Chapter Four-Hundred Ninety-Three (Patreon)

The delvers keep finding new ways to ramp up their delving.  I keep thinking they’ve settled against a new ceiling, only for them to push through it every time.  Arguably, they’re doing the same amount of delving, just now they’re doing it in a different area, looking for drops or for stuff to make what they need.

Staiven and the antkin are refining their magma protection enchantments, and they need a lot of stuff from the labyrinth to make it work, so delving there is the highest it’s ever been!  There’s also a worldfruit or two with my dragons in them, too, and they’re seeing a lot of delving activity as well.  My dragons are a prime source for the ingredients, fittingly enough.  Some of the fiery herbalism nodes are useful, too, but there’s a lot more useful parts in my dragons than in the plants.

I’m also starting to see people’s armors start to come together.  Basically everyone who preferred the classic plate look is trying to get my composite armor.  People who preferred things like chain and scale are pretty evenly split between wanting to get a full set of composite, and those who are more than happy to get some pieces made from dragon hide.  People who like leather armor are going all in on hide with a few pieces of composite, while mages and the like are actually after the fiery plants to weave their protection.

I might try focusing my drops on things like bracers and shin guards, the sort of things that even a mage can wear without being weighed down.  I think it’ll take a bit more time for things to settle and people understand what works the best for them.

Not to mention, waiting will give the crafters time to fill the niches themselves.  The civilian classes are settling further into support roles, now they’ve had a chance to delve alongside the pros and see the standards they strive for.  A few groups are able to measure up, and while I know they’re still going to delve me, casual adventurers are just going to be in too much danger if they try to tackle the Betrayer.

So they’re knuckling down and redoubling their efforts with crafting.  Coda barely has a new workshop dug out in the sub pens before a group takes up shop and gets to work.  Out in the pens proper, we have just one sub being built at the moment, our prototype to learn how to actually build these things, and to see what small problems arise that get overlooked when the design is still only on paper.

The different systems are still being worked out, and the math is constantly changing as the numbers are run.  Like the strength requirements for the hull.  Messing with gravity to mess with pressure will work, but it’s not the magic bullet I was hoping it’d be.  Sure, it keeps the stuff directly above from crushing down, but the stuff to the sides is more than happy to press in.  Pressure hits at every angle, not just from above.

So instead of a single magic bullet, we have to magically double-tap the problem.  Spatial affinity means potentially not even having sides to worry about.  While I doubt it’ll be viable to just not let the sides be a thing, I do think we can use it to move most of those forces above or below, and then let gravity deal with those, too.  It’s going to be a delicate balance, but submerging my vines makes theories simple to test.

I don’t even need to dunk them in magma, because pressure is pressure, no matter the fluid.  And I have easier ways to test magma protection.  The heat protection is the simplest, and one I’m comfortable enough with to let Biluin test his new suit of armor with himself.

It’s got the latest suite of enchants, with pressure protection being a lot easier for a person than a vessel.  Probably because of all that incompressible water that makes them up, where a sub needs a lot of very compressible air.  Either way, Thing isn’t sure exactly how deep the magma protection will go, but the calculations are promising.

Also promising is Biluin’s examination of the armor.  Right now, he’s at the docks, carefully examining the suit as it sits on a stand, with Teemo, Thing, Jello, and Aranya nearby.  Biluin walks around the stand, taking in every detail.  Jello’s tried to make it a bit shinier than the armors we’ve made so far, with a lot of small quartz scales as a bit of a facade over the composite underneath.  The scales offer yet another layer of enchantment, though these ones are basically as ablative protection, designed to break so the rest of the armor is unharmed.

The composite itself has my blessing, but the quartz layer is mostly left to fend for itself.  Normal armor is supposed to stay strong, but ablative is designed to break, and that dissonance makes it hard for the blessing to stick.  I don’t think Biluin minds though, as he turns to my High Priestess and Scions with a wide smile.

