Worthy Core

DAY 792

"Congratulations!" When Xenia's avatar returns to her office, she staggers for a moment at the shouted greeting that's waiting for her. For a moment she's afraid that perhaps her entire staff had been planning a surprise party, but a quick glance indicates that it's only Lollyp, Taly, and Beatrice cheering her on. The latter is in a bit of an odd look, wearing mostly casual gear plus her enchanted helmet, but it's one that Xenia's gotten used to seeing. That said, she's still a little confused about what exactly is going on.

"Jesus, what's everyone shouting about? How long have you been waiting here? Hell, how long have I been gone? They don't really have, uh...clocks over there."

Taly answers at least a few of those questions. "About...six hours? And we haven't been here that whole time, or been us three exactly. Folks have been rotating a bit, but a couple of us wanted to be here to welcome you back."

Xenia rubs her forehead. "If I was only gone six hours, why the big watch party? Shit, did anything go down while I was gone?"

"Well, Trush and Taly did spend some time - oh, you mean invasion stuff?" Lollyp shakes her head. "No, this is about you! We're congratulating you on your pregnancy! Which...is a thing, right? I mean, we figured that there's no way Kahlia would end up firing blanks."

"Ha!" Xenia barks out a laugh. "If only that was the problem! But yeah, I'm pregnant alright. Uh...actually..." The reincarnator pauses and lifts up her shirt before gently rubbing at her own stomach. Her guests can't see anything unusual there, but Xenia herself seems to sense something. "Damn, I think I can feel it already. Maybe this is a dungeon thing? I've got...perfect senses of everything going on in my body? Weird. But really, I didn't need a party or anything. We ain't doin' no gender reveals around here or some shit."

As Xenia slides into her office chair, Beatrice steps forward and leans against the desk. "Well, this isn't really about a party. We just wanted to, you know...offer our support? It's a pretty major thing you did. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Or failing that, do you want to talk about what it was like getting busy with the goddess of fucking?" Lollyp leans forward, interest glinting in her gooey eyes. "C'mon, what was it like?"

"Indescribable." Xenia stares off into the distance for a moment, blinking at the memory. "Literally. I can't even call it fucking, I think. It was on a completely different level of, like...existence." Her eyes narrow. "Although I can say that the big lady has a thing for light bondage."

Beatrice snorts for a moment before collecting herself. "Not what I was expecting. But go back a minute, you said there was some kind of problem?"

"Well, I hope not, but something unplanned at least." Xenia leans back in her seat. "Apparently I got signed up for the two-for-one special."

Lollyp needs a moment to process that before shouting. "You're having twins!? ...Wait, what? But there was only one dungeon core? Are you having...demigods?"

Xenia shakes her head and sits back up. "Yeah, and no. Apparently Kahlia put a little too much oomph into it and the core's soul split, or something like that. Which...shouldn't normally happen, but is apparently a one-in-a-million thing that happens with twins sometimes. There's positives and negatives, apparently."

Beatrice leans forward. "So...what's the good news?"

"The good news is, a dungeon pregnancy isn't anything at all like a normal flesh-and-blood pregnancy. Kahlia thinks this will actually speed up the process a fair bit. Not twice as fast, but probably at least one and a half times faster than it would've been. Although she's still not putting a number on how long that actually is."

Taly narrows her eyes as she asks the followup. "And what's the bad news?"

"Well, each 'kid' is going to end up weaker individually than they probably would've been. Not that we're sure, this is a first-time thing and even Kahlia's guessing a bit. But on the other hand, two heads can be better than one? No idea how this will affect their memory or personality, either."

"Huh." Beatrice chews on that before continuing. "That said, is there anything we can do for you? I admit, I'm no expert on pregnancy myself, let alone a dungeon pregnancy, but if there's anything we can do..."

"For now, focus on the shit we were talking about during the meeting. I'll be fine. Our number one task right now should be making sure that we can hold out long enough for this and our other hail-mary plans to work out. Speaking of, I know you said there's been no disasters, but is there anything to report?"

"Yeah." Beatrice sighs before continuing. "The Dragonlord and their entourage returned to Grassbrook at first light. We've had some scouts with boosted vision trying to get an idea of what's going on down there, but there's no giant dragon stomping around the woods or anything. I'm guessing that 'draconic' version of them you've mentioned in your meetings is an actual form they can shift into? Either way, nothing's heading towards the dungeon just yet."

"Can't say I expect that to last for long." Xenia narrows her eyes at her friend. "You're saying it's dawn now? Damn, did you stay up all night for this? Get some sleep, Beat - that's a dungeon commanding officer order."

"Aha, aye-aye, ma'am. Was just too full of nervous energy to fall asleep I guess, but now that you're back maybe I should give it another shot." The slayer raises an eyebrow. "But wake me up if a dragon attacks us, yeah?"

"Trust me, I don't think you'll be needing a wake-up call if that happens..."

---

Elsewhere on Floor Five, the Scarlet Eagles have just finished their morning routine, plus a rather hearty breakfast in Worthy Inn. At the moment though the five of them are back in their 'private' room - not exactly one of the old VIP suites, but still something of a luxury considering how many other new dungeon residents had found themselves assigned to barracks-style sleeping quarters. Aside from five separate beds the room even has its own magical bath and toilet, which makes it far better than nearly every mortal inn they've ever stayed in.

