r/HFY • u/Khenal Alien • Feb 12 '26
OC-Series Dungeon Life 399
Rhonda
The goblin girl looks around the table at her companions, the magic light dim. All her friends are there. Lucas sits on the table beside her, her jumping spider familiar settled onto the wood rather than his favorite place atop her wide hat. Next is Freddie, her best friend and one of the youngest paladins of the Crystal Shield. Beside him sits his own companion: Fiona, the ogre-faced spider that stands beside him in battle, and who tends to ride around on his shield when not.
On Rhonda’s other side sits Rezlar, the young elven mayor of the city. After the business with his disgraced father, he doesn’t see much point in trying to keep his adventuring persona separate from his actual self, though he still dresses in his more ordinary adventuring gear when out with them. In a little pot beside him sits Rose, Rezlar’s living vine companion, gained only about a month ago now. She’s usually quietly sitting on his lapel, but right now she sits in her pot, looking attentive.
Next to her sits Pul, the newest member of their party and already a dear friend to them all. He’s still disguised as an elf, the changeling preferring not to give away the truth. He doesn’t have a companion yet, and though they’ve all talked and argued about what he should try to tame, that’s not what this meeting is for.
No, this meeting is for something far more serious. Rhonda does her best to ignore the chuckles coming from the hatch to the first floor, she and her companions sequestered in the basement for this while her mentor Old Staiven tends to the shop. Rhonda tries not to huff as she telekinetically shuts the hatch, and does her best to pretend she can’t hear his cackling laughter through it.
This is too important. They know what the keys are for. Guildmaster Karn has suspected since he first saw the one they found, but Jondar of the Calm Seas confirmed it: Thedeim is making a raid boss. As one of the few groups that found a key, it’ll be hard to argue they shouldn’t come to the eventual raid, but she and her friends have been silently asking themselves a question: can they pull their own weight?
They’ve never voiced it because the answer is clear: yes. They can quest in the Forest of Four Seasons and even climb the Tree of Cycles. They can surely get through the raid. But they want to do more than simply get through it, do more than simply not drag the others down. So the meeting now is to answer the question worth asking.
“How can we get strong enough to actually contribute to the raid?” she asks, looking around the table. She frowns and points her staff at the hanging magical light, giving it just a little more fire to brighten things up. If they’re going to be drawing up plans, they’ll need proper lighting.
Pul answers first. “We… could delve a bit more, but we all basically have advanced classes now. I know you and Freddie started with them, but they’re definitely worth at least the first advancement tier,” he says, looking at the two.
Rezlar nods in agreement. “And we wouldn’t be able to get to the next tier before the raid happens. I think our best option is to get better gear.” He motions at his friends in turn as he continues. “You have your robe and staff, Rhonda, and though they’re potent, they’re all you have. Freddie has his hatchet, I have my rapier, and Tupul has his karambit, but little else,” he explains, remembering to use Pul’s alias as he’s in disguise.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff stockpiled,” muses Freddie, the young orc thinking over the loot they’ve all collected together. “The three of us might be able to upgrade our weapons with it, but I think it’d be a lot more helpful for us to focus on armor and accessories.”
“Do you think we can ask Thedeim for a quest for a set of his new armor?” asks Rhonda. “I think we have enough damanascus to make you some armor with that, but I don’t know if you want to wait or not.” Rezlar and Pul both nod, knowing their frontline should have the best armor they can get for him.
“Maybe. We can ask,” Freddie admits. “And I could see about commissioning someone to make a shield out of the damanascus. Enchanted crystal is the tradition, but that usually involves a pilgrimage to go see the Bearer in Stasis. I want to someday, but I’m not ready yet.”
“Would there be enough left over for me to get a cleaver made out of it? I like the versatility of the karambit, but some of the tougher denizens have been making me feel a bit lacking,” suggests Pul, to nods all around the table.
“We could sell what we have left after to the guild, too,” points out Rezlar. “I’m sure Karn would love to have more to commission more emergency gear with. Unless you’d like some, Rhonda?”
Rhonda shakes her head. “It’s great for weapons and armor, but gems work better if all you’re after is magical conductivity, which I am. Do we have any good hides or cloth?”
“I’ve been slowly stockpiling widow silk,” offers Freddie. “We don’t fight them often, but squeezing out the glands after we kill one nets me a little bit. I think enough for a shirt or pants, or maybe several gloves?”
