The Dungeon of Loving Beasts 4: Unscripted Interactions (Patreon)

David peered down from his treetop perch, eyes fixed on the group of moving stones below. Tensing slightly, he focused on his leader. <Sir? I think I found a group of monsters, though these ones aren’t hunting anything.>

<Let me see…> Gwyn responded, his ‘gaze’ passing to look in the area surrounding his scout. <Hmm. Some sort of moving stone? More like a Talus than a Geodude, though…>

<Hold on. I’ve a Ranger skill to use here.> The recently-evolved Grovyle shot back. Focusing, he used his new skill, ‘Observe’, to identify the rocky monsters lumbering about. <Looks like they’re some sort of ‘lesser elemental.’ Tough as stone, though a lot less durable, since they’re held together with magic.>

<Do you think you can solo them?>

<No.> David responded, yellow eyes passing over the dozen or so gathered monsters. <Too many to do safely. Jean… might be a good option. I’d want Steven or Yahenni to handle them all, though.>

<We’ll arrange an expedition soon. For now, stay away, and keep scouting. Jean said she found a cave of kobolds three miles southeast of your location; Lee and Keldary are coming out to help clear them out.>

David nodded, leaping from tree to tree as he considered that information, before something on the ground caught his eye. Landing lightly on a springy branch, he allowed himself to slide to the ground and land with a quiet thump. The patch of vivid mushrooms, phosphorescence visible even in the afternoon sun, drew his gaze like a magnet. <”What wonders exist in this odd world…”> He murmured, even as he began to scoop the unidentified fungi into his satchel.

Behind him, he heard a branch snap, and his head came up to scan the woods behind him. For a few instants, the woods seemed clear. David blinked, his new Ranger’s Gaze skill triggering, his eyes sharpening on the man moving under camouflage. David eyed the man before focusing on his link. <Gwyn, do you recognize this man?>

<Hmm. It appears to be the town’s Ranger, Issac. I wonder what he thinks of you?>

--(0)--

Issac hadn’t quite known what to think when he’d spotted the short, green figure dashing through the woods. While the size reminded him of a goblin, the speed was much greater than the little beings were often capable of. Honestly, if it was a goblin, the speed would put him less on edge; miasma born goblins, like kobolds and other wild monsters, could never gain class levels; if the speedy creature was a goblin, it was likely fully sentient, and could be reasoned with.

But upon getting closer, it was obvious to see the creature was no goblin; or indeed, nothing like he’d ever seen before. Standing close to three feet tall, the reptilian creature moved like something between an animal and a man; moving on all fours as it clambered through and along the canopy, but coming upright to inspect its surroundings and forage in the underbrush. Odder still, the creature had what was unmistakably green leaves growing from wrists, head, and rear.

Issac edged closer, trying to get a closer look, only for the creature’s gaze to snap up, eyes flickering before flashing once, landing directly upon him. Issac gulped. Class skill. Has to be some sort of scout class. He couldn’t help but hide his grimace. Not a monster, then. Something more. His eyes flickered as he took in the creature from head to toe, noting the leather satchel hanging at its waist. Forager for the bio-mage, high ranking for it to have class skills. How much secrecy does its master want?

Issac tentatively sent out a pulse of his wild empathy, hoping that this creature was still animal enough to communicate with. Instead, he felt a matching brush of its own recognition, as the very-much sentient being, caught his attention with its own. A grin formed on the face of the lizard, a raw chuckling sounding through the woodlands. “Gro-vyl-vyl-vyl…”

“Ah… do you understand me?”

The creature nodded, grin equally wide. “Vyl.” Issac caught tone and emotion, deciding the not-monster was a male.

Issac nodded absently. “Don’t suppose you could let me know what you’re doing out here, so I could let folks stay out of your way?”

The creature tilted his head, before pulling a handful of mushrooms and bones from his pouch, then gesturing towards a cliffside. “Gro-vyl.”

“Foraging?” The monster nodded, then mimed, stabbing forward with one hand as the other returned the material to his pouch. Feeling out the emotions behind the gesture, Issac hesitantly elaborated on his pantomime. “And hunting?” Eyeing the cliffs and remembering the tracks he’d seen near that particular cliff, he continued. “Hunting monsters?”

The Grovyle nodded.

