Aaron

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The Design Lead has granted you limited use of the Zone Core (Structure):[Aaron's Room] to assist in Territory Management.

The Design Lead has granted you access to spawn all plants and most creatures available to the Studio of Capricious Dreams. This ability applies only within your Territory.

The Design Lead has granted you access to all Structure and Exportable materials. This ability applies only within your Territory.

*** *** ***

That message greeted Aaron when he awoke on the third day since landing on Rhofhir. He wanted to see what lay on the other side of the Lotrot portal, to discover what the plants and animals were like, but Rob and Jason had teamed up with Lena to argue against him going out — for now. Aaron wasn't much of one for politics, but at this point even acting as a bus boy for the negotiations going on outside was starting to look attractive.

It wasn't that Buttercup wasn't fascinating, but he didn't know enough about her species to know what she needed, and there was only so much he could stand of watching the dire cat sleep.

Rob's territory had splintered off from his last night, so now Aaron had no one looking over his shoulder. He had had fun experimenting with trap building, and the exercise had helped him get much more comfortable with the Territory Management stuff.

Before anything else, Aaron investigated what his spawning options were, and the lists were wonderfully long. The Local Grasses listed over 30 varieties, with Local Bushes and Local Fungi having a similar breadth. The Local Trees option contained only three entries: Water Tree, Star Queen Apple Tree, and Fig Nut Tree, but there were additional "Misc." trees including another type of apple tree, two more nut trees, and a Star Banana tree. He found focusing in on the names of the different options gave him additional information.

*** *** ***

Breath Bane (Grass): This potent variety of Garlic prefers to grow in the shade of Water Trees. Most cooks prefer to use an oil pressed from the garlic cloves as opposed to the cloves themselves as the act of cutting or crushing these garlic bulbs has a tendency to set the stench of the Breath Bane in the nearest porous surface.

*** *** ***

That sounded like a garlic Aaron had to try.

But, responsibility tugged at the young man.

«Good morning?» He asked across the G.C.

Lena responded. «Good Pre-Dawn Morning, I think. No one else is awake yet, seeing as Candy just went to sleep. Even Buttercup's curled up in the cave-i-tat you made her. I'm upgrading the plumbing in the bath house, but I'm leaving one of the showers alone until the others are working. The replacement process is fascinating! Oh, and I've made some stuff for the talks, just to make things easier. I have never been able to split my attention this well before! I love it! And, sorry, talking your ear off!»

«Okay, I'll go take my shower and get started on hauling stuff out,» he said, eager at getting his first look at their new place.

By the time Aaron started hauling platforms out of the Studio, true dawn had broken. The rim of the sky was warm with rich golds divided by a barely noticeable green band before giving way to pale blues. The sun itself was nowhere to be seen, though. The cave didn't give them a terrible amount of side to side room, but it was at least tall enough for Aaron to stand up straight.

He leaned the first platform against the rock face near the cave entrance and took a good look around. Enormous outcroppings of a gray-brown granite-like rock and lone willow-looking trees dotted steppe land as far as Aaron could make out. The temperature was mild, the grass more winter bleached than golden with hints of new-growth green peeking through and dew — not frost — glinting here and there as dew droplets caught the light just right.

"Well, not tundra, at least," Aaron said to himself. "Too warm with the grass that new. It looks like Spring, or a California Winter. I wonder which season we're in?"

He sucked in a lungful of air and held it, savoring the taste of it on the back of his throat. The scents of healthy earth and growing plants mingled with a touch of the more pungent scents creatures used to mark their territorial boundaries.

Jason and Rob woke up not long after that, cleaned themselves up, and gave Aaron a hand with setting up the meeting space. Rob started to grumble at Aaron for stepping outside without them, so Aaron flipped him off and kept working, saying, "I am a grown man, Rob. I've been wiping my own ass for a while now, and I think after all the hunting trips with Uncle Keith that I understand the concept of 'stay safe in the wilderness' maybe as much if not more than you!"

"Oh, really? What makes you think deer hunting is any more preparation than Basic Training?" Rob snapped back.

