No Need for a Core?

“So, for my first modification, we’re going to alter the sensitivity of the traps.” Mordecai began, then demonstrated to Kazue, showing how to focus on the idea of a certain amount of weight, rather than the concept of just an enemy crossing a pressure plate. “That was my first mistake. Your mother could have still tripped them by creating larger minions, but she’d have had to spend more energy and would have been able to summon fewer at a time. This brings us to my next mistake, which is having them all turned on at the same time.”

“Hmm, how do you fix that without directly interfering?” Kazue asked, then thought for a moment. “Well, you were able to give Zushi and Ryuhoho some control over their room’s traps, but by activating them directly. That doesn’t seem like it would work here.”

“Correct. But it’s fairly simple still, we create a rule. In this case, I am thinking that the rule is that the trap does not become active until a boss has passed within 10 feet of the trap. Well, of the trap’s target area, I am going to shift some of the traps and give them a different trigger.” Mordecai replied. Adding the rule wasn’t hard, it was a simple condition and concept.

“Now, I mentioned traps up above as well. It’ll take up some of the same capacity, so we’ll have fewer floor traps, but what I want to do is create simple automatons that look like stalactites, with a mix of heat and motion sensors. We can give them different loads. Some can simply let out an explosion, others might release a toxin, and others can be continuous smoke or fog makers. Umbrowl should appreciate those. Which reminds me, part of disguising them is of course to create lots of longer stalactites in the ceiling.”

Mordecai showed Kazue how to make the artificial ‘eyes’, then let her practice creating them. “There are living creatures that can take this role, and count as traps instead of inhabitants for a dungeon, but the dungeon adapts to the will of the core. I suspect that your habits will lead to having all of our inhabitants be fully sapient, and I can’t imagine a sapient trapped in such a body being anything but bored.”

Kazue wrinkled her nose at the idea. “Yeah, that sounds like it’d be mean. Mm, you mentioned that possibility before, when I first made some of the rabbits into our laganthros. So memo to me! No living creatures for traps, unless they can be a lot more. Though I don’t think I’d have thought of making living traps, still good to know. So, better traps below, new traps above, anything else?”

“Not for traps, but I do have something else for the room. We’ll keep our current entrances for backup where they are, but make sure they are sealed except for when being used. I want to take advantage of our numbers and some architecture. We can create a network of tunnels and create slits that sharpshooters and mages alike can attack from safely, while making it very hard for them to be attacked. Only to be used judiciously, it’s too deadly a tactic to use for many groups, but it would have been useful against your mother’s party. With the right designs, turns, and breaks, even a powerful party will have to waste resources to get at the sources of the attacks. Individually they might not be a threat, but in numbers they can be, especially with some alchemical help.” And with that, he demonstrated, a network of tunnels behind the wall that ran in isolated sections so that a single release of a toxic gas or a fireball behind the fortifications couldn’t travel far.

“And then a backing of mixed materials to make it not too easy to undo just by shifting earth.” Kazue finished for him with a grin, then turned her attention to completing the network with him. It only took a little while before they were done. “Anything else you were thinking of love?”

“Mmm, no, I think that’s about it for today.” There was not a lot of energy left over to begin the fifth floor, so they would need to be content with their upgrades for now. At least the floors shouldn’t need any revamping again.

“Excellent! Cause I got something to talk with you about.” The little fox girl gave him an impish grin, then disappeared off to their private chambers. What was that about?

While Kazue waited for her husband to follow her, she sent Moriko a little message privately. “You might want to slow down, I think you are going to find this distracting.” She could feel Moriko’s curiosity, and Kazue swished her tails with anticipation.

Mordecai appeared a few steps away, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. “What are you up to Love?”

“Hehe, well, I realized something a little earlier.” She bit her lip briefly before continuing. “It seems that my dear husband overlooked something when it comes to his own abilities. Ah, such disappointment, here I thought that I had married a perfect know-it-all.” As Kazue dramatically placed the back of her hand against her forehead, she continued to keep Moriko up to date on what she was doing.

Said husband rolled his eyes even as a hint of a smile made his lips twitch. “It’s kind of a lot to keep track of, I admit. So out with it.”

“Well,” Kazue said as she dropped the pose and began stalking around him slowly, swaying slightly with each step to increase the swish of her tails. “Maybe it’s because you aren’t really a kitsune that this happened. You did base your shape-changing on kitsune shape-shifting, right?”

“Yes…” He replied slowly as he turned his head to watch her, crossing his arms as he tried to figure out where she was going.

“Uhuh. And we do have quite a reputation for being shape-shifting tricksters. But I do think my dearest husband was far too focused on the skills that let us mix and match parts of our forms. I think he forgot about why some master shape changers are called Thousand Face kitsune. And you did say you had been a kitsune several times, did you not? Surely you mastered that path at least once? And I am certain that this is the sort of thing that would make Moriko very happy.”

