The Lair and Grumblebark set about creating a comfortable space over the next week. The relationship between the two of them had improved considerably. As with most things in Elysium, a notification heralded the official change. However, the gradual differences in how they had been interacting had been more proof of the shift.

You have gained +2,322 Relationship Points with Grumblebark.

Your relationship with Grumblebark has improved from Suspicious to Friendly.

By the time the sun had set on the evening of the fourth day, a significant event heralded the next stage of the Lair’s evolution. It couldn’t have been achieved without their singular focus at re-stocking their forces.

After completing their most recent summoning, golden lines shimmered along the surface of the Lair’s crystal. Gleaming as they wrapped around the surface of the gem, the glow winked out as a series of runes etched into the dungeon core.

You have become a Runic Bonding Stone (Population).

You are the leader of an established group of creatures of at least 50 population. You are now Ruler over The Lurking Lair. Your tribe is Level 0. At level 0 you will be able to issue a single edict per day.

You now have access to basic edicts and can select a tribal benefit.

Level 0 Edicts -

Edict

Effect

1. Rally

+1 to all attacks for the duration of combat in which the edict was used.

2. Production Boost

+1 to all resource gathering attempts by members of the tribe for the day.

3. Hero

Target creature, within the tribe, gains +2 to all stats and +25% HP while designated ‘Hero’. At your current level you can only select 1 creature. This designation continues beyond the day it was used.

The Lair had planned to reach this point earlier – the edicts would have helped tremendously in the fight with the scylla – but each time the dungeon population had gotten close, it had been culled. Selecting a benefit for the clan had been relatively easy as well. Since the Lair was not focused on any of the things a typical population group would need, like economic or social concerns, they had simply selected the ‘robust health’ option. This added a 10% bonus to the hit points of all members of the tribe. I would say that this calls for a celebration!

“Hey Grumbles! We just became a tribe. I was thinking about having a festival to mark the occasion. Give the summons something fun to do. A few of the more intelligent species seem a bit bored in the grotto.”

Gurgles from the waterfall nearby punctuated the silence to this announcement. Several bird calls sounded and a catoblepas bellowed softly. Grumblebark’s rustling chuckles followed, as if he had been talking to the bovine and not the Lair.

“Ohhh the mighty Lair has… accomplished yet another goal in… an unexpected amount of time… we should indeed mark the… occasion.”

The Lair sent a quick poking sensation through the bond with their familiar. “Enough teasing, I know that you have been enjoying the new skills. You’re practically draped in new moss, lichens, and plants. You even have orchids in your limbs. I think it’s time that the others get in on the fun.”

“True you have me there… the myrmekes have been digging… tunnels for a while now… and the baby griffin nest... in the pine stand is… complete what did you have… in mind?”

These two new additions to the Lair’s arsenal were a good match to the terrain and level they had reached. The myrmekes were giant ants, ranging from the size of a dog to a bear. Since they started with a Digging skill and the Lair could give them the Construction skill, they had been the primary laborers for the past few days. The small griffins had not gotten along with the stymphalian birds, nor the sole remaining parrot. Hence, they had been separated and situated in the pine trees across the small pool of water from Grumblebark and the main flock.

“Well… I was thinking of having a little competition between the summons. They all tend to group up by type when I am not directing the group. If I put them on mixed teams and give them tasks to accomplish they should improve their skills and overall teamwork at the same time.”

“Not a bad idea did… you have a particular task… in mind for me or… will I be joining a… team?” One of Grumblebark’s leaves lazily fell in the wind and landed in the pool.

“I am glad you approve. If you joined a team it would be really off-balanced. Since you gained those levels from killing the scylla you have gotten rather formidable. I was actually thinking you would make a good referee, a judge of sorts. I want you to award the points and declare the winner.”

A stymphalian bird warbled and crooned, swooping out of Grumblebark’s branches and snagging a minnow from the bubbling brook streaming from the idyllic clearing. “As long as you tell… me generally how to score… the games I can do… that what sorts of events… are you thinking of having?”

The Lair grinned inwardly, sometimes it was easier to just borrow from the classics. “Well, to fit with Elysium I figured we would have our own set of house games. Since we have six catoblepas we will form a team around each one of them. Let’s name each one of them after Greek letters. So, Alpha Betas, Omega Mu, Rho Rho Rho, Pi Delta Pi, Eta Beta, and Lambda Lambda Lambda.

“The events need to be skill and teamwork oriented. So, I was thinking a feat of strength or two, a construction project, a race, and to finish it all off, an eating contest! For the most part it should be beneficial and fun.”

The meliae had been true to its name and grumbled at the unnecessary complexity that the Lair had orchestrated. However, the big spiky tree eventually gave in, even calling each team by their new moniker. It took a while to wrangle the summons into the various “houses”. Each team consisted of a single catoblepas, three to four fliers, and three myrmekes. A python was mixed in with a few of the teams, but there weren’t enough for each group.

