《Thieves' Den》Chapter five
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Waking up on the ground as the room floods with red light, he stares up at the ruby that is twice the size it was. Laying back while signing, he hears Ariel squeal in joy.
"I'm level two," she squeals. The ruby spins around the room as he watches, then it stops in front of his face.
"Oh, goody! You're awake. Thank you! Thank you! You are a wonderful man! She shouts with joy! I couldn't change level until you bonded with me to expand my territory to four hundred feet. Still, it will take a foot a day to get there, but I can build in the hundred feet underground I have acquired over the last few years, which is one hundred feet from where I am. I can expand a foot a day until I reach four hundred feet, then I will have to level to control more. But I can build! Yeah!"
Moving in front of him as he lay his head back against the brick ground. "Okay, ah hmm, what is your name?" She buzzes over the top of him.
"Jack McLac, my enemies and those I stolen from knowing me as Blackjack."
" A what is Blackjack?"
"It's a card game that is called blackjack. You try to draw cards that added together will equal twenty-one. I use to leave two cards, one a Jack of Spade and one an Ace of spade at every place I burglar." Stupid idea to let law enforcement know I had done the robbery. Still, after thirty years of burglaries places, I never was caught. So I guess it is good.
"It was also called a bludgeoning weapon that can be used to knockout and sometimes kill someone if use right. I only killed once to save my life, and that was against another thief. I use to carry a blackjack with me as protection.
"I can design the card game for you if you want? I can design the weapon, but it will cost one dungeon point or Dp to design them each. After that, it only costs money and materials to make."
"Let's get back to the dungeon, first. Can we build an entry or reception area with a cage room like an office where our receptionist can be protective? Twenty by twenty feet with two doors on each side, one over here and one over there. In the center between both doors. I want a room to push up against the opening between the two-room with a table like a wall that divides the two-room. Six inched above the table bars like a jail cell hang from the ceiling to the top of the table. Below the tabletop, make it a solid wall. Go ahead and add a box drawer in the middle that can be lock to handle larger items to pass between. Place more drawers inside with three spaces for people to sit and take information or deliver or take items on the other side into a safe room. Put one door out of the room into the back of that room. The right hallway goes to my office and several other offices, including a boardroom and sitting area to entertain guests. The left side will move back to the barracks. While the middle head back to the warehouse. I need bolt holes exits if you can make them into the city, if possible, that open from the inside to the outside for escape. Can you make the interior walls look like a rich, classy place, like from my world that like the Victorian age I wish I can show you the memories of what I want?"
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"But I can read surface memories since we are bonded," she said matter of fact.
Looking surprised, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Forgot in the excitement," I sense her shrugging. "That will cost twenty DP points out of the one hundred points you get free, and I count those as two rooms as one room. The warehouse in the back will be thirty by forty feet that will be twenty points DP. The barracks, hmm. You got three opinion pickpockets, burglars, or thugs at the start. You can open another when researching. You will need a builder guild to create other types of buildings. What do you want? Oh, careful on you, DP. It cost five Dp per level per person you summon."
"Barracks for pickpockets and summon four people, please. Build the other barracks for thugs and summon four thugs."
"You want the barracks for the thugs behind or where the other barracks will be at?"
"You are right, put thugs' barrack first and pickpockets' barrack behind that room with a hall to the reception room on the left side of that room. The other door I deal with later since I am short on DP." I walk through each of the rooms after she created them an hour later. I end up in the pickpocket barracks, a summoning circle that looks like the one I carry around with a rat. Only this one has a person carve in that looks like they are pickpocketing. A flash of light from the circle in the corner shows a young woman crouch down, trying to covering her head. The woman is naked and not moving.
"Ariel? What going on?"
"Oh, That is the first recruit. You can modify their looks before they can move."
"Can you straighten her so I can look?
"Aah, yes, I can."
The woman straightens. She looks about sixteen to seventeen, with short muddy brown hair. Brown eyes with a broken nose, sunken eyes, slightly pointed ears. Her face has many moles, and her body has many moles and many scars from knives. Her back is crisscrossed with whip lashes, and her short legs are thicker with scars up and down them from running a lot through either briars or other things that damage her legs. She has small breasts that have one inverted nipple on the right one. Overall she is below average on looks, but someone has also done a number on her. She looks like she has been beaten over the years from the scarring on her. The fear on her face as she stares ahead.
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"Okay, make her five feet tall, if you can give her flawless skin. Change her hair to black with bright green eyes. Straighten her nose and keep the ears. Make her small breasts larger somewhat." Watching as she changes. "Whoa, not as large on the breasts, please. She needs to work, not knock herself out." Watch as the hair lengthen.
"Bring up into a pile with two strands of hair in a curl in front of her ears, and added two hairpins. On the right-back shoulder, I want an Ace of Spade card tattoo place. What clothing can I put her in?"
"I can place her first-level clothing. Sorry."
"Okay, put ace of spade on her hairpins and make them ivory and strong enough to kill someone. Also, give her piercing skill if you can. Darken the clothes and make them look old and worn." Looking her over, I glace at her feet. "Make her shoes stronger so she can run." Damn, she too noticeable, "reduce her hair to shoulder length and put into a ponytail. Stick one pin in the knot. Make her eyes dark brown." Looking at the girl over, I see a pretty but average-looking woman wearing poor equipment. With some dirt, she will blend into the background. Except for the hair. Too black of color. "Okay. Make her hair the same color she had before this, please." watching as her hair turn light brown. Cute, not bad looking. Not going to touch my help, not that type of pervert. I prefer my women to be intelligent and independent. Okay, back to work.
"Alright," clap his hands. "I want a variant of this looks in pickpockets women to be like this. Keep the hair the same and brown eyes. Change to varies from this size to five feet five inches, Same clothing and matching hairpin to their tattoo hairpin. I want the next girl to have two-of-spade as her tattoo and the one after that three-of-spade. Can I change the tattoo later?
"Yes, I can change anyone I create in the dungeon."
"Good, good, okay." Clap his hands together.
"If it is a guy, then make him an Ace-of-Spades, too. I want a set for women and men. It makes it easier to keep track of for me. Okay, the men will have short hair, a broad nose, and dark brown eyes. The height is the same as the women's. I need them all not to stand out. Give the men a boot knife with their card symbol on it. The same type of starting clothes. Same thing on the men with flawless skin. I need to look over the model of the man we decide on before summoning them,
Okay, unfreeze her, please."
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