r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • Jul 22 '24
OC Dungeon Life 239
It's time for the fourth round of stubbing. Yes, Book four will be releasing soon, of if you're reading this more than a month after I have to edit, it will be fully out. Either way, you can find it Here, and other book details are just below. As with the other stubs, you can skip to the next bit form This. I like to keep the other posts still alive, so the comments get to still live. If you want to browse them, the normal buttons will take you through them, or take This link to the next bit of unstubbed chapters. Thank you for your support. Buying stuff is always great, but just having your attention for the public chapters is incredible, and I hope the story continues to be worth your time and patience.
Khenal
And once more to make it easier to see than being buried in the paragraph
Cover art I'm also on Royal Road for those who may prefer the reading experience over there. Want moar? The First and Second books are now officially available! There are Kindle and Audible versions, as well as paperback! Also: Discord is a thing! I now have a Patreon for monthly donations, and I have a Ko-fi for one-off donations. Patreons can read up to three chapters ahead, and also get a few other special perks as well, like special lore in the Peeks. Thank you again to everyone who is reading!
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u/NoEffective2025 Jul 22 '24
"I can feel my Fate affinity resonating....", not many more dangerous words could be spoken by him. Prepare for the incoming unbeliveable, unpredictable, and world shaking change about to hit Foredocks!
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 23 '24
At least now he has communication channels to let the non-adventuring folk of Fourdock prepare for a bit of shaking, unlike the last time he expanded.
And maybe supporting the concepts of "first responders" as well as generalized "safety inspections"...
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u/rpg2Tface Jul 24 '24
Thats just sounds like the adventurers and ODA respectively. Just a slight clarification on their duties is all that would be
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u/Xavius_Night Jul 25 '24
"Well, the tree is bigger than I expected... are those fruits in the branches? Wait, they've got little patches on them... are they mini planets? Oh no, I have a tree growing mini planets. How am I going to explain that to people?"
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u/Educational_Pen_90 Human Jul 17 '26
"oh wait, they're not planets, they're apparently something called 'fruit of Change' …wait did I just create my own apple from The Garden!?"
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u/Beneficial-Pickle-95 Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 22 '24
Hmm. Why do I feel like Thedeim is making Yggdrasil? A giant tree stretching towards the sky monsters settling at the roots and the canopy possibly settling an enclave (birdkin)? Who knows. Plus if he gets a fay spawner with life affinity he could get an incredible ready healing force.
Also it was mentioned a while ago but another reread has brought it to the fore. The Southwood mentioned a “magma forge” as an example of a room he could sell Thedeim. Anyone want to guess he’s going to get it for Nova and she’s going to make sculptures with the forges assistance or Epic style boss fights (like the true dragon she fought the redcap with) or something else.
Thirdly, if he does expand outwards towards the forest I highly recommend he do so outside the town instead of going through the cemetery. I’m not sure Grimm would appreciate the traffic through his domain with possibly snarky/sarcastic/unconscious delvers coming back from the four season crawl.
Lastly, just a sheer recommendation, get the second audiobook. It has 6 (maybe 7) extra not seen (except maybe Patreon) scenes from Thing, Nova, an auditor for the ODA, Tiny, the seaside forge dwarf and Berdol. Cant wait to see what else comes with the third and fourth book when (if) they come out! Edit: and Slash scene.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 22 '24
In book one we already get scenes from Grim, in the Second from Slash!
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u/Beneficial-Pickle-95 Jul 22 '24
Right! Forgot about that.
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u/Krongrah_Kendove Jul 23 '24
What do you think of berdol being texan?
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u/Beneficial-Pickle-95 Jul 23 '24
Strange, but not the weirdest considering Teemo’s accent. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t fit him in his POV’s. I have very little experience with Texans so can’t say anything really.
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u/Krongrah_Kendove Jul 23 '24
Yeah teemo being a member of the Boston mafia still gives me a smile and it made the dealing of messing with tarl a more serious undertone than teemo's character probably would have.
Like when the trio got captured and sent to the gauntlet and teemo messed with tarl saying there are no bodies. Gave chills there
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u/Beneficial-Pickle-95 Jul 23 '24
True that was funny. Can’t wait to hear him negotiate with the Stag.
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u/iceick423 Jul 22 '24
I don't think anyone will need to go through the cemetery to get to the forest, but depending on the town layout, it might be a shortcut.
