I didn’t have to wait long after populating my dungeon. Only four days or so, during which time I fiddled with the Farm Level. Weirdly the pigs had started growing fur, and I could swear the males were growing tusks. The rabbit population was booming, I could see dozens of pregnant females already, and their gestation seemed to be increased. It made me wonder if high mana density had an effect on growth of non-sentient species. It would have been an interesting area of study were I still a flesh and blood mage. The plants were growing at a near visible rate, it seemed high density mana was good for them too. I was just beginning to consider trying more crossbreed experiments when Nix returned.

He came scampering down the stairs and into the dungeon. Thanks to our link he yet again avoided every single trap and had made it to the boss room in no time at all. Pausing, he looked at the pile of trash (which I had still left untouched), and then he continued to the hole at the back of the room. I still hadn’t bothered to give it stairs. To be honest I wasn’t sure I wanted to give it stairs, anything that made it harder for people to reach my core was good. Unfortunately the drop didn’t deter Nix, he simply spread his wings and glided down.

After his descent he took a leisurely flight around the cavern, apparently taking in the sights. Before finally landing on the ground under my core. He looked up at me and cocked his head to one side. No doubt wondering how he’d reach me 10 meters off the ground. I mentally grinned, maybe I could even pretend not to hear him from up here.

“Norbrant.” I paused my musings, he’d said my name before, but not so smoothly or fluidly. “We need to talk.” He finished. I was confused. That sounded like a fully normal sentence, it didn’t even include screaming or demanding shinies. I decided to bite.

“What do we need to talk about.” I asked, cautiously.

“The low mana density issue.” He responded.

I moved my view in closer to the dragon. This couldn’t possibly be Nix, it was speaking in full sentences and apparently understood about mana density. It had to be some kind of illusion. I began scrutinizing him from every angle. Then I tried to order one of the Solars to kill him. Nothing happened, so it had to be Nix.

“Norbrant, focus. Mana density issue!” He said eventually.

“Who are you, and what have you done to the dragon? Some kind of mind control?” I asked.

“No Norbrant, I’m still me, just smarter.” He explained.

I snorted derisively. “House Dragons don’t just ‘Get Smarter’ that’s not how they work.” Really, it was offensive how stupid this person thought I was.

“I didn’t just ‘get smarter’ you gave me gold and mana.” He continued patiently.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I continued my scrutiny.

“Surely you’ve noticed you’re not getting all your mana back when you destroy creatures?” Nix asked. I immediately paid more attention. I hadn’t told anyone that, so either whoever was controlling him could interfere with my dungeon or…

“How do you know about that?” I snapped.

“Because I’m eating it.” He said with a draconic grin. “Let me tell you a little about True Dragons Norbrant.” He continued. “True dragons aren’t a different draconic species. They’re a House Dragon that managed to bond with a source of mana, and found enough SHINI- erhm, platinum, gold, or even silver to begin altering themselves.”

I just stared at the creature. That was preposterous. Everyone knew True Dragons were a different species all together, they always bred true. I’d seen dragon eggs.

“What a ridiculous story.” I said.

Nix sighed. “Look, when a dragon consumes enough Mana and Precious Metals they fall into what we call Torpor. That’s what made me sleep for nearly two weeks. During that time we have… call it Intuitive Control of our biological processes, and are able to alter them, sometimes significantly. I wanted, no, needed, to be smart again, so I pushed myself in that direction.” He patiently explained.

What a load of crap. Did they really expect me to swallow this? “Fine, prove it.” I said smugly.

Nix looked up at me. “I’d love to, but we don’t have the time or the Mana.”

Check and mate. “I can’t help but think that if what you were saying is true, then you’d jump at any chance for a free meal.” I all but cackled.

“Of course I want to increase my abilities again! But we can’t afford to have me asleep for another week or two and you don’t have the mana to sustain a larger transformation.” He sounded irritated.

“That sounds a lot like an excuse.” I mused, genially.

“Dammit Norbrant I am trying to save our lives here!” Nix yelled up at me.

“And I should believe you because?” I asked.

“BECAUSE I’M YOUR BONDED DAMMIT!” He shouted in agitation.

I chortled to myself. I hadn’t had this much fun in a long time, but unfortunately, I did have to end it. I couldn’t have spies in my dungeon after all. With a moment of concentration I created a large spell-form in the soil under Nix. It was actually a very simple design intended for one purpose, to disrupt ongoing magic. Nix looked down, his eyes widening. “Norbrant! WAIT!” He shouted, too late. I pumped mana into the spellform, far more than any mortal mage could have pushed around, but still a paltry amount for a dungeon (Well, any dungeon that wasn’t me, really). The circle came brilliantly to life in a blaze of light.

After the flash, I looked down at the tiny dragon, smugly satisfied that no one could have held a magical link through the amounts of mana I had pumped out.

“Well that was a total waste of mana.” Nix said, irritated. “Also, you’ve partially blinded me, I hope you’re happy. I’m going to be seeing spots for hours.”

I was dumbfounded. That blast would have shredded any spell I’d built in my mortal days. Hell, it’d disrupted the flow of mana on this entire layer and put out three of the Solars. Could Nix actually be telling the truth, preposterous as it sounded? There was a long moment of silence as Nix rubbed his eyes.

“Alright.” I said finally. “Say I believe you. What exactly did you want to talk about.”

