Chrysalis

Granin and I discuss a few things before we get down to the nitty gritty. For the most part I want to learn about his people and what makes them tick. He's a little guarded about some things, but quite forthcoming about others. For instance, he's quite happy to tell me why he's on the outer with his Cult and with the Shapers in general. Supposedly there's been quite a lot of moving and shaking going on within the Cult of the Worm lately. Recruitment has picked up over the last fifty years and the cult has risen to a level of prominence that it hasn't enjoyed at any point in its history.

This influx of people, ideas and energy was always going to cause friction. Granin fell into the 'steady and cautious' camp, the group who wanted to consolidate their gains and take a measured approach, as they always had in the past. Being cautious is never a bad idea for a Cult that isn't supposed to exist in the first place, I suppose. But he found that the ground changed under their feet too quickly, as the 'reckless moron camp' (Granin's words) pushed harder than expected and seized control of the leadership.

[The stupid idiots are so willing to risk what's been built by painstaking effort in the shadows.] Granin moaned to me bitterly. [What kills me the most, is that it's people like me out in the field, loyal to the cause and dedicated, the bedrock of this cult, that get sent out and sacrificed on poorly thought out and badly researched tasks. The mission to capture you was a perfect example! No proper planning, no backup strategy, no thought of having full control of the delving party. Look how that nearly wound up! A disaster! Back in the day, we'd have observed, made gradual contact, felt out the situation to get a sense of fit. There sure as hell wouldn't have been any warriors involved! Bloody meatheads.]

A constant refrain in Granin's whining is how much the Shapers and Warriors don't get along.

[Tell me a story here, Granin. Why is that your entire society glorifies the Warriors and takes a dump on the Shapers? Seems odd to me. Magic is both awesome and rad. Things like that gateway are only possible because of magic, so why the hate?]

I can see Granin consider the implications before he decides to answer me. He's being careful not to give me too much information that I can use against him, but enough that I feel satisfied he's working with me. I'm happy to take the trade, something is much, much better than nothing.

[It goes back to the Cataclysm.] He finally relents and answers me. [Back then, the mana started to rise to unprecedented levels and every society on the surface experienced a magic revolution. Mages were more powerful than they'd ever been before, or since, and they created miracles in that time that elevated the craft to unprecedented heights.]

[But then came the monsters,] I guess.

He nodded.

[Quite right. The Dungeon opened up and the world was destroyed. Us Golgari were always a martial people to begin with. Our natural skills and racial bonuses push us in that direction quite naturally. We're large, I'm not even that tall, the biggest of us can get up to ten feet, heavily built, and our true skin provides us with a strong defence without having to invest in armour, allowing our fighters to focus on weapon skills more than other races. Since the rise of the Shapers was immediately followed by the Rending, the people naturally lay the blame at the Shaper's feet, blaming them for bringing the Dungeon upon them and we've been scorned ever since.]

[But that's stupid!] I protest. [The mana rose due to the Dungeon reaching the surface, not the other way round! Surely they know that!]

[They probably do,] Granin shrugs, [but they don't care. It fits the narrative they want to believe, that's all that matters. Ever since then the Warriors' circle has been dominant in Golgari society and the Shapers have been suppressed. I think the Shapers have been pushed to the breaking point lately, which is why the Cult was able to bring so many into the fold.]

It's an interesting situation. I can't help but muse over it. In my mind, the Golgari empire occupies a vast amount of Dungeon territory no doubt connected by these gates. Without the Shapers, the whole thing would fall into a heap in mere days. Without the gates, the individual cities and outposts would need to travel between each other in order to communicate and share supplies, risking the Dungeon for days or weeks at a time to send the simplest message. Impossible, surely?

more ground with less numbers. That'll become critical since we need to ensure we farm the Dungeon carefully. Spawn points are closely associated with monster population, if we strip the tunnels bare of monsters in our greed, then the spawn points will dry up, leading to less monsters overall and a dramatic reduction in the XP intake of the colony. We have to be smart about it, farm the right amount, not too much, not

more territory without clearing out the Dungeon? Gates! GAH! My heart is on fire! If I can learn the secret of these gates then the colony will have a limitless future!

tell me how

[No way.]

DAMMIT.

with? Besides, we've spent enough time on these side issues. We need to get focused on how

[Fine.]

don't you dare think I

take a

[No way.]

a feeling that might be the

hand up to rub his stony temple again. Poor guy must deal with a lot of headaches. As if I'm going to let him use a core manipulation Skill on me! He'd be mad to

this the old fashioned way,] he grumbles, [can you tell me what

[Build what?]

build? Your skills and

like, what am I aiming for with my stats

What's your focus? Where are you putting in the most

bit of an

Cover all the bases, so to speak? Oh, Granin's

skills and mutations that you stack up

[A conjunction or opposition?]

[No, that's syzygy.]

[Then no.]