Leo’s probably right in that I should upgrade the dragon spawner if I want some heavies, and I’m pretty sure I do want some heavies. Dragons are never pushovers, and even the wyrms are pretty tough, especially for the initial spawn! The rest of the debrief and chat takes us until dawn, and Teemo says Leo would like to do a bit of sparring with Fluffles before going back to the front line, if that’s alright.

While I’d like him back quickly, I think he can take a day or two to get himself settled, and Honey, too. I make sure I won’t be messing with his plans if I send a few wolves with illusion hands into the tunnels, then spend the mana to do just that. Then grumble as I remember they’re on expedition and I can’t just give them orders. Thankfully, I can have Rocky give them an order, even if it costs even more. It’s probably because he’s not a commander like Poe or Leo. Anyway, once Leo gets back to the front, I’ll have him try to get Southwood to send some kitsune into the tunnel to scout, too.

All those invaders are sure to have left their scent over the tunnels, so the canids should be able to track them back to the source without too much difficulty. And their keen noses should hopefully warn them to head back once they find the source, instead of needing to get close enough to potentially get caught.

Wyrms will be the main scouting force at that point, as well as the rockslides, so I dump a big chunk of my mana into the dragon spawner and get an upgrade, but it’s going to take another two or three, I think, before it gives me something new. For now, I’ll just accept more wyrms, and the boost Nova gets from me upgrading her spawner.

With that, it’s not hard for Teemo to head out and give the invitations for a meeting. Noon might be a bit short notice, but I think everyone should be informed as quickly as possible. I’m also definitely going to need Rezlar’s help in upping my mana income, which just feels weird to contemplate. I’m pretty sure I make a lot more than most dungeons period, and definitely make a lot for my size. Usually, I don’t need to worry about waiting for the mana to accrue, but this hostile dungeon has me a little on edge.

At least the lava labyrinth should be a huge uptick in generation. Rezlar will probably only need to say it’s ready for business and the place will be swarmed. Hopefully it’ll be enough of a mana boost to upgrade the dragon spawner quickly. The wyrms are incredibly powerful for being just the first spawn, but the spawner is also incredibly hungry for mana to upgrade.

I just need to be patient, which is easier said than done with the mysterious home of that harbinger out there. I do my best to try to relax and watch the delvers as I wait for noon. The miners in the cavern layer have started upping their production, quarrying out strong stone for the lighthouse, and it’s interesting to watch them work. They drill a line of small holes, then hammer in some special wedges, and then it’s like they’re playing a song on the rock as they whack away, using the tone of the wedges to tell where the stress is the greatest.

I would say it’s nothing on what Slash can do, but he stops by to watch and listen a bit, too. I doubt he’ll be playing anything like that, but it’s a good example of earth and sonic working together.

I feel much better as noon rolls around, and I prepare to nudge Honey and Leo to meet up in the public war room. Honey, I don’t need to bother. She already has her home swarm setting everything up, including a rushed map of the area north of Southwood. She even has Teemo helping get everything set up to her liking. I do need to remind Leo, though, as he’s currently sparring and chatting with Fluffles. I think he’s trying to get advice on expanding his affinities, but I don’t know enough about shadow affinity to offer any advice.

I should try to point him towards Tiny for some advice. While the big guy hasn’t expanded his affinities either, he can definitely help Leo navigate fate a bit. That’d probably be a huge boost in commanding armies.

Anyway, I give him enough time to refresh himself some so he’s not panting the entire time, and soon people start showing up. Aranya arrives first, along with Larx, Folarn, Vernew, and Norloke.

My pretty red kobold smiles at my Voice as the group moves to the table. “Hello Teemo. Looks like Honey is going all out for this one.”

Teemo chuckles. “Heh, yeah. She and Leo have a lot of info to present, so I figure it’s better to let her handle organizing it all. Where’s Yvonne?”

“She’s getting the party, as well as Tarl and Berdol. She would get Mayor Rezlar, too, but I believe he’ll want to arrive semi-officially.”

Teemo shudders. “Politics, bleh.”

Larx smirks at Teemo’s reaction. “Appearances help keep the people from panicking. If the Mayor rushed to some emergency meeting with the weird local dungeon, people might wonder if something is wrong.”

Teemo still sticks his tongue out at the idea. “People shouldn’t worry so much, but yeah, I get it. Oh, feel free to have a seat, everyone. I don’t think Honey has any specific places in mind…?” he says uncertainty, glancing to the bee who does a quick jig in negative. “Yeah, just have a seat while we wait. How’re the enclaves doing? I haven’t had a chance to take a good visit in a couple weeks.”

Larx gratefully takes a seat before replying. “We’re still toying with new forge and smelter designs. It’s mostly all theorycraft still. We might need to focus on some alchemy first, oddly enough. Our current firebricks wear too quickly for the new designs, so we’ll need to figure something out. Jouler is looking into enchanting instead, hoping runework will be a viable alternative, but we’ll see.”

“Folarn’s got a boyfriend!” pipes up Vernew with a wide grin. The small spiderkin deliberately chose a spot that puts Norlock between her and the larger woman, having expected reprisal for spilling the beans. Instead of a death glare, Folarn actually blushes a little and nods.

“I invited Yamik to dinner,” she admits with little embellishment.

“He’s the lobster wrangler, right?” asks Aranya, beaming with genuine happiness for the tarantula kin. They all happily chat and congratulate Folarn, trying to wring details from the taciturn woman. She doesn’t give much, though it seems at least partially because there aren’t many to give. It was a quiet meal together, and a nice talk that lasted well into the evening.

Yvonne arrives not long after with Ragnar, Aelara, Tarl, Berdol, and… the guildmaster of the adventurer’s guild? What was his name again?