“Every day, I see more why the Blessed Shield is a friend and ally to Thedeim.  This armor looks superb!”

Jello burbles happily at the praise as Thing preens.  “You’ve got the latest version, Biluin,” explains Teemo.  “I’m not sure if the scales are going to be a standard feature, but they look more like what a Shieldie should wear, and they’re designed to break so the rest of the armor doesn’t.  Shouldn’t be too difficult to replace them, either.”

Biluin nods as he removes one of his gauntlets, aiming to replace it with one from the stand.  “I’ve seen a lot of earth and water affinity paladins utilize a similar principle with their protection abilities.  I’m eager to see if it works here, too.”  It doesn’t take him long to swap out the gauntlet, then he slowly strides toward the magma pool, the hand out in front of him.

Aranya and my Scions watch eagerly as he gets closer and closer, and I even take the liberty of checking on him as he goes.  I’m sure he can feel my presence, but he doesn’t react.  Mostly, I’m feeling for the temperature inside the armor, and what I’m feeling bodes well for what we’ve made.

The temperature steadily rises in most of his armor before leveling off at a hot summer day, instead of the furnace temperature this close to the magma.  The gauntlet, though, is still comfortable, judging by how much sweat the rest of him is making.  He soon nods and returns to the group, and I give him back his privacy.

“Truly impressive work.  Most heat protection still makes the wearer uncomfortably warm.  I’m told it takes a lot more mana to reduce the heat further, so the enchanters must balance the draw.  But I hardly felt a trickle of demand from the gauntlet.”

Thing makes signs that Teemo translates.  “He says that’s how normal enchantments work, but the Boss has a few concepts that approach the problem from a different direction.  That I’m not going to explain.  No, Thing.  He doesn’t even know enchanting in the first place, he’s not going to get it!  I barely get it, and I’m the one that spelled it out for you!”

Thing plays up being hurt, though his performance is ruined by Aranya trying to hold back her laughter, and Jello making absolutely no effort to hold back hers.  Biluin chuckles and nods with Teemo.

“The Herald is right, I’m afraid.  I only know enough to know it’s impressive.  The details would be beyond me.”  He looks back to the armor before continuing.  “Is it set for submersion?”

Teemo nods.  “We’ve done testing of our own that says it’s ready, but nobody’s taken it for a dive yet.”

Biluin smiles wide.  “Then I would be honored to be the first!  If the cooling is so effective, I am eager to see the rest of it in action.”

Jello burbles happily and engulfs the stand, taking the armor to a nearby room for Biluin to be able to change.  Said paladin looks a bit confused as to why Jello would do that, so Aranya enlightens him.

“Jello will help you change.  It will feel strange, but she knows what she’s doing.”

The implication of what he’ll have to do clearly has him reconsidering his acceptance, but the brave paladin isn’t going to be dissuaded by a dressing room.  He steels his resolve and follows Jello into the room, with Thing right behind him.  Teemo and Aranya stay just outside, close enough to still talk, but giving him a bit of privacy as they explain.

“Most of it should be like having an aqua affinity enchantment, like the potions,” explains Teemo.  “If you’ve delved Hullbreak or any other underwater dungeons, you should know what to expect.  The temperature should stay comfortable, so if you feel like things are getting too warm, get out quickly so we can figure out what’s happening.  The biggest new thing will definitely be the sonar.”

Biluin only half listens as he tries to adjust to being mostly submerged in Jello.  I think he’s a bit ticklish, but Jello is professional enough to not mess with him as she works on getting him changed.  “Sonar?  I’ve heard of batkin using similar, but I can hardly imagine it.”

Thing holds up the helmet for Biluin to look at while Teemo continues to explain.  “Well, you can’t see through magma like you can with water, so we needed something else, and this is what Boss suggested.  Sound travels well in magma, so the helmet knows how to listen and will try to show you everything of interest.  You’ll need to face it for it to show up, but it will also translate sounds so you won’t be effectively deaf and blind out there.  That’s probably going to be the part that needs the most improvement.  Boss calls it user interface, and says it can take a lot of versions to get something that feels good and intuitive.”

