Rest now, Leona, for Kwim’s wings are swift,
For Herel and Ritci control the waves
And Sol takes care not to burn thy face.
Mazre thy father, shall guide you,
Unto the mountains he carved,
Unto Litone’s safe harbor,
From the land that is destined to starve.
-Ballad of Leona, verse 3, author unknown.
Sanctuary floated in circles around her ((CORE)). She kept glancing back at the unconscious Xliminavera . Then at Runt in the corner. Her bog lurker snoozed peacefully in the pond. It was dreadfully boring. She wanted to go watch the Raid, but was afraid that father might change his mind if he thought about it too much.
No, it was better to just wait in her ((SANCTUM)). She didn’t think that father would go back on his word, but it was best to be sure. Of course, it was being rather loud up there. She hummed. Runt stirred, and Sanctuary leaped in excitement. She spun around a few times before floating closer to the goblin.
He groaned awake slowly, blinking a few times before frantically grasping at his chest, then stomach. The blood on his clothes had begun to dry, but it still stained his green hands red.
“Worry not, Runt. Thy wounds hath been sealed.” Sanctuary said,
The goblin jolted and looked up at her. His mouth opened slighlty. He scrambled to his feet and bowed. He said something in the monster language, before cautiously glancing back up at her ((GAZE)).
Sanctuary giggled. “Thou mayth stand.”
The goblin stood up straight, then reached down to pick up and sheath his bloodstained dagger. He looked around the room, and glanced Xliminavera , then turned a befuddled gaze upon Sanctuary.
“The Opossum hast done no harm” Sanctuary said,
Runt looked at her strangely.
“…The Opossum did not succeed in doing harm.”
The goblin shrugged.
Sanctuary settled her ((GAZE)) at Runt’s eye level, “I am terribly sorry for thy kin. Thou hast my condolences.”
Runt shrugged again.
“Is the camp destroyed every Raid?”
Runt nodded.
“Oh.” Sanctuary said, “Then I am doubly sorry.”
Runt shrugged again, looking at his feet.
Sanctuary decided to drop the subject. She glanced at her Lurker, who cracked open an eye to meet her ((GAZE)). She decided to open another line of conversation.
“Havest thou visited floor fifty-three?” She asked,
Runt shook his head.
“Lurker wast spawned there. Tis a bog.” Sanctuary said,
Runt nodded.
“I think I’ll shall have a bog one day.” Sanctuary said,
Runt nodded again; Sanctuary wondered if he was just trying to be polite.
“It is-“ Sanctuary began, only to be cut off but a sudden shift in the ambient ((MANA)).
Runt fell to floor and whimpered. She floated to his side, then a ((SYSTEM)) message appeared in front of her.
WARNING, YOUR SANCTUM HAS BEEN INVADED! OTHER CONSCIOUSNESS’S HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM YOUR VICINITY UNTIL THE INVASION IS RESOLVED.
Again? Sanctuary spun around, she didn’t sense any new life forms, and Xliminavera still hadn’t awoke. Perhaps it was an error? The message didn’t disappear. She turned back to Runt. His eyes had shifted from dark purple to brown.
What? That didn’t make…
Sanctuary turned her ((GAZE)) off, counted to five, and flicked it back on. Runt’s eyes were still brown. Father’s monsters always had purple eyes. Lurker’s eyes had changed to white when he joined her domain, but everything else was always purple. Like father’s ((CORE)). She reached out to Runt with her mind, and, sure enough, father’s influence was completely gone.
She panicked. Something bad must’ve happened. Sanctuary didn’t enough know how to give a monster to someone else, much less unbind one! Runt was still rolling on the ground in pain. Giving Sanctuary a moment to think. Okay. She needed to resolve the invasion, right?
Runt wouldn’t hurt her, but ((SYSTEM)) seemed to think he was a threat now. Maybe the message was automated? That made sense. Okay. Step one, Resolve the invasion. Runt was in pain, but she didn’t see any new bleeding-spots. That meant… the pain was inside, maybe?
She wasn’t sure how to access the inside, so she wrapped ((MANA)) around the entirety of Runt, before gently encouraging it to seep in his skin. Runt groaned again, gripping his skull. Then, after a minute or so, he relaxed.
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BOUND GOBLIN RUNT TO YOUR DOMAIN
LEVEL OF RESISTANCE: -50
RANK GIVEN: Please Select
Sanctuary stared at the text box. Oh, why did she keep doing things?! What if she picked something Runt didn’t like? What if she picked something that she couldn’t use later? What if father was mad at her and didn’t let Xliminavera go now?
She tried to swipe the box away, but it stubbornly refused. Sanctuary’s ((GAZE)) dimmed. She really needed to speak with father. She tried to warp her ((GAZE)) to his, only to find that she couldn’t locate it. That was strange, he never turned off his ((GAZE)). Where had he said he was going? Floor eight? She warped over to floor eight, only to find it in ruins. The pretty forest she had help father set up was all melted, and there were holes in parts of the walls. It was also completely empty.
Sanctuary tried to warp to the upper levels to see if the Raid was still going on, but found that she couldn’t. She hummed and tried to float through the ceiling. The pale void repelled her as if there was nothing above the eighth floor.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
She shivered and flew quickly over to the ascending staircase. Only to find it stopped up. Her ((GAZE)) brightened in alarm. That was bad, that was very, very bad. Had the mortals done that? Why hadn’t father just absorbed the blockage?
