Chapter 1 - Divine Apostasy Book 4

Chapter 1

Blapy’s blond pigtails bounced as she walked next to Ruwen, and he reminded himself this wasn’t a seven-year-old, but the most dangerous creature in the Universe. They had left New Eiru, the moonlight providing enough light to see even in the thick pine trees. Whiskers, Ruwen’s cat summoned with his Watcher’s Ring of Travel, scouted the area ahead.

They had spent the walk here discussing where to put the portal to Fractal, Ruwen’s dungeon near Deepwell, and almost eight hundred miles north of them.

Blapy pointed her stuffed centipede at him. “This is as much a business decision as an aesthetic or convenience one.”

“I don’t know how to run a business,” Ruwen said.

“Then you should keep it simple. Three entities want to maximize their profit: Fractal, New Eiru, and adventurers.”

“That sounds difficult.”

Blapy nodded. “And they each want different things. Fractal wants new items, and for adventures to spend their Mana and hopefully die inside the dungeon. The city wants tax revenue without new infrastructure costs, and adventures desire loot and experience.”

Ruwen had learned in the Spirit Realm that Mana contained a perfect balance of all twelve essences, and when adventurers used their Mana, Fractal absorbed it. If the adventurer died, it resulted in an immense amount of power and resources for Fractal.

“How does the city get its share?” Ruwen asked.

“It benefits the most from all the shops that invariably emerge around a dungeon. You saw the small one around the Black Pyramid.”

When Ruwen thought of the destroyed city around the Black Pyramid, the words that came to mind were vast, gigantic, or enormous, not small. He nodded.

Blapy continued. “Your city council will tax all those businesses. But you should tax the adventurers as well.”

“Why? They're just here for the dungeon.”

“Your locals won’t cause much trouble, but outsiders will drink and fight and cause problems. You’ll need extra Enforcers to patrol the streets as well as some sort of holding cell to keep them until a Judge can decide their fate. All those things cost your city wages and infrastructure costs.”

Ruwen had hoped this would all be simpler.

Rami? Ruwen asked. Do you have any books that describe a system like your mom is talking about?

The tiny Bookwyrm behind Ruwen’s right ear vibrated. Over sixty thousand.

Ruwen rubbed his forehead. Is there any kind of basic system in there. I want to minimize the complexity.

There’s no consensus, but a common model is for the adventurer to buy a token from the city for the level they want to start on. The higher the level, the more expensive the token.

Thanks, Rami.

Ruwen looked down at Blapy. “Rami says we could make people buy tokens. Would Fractal be able to understand what they mean and associate them with a level?”

Blapy smiled. “Such a smart girl. You don’t deserve her.”

Ruwen reached up and gently touched his right ear. “I know.”

Rami hugged Ruwen, the feeling like a warm blanket wrapping his head and chest.

“Fractal can understand tokens,” Blapy said. “I’ll have Fluffy work with your city’s quartermaster once you get organized.”

“Fluffy’s here?”

“Yes, and he grumbles about it constantly. As if the pyramid will fall apart without him there.”

Ruwen smiled. He’d spent hours with the Black Pyramid’s quartermaster as Ruwen had cleaned an armor set that belonged to the Black Pyramid’s deceased Ink Lord. Ruwen now had the questline to become the new Ink Lord, but he was only an Ink Warden at the moment.

Blapy stopped, and Ruwen looked around. To the west, the mountains were close, blotting out the stars. North, the pine trees continued, rising and falling with the foothills that pushed up against the mountains. The city of New Eiru lay to the south, the tall walls visible in the distance. A vast lake sat to the east, surrounded by more forested foothills.

“We’re a long way from the city,” Ruwen said.

“It seems that way now, but you’ll be surprised how fast it spreads. Plus, because of the mountains and lake, you can only easily expand north and south. The city will engulf this area in no time.”

That was hard for Ruwen to imagine, but he didn’t argue. “What do we do now?”

“This portal and Fractal both reside in Uru’s Blessing, so that simplifies things. But, you need to plan for the future. Eventually, Fractal will attract adventurers from all over the continent. Many will come through this portal. To make Fractal really desirable, I would recommend two things to you as the ultimate decision-maker for New Eiru. And to make Fractal happy, I would recommend two things to you as the Dungeon Master.”

Ruwen frowned, worried about Fractal’s well being.

Blapy continued. “Most major cities set aside small areas for the other deities to construct temples. This allows foreigners to synch to their deity while far from home. Obviously, this is even more important if you’re about to go somewhere dangerous, like a dungeon. It would increase Fractal’s value considerably if you allowed them.”

