Chapter Three-Hundred Twenty-Two

    The next week or so goes by in a blink of an eye as I watch things settle from all the upgrades, and the delvers get used to having someone like Olander around. He doesn’t get a chance to delve in that time, probably dealing with all the political stuff he was trying to avoid, or maybe stealing time to just hang out with his friends.

    The forest is seeing a lot more adventurers now, even if it’s still a work in progress. The basic format is settled, and the denizens are adjusting to their roles quickly, though there are some growing pains. The first couple days, I had to keep extra healing slimes in the area, and I think Grim was spending more time there than in the cemetery. Goldilocks and Titania have been diligently sticking close to him, learning all they can about making the encounters just right, and ironing out the details with some of the other denizens.

    A lot more delvers are getting injured in the forest than I was expecting, but I think that only reinforces the need for a more traditional crawl at a higher level. The manor fills that niche for the new delvers, but I really have wandered away from a combat focus for most of my other sections. Sure, they’re not free from a fight anywhere, but the tunnels are more like a highway than a place to fight, the caverns are more for mining than fighting, the gauntlet is a challenge of skill, not martial prowess, and the labyrinth is a puzzle rather than something to hit really hard.

    I’m glad that, even battered and bruised, the delvers are generally in good spirits about the whole thing. They’re enjoying pushing their limits, finding where they actually are in an environment where they won’t have to die or lose a friend to find them. It’s more than a bit reckless, but most are learning pretty quickly. A broken bone can be recovered at a good healer, but the loot tax for ‘defeat’ isn’t so easily fixed. A couple groups have to learn a couple times that they aren’t ready yet, but they’re the exception, not the rule.

    Zorro has finally admitted defeat with his floof, and though I’m sad to see him have to trim it down a lot, it’s plain to see how much easier it is for him to maintain his disguise with shorter fur. He’s started going out on sojourns a lot, wandering Fourdock and getting to know people and how the town itself is faring. It’s more than a bit embarrassing to learn how often people talk about me, but at least it’s easy to rationalize why.

    Most aren’t really talking about me so much as the dungeon. Sure, I’m the dungeon, but there’s a big difference. They talk about the challenges, rumors about certain sections, gossip about what the delvers are doing, or sometimes their own plans for delves. Those are actually fun to listen to, and informative, too. Delving is becoming more and more of a hobby for a lot of people, and it’s relieving to hear them talk about the little details that the more experienced delvers don’t even notice anymore.

    Like the aranea quests. Sure, the guild people will just grab one on their way to whatever their actual quest is, but the more casual delvers really appreciate the guidance of the small quests. For them, the little plaques are their quests, not just a little bonus. The rewards are also a big draw for the newer delvers, too.

    There’s another project that’s growing, though I haven’t had to do much myself to help, aside from upgrade the limestone quarry again. I might need to upgrade the iron ore vein soon, too, but I’ll see how things go before I do. Rezlar is serious about the hold in the nearby mountains, and word is finally getting out that miners of all varieties will be needed, as well as more masons to learn the new ways of concrete.

    Also looking promising are the antkin. I think they’re just about ready to go hunt. They could probably prepare forever, but they’re smart enough to recognize the diminishing returns. They’ll have a lot of things to redesign as they get more action while out on a hunt, but right now, they’re about as good as they’re going to get.

    The ranchers are still figuring out exactly what they want to use to hunt, with the current forerunner being what amounts to a boar spear for the burly antkin. The head looks closer to a glaive than a spearhead, but it should still stab easily.

    The workers look like they favor the classic shield and shortspear combo, and are drilling in small formations. It looks like the enchanters even managed to make the shields able to link up somewhat, letting the protection magic shift to where it''s needed. The links are a bit tenuous, so we’ll see if it holds up in an actual fight, but the sparring tests look promising.

    The medics are enjoying the compound bows, now the engineering caste knows how to make them. It looks like the alchemists actually were able to make an effective glue arrow, too. Considering I haven’t seen any delvers use something similar, I think they’ll have a good product to put onto the market once they finish up with their progress bars.

    All of them are wearing wyrmhide armor, with the ranchers having the heaviest versions and the medics with the lightest. I’m still not sure how they even manage to make the stuff, but it seems like a decent midpoint between something like boiled leather and actual steel. There’s still the faint lines of magma-like coloring running through the hide, and while it stands out in my territory and on the surface, the antkin seem pretty confident in it helping them stay unnoticed in the volcanic section they intend to hunt in.

    If nothing else, I doubt they have anything available that would give them better protection from the heat and fiery attacks of whatever’s in there. Right now, they’re making their final preparations for their first hunt. As I understand it, they’re not expecting to go especially deep. This will be as much a scouting trip as a hunting trip, though the antkin intend to give them all a hero’s send-off.

    Aranya, Larx, and Folarn are intending to come to see them off in the morning, and I get the feeling Queen wants to make her presence known, too. It’ll be a big deal for the antkin to make this work. The hunters look nervous, but determined, which I take as a good sign. If they were strutting around and boasting, I’d worry for their safety. But there’s a healthy amount of caution in their movements as they prepare their kits, making sure they’ll be ready come morning. It’s tempting to ask Nova to go with them and keep an eye on them, but I think that''d be doing them a disservice. They’ve worked hard for this. I can’t helicopter around them and fuss the whole time. They can do this, and I need to trust them enough to let them.