No Need for a Core?

Placing revived delvers or invaders someplace safe was an important part of maintaining Kazue's boon, so Mordecai turned part of his occasionally paranoid levels of preparedness toward ensuring that the prison cells were incredibly safe places.

Each cell started off as a generous 40x40ft square and fifteen feet tall. However, it immediately lost four feet in each direction in the form of a two-foot thick padding of soft fungi on every surface. The fungi squished well, making it nigh impossible to hurt oneself on, and was tough enough to make it difficult to tear off.

However, it also dissolved readily, making it impossible to choke on if you did manage to tear a piece off. And while it wasn't intended for eating, it was not only non-toxic but rather nutritious.

Lighting came from overhead patches of mushrooms that glowed in a soft, yellowish light that would brighten and dim with the sun. A light dusting of spores gradually fell from the ceiling as well, each carrying a tiny mote of healing energy.

For furnishings and accommodations, everything was built out of more mushrooms and fungi. The door to the cell slid away on a track before swinging open onto a wide passage with another door at the end. This made it safe for inhabitants to deliver food regularly.

All the fungi here were extensions of Sarcomaag, enabling him to monitor the prisoners rather than relying on only the cores' attention, and the entire area was blanketed in the chaos aura Mordecai had implemented. This growth put a strain on the floor boss to maintain, but given that Mordecai was planning on making him one of their next raid bosses that strain should be eased soon.

The invasion had cleared their mana debt completely and they had so much more coming in that one of Kazue's duties during the invasion had been to spend the massive amounts of incoming mana. Several of their paths had been either expanded or paralleled, such as the starting non-combat path which now had a sub-selection room and visitors could select either the original garden-based path or one of the two new paths: A fruit 'orchard' and a massive farm. The orchard was a bit of a stretch for the name given the number of berry bushes to help form the mazes, but it worked.

Both of these new paths offered up lots of food options for people to gather, all of which the dungeon had enhanced. They wouldn't be competing with common farmers, these foods would compete with luxury markets while simultaneously making it so that lower-income people who could make it to the dungeon would have a chance to try these foods themselves.

She'd also begun the prep work for their new zone but had held off on actually claiming new space until they could both devote their full attention to the process.

And right now they had a lot on their plates. While Kazue was getting the dungeon restored to normal operations and getting the delvers moving, Mordecai went to visit a prisoner.

Antoine glared at him from his current seat. "Come to gloat, have you? Or perhaps torture me? You'll get nothing from me."

Mordecai shook his head. "Foolish boy, I don't need information from you. You've already given me so much. Just by sending an avatar at me, you've informed me that there is an enslaved dungeon involved, and based on other information I already know the estate where it must be hidden. Also, you are now a political hostage. All the other prisoners are going to be turned over to Kuiccihan, it's not worth it for me to deal with them. But you, well, if your father is not willing to work with me, I am afraid you will live out the rest of your life in this dungeon."

The lordling bared his teeth in a snarl, but Mordecai simply smiled. "Oh, and I captured the avatar in question. She's chosen to be called Deidre, and she has much nicer accommodations than you do. We'll be working to find any chinks or flexibility in what orders she is bound by. She can't be given new ones directly right now after all. Oh, and thank you for helping grow our dungeon, you've given us so much mana we've expanded several of our zones into multiple paths and are going to add a new one now. It will be quite spectacular."

Mordecai left the cell while Antoine tried to process that information, satisfied with that bit of pettiness. He knew it was petty, but by all the gods had this little prick earned it. Now it was time to write a letter. He walked to the office, partially to give himself a little more time to think about what he was going to say and partially to give his core time to finish rearranging the office.

He'd originally started with the decision to enlarge it for a meeting he wanted to do a bit later, but then he decided that as long as he was doing that, he might want to future-proof it. So now the office was not only significantly larger but held three desks, several chairs, and a small snacks and drinks bar. He wasn't certain Kazue or Moriko would ever actually use them, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have them available.

At the center desk, Mordecai placed several items made from materials brought into the dungeon; paper, ink, quill, wax, and a seal. Each had also been prepared by alchemical or magical means, a process he'd started after Moriko had been invited to dine with the royal family of Kuiccihan. As he began writing he also gathered mana and chi around him, carefully wielding these energies in concert with his materials.