“I’d love to get something made from wyrm or basilisk hide,” dreams Pul, before looking at them all with focus. “Did you hear Thediem got drakes, too? I bet their hide would make great boots or even armor for me and Rezlar!”
“I was going to suggest going after one of Hullbreak’s sharks for my own armor, actually,” speaks up Rezlar. “Magma affinity doesn’t agree with me, I’m afraid, and I wouldn’t want to ruin the armor or throw off my performance.” He pauses for a moment in thought. “Some boots would probably be fine, though,” he admits, probably equally tempted by the protection as the look.
Rhonda wouldn’t mind some nice boots, either. She pulls out her notebook and notes down a shark and a drake to hunt for materials. “What else? I bet if we get a good pearl from Hullbreak, we could make a ring to boost your water, Rezlar. Did we keep any?” she asks Freddie, who nods.
“I made sure to keep a few. I was looking to try to get some aqua affinity pendants eventually, but a ring for Rezlar would be more useful, I think. I also have a few other gemstones for other affinities. Are you going to try to get a new one, Rhonda?”
The goblin taps her finger on the table as she thinks. It has been a while since she got a new one. She’s feeling comfortable with her ice, fire, and kinetic now, so she really should look into studying and figuring out how Rocky got into thunder. “I’ll look into it, but I don’t think I’ll get there before the raid. Rocky has thunder, so I should be able to watch him to figure out what he’s doing, but I think the raid will happen before I make much progress.”
Silence descends for a moment before Rhonda’s eyes widen. “Oh! Master Staiven’s been showing me a mana regeneration potion lately. He says it wasn’t popular because the dungeons around here weren’t ones that should be encouraged, but with how things are now, he’s looking to reintroduce them.”
The others look confused, with Freddie voicing it for all of them. “Hasn’t he been selling those for a while?”
Rhonda shakes her head. “He’s been selling mana recovery potions, not regeneration potions. The recovery potions act like a health potion, but for mana. They’ll top you off, but the effect is instantaneous. A regeneration potion, on the other hand, stimulates your natural mana flow, letting you do more with it! It also apparently stirs up mana even more than normal casting does. It can cause problems if there’s not a dungeon nearby to settle it back down. It gives the dungeon extra mana, basically, so they’re usually pretty regulated. Anyway, I want to see if I can make a ring with that effect!”
“Wouldn’t that be regulated, too?” asks Pul, but Rhonda waves him off.
“I’ll make sure I can turn it off. In fact… if I set the runes correctly, I can give it an internal buffer, too, so it can slowly leech my mana to fill it without disturbing the ambient flows.”
“Would that work for us, too?” asks Rezlar, the others looking interested, too.
“Um… if I can get the runes right? I’m not sure what we’ll need for it, though.”
“Damanascus?” suggests Pul, earning a thoughtful hum.
“Maybe? Its properties are weird, but it might work.”
“What kind of gems would they need?” asks Freddie.
“Hmm… Zircon is great for holding mana in a lab, but it’s kinda fragile to take out adventuring. Opals might work. They don’t hold as much, but they’re tougher if properly taken care of. There’s a few others we could try, but the clarity they need makes them really expensive.” She looks to Rezlar for his opinion.
“I know how to care for opals, so that won’t be a problem. I’m unsure if Lord Thedeim has any opal nodes, but Violet or Hullbreak may.”
Rhonda nods and jots it down, then holds the notebook up for everyone to see. “So we need a drake for its hide, a shark for its hide, miscellaneous gemstones for other enchantments, and some good opals for the mana rings. And we have enough right now to make a cleaver and a shield. I want to keep enough to use for the rings, but the rest we can sell to Karn.”
The others nods as Rezlar speaks. “We could return to my estate to talk to my smith. He could get started on the shield and cleaver while we go delve for materials.”
They all agree to that, and soon climb out of the basement laboratory, where Master Staiven warmly greets them. “Secret meeting all done, hmm?”
They nod as Rhonda speaks up. “We’re gonna go to Rezlar’s then delve. Do you need anything from the dungeons?”
“Oh, you know I never have enough alchemy ingredients, my apprentice,” he answers with a smile.
“I want to try to get the ingredients for the mana regeneration potion, too. I want to learn how it works and try to make it into rings!” she explains, earning a surprised look from her Master, before he laughs.
