Chapter 8 - "Strike the earth!"

Chapter 7 < Chapter 8 > Chapter 9

Chapter 8 - "Strike the earth!"

   Together with the Ashrani, who are present within the room (Hassak Orsha, and one other wounded one, who's sitting on the stairs), I watch with fascination and relieve, as the wounds of the injured warriors are slowly closing. [The potions are working!] It's not enough to heal them completely. In fact, it's just a little bit, but the injury doesn't seem critical anymore.

I think over Orshas words. She said that Hassag will go after the two abducted fighters. [I guess, he will take the majority of their fighting force with him ...] The timing couldn't be worse. My rational mind is telling me, that the human soldiers will be back. And they will be back soon, and with more people. I can't imagine them just ignore their missing scouts, or what ever this three soldiers where. I'm not much afraid of these "Harpas", because they just seem to be simple minded beasts, who just hunt for pray. They shouldn't have any interest in me, the dungeon heart, or this place in general. But humans? Their curiosity could force them to search every corner of this ruin. There's no way, they would ignore the dungeon-heart. I'm honestly afraid of loosing the fighting force of the Ashrani warriors.

But on the other hand, who knows how big the next squad of humans will be. Maybe the Ashrani don't stand a chance against them. The last time they had an overwhelming advantage through a surprise attack, they also outnumbered them about 4 or 5 to 1. And still, some of the Lizard-Man died. I have to face it, the humans are much stronger then the Lizard-Man, and if I depend entirely on the Ashrani to protect me, I will probably just drag them down with me. [No, I can't depend on them too much!]

This "Argos" managed to provide protection for them. Enough for the Ashrani to trust him. Even enough for them to trust me, because they think I am the same. I'm sure that I'm not aware of my full potential yet. Like what are those "Powers", Orsha was talking about, and how do I use them. But figuring it out on my own, could take to long. Some advice would be really helpful ... I establish a link with Orsha:

Me: [Orsha ... When Hassag goes to rescue your comrades, would you please stay behind?]

She gasps for a moment.

Me: [I want to reinforce this place, so I can repay you for your protection. But I have still so many questions, so many things I don't understand.] 

Orsha looks down for a moment. She doesn't seem to like the idea, and I suddenly have a good guess why. This warrior, the one that killed the first Harpa yesterday ... I haven't seen him after today's attack.

Me: [Orsha ... The warrior, that gave you the feather yesterday ... Is he one of the missing ones?]

She takes a deep breath and finally speaks.

Orsha: [... Yes.]

Me: [ ... He is special to you, isn't he?]

I'm not good in reading the Lizard-Mans facial expressions, but even I can tell that her eyes just became more serious.

Orsha: [ ... Yes!]

Me: [ ... I'm sorry, then I shouldn't have asked you to stay.]

As I think if I should ask for Sari to keep me company instead, Orsha gives me her surprising response:

Orsha: [No! Orsha will stay with the great spirit Kalifos. Orsha will answer all of Kalifos questions, for all of the Ashrani.]

Wow, that's some determination, I haven't expected that.

Me: [You sure?]

Orsha: [Yes!]

She didn't hesitate even for a moment.

Orsha: [Hassag will take many great hunters with him. They will bring Ormag back ... And  Saresh too.]

I've just learned some new names.

Orsha: [And they will hunt the Harpas, and destroy their nests!]

I can clearly sense the hatred she has for this creatures. This two species probably have a history together. That would explain, how they know where the nests are.

Me: [I'm glad to hear that.]

With that cleared, there is not much more to say.

Me: [ ... Now, I need to go and check something, come in to the room with the shining orb, when you are ready.]

Orsha: [Yes! Orsha will come.] 

With this, I break off the spiritual connection with her, and leave them to do what they need to, which is tending to the wounded warriors who are still in bad shape, even after drinking the potions. [I guess, it's called "Small Potion" for a reason.]

Now, that the whole excitement is over, I can really feel the tiredness nagging on me. [No-no - there is no time to sleep yet. You have work to do!] With this self-motivation I force myself to stay focused. I have still some untested options in the construction menu, that I want to try out. I open the screen for it and go over some of the more intriguing entries: [Floors, Rooms, Themes, Domain ... ] I decide to start with the important ones. My original plan was, to make an underground shelter for the Lizard tribe. Capturing the tower was just to make the place easier to protect. 

[Now, about going underground ... does that mean I have to make a new floor? The one for 2000 DP?] There is something I don't understand: I took both floors of the tower, doesn't that mean, that I expended my dungeon to more then one floor already? Still, the amount of DP was not taken from my account, and the cost for a new floor was not doubled, like stated in its description. [So, does that mean it's not counted as a new floor? Then what is?] I would like to avoid paying 2000 DP if possible, but if not, then there is not much of a choice. I advanced on the towers second floor without using the "Add new floor" command earlier, so let's see what happens if I keep doing that. Worst thing that could happen: I lose 2000 DP, which I would have to spend anyways ...

