Dungeons Are Bad Business

The next day, the Westown strip grew as busy as a beehive, with carts, carriages, and a veritable army of people coming through the gate as soon as it opened. Vee's new tenants brought their tools, their supplies, and box after box of finished goods. Additionally, they brought decorations and bits of furniture, and got to work setting them all up so that their new storefronts would be ready to open to the public.

With Cecil his [Excellent Spreadsheet] by his side, Vee walked up and down the strip, summoning his orchestra – or often, Alforde – to come and help out and serving as a de-facto referee for the various small squabbles and disagreements that broke out between the strip's newest residents. Thankfully this latter group of activities was small and easy to do, requiring the [Dungeon Master] to only listen to the grievances of both parties and then rule one way or the other. Generally speaking, he wasn't a huge fan of having to make such decisions, but there was something deeply satisfying about having people rely on him for leadership.

Similarly satisfying was earning himself another point of Leadership and Bargaining, not to mention the sight of the strip coming together. The storefronts started taking on unique designs, aesthetics, and vibes as they were decorated and filled in, ranging from the hyper-optimized and orderly workout space owned by Lando Splaywhisker to the esoteric collection of tools – mostly scissors, oddly – in Rummy's forge to the complex arrangements of reeking candles that belonged to Red Star and everything in between. It vaguely reminded Vee of arranging the dungeon, a realization that brought with it a pang of longing and prompted Vee to make a mental note to get something set up that would let him scratch that particular itch while the rest of the circuit finished up.

Seeing that the situation was calm and under control, Vee decided to take a little break beside one of the trees Kai and Dandelion had just planted and enjoy a bowl of the soup William and Alanna Deskin had started that morning. It was rich and earthy, with traces of herbs that were delicious but sadly ever so slightly too sophisticated for Vee's palate to properly place. Still, if this was the quality of what they could whip up in the middle of a construction site without all of their tools and ingredients, Vee had no doubts that they'd have people lining up for bowls from open to close.

Just as he finished, Vee spotted a familiar pair of [Witches] walking through the gate. His heart fluttered when he met Luna's eyes and returned her little wave and grin with one of his own. Next to her was Holly, who looked exhausted and surly, and a third [Witch] – or at least Vee assumed she was a [Witch], given her hat and boots – that he didn't recognize. She was the tallest of the three by far, with short cropped blonde hair and ruddy skin. She was dressed somewhat strangely, in a red tabard that bore the insignia of the [Sisters of the Plate], though Vee didn't see any armor like he would have expected for a member of that order.

He got up as they drew near, and watched as Holly turned her attention to his empty bowl.

The [Snowmancer] looked at the spoon longingly, and after a moment she asked, "Where'd you get that?"

Turning, Vee pointed to the Deskin's shop – which was apparently going to be called the Soup Station – and that was all Holly needed. Nodding curtly, she strode off with determination.

"We missed breakfast on account of some troublemakers on the east side of town," Luna said apologetically. "Anyways, Vee I want you to meet Calico Murphy. She's a [Stitch Witch]. Calico, this is Vee Vales, [Dungeon Master] of Crestheart."

The third [Witch] nodded politely and tapped her shoulders at the same time, which was a common gesture for [Sisters of the Plate]. Vee stared at her for half a second, wondering what he could do to return the sentiment of the gesture, and settled on awkwardly nodding.

"It's nice to meet you," Vee said. "Luna mentioned that you're possibly interested in setting up a little store here in Westown?"

Calico nodded. "My recent…changes have made it difficult for me to continue as a full-fledged member of my order, and I'm looking for a way to expand my skillset as a [Witch]. Luna told me that you're looking for people to come to Westown and so I'm here. I don't need much space at all. What do you have available?"

Feeling a bit like a [Tour Guide] or possibly a [Real Estate Agent], Vee gestured for the [Witches] to follow him and showed them the spots he still had open on the strip. They were all similarly sized, on the smaller side, and the biggest difference between them was in the number of windows.

Calico whistled, but demurred when Vee asked which one she'd like to take.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to fill any of these properly," she said. "Don't you have anything smaller?"

Vee shook his head. "Sorry, this is all we have right now."

Calico started to speak – doubtlessly to express her thanks for being shown the space before rejecting it – but Luna stepped forward and pointed to the one with two equal sized windows on both sides of the door. "I think that one would be perfect for you, Cal. You can really grow into it."

"You think so?"

Luna grinned. "Of course I do. I've seen all those blankets and hats and sweaters you're always making. Give it a month, and I'd be willing to bet that this place is filled to bursting."

"I don't know about that," Calico said. "A month really isn't that long, you know?"

With a chuckle, Luna shook her head. "I don't mean literally a month, Calico. It's fine if you don't ever fill it up at all. know you've been having a hard time since you left the order, and this is an opportunity for you to really grow into a space. You know, make it your own. Besides, I'll be coming to Westown a lot for the next little while to help Vee with his mapping project, and if you have extra space I can use it to store some of my stuff too. Heck, Holly might even want to come and hang out, since things are apparently crazy at her house with her da too."

Vee raised an eyebrow. "Things are crazy at Holly's?"

"I'll let her tell you all about it when she gets back," Luna said with a shrug. "That's why she came along with us today, actually."

"Got it," said Vee. Sensing that he'd be wise to change the subject back to the storefront, he turned to Calico and said, "Well, in that case, would you like the space?"

Calico thought for a moment, and then nodded affirmatively. "How much is the rent?"

"Since this is one of our smaller spaces, it's three gold fleurs per month," Vee said. Seeing the way the [Stitch Witch] visibly paled at that price, he was quick to add, "But since we're mostly interested in getting people in right now we're more than willing to accept a revenue share of thirty percent until you can cover the whole payment. Does that work?"