“Well, I won’t keep you, then. Good hunting.” Issac offered, watching as the lithe shape responded with a short salute before bounding off through the woods. “...I wonder what they need Kobolds for? Maybe flesh?” He shook his head. “Better neighbors than most monsters, at least…”

--(0)--

Steven sighed as he slipped off the land and into the river, immersing himself in the shallow water and heading through the stream. There was something about being back in his natural place which pleased him, even if this ice-cold water was a great distance from the warm swamps his instincts told him were his true natural habitat. For all the little pond Gwyn had created for the dungeon and its slow expansion on the first floor pleased him there wasn’t much space there.

Or so much interesting stuff to see! He thought in delight as he pulsed forward, jaws clamping on a silver-scaled fish, the trout devoured in a few bites. Mm. One thing I don’t miss is damned pokechow and pokeblocks, but a diet of just berries is only marginally better. Sometimes, you just need a little meat.

With that thought percolating through his mind, Steven eyed a small school of fish up ahead, swimming against the current without a care in the world. Bringing a few of those back to the dungeon… even if Gwyn’s unwilling to make more water types for such a small pool, they might be willing to spawn some normal fish for me. He grinned, then his eyes narrowed. Okay, but I’m not going to be able to just carry the fish back to the lair. Not enough to matter, anyway.

Swimming upstream, Steven idly stirred the rocky soil beneath him with his tail, blinking as a piece of wood drifted from the riverbed. Looking down, he spotted a few odd iron bits, the remnant of some forgotten barrel. As he continued to look, he began to spot other debris or detritus littering the riverbed, buried in the dark soil and under rocks. Sniffing, he scented copper, corroded bronze, tarnished silver… and the faintest touch of gold.

Hmm. That’s an idea…

--(0)--

“Bring that water quick, Lews. The missus wants to wash her pots before we start on the roast, and we’ll need fresh water for that.”

“Yes, Mr. Aelfric…” Lews muttered, the boy of the tavern a little grouchy as he snagged the two buckets and hauled them to the river. Heading through the streets, he groaned as he reached the river and lowered the first bucket into the water. Moments later, he yelped as the bucket was yanked out of his grasp, looking down into the water to spot a pair of red eyes blinking up at him. “What–”

“Naw.” The monster reached up, and thrust out one arm,grabbing the boy’s hand with the other. Lews gulped, ready to yank his arm back, only for a few cold metal discs to get pressed into his fingers. He looked down, then blinked at the shine of gold and silver.

“...wait.” The boy scrambled over as the reptilian monster moved to the shoreline, scooping up the abandoned bucket. “Hang on, are you trying to pay for my bucket?” The monster stopped, looked back at him, then nodded. “...you’re overpaying me. Also, I need that.”

“Croc?”

“Look…” The boy paused. “Umm. Can you come with me? I mean, you can have the bucket, if my master says it’s okay. But he’d be better to explain everything. And  what…” He looked down. “...well, it’s definitely a gold coin, but I don’t recognize the type.” He looked back at the monster now trotting by his side. “Where did you get this, anyway?”

“Naw.” The lizard-creature pointed into the water.

“In the river? I mean… I guess if it was dropped a long time ago…” The boy trailed off. “Well, once I fill my buckets…”

“Naw!” The lizard barked, before opening his jaws and spitting crystal clear water into both of the buckets, holding them out to Lews. “A-naw.”

“...right.”

A few minutes later, Master Aelfric looked up to see Lews stumbling back in with the buckets. “Good lad. Take that back quick as you…” He trailed off as he saw the monster trot in behind Lews. “Lad?”

“He’s… a customer, I think?” Lews looked behind him. “He wanted to buy my buckets. Don’t know why, but he offered way too much money for them.” Lews dumped the coins on the counter, Aelfric’s eyes shooting open at the small mound of precious metal sitting on his counter.

“...why do you want to buy a bucket, anyway?” The lizard gave a deadpan, before miming putting something in a container. “Trying to carry something. Alright…” The monster mand a little wriggling motion with its claws. “Something moving. Worms?” Head shake. “No… fish?” A nod. “Live fish. I see.” Aelfric drummed his fingers on the counter. “Well, for two of your pennies, I’ll give you a little lesson on what all you have here’s worth, and I’ll give you a meal to boot. Sound fair?”