[But where should I make the entrance? ... In the Dungeon Core room maybe?] It wouldn't make much sense to start a dungeon with the most valuable room, that you are trying to protect the most. No, when I'm done with this, I should probably just wall off the core completely. It's really unpractical, that it's here on the surface, where everyone can easily reach it. [But back to the issue of the entrance ...] Seen from the strategical viewpoint, the most reasonable place for an entrance to the "undergrounds" would probably be the tower, since it's the easiest place to defend. It even has a sturdy gate already. But since the Ashrani are still inside, it's probably not the best time to do that, they would be in the way. It seems like they are already preparing the injured for transport, though.

Until they set out for their rescue mission, I'l try out a few other things. [So, what is a "Domain"?] The easiest way to find out, would be to just try it. Upon selecting it from the menu, the map appears again, and zooms out to show me the whole view-able area. It uncovers the surrounding in a perfect circle, with a radius of about 100 meters. The manipulative tool in the form of a feather is this time on the far edge of the map. As I try to drag it over the map like before, it doesn't move. But if I move it away from the border, a bright green line frames the whole map. the further I move the feather away from the center, the thicker the line gets. [Ah, now I get it! My domain is the visible area on my map!] If I confirm the selection, then the green border would be added to my domain. There's probably more to it then just that, but this is all I know right now. Still, useful information.

I refrain from enlarging my domain right now, as I don't see it necessary and I may need the DP elsewhere. 

[Next are themes ...] I have a good guess about what that is already, but I still want to confirm it. The construction-menu shows me the same two available themes as before. Which is "Cave" and "Ruin (Special)" When I select one of them, the map opens once again. This time, the controls are very similar to that of "Terrain Expansion", that I used before conquering the tower and its surrounding. 

Some parts of the ground here are paved with stones, but the majority is grass land. To try out the feature, I select a grassy area next to a paved one and change it to "Dungeon (special)". the small area (about 1 m²) changes to paved ground with a light bluish glow in the process, and is now seamlessly merging with the other. The stones on the newly created walkway look exactly the same as the rest, like they where lying here for centuries. After deleting it again, the ground becomes the same grassland as before. I also try to delete some of the existing paved ground, but it doesn't work. I guess it's because it's not a "Layer" but the original theme. Placing a dungeon theme over existing paved ground does not change its appearance at all. [Well, so much for testing that out.]

There's suddenly some commotion at the tower. Sari is leading a small group of her people (mostly women) out of the forest towards the tower. [Oh, I didn't even notice that she was gone.] Their movements are hasty, and they look concerned. In their hands, I see not many weapons, but instead bags, rolls of animal skins and long sticks, bound together to form strange shapes. [Now I'm curious ...] 

It quickly turns out that the wooden constructs are meant to carry the injured. The furry skins are used as pollsters. The bags contain water and medicine. It surprised me, how fast they had them prepared and were ready to move. While Hassag talks to them and seems to explain something, Orsha quickly walks to the core-room and enters it. [I guess she wants to talk.] I follow her inside. She is sitting on her knees in front of the orb, waiting for me. I open a connection ...

Me: [Orsha, you want to speak with me?]

Orsha: [Yes! Orsha needs to go with Hassag and prepare the Hunters of the Ashrani for hunting the Harpa. Hassag needs Orsha and Sari for the blessing ceremony.]

Me: [A blessing Ceremony?]

Orsha: [Yes! Orsha and Sari will call out to the spirits of the forest, to protect the Ashrani hunters. Will the great spirit Kalifos let Orsha go?]

Me: [Ah, Yes. Of course! Do what you need to.]

I wish, I could see that ceremony. I'm also surprised that she is asking for my permission. I guess, I already became an authority person, without doing much to earn it.

Orsha: [Then Orsha will return to this place after the ceremony.]

Me: [I'll be waiting ... Ah, wait ...]

I move over to the crate, cram out the last healing potion from the human soldiers, and present it to her.

Me: [It's the last one I have. Give it to Hassag, tell him it's for emergencies. It could probably save a live.] 

After hesitating for a moment, Orsha carefully takes the potion and nods in agreement. For her, it must seem like it's hanging on thin air when I hold it. After that she stands up and returns to the others. As I watch them depart, Orshas words echo in my head.

["Calling out to the spirits of the Forest" ... ] Normally, this would sound like complete nonsense, but considering what I already saw in the few days since I woke up for the first time, it might as well be true ... [Girls, I hope your prayers will be heard ... ]

After they disappear into the forest, I turn over to the tower again. [Time to get started!]

