Chương 207: Chapter 459: A New Age, A Dark Age.

As bleary-eyed players walked back to Sedgewick the morning after the last night of the Fairy Market, some of them noticed the changes. Not all, as for many this was their first visit and they had rushed through town to get to the market. And many were hungover or mostly still asleep. The Master of the Market had gone to every expense to safely entertain his mortal customers with a blow-out celebration that lasted until dawn.

Tables groaned under whole roasted boars and pheasants, huge selections of cheese, fruit, and sweetbreads, and wine flowed like water. After dancing until exhausted they had been led to comfortable beds inside luxurious tents and given sweet dreams. For many, dawn was only an hour away and would hit them with all the finesse of an ogre wielding a gopher hammer. Like many lesser fae enchantments, the magical food was fragile and disappeared at dawn the next day.

The players and visitors woke up in the middle of a pasture empty of beds and tents with the morning dew chilling them to the bone. Their bellies were empty of food, and while the enchanted alcohol in their blood disappeared, the hangovers remained. They stumbled, (or crawled) to the large bonfires to warm up. There were tankards of water for the thirsty, and hearty groat muffins for the hungry.

That was enough to get them stumbling toward town where the inn and tavern were open for business, serving wholesome breakfasts and cures for throbbing heads. Two food carts were set up in the center of town near the bank, selling spicy breakfast burritos and sausage sandwiches that warmed up even the coldest of people. Around the fountain in the small park, dozens of players and contract workers resurrected.

The party had been very successful if you judged things by how many people had perished in interesting ways. Several players had drunk themselves to death and now suffered hangovers and resurrection debuffs at the same time. Most of these stumbled to the tavern. Jon and Cham had organized a taco-eating contest, daring Myrna to do her best. Kobolds take challenges seriously, and she had shoved a handful of gold at the Peppermancer and demanded he pick a peck of piping-hot peppers.

Myrna chopped and cooked until the last player burst into flames. Jon and Cham, despite their newly acquired Fire Resistance, started burning and throwing fireworks into the sky before they collapsed. The pyre of headstones and coals was still burning the next day, an eerie reminder of why not to challenge kobolds to a cooking contest. As soon as they resurrected the two lumberjacks crawled down to their bar and began planning for the next one.

The Mayor had made her rounds of the town days before, talking to the permanent residents and explaining the coming changes. The town had been growing constantly and had undergone a significant change in looks when it was rebuilt after the corporate war. Now it changed again, with some buildings shifting and others getting bigger. The Kallveks took the news in stride, happy to see the town expanding.

The alchemists, hags, and original residents thanked her for the warning and decided to sleep late that day, long past sunrise. The Banker and his wife were excited and requested that the bank be moved to the town center. It made sense to the gnomes that the tall tower of their gold-tier bank with its handsome clock should be the focal point of the town. The Mayor liked the idea and added it to her plans.

The dungeon beneath her tavern was still closed, and the best she could do was slide a note under the door after knocking several times. A nervous marmot messenger was handed the envelope and sent to deliver it to the Under Rodent. It was a long journey, past the new levels being built, past the extra-clever traps, fiendishly deceptive traps, and the innocuously sly traps. There was much debate by the dungeon residents about the number of traps, but 58% were sure they needed more.

Traveling from their jobs to home was more difficult, but that was the price they were willing to pay if it increased fatalities among the players they hoped would visit. The Under Rodent looked down and smiled without showing her teeth, "For me? Oh, what a good little messenger. You made it all the way here without even one death. I reward you with a level and a name. Keep up the good work, Magnolia." [Congratulations, Magnolia Marmot, First of Your Name! Welcome to Level 2! The skies are the limit, kid! (Even if we can't see the sky.) Promotions are fast and so are fatalities.] Magnolia raced back to the top of the dungeon, almost but not quite falling into a subtle pit trap filled with hungry beavers. The Under Rodent read the polite letter about the coming changes to the town and smiled, this time showing her rows of pointed draconic teeth. This fit in wonderfully with her plans.

"TO ME, MY MINIONS! We work! Double time for overtime and no one sleeps! I want all changes completed by the dawn of the third day. We will rise to a new age, a dark age! Shields will be broken, swords will be splintered! Glory and Treasure will beckon them to their DOOM!" Her minions leaped to do her bidding as she lightly touched the small crystal mounted to her throne. Mana flowed into the dungeon like a river swollen by rain. With an unlimited supply of fuel, her dungeon could evolve quickly.

And yet, the reservoir she tapped into was still vast. She laughed again at the delicious irony of what the ratkin Engineer had accomplished. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Suzette was watching as the sun came up over the horizon. She'd tried to set up a quest for the Thunderpunks guild that would reward them with a better Adventurer's Guild Hall, but as she triggered it, something else entirely happened. The Engine had taken notice.

