Vi

"Borrowing mana is a technique, an outgrowth of the [Mana Awareness] skill chain. If no one controls the mana, it's simple. Otherwise, whoever's mana you're borrowing has to consciously choose to share their mana." Vi fell into instructor-mode almost by instinct as he prepared Lena for the spell castings to come.

"Okay," she said.

"What does that word 'okay' mean?" Kentrell, the cat kin delver, asked.

The face of Lena's projection puckered up around her nose, relaxing only as she got to the end of her explanation. "It's … actually hard to put into other words. Okay can be a mild agreement, a mild good … thing, I guess, but it's also a short way of saying, 'I hear you and understand your meaning' but without necessarily agreeing with the person talking. I said okay there to let Vi know I'm following along with what he's telling me."

Vi cleared his throat. "Okay," he said, trying out the word. "We are going to begin by attempting to borrow the ambient mana in the Studio to cast [Analyze] spells. Please keep the Zone's mana count up and let us know what you observe afterward."

Lena nodded. "Okay, can do."

He smiled, then nodded to his fellow Rangers. They each had one of the larger new mana stones in hand, and they cast [Analyze] upon his nod. In fairly short order, they all looked up from the stones, their postures subtly changed, seeming more thoughtful.

Vi asked, "How's the zone's mana pool?"

"Nothing changed," Lena said.

Vi had expected as much from his earlier experiences. "Let's cast from our mana, just to compare," he said. Nilis in particular gave Vi a wry look, but they repeated the casting. It took a slightly longer moment before they finished with their spells.

"Now, Lena, would you please project toward the Grand Tapestry your desire to share the dungeon's mana with us?" Vi asked.

"Done," Lena said, nearly on the heels of his request.

They tried the casting again from the dungeon's mana and this time, the power flowed easily through them.

*** *** ***

Mana Stone (Raw)

Composition: Apatite (73%), Chalcedony (27%)

Mana Capacity: 13/31

Mana Channel: 3D

*** *** ***

Not a bad little stone, Vi thought. Rough and raw, but the capacity was good for the size, and the colors looked to shift between greens and blues, a nice complement to his mother's House colors. With a channel rated 3D, or 3 mana per day, it would take about six days to fully recharge, which would make it more useful as a dedicated stone than a storage stone.

That was beside the point. They had definite confirmation that Lena held dominion over this dungeon, as if watching her casually reshaping the environment weren't confirmation enough. Now to see what affinities the dungeon held.

Vi said, "For the next set of trials, we're going to cast separation, combination, divination, and elemental spells. Most of the spells are fairly safe to practice, but some of the elemental spells are safer to throw than to allow to fizzle. Do you have any place you're comfortable with lightning striking?"

Lena gave him a flat look. "First, you're going to explain what you mean by those different types of spells, then we're going to discuss the specifics of any destructive or potential destructive spells you're thinking to cast."

Vi grinned. "Fair enough. Separation spells separate things. The [Purify] spell we used to check the cotton you made pushes the smaller weight of one substance away from the larger weight. It has a relatively light push so it won't separate something that's sewn together, but it will remove most stains and draw sediment out of water. Combination spells do the opposite. They draw different substances together. Lower tier spells mostly make mixtures: the substances aren't changed in any fundamental way. Smithy Mages use higher tier Combination spells to create mithril and adamant alloys."

Lena held up a hand and Vi paused. She asked, "Y'all have mithril here? Like, silvery metal harder and lighter than steel?"

"Yes," Vi said.

Lena's projection listed sideways a moment before straightening. "Okay, that's on the list of trade-fors. You were saying?"

Vi smothered a smile, amused by the idea of a dungeon trading for mithril. "Alchemists and Mages don't quite think of the elements the same way. For Alchemists, the elements are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. To Mages, Fire is ether. It is movement and the heat that comes from moving. Water is liquid, one of many liquids, in fact. Earth is mineral, and Wind is air. All spells are some mixture of the elements. Ether and air make for a [Fire Bolt], while ether and mineral combine when casting a [Lava Bolt]. A [Water Bolt] can be turned into an [Ice Bolt] by manipulating the ether in the water."

