Dungeons Are Bad Business

Though he knew that he still had lots to learn about the best way to use the machines Rortenferry had left him, Vee was genuinely blown away by how much easier they made his work. Obtaining standardized sections of ectoplasm with nothing more than a few turns of a crank or spins of a dial was refreshing and more than a little mind blowing, and the [Ghost Maestro] grinned as he worked, falling into a steady rhythm that made the task blaze by.

Forty minutes later, Vee decided to take a break, though he was pleased with both the quality and quantity of his work. He’d managed to create nearly three dozen ghosts in the time it would have taken him to make maybe ten by hand.

Once he’d caught his breath a bit and felt recovered – using the machines was physically demanding, even if simple – Vee resumed his work, picking up cubes of refined ectoplasm, flattening them out, and then running them over a series of rollers that added fasteners to all the joints. Sweat dripped down his brow and his shirt stuck to his chest, but the [Ghost Maestro] pressed on until he’d finished another forty. He was tired now, and that tiny voice in his head was telling him that he’d done plenty for the day and could simply go ahead and stop.

Vee checked his watch. There were only five minutes left until the day’s runs were scheduled to start, which encouraged the voice in his head to insist even more loudly that he should call it a day and head upstairs.

However, Vee stayed where he was. He’d originally set a goal of making a hundred ghosts that day – they were sure to be short-lived once the out of town adventurers came to town – and he wanted to see it through, even if it took longer than he’d originally planned. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed another stack of ectoplasm cubes and got back to work. His arms and shoulders burned, but not so much that Vee needed to stop.

He would finish the job, even if that darn voice in his head refused to shut up. All he had to do was stay the course and make steady progress.

[Faith +1]

Slowly, steadily, Vee worked until he finished another ten ghosts, took a short break, and then did so again. His upper body felt like it was on fire now – he’d never been one for manual labor – but he refused to heed the siren’s call of stopping early and pressed on.

When he finished, he slumped back in his chair, relief coursing through his body. He’d done it. Over a hundred ghosts in a day. That was a new record.

[Might +1]

Well, that was nice too. With shaking arms, the [Ghost Maestro] pressed himself up to standing, picked up his previously discarded jacket, and headed up to the office. Hopefully making ghosts like that would get easier if he kept it up, like his old [Fitness Tutors] had always said.

Only time would tell.

Picking up his discarded jacket, Vee headed up to the office to see how the day’s first run was going. To his surprise, it was already over, the [Candlestick Swordswoman] having succumbed to the slimes in the second room.

The next runner was a level 26 [Paint Summoner], who fought with a paintbrush as large as a sword. Each stroke of the brush sent splatters of paint in every direction, from which tiny creatures emerged to attack the dungeon minions.

One in particular caught Vee’s eye. It was shaped like a squid, and instead of attacking directly, it served as a support for the rest of its allies by leaving a trail of bright paint in its wake that they could suck up and use. Could he make a ghost do something similar?

Taking out his notebook, Vee began to sketch. He envisioned his new creation as a small goblin of other similar creatures, carrying additional ectoplasm to his ghosts while they fought. However, he’d have to figure out a way to modify the ectoplasm into something that the ghosts could use right away, and that was a problem that would require some thinking. Though, now that the idea was in his head, he vaguely remembered skimming past something along those lines in the texts Rortenferry had left for him. He’d have to take a closer look once he got back to the boarding house.

For now, he simply focused on his sketch, adding tiny arms and legs to an oblong body. He drew back to look at it, then added a small bag to the ghost’s back. At worst, he could fill the basket with exploding crystals of some sort and turn the ghost into a sacrifice. That would probably work, though he’d have to come up with a way to make the ghost move faster than the others so that it could get in range to detonate. Or come up with a way to shield it to achieve a similar result.

That was probably easier, actually.

Grinning, Vee started sketching another ghost. He started with a basket of sorts, and then turned it into a treasure chest. Mimics were a time tested classic in dungeon sports, hearkening back to the days of real dungeons where [Mad Wizards] and [Powerthirsty Necromancers] would fill their lairs with monsters disguised as treasure chests. He could do something like that too.

The ghost started taking shape: big, boxy, and hollow underneath. Vee added a bunch of small, spidery legs to its underside as well. It was only natural that smart adventurers would shy away from opening such an obvious bait – especially once the word got out about the exploding ghosts hidden inside – so he wanted to make sure that the chests had the ability to force an adventurer to engage with them. He’d make it so that they’d chase after adventurers who didn’t try to open them up.

[Devious Mind +1]

Fast runs were apparently the theme of the day, with all but three of Crestheart’s first fifteen challengers failing to clear the dungeon’s first floor.

“It’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” Vee asked as a level 21 [Dagger Aficionado] lost his footing in a duel with a skeleton knight and ended his run soon after. “He should have been able to beat those skeletons, right?”

Reginald hummed. “Normally I’d say yes, but the knights are definitely stronger than normal. They’re craftier than normal, and seem to be better with their weapons too.”

“Great,” Vee muttered. “Even more things for the [Necromancer] to look into. I’m pretty sure low level minions like this aren’t supposed to have the capacity for development.”

“Neither are fiends, boss.”

The Expectation tightened around Vee’s shoulders, and the [Dungeon Master] fell quiet, unsure how to respond. He thought back to the mysterious chime he’d heard when he’d asked for something to go his way* and wondered if his plea had actually done something after all.

It was definitely something to think about.

After closing up the dungeon for the day – and adding another seven gold fleurs to the vault – Vee, Alforde and Reginald returned to the market square and visited the [Tailor]’s stall once again.