When the letter was done, he carefully folded it and slid it into an envelope he made from another piece of paper. He sealed it with the wax and stamped it with his seal while activating its enchantment and thus finishing the magic he'd been weaving into the letter and envelope.

There are many options on how to secure a message. Mordecai had decided to go with information rather than active protections. The wax seal was tougher than a normal wax to avoid triggering the enchantment because once the seal was broken the wax would liquefy and impregnate the envelope and the paper, leaving a matching mark on both. Additionally, every aspect and material in the letter was imbued with the mark of his aura, which could easily be read by most mages and priests. The alchemical treatments were in part to prime everything to accept his aura and then seal it, refusing further alterations

It would be difficult to open the envelope or alter the contents without there being obvious signs. Not impossible, but it would be difficult and require both a skilled alchemist and a skilled mage. Even then, he'd probably be able to prove alterations others would miss if the alchemist wasn't able to identify and recreate the exact mixture Mordecai had created. Which would be incredibly difficult as his own blood was one of the ingredients. While it hadn't been part of his intention when creating this avatar, he effectively had a unique heritage that bore aspects of several other heritages such as dragons and nephilim.

Once that was done, he created several normal copies of the letter for others to read and sent for the people he wanted to meet with; Deidre, Bellona, Xarlug, Fuyuko, Shizoku, Derek, and three people who had arrived shortly after the Azeria troops: Orchid, Paltira, and Kansif. Kazue simply activated one of her platforms in order to have a more visible presence.

He waited for everyone to arrive before he began. "I don't need all of you here for any specific item I want to cover, but there is significant overlap between various groups and I see no reason to not be open in this situation. First, Deidre." The woman stiffened slightly as he addressed her. "I apologize again for how I bound you. I did not choose to do this lightly, but I sincerely believe that in the long run, it will be for your benefit as well as ours." She inclined her head in acknowledgment of his words, but that did not indicate agreement or acceptance.

"To ensure that everyone is clear on what has happened. Deidre is an invested avatar, sent here as part of the forces that attacked us. Given the totality of the circumstances, I quickly came to two conclusions: That her dungeon is the source of the Puritasi's wealth and that her core has been enslaved for most if not all of that time. Deidre is also the strongest person in this dungeon, including myself. She is stronger than Akahana as well. Because of the circumstance of her capture, she was temporarily severely weakened, and I took advantage of that to engrave several binding seals into her flesh. I have left her mind and her words alone, but I have severely restricted her actions. I do not like having taken this course, but there was no combination of enchanted items I can currently create that would have held once she regained her strength. Direct bindings are not so easily overcome once applied." He was certain there would be several other conversations over the next day or two regarding this, but at least he wouldn't have to repeat this part and everyone would have the same information if they talked between themselves.

"On the topic of prisoners. Deidre will remain here and be generally treated as a guest. We hope that despite the current circumstances we will be able to win her trust and work to gain enough information that we can eventually raid her dungeon and free her core." Technically, Deidre had not confirmed this state of affairs, but she hadn't contradicted his assumptions either. "There is only one other prisoner we wish to retain, and this letter is in regard to him." Mordecai rose from the desk and handed out the copies of the letter he'd written, with the sealed envelope being handed to Princess Orchid Apifera. "I expect that Bellona will pass on the contents of the letter so that arrangements can be made to expedite its delivery."

Baron Emmanuel Demidov of Cantraberg,

I hope you will be pleased to know that your son Antoine is alive and well, though I must inform you that he is being detained as a prisoner. Young Antoine led a large mercenary force in an assault upon a sovereign territory, and as the leader his release will not be readily obtained. I do not seek to create a great burden, but there are responsibilities we both must take care of. A lesson it seems your son has not yet learned.

I believe that you and I are in agreement as to the most probable source of encouragement for such a reckless course of action, but I would suggest that you take no action nor show any sign of these thoughts. Instead, I suggest that you travel to the Azeria Mountain Dungeon in order to begin negotiations that may benefit us both. I acknowledge that doing so without certain parties noticing your actions may be difficult, but I will leave that for you to arrange and will not rush you.

