of here!

Lets' avoid solutions that solve the short term problem at the cost of fucking us over longer term.

For instance, bringing every monster in range running with a mindless scream would probably get Hin to drop your heart. But monster attacking your would be allies and minions would definitely set you back. We'd have injuries, deaths, possibly. And a long term betrayal of trust that would undermine things when the people who know what you are figure out what happened.

You never mentioned you could do curses! Still, cursing her would probably cause more problems than it fixes. Yes, you'd be free, at the cost of doing who knows what to Hin, and very likely loosing her trust and cooperation, and possibly that of the others.

Shaking the earth might get her to drop it, but the collateral damage would be unknown. Someone could get hurt, or we could deny ourselves the progress we made today (collapsing tunnels, burying the chest). Worst case would be triggering an avalanche.

Enhancement seems the most surgical option. How specific can you be with that? Could you say, use Alkaline as a blackboard, writing out a message on her? Hmm. Although if you can't read, you can't write. Guess you'd be limited to pictograms.

Failing that, you could get your heart released with some very simple tweaks. Like, what if you added a temporary numbing agent to the slime? That would cause Hin to lose her grip. Or maybe extra slime or oil- make Alkaline and your heart too slick to hold onto.

Whatever you do, cut off the keening as soon as she's not touching your heart, and turn it back on if she reaches for it. Teach them it doesn't want to be touched.

>when this is over
...please don't go charging up to Hin all in a rage. I know you feel violated in the worst way, but she had no idea what she was doing.

Use magic to give Alkaline the same coloration as your golem body. Failing that, making her spiky would be a good way for Hin to let go. At this point I'm not particularly concerned if Hin gets a few scratches.

Also, as soon as you use magic on Alkaline, Reisarf is likely to clue into your awareness of the situation.

Stop right there.

You are weak, helpless, and you want to attack one of your own followers? They would all leave you in a moment if they found out.

This unwelcome molestation is bad, yes, but worse would be you being left alone with none to help you. You need them.

When you were a dungeon, a power unto yourself with no equals and only servants, you lost. You lost and were struck down, with all the time in the world to build and prepare, you lost to a band of, as Hin would put it, wandering murder hobos.

This is not an affront and not an attack. You need to calm yourself and regain your self control.

The heart is you. The Deem your companions know is just a vehicle for your consciousness. Return your mind to your heart and use it's power to create a new golem from the turf nearby. It needs only warn the to return the stone to it's resting place.

Perhaps... in the future... honesty with your companions may be a better tact. I know you were hiding your heart for fear of further damage, but this gross violation of your most central bit of self could have been avoided if you were honest.

>>584208
not much to add, this right here.

Reinforce Alkaline. Try not to go too far overboard, if you can help it.

For the record, I interpret this as being a situation (from Deem's perspective) most closely analogous to rape. I feel that similar tact and carefulness should be observed in addressing the subject, especially in regards to who's at fault, or "this wouldn't have happened if".

Reinforce Alkiline such that she looks as much as possible like your golem-body did when you first met Hin. Stone armor plates in the right places, spider-leg skirt (probably just slime tentacles, but the silhouette is what counts here), bluer complexion if you can do that without stunting her growth.

I don't think we should completely rule out the option of laying some kind of curse on Hin. She knew messing with the Heart was potentially dangerous and directly against Deem's wishes, but did it anyway. Letting her off too easy sets a bad precedent, encourages future misbehavior. That being said, probably better to save the irreversible stuff for some sort of judicial proceeding after the crisis is resolved. What sorts of curses are we talking about here, anyway? I mean, if we could hit Hin with something that's the equivalent of pepper spray in the short term, but gives her some inconvenient superpowers and an indefinitely extended lifespan, leaving her otherwise functional, that might not be so bad. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CursedWithAwesome

Are you kidding me? You are really want to give in to Deem's tantrum?

No Curses and for that matter, no reinforcement magic, since that'll do more to flip out our nascent slime than anything. We need to animate a new golem and stop them. Randomly attacking our followers is going to backfire, terribly. These people followed deem for varying reasons, but none of them did it in the pursuit of power or out of fear, and if Deem expresses herself as a power hungry tyrant they'll never develop any kind of loyalty.

We need to handle this a bit more subtly. Abandon Deem golem for now and make a new golem, have it take the heart back. From this point maybe we should encase it in a stone shield, assuming that doesn't interrupt the flow of mana into it.

>>584432
Deem gollem operates the way it does because it has a fragment of her heart. Abandoning it to create a new one will be just as ineffectual as anything else. And Hin herself has been unhelpful at best and a threat at worst. If any of them require negative conditioning, it is her.

My suggestion is that you enhance Alkaline such that her slime is denser, preferably increasing her surface tension, thereby forcing Hin's hands out of her body. Then shape the earth to form a wall between her and the others, Hin, and everyone else in that tent. The likelihood of your other allies following Hin's lead in disabling or harming Alkaline is enough that you shouldn't take the risk.

>These people followed deem for varying reasons, but none of them did it in the pursuit of power or out of fear, and if Deem expresses herself as a power hungry tyrant they'll never develop any kind of loyalty.

Your argument is flawed at several points.

First, I'm pretty sure Merud and Hin were both pursuing power in their own fields of expertise. Deem knows things about golemetry and forgework that are otherwise lost to the world, and recruited them with the promise of those secrets.

Second, Deem is supposed to be the leader of this group, which got together to found a dungeon, accumulating vast wealth and power in the process. Being at least a little bit of a power-hungry tyrant is Deem's job, just to follow through on those promises.

Third, we're not smiting Hin for an accidental insult or failure to complete a task that turned out to be impossible or something stupid like that. It was entirely premeditated. She knew disturbing the Heart was a violation of trust, so she waited until she thought Deem wouldn't find out. Reisarf told her it was a bad idea and she went ahead anyway! This is a matter of self-defense.

>And Hin herself has been unhelpful at best and a threat at worst. If any of them require negative conditioning, it is her.

No. Hin has useful skills, she just hasn't had the chance to exercise most of them. We shouldn't drive her away or hurt her if there's a reasonable way to resolve the situation without doing so.

Remember that question about blowing up? Hin joined when she was at the end of her rope, and is thinking of this whole dungeon plan as a desperate, stupid gamble which can't possibly be any worse than the situation she was stuck in before. Hin doesn't respect Deem, because Deem seems to lack control, all bark and no bite. The fix for that is a show of strength. Precise, efficient strength, not reckless cruelty! Boosting Alkaline into a recognizable likeness says, clearer than words, "You thought I wasn't looking? You were wrong. This is my domain."

Deem, you are being challenged here. Not by honorable force, like Moriko did, but through subterfuge. Thieving rogues play the labyrinth game too, don't they? This one went too far. You can handle this; your young, sticky champion is in position. All you have to do is show everyone how amazing you are.

Oh great, now you are encouraging her to make an example. Here's the thing, Deem is going to do something stupid, no matter what. She's used to doing things a certain way and lashing out in fear and anger is a big part of that. She's showed poor judgement as an emotional response a number of times.

If you think Deem is going to respond appropriately to Hin's intrusion you haven't been paying attention. Deem is going to put all the force she can muster into punishing the insolent meatbag, and this is what we need to stop her from doing, and make her realize is the wrong way to go about things.

Also, in regards to the assertion that Merud and Hin came here seeking power, Merud came here seeking knowledge, and Hin came out of desperation.

Finally, I personally don't want Deem to return to being the Tyrant she clearly was in a past life. We should be guiding her away from lashing out in anger and fear.

>>584531
And that is why we are advising her, you dope. Stop counselling inaction, and actually do something helpful.

>>584587
>>584531
>>584476
>>584445

Sounds like a topic that should go into the discussion. Open it up there.

1/4 Deem 2014/07/20(Sun)01:14 No. 584831 ID: 256d52
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>Could you reinforce the core itself? Armour it and give it spikes, but direct Alkaline to drop it first so it doesn't stab her in the process?
Impossible! Unthinkable! Forbidden! I can't use magic on my Heart at all.

>Deem. Get up. You need to get out there.
My head is spinning, I'm circling deeper into the maze inside it. Hin has my heart and there is so little I have ever been able to do to protect it. I have always failed. My mind races, old associations carrying me to places I do not want to go. I feel as if I might be swallowed by the impenetrable, imponderable armour of history. There's things buried here in this grave of memories. Things I don't want to know. Things I can't know. I shiver again.

