The Land: Predators

by Aleron Kong

  1) +10% to earned Dungeon Points

  2) New functionality can now be seen in the Dungeon interface by both the Dungeon Master and the Dungeon Keeper

  3) Roswan can now summon mist workers from his personal village mana pool

  4) Roswan can actively use Dungeon Points and affect passive allocation of Dungeon Points

  5) Once the prerequisites are met, your Dungeon will be able to access the Labyrinth Store

  6) Cannot be directly harmed by any force associated with his Dungeon, but is not protected from the Labyrinth. Even gods may die in that realm!

  Know This! Your choice for Dungeon Keeper has two Qualities that make him ideally suited to become a Dungeon Keeper.

  1) Antisocial – Roswan is not fond of social interaction. He will be able to devote himself fully to the Dungeon. The result of this dedication is +10% to natural growth of monsters, plants and excavated space. This Quality will also make it easy for him to deal with the emotional ramifications of the Dungeon feeding on sapients.

  No shit, Richter thought to himself. Seriously, it was kind of crazy that The Land itself recognized that the man didn’t really like people. It was a valid point though. And crazy or not, Richter was in favor of anything that helped his Dungeon grow.

  Richter did want his Dungeon to grow, but he’d be damned before he used his own people to feed it. Randolphus had said that Adventurers and monsters from the Labyrinth could find the Dungeon, and the chaos seed was honestly okay with them being eaten. The Adventurers would know the risks and monsters were just monsters. Richter wasn’t sure if he personally would feel okay preparing traps and tricks on a daily basis to make the Dungeon more deadly. Roswan, on the other hand, might just be the perfect choice for the role. The man certainly wasn’t evil, but he gave zero fucks. In some ways, the guy was perfectly suited for the role.

  Richter’s inquisitive mind started to wonder if Roswan had become a Dungeon Keeper just by chance or if it had always been his destiny. Chicken or the egg, Richter thought to himself with a headshake. No chance of answering that particular question, so he turned his attention back to the notifications and Roswan’s second Quality.

  2) Puzzle Master – Your choice of Dungeon Keeper has an innate love of and ability to solve puzzles. The result of this Quality is +10% difficulty to both finding and disarming traps.

  Richter was still surprised that Roswan liked puzzles, and he wasn’t crazy about the idea of deadlier traps. As his chamberlain had continually reminded him though, the Dungeon was a resource that needed to be protected from whomever might find their way into it from the Labyrinth. Either way, it was done, and honestly, he was excited to see what Roswan could do with the Dungeon. Richter said goodnight to everyone and walked off with Sion in tow.

  Randolphus stayed behind for a moment to ask Roswan a question, “Why did you say Lord Richter’s name wrong?”

  “When people get too close to me, I like to call them by the wrong name. It discourages them from thinking that we’re friends.”

  Randolphus looked off into the distance with a considering look on his face. “That’s a great policy.” Roswan nodded sagely right before the chamberlain added, “Bill.”

  The elf just smiled faintly and walked into the Dungeon.

  CHAPTER 77 – Day 145 – Kuborn 35, 0 AoC

  Richter was awoken the next morning by a glowing night light. He was completely confused at first as he had been in the middle of a dream about Xena as a nurse. Needless to say, he was more than a bit pissed when he realized that Futen was hovering above his bed.

  “What,” he seethed through gritted teeth, “do you want?”

  The remnant had at least learned enough to moderate the volume of his voice when waking Richter up, “I was instructed to wake you by Randolphus. He is outside the door of your chamber and said that I should remind you that Hisako and Sumiko will be at the Great Seal by first light to review the memories that you gained from the Death Knight. He wishes to speak with you first.”

  Richter closed his eyes and groaned a bit, but knew that his Companion wouldn’t have woken him if it wasn’t important. “How long till sunrise?”

  “Less than one hour, my lord,” came the monotone reply.

  “Okay, tell him I’ll meet him in the conference room in a minute.”

  The glowing orb floated out of the room. Richter sat up and looked to his right. A pleasant memory came to mind as he saw who shared his bed. When he had been walking back to the catacombs, he’d been intercepted by Carei.

  The sexy woman had swayed up to him and said, “We need to talk, my lord, about the bet.”

  “Bet?” he’d asked confused. All he really remembered about her was seeing her beautiful round bottom in his bed after the last party.

  With a pouting moue, she’d responded, “Do you not remember? I suppose that is understandable as you were quite intoxicated when we first met. You sat down at my table and decided to learn how to play Kings and Thieves. A card game,” she added after seeing his questioning look. “You picked it up fairly well, and were luckier than you had a right to be. Each round, you chose to increase the stakes, until the last round, when you bet my body against your body for a night.”

  “Oh,” had been Richter’s slow reply, “and that’s how we ended up in bed together?”

  “Yes,” she’d replied. “I am here because you were quite detailed about the terms of the bet, and all the criteria were not met the other night. I believe debts should be paid in full.”