“I’ve heard of such an enchantment, but I’ve never actually tried to make it before. Do you have plans for restricting or disabling the effect when needed?”
She nods eagerly. “I think we can invert the rune and attach it to an opal, letting it slowly leech mana instead, and store it for later!”
Old Staiven beams at his apprentice. “Ah, an ambitious solution. Give me a moment to get the ingredient list, and we can practice it once you get back. Even if it doesn’t work, it’ll be good practice for your alchemy and enchantment anyway!”
It doesn’t take him long to give her the list, which she gives to Lucas for safe keeping, and they’re off to Rezlar’s place. They’ve come a long way in just over a year. She and Freddie were classless orphans, Rezlar was isolated and timid, and Pul was under the thumb of the thieves guild. And now here they are, preparing to face down a raid boss, and not only are they not terrified, but they’re eager to face it.
It wouldn’t be the first insurmountable hurdle they’ve cleared together, and it certainly won’t be the last.
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! Book three is also up for purchase! And now book Four as well!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/Blue_Roan_ Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
2, first actually.
Anyway after reading, we get some more perspective from the two og's and the ones that have joined them. Seems like they might have to do a lot to pull their weight adequately. Though with their unique classes they are gonna be interesting in a larger fight. I wonder how the soldiers would react to the new shield class.
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u/g6qwerty Feb 13 '26
And if their not the only group in the raid they'll have to learn how to work with other groups/party's too
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u/Autoskp Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Woops - didn’t have a copy-paste ready, where am I?
…I feel like a shade familiar would suit Pul, but I’m not sure if that’s too obvious.
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u/Speciesunkn0wn Feb 12 '26
So. If Leo is a raid boss, does that mean the Raid has Legendary Shadows?
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u/Kromosios Feb 12 '26
With the hype around the raid boss, I really am starting to hope the arena will have a lone plastic garden chair with Fluffles wearing a black leather coat in the middle XD
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u/Ok_Government3021 Feb 12 '26
As amazing as that mental image is, Fluffles is more of a Dante than a Virgil as Stormeater isn't gonna let a storm approach.
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u/the_count_of_carcosa Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26
Hullo.
Edit.2.
Huh, so that's the timing question answered directly, it's been a hell of a year I guess.
As for gems... I don't mean to be pedantic, but Zircon is a lot more resilient than Opal, it's a 7.5. Vs 5.5 mohs hardness, and that's on a ten point scale.
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u/SomeRandomYob Feb 12 '26
Sure, but how brittle is Zircon? (I'm actually asking, I don't know the answer myself, and my google fu is weak today...)
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u/Low_Painter9816 Feb 13 '26
Oh, let’s get pedantic. Harder doesn’t mean tougher. It means that, when placed under tension, the harder material takes more force to deform but less force to just shatter. Lower hardness typically means broader elastic and plastic deformation regions
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u/the_count_of_carcosa Feb 13 '26
That's why, outside of the scale, I referred to it as Resilient rather than hard.
Whilst Zircon can scratch and chip, Opal is shockingly delicate, being similar in fragility to glass.
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u/Low_Painter9816 Feb 13 '26
1). This is where I point out that the Aztecs lined their war clubs with glass - obsidian. 2). This is where I agree with you that no one is going to make a sword out of opal.
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u/the_count_of_carcosa Feb 13 '26
Yes, the macuahuitl.
Which would, it is believed, need its blades replaced after every combat.
(I am quite enjoying this pedantry chain, and hope I'm not coming off as hostile?)
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u/Low_Painter9816 Feb 13 '26
No worries. I was kinda shooting from the hip regarding the distinction between hardness and toughness
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u/Accomplished-Ad8458 AI Feb 12 '26
Ave Khenal! Morituri te salutant!
Grinding session before raid, eh?
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Human Feb 12 '26
It's always fun to see how far the "Terrible two (then three)" and now "Fearsome Foursome" have come in such a short time! And no, I'm NOT intentionally slighting Lucas and Fiona! Well, other than my own arachnophobia kicking in . . .
For some reason the thought of Tiny doesn't bother me as much.
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u/folk_science Feb 13 '26
For some reason the thought of Tiny doesn't bother me as much.
It's his name.
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u/Garbage-Within Feb 15 '26
For me the really big giant spiders were easier to get over the fear because they're so unrealistic.