You should know that the first part of the negotiations will be you personally delving the dungeon. We can discuss your options after your arrival, but I am recommending the non-combat path. This is in part a small payment in respect to your son's actions, but I believe that this will give you important insight into our nature before more serious negotiations can begin, and I hope that this insight may aid you in future instructions of young Antoine.

Finally, I should like to mention that I am fond of Captain Alain Vitomir. Speaking with him may be advantageous for you, and I would not mind if he joined you on your visit here.

With due regards,

Lord Mordecai of the Azeria Mountain Dungeon.

Mordecai waited for everyone to read the copies before he explained his intentions. "The only reason I am taking the risk of contacting Baron Demidov is that he sent Captain Vitomir here, and possibly some more subtle groups. There would be no need to do that if he was relying on the Puritasi, which suggests that he does not entirely trust them. The point of this is to make it easier to conduct the assault which will free Deidre's dungeon. Deidre, to set expectations, you will be staying here for the duration. If you leave here, your core will know and that information may get passed on."

Now he allowed himself a small smile. "As for the other prisoners, we are happy to let Kuiccihan deal with them. I imagine that the mercenary companies they belong to will wish to ransom them lest the companies be marked as outlaws or however Kuiccihan handles such matters. And Akuma has charges pending in your justice system I believe. And that means it is time to start revealing a few secrets. First, as some of you may have had the chance to notice, the dungeon is significantly larger than has been apparent."

Kazue's illusion gestured toward another platform which flickered to life with an image of the trading post, which now had the addition of four rows of gigantic stone pillars. She smirked at the reactions of those who hadn't had a chance to find out about them yet. "The town has been part of our territory from the beginning, and we've grown beyond that as well. I do hope some of you will have the chance to enjoy our Hunting Grounds, but be careful, the animals there may be more dangerous than they seem. Especially the bats. And these pillars represent some preparatory work for our next zone, but you will have to wait and see what we have in store for you!"

She waited for everyone to recover from their surprise before continuing. "Deidre, you appear confused. I imagine you have a lot of questions, and later on, I would like to talk with you and answer them. I think it would be better for me to explain from my point of view, and I can always call on Mordecai for technical details if needed. Now for the other secret we've been hiding. I gained a rare boon when we created the wetlands zone. One I didn't know existed, and that Mordecai had been keeping his knowledge of a secret even as he guided me toward it."

A moment of silence increased the anticipation before she finally announced. "For any given delver, guest, or invader in our territory, death will not claim them. Once." They weren't going to mention the year-long cooldown yet; idiots could be hard to dissuade so one shouldn't encourage them. "This merciful boon does have some requirements, such as doing our best to ensure that any revived delvers are placed somewhere safe. It also seems like something others might take advantage of, so we have been keeping it a secret. Given that some of the prisoners have seen their fellows die, I think it is safe to say that the secret is out, so it seems better to ensure the details are known rather than risk letting people think they are immortal while inside our territory."

Mordecai waited for a moment before he said, "This growth is important. My avatar is not actually invested yet, we've been using the secret expansion of our territory outside of our original borders to create that illusion. I am hoping that by spring we will be large enough for me to become fully invested."

Deidre tilted her head in thought before her eyes opened wide. "How did you create an avatar that requires that much power in order to invest its base form?"

He chuckled softly. "That is something we can discuss later. Now, that is everything we needed to announce, but I imagine there are still many questions to be asked and decisions made. If you don't feel the need to stay, feel free to take your leave. If you don't have the experience to know who you can talk to about any subjects we covered here, then I ask that you only talk about it with those already present. If in doubt, you can ask us or Princess Orchid." Fuyuko and Derek jumped at the announcement of Orchid's identity, but he had now relieved Shizoku of the burden of keeping that secret.

Mordecai suspected that Derek would love to leave, or even not have been part of this at all, but Shizoku needed experiences like this and Fuyuko needed to be part of this as a step toward reassuring her about what had happened with Deidre. Mordecai doubted Derek would want to leave while the others were here. Similar reasoning applied to several of the others here, and Mordecai wanted to make sure no secrets were being unnecessarily kept between friends.

As the conversation wound down, Mordecai allowed himself to wonder what was taking his messengers so long to return. He'd suggested they take a few days to experience the outside world as long as they were there, but the troops that had to be organized and sent here had arrived days ago.