The Lair broadcast a general message to their summons. “Welcome to the first annual Lair Games! We are an official tribe today. So the prize for the winning team will be naming one of the team members ‘Hero’ for the tribe. The tribe’s champion will gain strength and a new name.”

Communication with the summons wasn’t as refined as speech for the animals and beasts with low intelligence. However, pulses of emotion and intention radiated from the Lair’s minions. These were far less complex than the messages Grumblebark could send, but they were adequate for basic exchanges. With feedback received from the clan, it was time to kick things off.

The inaugural game was a simple tug of war utilizing ivy vines anchored to each team’s bovine. The small stream disappearing into the forest away from the pool was used as the midpoint. Once a giant ant or bird that was pulling on the vine from the front was pulled across, or got wet, the other team was declared the winner by the meliae.

The team with the sole remaining parrot, Rho Rho Rho, managed to eke out a victory. The Lair had begun referring to this summon as ‘Polly’ in their mind, but hadn’t officially named them that. They couldn’t be sure, but the Lair thought they had heard the colorful bird asking for a cracker. One of the reasons that the squawker’s team had won had to have been the incessant cheering and jeering.

Perhaps naming the summons would help me keep track of them. It would probably make me more attached as well. That might not be a bad thing. I have been basically treating them as disposable resources. Well, except Grumbles.

“Okay folks. For the next game we are going to have a relay race of sorts. Each member of the team will make a circuit of the grotto one at a time starting at Grumblebark. Once you get back, you have to drink a gulp of water, eat some small prey, or a mouthful of grass. Then you touch a teammate and they will make a loop. This continues until every member of the team has gone around twice.”

The meliae creaked a bit as a branch re-arranged some drooping moss. “Why do you want the… creatures to eat in between… the laps that seems odd… and unnecessary if there will… already be an eating competition.”

“I suppose it is pretty odd without context. I modeled this competition off a story from where I came from. It’s kind of hard to figure out where to start explaining without knowing more about you though. I remember you said Swiftleaf was your mentor? Teacher? What sort of education did you have when you were young Grumbles?” The Lair made sure to send a pulse of warm inquisitiveness to the big tree so their words wouldn’t be misinterpreted.

A ‘hmmm’ like creaking pulsed back to the Lair along their shared bond before the spiky familiar responded. “Swiftleaf is also a Ceiba… as are most of the… grove a Pentandra whereas I… am a Speciosa and therefore… have many more roots than… I will ever grow but… Swiftleaf does not have thorns… we often had long debates… about which was more… useful beautiful and so forth… he was my guardian not… my mentor but he did… teach me much.”

Blown from the meliae’s mouth a seemingly unnecessary gust of wind startled Polly as the explanation continued. “I awoke slowly for one… of my kind it took… a couple of decades before... I was aware of the... others in the grove.” If a tree could look wistful, that would be an apt description for the familiar.

The Lair had gotten wrapped up in listening to Grumblebark. The new companion seldom strung so many words together, particularly about their past. Mentally blinking, they spoke and pulsed the next game to the various teams. The dungeon had taken to giving primary instructions to a ‘captain’ in each squad, normally a flier.

“Sorry Grumbles, I wanted to get the teams set up and get the game started. I would love it if you continued once they are moving.”

All of the teams lined up, some had selected to have the slowest member go first and others had their speedier members selected. The Lair took note that each of the small bands had started to adopt different strategies. It was an interesting development and something to track. There were starting to be a plethora of things to track. With a burst of intention and words, the Lair signaled the started.

“Ready… steady… Go!”

Crashing with its first running step, a particularly noisy catoblepas bullied into a lead on the ground with a myrmekes or two skittering to each side. That big ole guy may just end up with the name ‘Ogre’ or ‘Booger’ with the way he behaves. Internally chuckling, they shifted their attention back to a bemused Grumblebark.

“Sorry about that Grumbles, now that they’re going, let’s talk while we watch. You were talking about Swiftleaf and the grove.”

A hollow snort sounded through the meliae’s trunk, but Grumblebark continued in an amiable tone. “Swiftleaf was the first to… talk with me had worked... a root over to me... and I could hear a… voice besides my own and… the occasional visitor that was… when I finally had perspective.

“The stars and insects and… plants and animals and rhythm… of the forest are a… lot to be part of… I was not pleased to… be awoken and it took… Swiftleaf a while to teach… me the value of not… being lost in the web… of life.”

Screeching a battle cry, one of the Griffin chicks from Eta Beta darted away from the relay point. The python on its team had finished eating a rather chubby field mouse upon completing a circuit of the dungeon’s influence. The Lair looked over the information on the disruptive brown and white feathered beastie. Hmmmm… she will need a good name too. Far too much character to not stick out.

