Business has been booming! The maze has become a huge success! I dunno if it was from dumping elf guy outside, or from the flier on the front door, but people are practically lining up to run the hedge maze! Most people literally run it, too; sprinting to try to find a chest or various nodes, before sprinting out. It’s about a coin flip for them to get out without losing anything to the rats like that, which seems to be the challenge most people are after. Tiny has taken to just ignoring the ones that don’t go very deep.

The kids actually did a real run of the maze, though. They got two chests before Tiny caught up to them. Freddie took one for the team and got captured, but Rhonda got to escape with all her goodies. I told Tiny to take his shiny new hatchet instead of his shield. That thing’s a bit of a memento, after all.

Rhonda actually followed Fluffles as he levitated Freddie out the gate, and I’m all but positive she helped him out of the webbing before they went off to do whatever they do. They’re both looking healthier and stronger each time I see them, too. I swear Freddie’s grown a foot since I first saw him, and Rhonda is much more confident, though still fairly quiet, seems like. I hope they’re old enough to ship, because I definitely do.

The bulletin board Library was a great idea, too. Lots of people read the flier to see if anything has changed, and I make sure to note things, like the new garden and lab in the house. The lab doesn’t really need a warning, as I don’t have anything specific in the way of anyone getting there, random encounters aside.

The Garden, of course, has the warning of the boss in the way, though I don’t say exactly what it’ll ever be. Partially so I can change it as needed for various delvers. Sorry herbalists. If you want to see what fancy stuff Coda’s been growing, you need to bring a couple friends to help get you there.

Poe has earned himself a title, which is pretty cool. Marshal. I’m pretty sure it’s not like a sheriff, but more like someone who marshals the troops, gets them doing what they need to do and such. He’s been practically handling my expeditions on his own now, too, which I think is also what a marshal would do.

The public Lab has also been paying dividends. I’ve watched a bunch of herbalists whip up a few potions of this and that in there. I’ve written them down in the Secret Library, which I’ve upgraded a few more times, and Queen is happily working away in the Secret Lab.

Speaking of Queen, the healing ants experiment was a success! It’s still pretty difficult to make the goo for it, but I now have a few medical ants stationed nearby the various high-threat areas, mostly the attic and basement. I’ve upgraded the Lab a few more times, too, and have been slowly stocking it as my rats ‘borrow’ little bits and pieces from the alchemists in the public Lab.

And speaking of the ants, one of my plans has fallen through. I had joked to myself about carpenter ants doing carpentry, and I was starting to wonder if it would actually work that way. Well, from the random ants that the hill spits out, it doesn’t seem so. They’re just really big ants. Well, not really big, but I’m pretty sure they’d get there if I upgraded them, but Tiny is all the big I need for now.

So now I’m looking to expand, but have no idea where to expand. Up is somehow still an option. I get the feeling it’s for something later, once I figure out how to build more structures. Or maybe I can build on the clouds? Who knows.

Out is also somehow an option. It’s easily the most expensive, but it’s also very tempting. The War Room seems to imply that I’d get the entire town if I expand outward. That’s interesting, but also concerning. It’d be cool to have truly intelligent Denizens, but how will it work if I try to tell them to do stuff?

And that’d be a lot of ground to cover to defend. I don’t know that the townsfolk would appreciate suddenly having a severe infestation of roaches, flies, and mice, or the spiders and rats to deal with them.

No, I think expanding outward is something I’m just not ready for, and I dunno if I ever will be. What I do think I’m ready for, though, is to expand down. I know there’s stone down there. I mean, logically, there has to be.

There’s also probably tons of cool new resources to gather down there, too, like ores and gems and stuff! I could make a smithy and an armory, and actually be able to do stuff with them! And a jewlers? I guess?

Of course, there will also be new invaders. There always have been, whenever I expand. I’m pretty sure they’d basically have to come in through the basement, and the swarm I have there is serious business. Anything digging would be like the moles, so the vipers should be able to handle it, at least until I get whatever my new spawner is established.