  “Hmmmm,” Richter had hmmm’d, looking at the sexy woman. At that moment, he had experienced a crisis of conscience. While it might have been true that he’d been playing it fast and loose with his old school Christian upbringing since coming to The Land, the idea of taking a woman to bed because she lost a bet was a bit off even for him. Of course, he didn’t feel bad about whatever had gone down the other night, but taking her to bed again… when neither of them were drunk… just because she felt obligated to pay off a debt… even though she looked so damn good… and even though her mouth had already been a bit open… no, he just wasn’t fully okay with that. So he’d come to a decision. He’d have to politely turn her down, and if she kept on asking him about the sweet words he’d said in private, he’d just have to level and tell her, ‘Oh… well… that’s just what we call pillow talk, baby!’

  With pious righteousness flowing through him, he’d told her, “I’m flattered, but I can’t take you back to my bed because of a debt you owe me.” Carei had opened her mouth to interject, but he’d cut her off, “Now, now. I’m sure that you had a great time, and it’s totally natural that once you find a great ride you want to hop back on. I get it.” He’d had a sympathetic and understanding smile on his face, “There is no judgment. You’re in the trust tree, in the nest, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to dive back into all that,” he’d admitted, motioning to her gorgeously slim body, “sometime soon. I can’t sleep with you just because you owe me a debt though. Consider your debt absolved.” He’d finished his saintly speech with a large flourish of his hands. Richter had been feeling real good about himself, even going so far as to think, I am a gentleman.

  Carei had let him say his piece without interruption. When he was done though, she had grabbed the front of his shirt in a fist and pulled him close. The ridiculousness of a five-foot-six woman who, even with her big booty, looked like she weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet and wearing boots, pulling his six-foot-four, two hundred twenty pounds of pure muscle towards her had flashed across his mind before she’d spoken in a deadly serious voice, “You didn’t win that last bet, lordling. You lost!” Richter’s eyes had opened wide in surprise as she continued, “Now. I was okay with you getting a little nap after the first round since you brought that cute redhead and those gorgeous twins to bed as well, but then you decided to go adventuring. My patience has come to an end! You will pay me what you owe me, and you will do so now! In your own words, it is time for ‘boning, th
e wild mambo’ and,” she thought for a moment before remembering, “the… ‘hunka-chunka!’”

  Then she’d bit his earlobe hard enough to draw a little blood. When he had pulled back with a slightly surprised cry, he saw her rubbing his blood on her lips like it was chapstick. After tasting it with the tip of her tongue, she had started walking towards the catacombs, clearly expecting him to follow. Almost as an afterthought, she’d added, “And you’re going to want to put on that Fish Ring you told me about, unless you think you can hold your breath for a solid four minutes without it.”

  Richter had stared after her for a moment, his heart thudding, before he chased after. On the run he’d retrieved the ring as instructed. With a broad smile on his face, he’d watched her fat ass sway in front of him as he followed. In the back of his mind, a sing-song phrase had been cycling through his head:

  We going to Sizzler. We going to Sizzler!

  Fast forward to now, the woman was snuggled into his bed. As Richter got up, he could only think that despite monsters trying to kill him every day, life wasn’t all bad. Carei whined slightly in her sleep as he took his warmth away, so he just rubbed her bottom for a bit until she settled back into sleep. Alma picked her head up from where she was sleeping on the edge of the bed and blearily blinked at her master for a few moments. Both of them did some morning stretches, then she hopped onto her favorite perch, his shoulders.

  “Good morning, master,” she told him, licking his cheek.

  Richter smiled, still slightly awed that his familiar could speak aloud now. “Good morning, beastie. Let’s go see what Randy wants.”

  The guard stationed outside of his door saluted as he passed, which Richter returned with a smile and a nod. The conference room was only a short walk away, down another tunnel that branched off the central chamber that held the Great Seal. Walking into the room, he saw that Randolphus was already hard at work making notations on a piece of paper.

  “Morning, Randy.”

  “Ah, good morning, my lord. Thank you for joining me.” The stately man stood and bowed to his liege.

  “Sit sit,” Richter told him, waving him down. He pulled a chair out and followed his own advice, “Now, what do we need to speak about?”

  “First, allow me to congratulate you, my lord. I watched closely, and the new villagers were integrating with the old without any problems that I could detect. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves in their own way. I anticipate a smooth transition for the freed prisoners into village life. It means we now have several issues which need to be addressed, however.”

  “You know, one day, I’m going to walk in here and you’ll say, ‘Everything is perfect and we have nothing to discuss!’ Wouldn’t that be a wonderful day?” Richter’s grin was full of false hope.

  “Ah… yes. Quite droll, my lord. If we could address the matter at hand?” Richter sighed fatalistically and nodded. “Very good. Adding so many people to the village at once is quite a boon, but it does raise the question of resource allocation. Specifically, what responsibilities should be assigned to the three hundred and eighteen new workers. I thought it best to place them in the appropriate roles from the very beginning. I have prepared several documents to that effect. The first shows the work assignments of the old villagers.” His voice grew sympathetic as he handed Richter the sheet, “I have adjusted the numbers to reflect our recent losses.”