The owner, a tall woman with brown hair and thick glasses, was with a customer, so Vee took the opportunity to browse a little bit once he was sure that the woman knew he’d arrived. Most of the outfits for sale were the kind of thing that Vee would have called “Unique” if he’d tried to describe them and remain polite while doing so – they were all covered in laces, frills, and odd patterns – but they were reasonably well made.

When the [Tailor] finished with her business, she walked over to Vee and held out her hand. She was a good six inches or so taller than Vee, with dark hair, blue eyes, and something strangely familiar about her smile.

“I’m Natasha Digby. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you properly, Mister Vales.”

Digby, huh? Wait, there was something familiar about that name…

“Gawain’s balls,” Vee blurted out. “You’re Juniper’s sister, right?”

Natasha nodded, hiding a giggle with her right hand. “I’m surprised it took you so long to realize it, Vee. Everyone’s always telling us that we look like twins.”

Vee didn’t really see it, but he also saw no reason to mention that fact. Instead, he said, “Working with Juniper has been great. She’s been a real help with some of the projects we’ve got underway.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Natasha said. “For what it’s worth, she’s said that she enjoys working with you too. Now that we’ve handled the pleasantries, why don’t you tell me what you wanted my help with? I’m afraid I’m not really one for small talk with people who aren’t looking to buy dresses.”

“It’s a wonder you ever sell any of these at all,” Reginald said darkly as he tightened his brim around Vee’s head. “I’ve seen nicer tablecloths.”

Vee flicked the hat’s brim, hard, then smiled and said, “Ignore him. He’s just trying to stir the pot.”

But Natasha leaned over and jammed her index finger into Reginald’s face. “I’ll have you know that my designs are fresh, original, and highly desirable. Apologize. Now.”

She seemed to grow bigger in that moment – the effect of Intimidating Presence, maybe? – and even though her ire wasn’t directed at him, Vee was grateful when [Stiffen Spine] activated, keeping him from squirming.

Reginald hemmed and hawed, not answering, until Vee threatened him with an extended stay in the closet and he suddenly regained the ability to speak properly.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice of me. I’m sorry, Natasha.”

Vee looked at the [Tailor]’s face, trying to see if his hat had once again made his life harder than it needed to be. Thankfully, she seemed to relax after Reginald’s apology, and Vee felt comfortable asking her about what she might charge to make his fiends some uniforms without trying to improve the situation further.

After a few moment’s thought, Natasha rubbed her chin and said, “With the timeline you’re looking for, I think the minimum I could do it for would be thirty five silver fleurs.”

Vee grit his teeth. That wasn’t an insurmountable sum by any means, but it was still more than he really wanted to spend, so he decided to try offering Natasha a deal. While he didn’t have many fleurs, he did have plenty of open space in the dungeon and the lobby that he could use to barter.

“Instead of fleurs, how about being paid in additional sales space?” he asked. “I’d be willing to offer you some prime real estate in the refreshment area outside the dungeon, and it gets plenty of foot traffic. Plus, we’re looking to expand our non-adventurer offerings, and I expect to get a lot more people in this spring and summer.”

Natasha shook her head with a smile. “That’s tempting, but I’ll pass. Fabric isn’t free, and neither is my time. I’ll take the fleurs. Up front, please.”

Vee sighed. Now it was his turn to shake his head. “I’m afraid I don’t have that much on me right now. Can I pay you when I pick up the uniforms instead?”

“I suppose that’ll do. It’s not like I have to worry about you leaving town without paying me. Give me the measurements, and I’ll get started on them tonight. They should all be done by Saintsday at the latest. I’ll tell me sister to let you know if they get done earlier.”

“Sounds good,” Vee said, shaking Natasha’s hand. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Same to you.”

With another item on his seemingly endless to-do list checked off, Vee and his friends headed off to get dinner before heading back to the boarding house for the night.

Main Character Sheets:

Main Character Sheets

Vee Vales

Primary Class: Ghost Maestro (Locksmagister University), Level 29

Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar’s Crest), Level 23

Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 6

Might: 15 (+1)

Wit: 35

Faith: 23 (+1)

Adventurousness: 7

Ambition: 15

Plotting: 19

Charisma: 15

Devious Mind: 24 (+1)

Leadership: 19

Guts: 14

Intimidating Presence: 10

Citizenship: 21

Public Relations: 8

Determination: 4

Persuasiveness: 4

Bargaining: 2

Patience: 1

Competitive Spirit: 1

<3<3 Infatuation <3<3

Alforde Armorsoul:

Primary Class: Hammer Afficionado (Self), Level 29

Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 15

Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar’s Crest), Level 18

Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 10 (+1)

Might: 51 (+1)

Wit: 14

Faith: 28

Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9

Endurance: 28

Intimidating Presence: 12

Heart of a Champion: 12 (+1)

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8

Vigilance: 8

Vanity: 2

Reginald:

Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ??

--~%@(%$@ &% (*$ #&#e !i$$ (#$%#$%#$@!)~--, #$v@& ????

Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 41 (+1)

Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 18

Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 9

Might: 1

Wit: 36

Faith: 16

Ambition: 27

Greed: 24

Deceptiveness: 27

Manipulativeness: 39

$#&*!@!!: !!!

Loyalty: 46 (-1)

Patience: 9

Irritability: 22

Remorsefulness: 17

[#&%%%@%!#@__--#%]

Hop@#!! @#$@!@#

@#$@%%^

#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 8

Bonus: Crestheart's Debt Update

Last week a reader asked if I could include an update on Crestheart's debt situation, so here it is!

Starting Debt: 4391 Gold Fleurs

Total Fleurs Repaid: 280

Current Debt Balance: 4111

Next Payment Amount: 70