Wingnoodle! Yes, Fluffles’ Ascension has brought with it a pair of feathery wings, officially making him a quatl. He’s gotten a bit bigger, too. He was around six feet long before, but now he’s pushing ten. It’ll be a tighter fit for him in some of the snake tunnels now, especially with those wings, but he should still be able to get around with ease.

His MP bar also looks different… in that it’s not there anymore. He seems a little curious about that, too, as he levitates a couple nearby rocks. I can feel the tiniest trickle of my mana being used when he does. He uses my mana to cast stuff now? That’s… probably made him my most dangerous scion by far. If he has my full pool of mana to draw on, the snek could probably levitate things all day without breaking a sweat. I wouldn’t want him to waste my mana like that, though.

He seems to come to the same conclusion, and I tell him to head down to the public war room to introduce himself. In the meantime, Yvonne answers Elf Guy’s question as best she can.

“Fluffles is, as you know, the snake scion. He’s a magic user, mostly force, I think. I’m no mage. He and Teemo here both tend to wander the Dungeon and tend to various tasks, though Teemo is usually blazing new trails.

She smiles at the rat scion on her shoulder, and even gives him some little pets before continuing. “Teemo is the rat scion and Scout. He’s always exploring the Dungeon and creating shortcuts for the denizens and even residents. He, Fluffles, and Tiny were all involved in the raid on Neverrest. He tried to save me when the skeleton scion threw a lifedrinking sword at me. If not for the enchantment, he would have succeeded in that, too.”

“So you’re actually undead?” asks Freddie, looking confused. “I’ve heard rumors, but nobody actually believes them.” Yvonne sighs and nods.

“I am. The Dungeon was able to help me return. The Raven gave me the choice of returning, or going to my final reward, and I chose to stay.”

Nobody really has any reply to that, which I find kinda interesting. I would have thought Freddie would want to grill Yvonne about what the afterlife was like, or about this Raven or something, but no. I guess the crystal shield church doesn’t really deal with ferrying souls? Either way, that seems to have answered his question so thoroughly that it just leaves a bit of an awkward silence. You can’t just follow up someone telling about how they died and came back with asking how their day was.

Thankfully, Fluffles shows up not long after, and Elf Guy’s professional demeanor gets things rolling again.

“Snake Scion has Ascended to be a quatl. Has Conduit title, so at the very least, Fourdock has Subsumed a dungeon. Scion is named Fluffles, and despite the unassuming name, the Scion should not be engaged in combat. If it was able to reach any dungeon’s core, let alone Neverrest’s, it was a strong Scion even before Ascending.”

Fluffles likes the praise and coils into a very satisfied position as Elf Guy makes his voice notes, or reports to someone, or however the rock actually works. The kids just look at my wingnoodle with definite looks of awe, which only makes Fluffles happier.

All right you snekbird, that’s enough basking in adoration. Jello’s been running around as quickly as she can to try to keep the tunnels clear of invaders. She could use your help down there. He nods to the nothing that is me, and nods at Yvonne and Teemo as well, before flapping his wings and gliding down the tunnels. I think he’s looking forward to actually putting his new abilities to the test.

They all head through the tunnels and Yvonne gives what basic information that she can about the other scions, which gives me an idea for something to do once I get delvers back and making me mana. Elf Guy just continues speaking notes into the rock and asking questions, most of which I have Teemo nod to.

The only real thing I flat out refuse to give him info on is my core location, and the other secret rooms. That’s for Residents only. I don’t think Elf Guy would do anything nefarious with the info, but I don’t know every single person in the Office of Dungeon Affairs. Even in a fantasy world, bureaucracy will get corrupt. I dunno what a normal delver would be able to do with my core, but I’m in no hurry to find out.

He stops trying to wheedle that kind of info out of Yvonne, between encounters with slimes, once they reach the crypt complex, and he starts taking notes on the surroundings again, as Yvonne leads them around the various deadly traps.

“Confirm that Neverrest had numerous potent and deadly traps in its catacombs. Also confirm that all appear to be wearing off. This corroborates the Resident’s claim Fourdock has no interest in those traps and has set these to expire. Recommend catacombs be off limits for approximately a month, and recommend scheduling the next inspection for that time.”

They get close to the Enclave, and Elf Guy and the kids all seem surprised to see the ratlings standing guard at the doorway.

“Ratling Enclave encountered, appears advancement will be finishing shortly.” He looks to Yvonne to see if she has anything to add, which she does.

“Aranya said she wishes to do some ritual with them later, once she awakens. She tried to explain it to me, but I’m not sure what it actually entails. I only understood that it should finish the advancement of the ratlings and make them a true Enclave.” The inspector nods at that and speaks to the rock again.

“Enclave will likely finish advancement tonight, much more quickly than any other enclave I’m personally aware of. Likely due to guidance of Resident Aranya. Recommend delvers stay away from Enclave unless specifically invited. There are guards posted, and though they have made no advances towards us, I doubt they would be so passive if we actually wanted to enter. Looks like ratlings will be Ratkin Dwellers.”

You what? Everyone else seems to think that explains everything, but I don’t! Thankfully, I have a library not far from here, and a bunch of bees to deliver a message! I’ll just spend a little mana and write… why can’t I write? I did it before! Maybe if I make it a quest? I try to focus harder on the little scrap of paper in the library, but all I feel is a weird equivalent to a headache as it feels like something else talks to me? It’s just a concept in my mind, a quick bit of information, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t put it there.

Dungeons may only communicate via their Voice

What was that?!

And what’s a Voice?