Vi paused, and Lena said, "Okay," again.

He finished by saying, "Divination is more of a catch-all for distance magics, like [Far Sight] and [Message], [Locate], and the like. There's an element of [Tapestry Reading] to the spells. This being a dungeon, conjuration affinity is assured. There are a few more different kinds of spells, but none that Rangers typically learn."

"What do you consider conjuration?" Lena asked.

Vi pointed one claw at the marble counters. "Turning mana into substance."

"Oh, that makes sense," she said. Her eyes narrowed and her gaze unfocused. "You mentioned a lot of bolt type spells there. Would a shooting range perhaps be a better place for those types of spells?"

"Do you speak of an archery range?" Vi asked.

Lena nodded. "Something similar, I think, only with solid targets instead of straw bales or leather targets, something for the spells to splash against."

"That would be a good location for the elemental assays. Do you have such a range available?" Vi asked.

Lena's projection shrugged. "It wouldn't be that hard to set up. Maybe a touch longer than before Candy started experimenting with her level, but I've got a lot of mana in reserve at the moment."

*~*~*

TalonCommander Muglibaum

Delver Talon Commander Muglibaum spent the measured march from the city gates to the cave housing the new dungeon's entrance in drawing out the perspectives of the sergeant and the corporal who had made first contact on this oddity of a managed dungeon. The other council representatives mostly listened in. When they did interject themselves, their questions focused on the personalities of the Travelers.

Once at their destination, Muglibaum sent Sergeant Kargerran into the dungeon to announce their presence. The sergeant returned in short order. He saluted before reporting. "Talon Commander. Design Lead Lena Weston of the Studio of Capricious Dreams advises that, this being the second day since the Travelers awoke on Rhofhir, she is the only member of their party presently able to converse at this time. She requests our patience as she rouses her appointed Liaison Jason Kline, and offers us the hospitality of her Entrance Hall during our wait. Though, she made clear that she won't be offended if we find it prudent to remain outside of her domain until the completion of our negotiations."

"What did your Rangers have to say about that last bit?" Muglibaum asked, familiar with the types of personalities drawn to the Ranger class.

"They were not within the Entrance Hall, Talon Commander. The Design Lead advised that they are conducting affinity tests in a specially created level." While the sergeant remained a picture of calm, Corporal Baline's tail quivered at the news, his scales lifting just slightly.

Muglibaum nodded and stepped over to the other council representatives. "I recommend waiting out here, just to be safe. Are we agreed?"

Zarabelkami's nostril's pinched together, then relaxed. "Agreed."

Seir Wejerlan, wearing a thoughtfully flat expression, nodded.

Crafts Master Gilvillian and Elder Harusk exchanged a glance before agreeing.

Which left everyone looking at the parandrous stag. Va'Melnroe gazed into the cave that the sergeant had just come from. "For now," he said, with a slight inclination of his head that might have been mistaken for a nod.

Great. Wonderful. Sandy parandrians, Muglibaum thought, recognizing the head dip for the aborted display of aggression that it was. Parandrian stags did not casually nod or shake their heads, and that went double for senior stags with more than ten points amongst their antlers.

Fortunately, a pair of male humans emerged shortly after that. Sergeant Kargerran stepped forward to introduce all parties.

The darker male, Roberto Garcias, seemed content to let the lighter male, Jason Kline, act as their speaker while he studied them.

"I hope you'll forgive us any faux pas we may make while we learn about your cultures," Jason Kline started by stating. "We didn't exactly have much choice about just showing up in your backyard."

"That's not quite what Sergeant Kargerran stated," Master Merchant Zarabelkami said, her voice lush with sweetness.

Jason Kline faced her and said, "We did not chose to be plucked from our home and dropped on Rhofhir, nor to wake up in the Wastes. The sergeant's decision to aid one of our party when he found her in distress led us to this point. If you would prefer for us to shut this entrance and find somewhere else to establish neighborly relationships and trade agreements, by all means just say so and we'll go. We see no reason that our displacement should result in any long term inconvenience on your part."

Va'Melnroe's head tipped back fractionally, and he eyed Zarabelkami, but did not speak.