“Karn,” whispers Teemo for my benefit, before raising his voice. “Heya Yvonne! Looks like you’ve got an extra?”

Yvonne nods. “Yes, the guildmaster managed to catch wind of us all gathering, and would like to attend.”

“I don’t want to force it, though,” speaks up the thin orc. “If it’s private, I can go.”

I consider for a few moments, before giving Teemo my answer.

“The Boss says that’s fine. He didn’t specifically invite you because he figured you’d be busy or just not interested, but he’s not going to turn down some more help.”

“Great! If he has anything he needs help with, I have a whole guild full of adventurers already trying to not be too bored with winter slowing things down.”

They all take a seat at the large table, and Tarl studies the large map. “That’s the Southwood’s northern border?”

Teemo nods. “Yeah, that’s where the fighting has been. I’ll save the details for when Rezlar gets here, though. There’s a lot to get through, so I don’t really wanna repeat it.”

The elf nods at that and confers with his apprentice, going over notes and the basics of the Southwood in general. It quickly draws in the others as questions are asked, and soon Tarl is practically giving his own presentation on the Southwood and the way it functions.

As he starts winding down, Rezlar and his entourage enter the front gate, and Teemo goes to greet him. His honor guard is allowed to do some delving while Miller accompanies him to the war room. He looks a lot less nervous than I would expect, when everyone focuses on him, but I don’t know if he’s just getting better at acting, or if he’s genuinely getting more comfortable with attention. Either way, it’s time to get the meeting underway.

“Alright,” speaks up Teemo. “Just to make sure everyone’s on the same page: The Boss has been helping the Southwood with an invader problem. Leo and Honey have been the ones mostly handling it, along with the Boss’ denizens. Things had been going pretty smoothly, until yesterday.”

Looks ranging from curiosity to concern are directed at Teemo, who mostly ignores them as he continues.

“The invaders movements had been strange for about a week before, so the Boss also sent Rocky as a bit of insurance. It was a good thing he did. Honey?”

My bee scion buzzes and dances as her bees take up positions on the map, each carrying a little picture of either one of my denizens, or one of the invaders. The bees move as details are drawn on the map, and Teemo translates.

“Leo was able to direct the scouts to find the enemy base, which turned out to be more of a beachhead. They’re from deep under the ground, as far as we can tell, and this was their exit to the surface. They were building up their forces, and if we waited much longer, we probably wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

“And that’s not counting the enemy scion that joined the battle. Yeah, Tarl, it’s a scion, unless wild invaders can get titles?”

Tarl taps his fingers against the table as he thinks. “They can in theory, but if they were building up forces before attacking, that’s definitely dungeon behavior.”

Teemo nods and continues. “With its specific title, the Boss doesn’t think it’s wild, either. Here’s what it looks like.” Teemo pauses for a moment as Honey’s bees start passing out drawings of the Harbinger. “It’s a real nasty piece of work, with mental affinity to boot. The leach-heads, as the Boss is starting to call them, aren’t exactly tactical fighters, but this thing could command them like an extension of itself. It was able to defeat both Leo and Honey, though thankfully Rocky was able to handle it.”

Aranya’s gasp catches Teemo’s attention. It doesn’t sound like she’s worried about the two scions that are now at the table with her. She’s looking at the picture with trembling hands, not noticing everyone’s attention.

“Aranya?” asks Yvonne, voicing everyone’s concern for the kobold.

Her eyes snap to Yvonne for a moment, wild and wide, before she gives a shuddering exhale and turns the paper over, hiding the image of the Harbinger. She takes a few more calming breaths before looking to Teemo.

“That was leading a force from a dungeon?”

Teemo slowly nods. “Yeah?”

“That… is what the hunters brought as tribute to the dungeon on the day I escaped. That’s the thing that went berserk and smashed my cage. I fled in the confusion, and I thought the dungeon would have surely just killed the thing and absorbed its mana.”

Yvonne frowns. “Do you think it subsumed your old dungeon, then?”

“I doubt it,” interjects Tarl, causing all eyes to turn to him. “I’ve been trying to research the invader ever since you gave me those anatomical sketches. Nothing is even remotely similar to them. I’ve never seen anything like this monster, either. You never saw any of the weird invaders when the thing was presented to your dungeon?”

Aranya shakes her head, and Tarl continues. “If it was some wild invader and subsumed the dungeon, it would almost-certainly stay put. There’s not a lot of information about invaders subsuming dungeons, but I haven’t read any reports of the ones responsible heading out to attack more. They seem to settle down for a while, or maybe just dissipate back into the stagnant mana, maybe to guard against another dungeon forming. Either way, they don’t go out and attack another dungeon. If it was a rival dungeon and subsumed your old dungeon, it would have sent some of these leach-heads as support, especially if this thing can wield them so effectively. You would have seen them attacking as you fled, if nothing else.”

Tarl pauses and frowns, not liking where his logic is leading him, but also not having any other ideas that seem viable to him. “If they work so well together, that implies they have the same type. I don’t think it killed your dungeon, nor do I think your dungeon killed it. I think it transferred to your old dungeon, either away from some other dungeon, or was somehow pacified from being wild. Either way, if something like that became a scion, it would create a spawner. These things could be the lowest-tier creature of the spawner, with hopefully the leader as the apex.”

He pauses and shakes his head. “It’s a lot of ifs and maybes, but…”

“But it fits,” says Teemo with certainty, echoed by grim expressions from Aranya and Yvonne. Even I can feel it in my affinity, despite how much I don’t like it. We’ve found Aranya’s old dungeon, and it’s somehow gotten even nastier since she last saw it.