Peek: Poe and the Harpies

The raven harpies are... restless. Poe blames himself, as he often does when things aren't progressing how he prefers, but he feels especially at fault as he and they share a spawner. And yet, despite their similarities, he's unsure how to help them.

The delvers find them terrifying, which makes the harpies sad. Personally, he likes their unsettling nature, and the tactical advantage they have in constantly being mistaken for dire ravens when they're not specifically trying to be obvious. But, like many of Lord Thedeim's denizens, they shy away from open combat.

The ratlings have taken to supplying logistics, accepting offerings and creating stores of materials for Lord Thedeim's experiments. The aranea have their quest offerings, providing guidance to the delvers and producing extra mana while subtly guiding the delvers to areas that could be overlooked. The magmyrm work closely with the healing slimes to ensure delvers survive whatever mistakes they may make, as well as dealing with the unconscious delvers after they fail to overcome the traps in the labyrinth.

What will the harpies do? They want to help the delvers, but how? He could order them on expeditions and help them indirectly. Ensuring Lord Thedeim has a good idea of what's going on outside will also ensure the delvers will be able to delve, and possibly warn them of dangers approaching.

But the harpies want something more direct, and if Poe is being honest with himself, the dire ravens are already his best option for long-range reconnaissance. They can already fly high enough to rarely be spotted, and have good enough vision to tell what's happening on the ground. And they can gather whatever interesting things they spot on the way, to bring back as part of their specialization for resources.

But what of the harpies? They may be useful as alchemy ingredients, but he would prefer not to encourage the delvers to... harvest his brethren. What else can he do? The harpies are able to carry large loads if they need to, perhaps they could be the final line of defense between delvers on the tree and the ground so far below?

Possible, but Lord Thedeim is working to ensure the delvers won't need to rely on being plucked out of the air, instead relying on the new gravity affinity to draw them in, and the spatial vines to transport them wherever they need to go.

He gives a quiet caw as he sits in his nest, wondering what to do, before giving a squawk as inspiration strikes. The harpies can do more than bring resources in, they can also carry them out. It seems counter-intuitive at first, but so is saving the lives of delvers. If he can get them to somehow pay the harpies, they could then take whatever loot the delvers wish back to their guild.

He preens as he works out the details of the plan. Yes, they'll have to do some sort of fight as payment, possibly even offer several tiers. If he does it correctly, he'll be able to encourage the delvers to take longer delves, or attempt riskier encounters. He'll need to coordinate with the magmyrm and likely the aranea, too: the former to ensure the delvers don't get themselves killed, and the latter to make signs and some sort of structure to let the delvers know sending their loot back is an option, as well as making it obvious where they can look for such a service.

He may even seek the help of the ratlings, if this is a success. If they can deliver to the delver's guild, perhaps they can do other deliveries while out on expedition? If so, they'll need bags to carry things, and something to identify them to the people that they're not dangerous. And if the harpies are outside, they can take payment in more physical things, rather than mana, and bring back resources for Lord Thedeim.

He roosts by the chimney as he works out the details in his mind, confident he can make it work. Not only will he secure mana and resources for Lord Thedeim, but he'll also be able to help the harpies find their place. The delvers will surely be slow to take to the new service offered by the harpies, but they were the same with the aranea at first, and now hardly any delver enters Lord Thedeim's territory without at least perusing the quests.

By the time he has everything set up, he's confident that not only will the delvers hardly even consider leaving without paying to secure their loot, but the ones outside who don't delve will also contribute by having letters and packages delivered by harpy.

The delvers get convenience and some small security, Lord Thedeim gets happier delvers and more mana and resources.

And so he plans and watches over the yard around the manor, watching the delvers and planning to shake up the way they do so in ways they could have never imagined.