It feels a bit weird when the Southwood accepts the alliance. I can feel the new bond, and feel the old ones shuffling around a bit, and I can feel a bit more information flowing around now, too. I’m a bit surprised to see that Violet and Hullbreak are in it now, as well, but looking closer, it seems more of a technicality.

As Violet’s mentor, I’m in charge of most outsider-related things, so while she’s in the alliance, it’s mostly because her mentor is in it. Similar with Hullbreak. As a vassal, he’s not allowed to do a lot with diplomatic affairs, looks like, but as his… lord, I guess? As the guy he’s a vassal to, he gets dragged into technically allying, too.

I take a few minutes to poke around the options, and I’m probably going to eventually invite them both to the alliance properly later. Honestly, Hullbreak has been doing great, and I’d love to give him the reins back, but I think that’d be moving a bit too quickly. He’ll get there eventually, but for now, I think he needs a bit more time with fewer responsibilities so he can get his feet properly underneath him.

It’ll definitely be longer for Violet. I don’t think she’s ready to stop being my protege yet. I want to give her the time she needs to grow, without having to worry about things like alliances and wars with crazy dungeons.

When I take a closer look at Southwood, I can feel him prodding the options, too, as well as politely tapping the bonds with the others. Violet is looking pretty curious, while Hullbreak is trying to put on a friendly face, despite his aversion to outsiders. I’m not really worried about either of them.

Southwood is pretty interesting, too. I can get a better feel for his territory, and he’s absolutely massive! Sure, my denizens have scouted his borders, but there’s a difference between reading it on a map and being able to get a feel through the bond. I let him take a look at what I have, too. If this is an alliance, we should share what we can. That’s the entire point of an alliance, right?

I can also feel that Southwood is old. I can’t get a specific number, but he’s easily the oldest of our little alliance. It’s not surprising that he’s the oldest, but there’s a feeling of weight and wisdom that’s going to take some getting used to. It feels kinda weird for him to act deferential to me, considering how much more experience he has being a dungeon.

We both explore the options for a few more minutes, and I discover the alliance mana pool. This thing is definitely cool. I set a trickle of my income to flow into it, hoping it’ll be a good emergency stockpile for if anything happens. Some curiosity and nervousness slips through the bond, and the Stag looks a little awkward as he tries to figure out how to ask whatever it is the Southwood wants.

Of course, Teemo is more than happy to pounce. “What’s up? You look like you want to ask something.”

The Stag looks like he’d rather stay quiet, but eventually crumbles under the polite smile of my Voice. “My Lord is unsure how much he’s expected to contribute to the alliance pool.”

Teemo scoffs. “Pft, that’s easy: nothing. The Boss is planning to use it as a communal emergency fund. So just put in whatever you can whenever you can, and withdraw whatever you need for whatever you need it for. In fact… have you thought about getting a second scion?”

The Stag answers slowly, sounding more than a little ashamed. “My own upkeep is all my Lord is able to afford.”

Teemo exchanges a glance with my other gathered scions, before nodding. “Lots of orders, yeah?”

The Stag nods, missing the tone in Teemo’s voice.

“Well, that’s easy to fix, Southwood. Just stop giving him orders. The Boss almost never gives us orders. He basically just brings something to our attention and lets us figure it out on our own.”

The Stag looks flabbergasted, and I can feel a similar reaction through the alliance bond. After a few seconds, the Stag manages to stammer a response. “But… but the complex plan! The intricate movement of your troops!”

“All Leo.” My Warden gives a quiet bork and Teemo smirks as he corrects himself. “Leo and Honey. He’s the Warden, and Thedeim isn’t going to second guess him. Troop stuff is Leo’s job, so the Boss mostly stays out of it and just makes sure he has what he needs to do it. That’s how he does most of his stuff.”

The Stag still looks lost, so Teemo tries to put it differently. “Look, even if the Southwood didn’t order you to go do… whatever he asks you to, you’d still do whatever you can to help him, right?”

“Of course,” answers the Stag, sounding a little more confident, but still not seeing where this is going.

“That’s how we are, too. If the Boss has something that needs doing, he points out the need to us and lets us figure it out. He supports and helps us, but it’s mostly on us. Like with the shortcuts here. Reducing the travel time will be a huge help to the Boss, so I do it, even without being ordered to.”

It looks to me like the Stag is still wrapping his head around that idea, but I can feel comprehension slowly creeping up on Southwood through the bond, which only gets stronger as the Stag speaks up again.

“So if my Lord had a second scion… we could share the duty of carrying out his will?”

Teemo finger guns him with a smile. “Nailed it. You should try a second scion. Dip into the alliance fund, if you need to, and get a feel for how it works. It’s probably a bit expensive to try to get as many as the Boss has, but with the shortcuts getting shorter each time I go over them, you’ll have more delvers, even in winter.”