>Tell Alkaline to swallow Hin's hand (and your heart). The heart is probably immune to the acid and the clay resistant; living flesh, not so much.
"I think she's trying to eat it!" Hin says to Reisarf, rising panic in her voice.

"I don't want to try magic, it might set her off." Reisarf says.

"Well get in here and help pry her off! I think its leaking!"

"Alkaline, be a good girl!" Hin says, trying to mask her alarm. She pats Alkaline tentatively, unwilling to use force. The slime child just gurgles angrily and squeezes tighter at this attempt to calm her down. "That's no good for you. Let go!"

>We need to handle this a bit more subtly. Abandon Deem golem for now and make a new golem, have it take the heart back.
No. I will never give up anything that is mine so lightly. My focus is ungainly, splintered, useless. I can barely command what I have, let alone create more.

Hin's still holding me. I can't feel the earth pulse. Only flesh and blood and bone marching to a different beat. It titillates me. It repulses me. I can't stand it. I must act.

Tap, tap, tap. Each beat of her pulse is like a tiny hammer blow. As though a web of cracks is spreading through me, fracturing at each strike. Flushes of heat and chill rock me and something rises up from deep inside of me. Something insatiable.

>If you can, use the heart to boost her immediately to prevent them from being grabby.
In spite of her loyal attempts, Alkaline is only a slime child. I struggle for a moment to open the way to supply of mana within me. It rises up burning and raw, threatening to slip through my grip. I clutch my old anger to me and strangle the flow down to something I can manage.

"I think you should drop her, Hin." Reisarf says slowly. "Something's waking up."

2/4 Deem 2014/07/20(Sun)01:14 No. 584832 ID: 256d52
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>Get UP Deem! Get out of here!
I force my heart and body to coarsen, lose sensation like dumb rocks and climb slowly, clumsily to my feet.

>Enhancement seems the most surgical option. How specific can you be with that? Could you say, use Alkaline as a blackboard, writing out a message on her?
Reinforcement is not a subtle art when used like this!

>Boost Akaline's size, but also if you can give her some of your armour plates or otherwise something to indicate that this is your doing and not hers...
Size, strength, armament. I focus on what I want. Stone isn't a part of a slime's nature. Armour of any kind is troublesome. I circulate my drawn mana, a volcanic flow of power through my numb body.

>Reinforce Alkaline. Try not to go too far overboard, if you can help it.
Tch, my channels flare, mana battering down unintended paths. I am still damaged. I feel the medallion grow hot against my chest as I struggle to shut them again. Wasteful, but at least I managed to wrestle some of the excess to Alkaline. The ragged edges of my heart sting coldly, I can feel the mana seeping out.

I can't abide my own lack of control. I want to lash out.

Alkaline knows what she is to do - protect my heart and prevent Hin from escaping. I feel old and brittle and hollow, but my anger drives me on.

3/4 Deem 2014/07/20(Sun)01:15 No. 584833 ID: 256d52
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In a cloud of silt, something is coming toward me. Merud's golem. I let it carry me, as it turns and returns the way it came.

>Stop right there.
>You are weak, helpless, and you want to attack one of your own followers? They would all leave you in a moment if they found out.
>This unwelcome molestation is bad, yes, but worse would be you being left alone with none to help you. You need them.
They are helpful to have but no, I don't need them. I don't need anyone. All I need is the earth pulse. It sustains me. I have been alone before. I shall show a measure of restraint, for the others are not involved, but that is as far as it goes.

>When you were a dungeon, a power unto yourself with no equals and only servants, you lost. You lost and were struck down, with all the time in the world to build and prepare, you lost to a band of, as Hin would put it, wandering murder hobos.
You don't know anything. You don't remember anything. Don't presume to lecture me. I won't let myself be betrayed again.

>This is not an affront and not an attack. You need to calm yourself and regain your self control.
I am calm!

>Perhaps... in the future... honesty with your companions may be a better tact. I know you were hiding your heart for fear of further damage, but this gross violation of your most central bit of self could have been avoided if you were honest.
...

Merud splashes forwards into the pool, wincing at the cold. "Deem you're bleeding!"

"It's nothing."

"It's not noth-"

I cut him off. "Hin has meddled with my Heart. I had Alkaline stop her. She's guarding it for me. I'm going out there now."

"What?! Deem, you could be seriously hurt, take it easy!"

"It's nothing." I repeat, slipping off the golem and splashing ashore. "Hin has to be dealt with immediately."

4/4 Deem 2014/07/20(Sun)01:16 No. 584834 ID: 256d52
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>...please don't go charging up to Hin all in a rage. I know you feel violated in the worst way, but she had no idea what she was doing.
Ignorance is no excuse. She knew she shouldn't have done it.

>You never mentioned you could do curses!
Something so foundational that I'd entirely forgotten... After all, what is a monster if not a manifested curse?

"What did she do?" Merud says. "I've known Hin for years and I can't believe she'd go rooting through someone else's belongings or be so thoughtless as to tamper with a powerful magic item like your Heart."

"So quick to jump to her defense? If you want to learn anything from me, you'd best stay on my good side."

"This isn't like you."

"Oh, you are so familiar with me after just a few days? If you must talk, boy, then walk with me."

be sure to reward alkaline for her loyalty and willingness to jump in on your command.

>I wont let myself be betrayed again
Oh boy, there is no way to reroute this freaky-deaky shit is there?
Well, be gentle deem. Don't kill her over this mistake, that's the path that leads to bond-villainy. And bond-villains ALWAYS get destroyed in the most terrifying ways possible.
You are acting like the you that, quite possibly, got you into whatever catastrophe that shattered your heart. You don't want to be that person, deem. That person clearly made mistakes, possibly in anger, much like you are trying to do now. Avoid that.

He's in perfect health, you're not. Send him to recover the heart and chew out Hin for you.

Great, so there's going to be an angry, confused and hulked out baby-slime when we get up there.

>wouldn't be so thoughtless as to tamper with your heart
She didn't understand that just touching it would tamper with it. She didn't know it was active, or more importantly, that it was you. Because you didn't tell her.

>There's things buried here in this grave of memories. Things I don't want to know. Things I can't know.
Things you can't be, I think. Merud's right that you're not acting like yourself. You woke up something else, something I don't think you want to be.

>Ignorance is no excuse. She knew she shouldn't have done it.
She had concerns over the damage to the dungeon heart. Obviously the way you blew off those concerns when you spoke to her convinced her you weren't going to take them seriously, so she decided to take a look herself.

That's a responsible action for a follower. You have to call your boss on their shit. A leader needs to count on their people for that- they can't trust anyone else to do that. She was trying to help, worried you were too gung ho.

She would be horrified to realize what she has done to you. She didn't mean to hurt you, she didn't mean to rape or violate a fundamental part of. If anything proves that, it's that she's not letting go, despite Alkaline, because she doesn't want to allow anything to happen to it.

If there's a betrayal here, it's going to be your betraying her. You're about to betray the trust and faith she put in you, and the intent of her actions. You're about to make yourself a monster to her, and make her one to herself.

>I don't need them. I don't need anyone. All I need is the earth pulse. It sustains me
Sounds awful lonely. Any animal can be satisfied with mere sustenance. I would have thought you were greater than that. That you needed more.

And for the record? Merud is calling you on your shit right now, too. As are we. Maybe stop and think why everyone around you thinks there's something you need to listen to. And think about just where these feelings are coming from.

You have lost your calm connection to the earth pulse and are running off blood magic right now Deem. Its making you a bit power mad and sort of horrible.

While you might have been a power in the old days look where that got you. Even in your prime you needed powerful minions and people you could trust.

Deem, you are absolutely right. Hin has to be put in her place; they all do. They are instruments of your will, and this kind of betrayal isn't acceptable. You wont accept it. She has hurt you and so you will hurt her.

However, she is still yours, and you will never give up anything that is yours so lightly. No, she wont be killed, and her use of her craft wont be lessened; her skill is yours too. Death or maiming, these take from you.

It is her conscience that will suffer, as you have no use for it. Hin believes herself to be a basically good person and while right now she may be scared or in pain, she is not suffering because of thin justifications that she "meant no harm" or "tried to fix her mistake". You will strip these from her and expose her actions for exactly what they were. Explain the violation she willingly perpetrated with her own hands and watch as her mind turns on itself. Fitting for what is yours to punish itself, is it not?

