| Just like any other living being, dungeons can grow in both age and experience. Adventurers love to enter dungeons to plunder them for their wealth of riches and treasures. Entire cities have been built around the older dungeons of the world, in order to use them as sources of economic prosperity. Such as an endless mine of precious metals could offer. However, it is a continual arms race. The more that an adventurer enters a dungeon to kill monsters, the stronger they become as a combatant. However, the more intruders who fail to survive their incursion into the dungeon, the stronger the dungeon becomes. This is where the nomenclature of ‘low level’ and ‘high level’ dungeons arises. A lesser experienced adventurer is obviously better off facing a lesser experienced dungeon, as high level dungeons will field incredibly powerful and deadly monsters and traps in order to keep any nosy outsiders away from its many secrets. The rewards for plundering a high level dungeon are, of course, far greater. Many have argued that it is in the best interest of civilization to simply let dungeons grow, as if they were fruit trees meant for us to harvest. But others, given that dungeons will also exert their magical forces out into the landscape, making them deadly to traverse, have argued that doing so is dangerous for a society as a whole and that wealth can be found elsewhere. - Monsters running around in the back-lands are no help for anybody, after all. The debates continue to this day. But the fact of the matter is that all of the most important economic hubs in the world have an old-world dungeon at their heart, from which they continue to draw out boundless prosperity to this day. These dungeons are closely watched and guarded day and night, for fear of a ‘dungeon break’, when a dungeon-core sends its monsters out into the world in a rare offensive measure. |
~ Excerpt from Barnatus Barnacious’ Big Book of Dungeons
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| [Hallowed Ground] : Your dungeon is a sacred place. All friendly monsters will passively regenerate SOUL and receive a +1 DMG boost to all of their physical attacks. |
A taloned finger selects the skill on the window. The glass pane immediately blinks and then fades away in response.
A moment later, a slight tremor pushes through the soul, shaking everything with a minor quake. Isaiah wobbles, steadying itself, as a ripple moves through the ground, expanding outwards towards the edge of the dungeon’s territory.
It’s hard to explain, but something seems to shift very suddenly in the atmosphere of the place. A ripple flows outward from Isaiah, like a gust of wind moving out in all directions around itself. The grasses of the forest here, dark green and lush, become brighter and almost a little blue in their hues. The air of the forest, damp and nourishing, becomes cleaner and lighter. A peace comes over the clearing. It is as if the rays of daylight, shining down over the wood, had suddenly become so intense, that they could ward off any terrible feeling or presence, which might wander this way.
It feels safer now. It feels… sacred.
Isaiah nods, happy about the skill. This is a good feeling for a nest to have.
Besides, regenerating soul-points will solve a lot of its problems and the uthra doing an extra point of damage per hit might not feel like a lot, but with multiple creatures spawned at once, each doing two damage per hit, rather than just one damage, it sure seems like it will add up fast.
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] x 3 |
| Cost: {12} SOUL |
| SOUL: 03/15 |
Three new uthra appear, coming together as spheres of vivid light, before turning into their strange, fairy-like shapes.
One has green wings, one has black wings and one has white wings.
The black-winged one nods. “Hey.”
The green one waves. “Good afternoon.”
The white one lifts its hands. “Hallow. Praise be.”
Isaiah blinks. It was expecting the others to come back. These seem to be new ones. It looks over towards the red-uthra, who is setting to work on harvesting the boar. Feeling its gaze, the little uthra turns its head. “…What?” Isaiah points at the smears on the ground, that are their former compatriots. “Them?” asks Red. “Sorry, chief. They’re dead.”
Dead?
Dead-dead?
Feeling some of its soul-points having been regenerated from its new holy perk, Isaiah lifts its hands
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] |
| Cost: {04} SOUL |
| SOUL: 01/12 |
A new uthra appears next to the other new-comers. It has see-through, crystalline wings. “Enchanted to meet you.”
Oh.
Isaiah looks at the bodies.
Now it feels bad.
Really bad.
“What did you expect?” asks the red uthra. “I told you. We’re workers, not fighters. Everyone gets one shot at life. That’s it.”
