The birds are making a racket, so that can only mean one thing: Elf Guy is back! I should get the aranea to make him a hat or maybe a shirt that says Elf Guy on it to give to him. It looks like he’s the one bearing gifts today, though. He’s got a backpack on, and I can tell there’s books and stuff in there just from the shapes.

Heh, I should get Poe to teach the ravens how to say Elf Guy, too. But that can come later. The birds settle down and get back to their various jobs as he steps onto the porch, and he looks at the notice board before clearing his throat.

“Dunge-”

“What’s up, Tarl?” interrupts Teemo with a cheeky grin. With the growing concerns of a scythemaw apocalypse in my basement, I think everyone is looking for a bit of an excuse to have some fun and keep from just worrying in circles.

The inspector gives Teemo an exaggerated glare for a few seconds before cracking and smiling at the rat. “Hello Teemo. Telar tells me you’ve been busy while I was away.”

“Heh, yeah. The Boss gets bored easy, so he’s always up to something. You probably want to start with Violet?”

Tarl gives him a confused look. “Violet? Did you get another Resident, too?”

Teemo chuckles and shakes his head. “Nah, that’s what the Boss calls the new dungeon downstairs.”

“Ah. While that dungeon is one of my concerns, it’s not my biggest. What have you been doing with Rocky?”

It’s Teemo’s turn to look confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that, not only is he a zombie with fire affinity, but he’s also picked up ice affinity somehow. That should be impossible,” he states, staring at Teemo like a teacher whose student has given a suspiciously-correct answer.

I had suspected my experiments with magic would shake things up, and now Tarl’s confirmed it. Sorry buddy, but that’s need-to-know information. Come back when you’re a Resident and maybe I’ll share the secret.

“Sorry, Tarl. Boss says that’s a secret.”

“Hmph. At least he understands the potency of that kind of thing. It’s not just some new affinity potion, like the lightning elixir, then?”

“Heh, nope. I’m pretty sure I can say that Rocky isn’t the only one working on expanding their affinities. So don’t be too concerned if more pop up. Heh, or if Rocky gains more.”

Tarl just sighs and shakes his head. “A lich with arcane power wouldn’t be a surprise… but you just had to figure out some way to make a zombie do it instead.” He grumbles for a few more moments before stepping back into his Inspector shoes. “Then my other concern is exchanging information. Telar says you’ve been wanting to know more about what’s going on around Fourdock and beyond. Additionally, the Southwood has requested you send an Envoy at your earliest convenience. It has somehow attracted more and stronger invaders lately. After hearing how you were able to handle Neverrest, the White Stag of the Southwood has asked to normalize relations and to see if you are willing to lend aid.”

“A dungeon wants to ally with us? Where is it? Somewhere to the south?”

Tarl shakes his head. “It’s to the north. It’s called the Southwood because it’s in the southern-most area of the Green Sea forest.”

Hmm… I’m all for making friends, but I don’t know how much I can offer in aid to him. I’d probably be able to send some tundra wolves, but I think anything else will have to wait until spring.

“Boss says he can send some tundra wolves pretty quickly, but anything else will have to wait until after everything thaws.”

Tarl nods. “That should be fine. He’s not expecting anything until spring anyway, and is confident he can hold out at least that long. The other piece of information I’m hoping for…” he shifts his pack to draw attention to it. “I have a lot of information, but I need something in return, Thedeim. Can I barter this pack full of knowledge for access to your core and other secret rooms?”

Hmm. I really would like to have that pile of info on his back, but can I show him my core? I trust him, but I’m a lot less trusting of a big guild that specifically peddles knowledge.

“Why?” asks my Voice.

“Because the Guild gets nervous without being able to check a dungeon core. And there are theories that core shape and color influence how a dungeon works. I can vow to not give away the location of the core or other secret rooms, and only give a basic description of the core itself,” he offers.

I consider that for several seconds, before giving Teemo my answer.

“Come back tonight. The Boss will let you in to see his core, and the other secret rooms, too.”

Tarl smiles at that and shucks his pack, setting it on the porch. “I know it takes a lot of trust to let me see it, so I will trust you and pay you now. With that settled, I’d like to inspect Violet… and then probably you, too.”

“That works. Follow me,” says Teemo as he opens a shortcut for Tarl to use, and they quickly arrive at Violet’s cave. Immediately, Tarl looks confused.

“What are you doing?”

“Building a door. I’ll explain why later,” answers Teemo. He lets Tarl do his job, and just watches as he pulls out his recording rock.

“New dungeon is deep underground and is the protege of the established dungeon Thedeim. Some influence can be seen, but nothing that seems domineering.” With that, he steps inside and looks around. “Confirm centipede and fungal denizens. Fungal denizens are odd, but not unheard of, especially for deeper dungeons.”