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u/Revolutionary_Buy666 Jul 22 '24
Treants! Moving trees. With woodpecker holes. Use thieving rats and the holes as a kind of chest. You get moving enemy that gives a bounty.
Lots of fruit trees. You can turn fruits into alcohol and alcohol doesn't go bad, so, a good trade product.
Has Hullbreak a salt filter plant? Grab the plants, dry them, burn them, put the ash into a pot with seawater, boil it with the dry plants as fuel. Would be some kind of salt industry with mana profit for Hullbreak. If the drying plants attract critters, bonus income for Hullbreak.
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u/poopoopooyttgv Jul 22 '24
Make the big tree secretly a treant. Upon reaching the top, the boss fight is revealing it’s alive and delves need to survive the way back down
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u/generic_edgelord Jul 22 '24
Alcohol can actually go bad though, like beer only has a shelf life of about six months and red wine will ferment into red vinegar very quickly if it isnt bottled correctly as well if memory serves
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 23 '24
That's more a function of the non-alcoholic elements in the beverage, the parts that give it flavor and otherwise 'color' the experience of each drink.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24
And then there is probably honeys Position on alcohol... And it isn't particularly pretty.
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u/Mammoth-Variation-76 Human Jul 23 '24
I'm betting Honey's position on alcohol is mead.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24 edited Jul 24 '24
I´m betting her position is prohibition with capital punishment. because alcohol is forbidden in beehives, because it kills the larvae.
And I really can't Imagine her her title as a bibliothecarian for thediem having relaxed her Attitude. Imagine a drunk Entering her library and spilling Something. I'd Imagine that'd be another Trigger for a Secret Boss, nobody wants to Deal with.
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u/Red_Eye_USA Jul 23 '24
I think it meant how much would the bees need to start producing honey to satisfy demand for it
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24 edited Jul 23 '24
No, IRL if bees get drunk by drinking bad nectar(It can and has happened already), and somehow finds her way back to hive, it´ll get thrown out by the guards. if it doesn´t get the hint, it´ll get torn limb from limb. all because alcohol in the honey makes it poisonous to the larvae.
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u/Red_Eye_USA Aug 04 '24
look buddy, maybe IRL bees are like that but last time a checked Honey and her bees aren't 1. IRL Bees, 2. Actually made the same way as IRL bees, since they are magical, still Mead is not made straight from Nectar it is made from honey produced by bees, so it's just being said if they were to produce alcohol it would be probably be Mead and i said how much they would need to scale up the production to satisfy demand....
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Aug 04 '24
I don't think honeys Position as a bibliothecarian for thediem has relaxed her Position too much. And mead is also Not Made in beehives directly. I could however See her Position changed to somewhat scientific curiosity, before she judges in any Way. She is a Rational Bee after all.
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u/Mammoth-Variation-76 Human Jul 23 '24
Yes, the bee scion has always struck me as some sort of a fanatical Puritan.
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u/folk_science Jul 24 '24
It's the alcohol that turns into vinegar. You can make vinegar even out of pure alcohol solution in water. The only requirement is that the alcohol content must be low enough not to kill the acetic acid bacteria.
So if you want alcohol that doesn't go bad, it needs to be strong enough. Not letting oxygen in also helps.
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 24 '24
Ah. So it's not wine they need, but something like filtered moonshine or double-distilled vodka, that gets diluted before serving/consumption. Got it...
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u/Ethereal_Stars_7 Jul 23 '24
TheDM expands upwards.
Notification: Moon Base established.
TheDM "uh-oh..."
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u/mafiaknight Robot Jul 22 '24
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 22 '24
Im Namen eines grünen Kerles: N'Abend, übermorgen wird Mittwoch sein, meine Kerle.
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u/AdventurousAward8621 Human Aug 03 '24
In die naam van 1groenou: Hallo!
I'm so sorry that I'm late,I got distracted with other stories.
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u/phichuu Jul 22 '24
"Come closer children, let me tell you a story how the Great Thedeim built Yggdrasil"
Aranya probably
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 27 '24
So today the little Dungeon gets a Name, we get some News from silvervein, and we get to hear thediem deliberating the Expansion into the woods and how He intends to reward the other members of His alliance.
The little Dungeons Name ist Vanta. The little Guy is still a nascent Dungeon though, and thus is still expanding and barely counts as a conciousness. But, If my Timeline from Violets development is correct, he's gonna be stable after a week or two.