It didn’t really think that they would die and it didn’t really think that they would really stay dead forever. They were summoned with magic, after all. Isaiah frowns and points at the bodies. “Get. Bury.” The black one sets to work. “Gather. Quarried stone.” The white one flies away. Isaiah points at the remaining two. “Make shelter. Make strong. Make pretty.” It points to the river. “Make peaceful place.”
“Will do.”
Isaiah points at the red one.
“Yeah, yeah,” it says, waving Isaiah off before it can say anything. “I’m already working on it. Sheesh.”
Isaiah nods.
There is much work to do. More threats will come and the tower hasn’t even really been started yet.
“I’ve established a quarry on the other side of the river,” says the white-winged uthra. “Just behind the tree-line there. It’s on the edge of your territory.” It drops down a very big rock, smooth and polished, at Isaiah’s harpyish feet. Honestly, Isaiah has no idea how it made this. But the uthra as a species seem capable of accomplishing many different tasks.
Isaiah nods, pleased. “Good work,” it praises, knocking on the square stone. “Strong stone.”
| New Area |
| ~ [Dungeon] ~ |
| Quarry {Level 1} |
| A simple, surface-level quarry. Simple construction materials can be gathered here. |
| Level {1} Effect: Allows the collection of quarried stone. |
| {1}[Quarried Stone] added to the stockpile! |
| (Normal)[Quarried Stone] | |
| A strong, dense, hand-worked stone that is suitable for a stable construction. It is strongly resistant to physical and magical attacks. | |
| Weight: 15 kg | Value: 006 Obols |
“Yes, there’s a lot of strong stone on that side of the river, once you get past the top-soil. I think it will last us for a long time.”
Isaiah thinks for a while, and then lifts its hands.
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] |
| Cost: {04} SOUL |
| SOUL: 11/15 |
A gray-winged uthra appears next to the white one. “Go help,” commands Isaiah.
| - [Dungeon] - |
| Max workers reached! |
| You now have {6} [UTHRA] |
| You can currently only summon {6} [UTHRA] |
“Will do,” replies the gray uthra, and the two of them fly off, going to gather more stones.
Isaiah nods, pleased with the progress being made. This is good.
Something buzzes to its side. “See that?” asks the red-one. Isaiah turns its head, looking at it. “That little window there? That’s your stockpile.” Isaiah looks at the window that it had already seen once before. “These are all of your materials. When we collect new stuff, it’ll appear here after a minute.”
| ~ [Stockpile] ~ |
| - Perishables - Berries Red: 08 Blue: 29 Fish River Salmon: 01 Hunting Boar: 56 kg Bones: 8kg |
| - Raw Materials - Wood Dead Wood: 06 kg Stones Assorted: 19 kg Quarried Stone {15kg}: 1 |
“The bigger this gets, the more stuff we can do. But the more attractive we'll be to attack too.”
Isaiah nods. “Thank you,” it says, remembering an old phrase.
“It’s a little unusual to bury monsters,” says the black-winged uthra. “Dungeons are sort of self-composting things, you know?”
Isaiah looks at it and then shakes its head, returning its gaze to the little headstones that the creature had made. They are before the tower, just opposite of the river, with a good view of the landscape.
“It is important,” says Isaiah, looking at the holy ground all around them. “- Dignity.”
“If you say so, boss,” replies the black-winged uthra, dusting its hands.
| New Area |
| ~ [Dungeon] ~ |
| Graveyard {Level 1} |
| A well kept, but simple, holy graveyard. The bodies of the slain are put to rest here, but their spirits remain in faith. |
| Level {1} Effect: Summons {1} [Will o’ the wisp] for every {4} slain combatants buried here. |
| ~ [Will o’ the wisp] ~ | |
| Class: Monster | Element: HOLY |
| Type: Spell-caster - Illusionist | Category: Revenant* |
| Rank: F | |
| Level: 01 | |
| Will o’ the wisps are mysterious spirits known to haunt deep forests and wetlands. They will often lure unsuspecting victims into deadly waters and sinkholes, where they are vulnerable to its magical attacks. | |
| [Spirit Bolt]: Deals {2} HOLY to a target within 8 meters. | |
| HP: 14/14 | SOUL: ∞/∞ |
| *Revenants do not pay SOUL to use spells. They are weak to HOLY. |
The new creature, a loose, flowing flame of white-blue light, rises from the graves and hovers up into the air. It floats there for a time, before meandering off, to wander around the grounds outside of the tower.