The centipedes watch him for a few minutes before deciding to ignore him as he wanders the cave that Violet inhabits. “Centipedes appear non-threatening, despite size. Cave rabbit node spotted, larger centipedes likely a reaction to the stoats it has drawn. No sign of core.” He looks around and even up, but doesn’t spot anything, even with his experienced senses.

“Mentor likely told protege to hide the core. Will ask for description of it later.” He plucks a mushroom and nods as he puts it in his pocket. “Experience gained for taking a mushroom, could be an even better place for new adventurers than Thedeim’s manor. Dungeon appears to be a burgeoning toybox, likely intending to rely on mentor for protection. Considering mentor, though… any scions should be avoided. Speaking of…” He looks around some more, but can’t find a scion, either.

“No scions apparent. May be in secret sanctum, or possibly doesn’t have any yet.” He glances out the entrance, where Teemo sits waiting for him. “Unlikely, but possible. Dungeon seems safe to delve, if sparse at the moment of inspection. Will follow up soon.” With that, he pockets the stone and returns to Teemo.

“Does it have any scions yet?”

Right… I knew I had been forgetting something in my advice for her. I give her a quest to make a scion as Teemo chuckles.

“Not yet, but the Boss just suggested she get one. He’s been a bit distracted with the new expansion and the spiderkin enclave. And the other problem he wanted to ask you about.”

“Another problem? I thought Fate affinity dungeons were supposed to have good luck,” answers Tarl with a smile, and Teemo chuckles in return.

“Well, we keep surviving. I’d say that’s pretty lucky.”

“I hope it’s nothing like Neverrest.” He pauses at that idea. “...it’s not another murderous dungeon, is it?”

“No. That’d be a fairly simple solution. Here, let me show you.” With that, Teemo scurries up the nearest wall and into a particularly-deep gash. “This is the problem.”

“...moss?”

Teemo shakes his head and motions at both ends of the deep gouge in the wall. “This slice in the wall. There’s a lot of them. Do you know what made them?”

Tarl examines the room, noticing the cuts in the wall and their age. “No… what made them?”

“Scythemaws. Tunnel Horrors. Big mean lizard things with mandibles. Yvonne thinks they’re mostly-aquatic, because there’s two big areas of water down here: the aquifer over there, and the underswamps over by the spiderkin enclave. There are markings all through the caverns and tunnels between the two. We’re pretty sure they come out every so often. And it’s been a while, so we’re about due for them to come out.”

Tarl looks concerned at that, before looking uncertain. “But isn’t that a simple solution? Just fight them? It won’t be easy, but it’s not complicated.”

“They’re not monsters. Thedeim says that, if he destroys the apex predator in the area, the ecosystem could collapse… or something even nastier might move in.”

The elf thinks that over before slowly nodding. “If you can’t just kill them… that does complicate things… Does he have a plan?”

“Part of one. The door for Violet is part of it. He’s mostly hoping to just stay out of the way and let them do whatever they do quickly. The spiderkin might be in trouble, though.”

“Right, you said they’re near the other body of water. I’ll inspect the new expansion and see if I can introduce myself.” The two take a quick shortcut to the caverns, and Tarl pulls out his stone to take notes as he looks around.

“Average encounter level higher in caverns than even in the crypts. Dungeon continues to follow an idea of progression. New spawner is earth… elementals, not earth spirits. Stalacsprites abound, as do more valuable mining nodes. Mining guild will probably want to post to the adventurer’s guild for escorts.” He lowers the stone and looks to Teemo. “New scion?”

“Slash, an earth elemental. The Boss says he’s on his way to becoming a bard. He’s making a few special things for him, too.”

“Scion confirmed to be an earth elemental dubbed Slash, planned to be a bard. Special equipment also planned. Advise against attempting to fight scion for said equipment, whatever it ends up being.”

Before too long, they get to the enclave, and things are busy. The spiderkin have their bar most of the way full, and I’m not sure what’s keeping it from finishing. Their forges are basic, but functional; built high up the wall to be out of the reach of scythemaws. The ponds seem to be doing fine. Maybe they need to actually get the things to have babies before they’ll count as having domesticated them? And then they’ll probably have a little ceremony to finish it off, like the ratkin did.

The bustle comes from what looks like a fresh hunt gone right. Tarl can see a dead scythemaw in the enclave, even past the tarantula guards who silently bar his way. At least they’re being chill about not letting him in. They’ve just done the classic of crossing their spears in his way, rather than pointing the sharp bits at him.

Still… how’d they get a scyhemaw?

“How’d you guys get a scythemaw?” asks Teemo. The guards share a glance before one speaks.

“Hunters ambushed it at the shore. Folarn wishes no interruptions while they prepare the meat, hide, bones, and fangs.” They look at Tarl with mild suspicion, and Teemo sighs and hops off his shoulder.

“I’m gonna try to get some better info out of them, but I don’t think they want to share with you, Tarl. Come back tonight, yeah? You should get to see the core and other rooms then, at least if we’re not up to our ears in scythemaws.”