The Master Merchant inclined her chin in acceptance, a smile curving the corners of her mouth. "No need for haste."

Seir Wejerlan stepped in. How he managed to make his question sound like a polite query was beyond Muglibaum's [Negotiation] skill to comprehend. "How many demons are there amongst you?"

Jason Kline frowned. "I don't understand your question. We have seen nothing so far that we can tell has anything to do with demons."

"Are you a Traveler?" Seir Wejerlan asked.

"My [Status] lists my species as Human (Traveler)," Jason Kline answered.

Seir Wejerlan adopted an almost indulgently patient expression. "Then you are a demon, a being that at the least traveled through the Primal Chaos, from which Rhofhir's Grand Tapestry protects us. How many other demons are amongst you?"

Roberto Garcias tapped his forehead, his sternum, his left shoulder and then his right shoulder. "Demon means something much different to us than it does to you, so please don't call us that again. As for how many Travelers," he took care to stress the enunciation of that word, "are in our party, we found five and have reason to search for a sixth."

"What was that thing you just did?" Muglibaum asked.

Jason Kline said, "Think of it as the somatic component of a faith based ward against evil. Where we come from, demons tend to be the antagonists of whatever stories they end up in, especially mythologies."

Roberto Garcias shot an annoyed look at Jason Kline, but said nothing more.

Seir Wejerlan said, "Ah. Well, 'demon' is the correct—."

Va'Melnroe cut in, a growl in his voice. "Not the name used by the Grand Tapestry, and therefore likely to lead to … misunderstandings that we would all prefer not to repeat, long ear."

Seir Wejerlan's jaw shut with an audible click. In a mild tone, he said, "I do hope you weren't just threatening me, Va'Melnroe."

The parandrian simply grinned back, showing a bear's mouthful of pointy teeth.

*~*~*

Lena

"Given the obviousness of the political disunity among the negotiators, I'd guess this first day has gone decent," Jason said as he flopped down onto a bench in the Entrance Hall. "How's your cousin doing?"

Lena allowed the deflection — for the moment. "Candy's named her territory 'Physics Lab' and has been running through an odd series of tests with the environmental materials. She's humming, though, so I'm pretty sure she isn't broken at the moment. Her occasional shouts of 'Science, bitches!' and 'Suck it, Iggy!' are kind of comforting, actually. Annoying that I can't just crank the stereo up to stop hearing her, but comforting that she's in a good mood."

Jason looked at her toon with a puzzled frown. "Who's Iggy?"

"Ignorance, I think. The only person named Iggy that I know that Candy knows of, at least, is Iggy Azalea, and she doesn't care that much about pop music." Done with the delaying, Lena asked, "So, what's the result?"

Rob ran a hand down his face and Jason sighed. "The elf among the party is pretty much universally disdained. He represents their local mage guild. I'm not sure if the hating is for being an elf, a mage, or more personal. It may even be about that guild in particular, because their Talon Commander, another arassas named Muglibaum, was pretty chill with the idea of the Arcane Asylum's mages.

"We got a look at one of those parandrous stags,—."

"A what stag?" Lena interrupted to ask.

Jason looked at her, briefly startled, then said, "Oh, I didn't get to that yesterday. Um, parandrians are the local nomadic wanderer types. They're like a bipedal bear crossed with a deer. Deer legs, bear claws, stags have antlers and don't call them bucks, ever. The face is beautiful, but they have bear teeth in their mouths. On the way in yesterday, Kargerran said there are also taurgonauts around, which are like centaurs and minotaurs. I got the impression most of them are Aware, whatever that means."

Lena said, "From what I've gotten from the Tapestry system, the Aware are the races that get to choose their alignment by choosing their actions. Monstrous sapients may be as smart as many of the Aware races, but something in their design constrains their actions, like their instincts are stronger than their reason or something like that. That's one of the big reasons for the slave-contract: the system doesn't recognize them as being accountable for their decisions. Anyhow, you were saying about the parandrians stag?"

Jason took a moment to pick up the thread of his thoughts. "Ah … oh! He seemed a lot more interested in getting to meet you than trade. His name's Va'Melnroe. The hostility between him and the elf, Wejerlan, was damn near explosive.