Grumblebark had completely ignored the ruckus and kept talking. Hence, the dungeon had to piece together what they had missed, thankfully, it wasn’t too hard.

“… so after he described the… forest to me and how… the essence of magic flowed… through all life that I… became comfortable with being awake… it was only the grove… was visited by a dryad… that I was excited to… be an active part of… everything.”

Zipping past the pair, a stymphalian bird crowed in delight as it wove through the air. The Lair pulsed with a soft glowing satisfaction, it was nice to see the critters having fun. Even if they had been summoned from the ether they were real now, they deserved to enjoy this world as much as the Lair was.

“Grumblebark, what was the dryad like? What happens when a meliae joins with one?”

The big tree’s soul sphere pulsed with a lush green hue, the energy washing over the Lair’s center and then words followed. “The marriage of a dryad… to one of my kind… is very similar in nature… to how I have bonded… with you it is why… meliae are sometimes summoned by… dungeons in the appropriate locations… it is just far less… common the dryad who came… to the grove had sought… out their companion the bond… between a dryad and their… meliae is close and lifelong.”

Grumblebark seemed to be considering before continuing, a branch absently twisted and moved a piece of hanging moss, much like an old man stroking his beard.

“He was the most beautiful… being I had ever seen… flowers bloomed where he stepped… you could see the mana… flowing from him into the… forest around him and when… he joined the conversation of… the grove it was a… indescribable experience the elders were… giddy with excitement and spoke… faster than I had ever… heard before he was one… of our kin but one… who had traveled the world… when he bonded with one… of us we no longer… spent our days talking of… only what we could see.

“Antheia awoke near the fae… settlement of Gearspoke to the… south of the grove and… he spent time with many… different races and had seen… so much that it made… me yearn for more than… what the grove could provide.”

The Lair had been watching the race, which was proving to take much longer than anticipated, and listening to their familiar’s tale. It was nice to learn so much about their companion, and they could only assume that reciprocity would be appreciated. Grumbles had asked where they had come from, where Charlie was from. The loyal, if gruff, big guy deserved more of an answer than they had given.

“I understand now why you were disappointed when I wasn’t a dryad. A young, undeveloped dungeon in the same area as the grove probably didn’t present exciting prospects. Glad I could disappoint on those accounts at least. Things have been pretty lively for the first week.” The Lair paused, as if taking a deep breath, and then decided to trust.

“We are more alike than you would think. The world I come from had plenty of mysteries and wonders, but it didn’t have magic. It didn’t have a way for someone to become what they want to be, what they know they are, but not as they were created. That’s why I came here, to Elysium.”

The pair was silent for a moment as they watched a pair of myrmekes tear into a pile of vegetation, completing their feeding portion of the relay race. Grinding and snapping sounds emanated from the pile of twigs as their mandibles stripped leaves from branches. The giant ant-like creatures were really starting remind the Lair of dogs, at least with how they were behaving. Tugging back and forth over a branch with particularly juicy leaves. Secretly, the dungeon was hoping for the Tri-lamb team to win this whole thing. Old biases were hard to shake. The Lair imagined themselves shaking their head to clear it and re-focused on the conversation.

“I had more opportunity than most, like I said before. I chose to become a dungeon. This world, all of the life in it, and the powers I possess now are all so much more than where I was before. I had some friends, they were recent additions to my life. I met them after I started working in the company I was with before. I was a human. I don’t know if I told you that or not.

“There will be more, like me, who come to this place. I hope that some of the friends I made will join me. But I had this dream before I met them, and I couldn’t give up a chance at true fulfillment.” The Lair paused, considering how to put this in words. “In my world, many know of Elysium, but coming to this realm is difficult. I had been dreaming since I was a child to live here. To learn everything about this place by experiencing it, not just reading about it. Does that make any sense?”

“It makes some sense baby… dungeon.” The familiar sent a wobbling bubble of amusement through their bond. “It makes more sense than… me telling Strongbranch to go… root himself in the ocean… when I left the grove.”

The Lair couldn’t really describe what meliae laughter sounded like. However, the ribbons of mirth linking the two soul spheres was glorious to behold. For a solid few minutes the Lair was lost in a kaleidoscope of emotion; regardless of relationship points, or abilities, now the two of them had truly bonded.

Adding Feeding to the relay race had added far more time to the event than the Lair had expected. By the time the last team crossed the finish line, the Alpha Betas, the sun was starting to set. All of the Lair’s creatures could operate in the darkness, but twilight was a time for predators and fear, and few of the dungeon minions felt comfortable in the open. The Lair decided to have the construction project as the last event and skip the eating contest, as fun as the image of giant ants eating pies would be… if there were pies.