Once she has sunk into despair, she will be detained, ideally by Moriko but by someone else if she isn't back yet, until such a time as her period of torturous remorse has gone on long enough for you to deign to conclude with the rest of her punishment.

Once crazymode has worn off a bit, we can bring her around to not doing anything rash. For now, deferring rashness while only acting cruel is the best I can reasonably hope for.

Deem. We are your advisors, but we cannot help you if you won't listen to us. Almost as one we are saying that punishing her harshly for this accident is a mistake. You've done this before, where your emotions have led you down the wrong path. Please remember that and listen to us. Please.

Hin isn't betraying you. Nor is she is trying to harm you. Every action she has taken is to try to help you. Not once has she has declared malice or thoughtlessness.

Look here where she stated what her intentions were:
>>583414
How would you even begin to repair something like this?"

Does this sound like betrayal?

Punishment ideas:

Slime duty.
Getting that chest into the open on her own.
Deferred wages.
Breaking reinforced rocks.
Building a trapped alter of some sort to protect your heart.
Exile from your presence.
Get more ideas from Merud.
Concurrent of any of these.

Deem, I know that you'd like to reprimand Hin and I'm not going to convince you against that. All I like you to do is first praise Alkaline for protecting your core and then ask her to leave the tent before you start with Hin. The dressing down should be private.

If you plan on reprimanding Hin, I suggest the following words:
"Congratulations, you nearly managed in a few minutes what didn't happen in thousands of years: If Merud hadn't rescued me with one of his golems I would've drowned.
"The reason why I need you to never ever touch that dungeon heart is because my abilities as a magic-casting golem come from it. You're not aligned to the earth pulse so when you touch it this disrupts the magic significantly. When the dungeon heart gets moved this also disrupts the magic. If I'm using the magic at the time for something, like trying not to drown underwater, that can be a problem; if I'm distracted enough the problem may be explosively flammable as disrupted magic spontaneously ignites the air and everything else around the dungeon heart. You're lucky that Alkaline was there so I could influence her to remove it from your grasp.
"If you're so unstoppably curious about how the earth pulse management of a dungeon works I'll explain what I can while we work together, but until you've redeemed yourself I want you to dress up as a cat and repeat to yourself each morning, 'curiosity killed the cat.'"

>>584843
Blood magic?! I think you're right!

>>584834
DEEM. Do not do ANYTHING to Hin before you re-attune your heart to the Earth Pulse and let it flow through you again. You are not yourself right now. I can see it in your eyes. There are pits of blackness in them now, where before they were pure and red.

As for an appropriate punishment, I would say take suggestions from Merud for that. We don't know her, we don't know what she doesn't like.
Out of curiosity, what sorts of curses can you do?

Deem, prioritize the order of events!

1.) Direct your attention/energies on re-establishing yourself to the earth pulse, check yourself for secondary damages hidden by primary symptoms!

2.) When 1 is complete, counter attack the aggressor!

Not sure what the limits of curses are, but if you can rescind them as easily as you place them, then perhaps a simple one will do some good.

Make her agoraphobic. Take away the comfort she has being in open spaces, make her seek the comfort of the caves.

Can you curse her so that every time she messes with your heart, she feels something akin to it?

Every pounding, paid in kind. Just be sure to avoid making it so that it's all damage. I doubt Hin would be able to withstand feeling the pain of a missing chunk.

It's a shame you can't communicate in any way. Either by vibrating the ground around them or a scream out from your heart.

Considering your heart is bleeding now's not the time to show off. Lean on Merund or at least let him carry your form back via a golem. Hustle a little.

Expand a little as to why Merund is ignorant, imply past history?

Use it to cool down a little. Not become less angry, but cooler and more... focused. One step at a time.

How about this... now that you are in control, make a large golem. Have it pick her up, handle her like she did your heart. Have it poke her and examine her like some inanimate object.

Deem, be logical! Hin didn't *know* that holding your Heart would hurt you - because YOU kept that fact secret from her! Furthermore, she is interesting in repairing your Heart, and you're interested in getting it repaired. Getting rid of her would be counterproductive at this point.

That said, some advice on impressing the meatbags:
Firstly, if you're going to make an example of Hin, everyone else should be there so they can watch and be suitably cowed. Anything truly impressive should be saved for later, when it has the most effect. Shouting, cussing and magical fireworks for effect are still on the table.
Secondly, when you verbally lambaste Hin, open with a "THAT HURT!" to let her know WHY you're so angry and to put her on the defensive for the rest of the interaction.
Thirdly, make sure to reestablish your connection to the Earth Pulse before you really start laying into her - you don't want a trifling issue to distract you from giving her what she deserves.
(Lastly, if you have enough control to do it, growing to the same height as Hin before confronting her would make you seem more impressive.)

1/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:08 No. 586122 ID: 256d52
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>You have lost your calm connection to the earth pulse and are running off blood magic right now Deem. Its making you a bit power mad and sort of horrible.
Of course I have lost that connection! Hin's moved my Heart! But don't be absurd. I have only what little scraps of power I have gathered inside myself. If anything, you might call the earth pulse blood magic given bloodshed stirs it.

Merud hasn't moved yet. He seems strangely uneasy. "What are you going to do when you get out there?"

"What am I going to do?" I laugh. The sound seems brittle to my ears, an edge of hysteria to it. I cut it off and glance backwards at him. "You know, I haven't decided yet. Amazing, you really are that concerned on Hin's behalf? I didn't realise the two of you were so close!"

"I'm worried about you, Deem."

"Don't try to change the subject!" I start walking, letting that ridiculous red coat of his slide through my fingers. "You'd better come along if you want to have any say in her fate. I don't intend to kill her, if that's what you're so worried about."

He starts moving. "Kill?! Deem, wait!"

2/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:10 No. 586125 ID: 256d52
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>There's things buried here in this grave of memories. Things I don't want to know. Things I can't know.
>Things you can't be, I think. Merud's right that you're not acting like yourself. You woke up something else, something I don't think you want to be.
Who am I going to be but myself? This ancient feeling, it focuses my thoughts, strangles my fear, lets me thrust distractions down into the darkness. First Hin. She has to pay for what she's done.

>How about this... now that you are in control, make a large golem. Have it pick her up, handle her like she did your heart. Have it poke her and examine her like some inanimate object.
My abilities and my mana are hardly limitless.

>If you have enough control to do it, growing to the same height as Hin before confronting her would make you seem more impressive.
Do you mean to imply that I am not impressive enough to command her respect in my natural form? That I lack something?

My reinforcement is hardly cheap in terms of mana and as my spell channels have closed slowly I am bleeding the excess as raw mana from my Heart.

>DEEM. Do not do ANYTHING to Hin before you re-attune your heart to the Earth Pulse and let it flow through you again.
I won't have that until I've reclaimed my Heart and let it sit back where it belongs to re-establish its connection. An hour, at least.

>Not sure what the limits of curses are, but if you can rescind them as easily as you place them, then perhaps a simple one will do some good.
If a curse was easy to remove, that would rather defeat the purpose of a curse!

Curses are siblings of enchantment and reinforcement, a power that aggravates flaws and blunts strengths. It is the manifestation of the desire for harm to befall another. To extinguish the light of blessing and draw misfortune upon them.

3/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:11 No. 586126 ID: 256d52
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>Considering your heart is bleeding now's not the time to show off. Lean on Merud or at least let him carry your form back via a golem. Hustle a little.
No.

>While you might have been a power in the old days look where that got you. Even in your prime you needed powerful minions and people you could trust.
I was too trusting!

Merud's following. "Can you tell me what Hin did?" he says, a forced calm in his voice.

"I told you! She took my Heart!"

"What did she do exactly, She cast a spell on it?"

"No."

"She hit it?"

"No."

"She just picked it up then?"

"Don't say it like it's nothing! She hurt me. She has to be punished!"

"You've carried your heart around, your quasidragon has slept on it, and now Alkaline's holding it for you? Even I've touched your heart fragment. What makes Hin any different?"

Endless questions from him again. It's intolerable. "Do you think I enjoy having my link to the force that allows me to think and take action casually severed? Or having to suffer someone toying with the most precious thing I have, forcing me to confront just how terribly broken I am?"

