"The world tends to trap you in the role you play and it is always extremely hard to maintain a watchful, mocking distance between oneself as one appears to be and oneself as one actually is." ~ James A. Baldwin

  With Orentha conveying my assent, Shuzug began running through his observations, starting with the general overview.

  “I note that the first floor hasn’t really changed since the last inspection. That’s perfectly normal, given that it’s only been a month or so and you’ve been occupied with the second floor and a variety of other tasks. Normal, non-sapient dungeons often go years without significant changes to their early levels, so no one is likely to really comment on that. Your first floor is pretty reasonable for beginners. I’d rate your first floor as a reasonable challenge for parties in the 3-6 level range, or for individuals level 8-10. Frankly, if they can get past a bear or two, they should be able to manage the rest of the floor, at least unless they’re particularly bad with traps – in which case, better they find out soon, since the second floor will destroy them.

  You’re a sapient dungeon, though, so I’d suggest you consider making regular changes to at least your traps and creatures on a periodic basis. That’ll keep the experience fresher and more interesting. Still, since the island is on a basically yearly route, once a year is likely fine.

  As for the second floor, the theme is more readily apparent, though I’m not entirely sure how you intend to continue it. I know you found a gnomish settlement, but that’s going to be tricky to convey for larger humanoid species, if you use it as a model. Still, I did think that the historical aspect of the floor was interesting and gave you some range of creatures and themed traps to use. The traps are probably the biggest challenge for most parties, and you might want to tweak a few of them. The oil trap was surprisingly effective; the wax trap was less so. I could see you making that one TOO dangerous, though, so it’s a bit tricky to offer appropriate guidance.

  You’ve got some of the same issues with the balance of creatures on the second floor. Most of them just aren’t quite as big a challenge as they probably could be, but the skeletal warhorses may be a bit too big a challenge for some. At least, they’ve got a significant likelihood of killing more adventurers than you might want. Still, I don’t know that I’d change that, at least yet. Ushug nearly died, but that was mostly on him and his lack of caution.”

  He shrugged and locked eyes with Orentha. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he didn’t die, but those kinds of near misses are a part of the trade. Just keep an eye on it, and consider changing things if you have more than a couple of deaths.”

  “Overall, though, I’d rate the second floor as appropriate for parties in the level 6-10 range, or for single adventurers in the level 12-16 range. I’d say you might want to consider bumping up the reward levels on the floor a bit more, though the flight core skewed things significantly. If you make that a rare drop, or even a reward for special occasions or particular achievements (like a first delving, for instance) that’s okay, if a little risky for you. Otherwise, the reward level isn’t quite balanced by the risk, so you might find yourself lacking in repeat delvers. Too soon to worry about that now, but it’s always something to keep in mind. The rewards are the major draw for most delvers, though an interesting challenge is important too. I think you’re okay on that front, but you might consider working some multi-stage puzzles into your third floor to reward those paying close attention. Before we get into discussing your third floor, did the party miss anything you had accessible on the second floor? And should I ask about the parts that are off limits? I should warn you that puzzle door in the final room is going to draw attention from some explorers. You might want to put it behind a less visible door and maybe even post a warning that adventurers are prohibited entry. That should make it less tempting and get you less blowback from killing anyone who tries it anyways.”

  That seemed reasonable to me, and I passed that sentiment along through Orentha. **They didn’t miss anything substantive – really just a little cache of goodies behind the manor house. As for the security door over there, I don’t really want to share details, but that door protects the access to some of the magic keeping the sky island in the air, so I need to keep curious adventurers out for all of our sakes. That way also leads to the dracolisk and some unexplored areas, though there are lots of obstacles before they’d get that far. The only other spaces not currently accessible to adventurers are the Redcrests’ village and some of the exploratory passages I’ve been opening towards the core of the island. The Redcrest village opens onto the cliff face of the sky island. Anyone wanting to visit them should do so from the exterior, not from the dungeon, though it’s technically connected to the second floor. They’ll obviously defend their own space and there shouldn’t be anything there to draw adventurers in any case.**

  Orentha nodded rather severely at that, noting that few adventurers should be able to access the village in any event, as the main entrance is quite vertical and actively watched at all times. She suggested that the avian tribesfolk might set up a trading post on the surface, but that wouldn’t be until after they’d gotten more settled.