"For one, I've done it more and more recently than you've been to Basic. Poachers like to sneak around during the hunting season almost more than off season so we do have to watch out for people ranging from stupid yahoos to outright hostile muthas while avoiding rattlers, cougars, badgers, feral dogs and skunks. Tell me, Rob, while you were in the tank bay, when was the last time you had to worry about waking up with snakes snuggled up to you? I'm not talking about the barracks bunny type of snake, but the scaled, fanged, and often enough venomous types?"

Jason chuckled. "He's got you there, Rob."

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Rob said to Jason

"Picking sides here is a whole bowl of Nope. I get where you're coming from, Rob. We've been cleaning up for wet behind the ears, fresh out of the house idiots for a few years, but that's no reason to assume your brother is as stupid as Kegger. He maybe hasn't hit the Age of Caution yet, but he's got a good head on his shoulders. Instead of riding herd on him, how about tonight we work together on establishing procedures for trips out of the dungeon? The girls - Candy, I guess, needs that more than Aaron."

Rob kept his grumbling to himself after that.

*~*~*

Kargerran

Kargerran nodded to the sentries for the camp of parandrian nomads that had formed overnight near to the entrance of the Studio of Capricious Dreams. On the way home the day before, Va'Melnroe had quietly informed the Talon Commander that there appeared to be some of his more nomadic kinsmen in the area at about the same time Vi informed Kargerran of their unofficial escort.

The sergeant determined to be amused by the unsubtle tactics of the Adventurers Guild representative. Much like the Delvers Talons of Lotrot, possession of a single dungeon meant a lot less to them than information that could be applied to making all dungeon delves safer.

Upon arriving at the cave mouth they discovered a large open-sided pavilion had been set up on a slightly raised platform 5 m square. The platform was all brilliant purples and vivid blues, while the pavilion canopy resembled the twilight side of sunset. The supports for the pavilion gleamed with coppery brightness.

A circular table big enough to host twice as many dignitaries as were present took up the center of the platform. Seats ringed the edges of the pavilion, again far more than were needed, but they came in an assortment of strange styles. Many had a stool-like appearance, but a number had more than enough room to accommodate even an arassas' thick tail while providing a backing to lean against. In a corner of the pavilion closer to the cave mouth, a large copper brazier with an abstract mosaic of crystals the color of flames on its outside, warmed a large sized copper kettle. Goblets of glass were arranged around the table, and elegantly fluted pitchers of iced water placed on cotton pads of marbled rose and copper were intermixed. Fine porcelain dishes with copper edgings sat stacked near the middle of the table.

A 40 cm tall statue of a tree made of copper and dainty, multi-colored mana crystals stood on a stand to the right of the copper brazier.

Jason Kline and Roberto Garcias were bringing out another pair of interesting chairs as they approached. The two humans positioned these full backed chairs at the table in front of the cave entrance before coming over to politely greet the Lotrot Council delegates.

"Lena made a fair amount of progress in discovering how to make her environmental materials into exportable objects, and so we're able to host you in a little more comfort than yesterday," Jason Kline explained, waiving at the pavilion. "We don't have much experience with other sapient races, so please let us know how we may improve the seating arrangements. Unfortunately, we don't have food or beverages other than water to share at this point, though I hope, Merchant Master Zarabelkami, that the fire pit and kettle will provide you a sufficient source of hot water for your tea."

"Your hospitality is appreciated," the Master Merchant said as she dismounted from her landau. "May we inspect these marks of progress?"

Jason stepped aside. "By all means, do. And, Vi, it's good to see you again. Lena was feeling particularly artistic and inspired by your curiosity. She asked that I draw your attention to the statuette of the Orange Tree."

Elder Harusk claimed Vi's arm for support and the two made their way directly to the statuette and brazier. Crafts Master Gilvillian and his apprentice Elorikin joined Zarabelkami in examining the chairs. Seir Wejerlan approached the table, picking up the nearest of the porcelain plates for a closer examination while Va'Melnroe followed him to examine the goblets. Talon Commander Muglibaum had already relayed his orders for this part. He nodded to Kargerran and Baline and then joined the Masters Craftsman and Merchant at the chairs.