Mordecai’s expression as he figured out where she was going was perfect, and she did her best to send that image to Moriko as she continued, her tone dripping with honey-sweet innocence. “And, well, you’ve been pushing me to master my shape-changing, and when I get to the point that I can take on any form, I will surely need someone to show me exactly how being a boy works.” She paused in front of him and fluttered her lashes. “Surely you can show me how it works, and help me get some experience? Though I am not sure how pretty a girl you’d make without a little more work, your jaw is a bit square, but it’ll be interesting to find out!”

Mordecai’s bemused expression made Kazue finally break down with laughter as Moriko practically cackled over their bond, and he just slowly shook his head. “Okay, fair enough, I did forget about that. So yes, while I didn’t previously create any alternative forms for, ah, ‘entertainment’ purposes, that level of shape-changing should indeed satiate Moriko’s curiosity.” He was sending over the bond at the same time too, but now shifted his tone as he smirked a little. “Of course, if you need to be taught that way, I could also just demonstrate with our wife, and then let you try it out. I’m sure she’d be willing to help you learn anything you like.”

The surprised but rather happy emotional surge along the bond suggested that yes, Moriko would very much enjoy helping ‘teach’ Kazue if it came to that. Mordecai had very much undersold what his shape-changing could do when Moriko had asked earlier, he had even undersold it to himself.

After that bit of distraction was over, Moriko resumed her run, dropping back into her meditative trance. She was not yet capable of maintaining this sort of hours-long run at speed without actively maintaining her flow of chi, though legend and rumor state that the true masters could maintain even combat for hours while conversing with their opponent. She intended to eventually find out for herself.

On through the rest of the night she ran, into the chill of the dark night. She could maintain a speed just slightly faster than most horses could run for short distances, without the health issues of running the poor creature into the ground. Travel that would take most travelers several days took her just one, though without the chance to truly rest. She had passed by more than one traveling group on her way, but had done no more than wave. One could tell how experienced a traveler a person was by how surprised, or rather not surprised, they were at being passed by a runner.

It was in the dark of the pre-dawn chill that she saw the first lights of Ekuilance upon its walls and the castle spires. A much larger city than Riverbridge, the capital was still some distance away, so she did not slow down her speed yet. When she was close enough for all trees to have been cleared away for the sake of visibility, Moriko finally altered her course. The four kitsune deities had their monasteries outside of the city proper, and she was now aiming to the east of the city walls for the compound beholden to the Lady of Passions.

The monk only slowed her pace when she finally approached the outer walls of the compound. The monasteries were more used to fast-paced travelers, but only a fool or someone desperate risked approaching so quickly that they could not be recognized.

The monks on guard duty relaxed when they did recognize her, and one of them hailed her. “Moriko! I heard you were going to be gone for quite a while yet. What brings you back?”

“I seek advice from my Master, though not so urgently he needs to be notified immediately. If you two could just pass on the word when you get off shift? I’m going to head to the baths then get some food, I’ll be available at his leisure.”

“Not a problem.” he replied, then smiled at her. “How long will you be staying?”

Moriko heard the other question he was asking, and flashed him a grin. “Only a couple of days, I need to get back to my husband and wife after all.” The look on their faces was priceless. “And I’ve found that I am quite committed to them. It’s been an interesting journey.” That should preempt any other speculation, especially as word spread. She had been here for 20 years, and devotees of the Lady of Passions tended to be more open about their desires, so she knew many of the other monks quite well. Not everyone’s passions ran that way of course, and some came here specifically because their other passions would be respected, so she expected her decision to be respected, but that did not mean they wouldn’t be surprised at the sudden shift. Moriko had always been a little more enthusiastic about exploring this path than even most of her fellow monks, and now she was going to enjoy the small stir her sudden change in status was going to cause.

There was still a small pang of disappointment, an awareness of options no longer available. Moriko had her standards of course, but all else being equal she had found early on that she disliked having an empty bed. Still, it was a smaller reaction than she’d quite expected, she was adjusting faster than she thought she might. There was a different sort of warmth in knowing that her spouses were waiting for her, and in being happy to make them happy.

After a few moments of fending off questions that she was not going to answer in full yet, she said her farewells to them and headed inside. The path she took was not straight to the baths or her room just yet though, Moriko had a quick stop to make first. Keeping her step as light as possible, she made her way past the gardens and into the small grove kept tended inside the walls, seeking out a clearing where she found a graying felinoid woman in meditation. “Hey Chaxiss, can I ask you for a favor?”

The soft-furred woman barely cracked open an eye to glance her way. “You’ve grown some, you are not as noisy as you were before your trip, but I still heard you before you reached the trees. I admit however to being curious as to what a rash young girl like yourself wants with an old lady like me.”