I watched as Nix carried in his bag and noticed it bulged slightly. I had no idea where the little monster had gone, nor did I particularly care. At least until he emptied it’s contents on the third floor. Then I was startled, and more than a little pleased. Finally he was pulling his weight.

I quickly absorbed all the contents. I suddenly knew how to make all sorts of things. Including for some reason Cows. The real prizes however were the medicinal herbs he’d brought back, and the bobcat. Wizard’s Wort was a fungus that grew on trees and was good for making a mana potion. Healer’s Helper was a vividly purple and white flower that could be made into lesser grade healing potions. And Warrior’s Root was a bush like plant with thick, gnarled roots that could be made into a stamina potion. All three however paled in comparison to the Silver Star.

Part of the mana problem was that I needed to process all the mana into Light Aspected Mana before I could absorb it (Thanks a lot Nix). This however began the moment mana entered my dungeon, my aura slowly filtered and transformed mana into the Light aspect. Emphasis on slowly. Made more so by the fact that any mana produced in my dungeon also needed to be so refined.. Silver Star however processed mana naturally into light mana. Normally it was found in small clumps, no more than three or four flowers at a time, and rarely at that. However here I could grow as many as I wanted. With enough of them I could drastically speed up the mana refinement.

Gleefully I began to turn my attention to potential expansion. Then I paused and looked at Nix, who sat silently atop his hoard, staring at my core. Though I begrudged every single bit of mana I spent he had performed a valuable service. Maybe I could train him to bring me things with ‘treats’?

Reaching out I spent a staggering sum of mana on creating a single ounce of solid gold. Before it had even stopped ringing on the stone Nix had it in his mouth. To my surprise he swallowed it whole. He then scampered on top of his hoard and went to sleep. I chalked it up to the dragon being weird. And proceeded to plan.

The first thing I did was dig a shaft downward. I dug down until I was below the river bed, then I started expanding outward. Carefully I shored up the stone of the ceiling with mana, making it harder, more structurally sound. The last thing I needed was to flood my dungeon. This time I made a single huge cavern with long, thick columns to further support the roof. I then moved my core all the way to the end opposite of the hole and placed it directly in the ceiling again.

I considered, then, what I would need. Light first, all plants required light. Could the Motes help me here? Not as they were, no. However what if I forced them to evolve as I had with the beetles and Fred? Carefully I began to spin out a Light Mote, and as it started to form I poured more, and more mana into it, causing it’s size to swell and increase. Soon it was the size of a large melon instead of a tiny pebble. Still I poured mana into it, and still it swelled, until in a burst of light and heat it popped.

Fragments of shattered mana stone dropped to the ground. I eagerly ate them up. I had forgotten that Motes had a mana stone at their core. This had probably meant I could make them all along, but now I was certain I could. I spun out a second mote, and began once more. It took me three tries to get it just to the point before it exploded and keep it there. The result was a brilliant orb the size of a large pumpkin. I decided to call them Solar Wisps, in reference to their job. I proceeded to create dozens of them, until the cavern was brightly lit. It seemed like their smaller cousins they were content to simply drift about doing nothing.

Next I covered the entire floor in a thick layer of dirt and carefully considered what I needed. Water was the next hurdle. I had weeping weed, which would slowly condense mana into water, but it would actively use mana, something the Solars were already doing. I needed to produce a net gain. Not break even. After some consideration I strengthened the ceiling once more and began to experiment with creating sprinklers in the ceiling. I flooded the level four times before I gave up and simply planted the weed. Using a touch of mana I forced it to grow to maturity. Soon they were covered in beads of dew. I instructed the solars to hover over clusters of the plants, hoping they gave off enough heat to cause the liquid to evaporate and raise the humidity.

Water and light taken care of I planted Herbs all over the place, sparing no corner of the cavern. The only one I had trouble with was Wizard’s Wort. I had no trees for it to grow on, however after some tinkering I managed a variant that would grow on the pillars instead. This of course gave me an idea. Could I cross two patterns to gain something new? Eagerly I began the creation of both Wizard’s Wart and Silver Star. As the two coalesced I pushed the patterns together, overlaying them. What came out was a mushroom shaped like a flower. It was unappealing to say the least, and didn’t seem to have the same properties as the Silver Star, though I could tell it would make excellent mana potions.

Scrapping the failed project I moved on. Planting the Silver Star in large clumps and using mana to encourage growth. Soon I had a field of the flowers, and could already feel the quality of mana rising. Finally I finished off by interspersing wheat and corn everywhere. After I finished encouraging all the plants to grow I had a large cavern with rolling waves of amber grain with stalks of corn sticking up here and there. Among the tall stalks however were the various herbs I’d planted, and on the columns was a prodigious amount of Wizard’s Wort. I was finally ready to make animals.

I began with rabbits. I made dozens of the creatures, scattering them all through the cavern. Chickens and Quail followed, also in the dozens. Next the Pigs, unfortunately these were domesticated pigs, not wild boar, but I supposed I couldn’t have everything. After that I made an entire herd of cows, with an impressive bull to watch over them. Finally I added a few bobcats.

I was pleased with my nature cavern. I could already feel it paying dividends as the Silver Star processed the mana for me. It wasn’t a huge amount by any means, but it was kilometers better than what I’d been getting. Satisfied, I turned my attention back to the upper levels.

First floor, second room. More beetles. Joy. With the new influx of mana from the lower level it went faster, I could manage about three a day now. After the first half-dozen I saved my mana instead, and four days later was able to increase my size again. Once more it was a disorienting experience, time passed while I was basically unconscious and defenseless. However I awoke to find everything largely as it had been, including Nix still asleep on his pile.