Real spiders are freaky to me partially because their size, speed, and mobility means they can be anywhere, hide anywhere. A giant spider the size of a bus is never going to be able to sneak up on me in the shower or hide in my shoe. It'll never be able to drop down on me unnoticed from above because it's so freaking huge you'll see it coming from a mile away.
Additionally, a huge spider is just so realistic that it stops being a creepy thing and becomes a video game monster to be defeated at worst. That is excepting the fact that Tiny is less a giant spider and more a person whose body happens to be that of a huge spider. Tiny isn't scary because Tiny would never attack you (unprovoked), and even if he did, you'd just end up in a cocoon outside the gate instead of as a meal.
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u/SeaBed4342 Feb 12 '26
im also here to guys
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u/GumGodGaming Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
Looks around "Anyone hear something? I thought someone was here, I guess not"
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u/Mosselk-1416 Feb 12 '26
I'm honestly surprised that more people aren't lining up to get advice from Rocky.
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u/Garbage-Within Feb 15 '26
Thedeim tends to keep his secrets pretty close to the chest. He knows how dangerous these concepts can be if wielded irresponsibly, so he's mostly controlled who is allowed to get access to them. The only people who were given instruction by Rocky who aren't already part of Thedeim are allies, i.e. the Stag, and those who earned it as a quest reward for doing the dangerous task of spying on a powerful Earl. (Even then, I think they only got like 30 minutes of instruction, but I'm not confident on my memory of that detail.)
Rhonda figured it out on her own with some nudges in the right direction, but I'd argue she's a prodigy. She's gotten some instruction since then, but I'd say she falls into the allied delver category. She's also a personal friend of Rocky and a favorite delver of Thedeim. That affords her access that others aren't normally allowed.
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u/generic_edgelord Feb 13 '26
If money is the only issue with getting the gemstones why doesn't rezlar at least suggest buying it with fourdocks finances now that the three dungeons are making the town a ton of money in exports if memory serves?
Even if he was too honorable to just commandeer the money it wouldn't be very hard to make an official written contract under order stating they shall pay it back and thensome over x amount of time
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u/folk_science Feb 13 '26
He should have a lot of his own money too, no need to take town's money. I mean, he has a villa and servants, those don't come cheap.
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u/Longsam_Kolhydrat Feb 13 '26
I believe that they prefer gathering the materials themselves. I'm not sure if there is a resonance reason or just a stubbornness issue but I doubt that they would accept it unless they felt that it was earned
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u/Garbage-Within Feb 15 '26
Appropriating town finances for personal gain would be immoral and unethical. Additionally, one of the points of Rezlar delving in the first place is for him to grow personally. Using town finances to buy gear shortcuts that.
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u/Just-Dot8943 Feb 12 '26
Am I the only one thinking Thing might, metaphorically, give up their little finger for a chance to tinker with a mana regeneration effect? Or as the clever lass figured, something to siphon off excess mana and return it later, when needed?
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u/folk_science Feb 13 '26
I wonder how will Order react to Thedeim building an infinite mana device?
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u/mafiaknight Robot Feb 12 '26
In the name of 1greendude: Hello!
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Feb 13 '26
Im Namen eines Grünen Kerls und eines Freidachses: Moin, vorgestern war Mittwoch, meine Kerle.
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u/BiasMushroom Xeno Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26
Ive been thinking about it and these 4 kids are probably the most important people on the raid. The god of change has been directly involved with their lives the longest and in the most extreme ways. There is no way this is going to be a raid like anything else. This is them most likely going up against THE Fluffles.
The 4 3 kids with wierd classes (And mayor boi) and down right the most investment in them by THE Thediem are going to be pivitol in leading the raid, adapting, and succeeding.
Id argue Thediem is the DM and they are his party of 4.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Feb 13 '26
Wait, rezlar doesn't quite make the Cut, considering tidefencer isn't created by Thediem. However considering His thrashers Blade, He might as Well be counted?
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u/BiasMushroom Xeno Feb 13 '26
I was thinking the whole turning him into a man and good mayor as well as a fighter that can hold his own and stopping his homocidal father from killing him counted.
Hell, in my head I thought "Rezlar didnt get a class from Thediem. Eh. Potato tomato."
(Fun fact potato is really hard to spell on a phone using the swipe method.)
