Tiny Dungeon

Valterra looked on as the Legendary invader continued to devastate the rats. He needed more creatures. He turned to the Fifth and Sixth Floors, watching as his creatures continued to overwhelm the Delvers there. He was trapped into only using higher rarity creatures due to the fact that the Aether density was so high in the room near his Aether Funnel. He didn’t want to summon his creatures only to have them turn into monsters. He had learned his lesson on that front. Regardless he needed more forces.

Thinking quickly he widened the area at the top of the Sixth Floor and commanded the majority of his Wyvres through. With their Aetheric Blood, despite its lesser quality, he figured they would be fine in the higher Aetheric atmosphere. With bellowing roars and screeches around a dozen of his largest creatures dove through the opening, swooping down to attack the Fallen Shard. They tore into the creature with their savage jaws, hanging onto its back with their wing talons and hind claws.

The Shard responded instantly, shaking itself violently to dislodge the Wyvre’s clinging to it before snatching a few from the air to throw them across the room. Valterra winced as his creatures screamed in pain as they impacted the Dungeon walls at speed. For all of that though, his Wyvre’s were large creatures and their jaws did damage even as the wounds were healed by the Shard’s regeneration.

Something continued to bug him about the Shard. The way the creature’s aura interfered with the Dungeon’s Aether and it’s single mindedness towards pursuing the Fomorian Stalkers. Even now it only sought to hunt down those creatures in particular. Why? He took up the Schema of the Stalkers in his mind’s eye and compared the two. Only now while doing so did he see the resemblance between them. Despite the changes wrought on it by its transformation the two creatures were remarkably similar. His Core racing at the thought he dove into his system messages to pull up the notification he got for trying to absorb the dead bodies of the fallen invaders.

Searching for Access…Access Denied!

Reasons Given… 1) Under the Protection of a Guardian Deity or 2) Error…

To test his growing suspicions he tried absorbing some of the dead invaders from the battle in the walls.

You have attempted to absorb multiple sapient creatures!

Searching for Access…Access Denied!

Reason Given… 1) Under the Protection of a Guardian Deity

‘The small magical people are under the protection of a Deity.’ He looked at the Legendary Shard again in realization. ‘The other ones weren’t.’ His Core raced with ideas and speculations. ‘There must be another reason why I can’t absorb them. Is it because they are Sapient? Probably.’ His Core flickered as he thought through his assertions. ‘If I can’t absorb the bodies…could I claim the living?’

“I told you he would get it,” Ile’Fen stated calmly. Out of the High Spirits gathered he was the calmest. That didn’t surprise his other brothers and sisters. As the High Spirit of Conflict, Ile’Fen knew his way around tense situations. The others were more anxious but still nodded along with Ile’Fen’s statement.

“He won’t have enough Divine Potential to claim it,” Trik’Weri declared. “He will need some help and as you know we can’t interfere without some kind of bargain. Such is the way of Divine Potential after all.”

“It’s too late for any new bargains Trik’Weri. Anything of this magnitude would have to have been set in stone already. You know this,” Krat’Imos spoke as he looked into the Pool of Scrying. “Otherwise the Divine Potential wouldn’t transfer. The bond would need to be old and steady.”

“Hmm…” The other god’s noticed Trik’Weri’s affirmative tone and looked to him. Noticing their stares he couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh yeah…about that.”

As Valterra gathered his Aether and will, intending to claim the creature before him, he felt Trik’Weri descend. “Hey there kid. You’re going to need more than that to do what you’re planning on doing.”

‘What do you mean? I have a lot of Aether I haven’t used yet.’ At Trik’Weri’s silence Valterra thought further and eventually got to the point he was trying to make.

‘I need Divine Potential don’t I?’

“Yup!” Trik’Weri replied cheerfully. “And a lot of it. That’s why I am here.”

Valterra sighed as only a Core could, by breathing a plume of Aether out of his crystalline heart. ‘Another bargain uncle? I still haven’t repaid the last one.’

“Oh no, I am not here to set up a new bargain but to receive payment for the last one. It just so happens that what I will ask of you will probably necessitate me giving something up in return.”

Valterra felt something akin to what anxiety might be like as he responded to the god. ‘What payment are you asking for?’

“I want you to spare a select few of the invaders. Specifically Cormac Torgir and his party.”

Valterra felt the bargain like a blow upon his Divine Spark. But Trik’Weri was also right in the manner that the payment asked was high. He instinctively knew which invaders he was talking about. The leader of the invaders and his party. The ones who had slaughtered their way through his Dungeon with the intent of claiming his Core and enslaving him.

‘How dare you?!’ Valterra seethed. ‘You would ask me to give up the ones who would chain me, the ones who have killed their way through my host to see me brought low!’

“Yes,” Trik’Weri stated calmly and Valterra could feel the weight of those words as they settled over him. They weren’t something he could refuse.

‘Fine!’ He spat mentally. ‘How am I do that?!’

Trik’Weri, as serious as Valterra had ever heard him speak before, began to explain the plan even as the party in question neared the area of conflict.