  I continued. **The exploratory tunnels are quite small, for the most part, and you saw the entrance where Sir Milback left you. Those tunnels are going to be at best claustrophobic and highly dangerous, if not wholly impassable, to most adventurers. Anything interesting I find that way is likely to be replicated within the main dungeon at some point – at least if I can make it safe to do so. I suppose I could cover that entrance with a secret door and maybe add some minor treasure for anyone who spots it (with another hidden door behind it for actual access).**

  Shuzug smiled at that. “Clever enough. Maybe trap that rear hidden door to discourage anyone who gets TOO curious. At any rate, I don’t think I have any particular major suggestions for you. I’m thinking I might suggest you as a potential test for trapfinders in the Orclands, at least at an intermediate level. Does that seem reasonable to you?”

  **Sure. Any particular kinds of traps you’d like to see me implement in that case? I’ve kept it fairly basic and non-magical for the most part, nor have I used poison or air-based attacks. Would you want me to change that up? On the third floor, or deeper, possibly?**

  The large orc gave it some serious consideration. “Well, I don’t know that I’d recommend going into poisons, or at least serious ones. That tends to give off a more malevolent feel than I think you’d want. Some air-based attacks and magical effects, if you can manage them, would likely be more appropriate and more appreciated – particularly if you kept them nonlethal (at least mostly).”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  **I think I can do that. If I’m going to keep making things harder as I go deeper, then I’m bound to kill someone eventually, but I’ll try to make that mostly a concern for people who push too hard, as opposed to something an appropriately leveled party has to worry about. Maybe dazzling or blinding effects, or stuns and paralytics, if I can calibrate them properly. I’d like to incorporate slowing spells, but I don’t have access to anything like that currently. Maybe some sleep traps coupled with thieving creatures? I’ll give it some thought...”

  Shuzug looked a bit rueful at having set me on that particular course, but not too much. If he was going to set trapfinders on me as a learning experience, then something like this was probably going to be necessary eventually anyways.

  Orentha cocked her head at him a bit quizzically. “The dungeon has been pretty reasonable and, for a dungeon at least, rather well-intentioned. If you think he’s going too far, just let him know. I’ve yet to see him ignore an appropriate suggestion or guidance from anyone he believes is in a position to know better.”

  Shuzug rubbed the side of his mostly shaved head. “Yeah, no argument from me. I’m just trying to figure what would be ideal, but I don’t know enough about his capabilities to give really clear guidance. His ideas seem reasonable enough; if he’s not going to benefit by killing would be trapfinders, then having them risk losing their gear is a good way to make them take the delve and its traps seriously all while providing some potential benefits to him.”

  He grinned, suddenly, snapping out of his pensive mood. “Well, speaking of benefits to him, why don’t we move on to the traditional gifts of blueprints.”

  He glanced up at the mana lights before continuing. “I should probably note that you are likely coming to the end of this particular procedure. Most dungeons will receive blueprints at their initial inspection, and occasionally the first few inspections when in inaccessible places. After that, you should be able to get by fairly well with the customary offerings at your entry shrine and from your continued expansion. You’re in the somewhat enviable position of getting more than that, simply because every new inspector is likely to bring you gifts – partly out of basic procedures, and partly to try to establish a positive relationship. I’m not sure how it’ll work on the other continents you’ll cross, but you should only get one more inspector before leaving Charax! I doubt you’ll get an inspector in the relative wildlands west of the Orclands, but you’ll be crossing a beastkin nation before hitting the ocean again.”