Nilis, Tilly, and Kentrell slipped off into the bushes while the Infantry, Medics, and Harriers formed a perimeter several meters out from the pavilion. Kargerran and Baline and the remaining Rangers took positions facing toward the center of the pavilion, though remaining outside of it.

Roberto Garcias stepped into the Studio of Capricious Dreams, returning with a stack of ten identical flat, white boxes, each about 7 cm tall. He set them beside one of the seats already at the table and then began distributing them around the table. When Va'Melnroe reached for one of the boxes, Roberto Garcias made no move to stop him.

This drew the others to the table and they gathered around to see what the box contained. Kargerran didn't have a good line of sight.

"What an interesting scribe box," Va'Melnroe said. He lifted something. "Do you not use scrolls?"

Jason said, "No. We find them terribly inefficient for a fully literate society. In your hand is a piece of paper made from bleached and pulped wood. Lena was working on book binding when we came out, so I'm hoping we will have some samples of those to provide you before the end of the day. Each scribe's box should contain three hundred sheets of the paper in addition to ballpoint pens in a rainbow of colors. The ink is made from rendered char and has been treated with Lena's [Applied Color Theory] skill. She lacks any gumming agents, so the ink flow may be a bit inconsistent."

"Are these 'ballpoint pens' something like quills, then?" Seir Wejerlan asked, looking mildly interested.

"Something, yes," Jason Kline said.

Elorikin asked, "Where is the ink?"

Jason Kline's head bent out of sight. "Inside the pens. The barrels are colored to match the ink they contain. Like this."

"I say, that is a useful gadget!" Crafts Master Gilvillian said.

"Lena has asked that I share that she will be happy to hear your thoughts, especially any suggestions for improving the comfort and usefulness of the pens. There should be a box for each delegate. Lena presents these as tokens to entice future trade deals."

Zarabelkami said, "What is to keep us from copying the devices ourselves?"

"Oh, please do," Jason Kline said. "And when you figure out how long and how much it will cost you to do so, remember that Lena made these just this morning. Without a materials cost. I think that brings us back to the point we left off at yesterday?"

The Master Merchant's scales rippled, a less dramatic effect under the pavilion's cover. The delegates found chairs to their liking and seated themselves at the table.

Kargerran enjoyed being a bird at the window of these talks. The two Travelers handled themselves well, displaying a bottomless well of patience as they refused to be baited by the Seir. Jason Kline's understanding of the mayhem that could be dealt to their economy with dungeon-made products, and the short-sighted temptation presented to do just that, seemed to both antagonize and soothe the Master Merchant.

If Kargerran read Crafts Master Gilvillian correctly, he was seeing the advantage of allying with the dungeon Travelers, letting their trade-neutral stance be on their heads rather than he being stuck holding the hot end of a "commercial weapon of mass destruction".

It helped, Kargerran acknowledged, that the Travelers seemed most interested in turning their dungeon into a place where the mages, craftsmen, and dungeon delvers were free to experiment.

*~*~*

Aaron

Back in his territory, Aaron decided to see what he could do with the options now available to him.

The hilly terrain bothered him as he looked things over today, so he changed that by leveling most of the dirt, pushing out the borders of his level slowly while he worked. He left Buttercup's cave alone, not wanting to disturb the sleeping cat. Next up, Aaron summoned one of each of the Local Trees.

The Water Tree looked to be one of the willow-like trees that Aaron had seen on the steppe, though the branches and leaves resembled more woody-fern than tree. The tree itself was around 6 or 7 m tall with a mostly white, smooth bark. The leaves were a green-tinted yellow, and stopped a meter and a half from the ground.

Lena used the G.C. to ask, «May I swing by?»

«Sure,» Aaron said, suspecting she had a notice or the like inform her of the making of the tree.

Lena's glow body apparited off to the side of the Water Tree. "Nice! How did it show up?"

"As you see it," Aaron said, now convinced.

After a moment's study, she turned to face Aaron and asked, "Have you tried working with your level's Zone Core yet?"

"Nooo." Aaron said, letting the word trail off.

"You can plan the whole floor at once, then project the completed thought to the core and it will take over implementing the design you came up with. It's slower and more cost effective to do it that way, and you can send it the plan in stages and it takes over meshing the changes together. That's how I put together all the stuff for the pavilion. Nothing we have is sapient, at least according to the menu categories, but I'd still like to get us all together before any of us try to summon critters." Lena delivered that last bit with a pensive expression, her gaze seeking out Buttercup's cave.

