“No. No, I didn’t.” Dale dejectedly replied.
“I’ve met him, and I think he was being more than reasonable, Madame. The Mages tried to browbeat him into submission, and the Church offered up a small percentage of its profits for prime realty.” Hans admonished her, “In the end they both got fair deals based on what they could pay.”
“Oh! So you actually do know him then? Do you think he would welcome the idea of a Pleasure House in the area?” Madame inquired, not seeming to notice Dale’s introspective look, “Or a team that would allow a young lady to train with them?”
“He’d go for the restaurant if you fed him and offered a fair deal.” Dale muttered hollowly. “I don’t know any teams but my own so…”
Hans cut in darkly, “Madame, you know that to get on a Guild team you need to be in the Guild. I wouldn’t trust another team with the proper care of a Lady in a place where there are ways to make a body disappear, without worry, in a way no one will question.”
“You are right of course. I’ll start with the dining house then. Who is in charge there right now? Jeffrey?” Madame seemed to understand that these two wanted to be left alone, so tried to hurry the conversation along.
“Frank.” Dale droned monotonously, all happy thoughts of food long past.
“Well, that’ll make this easy then.” She laughed, “He can’t resist me at all, and the landowner will assuredly want good food available for his tenants.”
“I’m sure he will.” Dale mumbled, earning an elbow to the ribs and a glare from Hans.
As Madame walked away, Hans turned curiously to the usually cheerful young man, “Dale, what is the matter with you?”
“Does everyone think so poorly of me?” Dale blatantly questioned him.
Hans eyed him, finally deciding not to lie, “Only those who don’t know the facts, or you.” He admitted reluctantly.
Dale looked at the ceiling and exhaled noisily, “So... Everyone.”
“Lad, most people don’t know you are the landowner, but are still jealous that you make it into the dungeon every day, when they get in maybe once a week. Others see your fine armor, not the man inside it, and covet that. People are always unhappy with those that have better fortune than them. You’ll be fine, just give it time. The portal being open will let everyone get around much easier, that should relieve tensions quite a bit. After all, people can show up on their scheduled day to train, not just sit around on their thumbs feeling sorry for themselves.” Hans lectured, trying to force Dale out of his funk.
“Now, pay this tab. All that advice isn’t free after all.”
Dale nearly choked as he noticed the amount on the bill. “You’re outta your mind! Hell no!”
~Cal~
“Ok Cal, that was amazing. I didn’t think the inverse of the Rune would be that effective.” Dani was looking at the bubbling, hissing crater that was all that remained to show a group had been standing there recently.
I was still basking in the glorious flood of Essence that had filled me. <Hmm?> I thought at her languorously, sipping delicately at the Essence storming around me. Her words clicked after a second, <Well you should have! Have I ever given you a reason to doubt my amazingness?> For some reason, there had been a short period of time where no one was entering my influence. It had coincided with what sounded like a thunderstorm overhead, though the sky was clear from what I could see. In that short window of opportunity, I was able to make some hasty changes, including a new trap.
“Well, I wouldn’t have thought of it, that was a really ingenious trap.” Dani praised me, playing to my ego.
<Thanks! It made sense to me, most people will try to avoid boiling acid, you know?> I chuckled with her.
The trap was a bridge in the tunnel system that had to be crossed. On the bridge was a series of Runes across it that pushed the acid away, and held the acid suspended to the sides of the bridge. If someone stepped directly on one specific pressure sensitive pattern at the midpoint between the acid ‘walls’, the stone the runes were on would flip and the corrupted core would then pass its energy to the inverted Rune. I was rather happy to have found a use for my water corruption cores.
When the inverted Rune was powered, the suspended acid sloshed across the entire structure, flooding it instantly. The Runes were nearly indestructible when filled with corruption, as far as I could tell, and so I was able to easily regrow the bridge around those Runes when it was destroyed, as I did now. Sadly, the fallen group of adventurers had only standard gear compared to what I had been seeing, nothing magical, and nothing fancy. Just plain, boring metal and leather. Woe is me, that those I slay cannot be more financially stable.
These ones had health potions though, which was surprising given that most of the people who take serious injuries here die. Someone was making a fortune on people who would never get a chance to drink the potions. Hmm. Really that is a good point... Was I getting too dangerous? Almost everyone who got hurt died nowadays... I felt that this was a good way to get overpowered people in here fast. I needed to start throwing the lower level guys a handout, or they would stop coming. How best to do this? I turned to my best source of ideas: Dani.
<Dani, should we give out some more freebies?> I was proud that I was using this word for the first time, it was fun to ‘say’. Freebies. Ha! <I feel like the weak groups are grumbling a lot.>
“What about the iron mining? That seems to calm them down a bit.” She querulously put forward. It was a literal sore spot, the chipping away of iron constantly gave me the equivalent of a headache.
<I’d rather not make more of those mining areas. How about potions? I can make them really easily, how about I make a cistern that has health potions flowing in them? Maybe that light potion I got too.> I offered a few concepts floating around in my mind.
She considered for a moment, “Not a bad idea, but then the apothecary up there will go out of business, leave, and there will be at least one less person you get a chance to eat. Oh, how about adding some gemstones to the iron every once in a while?”
I ventured a solution, <I can add those. I have so many different kinds from jewelry people wear in. Hmm. What if I made a few of these cisterns, but poisoned them randomly? Then no one would feel safe using them without going to him first, he would get work, and I wouldn’t have his half-rate potions to throw away.>
“That sounds good.” She pondered thoughtfully. “Might even get a few people to willingly drink poison.”
<Ha. I like it. Let’s put the health one on the first floor right before the Boss room, and the light one in a dead-end on the second floor. That may convince people that it is the way to get into the Boss room, with all the light it’ll give off.>
“Diabolic! That is a spectacular idea!” She was so excited that she was merrily glowing, and neither of us saw the look of greed cross the face of the man stealthily watching from above. No one in the area had seen her before now.
<Hey! Someone is past the last trap down here! Ready for a fight?>
“You know it, Cal!” Dani joyously bubbled. She returned to invisibility, getting ready for the show. A five-man group hesitantly walked in, surprising me with their low levels. Only one was out of the F-ranking, and he was a low D-rank. For the first group to get here, outside of Dale's, to be so low ranked astonished me. Well, free food and all that I supposed. Beggars and choosers and whatnot. I took direct control of Raile, wasting no time charging at them as quietly as possible.