In response, the monster nodded, then hopped up to sit on one of the stools. “Heh, good call. Right, so here you’ve got… one gold coin, three silvers, four bronze, and eight coppers. A copper, or penny, is usually one of the lowest denomination of valuable coins, at least whole.” He reached down and picked up a copper, then mimed slicing it into pieces. “Some people clip these into pieces, but that’s always seemed a little wasteful. No, the smallest coin people trade is worth a penny, most of the time. Eight pennies to one bronze coin, sometimes called a ‘metal’.” He pushed the coin forward. “One bronze is, on average, the pay for one man’s day of labor, if her knows no skilled trade.” He jerked his head to one side, at Lews. “Lews, being a boy, gets half that, put on his account; I pay him by the moon, that which he doesn’t take in food and trade goods for the family.”

“Naw?” The monster jabbed at the coins.

“Right, right. So, ten metals to a silver coin, sometimes called a Dolar, or a Reale, or a Peso, or a Mark. Depends on the nation which makes the coin, really.” He held it up. “I think this was one of our kingdom’s pieces made two or three hundred years ago. Coat of arms is the same, but I don’t recognize the monarch on the other side.” He laid down the coin, then picked up the last gold piece. “And here’s a Crown. Or rather, a gold piece with the same weight as a crown.” He eyed the inscription on the coin. “Must have come from one of the nations which got swallowed up by Auxtria. Don’t recognize the make, but the words seem similar to their script.”

“...naw?”

“History lesson, erm…” He paused. “You have a name?”

“Croc-a-naw.”

“...is that a name?” The blue monster tilted his head back and forth. “But you’ll answer to it.” Nods. “Well then.” He pushed the coins back to the monster, even as a plate of hot food was set before him. “Whitefish, small beans, and forest veg, with a little salt.” Aelfric said proudly. “Enjoy. Costs one penny.” As Crocanaw nodded and began to dig in, Aelfric continued. “So, with all of that in mind, one bucket usually costs a bronze or a handful of pennies; wood is easy to shape, nails are a little pricey, and craftsmanship matters. The Coopers down the way can help you out, they’re right down the way.”

Croconaw looked up, nodded, then finished devouring his food. Wiping off his jaw with one arm, he scooped up the coins, then paused and tossed a silver one to Lews. “Naw.” He said before he trotted off, looked both ways, then looked back. “Naw!”

“I think he just hired you as a guide, lad. Get going.” As his apprentice sprinted off, Aelfric sat back and shook his head. “Monsters in the hills, alright. Friendly ones, at least.” He chuckled. “Maybe there is a dungeon up there… no, that’s silly.” He stopped. “Would be good for business, though…”

--(0)--

<You’re pregnant. Or… with egg?> I paused as I looked over my recently-evolved formerly-normal type.

Lee tilted her head, leaves flopping as she looked up at my core. <”While I would be happy to continue fighting I’m looking forward to being a mother, anwyl. This is my way to expand our population without having to force you to–”>

<Stop. There is no reason for you to justify it to me, Lee. I was merely surprised. Who’s the father, anyway?>

<”I would have thought you’d have been paying more attention?”>

<Really not my thing, dear.> I responded drolly. <And if it’s not my business, say so. Would you like me to set aside a room or two for you in the outskirts of the new floor?>

She cocked her head. <”You can do that? I thought we’d be reaching the edges of the mountain, with the amount of space we’ve used up.””><Dungeons apparently warp space just from existing, to a certain extent. Yahenni has been quite incensed at that revelation. Expanding the ‘borders’ of the first floor and adding a few– or few dozen– side rooms is not much of a hassle.>

The Leafeon nodded slowly. <”I think I would like some privacy to rear and protect my eggs, thank you.”>

<I’ll get on that as soon as I can.>

I hummed as Lee turned, sauntering out of my core chamber. I gave an internal sigh. <Right, private rooms; this isn’t just a Dungeon, it’s the home of every one of my partners. I can’t just leave it this open, either. What to do…>

With a thought, I pulled open my menu, and looked at my security options. Apparently, there wasn’t any means regularly available to fully block off locations in the Dungeon from adventurers; none which didn’t involve setting up lethal traps or intricate puzzle locks.

After a few minutes of consideration, I realized something. <Obscurity. I don’t need to make the homes of my partners completely secure if the way into their homes are sufficiently difficult to find.> I muse aloud, before starting to work.

And all around my main first floor chamber, thin crevices form from the walls, leading to small hollows and grottos. And within one grotto, five small brown eggs are laid.

The first of many.