Global Announcement: A New Age has dawned for the Village of Sedgewick and its surrounding areas! Corporate Greed, The Whims of the Fey, the Dark Designs of the Under Rodent, and the Hard Work of Its Citizens have combined to create a higher-level area in the Far North of the Empire of Man. The Village of Sedgewick has been upgraded to a Tier 3 town. With such an upgrade comes the rewards of increased size and upgraded buildings, more tourism, and higher taxes.

- The Adventurers Guild of Sedgewick has increased to Tier 3 and is conveniently connected to the expanded Lonely Lass Tavern. - The Mage Guild of Sedgewick has increased to Tier 3, with an influx of new research materials and obscure spells, along with a comfortable parlor to hold learned discussions on magical theory. - The Hamlets of Sedgewick are upgraded to Tier 2 towns. -The wilderness surrounding Sedgewick and Gadobhra has grown thick with magic. Trees grow tall and dense.

Strange creatures have crossed over from the Wilds of the Fae Lands or escaped from the Menagerie. The power of the creatures is over Tier 2 and rising to match the inhabitants of the nearby towns. -BEWARE! Boss Monsters of much higher levels and power may be found roaming the wilderness. - Beneath the town, darkness stirs! Wistyburble, The Under Rodent has rebuilt her dungeon, far stronger than before with more clever traps, better treasure, and 734% more fatalities.

Creatures and Bosses of up to Tier 5 may now be encountered in The Lair of the Under Rodent, (Sponsored by Blud Dark.) - Death Bunny Hill is now a Tier 1 Beginner Zone by day, and a Tier 3 Undead Zone by night. Hordes of Tier 1 undead will be joined by bosses up to Tier 3. -The Ruined City of Gadobhra has been upgraded to a Tier 5 Ruin (But only because no one has delved too deep into the really good dungeons!) -The level and frequency of Wandering Monsters has been increased in unimproved areas.

- The Beastwoods has increased to Tier 3. The Menagerie will now spawn Tier 4 Bosses. King GRalWK is now Tier 5. - The Ghoul Graveyard is now a Tier 2 starter area due to a lack of Ghouls. - The Red Chapel is now a Tier 3 dungeon with several Tier 4 encounters. - Hungrytown welcomes Adventurers to its quaint shops and eateries. Best coffee in Gadobhra! - The Endless Dance is now open nightly, providing discerning dancing and dining for the city's elite inhabitants.

Tour the Dungeon of the Mad Composer for thrills and treasure! -The Butcher's Guild of Gadobhra is now Tier 3. (Someone lost the Tier 4 logbook, sorry.) -The Hunter's Guild of Gadobhra is now Tier 2. -The Pit of the Butcher is overflowing with creatures of meat, sinew, and sharpened bones! They roam the city at night, looking for the unwary. The dungeon is confirmed by adventurers to include Tier 5 creatures in the lower levels and many Under-Boss Butchers.

The Butcher of Gadobhra itself has yet to be seen but legends tell of a frozen Meat Locker in the depths of the twisted tunnels. Suzette read the notice, seeing all the changes. Ozzy came up the stairs and joined her, putting his arm around her waist.

"Nice job!" She shook her head, "I have no idea where some of that came from." Ozzy laughed, "It's all in that first bit. We've been taking it to the limit and constantly improving the town, and Billy is doing the same over in Gadobhra. We're building and the world is building up in response. And most importantly, I have a better butcher shop, and you have a better tavern." They sat and talked for a half hour, waiting for the others to join them.

Rolly and Ben came up the stairs, preceded by Squirmie flitting about on her small wings. Ben pinned up several maps on one wall, showing Sedgewick, the catacombs, and the storage network.

"Rolly and I did a quick run-through of the town and it looks like most of the areas are how you expected them to be. With a couple of exceptions." Rolly was excited, "The stairs down to the dungeon are wider, more ominous, and lead to a huge set of doors. Very spooky, but there's a tunnel leading to a little village of humanoids. Their mayor is a big rabbit-kin who wants to meet with you when it's convenient.

He wants to set up some trade agreements for vegetables and stinky cheese in exchange for small magical items from the dungeons he'll get from adventurers." Ben turned to Ozzy, "And your smokehouse is a lot bigger, a lot noisier, and putting out a lot more smoke. I think it's heading to Tier 5." Ozzy looked down at the chain on his arm as the links turned thicker with condensed smoke and heat, "Yep, taking Chainey with me gave him a lot of experience. Especially playing tug of war with a cyclone.

He's growing fast, which is good, we have a lot of work to do." Suzette put her hand on the chain, feeling how it was near to Tier 5.

"Then l say we go over to Gadobhra tonight and play in the Pit. Chainey needs the experience, and I don't want to see us fall behind the players moving into the area." Ben smiled and Rolly was immediately excited, "Squirmie and I vote for that. Grind out that dungeon and bring home some bacon. There are critters made of bacon in there, right?" Ozzy just shrugged, "Let's go find out."