  Richter nodded at him in appreciation, both for the list and for the fact that Randolphus understood that the deaths of his people was a sensitive subject. Always helpful, the chamberlain had subdivided the document into sections. The first showed those who had a Profession focused on combat. The Spy’s name was missing again, of course.

  Combat Professionals (9)

  Warrior

  Mimi

  Cath

  Ygritte

  Wisteria

  Mage

  Sumiko

  Quasea

  Zarr

  Ranger

  Ulinde

  Rogue

  Hanso

  Next came the noncombat Professions. Randy had added in parentheses when a person had managed to Specialize.

  Noncombat Professionals (23)

  Scholar

  Bartle

  Bea

  Enchanter

  Lord Richter

  (Essence Specialty)

  Gloran

  Engineer

  Roswan

  (Dungeon Keeper)

  Chandler

  Joseph

  Soaper

  Jeremiah

  Lumberjack

  Samuel

  Sailor

  Jerry

  Weaver

  Suen

  Miner

  Borde

  Hunter

  Radil

  Smith

  Krom

  Farmer

  Edging

  Cook

  Takko

  Shipwright

  Shiovana

  Maid

  Tifini

  Cordwainer

  Wudhous

  Carpenter

  Zounm

  Alchemist

  Tabia

  Crafter

  Burk

  Herbalist

  Elora

  Courtesan

  Inara

  The number of Professionals in the village was really adding up. It was especially great that they had all sworn fealty and were with him for the long haul. The next list Randy handed over was even more extensive. Randy had put notations under the guards and healers to show how many of the men and women also had magic. Richter felt slightly bad thinking it, but even though he still mourned the loss of so many of his men and women in the goblin raid, he was glad not many of the casualties had included his magi. Casters were just harder to come by than melee fighters. The more he dwelled on his reaction, the worse he felt, but he knew he was right. Even though it might make him a shitty person, thinking this way might just make him a good lord.

  He turned his attention to the next list, thinking the title was a bit dickish, though accurate.

  Amateurs (413)

  9 researchers

  4 Dark mages

  4 Earth mages

  82 farmers and livestock caretakers

  18 villagers to care for children

  6 gardeners

  15 hunters

  7 smiths

  13 cooks

  8 fishermen

  8 weavers

  10 builders

  12 miners

  2 shipbuilders

  2 skath trainers

  84 meidon sprite fighters

  61 guardsmen

  28 biomancers

  23 aeromancers

  12 healers

  10 biomancers

  41 manual laborers

  11 washers

  4 alchemists

  The last chart on the page showed villagers who didn’t actively contribute to the village and why.

  Nonworkers (249)

  122 Children (<14 years)

  24 Elderly

  92 meidon pixies

  11 Misc

  The ‘nonworkers’ were children who would one day be active villagers and elderly who were too old to do a full day’s work. There were also some who couldn’t work for other various reasons. Even Life magic couldn’t reverse some chronic conditions, apparently. The two lists added up to six hundred and ninety-four souls. The next page Randy handed over was the breakdown of the new villagers. The first thing shown was how many adults and children there were. Sadly, no elderly people had survived the goblin’s captivity. The chamberlain had also broken it down by race. For some reason, there were an inordinate number of elves.

  Human

  Sprites

  Elves

  Dwarves

  Gnomes

  Adults (317)

  83

  55

  101

  12

  66

  Children (42)

  14

>   11

  5

  4

  8

  “This is great Randy, but how does it help exactly?”

  “Ah yes, my lord, this next page may be more useful.”

  The chamberlain handed over another sheet that showed anyone that had a skill rank of apprentice or higher. Unsurprisingly, there were more than a few miners that had hit apprentice rank while working in the goblin mines, though only Enalise had reached journeyman level and gained the Miner Profession. She also had the Crafter Profession. Several of the other new villagers also had Professions: Jeweler, Bowyer, Trader, Painter and one Troubadour.

  The last Profession was apparently similar to a Bard. Bards, however, were considered to be a combat Profession and had Talents that could be extremely useful in battle. In light of that, Bards had to have a minimal personal level of twenty. Troubadours apparently were noncombat Professionals and only required a personal level of ten to go along with a journeyman rank in Singing or some other musical skill.

  “They all swore fealty last night, right?” Richter asked. He’d used Analyze on everyone that had approached the stage at the party, but after using it on hundreds of people it was hard to remember every detail.

  “They did, my lord,” Randolphus affirmed.

  “Good. Make sure every one of our villagers is present at the noonday meal today. The six Professionals from amongst the new villagers will get a Quickening fruit over lunch and I want the village to see it. I also plan to try and awaken Air and Life magic in everyone who swore fealty last night.”

  “Only those who pledged themselves to you?” Randolphus asked. It had been Richter’s practice in the past to try and awaken the magic of everyone in the village, not just those who had bent the knee.

  “Yes,” Richter asserted firmly. “We are growing. That means the one-hundred-percent-free ride is over. It is time that people see that there are clear benefits to loyalty.”