>Hin had concerns over the damage to the dungeon heart. Obviously the way you blew off those concerns when you spoke to her convinced her you weren't going to take them seriously, so she decided to take a look herself.
Th-that's irrelevant! I didn't tell her to do that! She's brought this down on herself!

>She didn't understand that just touching it would tamper with it. She didn't know it was active, or more importantly, that it was you. Because you didn't tell her.
...

4/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:12 No. 586127 ID: 256d52
File 140647753908.png - (21.24KB , 750x480 , can_handle_this.png )

>Expand a little as to why Merud is ignorant, imply past history?
"Do you have any idea how old I am, boy? What I have experienced, what I have been subjected to? I have lain beneath the earth for an eternity. Deprived of gold and the earth pulse, I am voiceless, mindless and at the mercy of my dreams."

>You are acting like the you that, quite possibly, got you into whatever catastrophe that shattered your heart. You don't want to be that person, Deem. That person clearly made mistakes, possibly in anger, much like you are trying to do now. Avoid that.
S-shut up!

"Deem." Merud says taking my hand.

I whirl around. "You dare?!

"Has, has this happened before?" Merud says slowly, as if he's looking for the right words. "Has someone taken your Heart? Someone you trusted?" He's looking at me strangely. Does he pity me? I can't stand it!

He's guessing! How do those wizard eyes of his see these things?! I feel paralysed.

"Deem." he comes closer.

5/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:13 No. 586128 ID: 256d52
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The golemeter wraps his arms around me. "I'm sorry if this too familiar of me," he breathes in my ear. "But seeing you so angry and afraid like that, I just couldn't stand it. Your Heart's going to be safe here. I won't let anything like that happen to you. Hin, Reisarf, Moriko, they're all good people. From what I've seen of Alkaline and that quasidragon of yours, they love you."

My body, rigid with shock, slowly untenses as he speaks. I don't know what to say.

"Do you need a moment to yourself?" Merud says.

"No, stay."

"Never been hugged before?" There's a hint of amusement in his voice.

"...It's not intolerable."

>I don't need them. I don't need anyone. All I need is the earth pulse. It sustains me
>Sounds awful lonely. Any animal can be satisfied with mere sustenance. I would have thought you were greater than that. That you needed more.
I... I don't want to be alone.

6/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:14 No. 586129 ID: 256d52
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>Hin would be horrified to realize what she has done to you. She didn't mean to hurt you, she didn't mean to rape or violate a fundamental part of. If anything proves that, it's that she's not letting go, despite Alkaline, because she doesn't want to allow anything to happen to it.
She was trying to protect me?

>If there's a betrayal here, it's going to be your betraying her. You're about to betray the trust and faith she put in you, and the intent of her actions. You're about to make yourself a monster to her, and make her one to herself.
...I didn't know.

7/7 Deem 2014/07/27(Sun)09:15 No. 586130 ID: 256d52
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>Be sure to reward Alkaline for her loyalty and willingness to jump in on your command.
I... yes, she should be rewarded. I suppose I will have to spend some time with her later.

"Ah, Stargazer, calm down." Reisarf says.

"Rei," Hin says, "I don't want to give any credence to those jokes they make about alienists but was 'Let everyone get captured by the tentacle monster' really your entire plan?"

"She's quieted down, hasn't she?"

"Look, we don't know what else it might do to Alkaline." Alkaline burbles at the mention of her name. "She's not that strong. I can break free and-"

"Fight a child?"

"Do you have a better plan?"

"We wait. It's not ideal, I know, but you might trigger more things if you try to fight her."

"Getting reaaaal tempted to punch a child right now..."

>Deem. We are your advisors, but we cannot help you if you won't listen to us. Almost as one we are saying that punishing her harshly for this accident is a mistake. You've done this before, where your emotions have led you down the wrong path. Please remember that and listen to us. Please.
...

Fine, I'm listening. What should I do next?

Go back and tell them what happened.

need to at least explain why picking the heart up is a bad thing. explain that the heart connects to the earth pulse, and uses it as a source of energy. picking it up without the right preparation causes it a LOT of distress. in this case it called for help from the nearest monster gave it a power boost to help defend it.

I can't see any path except explaining that touching the heart is touching that most central bit of yourself, and that her intrusion was both painful and inappropriate. You have to let her know she hurt you by doing this. Shame her for not trusting that you were keeping the heart concealed for a good reason, and that this callous action hurt you.

Thanks for listening, Deem. Know that wasn't easy.

>What should I do next?
Well, for one thing, you do need to get back to your heart, actually. The stalemate between Hin and Alkaline is only going to last so long before Hin starts believing it's worth the risk to try something.

So priority one: get up there and defuse the situation. Reclaim your heart, get Hin and Reisarf released, calm down / disenchant Alkaline.

Disentangle yourself from Merud, thank him for calming you down, and have him help you up there.

>tell them
Explaining that the heart is you might be enough to explain what happened, and prevent it from happening again. I'm not sure if you want to go into the full detail of what you experienced, though. Deal with a deep seated emotional wound one on one with Merud is one thing- being open with your pain to everyone is another thing all together.

...that and hammering home to Hin that she inadvertently raped you when she was trying to help seems disproportionately cruel. I think they're going to be shaken when they see how haggard you look, even without all the details.

>He's looking at me strangely. Does he pity me? I can't stand it!
I'm not sure pity is the best word for it. He recognizes that you are in pain, and he cares about you. That demands an emotional response. A sympathetic reaction to that pain, an attempt to offer comfort.

Part of not being alone, really.

>He's guessing! How do those wizard eyes of his see these things?
Doesn't have anything to do with being a wizard, I think. Dungeon or no, you're a person. And someone in a position to understand can tell a lot about a person from their reactions, especially from a reaction as raw and powerful as what you just went through. You might as well ask how his eyes missed the sun.

>She was trying to protect me?
From what she saw as your own hubris, and then an unexpected magical reaction, yes. Technically incorrect, but she was acting with good intent.

If you don't want to tell them you're a dungeon you should at least say that her touch nearly caused you to drown because of how the earth pulse works, and explain why she shouldn't touch the stone, or even get too close to it.
When she understands that she might figure out what happened with Alkaline for herself, and if she works that out she will gain a greater appreciation for just how sensitive this is.

>>586130
First off, have Alkaline release Hin at this point, put your Heart back where it belongs, then stand guard in front of it, preventing anyone from coming close to it. Hin will stick around, don't worry about her "getting away". She doesn't even realize she did anything wrong.

Once you arrive on the scene I think you'd better tell them that you're a Dungeon, Deem. Also, try to find out why Hin touching your Heart disrupted your connection to the Earth Pulse. I didn't realize it before, but that IS unusual. Once everything is explained and Hin has some inkling of what she did, she can decide her own punishment.

>>586130
>Fine, I'm listening. What should I do next?
Calmly explain what happened and why. Let them know you are the Dungeon. Trust has to be given to be received.

If you still really don't want to tell them that you're actually the consciousness of the dungeon itself, you should at least explain to that your are intricately linked to the heart.

This shouldn't be a debate. They need to understand who you are and why you do this. It's part of your nature, and while I know that nature doesn't make it easy to trust meatbags, that companionship is going to be important in the coming days.

Be honest, let Hin know she hurt you. You don't need to reveal how much if that makes you uncomfortable, but the remorse that comes from knowing what she did might result in her becoming closer to you. The choice is yours, but honesty is the route most of us recommend.

Revealing everything about your nature as a Dungeon isn't strictly necessary. Explaining that you use the heart's connection to the Earth Pulse to fuel your locomotion and very consciousness is both completely true and communicates everything relevant about the situation.

>>586128
>meanwhile_kallia_started_choking.png
Is kallia allergic to sappiness, corniness, or cheesiness?

>>586249
>Explaining that you use the heart's connection to the Earth Pulse to fuel your locomotion and very consciousness is both completely true and communicates everything relevant about the situation.
Supporting this explanation.

>Also, try to find out why Hin touching your Heart disrupted your connection to the Earth Pulse. I didn't realize it before, but that IS unusual.
Maybe minions to the dungeon are "attuned" to he dungeon heart and therefore to the earth pulse, and hin is not yet minionized?
It could be a bloodline thing, some anti-magical trait that hardens her kind against passive magic flow, which would be helpful in forging powerful enchanted items. Energized items are harmless as long as your ohmic resistance is greater then the voltage potential of the current flowing through the object.
Investigate!