Biluin nods, trying not to giggle as Jello gets his boots off, and the new ones on.  “Ahah, I’ll keep that in mind!”  It doesn’t take Jello too much longer to get him suited up, and I’m pretty sure she did it a lot faster than it would normally take someone to change armors.  Soon enough, Biluin walks out of the room, helmet under his arm and dignity mostly intact.

“Shall we to the magma, then?” he asks, and the others nod, following him to the pool.  They all stay well back, since they don’t have the armor on, and Biluin soon puts on the helmet.  He immediately holds his arms out as he tries to gain his balance, trying to find his equilibrium with the new display in his face.  He takes a few awkward steps, then a few testing ones, and soon he’s walking around in circles like he’s been doing it for most of his life.

“How peculiar,” he says, the voice muffled yet still noticeable from the outside.  “The illusion is rudimentary, but works well enough, I suppose.  Now, to test the magma.”  he resolutely marches to the molten stone and tests it with his boot.  He gives it a quick poke, then a few testing prods, before stepping in up to his ankles, looking more like someone testing a wetsuit than a magmasuit.

“Temperature seems fine,” he announces before wading deeper.  “The illusion shows the magma, but also shows what’s beneath it.  It seems much more clear beneath,” he comments, and Thing jots down a note.  The display had been optimized for working under the magma, so he might want to make it work better while in air, too.  Not the highest priority, but he has his pride to make his creations the best they can be.

Biluin wades out until only his head is above the magma, looking pretty confident.  “Temperature still feels fine!  I’m going under now for a few minutes, I’ll return!”  with that, he sinks below the surface.  I poke a few of the wyrms in the area to keep an eye on him, and do the same myself.  He stays within the pool, and so within my territory, and he mostly just explores around for a few minutes.  There’s not too much to see just yet, but I do get to watch him track a wyrm with his eyes, the face of his helmet following it as it swims around on patrol for fire elementals.

Soon, he’s satisfied, and marches back up and out of the pool, and I’m happy to see the insulation seems to be working properly.  Not only is it keeping the heat from getting inside, it’s keeping it out almost entirely!  The quartz scales are hot to the touch, but not dangerously so.  More like cement on a hot day, rather than the intense and dangerous heat of magma.  Biluin gets well away from the pool before taking the helmet off, taking a few moments to blink and get his bearings before he smiles wide.

“I do believe it works!  It takes some time to get used to the illusion, but the armor itself was perfect.  I could move freely, I could breathe easily, and I felt neither pressure nor heat,” he dutifully reports, and Thing dutifully jots down.

“Would you be willing to help us test it more?” asks Aranya.  “I’m sure you have some suggestions for it.”

Biluin reaches a hand up to rub his chin, pausing just before his skin makes contact with the heated quartz.  “Well… the heat when coming out could be an issue,” he comments, earning a snort of laughter from Teemo, even as Thing jots it down.

“How about the illusion?” asks my Voice.  “It looked like you were having trouble adjusting at first.”

Biluin waves it off.  “Perhaps a bit, but I can’t imagine how it could be improved.”

Thing signs and Jello burbles, so Teemo translates for them both.  “They say that’ll be their job, if you’re willing to try out different helmets and let them know what works and what doesn’t.”

“Of course!” he answers without hesitation.  “I would be honored to help.”

Thing scurries off to get a different notebook while Teemo gives Biluin a sympathetic look.  The paladin looks confused at that, at least until Teemo clarifies.

“Thing’s getting his logbook, the one he uses for tests.  If you let him, he’ll have you trying out new configurations all day, every day, until the raid.  And I don’t mean the one on Poe.”

Biluin looks rightfully concerned, but also determined.  “If that’s what it takes to ensure the armor is as safe as it can be, so be it.”