"There was a gnome, a fox kin, and a gnelf, too. The gnelf was a young woman-girl named Elorikin. She's apprenticed to the gnome, who is the local Crafting Guild's leader. She looked like a Vulcan, very fem Spock with relatively small pointed ears compared to the elf and exaggerated eyebrows, but otherwise stock human. The elf looked more like how Blizzard shows Blood Elves, very emaciated with ears as long as his forearm tapering off to a point just a few inches over and behind his head.

"I didn't get a look at the gnome's ears; they were hidden under his hat. Otherwise, he was a little more than hip high to me. I couldn't stop thinking child-like when I looked at the guy (Crafts Master Gilvillian and don't leave off the title), even though he's a gray beard old man, and slender, too, but more like a muscular skinny than a starving skinny.

"The fox kin was old, too, his fur all gone to white. He seemed the most mellow of everyone there, and also the most polite. His name is Harusk, and he's an Elder among the beast kin alliances within Lotrot.

"The one I'm most concerned about, however, is the Master Merchant. She's an arassas and her scales are painted with gold. Turns out arassi women have very bass voices. Zarabelkami, the Master Merchant, she's got a lot of clout with the arassi. It's in the way they all defer to her somewhat, even the Talon Commander. She's smarter than she lets on, I think, and I haven't got a clue what she ultimately wants from us.

"Va'Melnroe came representing the Adventurer's Guild, and he seems mostly interested in you being a Champion of Order and how you gained control of the dungeon. Gilvillian and Muglibaum are pretty strongly enamored with the idea of having safe access to dungeon grown materials. Harusk seemed taken with the idea of seeing your art. I got the impression art is very important to the beast kin. Wejerlan focused a lot on your ability to control the dungeon and how that control can be passed along.

"If Zarabelkami and Wejerlan want to take control of the dungeon, that could get ugly for us."

Lena showed off by materializing a glass goblet beside Jason, filled with water. "That's a lot to take in. Have something to drink."

"You have glass now?" Jason asked, taking the offered drink.

Lena grinned. "I got it as a 'special action unlock' when the Rangers helped me figure out how to bake my pottery into porcelain. I also picked up some of my first magic techniques thanks to studying their spell casting tests. The water in the kitchen is now being [Purify]ed before it comes out of the spigots and after it goes down the drain. I can't wait to unlock copper! The plumbing in here will get such an upgrade! I also got an [Inspect] technique and some fields called 'Shock', 'Flame', 'Haste', and 'Force' along with a [Trigger] technique. Aaron's experimenting with the techniques in his territory at the moment."

Rob rubbed at his face again. "Okay. So, can you separate our territories into their own levels?"

"Sure. I can make two more level portals. Oh, speaking of levels, we have a shooting range and a bath house level."

Jason and Rob looked at her toon with identical expressions of confusion.

Jason asked, "Why do we have a shooting range?"

"The Rangers needed a place to throw their spells, and I figure that we can convert the shooting range into whatever we need later, if needs be. I'm thinking of relocating most of the level portals to the bath house floor, moving the kitchen to that level, and fortifying this level. I've already worked out how to do that portal key thing so your territories can be uniquely tied to yourselves, giving you bolt holes. I'm working on how to hand you control over your portal keying, so that's in the works."

Rob asked, "Why fortify this floor? I mean, why where you thinking of it before we got back?"

"Seriously? You, of all people, Mr. I-Trap-My-Sleeping-Roll, are asking me why I'm thinking that we might need to make this into a real dungeon?" Lena folded her arms over her chest. "Really?"

Rob blushed. "That was my rogue, and I was role playing!"

"Well, I'm not," Lena said, her tone firm and final. "And keeping you all safe, that's my priority. We're in unknown territory with multiple alien species of sapient beings surrounding us. Even if they were just different types of human, I studied my history books. I'm not going to assume they're out to kill us and take everything we have, but I'm not going to rule out that possibility without a lot more evidence. Like the boyscout motto says, 'always be prepared'."

"Somehow, I don't see you as the boyscout type," Rob teased.

Jason snorted. "Thank God, no! Now, Lena, what kind of fortifications did you have in mind?"