“Damn. Didn’t know that would happen,” says the black-winged uthra. “Good eye, boss.”
In truth, Isaiah didn’t know this would happen either. But it seems like a very useful development. It would seem that the further the dungeon, the tower, is developed, the more areas will be created and these areas will allow them access to new monsters, spells, traps and other future advancements.
Isaiah leaves to continue its work, letting the black-winged uthra stay in its role of tending to the graveyard, which will surely grow in the future.
The green and the crystalline uthra have been busy as well.
The green one has been tending to the forest, all around the tower. It has started using its magic to tend to the plants and the trees there, to help them grow healthy and strong, creating natural barriers as well as abundant resources. It has also, at the same time, begun work on a path. It leads away into the forest, for ease of access.
— A double-edged sword.
It will allow intruders to reach the tower somewhat easier, but it will also allow for future developments in that direction, as well as making it easier to send scouts out into the world.
Isaiah nods, pleased and lets the green one return to its tasks.
The will o’ the wisp hovers past them, roaming the forest as a haunting spirit, its glow illuminating the gaps between the trees.
“I was thinking,” says the crystalline uthra. Isaiah looks back its way. “Let’s set up a fountain or a well or a hot-spring or something here,” it suggests, pointing at the area south of the tower and next to the river.
Several statues are already in place there and Isaiah can’t help but notice that they look vaguely familiar. They’re long legged, tall standing creatures with two arms and two wings.
“We’ll play into the whole ‘healing holy place’ vibe,” it says, buzzing around Isaiah’s head and floating before one the statues. “That will get some heat off of our backs when the humans start to show up,” it says, mimicking the praying pose of the construction. “We’ll let them rest up outside of the dungeon, which, sure, is great for them and a bad idea for us,” it says. But then it taps its head. “The idea is though, that they’ll wander through the forest, tired and hungry and dirty to get here, right?”
Isaiah nods.
The uthra floats up to the top of a statue, sitting in the overturned pot it's pouring out over its head. “Well, then we’ll give them a place to rest and heal up, before they enter the dungeon!”
Isaiah tilts its head, unsure. This seems like an incredibly terrible idea. Why would they want their enemies and predators to be in good health before they plunder their home?
“I know what you’re thinking,” says the creature. “Why would we do that?” Isaiah nods. “I’ll tell you why,” says the crystal-uthra. It flies over towards Isaiah and taps just above its eyelid. “Because once they get here to rest and take a break, they’re probably going to end up staying for a few hours. Heck, maybe they’ll even camp the whole night, before entering the dungeon! Humans love their hot-springs,” it explains, apparently very excited about this for some reason. “That will let us watch them, study them and adapt to their tactics and capabilities, before they even ever step into the tower!”
Isaiah thinks for a moment. It’s an interesting suggestion.
They’ll make a quiet, restful place for their enemies to heal and prepare themselves in, just outside of the tower. This will give them time to closely observe the intruders and to see what their tricks and plans are, before they ever even enter into the dungeon itself. A remarkably sneaky idea.
Plus, there is something to what the uthra said.
Humans love their holy places. Isaiah remembers that. If they present themselves as something that isn’t a threat, there is less danger of a real attack-force being sent their way, once they’re discovered. “I’ll need some of the quarried stone though, so the walls will take a little longer.”
Isaiah nods, happy with the idea now, after having thought about it. “Do it.”
The crystal-uthra gives Isaiah a thumbs-up and sets to work, starting to dig out the ground.
It is night time.
Isaiah sits by the fire-pit, smelling deeply of the rich aroma of roasting boar-meat. It smells incredible and it can’t wait to eat a real, heavy meal.
These new uthra, they’re highly productive and have been far more useful already than the old four. It is good that they have been replaced. The red one, despite its attitude, is an exception of sorts here. It has and continues to provide valuable services.
Isaiah stares at the meat, spinning above the fire, thinking it has learned a valuable lesson about being a dungeon-core.
Some creatures contribute more to the world and to the progress of the dungeon simply by being dead; by allowing new ones to take their place.
— That can also include its own monsters and minions.