“Wouldn’t that also make it easier for spies?”

“Yes, but also easier for diplomatic relations and trade. You won’t always be at war. There’s no consensus on this, and your city council might fight you on it. Certainly, it will have to wait until after the current invasion.”

Ruwen winced, as Blapy reminded him of the other task Uru had given him: defending the southern border.

Blapy pointed her stuffed centipede at Ruwen. “The second item for you and your city council to decide is how much area to give the portal. I recommend an area much larger than the portal needs?”

“How much space is required?” Ruwen asked.

Blapy shrugged. “A ten-foot circle.”

“Then why do you want so much more?”

“Now I come to the Dungeon Master part. First, the easy one. I recommend you allow a mechanism for adventurers to determine the quality of the loot they receive. Before they enter the portal, each adventurer would offer an item. If the item is of ‘common’ quality, then their loot quality is penalized, ‘uncommon’ has no effect, and starting at ‘fine’ the loot quality increases. This will quickly allow Fractal to gain high-quality items.”

Ruwen nodded. “That’s a good idea. We’ll do that for sure.”

“Now to the second item, space. When you found Hamma at the wedding reception, you caught a glimpse of what life is like in the Black Pyramid.”

“I know,” Ruwen said. “And it started before that. I found a travel book written by a big hairy guy talking about the other worlds he’d visited. The library and chapel made me wonder, too. It made me realize the creatures in the Black Pyramid are living lives just like the rest of us.”

“Exactly. And just like everyone else, they like to see new things, drink and eat different foods, and meet others.”

“How does this affect Fractal?” Ruwen asked.

“It makes it easier for you and Fractal to keep morale up. Being able to leave the dungeon for dinner and some drinks is a huge bonus. Having someplace other than the dungeon to spend the money you earn will make it easier to recruit creatures to your dungeon.”

“We have to recruit?”

“Yes. Until Fractal can make his own decisions, you need to take care of everything. Eventually, you’ll just need to bring him new adventurers.”

Ruwen rubbed his eyes as he realized how much responsibility he’d taken on, all without realizing it. But another thing dawned on him. The creatures in dungeons suffered discrimination far worse than the Class discrimination Ruwen had seen. They were only viewed as things to kill, not as opponents to overcome. But he had seen how wrong that view was.

Ruwen looked at Blapy. “When will Fractal be able to start reviving his inhabitants with their memories?”

Blapy smiled. “Excellent question. We are working on that now. It will be a critical step in his ability to recruit high-level creatures. For now, I’m handling it.”

“What problems will I face if I give the dungeon inhabitants space here?”

“Uru’s people are quite tolerant. But humans are tribal at heart, and you can expect a lot of conflicts. For sure, it will cost you extra city guard.”

Ruwen looked around the area again. They were probably two miles from the city walls, and the lake sat at least a mile away to the east. Two thousand feet to the west, a mountain started, its base veering steeply upward.

“We could put the portal here,” Ruwen said. “For now, Fractal can take the area five hundred feet on each side of the portal, and the entire way back to the mountain.”

“What about the mountain itself?” Blapy asked.

“Like inside it? Sure.”

Blapy nodded. “It’s a start.”

Ruwen felt pressure against his Core, and his ear’s popped. The pine trees fifty feet around them had changed. Now, large thick columns of quartz stood, all angeled different directions. Smaller pieces of clear stone littered the ground. The stones absorbed the moonlight, amplifying it, and giving the area a twilight feel eerily reminiscent of the Spirit Realm.

Fractal finds you. Happy it makes. Fractal said.

Ruwen didn’t know if it was the additional levels of Hey You that made Fractal more understandable or if Blapy’s influence and mentorship had leveled the Dungeon Keeper enough to make him more intelligible.

Smiling, Ruwen responded. I feel the same, Fractal. It’s good to hear your voice.

Hi, Fractal! Rami said.

Greetings, little dragon. Fractal shatters in joy.

Rami laughed, and Ruwen smiled. Fractal was definitely more excited about Rami being back.

Blapy reached out and touched the nearest quartz column, and it turned black. “Let’s go see the work I’ve done while you two were playing in other realms. You need to help Fractal pick his ‘Dungeon Focus’ so we can continue his expansion.”

“Dungeon Focus?” Ruwen asked.

But Blapy had already disappeared into the dark crystal. Ruwen sighed and stepped through as well.