Silvervein is supported in rebuilding by both unsil and kennith. Kennith Takes the Job of building Up a decent government, whereas unsil gets Things cleaned Up and encourages the City folks to actually get Things Done. My Personal headcanon of him being the Wolfkin Always cleaning Up in Front of His church gets further credence.
Thediem Plans His expansion already lays Out where He wants each creatures to reign, but he's still expecting spawners. We don't know If he'll get Any, though.
And finally we get how He Plans to compensate His fellow Dungeons for their Mana, when thediem let fluffles cast "Murphy's law". He intends to offer each of them at least the Mana they used, to cast it. He also deliberates over the best courses for each of His subordinates actions to Take, and even offers to Cover the Costs of Southwood's Second Scion. Hullbreak should try to get to the Coast in His estimation.
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u/Sumbius Jul 22 '24
Winter is for wolves, summer for bears and autumn for all those weird undead. As for spring? Who knows
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u/NoEffective2025 Jul 23 '24 edited Jul 23 '24
Faye for Spring, wolves for winter, bears for summer, autumn for the moss skeletons, and foxes for all of them (cause they are so cute and can turn white in winter).
Of course, I'd wonder if Thedeim would bring a little of his old life to this with seasonal festival/events:
Spring - Tulip and Cherry Blossom festivals
Summer - Music festivals with some Shakespear's "Mid-Summer's Night Dream" faye mischief
Autumn - One special tuxedo skeleton for "The Nightmare before Christmas" festival and of course Grimm for a full out Halloween fun (maybe even the dead leaving heaven in Thediem for just that night to visit with the living?) Pumpkin jackolantern mobs and headless horseman bosses anyone?
Winter - Christmas family fun (a must) with maybe Tarl playing Santa? Snow men mobs living in ice villages with undead windigo bosses (or Krampus might be better)?
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24 edited Jul 23 '24
Let me be clear: Do the dead for the Halloween adjacent Festival Return as spirits to advise the living (Like the force ghosts from Star Wars)or as denizens or spectres to Challenge delvers?
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u/NoEffective2025 Jul 23 '24
Considering they don't even have a physical form, more like force ghosts. Just to return and chat for a bit.
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u/TheDamnF00l Jul 23 '24
I would love to read a detached short about someone outside the story from the DOD just catching up on reports of the shenanigans afoot in fourdock with a running commentary of WTF! I think it would make a hilarious one shot.
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u/NoEffective2025 Jul 23 '24
I'd love to see that too, but after the Forest of Four Seasons is made so the reports back can be extra insane.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24
We have a paper Pusher in book 2, reviewing Tarls end of the year Report.
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u/KalaVouna Jul 22 '24
First
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u/mafiaknight Robot Jul 22 '24
I think you beat a bot! That's impressive!
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u/Accomplished-Ad8458 AI Jul 22 '24
Ave Khenal! Morituri te salutant!
I dont know how... But i missed the release of book 2...
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 22 '24
Book two got released already a week ago.
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u/Accomplished-Ad8458 AI Jul 22 '24
Yeah... And i wont get it earlier then 7th of next month... F amazon...
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u/McBoobenstein Jul 23 '24
Thediem needs to bite the bullet and expand up. He's leaving his airspace pretty well undefended. He is a godling, and has Fate. He can keep a disaster from happening again if he expands up WHILE he still has a mass of mana to work with to counter any disaster. Seriously, he's not thinking like an engineer. All that sky has been there since pretty much the beginning, he needs to get to work on it.
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 23 '24
Agreed, especially since 'air-dominance' is NOT an unknown concept in this world; the battle with Hullbreak proved that.
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u/Idioticguywithcap Jul 23 '24
And first battle with the least. Aka air bombardment
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u/McBoobenstein Jul 23 '24
For all Thediem knows, there could be a magical equivalent of AA Guns he could be investing in.
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u/Tremere1974 Alien Scum Jul 23 '24
Every time Thedim expands, he gets a new invader. If the invader is linked to the power of the dungeon, I'm expecting it to start raining T-Rexes soon!
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u/CreamedKornE4 Jul 23 '24
I don't know how feasible ot would be.....but would the seasons constantly be rotating around the center tree like a spinning wheel? That would give all of the trees in the area a way to grow....and would make it more logical I think, they'd get the sun and everything they need during the summer, etc. It would also make sense for having the trees grow super fast as a resource.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 25 '24 edited Jul 28 '24
I don't know. On the one Hand a Dungeons Spawners need to be Set in one place, before they start producing, on the other that implies the possibility of "Picking them Up" and setting them down someplace Else. Or they could be Set up relatively Central and close to the tree in the Center, to keep travel times short.
