Peek: Made to Order

Order doesn't often get to be bemused, so he enjoys it while it lasts as Thedeim tries to get his attention by shaking the quest notification. Who even gets the idea to try it? Thedeim, clearly. Still, it's not difficult to guess why the odd dungeon and young deity would try to get his attention without coming by or otherwise sending a proper message: he's about to progress with the spawner.

He doesn't need the alert, but he appreciates it nonetheless. It will be more interesting to give it his full attention as Thedeim works, instead of simply observing the aftermath and the detailed log. It also gives him a chance to examine what the dungeon has acquired that he believes will let him make a new type.

He doesn't understand how a mosquito in amber is going to make a new type, but the resonance with whatever Thedeim has in mind is clear, and already proves a new type is possible. After all, the closest thing to a denizen he can identify from a bit of amber and an insect is a very rare resource specialization for termites with earth affinity. And with those, the termites create amber in their bodies to be harvested by delvers.

But he very much doubts that's what Thedeim is going to create. Partially because that already exists, and the dungeon needs to make a new type if Order is going to track down how the Betrayer did it.

The first thing of note is how little mana it actually requires to create the new type. The core requirement is the concept and resonance, it seems. He makes a note to require quite a lot more for any other potential new types to be created. He doubts anyone would have the kind of solid concept and also something to resonate with, but he can't go letting the Betrayer make something else for practically free.

The next interesting thing is how similar the new type is to a variety of beasts that already exist. In fact, more than a few bear striking resemblance to a plucked version of some of the stronger and rarer beast varieties.

But Thedeim has already defined them to be much different, despite the superficial similarities. Order would call them closer to dragons, but the utter lack of breath weapons already distinguishes them.

Order shakes himself and drags his focus back to his system, rather than watching the dungeon mold his new denizens. He needs to pay more attention to what's going on with his system than with how Thedeim organizes his new type.

He folds himself into his system, feeling the precision and Order of it, and how it reacts to this new type. He has to go deep, deeper than he's been since he created it, deep enough to brush against the true Law that he tries to interface with.

There. For a brief, terrifying instant, he fears the Betrayer has somehow infected it, but he sighs in relief as he sees the Betrayer's corruption scorched and blackened from where it appears to have tried to do just that. A shame it didn't get purged from his system as well.

As he peers closer, he grumbles as he sees it may have been a good thing it wasn't purged after all. It's infected the bindings he's placed on it so deeply that to remove the corruption would be to remove the seal. He can tie off and halt the advancement of the Betrayer's influence on his system, but to truly rip it out... would risk destabilizing everything.

Which really leaves him with few options. He will need to reinforce against the corruption, and come in to regularly maintain this area, to ensure it doesn't get to worm its way deeper. He will also need to reinforce his system so that when he is ready to excise the tumor, there will be enough to take the weight and keep everything working while he removes and replaces what needs it.

There is at least one bright side: he can prevent further corrupted spawners from being made, now he knows how the system can be subverted. He prepares to do just that, before getting an idea. The Betrayer will surely notice if it can't make any more spawners. Why not add his own little piece of anti-corruption, a killswitch to the spawners? He can't do that for ordinary ones, nor can he retroactively apply them to ones that already exist, but he is Order. If the Betrayer thinks he can't manipulate his own system with such exacting finesse, perhaps he should teach it.

He can also add a tracker so he'll know where any new ones are made, as well. Right now, he doesn't know just how far the Betrayer has spread. He chuckles as he makes his own little worm to nestle inside the corruption, insulating it now that he knows more of how the Betrayer's influence works.

Thedeim isn't the only one who likes to know as much as possible before moving. And once he knows how far the Betrayer has managed to spread, he'll know what the reaction needs to be. Hopefully, they'll be able to keep things a lot less destructive than the last time the Betrayer had to be dealt with.