It is a harsh lesson. But the rapid improvements the dungeon underwent today are proof of its validity.
Razmatazz
Or it might just have given bad orders, but whatever.
| ~ [Note for occultists]{Will o' the wisp} ~ Will-o’-the-wisps are cool things and clearly have the best name for any kind of spook out there. Typically, wisps are considered to be embodied as balls of light, in most cases a burning, cool-colored flame. Often, they are mistaken by travelers as a flickering lantern, held by somebody moving around the area. People will follow this light and then end up stuck in swamps and mires and other unfun places. They are commonly known as ‘ghost lights’ in the americas.
Interestingly enough, wisps are spread throughout the world however. There are sightings of them or similar wisp-like entities reported from the places you’d expect, like England and the rest of Europe, all the way to Oceania, China and, as mentioned, the Americas. In some regions, they are even considered friendly entities. On a cuter note, in Japan, these are often referred to as ‘fox fire’ and are said to be produced by the marriage of two kitsune (fox spirits).
If you are familiar with Martin Luther, who was responsible for the christian reformation in Europe in the 16th century, you’ll be interested to know that he wrote about wisps in his book Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens. (The handbook of German superstitions)
Assuming we’re going with the western variant, the name itself stems from the germanic word ‘Irrlicht’, which can be translated as something akin to
'irr' = ‘wrong’/’confusing’
and
licht = light.
So you literally have a ‘misleading light’. In German mythology, a wisp is a mischievous spirit that belongs to the realm of natural beings as something akin to fairies. Christian mythology would later take this idea and apply the argumentation that wisps are actually spirits of the unbaptized, leading others to water in order to save them.
The lore doesn’t really describe them as particularly aggressive or dangerous. There aren’t any stories of them attacking people. Instead, they simply seem to misguide those who are willing to follow them through the woods. This could lead to an accidental drowning or to the person getting lost and starving, however in some stories, they also lead their pursuer to a treasure of some sort.
On a fine side note, an alternate name for a Will-o’-the-wisp is a ‘hinkypunk’. No, really. |
| Just like any other living being, dungeons can grow in both age and experience. Adventurers love to enter dungeons to plunder them for their wealth of riches and treasures. Entire cities have been built around the older dungeons of the world, in order to use them as sources of economic prosperity. Such as an endless mine of precious metals could offer. However, it is a continual arms race. The more that an adventurer enters a dungeon to kill monsters, the stronger they become as a combatant. However, the more intruders who fail to survive their incursion into the dungeon, the stronger the dungeon becomes. This is where the nomenclature of ‘low level’ and ‘high level’ dungeons arises. A lesser experienced adventurer is obviously better off facing a lesser experienced dungeon, as high level dungeons will field incredibly powerful and deadly monsters and traps in order to keep any nosy outsiders away from its many secrets. The rewards for plundering a high level dungeon are, of course, far greater. Many have argued that it is in the best interest of civilization to simply let dungeons grow, as if they were fruit trees meant for us to harvest. But others, given that dungeons will also exert their magical forces out into the landscape, making them deadly to traverse, have argued that doing so is dangerous for a society as a whole and that wealth can be found elsewhere. - Monsters running around in the back-lands are no help for anybody, after all. The debates continue to this day. But the fact of the matter is that all of the most important economic hubs in the world have an old-world dungeon at their heart, from which they continue to draw out boundless prosperity to this day. These dungeons are closely watched and guarded day and night, for fear of a ‘dungeon break’, when a dungeon-core sends its monsters out into the world in a rare offensive measure. |
~ Excerpt from Barnatus Barnacious’ Big Book of Dungeons
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| [Hallowed Ground] : Your dungeon is a sacred place. All friendly monsters will passively regenerate SOUL and receive a +1 DMG boost to all of their physical attacks. |
A taloned finger selects the skill on the window. The glass pane immediately blinks and then fades away in response.
A moment later, a slight tremor pushes through the soul, shaking everything with a minor quake. Isaiah wobbles, steadying itself, as a ripple moves through the ground, expanding outwards towards the edge of the dungeon’s territory.