The furniture on the first floor seems mostly intact, compared to the one upstairs. This must be, because it was not exposed to any harsh weather conditions. I could probably find something interesting when I look through the shelves, but then I might just end up distracted again. [No! ... ] I need to shake off my curiosity and tiredness, and concentrate on the impotent stuff first. 

[So, a stairway to the undergrounds ... ] I consider the best position to place it. Since I don't know how stable the rest of the tower is, I don't really want to make it near a wall. I have no interest in making the whole construction collapse, because the wall support went missing, or something. [I guess, i'l go for the center of the room then.] I roll the blood-stained carpet to the side and remove some rubble. Now, that the center is clear, I open the construction menu and go to the "Architecture" tab. There are two types of stairs available: "straight" for 70 DP, and "spiral" for 90 DP. After having a look at them, by first selecting one and then the other, I conclude that the straight stairs may be cheaper, but they also need more room. It would still fit, but it also would become hard to move around it. So I will go for the expensive one, for aesthetical and practical reasons.

The next occurring problem is: I don't see any option to make the stairs go "down". Well, obviously, there is nothing that they can connect to, since there is no floor below. I can place it, but only to connect it to the upper floor of the tower. I would need to dig out the basement, to place a Stairway there but to be able to dig it out, I would actually need to go down there, which, I would need a stairway for. Quite a hassle. [Am I missing something?] I look back at the menu, in the hope to find a clue.

[... Aaah, now I get it!] I cancel the stairway selection and choose the "Pit" first. [This is just a guess, though ... if it works, everything is fine. If it doesn't ... I will have an ugly hole in the middle of my tower.] The spiral-stairway is about two meters in diameter, so I select a 2x2 area and confirm my selection. The stony floor disappears with a familiar bluish glow and opens a nice big pit. I add the small area on the bottom of the pit to my dungeon, and try to place the stairs there again. [It's possible now.] But another thing is concerning me... 

I place another Pit on the bottom of the existing one, and repeat the whole process to double its deep. The reason is: I'm concerned about the structural integrity of the buildings above. A pit is around 3 meters deep, so it is about the high of a normal room. If I start creating rooms and floors right beneath the structures at the surface, I might end up with a cave-in and a collapse of the tower, or something. To avoid that, I went another floor underground.

Now, that I am under the surface, I noticed another convenient function: On the Map, the surface is blended out and I can expand my territory as I wish, without having to see it directly. Meaning: Ican just claim solid rock, and dig out the rooms later.

On the bottom of the pit, I make a 4x4 meter Room, by adding it to my territory and using the "Empty" tool to hollow it out. After some thinking, I decide to stretch it out to 10 meters in length. Later, this hallway will be reinforced with defensive measures. Now, that there is something to connect to, I finally place the stairway. Like expected, I need to place two of them above each other, because i'm two floors deep. After that I check my Account. [3064 DP ... It's dropping fast.] Now, before doing anything fancy I should provide all the basics for the Ashranie to live here. I don't want to waste my DP for Luxury just yet. At the end of the hallway, I make a bigger room, about 8x8 meter. This will be the main entry hall, and for now also the last line of defense. As the intruders would need to go through a narrow passage, it would be easy to get an advantage by outnumbering them.

Here is, when I notice something interesting. The ceiling in the room is a bit higher then the one in the hallway. [The high of the ceiling must be depending on the rooms size.] Now, I'm glad, that I went two floors deep, instead of one. Still, I should refrain from making big rooms for now. [But if I make it large enough, would it actually connect to the surface?] Maybe ... I'll try that out one day.

Somehow, I'm starting to feel dizzy. It's nothing that happened suddenly, just the ever growing tiredness. [It's actually becoming harder to think straight ... ] I tried to ignore it, but it's starting to become unbearable. [Is it bound to the amount of DP, I'm spending?] No, I don't think so, since I haven't spend that much when I started to feel tiered. Normally, sleep is needed for a persons body to rest, but since I don't have one ... [Wait, the mind needs to rest too. That's why we have dreams.] So, it's my mind, that needs a break ... well, it's no surprise, considering everything that is happening. That's some mental stress, that builds up.

Before I drop down unconscious, or something, I decide to close the front gate of the tower. I consider locking it up, like it was before, but I don't want to close out Orsha. If she comes back before I wake up, and the Harpas return, then she would need a place to hide.

After that, I move to the room where my Dungeon-Heart is. [I think, I'll just call it Core-Room.] It feels strange to be in here. At one side, I feel comfortable being near the heart. It makes me feel kinda warm inside ... On the other hand, this claustrophobic feeling I had from the beginning, when I couldn't leave here, still haunts me. But something seems to be missing ... I'l check for that later, since I feel like my consciousness is slowly fading away already ...

Chapter 7 < Chapter 8 > Chapter 9

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