“About the lack of mana.” Nix responded, still blinking. “And how we’re going to fix it.”

“What lack of mana?” I thought I knew what he meant, but I had to confirm.

Nix made an annoyed noise. “Certainly you’ve noticed how hard it is to draw in and refill your mana?”

“I have, it’s been quite frustrating these last few weeks.” I said.

Nix nodded. “I’d say the mana density of the world is currently one fifth what it was before The Cataclysm.” He explained. “Further, it seems the world is in an ice age.”

I cursed internally. An eighty percent reduction in mana density? It’s no wonder I was having so much trouble. The Ice Age really wasn’t all that concerning to me, though Nix seemed to put special importance on it.

“So how exactly are we going to ‘fix’ a world-wide problem?” I asked dubiously.

“We aren’t. We’re going to fix the problem in the immediate area.” He informed me. “Jake, hugo, and a few others are going to make Barrier Totems and enclose a large area of land on both sides of the river, with the castle in the middle.”

I pondered this for a few minutes. Barriers could be given variable permeability, allowing all sorts of fun things, but one of their major functions was to keep mana from leaking out. Doming an entire City, Town, or Village was unorthodox to say the least, but I could see why he thought of it. The barrier would prevent mana given off by anything inside from escaping, gradually raising the internal density over time.

“It might help.” I conceded. “Depending on the number of people who live in the area. But at the same time it might not be enough. If there were a thriving city above it’d probably work out, but we’re talking a small village at best.”

“That’s where we come in.” Nix rejoined. “We have to create new plants and animals for the villagers to farm. The more complex the better.”

I gave a very verbal snort. “Have you tried making creatures?! I’ve almost no control over what comes out. I can nudge them in a certain direction but that’s about it. And forget about crossbreeding!” I exclaimed in disgust.

Nix just looked at me for a time, then he spoke. “Have you… have you just been throwing mana at patterns and seeing what sticks?”

“I have been carefully filling the patterns with mana, not just throwing it at them!” I snapped.

Nix chortled. “You can’t just throw mana at a pattern and hope for the best Norbrant.” He said, voice full of mirth. “You need to build the pattern from the ground up, piece by piece, like a puzzle. Imagining each separate part clearly and precisely. A proper pattern can take days if you do it right. I once heard of a dungeon working on a single pattern for well over a year.”

I eyed the dragon. “What do you mean ‘piece by piece’.”

“Exactly how it sounds. You visualize each separate segment of the patter bit by bit, slowly building it from available templates. The more changes you want to make, the more you have to visualize. Say you want a bunny with the claws of a Bobcat. You’d imagine first the claws of a bobcat, and begin creating them, then you’d attach the rest of the rabbit to them. If you wanted that same bunny to have the tusks of a boar, you’d have to visualize tusks before the rest of the bunny as well. Always work from the smallest part to the largest.” He explained patiently.

I digested this new information. “But what if I want something I don’t have a template for? Like the sharpened mandibles of my beetles?” I asked.

Nix shrugged. “Do what I assume you did, visualize the outcome you want as hard as you can and throw mana at it. You won’t always get what you want, but forced evolution is usually a last resort for that reason.”

I considered what he’d told me for some time. Nix sat below me, his tail twitching in an agitated fashion. Finally I spoke. “So the more parts I take from elsewhere, the higher the complexity?” I asked.

Nix waggled his head back and forth. “Sort of? Mixing like with like tends to lead to less of an increase in complexity. For instance giving a boar the horns of a bull will barely increase the complexity, they’re both territorial grazers after all, well mostly. Crossing that same boar with the teeth of a bobcat however will have a marginally bigger increase, because you’ve crossed an exclusively carnivorous creature with an omnivore that tends toward herbivorism.” He explained further.

Had I a head I would have nodded. “So a drastic cross, like a plant with a creature, will create an even higher complexity creature.” I surmised.

“Exactly!” Nix exclaimed.

“Alright, so you want me to, what? Create plant-creature hybrids and release them into the wild?” I asked.

“Not precisely, no. You probably can’t make a plant-creature hybrid at this point. The more complex the creature the more mana it costs to make, as you may have noticed. The better idea would be to create complex plants for the villagers to grow.” Nix explained.

I pondered this idea, for a time, as he sat patiently under my core. As I considered I noticed that my aura in the room had settled down once more, so I recreated the destroyed Solars. Another mana expenditure I now regretted.

“Alright.” I said finally. “We can try it. But I warn you I haven’t got a lot to work with.”

Nix grinned. “About that, I visited your old tower and found your stash. Soon you’ll have all sorts of things to work with!”

My stash? Oh-Oh! I had forgotten about the materials I compiled entirely! This would go a long way to growing my dungeon! “Excellent!” I said. “When can we expect them to be arriving?”

“As soon as the new settlers have a basic camp functioning. Might be as much as a week before they can make it to your tower.” Nix rejoined.

I wasn’t exactly crestfallen, but I’d been hoping for something quicker. Even a few of the hides I’d hidden away would give us a stark advantage. “Alright.” I said grudgingly. “I suppose I can make some plants while we wait.”

“Good! I’m going to go watch our new tenants get started. Oh, and Norbrant?”

“Hm?” I responded, already thinking of what I could do.

“Go ahead and destroy that pile of trash upstairs. I definitely don’t need it.” With that he performed a running hop and launched himself into the air, flapping for the hole upward and out of the dungeon.