It’s hard to explain, but something seems to shift very suddenly in the atmosphere of the place. A ripple flows outward from Isaiah, like a gust of wind moving out in all directions around itself. The grasses of the forest here, dark green and lush, become brighter and almost a little blue in their hues. The air of the forest, damp and nourishing, becomes cleaner and lighter. A peace comes over the clearing. It is as if the rays of daylight, shining down over the wood, had suddenly become so intense, that they could ward off any terrible feeling or presence, which might wander this way.
It feels safer now. It feels… sacred.
Isaiah nods, happy about the skill. This is a good feeling for a nest to have.
Besides, regenerating soul-points will solve a lot of its problems and the uthra doing an extra point of damage per hit might not feel like a lot, but with multiple creatures spawned at once, each doing two damage per hit, rather than just one damage, it sure seems like it will add up fast.
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] x 3 |
| Cost: {12} SOUL |
| SOUL: 03/15 |
Three new uthra appear, coming together as spheres of vivid light, before turning into their strange, fairy-like shapes.
One has green wings, one has black wings and one has white wings.
The black-winged one nods. “Hey.”
The green one waves. “Good afternoon.”
The white one lifts its hands. “Hallow. Praise be.”
Isaiah blinks. It was expecting the others to come back. These seem to be new ones. It looks over towards the red-uthra, who is setting to work on harvesting the boar. Feeling its gaze, the little uthra turns its head. “…What?” Isaiah points at the smears on the ground, that are their former compatriots. “Them?” asks Red. “Sorry, chief. They’re dead.”
Dead?
Dead-dead?
Feeling some of its soul-points having been regenerated from its new holy perk, Isaiah lifts its hands
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] |
| Cost: {04} SOUL |
| SOUL: 01/12 |
A new uthra appears next to the other new-comers. It has see-through, crystalline wings. “Enchanted to meet you.”
Oh.
Isaiah looks at the bodies.
Now it feels bad.
Really bad.
“What did you expect?” asks the red uthra. “I told you. We’re workers, not fighters. Everyone gets one shot at life. That’s it.”
It didn’t really think that they would die and it didn’t really think that they would really stay dead forever. They were summoned with magic, after all. Isaiah frowns and points at the bodies. “Get. Bury.” The black one sets to work. “Gather. Quarried stone.” The white one flies away. Isaiah points at the remaining two. “Make shelter. Make strong. Make pretty.” It points to the river. “Make peaceful place.”
“Will do.”
Isaiah points at the red one.
“Yeah, yeah,” it says, waving Isaiah off before it can say anything. “I’m already working on it. Sheesh.”
Isaiah nods.
There is much work to do. More threats will come and the tower hasn’t even really been started yet.
“I’ve established a quarry on the other side of the river,” says the white-winged uthra. “Just behind the tree-line there. It’s on the edge of your territory.” It drops down a very big rock, smooth and polished, at Isaiah’s harpyish feet. Honestly, Isaiah has no idea how it made this. But the uthra as a species seem capable of accomplishing many different tasks.
Isaiah nods, pleased. “Good work,” it praises, knocking on the square stone. “Strong stone.”
| New Area |
| ~ [Dungeon] ~ |
| Quarry {Level 1} |
| A simple, surface-level quarry. Simple construction materials can be gathered here. |
| Level {1} Effect: Allows the collection of quarried stone. |
| {1}[Quarried Stone] added to the stockpile! |
| (Normal)[Quarried Stone] | |
| A strong, dense, hand-worked stone that is suitable for a stable construction. It is strongly resistant to physical and magical attacks. | |
| Weight: 15 kg | Value: 006 Obols |
“Yes, there’s a lot of strong stone on that side of the river, once you get past the top-soil. I think it will last us for a long time.”
Isaiah thinks for a while, and then lifts its hands.
| ~ [Isaiah] ~ |
| (Isaiah) used: [Summoned Worker {1}] |
| Cost: {04} SOUL |
| SOUL: 11/15 |
A gray-winged uthra appears next to the white one. “Go help,” commands Isaiah.
| - [Dungeon] - |
| Max workers reached! |
| You now have {6} [UTHRA] |
| You can currently only summon {6} [UTHRA] |
“Will do,” replies the gray uthra, and the two of them fly off, going to gather more stones.
Isaiah nods, pleased with the progress being made. This is good.
