Chapter Twenty-Two: Battle Lines Drawn

Chapter Twenty-Two: Battle Lines Drawn

Alright, Neverrest, knock it off. I know those various undead trying to get in are from you, not from just other underground stuff. I know its probing me, trying to figure out whats up with me, so I do my best to be inconsistent. I leave Jello in what appears to be the most direct tunnel connecting us, only having her move to let a few of my own expedition bats down the tunnel, and to return.

If Im reading the map right, which is a big if, admittedly, that tunnel seems to run more or less straight towards Neverrest. Ive seen a few other hands in the tunnels, though, so I know theres more than one route. I mostly let the various slimes deal with them, not wanting to tip my hand too much about what I have available.

Some manage to get deep enough that I can have spiders get them. Its a bit nerve-wracking to let them get that close to my Sanctum, but theres no real risk of it being discovered. Theres just too many spiders around from the spawner for any hand to have a chance at getting in. I hope.

In an attempt to get a better idea of what Im dealing with, I even decide to send Teemo on an expedition to scout what he can and return quickly. It costs a fair bit of mana to send him out, but Im confident the little guy can sneak in better than the bats and get me more information than just where our borders sit.

While he and the kids and Aranya are out, I try to keep myself occupied with running dungeon stuff. That doesnt take very much of my attention, though. Woe is me, I have too competent of scions and everything is running like a Swiss clock!

Coda is still minding the various herbalism nodes, between organizing the subterranean bats. Tiny is doing his thing in the maze. Delvers have actually gotten brave enough to run multiple parties at a time, trusting in safety in numbers. One group of each set is practically guaranteed to be captured, but the total mana from them gathering stuff has increased, so Im not gonna complain.

Poe has been keeping track of the yard and my birb expeditions, and has been helping map out Neverrests borders and what can be seen from the sky. By all accounts, its a typical large cemetery with gravestones and the occasional mausoleum. One or multiple of them probably have tunnel access, but we dont have any way to tell from the sky.

Oh Sanctuary I bring troubling news. The Fallen one is truly a blight. Despite the efforts of the people of this town, it has destroyed several other Sanctuaries in its history. The people cant even expunge it, as only a Sanctuary can truly harm another. I fear it, my Sanctuary. Ive only just found you, and youre under attack from an experienced foe and I can do little to help, she finishes, seeming to be ashamed of herself.

I have Fluffles curl up on her lap, since I cant think of much else to try to comfort her. I cant exactly just put an arm over her and tell her everything will be alright. At least it seems to help her some, and she gives Fluffles a small smile as she rests a hand on him. Thank you

Before I can dwell much on what shes said, though, Teemo returns, and his report is pretty concerning. Unsurprisingly, there are at least two different spawners for undead: skeletons and zombies. Actually, make that three. The hands are their own thing, seems like. Neverrest also has plaguerats, which thankfully only give diseases on bite, not from their fleas, so at least no bubonic plague to deal with.

It also has wasp spawners, which is especially obnoxious. It seems hes been harassing me for a while, though all he could bring to bear before the tunnels was the wasps. It seems to only have two scions, but they seem like theyre very powerful. One is a four-armed skeleton that seems to be wearing the best stuff the dungeon has gotten off of slain delvers. Teemo saw it practicing on a headstone, and there was no headstone by the time it was done just a few seconds later.

The other appears to be a lich, or some other form of fleshy undead with magic, so Im gonna call it a lich. It seems to prefer a lab in one of the mausoleums, though it looks to be more an enchantment lab than an alchemy one. I want enchantments. Looks like crystals are a big thing for that, so I make a mental note to look into that. Maybe Fluffles could handle duties like that?

Back to the report. It seems like its gathering its denizens, too, as there were tons of undead feet for Teemo to hide behind and scurry around. He even managed to find its Sanctum! Sounds like it doesnt care about keeping it a secret, either, as its simply in a large sarcophagus in the most central crypt. The skeleton scion guards it, so thats going to be a thing to deal with.

With his report finished, Teemo starts to resume his duties, when he notices something, and so do I. Something feels off. I do a quick look around, and everything seems to be fine. Aranyas gasp draws my attention, and I look at where shes focussed. The map?

Oh. Our borders are touching now. Hes expanded his claim in the tunnels.