Unless… he couldn’t. She tried to sense her father’s essence, only to feel a faint tug coming from his ((SANCTUM)). Sanctuary froze, then she warped back to her own ((SANCTUM)).
Runt was sitting up, and looked toward her as she appeared. Sanctuary didn’t speak. Father had shown her how to ((COMMAND)) her monsters, something she hadn’t needed to do until now. She pushed ((MANA)) into the link from her ((CORE)), silently explaining the directions to Lurker and Runt.
Destroy the obstruction in the stairwell.
Sanctuary buzzed around nervously. Neither Lurker, or Runt had heavily destructive capabilities, and Sanctuary couldn’t affect her father’s domain without him present. She began to shift through the catalogue of birth presents sent by Aunt Labyrinth, Grandfather Bastion and cousins Monolith and Obelisk.
Aunty had given her a Minotaur embryo. Although, she had no idea how to bring it to maturity, or what a Minotaur was. Grandfather had sent along a set of metals that she had long since absorbed and memorized the schematics for. Monolith had sent a chunk of highly malleable Black Stone, it was fun to play with, and barely cost any ((MANA)) to manipulate. But unique to Monolith and unreplicateable. Obelisk gave her a map of his domain that altered itself every time he placed a new… obelisk.
Sanctuary dimmed again. Lurker and Runt were taking the shortcuts, but still only on floor seventeen. She reluctantly turned to the still present text box.
Congratulations! Despite your (Continually) unorthodox methods, you have resolved the invasion! +25 mana
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY BOUND GOBLIN RUNT TO YOUR DOMAIN
LEVEL OF RESISTANCE: -50
RANK GIVEN: Please Select… EXPAND?
She expanded the message
SPEAKER – Voices your wishes to the mortal masses
VESSEL – Contains your essence
BOSS – A powerful fighter to repel invaders (REQUIRES BOSS ROOM)
RETAINER – grants a higher level of independence and intelligence
Sanctuary wilted at her options, before selecting ((RETAINER)). If only she had a boss room… She shook her ((GAZE)). Then opened her ((STATUS)).
STATUS:
Name: Sanctuary
Mantra: N/A
LV: 2
EXP 50,000/150,00
Gender: Female
Affinities:
Class: none
Race: Undefined
Nodes: N/A
Spawners: N/A
Retainers: Runt
Tethers: Xliminavera
Traits: Reserved
Blessings: Blessing of Bastion
Curses: N/A
Titles: Daughter of Catacomb
Notoriety: 1
Fame: 1
Infamy: 0
Kills: 0
INT: 6
SOUL: 10
WILL: 5
MAG: 4
STR: 0
DEF: 0
CONS: 3
You have 3 attribute points!
“((9/16))?” Sanctuary asked,
A viewport opened next to her.
“How doest mine stats effect mine monsters?”
1+ attribute point per 5 attribute points in that stat.
Sanctuary grimaced. That meant that Runt was most likely significantly weaker than when he was under father’s domain. “Thank you.”
The view port vanished. She put two points into constitution and one into magic. Although she didn’t know how that would help.
She sensed her monsters enter floor ten, and she warped to them. The bustling township was completely still. Runt was more unnerved by this than Lurker, who wore a slightly annoyed expression on his face. They nodded to her as she appeared, and they slipped through another faux-wall, by-passing floor nine entirely.
Sanctuary wondered how the shortcuts to the upper floors had gotten sealed. They continued their trot to the blockage. The two of them stared at the bone-filled stairwell for a moment, before Runt stabbed at the wall with his dagger.
He grunted at the effort it took to slide it into the wall. His arms trembling somewhat. He moved the dagger through the bone in a line, before slowly turning it. Sanctuary doubted that he would’ve been able to make any progress if the dagger wasn’t dragon claw. Lurker took a moment to realize what Runt was doing, but then he began to claw at the bone. His claws weren’t made for cutting bone, and the sound it made was terrible, but they would catch on the small imperfections in the solid mass and chunks would break off.
Bone was hard on the outside, but significantly softer the farther you went in. Runt turn again and cut parallel to the first, then he completed the box shape. He jabbed his dagger in the top cut. Using the slight curve of the claw to his advantage, Runt twisted the dagger so it dug further into the bone. He pressed on it like a lever grunting at the effort. Lurker’s eyes widened, and he did the same with his own claws. The block came loose and fell to the floor.
Runt grinned, and Lurker flexed his claws. Sanctuary felt a flicker of movement in her ((SANCTUM)). Instantly she warped back, Xliminavera was awake.
STATUS:
Name: Sanctuary
Mantra: N/A
LV: 2
EXP 50,000/150,00
Gender: Female
Affinities:
Class: none
Race: Undefined
Nodes: N/A
Spawners: N/A
Retainers: Runt
Tethers: Xliminavera
Traits: Reserved
Blessings: Blessing of Bastion
Curses: N/A
Titles: Daughter of Catacomb
Notoriety: 1
Fame: 1
Infamy: 0
Kills: 0
INT: 6
SOUL: 10
WILL: 5
MAG: 5
STR: 0
DEF: 0
CONS: 5