Something buzzes to its side. “See that?” asks the red-one. Isaiah turns its head, looking at it. “That little window there? That’s your stockpile.” Isaiah looks at the window that it had already seen once before. “These are all of your materials. When we collect new stuff, it’ll appear here after a minute.”
| ~ [Stockpile] ~ |
| - Perishables - Berries Red: 08 Blue: 29 Fish River Salmon: 01 Hunting Boar: 56 kg Bones: 8kg |
| - Raw Materials - Wood Dead Wood: 06 kg Stones Assorted: 19 kg Quarried Stone {15kg}: 1 |
“The bigger this gets, the more stuff we can do. But the more attractive we'll be to attack too.”
Isaiah nods. “Thank you,” it says, remembering an old phrase.
“It’s a little unusual to bury monsters,” says the black-winged uthra. “Dungeons are sort of self-composting things, you know?”
Isaiah looks at it and then shakes its head, returning its gaze to the little headstones that the creature had made. They are before the tower, just opposite of the river, with a good view of the landscape.
“It is important,” says Isaiah, looking at the holy ground all around them. “- Dignity.”
“If you say so, boss,” replies the black-winged uthra, dusting its hands.
| New Area |
| ~ [Dungeon] ~ |
| Graveyard {Level 1} |
| A well kept, but simple, holy graveyard. The bodies of the slain are put to rest here, but their spirits remain in faith. |
| Level {1} Effect: Summons {1} [Will o’ the wisp] for every {4} slain combatants buried here. |
| ~ [Will o’ the wisp] ~ | |
| Class: Monster | Element: HOLY |
| Type: Spell-caster - Illusionist | Category: Revenant* |
| Rank: F | |
| Level: 01 | |
| Will o’ the wisps are mysterious spirits known to haunt deep forests and wetlands. They will often lure unsuspecting victims into deadly waters and sinkholes, where they are vulnerable to its magical attacks. | |
| [Spirit Bolt]: Deals {2} HOLY to a target within 8 meters. | |
| HP: 14/14 | SOUL: ∞/∞ |
| *Revenants do not pay SOUL to use spells. They are weak to HOLY. |
The new creature, a loose, flowing flame of white-blue light, rises from the graves and hovers up into the air. It floats there for a time, before meandering off, to wander around the grounds outside of the tower.
“Damn. Didn’t know that would happen,” says the black-winged uthra. “Good eye, boss.”
In truth, Isaiah didn’t know this would happen either. But it seems like a very useful development. It would seem that the further the dungeon, the tower, is developed, the more areas will be created and these areas will allow them access to new monsters, spells, traps and other future advancements.
Isaiah leaves to continue its work, letting the black-winged uthra stay in its role of tending to the graveyard, which will surely grow in the future.
The green and the crystalline uthra have been busy as well.
The green one has been tending to the forest, all around the tower. It has started using its magic to tend to the plants and the trees there, to help them grow healthy and strong, creating natural barriers as well as abundant resources. It has also, at the same time, begun work on a path. It leads away into the forest, for ease of access.
— A double-edged sword.
It will allow intruders to reach the tower somewhat easier, but it will also allow for future developments in that direction, as well as making it easier to send scouts out into the world.
Isaiah nods, pleased and lets the green one return to its tasks.
The will o’ the wisp hovers past them, roaming the forest as a haunting spirit, its glow illuminating the gaps between the trees.
“I was thinking,” says the crystalline uthra. Isaiah looks back its way. “Let’s set up a fountain or a well or a hot-spring or something here,” it suggests, pointing at the area south of the tower and next to the river.
Several statues are already in place there and Isaiah can’t help but notice that they look vaguely familiar. They’re long legged, tall standing creatures with two arms and two wings.
“We’ll play into the whole ‘healing holy place’ vibe,” it says, buzzing around Isaiah’s head and floating before one the statues. “That will get some heat off of our backs when the humans start to show up,” it says, mimicking the praying pose of the construction. “We’ll let them rest up outside of the dungeon, which, sure, is great for them and a bad idea for us,” it says. But then it taps its head. “The idea is though, that they’ll wander through the forest, tired and hungry and dirty to get here, right?”
Isaiah nods.