Deem, thank Merud, if you can. Not for anything specific, but because the thing to thank him for is something beyond/below what words can convey.

Remember how explaining about the gold helped quiet some doubts among the team? Similar principle here. There are some very basic operational parameters which are obvious to you, but not to most people.

So, you don't necessarily need to explain everything, but you do need to lay out enough of the underlying principles that loyal minions can avoid making boneheaded mistakes. What the earth pulse is, the degree to which you depend on it (meatbags depend on breathable air and potable water, lot of room for metaphors there), what makes it work better, what messes it up. While you're getting the heart re-seated, narrate your thought process about arranging the gold and so on out loud, in enough detail that, say, Merud would be able to follow those guidelines and usefully patch things up by himself if something even worse happened.

Consider suspending or drastically revising the previously-scheduled duty roster. Prepare to spend the rest of the day getting yourself re-centered, answering stupid questions from people who've never heard of this 'earth pulse' concept before, and nurturing Alkaline as thoroughly as you possibly can - she's earned it.

Your group has some privacy up here on the side of the mountain, and adequate supplies. Eager though you may be to get a proper defensible complex set up, digging out a dungeon is not done in a day. Discussing fundamental priorities now, frustrating and humiliating though it may be, will save even worse trouble down the line.

>>586330
Speaking of the gold, we might want to inform the rest of the gang about the chest and the amulet we found. It's a good morale boost as now there's concrete proof that there's a reward for all the effort put in.

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:48 No. 589286 ID: 256d52
File 140794489294.png - (24.74KB , 800x600 , an_end_to_hugs.png )

>You do need to get back to your heart, actually. The stalemate between Hin and Alkaline is only going to last so long before Hin starts believing it's worth the risk to try something.
I have to get back out there. No matter what good intentions Hin might have, I don't want anyone going off and doing something stupid. Again.

>Explaining that you use the heart's connection to the Earth Pulse to fuel your locomotion and very consciousness is both completely true and communicates everything relevant about the situation.
Hmm, I suppose I must concede I haven't explained terribly much to them thus far.

>You should at least say that her touch nearly caused you to drown
I can't drown.

>Dungeon or no, you're a person. And someone in a position to understand can tell a lot about a person from their reactions, especially from a reaction as raw and powerful as what you just went through. You might as well ask how his eyes missed the sun.
What?! What else did he see?!

>Disentangle yourself from Merud, thank him for calming you down, and have him help you up there.
Back to business. I use Merud's shoulder as a support to steady myself as I stand.

"That's enough." I say. "Time to see to this mess outside. Untangle everything and explains some things."

"You don't need another moment?" Merud asks.

I blink. Water. "I-I must have soaked up more water than I thought." I scrub the tears from my eyes and frown at him. "You shouldn't have squeezed me so hard!" I glance at him and look away, shifting on my feet. "But thanks."

The golemeter gives a snort of what I assume is exertion as he climbs to his feet. "I'll try to be careful about that in the future," he banters. "But you're welcome. If you need to talk about anything, just ask."

"G-good!" I turn and march at the entrance. Why does this all have to be so difficult?

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:51 No. 589287 ID: 256d52
File 140794506379.png - (39.21KB , 800x750 , the_touch_of_the_monster.png )

>So priority one: get up there and defuse the situation. Reclaim your heart, get Hin and Reisarf released, calm down / disenchant Alkaline.
Alkaline seems calm enough and I'll have to wait for the reinforcement magic to wear off. I hope I did not overdo it. She's young. It had to be done, I suppose, and slimes are resilient.

>First off, have Alkaline release Hin at this point, put your Heart back where it belongs, then stand guard in front of it, preventing anyone from coming close to it. Hin will stick around, don't worry about her "getting away". She doesn't even realize she did anything wrong.
My Heart is painfully limited without a dungeon. I can't talk, I can only communicate the vaguest of orders to nearby creatures of the earth pulse. Without the, ah, added encouragement of my reaction to Hin, Alkaline seems more interested in following her own desires.

I suppose she is only a child, after all. She hasn't set my Heart down but at least Hin hasn't made any escape attempts.

"Alkaline, sweetie, you can't hug things all day." Hin tries. "Put the gem down and let us go."

"Blllluu?"

"You doesn't understand a word I'm saying, do you?"

Alkaline squeezes her captives again and strokes Hin's head. I'm almost there. Merud's a little behind me.

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:53 No. 589288 ID: 256d52
File 140794519174.png - (34.84KB , 600x800 , danger_a_giant_slime_is_approaching_fast.png )

She's spotted me approaching out of the corner of her eye. She's suddenly moving.

Alkaline turns, Hin, Reisarf and Stargazer stumbling and falling away from her as she releases them, her face brightening. The slime's still fast and much, much bigger, swelling in my view as she charges.

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:53 No. 589289 ID: 256d52
File 140794521476.png - (17.66KB , 600x600 , if_you_stand_still_she_cant_see_you_deem.png )

I may have made a terrible mistake.

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:54 No. 589290 ID: 256d52
File 140794524861.png - (20.30KB , 600x600 , game_over.png )

I should have remembered how clingy she's been.

Alkaline. Stop. I can barely croak a word out. Between her size, exuberance and added limbs she threatens to engulf me entirely. I try to reach for my Heart.

Movement outside.

>>589289
>Become one with the slime

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:55 No. 589292 ID: 256d52
File 140794530691.png - (39.10KB , 800x600 , picking_up_girls.png )

A few moments of confusion and I find myself, golem body and Heart together, hauled free.

I find myself tucked under one of Hin's arms like a load of laundry. Is everyone going to be too familiar with me today? She's facing down Alkaline, voice sharp and finger raised.

"Alkaline! No! Bad slime! Don't go around grabbing people like that!"

"Blub?" Alkaline shrinks back, picking up on Hin's tone.

Hin glances at me. "Are you alright, De-?"

"Put me down. Now."

The only small mercy is that everyone wasn't here to see this.

"Snnrrr?"

Chakarchelou is behind me, isn't he?

>Also, try to find out why Hin touching your Heart disrupted your connection to the Earth Pulse. I didn't realize it before, but that IS unusual. Once everything is explained and Hin has some inkling of what she did, she can decide her own punishment.
She moved it! That cut my connection and left me with the frightening prospect of being at her mercy.

Deem 2014/08/13(Wed)08:55 No. 589293 ID: 256d52
File 140794534713.png - (174.20KB , 1000x600 , explain_yourself.png )

>Consider suspending or drastically revising the previously-scheduled duty roster. Prepare to spend the rest of the day getting yourself re-centered, answering stupid questions from people who've never heard of this 'earth pulse' concept before, and nurturing Alkaline as thoroughly as you possibly can - she's earned it.
I find my feet with ill grace. I need to talk about this, but any plans I might have had for my entrance have been thoroughly ruined. Moriko approaches warily, coming after Chakarchelou. Alkaline seems content to sit there for the moment. My quasidragon must have reacted to my distress as well. How to start?

Hin speaks first, cutting into my reverie.

"OK, what the hell is going on?"

I look at her with irritation. This is her fault! I bite back a sharp reply. Instead I take a deep breathe. "I can explain everything."

>Calmly explain what happened and why. Let them know you are the Dungeon. Trust has to be given to be received.
>Revealing everything about your nature as a Dungeon isn't strictly necessary.
Actually... I only have to tell them about my reliance on the mana supply to my heart, right? They don't need to know I am really the dungeon. If I tell them, they might tell someone else. Merud shouldn't say anything if I tell him not to. I clutch at my Heart. It's slippery with slime. One of my fingers feels the jagged edge of my wound. This is my secret. I don't know much about how widespread the Dungeoneer's Guild is, or the Harrowers, or how hostile either group would be to me. Maybe I should have insisted Kallia come too...

These thoughts are making me tense, jittery. Should I tell them I am the dungeon?

>>589293
Well I mean, I expect the golemeters among you have already figured THAT much out. And I wouldn't be surprised if captain stare over there does too.
On the other hand, compartmentalization is key to keeping important secrets from getting out.
On the OTHER other hand, showing trust is good.