"And what do you want us to discuss about that?" Aaron liked to think he kept the irritation out of his voice. He wasn't a kid and he was getting a bit raw over the treatment.

Lena's gaze flicked back to him, and she hugged herself. "I don't know what the ethics are of spontaneously creating creatures. Plants are different enough that I don't empathize with them, but especially the bunnies, those Horned Jackrabbits, well, bunnies are cute, but they're also poor man's chicken. There's been a crap ton of things happening, and I don't know how I'd take something breathing suddenly, well, not. I know I'll kill to keep you guys safe, but I don't know how well I'd handle it if that actually—. If I actually took a life."

Aaron felt like an ass for thinking Lena had been talking about him. "Hey, you know, there's a lot of stuff that we need to all get on the same page with. How about we let Rob and Jace know to meet us in the kitchen when they get done, and we can round up Candy and get started setting out boundaries?"

Lena smiled at him. "Sure," she said, then looked around the territory. "Where do you sleep? It looks like just dirt and Buttercup's den."

"The ground's soft enough, but I smoothed everything out when I expanded a bit."

"And the bedding? Is it in with Buttercup?"

"Nah, I left the blankets in the lockers for now."

Lena tilted her head to the side, giving him an mildly incredulous look before straightening up. "Okay. Weirdo. You could at least make a hammock, you know? Ooh! That would be so cool! I really wish I had a regular body now!"

"What idea has weaseled into your brain now?" Aaron asked, laughing.

"I'm thinking a forest floor would be awesome, with an actual tree house, like the inside of the tree is the house, with a hammock style platform for a nest bed, all pillows and fuzzy blankets."

Aaron rubbed his forehead. "So, you want a Keebler house?"

"What?"

"Like those Keebler elves in the commercials for Nestle's cookies?" he prodded.

The excitement filling Lena's face drained away, like air from a sliced open tire. "Gee. Thanks. Rain on my parade, why don't'cha?"

Aaron laughed again. "It's what came to mind! I was thinking more of making something like a hobbit house, though, turning my house into a hill."

Lena shrugged. "Maybe I'm too human, wanting to turn nature into my house instead of turning my house into nature like you, Mr. Baggins."

"What, not Frodo?"

"How about Sam?"

"Tch! Fine." Dropping the topic, Aaron studied his territory once more. "So, how do I use this Zone Core thing?"

With Lena's assistance, he started the random seeding of his territory in motion, as he began by recreating the outside terrain. After all, he wanted Buttercup to be comfortable, in this part of his level at least.

More to keep Rob from picking at him than because it actually mattered to Aaron, he made a room near the portal, complete with a round, barn-red door. In the room, he placed a bed of pillows. Sleeping arrangements settled, Aaron went back to exploring at least the available flora.

Being fond of fruits, Aaron put in a copse of four apple trees on the other side of the level portal (to the left upon entering). He mixed both of the available varieties, and then added a Pucker Berry bush to live in the shadow of the Water Tree, as its description indicated that was a natural companion planting.

Buttercup stuck her head out when the plants sprouted. She batted at a stray stalk of grass growing near the entrance of her cave, but quickly pulled her paw back, shaking it as if she just got shocked.

"Hey, beautiful! Glad to see you're awake!" Aaron said, his tone soothing and pitched to carry.

She glanced at them, rose, and began rubbing her cheeks against the edges of her cave opening, purring loud enough for Aaron to hear despite being over 10 m from her cave.

Aaron started to walk toward her, but as his foot came down toward the newly growing grass, he found out just what Buttercup had experienced as the nerves in the sole of his foot spasmed, the sensation tightening every muscle up to his thigh at the same time, which made him stagger. It wasn't painful so much as strange, weird even.

A dry, mechanical voice came over the G.C. «Introduction of new non-component matter during the restructuring process is not advised as it may lead to anomalous reactions ranging from failure to complete restructuring to complete destabilization of the zone.»

Lena let a low whistle, then said, "Well, let's not do that again!"