Red had decided that Arabella’s personal tent was a bit too private for the meeting with her possible replacements. The military lacked any buildings, and that meant there was no place for him to sit down plainly with them. So the only option was to invite them and Arabella to breakfast at the wedding venue in front of the Alchemical Oak. He was beginning to think of building that Ivy would need to prioritize when it came to constructing things for the first floor. The military needed a proper base, the humanoids needed housing, and there needed to be plenty of parks and other things to keep nature close at hand.
He was pulled from his inexperienced concepts of city planning as the four individuals he was waiting to meet appeared at the edge of the party grounds. At the forefront was that of Arabella, the Mage Captain still holding her position as leader of the forces for now. She was being trailed by the three individuals that she had named as potential successors to leading the first floor’s military. Had it not been for the caveat of the first floor’s contract, he would have been disassembling the military entirely. Now he was restructuring its leadership and ensuring its continued growth.
The small formation of the Soldier Fey were a total of two blue and one red, the groups having never abandoned the color theme despite all of them living in the same location. If he couldn’t dissuade them then there was the chance at some point Red would make a war game room on the floor once he got to a certain level.
One of the things that Red had noticed when it came to the change from Fairy to Fey was the change away from more obvious distinction between individuals. While every fairy was some random color of the rainbow, the fey were more like humans or elves with their hair and eyes being the primary difference. Which unfortunately meant that the bucket helmets of the Soldier Fey made it impossible to tell individuals apart. All Red could tell from the surface was that there were two women and a man that Arabella was bringing to him.
“Hello, everyone! Please take a seat and we will see about getting some breakfast provided here in a few minutes.” Red said with a smile as he waved over the group. The three soldiers each gave a salute before taking the seats on the other side of the table from Red, while Arabella sat next to him.
Without anyone having to call for him, Marcus the Witchling had appeared with glasses of apple juice for the entire table. The waiter was gone again, no doubt preparing breakfast for the group that was waiting patiently.
“Now, I know this is pretty out of the ordinary for me to be bringing all of you here. But I just want to say that none of you are in trouble.” Red said to start things off, noticing the male in red and the female in blue visibly relax. The tension that had been held back releasing as they were assured they had not done something wrong.
“We are here because I have decided that it might be best if Arabella is no longer the leader of the military.” He paused for a moment as the three soldiers gasped in shock. Clearly they had not been expecting such a dramatic revelation to be thrust upon them.
“Is there some reason that she is getting removed?” The female red asked, Red glancing above her head to see that this was the one named Akane. Sun was the male in red and Sue must have been the one in blue.
“While Arabella has been a great leader to you all at present, I feel that her potential is not being put to good use. She is a Mage Captain but… Soldier Fey don’t regularly use magic. “ Red offered the explanation, not wanting to make Arabella seem like she was abandoning her people for her own goals.
“You three show the most potential to be greater leaders. I need to improve in my own way through my casting, but all of you are already in a place where you seem to flourish.” Arabella offered, trying to assuage any fears that the group might still be having.
“Yes, and since the three of you are around the same age and level I decided that it would be best if instead of one leader, we have three.” Red said simply, the soldiers all looking at him with a bit of confusion at the concept of being divided into leadership roles.
“Three? But there are only two teams.” Sue was the first to respond, seeming to be having trouble with the math that Red was putting forward for the group.
“No, there are currently no teams in this dungeon’s military.” Red corrected before raising a finger when the two more loud members of the group were about to point out the coloring system.
“Your colors were chosen arbitrarily, just to show which side of the tree you came from as a fairy. That is just you all dividing yourselves for no reason. If there are going to be teams of fairies in my dungeon, they can only exist by having a reason to.” The dungeon insisted as he looked at them, still not seeming to have struck a cord with the group. Though it seemed at least Akane was tentatively listening without any complaints or objections about the decision.
“What exactly are the teams that you would propose for us? How would they be divided so that it is not just people following the old red and blue colors?” Akane asked in the rigid voice of a soldier as Marcus arrived and put plates of flapjacks in front of everyone. As usual Red got a dish that he was not able to enjoy. He hoped that with one of these levels he might get the chance to taste things.
“I am glad you asked, Akane. There will be three groups that will be determined not just by what the military needs but also your own personal skill sets.” Red said confidently as he took the reins while the others began to eat.
He had a character sheet appear that listed Sun’s abilities and skills.
Dungeon Individual Sheet
Name: Sun
Type: Minion
Species: Soldier Fey
Tags: [Fey], [Elemental], [Poison], [Melee], [Warrior], [Barbaric], [Light]
Title: N/A
Age: 3 Weeks
P Skills: Martial Prowess, Melee Mastery, Platoon Tactics, Invincible Rage
A Skills: Decisive Slash, Brutal Blow
Height: 3’6”
Weight: 80
Mood: Hungry
Ascension XP: 9/25
Level: 7
Ascension: 2/10
Description: A fairy that has lost its wings and dedicated its life to the pursuit of martial prowess in defense of its kin. Often this species is found in great numbers under the employ of fey royalty, beyond that they act as sheriffs, police, and other jobs across the realms and dancing pathways of the fey. However, they have kept the group tactics from their time as fairies and expanded upon them to make even smaller groups just as dangerous as larger forces. A simple platoon can lay waste to any single foe without issue, though can struggle if facing off against forces more numerous than their own. This soldier has dedicated his time as a member of the military by finding ways to fight through fury. Sun prides himself on the fact that he is able to take more damage than any other soldier so long as he stays angry. Currently being reviewed by the dungeon as a potential leadership candidate.
“A perfect example is Sun’s sheet here, considering the fact that he has put all his eggs into one basket when it comes to combat.” Red said with a smile as he looked over the sheet and allowed the others to see it as well. “But… i don’t have any eggs? Or a basket for that matter.” Sun pointed out, clearly not the brightest of the group. It was either that or he had taken one too many hits to the head in striving for barbarism. Red wasn’t going to get into the intricacies of idioms with the young fey.
“Arabella will explain that later. As I was saying, you have put all your focus on becoming a fighter that can tank hits and keep going. So the position that I am considering for you is that of Melee Sargent. It is a position meant for someone in command of fighting troops that don’t deal with magic. The job will essentially be you get pointed at something to fight, and everyone who you command is going to follow you to help fight.” Red said, simplifying the job for the sake of making sure that he understood the position. He was also making sure to give non-assertive statements so that the title didn’t just randomly apply.
“I think i could do that. Seems simple enough.” Sun said with a nod before the quest appeared in front of him, it being rather simple. All he had to do was successfully lead five or more troops in a battle against a threat.
Dungeon Individual Sheet
Name: Sue
Type: Minion
Species: Soldier Fey
Tags: [Fey], [Elemental], [Poison], [Melee], [Warrior], [Stealth], [Oil]
Title: N/A
Age: 3 Weeks
P Skills: Martial Prowess, Melee Mastery, Platoon Tactics, Slippery Skin
A Skills: Decisive Slash, Oil Slick
Height: 3’6”
Weight: 75
Mood: Excited
Ascension XP: 10/25
Level: 7
Ascension: 2/10
Description: A fairy that has lost its wings and dedicated its life to the pursuit of martial prowess in defense of its kin. