Worthy Core

DAY 888

"I don't believe it."

Grizza grins at the dropped jaw on the face of his old companion. "Oh? Please, feel free to be specific. Is it the scale? Or perhaps the murals? Personally I'm rather fond of - "

Tassa interrupts the drider's bragging. "Where in the hells did you find all these gemstones!?" The half-minotaur waves around at the distant walls of the underground cavern the two are standing in, and the elementals wandering to and fro within it. And, of course, at the massive crystals studding many of the stone-built structures filling said cavern. "That sapphire over there is the size of my damned head!"

"Ah, I thought that might catch some attention." Grizza's grin remains. "Apparently, the powers that be decided to grant the elementals skills of, well, an elemental nature when the Dragonlord was slain. Even those who didn't learn entirely new skills had their old ones made significantly more powerful. Which is to say - well, why should I say it when we can demonstrate it? Roxxy, a moment if you please?"

With heavy footsteps the earth elemental makes her way over to the cavern's entrance. "Hey, it's Tassa! You're back in town, huh? Sticking around?"

The woman nods. "Figured I may as well plan on wintering here. It's likely to be a popular destination and...well, I'll be needing a new team."

Distracted from his earlier bragging, Grizza frowns. "You were teamed with that healer, yes? Janey? The one who always hugged everyone? Did something happen?"

"Nothing bad, just..." Tassa sighs. "With Beatrice gone it was just the two of us, and I don't think she had it in her to start forming a new party. We joined others a few times, but after a few weeks she said she was going to go back to her church for a while. I think perhaps her brush with war gave her a desire to seek out some...well, peace, I suppose. Which I couldn't blame her for."

"Oh. Well, that's hardly a problem!" Roxxy's stony face gives a confident nod. "You'll join the Rough Gems, then!"

"Oh! I didn't mean to sound like I was expecting a spot on - " Tassa's protestations are quickly waved down by Grizza.

"No, no, as always I think Roxxy here sees the solution plainly. We'd love to have you on the team, especially since the elemental members have been taking more breaks lately to work on the construction of things down here. Speaking of, Roxxy, mind demonstrating your new talent?"

"You got it!" Roxxy plucks out one of the gems embedded in her arm, and focuses on it intently...or at least, so Tassa assumes, given that Roxxy has no visible eyes and barely any visible expressions. At first nothing seems to happen, but after a minute or two the crystal begins to sprout like a plant. Little crystal buds appear and then grow, some of them branching off even further from there. Roxxy keeps it going for about five minutes or so before snapping one of the branches off and tossing it to Tassa.

"Here you go! Free magic crystal! I think that one's lightning."

The Challenger eyes it curiously. It's not the most beautiful magic gem she's ever seen, but the fact that it was created right in front of her certainly makes it the most unique. "You can just make magic crystals at will?"

"Well, it's nothing compared to what the dungeon can make, obviously. But yup! I just overflow it with mana, and boom, crystals! Well, the boom is usually when I do it too fast."

Grizza clears his throat. "Yes, well, that's just one example. The elementals down here have all sorts of craftsmen these days, and it's created quite the export business. Crystals, metals, carvings, sculptures...we're still trying to figure out an efficient way to get the things out of the damn mountain, but any big projects like that will likely need to wait until spring. The dungeon's shortcut portals can only reach so far, after all."

"It's really something." Tassa pauses before eyeing Grizza for a moment. "Sounds like you've really set down some roots here, eh? Have you even left since the siege was lifted?"

"Oh, well, I visited home after the peace treaty was signed, certainly. But...something about this place and the people here have called to me, I suppose. Not just the elementals, although certainly including them. There's just such a feeling of...growth and potential in this mountain, yes? Every day I feel as if something new and wonderful might happen."

His old companion slowly nods. "I suppose I could see myself taking part in that for at least a while. How about you and the other elementals, Roxxy? You're still happy about making your home here, even after everything?"

The elemental nods quickly. "Of course! We love this place! Most of us wouldn't mind if we never left the mountain, really." Her head tilts as a thought occurs to her. "Well. Other than one of us, I suppose..."

"Why...why are you staring at me like that, momma?"

The elder mousekin continues peering at her daughter for a while longer before turning to look at the elemental standing next to her. The woman's eyesight had never been the best, but Tinsel is still pretty sure she's playing up her blindness. Eventually, she speaks. "I don't get it."

Tinsel scratches behind an ear, asking a question even as she dreads the answer. "What don't you get, momma?"

"How do you two kiss without cutting your damn face to shreds?"