Unfortunately, that doesn't make their next conversation much easier to have. As Grim nods, Yellowbelly again activates her enchanted 'quiet time' ring. "So, let's check in. Anyone heard anything new in the inn this morning?"

Bandages waggles a hand. "There was the news about the Dragonlord coming back to town, but I'm sure we all heard that. It was all anyone was talking about, more or less. Should we discuss that first?"

The minotaur shakes his head. "It is important, so lets get anything less vital out of the way first. Any other rumors or news?"

Grinner shrugs. "Food was noticeably good this morning - not just tasted myself, no, but heard from the long-term delvers of Worthy, yes. Bigger portions than people were expecting in a siege, I think."

"Huh, smart move." Referee rubs his chin. "Keeps morale up just at a time when it's likely to be lowest. If the dungeon can keep people from panicking right now, when everything is at its most chaotic, then it should have a much easier time going forward. Once an actual siege sets in, the biggest problem most of the time is just boredom, and keeping people busy."

Bandages peers at his lizardkin companion. "You...have experience with sieges? Or military command?"

The question causes the scaly fellow to blink rapidly, a sign of embarrassment. "I've...played a lot of wargames where morale was taken into account."

"Hah, well, you're not wrong." Grim narrows his eyes in thought. "I did a few years in the Valleylands army when I was much younger, and while I was never trained in command, let alone siegecraft, I do know how much difference good food can make to the common soldier. That council the dungeon put together must have some smart biscuits on it. Speaking of, anyone heard more about that, or how we might manage to get ourselves into that room the next time it gathers?"

Yellowbelly sighs. "It seems to be more about trust than just power. Beatrice and Prince Thaddeus - whatever that man's supposed to be a prince of - appear to be the dungeon's field commanders when it comes to non-army combatants. Alizz has been placed in charge of the day-to-day management of the Challengers, but Thaddeus in particular seems to have an interest in getting people trained together and ready to fight. Of course, you've heard the rumors about the human being related to the dungeon? People seem to take that seriously, but no one seems to know what that actually means."

"So in other words, the dungeon doesn't trust us enough to let us in on the decision-making." The minotaur shakes his head. "I did speak to the prince, and despite being young he does seem to have some idea of what he's doing. Alizz has even confirmed his Supreme-tier swordsmanship. So if he is some sort of lunatic, he's still at least a capable one. Still, whatever orders he may give us, I do want us to still be keeping our own priorities in mind."

"Yes." Grinner raises a finger. "And just to confirm, those would be..."

Yellowbelly provides the answer. "For one thing, potentially having to worry about cracking the core in case everything goes wrong and the Dragonlord's about to take the place, right?"

"That...has gotten far more complicated." Grim paces the room before taking a seat at the chamber's table. "For one thing, all of the shortcut portals between the different floors have been removed, or at least, diverted to hard-to-access areas. The dungeon doesn't want people running the floors right now, so it's not going to make it easy for people to try - or for invaders to get around, in case the Domain has people who've actually cleared floors here before. Basically, unless a Challenger team has been assigned to help defend a particular location, they're not getting to it without a serious fight."

Bandages continues his logic. "Which means...even though we did clear down to Floor Ten before this began, we're not getting back there unless we're assigned to help defend it. Not unless we start over and fight through all ten floors the hard way. Ten redesigned floors which also now have mortal defenders."

"And those mortal defenders are a problem in more ways than one." Grim taps a finger on the tabletop - fortunately without denting it, as the man isn't wearing his heavy battle gauntlets at the moment. "Every mortal in here is now potentially entirely dependent on the dungeon for their lives. If the dungeon goes, so does the food, the water, the traps, the defending monsters. This hole would go from an ideal defensive position to an unholdable deathtrap in a matter of days. I trust that we at least have our own rations still?"

"Aye, yes, focusing on eating the dungeon's food while it's available. Lots left in our bottomless bags, yes." The gnoll nods in response.

"Which is something. But even if we succeeded in talking our way to Floor Ten, defeating the dungeon's defenders there, and cracking the core, we'd then likely have dozens of furious soldiers and Challengers calling for our heads. To maintain our safety we'd have to flee into the hopefully merciful arms of the Dragonlord - the individual we're considering doing all of this for specifically to spite!"

As Grim's fist slams the table, Referee poses a question. "Which means our plan is..."

"Plan A remains our primary concern. We aid the dungeon in its defense as it requests. With hope we hold out long enough for the Domain to be driven off. Alternatively, the Dragonlord becomes so enraged with the place that they attack it on a scale that causes them to destroy the dungeon, in which case it's no longer our concern. Aside from the part about us being inside it at the time, of course. Heh." Grim takes a deep breath. "But we have to make what preparations we can. Which means...support from the other Challengers in case we need to make a move. Or at least, select ones."

He turns towards Yellowbelly. "We're reliant on your magic to hide this from the dungeon, so it mostly falls to you, Yellow. But I do have an idea of where to start."

"Oh?" The kobold raises a brow-ridge.

"Indeed. Why don't you head out there and see what Lady Evervein's party has gotten up to today..."