I say plan to tell them, but maybe not yet. Perhaps later, when they have all proven themselves fully trustworthy. For now, let's talk to Hin and everyone else about the extraordinarily important new "No touching the dungeon heart" rule.

>>589290
...well, I see possibilities for some kind kind of slime based constrictor trap, in the future.

>This is my secret. I don't know much about how widespread the Dungeoneer's Guild is, or the Harrowers, or how hostile either group would be to me.
To be fair, if you assume either group would threaten you, or oppose you setting up a dungeon here, they're going to investigate as soon as they hear about the dungeon, anyways. And word spreading is going to be inevitable, if you want to attract adventurers. Maybe you can conceal your true nature from them when their agents come sniffing around. Maybe not. But if you leave questions unanswered, there's a good chance they'll provide those answers to your allies when they come asking.

Yes, ideally, your allies can't betray secrets they don't know. But they're liable to say the wrong thing in ignorance, or have their loyalty tested if and when they recognize the deceit.

>Maybe I should have insisted Kallia come too
Trying to contain people almost inevitably backfires in some way. I'd trust for the moment that she doesn't have a reason to betray you to those who might do you harm.

>Should I tell them I am the dungeon?
Yes. This is just the first of many many possible confusions, and mistakes that could be made by their failure to understand what you are.

>OK, what the hell is going on?
...you couldn't have know, but when you picked it up, you interrupted the dungeon heart's connection to the earth pulse. My heart. It's not just some damaged relic, that's me. Alkaline reacted to my... distress. (Massive, deadpan understatement).

The obvious follow up to whatever variant of "you couldn't have said this before": I didn't exactly wish to make a weakness obvious. And I think I'm hardly the first person to worry about how people might react to what I am (we've got a Tiefling, half-ogre and alienist. Pretty sure that kind of judgement will resonate with their own experiences). I don't know this age.

>>589294
You should probably tell them; they're going to find out eventually anyway, and it's important they know your nature so everyone can avoid similar incidents in the future.

Plus, what happens if, in the future, someone gets ahold of your heart and you get nearly immobilized again, or worse? If they don't know that you ARE the dungeon heart, they might get the wrong idea and just try to help your golem body, without knowing to address the real threat.

Help them help you; let them know what you are.

I don't see anyone here going to a dungeoneers guild and I don't know what harrowers are. Hin is clearly not interested in adventurers, Merud already knows about you to some degree, and distrusting reisarf or stargazer would be silly, they wouldn't betray you.

I think you can trust Moriko as well, for different reasons.

>>589293
Merud already knows. Hin is half-ogre. Reisarf is an Alienist. Moriko is part Tiefling- DO NOT MENTION THIS OUT LOUD THOUGH. Everyone here understands what it's like to be an outcast. I think you should tell them. Also there's really no way for you to communicate fully to Hin why you're angry without telling her what you are.

Start by saying you didn't want to risk telling more people about this until you were more set up, but you didn't anticipate a problem like this happening. At this point you can drop the bomb- you aren't the golem, you're the Heart. Then tell Hin that you heard what she was saying- that she wanted to fix your heart, and there's nothing you would want more than that. However, she took your heart without permission, without warning, severing your connection to the earth pulse and leaving you at her mercy. That is an unacceptable betrayal of trust and akin to physical assault.

yeah, setting up the dungeon is going to attract everyone interested in dungeons anyway, so may as well get it out now.

>>589293
tell them your a dungeon, its not really something you can hide from them long term since both golems and dungeons are fairly well understood.

Don't tell them now. Trust is great, but as someone above me graciously pointed out, it has to be earned. Normally, I would be willing to extend the courtesy to them because they're a generally trustworthy group, but consider what just happened.

Someone with no ill-intent messed things up something fierce. The point being that none of them is infallible and that mistakes should expected as a matter of course, especially outside of their areas of expertise, which all things Dungeon related are. It's true Hin's mistake was driven in part by ignorance, but the specific issues are easily addressed without revealing the broader, more sensitive, secret of Deem's, and it was Hin's willingness to go behind Deem's back, a typically but unfortunately not in this situation benign level of untrustworthiness, that is ultimately responsible. Hin is the one that needs to earn trust, and the onus isn't on Deem to extend it first.

The only one really equipped to discover Deem's secret already knows it and has proven himself capable of keeping it to himself. I had suspected the Alienist duo of knowing, but recently they've been less savvy on the matter than expected. I put them down as a maybe.

Just tell Hin that she shouldn't have touched your stuff, and explain what you said about your reliance on the heart. Say that you felt it when she moved it and felt violated. Tell her to never do it again.

Just tell the damn truth. These people are gonna work for you, they gotta know the deal.

Tell them. If you're going to trust them at all, if they're going to work with you they need to know how the situation is set up and what is and isn't out of bounds.

First of all, explain that moving the Heart disrupted it's connection to the Earth Pulse, and aggravated the mana leakage, which yes, [sarcasm] thank you Hin, [/sarcasm] you were already fully aware of. That disruption is what incapacitated your golems and provoked a defensive reaction from Alkaline. You're uncomfortable with the heart being touched at all, but unseating it like that is what caused an actual crisis. This is information these people will need to know if they're going to be strategizing rather than acting strictly as obedient minions; if, say, the dungeon were besieged and a tactical retreat became necessary, that distinction could have enormous significance for the allocation of forces and exact timing of such a retreat.

Then ask Reisarf what he thought you meant when you said "It's all I know." Before you can even consider strengthening your informational security, you've got to figure out who's already figured it out.

>>589293
Something along the lines of.. "I am bound to this heart. You saw the somewhat crude patch made upon it? Would you so callously jostle around a person with a wound in their body, patched in such a delicate way? Dungeon hearts are more than simply a magical oddity: they live."

They might take the hint without directly telling them that you're the Dungeon. Perhaps thinking that she's harmed or frightened a separate entity that isn't familiar with her will temper her curiosity in the future

1/4 Deem 2014/10/26(Sun)09:42 No. 599416 ID: 256d52
File 141434172143.png - (14.18KB , 700x450 , not_to_scale.png )

>This is just the first of many many possible confusions, and mistakes that could be made by their failure to understand what you are.
I suppose it was foolish to believe I could hide it forever.

"This happened because you stole my Heart."

"Stole?" Hin bristles with indignation. "Is that what you think happened? For your information, I was trying to help you." She glances behind her. "Tell her, Rei!"

Reisarf's distracted, struggling with Stargazer. She seems to be trying to move away.

She makes a little noise of frustration, seeing no help from that quarter. "It's damaged, Deem. The crack is plain to see and it's acting erratically. I wanted to make sure you weren't understating the dangers. It shouldn't be casting spells by itself. We got lucky with Alkaline, but what if it starts affecting hostile monsters? The earth pulse isn't something to be meddled with lightly!"

I do not appreciate being disparaged or talked down to like this at all.

I find myself grinding my teeth in frustration. "Did it not occur to you to ask me about it?"

"I did ask!"

>Merud already knows. Hin is half-ogre. Reisarf is an Alienist. Moriko is part Tiefling- DO NOT MENTION THIS OUT LOUD THOUGH. Everyone here understands what it's like to be an outcast. I think you should tell them. Also there's really no way for you to communicate fully to Hin why you're angry without telling her what you are.
And I am angry.

>Start by saying you didn't want to risk telling more people about this until you were more set up, but you didn't anticipate a problem like this happening. At this point you can drop the bomb- you aren't the golem, you're the Heart.
Well then, the facts. I close my eyes for a moment to steady myself. Just looking at Hin is making me mad. I shift my hold on my Heart to show the fragment embedded in my golem body.

"Fine. I had hoped to wait until things were more settled, but my hand has been forced. I am more closely linked to this Heart than you realise."

"Long ago, my Heart was damaged. I don't remember how. I awakened because Chakarchelou-" "Snnr?" he rubs against my leg - "brought gold near my Heart. I was able to embed the broken fragment into this body." I run a finger over the fragment. It's an eerie sensation.

"Wait, you're saying you are the Heart? How is that possible?"

"That's irrelevant!" I say. Sharper than I intended. I'd best push on.