The teams were instructed to work together to make the grotto as defensible as possible. Each group had a specific smaller project that would help reinforce the whole. Scooping earth into mounds around the outside of the dungeon’s influence, the Tri-Lambs created a broken terrain suitable for most of the summons to fight in. The Alpha Betas and Tri-Rhos combined their efforts of moving plants, a few had berries with rather sharp thorns, and brush onto the mounds to disguise the earth moving. Omega Mu, one of the teams with the most fliers, worked on creating hide spots in the trees where the summons could wait in ambush or escape to. Pi Delta Pi created simple pit traps in-between the mounds, covering them with thin branches and leaves, making the terrain around the small pool at the center a maze. Finally, Eta Beta started linking the myrmekes’ tunnels to locations in between various mounds, making bolt holes and escape routes for wounded summons.

Once the various creatures were scurrying around, Polly called out nonsensical orders and a few catoblepas bellowed lowly in disagreement, the dungeon focused their attention again to their familiar.

“I hadn’t thought to ask before, my apologies for that, but I didn’t consider using any games in the competition that you know. What sort of games do meliae play?”

“The grove I matured in… did not indulge in games… per se but we did… have plenty of debates and… discussions regarding the nature of… the world and morality what… was and was not of… importance we also loved to… tell jokes but a meliae… joke is seldom comparable… to those told by other… races they tend to be… a bit long and involved.”

“Hmmm, doesn’t seem like a joke telling competition would have been much of a success. No one but Polly can really say anything.”

Raising an eyebrow-like bark ridge, Grumble made the obvious inquiry. “Who is Polly?”

“Ohhh, yeah. I didn’t tell you. I am giving some of the summons names. Polly is the parrot. It’s a common name for parrots from my home. The largest and stinkiest catoblepas I named ‘Ogre,’ that’s also a name from my home. Well, not really a name, but it was used in a story. Huh, I hadn’t thought about it, but are there any ogres in the area?”

Grumblebark made an exaggerated motion of looking side to side, popping and snapping wood echoed through the glade.

“Not that I can see…” Chuckling after a moment the big tree continued, “I have never heard of… any ogre in this forest… that does not mean that… there are not any.”

“Hmph, good one Grumblebuddy.” The Lair sent a pulse meant to impart a joking scowl. “After a few more hours of work let’s give everyone a break. During the break, you judge which project is the winner. Considering we have had different teams win the first two events you could decide which group wins the whole thing or if we have a three way tie.”

Taking a well-deserved break, the Lair inspected the bounds of their domain. Opening all their senses, besides touch, the dungeon swept over the secluded grotto. All things appeared to be shaping up well. Broken terrain and a plethora of vegetation camouflaged a small warren of tunnels, hides, and rudimentary traps. Throughout the tree canopy flitted the various flying creatures, the stymphalian birds’ dirge clashed with the energetic griffin chirps. Bovine giants grazed lazily at the water’s edge, taking long drinks to quench their thirst from the days activities.

It’s been a good day, heck, it’s been one great start overall. A few bumps here and there, but more than I could have hoped for. Grumbles’ coming around, my skills are growing, and I’m starting to amass a force to be reckoned with. Sooner than later I can start moving again. Only thing left to do before a summoning cycle is to name the hero and celebrate a bit.

Cutting in with a slow creaking comment, the meliae gave a report of the last event. “It appears that Eta Betas not... only won the relay race... but they finished the construction... project fastest and in my… opinion did the best job… completing their task the tunnels… and hiding spots are excellent.”

Inwardly grinning, the dungeon knew exactly what to do next. Sending out a pulse to gather the odd family together at the base of Grumblebark’s roots and in his branches, the Lair prepared themself for a small speech. It was important to set the right tone after the day’s activities, but even if this didn’t feel like true public speaking, it was still uncomfortable.

“Members of the Lurking Lair, I know that when you were first summoned, a few of you even earlier today, it didn’t seem like we had much going for us besides mobility. However, today we became more. We are a tribe.”

The dungeon sent a pulse of intention to Polly, Ogre, and the rambunctious griffin on team Eta Beta, ushering them to come front and center. “These three have distinguished themselves, for good reasons and others. Our loud, colorful friend will now be named ‘Polly,’ the opinionated catoblepas is ‘Ogre,’ and in honor of team Eta Beta winning the competition the griffin will be named ‘Hero.’ Hero will also be named Hero of the Lair by edict.”

Pulling up the Edicts tab, the dungeon selected the newly minted champion and issued the corresponding edict. A soft lavender glow pulsed from the dungeon core and linked with the Hero. After a few moments, the light shimmered and winked out, leaving the grotto in darkness once more. However, all present could see that the dungeon’s ability had done far more than shine upon the juvenile griffin with pretty lights.