I’ve been saving up more mana than I actually need to expand, wanting to make sure I’ll have enough to upgrade my spawner and get my other denizens up to snuff for whatever awaits. I wish I could fit Tiny into the basement for when I do this, but Teemo is a good replacement. He’s not huge and tanky, but he is small and sneaky, and I’ve seen him do some serious damage to invaders that manage to get into the house. With him and Fluffles waiting under the basement stairs, I spend the mana to expand downward.

In Rhonda’s Lab (technically Old Staiven’s, but she has a little section to herself), she prepares to put the finishing touches on a batch of lightning resist potions. With the Dungeon being given the all clear, and the sheer number of lightning-enchanted denizens in there now, it’s second only to the classic healing potion as far as popularity goes!

She grabs the jar of ferromoss before Lucas gives a little hiss and hops onto her shoulder from atop a pile of books. “Huh? What’s wrong?” Her familiar is usually so quiet, only hissing when…

The various glassware starts rattling in their various holders, and Rhonda’s eyes widen as she realizes what’s happening. “Earthquake! Lucas, web what you can to keep it from breaking!” She’s just glad her potions are at a point where she can rest for now. Lucas literally jumps into action, webbing things that are wiggling too much for his liking. Anything that wiggles too much reminds him of flies or roaches, and he’s all too happy to make them stop moving. His goblin is much different than the dungeon was, but he’s pretty sure he’s much different than he was now, too. Different isn’t always better, but when it is, it’s much better. And he thinks this different is pretty good.

“Master! The Lab!” she shouts up the stairs, and he shouts back down at her. “You and that spider mind the lab! I’m keeping the shop from exploding up here!” Rhonda sheepishly nods, even though her master can’t see. The lab, ironically enough, is one of the most stable places in the store. The selling floor is just chocked full of various enchanted things designed to help defend oneself. If they started going off from falling in this quake, some broken glassware would be the least of their worries.

Freddie meditates in his small room in the church. While part of him wants a bigger room with at least a window more designed for looking than for just letting in a bit of air, another part of him reminds him that this is still a far better situation than being on the street. He has a bed, he has warm or cool clothing, depending on the situation. He has brothers and sisters to support him, as is only proper for followers of the Crystal Shield.

He also has Fiona, his spider. When he first got her, he thought she was some curse or test of his burgeoning faith. But now, he feels she was a lesson sent to teach him to look beyond simple appearances. Fiona has been much better of a companion than he could have possibly imagined. She’s even helped him sneak a spare sweet roll from the kitchen on occasion. He knows he shouldn’t, but if he were perfect, he wouldn’t have much use for a god, would he?

As the floor starts to rumble, he nervously offers a quick prayer of apology. Surely a little bit of joking wisdom wouldn’t earn him some smiting, would it? Sounds of alarm outside make him suspect it’s not actually his fault, since other people are feeling the rumbling. “Come on, Fiona,” he says as he stands, grabbing his shield as he exits his room. He still hasn’t had a chance to replace his hatchet after that huge spider got him in the maze.

“What’s going on?” he asks one of the hurrying sisters. Though she seems busy, she doesn’t seem to be panicking, so that’s probably a good sign.

“An earthquake, young brother! Come, help me with my supplies. There may soon be wounded to tend to.” He nods and follows her, and Fiona follows him. Her orc is a good orc. He feeds her and lets her protect. He doesn’t have a core or anything similar, but he’s shown her she can protect all kinds of things. Sometimes she misses the dungeon, but she can protect it and her orc at once now, which is nice.

In the Dungeoneer’s Guild, the elven woman jerks up from her desk as things start rumbling. She was meditating and mentally processing her reports, not napping on them. It takes her a few seconds to process what’s happening… and why.

She quietly swears to herself, glad the rumbling would mask it if there were anyone around to even hear. “Where did I put that seal?! Ah, gotcha!” She snags a sealing stamp from among everything rattling, and deftly plucks a brush and inkwell up as well. The last thing she needs is a scroll, and she knows exactly where the scroll is.

Of course she does, it’s not like any of the other dungeons have been behaving oddly. The rumbling starts to taper off as she paints the seal with ink, and everything is still by the time she unrolls the scroll, and quickly stamps it.

Fourdocks Dungeon

DEEP