2/4 Deem 2014/10/26(Sun)09:43 No. 599417 ID: 256d52
File 141434180043.png - (37.16KB , 800x550 , hin_dun_goofed.png )

>Then tell Hin that you heard what she was saying- that she wanted to fix your heart, and there's nothing you would want more than that. However, she took your heart without permission, without warning, severing your connection to the earth pulse and leaving you at her mercy. That is an unacceptable betrayal of trust and akin to physical assault.
"I need the mana supplied by the earth pulse to remain awake. Moving my Heart breaks this connection."

Hin shakes her head. She seems agitated. "Look, I know I did something I shouldn't have but that heart-" it seems she doesn't truly believe me - "still had a ton of mana in it. It'd be maybe an hour's disruption. Not a problem at all."

"So it would be fine for me to unexpectedly strangle you, because you can hold your breathe for a time?" An unfair comparison, perhaps, but I want it to hurt her.

"I- shit."

"Imagine being kidnapped!" I say, voice rising. "No, imagine dying. You are attacked, struck, wounded. Perhaps mortally. Your limbs are robbed of power, your senses overloaded, you can feel your vital force leeching away. The terror of knowing that a tiny span of time is all you have left to act, to save yourself, and the terrible uncertainty if not knowing if you'll ever wake up again when the last of your strength gives out."

I slash my hand downward for emphasis. "That is what you did!" I hate the shrill edge to my voice.

Hin recoils as if I'd actually struck her.

Merud moves between us. "Deem, wait. Just take a moment, calm down."

"Blooooorb." What is that? A sound of utter tragedy, like finding a bag filled with gold to really be nothing but pyrite.

3/4 Deem 2014/10/26(Sun)09:44 No. 599418 ID: 256d52
File 141434185507.png - (30.11KB , 650x540 , i_need_an_adult.png )

Alkaline is huddled up, pawing at Hin's belt to get her attention. There's a dark stain inside her. Part of her is bubbling. Has she swallowed something?

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

My heart was leaking raw mana as well.

Raw mana. Bent magic. Bad magic. Curdled power all tangled up on itself.

Not dangerous, unless it's allowed to interact with something. It'll harmlessly effervesce away if left alone. You could almost bathe in it. Under controlled conditions, it's even potentially useful for that spark of chaos, altering items or creating different types of monsters.

She had my Heart inside her.

4/4 Deem 2014/10/26(Sun)09:44 No. 599419 ID: 256d52
File 141434188420.png - (25.00KB , 700x600 , deem_dun_goofed.png )

I clutch my Heart to myself. My thoughts are churning. Dread is welling up from the hollows inside me. I keep returning to one question: Am I to blame for this?

Alkaline didn't do anything wrong. She's done nothing but help me. Why is this happening? I feel a thickness in my throat and swallow compulsively. This isn't fair. Is this... this is my fault.

What have I done? Isn't there something I should be doing?

Why am I just standing there?

well crap, so could we just remove the slime bits that are bubbling or would that not do anything? I mean unless you have something to counter the magic inside of her the only thing I can think of is removing the infected parts of slime. But with little to no idea about the workings of magic I don't know if either are viable choices.

I think you'd better take out the infected slime, then. Time for slime surgery!

>Why am I just standing there?
Shock, conflicted emotions? You just went from desperate fear for your life to murderous rage to cruel anger to sudden guilt and despair. That takes a toll on the mind.

>Isn't there something I should be doing?
Yes, there is.

You're probably the person here with the most familiarity and knowledge with monster biology and injuries. Who has the most intimate understanding of raw mana. You are the single most qualified person here to attempt to treat Alkaline. That's what you need to focus on. Let the anger and grief fall aside, set your heart to the side, and focus on the task at hand. You have a patient at hand. An injured monster you need to tend to.

What do you need to help her?

poke your finger into the mana blob and leech it away into something constructive.

>>599419
calm down, she's not dead yet. move and fix her.

Is alkaline too young to split? We could force her to split off the chaos infected bits and then confine the chaos slime. Hell, a chaos magic infused slime would make for an excellent disposable monster in your dungeon.

We do want to make sure it doesn't corrupt her though. She's too valuable to have acting erratically. If you have to cut it out or siphon it off do it quickly, as when the reinforcement magic fades it's likely to be a much larger percentage of her total.

Moriko looks angry~

>>599419
Empathy and guilt can be a paralyzing mixture. If you're really worried, you can make it up to her later by hanging out like she wants. After you fix her.

Would reinforcing her further in any way help her endure the raw mana, Deem? Enchantment? Merud got any batteries he can siphon it off into? Might break them, but I doubt he'd be worried especially given the circumstances.

turn your hand into a large cup/plunger shape, stab with great force through Alkaline, to remove the bad blob.

I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say, yeah, part of it is conflicting emotions, but the other part is that thing you were telling Hin about a minute ago. Are you still, figuratively speaking, holding your breath, turning blue, and about to pass out? Yes, I'm aware you're already literally black and blue, and that doesn't spoil the metaphor at all.

Priority one is to get your heart re-seated.

Priority two is emergency surgery for Alkaline. Scoop out the thaumotoxins, use reinforcement to replace the scooped-out bit with healthy slime, rinse off the scoop, repeat until she's stabilized.

Everything else, guilt and blame and earthshattering revelations and all that crap, can wrestle for the lower slots. Tactics, right? You know how to do tactics. Don't argue about which way to expand the tunnels while the kitchen's on fire.

On a more strategic note, Hin is now aware of the magnitude of her error. Errors happen, and an effective organization has ways of dealing with them. This problem with Alkaline is a perfectly timed opportunity to teach your subordinates the CORRECT way to respond in the immediate aftermath of discovering their own culpability for a teammate-endangering mistake, by demonstrating the procedure yourself. Fix it! Move!

1/5 Deem 2014/11/23(Sun)05:40 No. 604561 ID: 256d52
File 141675000371.png - (28.43KB , 750x600 , very_important_mission.png )

>Why am I just standing there?
>Shock, conflicted emotions? You just went from desperate fear for your life to murderous rage to cruel anger to sudden guilt and despair. That takes a toll on the mind.
I have no use for guilt or despair. I don't want to feel like this.

>You're probably the person here with the most familiarity and knowledge with monster biology and injuries. Who has the most intimate understanding of raw mana. You are the single most qualified person here to attempt to treat Alkaline. That's what you need to focus on. Let the anger and grief fall aside, set your heart to the side, and focus on the task at hand. You have a patient at hand. An injured monster you need to tend to.
I need to act. I do not wish for Alkaline to be punished for my failings.

Here, Chakarchelou. Guard my heart.

>I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say, yeah, part of it is conflicting emotions, but the other part is that thing you were telling Hin about a minute ago. Are you still, figuratively speaking, holding your breath, turning blue, and about to pass out?
It will take up to an hour to re-establish my connection to the earth pulse. I still have a moderate chunk of the - admittedly dregs of - mana I started with when my connection was severed. Unless I try another high power reinforcement, I will be fine.

>Yes, I'm aware you're already literally black and blue, and that doesn't spoil the metaphor at all.
I don't see what this has to do with anything.

2/5 Deem 2014/11/23(Sun)05:41 No. 604562 ID: 256d52
File 141675008962.png - (22.26KB , 600x800 , chaperone.png )

I move away and Chakarchelou settles protectively over my Heart. Moriko remains in place but moves into a guard stance. Chakarchelou gronks. He tosses back his head and stares at her, jaw wagging. I don't think he likes her standing so close.

She gives the quasidragon an aside glance. He shifts nervously, trying to decide if he's in trouble.

>Moriko looks angry~
No, I am fairly sure that is her normal face. She's very intense!

>Is alkaline too young to split? We could force her to split off the chaos infected bits and then confine the chaos slime. Hell, a chaos magic infused slime would make for an excellent disposable monster in your dungeon.
Far too young.

'Chaos' is a little misleading. Raw mana is more congealed potentiality. It's looking for a way to express itself. It is unpredictable but its effects are manipulable by adjusting the environment of its exposure and what it is allowed to interact with. Creating a path of lower resistance, if you like.

That being said, cutting parts off a slime does relatively little harm to them...

3/5 Deem 2014/11/23(Sun)05:43 No. 604563 ID: 256d52
File 141675018427.png - (35.28KB , 800x500 , stain_removal.png )

>I think you'd better take out the infected slime, then. Time for slime surgery!
"We need to get that raw mana out of her." I say. "It shouldn't hurt her if the slime around it is removed too." Especially if it is done it while she's still reinforced.