I pulled at the mana around me, trying to drink it in faster. The mana coming in seemed thin, almost sparse. For the first time I wondered if whatever was wrong wasn’t with me. However there wasn’t anything I could do about it just then, so I soldiered on. Pushing out more beetles like clockwork, unfortunately even with my increased pull and the animal level I couldn’t produce more than four a day, there just wasn’t enough mana.

For the next week I did nothing but create beetles. Leaving me with 28 in both the first and second room. I decided it was time to change it up, mostly because I was bored of beetles. This time I decided to try something different and started to create a Webspinner. For those who aren’t a aware a webspinner is a long insect that creates tunnels of silk at a prodigious rate, around 150 times faster than that of a silk worm. If I could enhance that silk, make it stronger, maybe mana infuse it, then it’d become an excellent export for my dungeon. Failing to defend myself with creatures it might be easier to do so with resources.

Carefully I pictured what I wanted. Hand sized webspinners with strong, magical silk. I pumped the excess mana into the template slowly, waiting agonizing moments to adjust the flow every time it looked like it might go out of control. Soon it was about the size of a grown man’s hand, but I could tell the silk wasn’t any stronger and would be incapable of supporting even it’s own weight. I focuses on the silk glands, carefully infusing them with more and more mana. It was almost too much, but at the last possible moment a mutation occurred that would produce a strong, versatile silk. Unfortunately that was the end of the meddling I could perform, I supposed mundane silk would have to do.

Unsurprisingly the webspinners were just as expensive as the beetles, and I spent more time waiting for mana to build up so I could make them. Within a few days I had a dozen that were industriously spinning their web all over the room, carpeting the walls, floor, and ceiling in thick layers of artfully constructed web pathways. Given how fast they spun out the silk it would likely be an easily farmable resource if people could get past the (admittedly weak) beetles.

With the first floor done I turned my (metaphorical) eyes to the second floor. I needed something more dangerous than beetles. Looking at my options I decided on chickens. If someone tells you chickens aren’t dangerous, they’re a liar. Chickens are vicious beasts, especially the roosters. So I decided to go with some of those.

With an effort of will I spun out the mana for a rooster and began to push more mana into the pattern, focusing on the beak and claws. They both elongated slightly, however the real change was more qualitative. I could tell both had become harder and sharper. In fact I was certain those claws could do damage to at least chainmail; even if they’d be ineffective against something more solid. When I had pushed in as much mana as I dared, I let the pattern coalesce into my new Murder Rooster (patent pending). It honestly looked a lot like a normal rooster, but it cost almost twice as much mana as the beetles. I immediately created a second. Things did not go well.

For a moment the two roosters simply sat there and stared at each other, then they both screeched and flew into a tangle of razor-sharp claws and beaks. They hacked and slashed, clumps of feathers went flying and scarlet blood splattered the stones of my dungeon. When it was over only one of them was standing. It was missing a wing and an eye, Its body was covered in gashes and it was losing blood at a prodigious rate. Then something strange happened.

As I watched the faltering fowl a pale mist of light came off it’s opponent and was absorbed into it. The bleeding slowly stopped, and I could see the wounds starting to knit closed. More, I didn’t receive nearly the mana from the death of the murder rooster that I expected. After a moment I realized that light had been mana, and that the living rooster had absorbed some of the energy of its defeated foe. I probed the rooster, and it felt… different, stronger somehow. I sensed I could alter it slightly more now.

While I wasn’t exactly elated at this discovery, I was quite pleased. It meant in the future I’d be able to upgrade the defenders incrementally, creating slightly better patterns each time. Eventually I’d have monsters that may actually be able to defend me.

As I created more murder roosters I was careful to order them not to attack each other. This prevented the previous scenario, but didn’t prevent them from glaring daggers at each other. I spent several days just making more roosters and soon I had a dozen or so, six in each of the first two room. For the final room on the second floor I decided to keep with the theme of resource gathering. Once again I tried to cross two plants. This time Moss and Healer’s Helper. The result was a putrid purple-greenish moss that, surprisingly, actually retained the alchemical properties of the Healer’s Helper. I grew it in thick carpets across all surfaces of the room.

To protect my new Healer’s Moss (patent pending), I selected the flea (some had come in on the cat). I carefully considered what to do with it. I didn’t want to make it any bigger, but what could I do with it? AS I considered the pattern in my mind’s eye I realized there were two potential possibilities. The saliva of the flea (which caused itching), and the blood thinner it released when feeding. Focusing on those two aspects I pumped the pattern full of mana once more. As I did so I could feel the blood thinner and saliva becoming far more potent. All too soon I could feel the pattern reaching it’s limits. I wasn’t sure if it’d be enough, but if I made hundreds of them, or perhaps even thousands, they might just do the job. Fortunately the fleas, even enhanced, cost me almost no mana, so I spent a day filling the moss with them.

For the third floor I finally decided to use the bobcat. Already a dangerous creature I felt no need to enhance it just yet, especially since it cost even more than the murder chickens as was. I spent almost a week making just bobcats, and only had 8 to show for it, 4 for each of the first two rooms. For the third room I saved mana for four days, filling my capacity almost half way, before I finally started on the final defender.

Many dungeons have a defender every few levels that’s much more powerful than the rest. Common theory is that it’s because it was, at one point, the final defense between the core and attackers. Whether this was true for normal cores or not, I knew it would be for me. I spun out the cat’s pattern and considered. It needed to be larger, and have more powerful jaws and claws. I focused on these aspects and pushed mana into it. I let the mana trickle in slowly, doing my best to find the absolute limit. This needed to be the most ferocious defender possible.

To my surprise the bobcat could contain an astonishing amount of mana, taking almost all the reserve I’d built up before it reached the edge. When I finally allowed it to coalesce into a living breathing creature it was almost 200 pounds of claws, teeth, and muscle. I decided to name him George.