The uthra floats up to the top of a statue, sitting in the overturned pot it's pouring out over its head. “Well, then we’ll give them a place to rest and heal up, before they enter the dungeon!”
Isaiah tilts its head, unsure. This seems like an incredibly terrible idea. Why would they want their enemies and predators to be in good health before they plunder their home?
“I know what you’re thinking,” says the creature. “Why would we do that?” Isaiah nods. “I’ll tell you why,” says the crystal-uthra. It flies over towards Isaiah and taps just above its eyelid. “Because once they get here to rest and take a break, they’re probably going to end up staying for a few hours. Heck, maybe they’ll even camp the whole night, before entering the dungeon! Humans love their hot-springs,” it explains, apparently very excited about this for some reason. “That will let us watch them, study them and adapt to their tactics and capabilities, before they even ever step into the tower!”
Isaiah thinks for a moment. It’s an interesting suggestion.
They’ll make a quiet, restful place for their enemies to heal and prepare themselves in, just outside of the tower. This will give them time to closely observe the intruders and to see what their tricks and plans are, before they ever even enter into the dungeon itself. A remarkably sneaky idea.
Plus, there is something to what the uthra said.
Humans love their holy places. Isaiah remembers that. If they present themselves as something that isn’t a threat, there is less danger of a real attack-force being sent their way, once they’re discovered. “I’ll need some of the quarried stone though, so the walls will take a little longer.”
Isaiah nods, happy with the idea now, after having thought about it. “Do it.”
The crystal-uthra gives Isaiah a thumbs-up and sets to work, starting to dig out the ground.
It is night time.
Isaiah sits by the fire-pit, smelling deeply of the rich aroma of roasting boar-meat. It smells incredible and it can’t wait to eat a real, heavy meal.
These new uthra, they’re highly productive and have been far more useful already than the old four. It is good that they have been replaced. The red one, despite its attitude, is an exception of sorts here. It has and continues to provide valuable services.
Isaiah stares at the meat, spinning above the fire, thinking it has learned a valuable lesson about being a dungeon-core.
Some creatures contribute more to the world and to the progress of the dungeon simply by being dead; by allowing new ones to take their place.
— That can also include its own monsters and minions.
It is a harsh lesson. But the rapid improvements the dungeon underwent today are proof of its validity.
Razmatazz
Or it might just have given bad orders, but whatever.
| ~ [Note for occultists]{Will o' the wisp} ~ Will-o’-the-wisps are cool things and clearly have the best name for any kind of spook out there. Typically, wisps are considered to be embodied as balls of light, in most cases a burning, cool-colored flame. Often, they are mistaken by travelers as a flickering lantern, held by somebody moving around the area. People will follow this light and then end up stuck in swamps and mires and other unfun places. They are commonly known as ‘ghost lights’ in the americas.
Interestingly enough, wisps are spread throughout the world however. There are sightings of them or similar wisp-like entities reported from the places you’d expect, like England and the rest of Europe, all the way to Oceania, China and, as mentioned, the Americas. In some regions, they are even considered friendly entities. On a cuter note, in Japan, these are often referred to as ‘fox fire’ and are said to be produced by the marriage of two kitsune (fox spirits).
If you are familiar with Martin Luther, who was responsible for the christian reformation in Europe in the 16th century, you’ll be interested to know that he wrote about wisps in his book Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens. (The handbook of German superstitions)
Assuming we’re going with the western variant, the name itself stems from the germanic word ‘Irrlicht’, which can be translated as something akin to
'irr' = ‘wrong’/’confusing’
and
licht = light.
So you literally have a ‘misleading light’. In German mythology, a wisp is a mischievous spirit that belongs to the realm of natural beings as something akin to fairies. Christian mythology would later take this idea and apply the argumentation that wisps are actually spirits of the unbaptized, leading others to water in order to save them.
The lore doesn’t really describe them as particularly aggressive or dangerous. There aren’t any stories of them attacking people. Instead, they simply seem to misguide those who are willing to follow them through the woods. This could lead to an accidental drowning or to the person getting lost and starving, however in some stories, they also lead their pursuer to a treasure of some sort.
On a fine side note, an alternate name for a Will-o’-the-wisp is a ‘hinkypunk’. No, really. |