"Right!" Merud says. No further words. He steps forward, motioning Hin aside. He activates the golem spell embedded in his robes, and twists one half of his split over-robe into a hand. Another step and he pushes the hand into Alkaline's quivering body, where the raw mana is bubbling and boiling like an infected wound. Fingers of flat, reinforced fabric close around the raw mana like a scoop and then he pulls the whole dripping, bubbling mess free.

Alkaline flops onto her back with an indignant squeak. I will take that as a good sign.

>Poke your finger into the mana blob and leech it away into something constructive.
If only it were that easy. Raw mana isn't in a usable state!

>Would reinforcing her further in any way help her endure the raw mana, Deem?
Letting raw mana come into contact with a half formed spell is the absolute worst thing I could do!

4/5 Deem 2014/11/23(Sun)05:45 No. 604564 ID: 256d52
File 141675031093.png - (26.20KB , 800x600 , the_utility_of_containers.png )

Reisarf and Stargazer rush up with pots from the camp.

Merud dumps the slimy mess of raw mana into the pot Reisarf holds out for him. Reisarf fumbles a moment then jams the pot's lid on. He holds it tight, bubbles escaping from one side as he fights to press the lid in place and seal it properly. Good thinking, it shouldn't have anything else to react with.

Stargazer pours water over Alkaline to rinse out the wound.

A few seconds more and the reinforcement spell ends. The extra tentacles fall apart and Alkaline shrinks back to her normal size, though it leaves the ground around her treacherous with slimy residue. It smells vaguely of citrus.

5/5 Deem 2014/11/23(Sun)05:46 No. 604565 ID: 256d52
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I carefully pick my way across the slippery ground. Alkaline seems to have bounced back though I can't yet know if the exposure to raw mana has had any long term effects.

>On a more strategic note, Hin is now aware of the magnitude of her error. Errors happen, and an effective organization has ways of dealing with them. This problem with Alkaline is a perfectly timed opportunity to teach your subordinates the CORRECT way to respond in the immediate aftermath of discovering their own culpability for a teammate-endangering mistake, by demonstrating the procedure yourself. Fix it! Move!
I didn't do anything...

Stop saying you didn't do anything.

You did not directly cause this mess. And its really not your fault that it happened. It came about because of a complex mess of innocent errors and mistakes.

But you are the leader here. When something happens you are the final authority and have to make the tough decisions. Stop trying to place blame and worry about finding who is at fault. Instead work to fix things and make sure that the chain of events that caused them can not happen again.

Your people will learn from this little fiasco. What they learn from it depends on how you handle things.

you are the commander and your troops executed your will in an efficient manner. they were staring at the problem without any idea of what to do until you said something. a well oiled machine needs very little effort to get it to do what you want.

>>604565
You told Merud how to deal with it. You still helped. Now go apologize to Alkaline for putting her in danger. Give her a hug, maybe.

Then, I think you'd better address the group. They know you're a dungeon now. Does this change anyone's mind about helping you set up? You have no intention of posing a threat to the town if anyone's worried about that. You just want to do what you were meant to do.

>I have no use for guilt or despair. I don't want to feel like this.
Generally the point of negative emotions. You're not supposed to want to feel that way.

>contaminated slime in a bucket
Besides keeping that sealed until it cools down, is there any use for that? I don't know if magically radioactive sludge is a reagent we might have a use for later, or if it's just dangerous waste to dispose of.

>I didn't do anything...
You gave the orders, and you recruited competent people able to act quickly on them. That's how a leader deals with problems.

>what do
Thank you people for their efforts, see about getting things back in order around here, and then suck it up and spend time hanging out with the little slime girl who just took a big risk for you. After what happened she could use the emotional support of getting time with you, you're not in good shape to do much else, and you can use the opportunity to watch for any symptoms or problems.

>>604565
Go feel sorry for yourself with Hin. You're both screw-ups! Together!

Deem 2014/11/24(Mon)03:45 No. 604951 ID: 256d52
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>Generally the point of negative emotions. You're not supposed to want to feel that way.
I am aware of that. That doesn't mean I like it.

>You told Merud how to deal with it. You still helped. Now go apologize to Alkaline for putting her in danger. Give her a hug, maybe.
I am sorry for putting you through that after all you did for me, Alkaline.

She is still very clingy. I will allow this.

>Besides keeping that sealed until it cools down, is there any use for that? I don't know if magically radioactive sludge is a reagent we might have a use for later, or if it's just dangerous waste to dispose of.
It's potentially useful, but I'd want to wait until I had an arcane workshop set up before opening it up again. Hopefully that was not an important pot.

Deem 2014/11/24(Mon)03:46 No. 604952 ID: 256d52
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I try ruffling what passes for Alkaline's hair. She makes a high pitched noise - "Bleee~" - and nuzzles me. She's so easy to please. What on earth did I do to inspire this level of feeling.

>You gave the orders, and you recruited competent people able to act quickly on them. That's how a leader deals with problems.
I suppose so, though some core of discontent still gnaws at me.

>Go feel sorry for yourself with Hin. You're both screw-ups! Together!
Wait, where's Hin gone?

Has she run off? Should I send someone after her? Maybe I should go after her. But I don't want to leave Alkaline just yet. I need to watch to see if there's any complications and I did say I would spend time with her...

Merud is trustworthy and wanted to mediate when he saw you come out. See if he can talk to her, at least to explain that you want to see her again and discuss things more calmly while you keep an eye on Alkaline.

>>604952
Maybe Alkaline thinks of you as a mother figure? You're the one who unstoppered her bottle. Plus you're magically impressive and that's something she should be able to sense to some degree, right? You probably have a comforting and pleasurable presence to her, like the sun... has on people who aren't you. Boo sun, the sun is bad.

As for Hin, ask if anyone saw where she went. If she headed to camp or the caves, you should be able to talk to her with Alkaline along without issue.

If Hin went off in some unknown direction, send Moriko after her with the message that you'd like to talk things over before she makes any decisions.

>>604951
>>604952

Moriko is the one most likely to know where Hin went, and most capable of getting them back here if they get lost or fall in a hole.

Stargazer may have seen where Hin wandered off, so inquire to her first.

As strange as it seems, however, Charkarchelou may be the best one to fetch back Hin. He's friendly and doesn't talk, but listens good. Moriko is too standoffish. Merund is wishy-washy.

it's hard to tell but, stargazer looks... sad?

>>604952
Ask Moriko to stop looking at you like that. You're not her enemy. She should know more than anyone here not to judge someone based on what they are.

If you don't talk to Hin, soon, I doubt she's coming back. This a situation that needs resolving.

>what do
Thank the others for their help, and ask if anyone saw where Hin went. Sending someone is probably reasonable. Just knowing you want to talk may be enough.

>>604965
Maybe? I read it as tired, especially since Reisarf looks beat.

>>604981
I'm not so sure she is looking at her like that. It's a little hard to distinguish her taking a guard stance over what was just revealed to be her employer's weak spot, or her taking a guard stance against us where she happened to stand. She always looks intense, anyways.

>>604987
Oh, in that case, I suppose we should ask if Stargazer is alright. She looks weakened, and was distressed earlier when Alkaline was in trouble.

>>604952
Ask merud to go find hin, I figure some words are in order with her, settle this whole mess down a bit so we can get back on track.

I think you are going to need to go after Hin yourself now. Being in charge means taking responsibility for what happens.
Ask Merud to look after Alkaline, and then Stargazer if she saw Hin leaving.

Didn't do anything? You're a dungeon heart, under normal circumstances a smooth sphere. When something physical needs to be done, issuing orders to someone with actual hands is a perfectly appropriate response on your part, and absolutely counts as 'doing something.'

Ask Moriko where Hin went, since she was on guard rather than participating in the cleanup so she's the most likely to have noticed.

Chase after Hin, and bring Alkaline along when you do. Having a slime princess cuddling up to you will make you seem less threatening to your blacksmith, and watching you reconcile things with a blacksmith will help your slime princess develop her social skills.

As for how to approach Hin... you basically accused her of sneaking up on you and choking you half to death. She may be under the impression that you don't want her around anymore. Would you still be willing to set up a Primal Forge and let her work there, once she's apologized and gone over all the safety procedures and so forth? If so, start by telling her that.