I can feel him thinking it over, which is fine for now. It’s a pretty big risk to get a new scion, especially if he’s used to giving orders. He could easily bankrupt himself like that, even with the group of delvers we brought doing some delving.

“Just think it over. We should probably also talk about how we’re going to deal with the Harbinger’s dungeon. If you do go for a new scion, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try them out as a Marshal or Warden, or something else that specializes in expeditions. Leo and Honey will be leading Thedeim’s expeditions to get down there and find it.

“We’re also going to be rotating out the denizens from the battle, as well as Rocky, so the Boss can get all that mana and keep working on his stuff. Fluffles and Slash will mostly be sticking around you, Southwood, to intercept anything funny the other dungeon might try. Nova is… probably going to join the scouts?” asks Teemo, looking over at my wyrm scion, who quietly rumbles her reply. Leo wuffs and shrugs, before Teemo continues.

“Sounds like scouting or training, then. If you’re up for it, Stag, I’m sure they’d be happy to have you spar.” Rocky grins wide as the Stag blanches.

“I, uh… appreciate the offer, though I don’t know how much of a challenge I’d pose.”

My zombie grunts and Teemo nods. “It’s not about being a punching bag, it’s about learning. Rocky will probably want to pick your brain about your affinity, but he’ll probably need to do that when he gets back. The Boss really does need that mana, Rocky.”

The zombie scion slumps slightly as his bubble bursts, but he doesn’t look too upset. He’s a good, responsible scion, Rocky. The Stag looks a bit relieved, until Fluffles gives a quiet hiss, reminding the Stag that I still have my Conduit ready and willing to do some training.

The Stag’s relief turns to fear as he tries to change the subject. “Ah… oh! My Lord wished to ask if there are any rooms you may wish to trade for. It seems that allies can trade them directly, rather than needing a scion to train and gain a title for access.”

Teemo’s curious tilt of his head mirrors my own curiosity. “Yeah? What rooms do you have? The Boss is working on getting a metalworks right now, so I dunno if he has room for another just yet. Getting an idea of what to get next could be great.”

The Stag smiles with confidence for the first time in a while. “My Lord has quite the comprehensive selection of rooms available. If lord Thedeim doesn’t have much room at the moment, perhaps my Lord could offer an upgrade instead?” The confident smile wavers slightly as I get a notification.

Purchase Climate Control? Y/N?

Oof, that look makes more sense as I see the price tag associated with the purchase. The Stag nods as he sees Teemo’s reaction.

“There is a minimum price, unfortunately. Even if he doesn’t want it just yet, my Lord will be happy to offer it again at a later time.” I select no while Teemo nods.

“Yeah, the Boss isn’t ready to spend that much on anything right now. What’s it actually do?”

The Stag’s confidence returns as he stands a bit straighter. “It is what lets my Lord keep back even the depths of winter within his domain. With his focus on natural nodes, a hard winter can make them much less effective than they should be. With that upgrade, he can set the seasons at his whim. It can be expensive if he is too forceful, but he can practically have a long fall give way to an early spring, ignoring winter all together, should he wish.”

Teemo gives a low whistle at that, and I can see why that kind of upgrade is so expensive. For a dungeon like Southwood, it’s an amazing option. It’d be cool for me, too. It gives me all sorts of ideas for the expansion past the cemetery that I’ve been eying. It’d probably take at least a second expansion into those woods outside town to give me enough room, but it’d be so cool to be able to have a forest of four seasons.

“The Boss already has some ideas for that kind of upgrade. I don’t think he’ll be taking it until spring at the earliest, though.”

The Stag nods at that. “Then simply let my Lord know, and he’ll offer it again.” Nobody seems to have anything else to say for the moment, so Fluffles hisses, earning a wince from the Stag. Reluctantly, he nods at my Conduit.

“Yes… I think I have some time to train. I fear I will need more advice than I may have hoped. I haven’t forgotten my embarrassing loss to Teemo when we first met.”

Teemo smirks at that, though the smirk falls when he hears my suggestion. “You sure, Boss?”

Yeah, we’re allies.

Teemo slowly nods at that, accepting the logic, before turning to my wingnoodle. “Show him the ropes properly, yeah? Get Rocky’s help if you need to. The Boss says you should try to expand his horizons.”

Fluffles and Rocky both look surprised at that, which makes the Stag very nervous.

“Is it too late to have sudden business elsewhere?” the Stag asks, looking like he might bolt anyway. Teemo shakes his head and chuckles as he hops onto Leo’s back.

“Nah, you’ll be fine. Rocky’s just going to get a chance to pick your brains after all.”