  He shrugged. “Still, none of us want to get shown up by the inspectors from other countries, so you’ll be getting more gifts than most, I’d guess. Now, we know you are a fan of books, but while we orcs have a great appreciation for the work of scholars, we tend more towards a traditional focus on oral history and lorekeepers than the written word. And, of course, now you have access to the central archives. That makes bringing you books a bit tricky, but I’ve still brought a few I thought you might find interesting.”

  Blueprint received: A Compendium of the Avian Monsters of Charax

  Blueprint received: Orcs and Elves: An Alternate History of the Orclands

  Blueprint received: Dungeon Traps of the Orclands: Tips for the Unwary

  “I suspect that the elves may have given you some history, but you might want a different take on our clashes. They’ve got a tendency to pretend that they’re uniformly the innocent victims in our historical clashes. The dwarves have some racial enmity towards us as well, but they’re more honest about when they were the aggressors. Not saying we orcs haven’t been the aggressors from time to time, but the elves aren’t exactly as pacifist as they pretend.”

  I sensed some bitterness there, but let that pass mostly unremarked upon. In my old world at least, history was always written by the victor. You can find relatively accurate accounts, but even the best are run through a lens of cultural understandings that show some historical biases. I suspected that would be the case here too – sapient beings being what they were. The other works were more obviously useful, and I was rather hoping to find specific avian monsters that might be a good fit for the dungeon. The trap book was a touch on the basic side at a quick scan, but I was confident that I could find something worthwhile there too.

  I hadn’t said anything, but I think Shuzug picked up on that silence a bit defensively. He shrugged. “Yeah, not really a concern for you – it's a bit of a pet peeve, frankly. Just, you know, take the elvish version of our local history with a grain of salt. And probably the orcish one, too, to be fair. I’d argue ours is closer to accurate than theirs, but I AM biased. Anyways, let’s move on to magic items, shall we?”

  **Sounds good. I take it the elves and orcs have a long and contentious history in this area. That always ends up with rather slanted takes in the recounting. That was true in my old world too. Should be interesting to see what your historians agree and disagree on, at any rate.**

  Orentha just smirked quietly. I had the distinct sense she felt both sides were equally deserving of scorn, but kept her opinions to herself.

  Shuzug didn’t seem to notice her facial expression, or more likely didn’t have the practice interpreting avian body language that I was getting.

  “Well, in the interests of providing useful loot for a trap-focused dungeon, I did some consulting with a couple of senior trapfinders among my own and a couple of adjoining tribes. They had all kinds of suggestions, but for a dungeon just starting out, they suggested these.”

  Blueprint Received: Ring of Basic Trap Detection

  Blueprint Received: Lockpicks of Dexterity +1

  Blueprint Received: Boots of Weight Reduction

  “The first couple should be pretty self-explanatory. The boots are a favorite among scouts and trapfinders both for their ability to not trigger pressure plates and their ability to prevent leaving easily tracked footprints.”

  I could see the appeal, and I appreciated that at least two out of the three had a broader appeal than just for thieves and rogues.

  Shuzug patted the boots fondly. “I had a pair of these back in my early days; before I bulked up and shifted towards a more warrior-focused approach. Let’s see... Next was the alchemy stuff, right? Don’t know much about that, I’m afraid, so you get some herbs recommended by our local herbalist. Hopefully, they’ll be useful, but I can’t tell you more than what she told me.”

  Blueprint received: Fiery Nettle

  Blueprint received: Montane Mandrake

  Blueprint received: Cloud Sage

  “The nettle, despite its name, is a common ingredient in many potions that reduce fevers and infections, as well as having uses in some antidote potions. The mandrake is used as a basic mana stabilizer in most higher-level arcane potions. The sage, or so I am told, offers purifying effects – especially against supernatural status afflictions, curses, and even some darkness-affiliated effects. Not sure any of them will be directly useful to you, except as rewards for your better trained gathering adventurers.”

  It was interesting to see how similar some of those associations were with home remedies and naturopathic medicines in my old world. I wondered how much of it was magical here, and how much (especially for the nettle) was simply pharmaceutical. I got the sense they didn’t really distinguish between the two here very often.