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It did, and Vee shook the [Stitch Witch]'s hand to seal the deal. Calico promised to start moving her stuff in right away, and promptly left to go and get her most important supplies.

Standing next to Luna, Vee couldn't help but smile.There were still a couple empty spots left to fill, but he was confident that he'd find more tenants soon. He just had to stay patient, and if worse came to worst he'd finagle something to fill out the last places along the strip.

Despite the soup, his stomach grumbled, and Vee found himself hoping for another restaurant or two to come to the strip. Actually, maybe that salamander food stall owner would be willing to come and set up something more permanent here in Westown. Vee filed that thought away for later, and walked alongside Luna toward The Soup Station to go talk to Holly.

The [Snowmancer] was sitting on the sawdust-covered floor, drinking soup straight out of a small pot while a horrified Alanna Deskin watched. She didn't seem remotely bothered by the attention, and set the emptied pot down on the ground next to her with a contented sigh.

"That was delicious," she said, wiping her mouth. "Easily some of the best soup that I've ever eaten."

Getting up, Holly returned the pot to Alanna, who looked relieved to be getting it back at all, and turned to look at Vee and Luna. "Did Calico pick a spot then? Good, I was worried that she'd just hem and haw perpetually. You see what I did there? Hem and haw."

Vee snorted, but Luna simply rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go talk about your da."

***

Once they were safely over in an empty alley, Holly told Vee what was going on with Sacre.

"Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that there's something weird about my father," she said in a low, serious voice. "He's always been touchy, but this is different and it's getting worse with each passing day."

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain, but he's just…on edge. Always. He's getting more and more paranoid by the day. Like for example, a few days ago he asked why I'd stolen his shirt, and then this morning he thought I ate his breakfast that he'd already finished. He's never done either of those things before. Beyond that, he's not as happy with his drinks or his women as he usually is, and there's something hollow in his eyes that freaks me out. It's like there's something else in his head with him. He wakes up at least two or three times every night, and keeps muttering about some sort of giant snake in his dreams."

"That doesn't sound good," Vee said slowly, his thoughts turning like an uneven carriage wheel. He was far from any sort of expert, but his first thought was that Sacre was suffering under some sort of Possession? Vee had no idea what kind it could be, because Possession, like ice cream, came in many different flavors. However, if it was one of the more garden variety types, there was a possibility that he could endear himself to the gangster by helping out. It was something of a longshop, though, because Vee wasn't an [Exorcist] and didn't particularly feel like trying to become one.

"It's not just him, either," Luna said, folding her arms across her chest. "Right?"

"Yeah," Holly said, nodding. "A lot of his top guys are acting really strange too, and I've overheard a few conversations about them taking steps to make sure they don't fall into something that they're calling the quiggles."

"The quiggles? What are those?"

Holly shrugged. "Heck if I know. I can't exactly ask them what they mean, but they're eating all of their meals with actual silverware, and you know what that means."

Vee nodded. Silver was a bulwark against a variety of status effects, but especially different types of Madness. He rubbed his chin, and to his surprise Coxin twisted a bit on his shoulders.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that things are kind of tense because I know you two have that agreement at the end of the month," Holly said. "I didn't want you to run into any unpleasant surprises."

"I appreciate that," Vee said. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

He was going to say more, but then Red Star came over and asked for help getting another one of her candle displays installed properly and he had to get back to work.

Main Character Sheets:

Vee Vales:

Primary Class: Ghost Smith (Self), Level 10

Secondary Class: Dungeon Master (Oar's Crest), Level 25

Tertiary Class: Guy-Who-Takes-Things-WAY-Too-Far (Self), Level 8

Might: 18

Wit: 42

Faith: 25

Adventurousness: 7

Ambition: 16

Plotting: 22

Charisma: 18

Devious Mind: 30

Leadership: 22 (+1)

Guts: 16

Intimidating Presence: 12

Citizenship: 25

Public Relations: 8

Determination: 7

Persuasiveness: 6

Bargaining: 8 (+1)

Patience: 4

Competitive Spirit: 1

Pragmatism: 1

<3<3 Infatuation <3<3

Alforde Armorsoul:

Primary Class: Hammer Specialist (Self), Level 6

Secondary Class: Right-hand man (Vee Vales), Level 20

Tertiary Class: Dungeon Champion (Oar's Crest), Level 18

Additional Class: Glaciernaut (Sacha Silverblade), Level 14

Might: 63 (+1)

Wit: 17

Faith: 27

Adventurousness (Bound – Vee Vales): 9

Endurance: 36

Intimidating Presence: 16

Heart of a Champion: 15

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 10

Vigilance: 11

Vanity: 2

Single-Mindedness: 1

Reginald:

Primary Class: Core Spirit (Unknown), Level ???

#$&Q#$)(@#$#@#$%!@#$##%#%()@#$**@@##

Secondary Class: Loudmouth (Self), Level 43

Tertiary Class: Majordomo (Vee Vales), Level 21

Additional Class: Announcer (Vee Vales), Level 14

Additional Class: Hyperthymesiac (Self), Level 5

Additional Class: Curmudgeon (Vee Vales), Level 1

Might: 3

Wit: 38

Faith: 17

Ambition: 29

Greed: 24

Deceptiveness: 28

Manipulativeness: 43 (+1)

$#&*!@!!: !!!

Loyalty: 49

Patience: 11

Irritability: 27

Remorsefulness: 17

Expository Prowess: 23

Pragmatism: #@$%@$

Hop@#!! @#$@!@#

@#$@%%^

#4^5#*&_!+++#(@$#

Citizenship (Bound – Vee Vales): 10