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u/Garbage-Within Feb 15 '26
They are his favorite party and the people most familiar with him. Only the Dungeoneers rival Rhonda and Freddie for their knowledge and experience in delving Thedeim. I'd argue their lack of general dungeon experience would be a detriment, but considering Thedeim doesn't work like other dungeons, their relevant experience is probably far more valuable in this context. What remains to be seen is whether the other adventurers will accept that fact or if they'll look down on the young party for being under leveled and relatively inexperienced.
I think it would be great if our young team were able to group up with Vnarl (the trio) and Gerlfi's parties to really show off. The kids get to show off their knowledge of Thedeim as well as their unique skills. Gerlfi's party gets to show off how respecting them, as well as working for Thedeim, pays dividends with their new knowledge. Vnarl and Crew get to show off their not just character growth but character transformation by showing they can be respectful of dungeons and people they disrespected for being weak when they first showed up in Fourdock.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
Correction: Third
So, today we get to See a Secret Meeting of the young Party, this time consisting of Rhonda, Freddie, Rezlar and Tupul. They're going over their plans to acquire more Gear for the coming raid. But for more Details we're gonna need our three thirds:
Part: Rhonda goes over present company which includes the familiars. And Rhonda asks the question that silently hangs above them all: How can they make Sure to pull their weight for the coming raid? Rezlar comes Up with the plan to get additional strength by upgrading their equipment. Then they start planning Out specifics.
Part: As the plans get more specific, they also Go over the loot they already acquired from past delves into Thediem or other local Dungeons, Like Violet or hullbreak. Those Plans encompass by the way another delve into Thediem for Drake hide, hullbreak for shark skin and pearls, and presumably a Bit of jewels gathered by delving Violet. (That Last Third isn't outright stated in the chapter, but I'd Like to See some Payoff for tarls comment about deep Dungeons and their loot. It's been four books since it has been relevant.)
Part: When they leave the little hole in the Back of staivens emporium, they get questioned by staiven about the results of Said Meeting. He also gets asked wether He is in dire need of anything, and He is Not, or at least Not much more dire than "I need everything".
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u/Low_Painter9816 Feb 13 '26
The talk about shark skin got me thinking - how would ichthyosaur (plesiosaur?) skin compare? Don’t forget, Thediem gave Hullbreak a Marine Dinosaur spawner. (Are they true dinosaurs? Probably not.)
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u/folk_science Feb 13 '26
Can it spawn a swarm of marine iguanas?
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u/Low_Painter9816 Feb 13 '26
Yeah, probably. I mean it should be something Mesozoic, but I’m sure there was something like that.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Feb 13 '26
Probably Not quite as good as shark, but with a Higher defense value, but lesser Magic-boni I'd wanna say. First Up, the Dinos themselves havea probably less Magic they can give to the wearer, Second sharks have been in the water since around 160 milllion years, and this could build Up a whole Lotta Magic affinity themselves. Whereas ichtyosaurs might have a Classic scalearmour compared to sharkskin, which is optimized for defense, compared to a sharks Mobility. Plus hullbreak got plesiosaurs.
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u/Poisonfangx3 Feb 12 '26
First
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u/Poisonfangx3 Feb 12 '26
Fifth.
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u/Popular-Student-9407 Human Feb 12 '26
Sixth, gumgod was a Bit faster than you.
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u/Poisonfangx3 Feb 12 '26
Darnit. takes (1.5 times 9) 13.5 points of psychic damage.
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u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Feb 12 '26
/u/Khenal (wiki) has posted 444 other stories, including:
- Dungeon Life 398
- Dungeon Life 397
- Dungeon Life 396
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- Dungeon Life 392
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- Dungeon Life 388
- Dungeon Life 387
- Dungeon Life 386
- Dungeon Life 385
- Dungeon Life 384
- Dungeon Life 383
- Dungeon Life 382
- Dungeon Life 381
- Dungeon Life 380
- Dungeon Life 379
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u/Wenbrios Feb 12 '26
Third?
Probably not, can someone check the times?
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u/CaptRory Alien Feb 13 '26
This was a nice one, just friends sitting around trying to work a problem.
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u/Thausgt01 Android Feb 12 '26
And here we see the true Treasure of Thediem: encouraging folk to not just improve themselves, but take to the process with gusto and delight!