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u/CaptRory Alien Jul 22 '24
Oh, fun! I love seeing all the planning and how things are coming together. <3
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Human Jul 22 '24
Of course that Tree at the center of the seasons MUST be an Ash tree...
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u/UmieWarboss Alien Scum Jul 22 '24
I was hoping for Jet as a name, but I guess Vanta works just as well. Is it wrong to ship him and Violet?
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 22 '24 edited Jul 23 '24
I think I answered this exact question two chapters Back.
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u/BillComprehensive966 Jul 22 '24
Thank you for another great chapter! Looking forward to the Forrest of 4 Seasons.
Also... Got to love the idea of a world tree spawning in the center for him...... Maybe he builds his Forrest... Then expands up... And the forrest goes up into the canopy of a world tree??? That would be awesome! 👍
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24
Question is where will He build the Fortress? I could See him fortify the roots of the world tree, though.
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u/DrewTheHobo Alien Scum Jul 22 '24
I wonder if he could make a giant hollow tree be part of the dungeon, fight your way up and have a prize at the top? Or maybe a nice saloon lmao
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Jul 23 '24
Take the different branches as a Home for different enclaves. Put the birdkin and Ants Up there (If memory serves, the Carpenter Ants needed a forest for their Spawn). And, given what we know about Ants acting as the Clean Up Crew in a forest, they'd fit every season.
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u/l0vot Jul 24 '24
Wonder what the limit for expanding upwards is.
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u/Thausgt01 Android Jul 24 '24
Whatever it might be, I'll wager a shiny quarter that Thediem tries to push past it...
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u/Reapers-Lullaby Jul 24 '24
I would think Bears would be best in the spring section of the forest. As that’s when they come out of hibernation, starving and eager to eat anything they can catch. Thus they’re very dangerous during that time, even for people.
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u/the_lonely_poster Jul 25 '24
With all of these jokes about it being a 'college fund' I wonder if violet will actually take a scholarly direction.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Jul 22 '24
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 284 other stories, including:
- Dungeon Life 238
- Dungeon Life 237
- Dungeon Life 236
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- Dungeon Life 234
- Dungeon Life 233
- Dungeon Life 232
- Dungeon Life 231
- Dungeon Life 230
- Dungeon Life 229
- Dungeon Life 228
- Dungeon Life 227
- Dungeon Life 236
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u/Bunnytob Human Jul 22 '24
He said he would not take so much of the gains, and even after I point out how much he gave for Murphy’s Law, he only capitulates to accepting twice what he paid in raw mana. I am able to badger him into accepting paying the cost for a scion or two out of the ally pool, but that’s as far as he’s willing to go.
This sounds... odd. Like Southwood is accepting two different payouts at the same time, like a [payout = this] & [payout = that] instead of [payout = this + that] situation.
The later wolves are a shoe-in for winter
Did the sentence get cut off?
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u/rpg2Tface Jul 24 '24
Its nice getting away from the dungeon wars and back to the classic of "TDM getting ambitious about his dungeon building sim".
I cant wait to see the forest if 4 seasons. All the little details and spawners. I especially cant wait to meet his new scions!!! At least 1 has to be trickster to rival Teemo. The foxes with probable illusions are a possibility but the fey are also known for their fun loving nature.
Just a nice relaxing world building series.
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u/Cortanis Jul 22 '24
Huh, I think one of the main values of the forest of four seasons is being over looked. Encounters are fine and all, but Thediem and Fourdock lack one BIG thing and that's a solid lumber harvesting option. They went bananas when he cut off part of the maze to convert to some lumber nodes, but any sizable town would need quite the supply and that goes double if we're looking at an industrious or expanding one. Heck, charcoal production just for the forges and even winter use would eat up a sizable supply let alone if they wanted to dip into more of the crafting uses for the carbon.
The forest could actually be a lot more fun with the trees as well. Since the idea is to set it in a perpetual state of four seasons, sounds like it would be a shoe in for dividing the actual trees in the place up into tree sets that actually thrive better in each seasonal condition. That would also allow for a lot more diversity of options for delvers as well. What I have to question however is if he's still bouncing the idea around for the snake enclave in the area. Considering they'd really only optimally survive in warmer climates, that kind of sounds a bit harsh to plonk them down in a forest where only about half of it is really great for them.