Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three

Chapter Two-Hundred Thirty-Three

Teemo gives me a mental poke to get my attention, pulling my focus out and away from toying with some composite ideas. Ive seen Queen working on what looks like a composite using spidersilk and lacquer, and Ive been doodling ideas for how to get some carbon fiber going. Im pretty sure thatd all be on Queen to manage anyway.

You probably want to hear this part, Boss.

Sorry, right. What do I need to hear?

The Maws denizens.

That certainly gets my attention, and Teemo chuckles as he motions to Lechula and Merrik. Could you repeat that? The Boss was busy with something else, but now you have his full attention.

The female dwarf looks a bit uncomfortable at that, and reaches her hand towards her beard for a moment before forcing it down. Uh the Maws denizens. Well, almost everyone in SIlvervein has fought at least a couple of them. They pretty much need to to get their class, right? Even the crafters. It has two types of spawners, and I think has multiple of them, too? It has fey and elemental spawners, and at least one of each is maxed out.

Merrik speaks up to give a bit more information. I have personally seen at least three spawners, and I dont think theyre maxed. Im not an expert, though. I saw two elementals and one fey, but from the numbers in and around the Maw, Id expect at least one more fey spawner. The Redcap was his first scion, and I dont imagine it would invest in a fey spawner like that and not keep its numbers on par with the elemental spawners.

They keep a lot of the details pretty secret, admits Lechula. Im pretty sure I saw a different fey spawner than Merrik, but we didnt get our classes together, so its hard to say. She pauses as Honey scribbles, letting my Librarian catch up. She soon moves to a new sheet and buzzes her readiness, and Lechula continues.

Im pretty sure the weakest of the fey are needleslinks. They always make me think of weird beetles, but theres not much resemblance. They have four legs and one little weird arm thing, with their needle-like head on a long neck. They have a smooth shiny body, but just stepping on them is usually enough to finish one off. They dont do much damage on their own, but they like to smear the needle with dirt and other things. Theyre usually not dangerous immediately, but it can take days to recover from a delve if you encounter a swarm of them, and they do usually swarm. They dont fly, at least.

Bladesprites do. They have small, thin bodies and one weird foot/hand thing. On their backs, they have bladed wings, shaped kinda like axes, but a lot thinner. The whole thing is about hand sized. They sometimes swarm, but I think a swarm is one of the higher spawns from the spawner. They like to charge at targets, flying in a straight line, then close their wings and flip over and hit like a throwing hatchet. The swarms sometimes try to surround someone and slice them up like that, but I think they tend to get in each others way when they do that. Or they werent trying too hard to kill anyone when I delved.

Lechula gets lost in thought at that for a few moments, wondering if the Maw was being magnanimous, or if the bladesprites are just kinda stupid. Im going to assume any bladesprite swarm will be similar in power to that bladewall spell Merrik showed off, and from Honeys notes, I think shes on the same page. My bee finishes her notes and buzzes to get Lechula back on track.

Sliverstorms are a threat. They look like a gnashing maelstrom of needles and razors, and if thats all they were, thatd be bad enough. But they feed on metal, making themselves bigger. An armored opponent would find himself minced as his own armor unravels like a cheap cloak to feed the sliverstorm. Keeping them away from metal will lessen the threat, but they are still dangerous even without making themselves bigger.

Then there are the iron maidens. I dont think theyll be on the battlefield, but they will be abundant within the Maw itself. As far as I know, they cant move around, but they can be exceptionally dangerous. They will camouflage themselves to look like the floor or wall, or something else innocent, and usually leave a bit of gold or other valuable metal as bait. When a hapless delver thinks theyve found a nice treat, they instead become the treat as the maiden snaps around them. They come in a lot of varieties, too, and Ive heard them sometimes called steel mimics. Ive heard of ones that disguise themselves as chandeliers, or even as chairs or doors, only to rapidly engulf their victim when they reveal themselves.

He sighs before continuing. But I think the most dangerous of the Maws denizens are the forgemasters. They look like crude statues of dwarves, or maybe dwarves in crude metal armor. They are metal affinity mages, and tough to kill. They will support and repair the denizens, manipulating the metal directly, without needing any fire. They will also hinder or even kill opponents wearing anything metal, twisting armor and weapons to terrible effect. They are rare, but the Maw will certainly use every single one it has if a fight comes to it.

I digest that as Honey scribbles, and Teemo has a question before either I or Honey can come up with a response.

What about the weird leech-headed things?

Merric and Lechula exchange a glance, with Lechula looking a bit embarrassed and Merric looking uncertain as he answers. Ive only heard rumors. Everyone knows the Harbinger has a spawner, but I dont know anyone whos actually tried to fight what it spawns. The rumors call them least, but dont say much. Dergol said a friend of his heard a drunk ranting about monstrous lessers, but the guards showed up before he could give any details. I dont know how much Id trust that as a source, but there you go.

That doesnt sound good. The rest of the info sounds great, though. Most of my denizens shouldnt be outright countered by anything, and I think the wyrms and basilisks will be a great counter to the swarmy things. Ill need to watch through Leos eyes as he and Honey start working on our plan to deal with everything. Those pricklethorns and sliverstorms both sound pretty nasty, especially if they have foregemaster backup. Well also need to be aware of the least getting used as sappers and tunnelers to get behind our positions, or collapse them outright.

Before all that planning, though, I think its time to officially change the status of Lechula and Merrik. Teemo hops onto the Stags head to whisper to him, and he nods.

I and my Lord agree, Voice Teemo. While it would be wise to await confirmation from other sources, these two have been very cooperative. My Lord would like to offer them the chance to stay as delvers for as long as they wish.

Teemo smiles at that. Sounds like about what the Boss would like, too. He turns his focus to the two refugees. If youre up for it, Ill lead you out to the Boss dwellers and the adventurers. Im sure theyll love to chat and maybe fill you in on what your options are now. You can stay here with the Southwood if you really want, or maybe try to join one of the enclaves back with the Boss. We can even try to get in touch with the mayor of Fourdock if you want to try to seek refuge somewhere thats not a dungeon. Id ask you stick around somewhat close for a bit before taking off to explore the whole continent, though. We wouldnt want the Maw to somehow find you.

I mentally nod at that, and am glad Teemo left the other reason unsaid. I like the two, but I cant give them full trust just yet. If it was just me, I might give them the full benefit of the doubt, but theres a lot more people than just me involved in this. One source is good to start, but I want as many as possible before I start actually making any decisions. And if theyre an unreliable source, Ill need to be able to ask them more questions to see if theyre deliberately lying, or just wrong about the Maws forces.