Her daughter breathes a sigh of relief, having expected worse, but Zappy is quick to provide the answer. "Oh, don't worry, I keep my face parts perfectly smooth! And my fingers. Except for that one time I was trying a combat claw configuration and I forgot to switch, but we don't talk about that time!"

"No! No we definitely don't!" Tinsel quickly clears her throat before changing the topic. "So, how's the family been, momma?"

"Well, look for yourself!" The older woman gestures around the not-so-small cabin the two travelers have stepped into. It had once been a single-room home but continual expansions had added room after room as well as a second floor, and none of that space is empty. Mousekin of three different generations pass from one room to another, at rather high speeds in the cases of the youngest children, but all of them begin to slow to a halt as they notice their new guests.

Seeing that they've already attracted some attention, Tinsel's mother shouts out to the entire household. "Everyone stop bouncing off the damn walls for five minutes and get in here! Your kin's here, and she's brought home a girl! Behave yourselves in front of company or I'll string you up by your thrice-damned tails from the ceiling, you see if I don't!"

That certainly gets everyone's attention, as well as a facepalm from Tinsel, although Zappy's expression remains that of a beaming smile. "Wow! You said you have a big family, Tinsel, but I didn't expect so many! This is what happens when fleshies date, huh?"

"Uh...well, I suppose that's not exactly wrong, but...anyhow! How about we do some introductions, huh? Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Zappy! Yes, she's an elemental, don't ask too many stupid questions at once! Zappy, this is my momma, Bauble. That there's my brothers - "

The introductions get cut extremely short as Bauble pulls her daughter's ear. "Don't get into all that, we'll be here all day, and who can even remember all those names anyhow? Your sister's pregnant again, so you'll have more to add to the list in a few months, you know."

Tinsel blinks. "What? She just had a litter not even a year ago! I used to joke, but is Finial seriously trying to singlehandedly start a mousekin colony on this continent, or what?"

Her mother glances at Tinsel and then at Zappy once again. "Don't go asking about your sister's fetishes and I won't go asking about yours. As much as I badly feel the need to."

"Oh, you don't need to!" Zappy begins searching through a bag at her side, carrying most of Tinsel's things - the elemental having very few physical possessions of her own. "I've been writing down Tinsel's fetishes in a journal so I don't forget them during funtimes later. If you want you can just take a look!"

"You wrote that down!? Doesn't matter, keep it in the bag!" As Tinsel scrambles to close the bag back up, Bauble laughs uproariously.

"Hells, you know what, I like you, Zippy. My girl needs someone who can keep her on her toes." She pauses before giving her daughter another close peer, noticing a new badge on her sleeve. "Especially now that she's been all promoted and whatnot. What they got you doing now, girl? Slaying a dragon not enough?"

"I hardly slew a dragon, momma! But uh...yeah, I'm gonna be like...third in charge of the expanded garrison they're setting up in Grassbrook. I mean, the Worthy Lands. You know what I mean. They've got some brass coming in to run the place, but I'll still be in charge of all of the dungeon training stuff."

"What? Well how are you gonna have time to settle down and start a family, then?" Bauble pauses before glancing at Zappy. "Oh yeah, right."

"I asked the dungeon guardians if a mouse-elemental hybrid was possible, since they're pretty smart and the dungeon is good at those sorts of things, and they said 'don't ask'." Zappy sighs, although given that she has no lungs, it sounds more like her saying the word 'sigh' out loud. "Elementals don't reproduce like you fleshies, though there are other options. We could always adopt, or I was thinking we could have a fleshie man help out. It sounds like Tinsel's brother-in-law is pretty good at that sort of - "

"I ain't screwing Finial's husband!" Tinsel takes a deep, calming breath before she risks tearing off her ears in frustration, not helped by how many other family members seem to be enjoying the show right now. "How about we have a nice, normal conversation about something not about...that!?"

"Fine, fine, don't get your tail in a twist." Bauble scoffs, before slowly grinning at the two. "You know...I'm proud of you, Tinsel. I say it all the time - don't I say it all the time, right?"

Tinsel's eyes widen as others in the room nod in agreement. "Momma?"

"My little damn hero, fighting the Dragonlord and changing the world. Who would've thought? I mean, other than me, of course." Bauble laughs. "Now come on in and sit down proper, I'll get you some food and you can start telling everyone about your adventures, yes?"

Tinsel looks up at Zappy, and finds that she can't stop the smile spreading across her lips. "Would love to, momma. You know, Zappy once killed a giant bug monster like you wouldn't believe..."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!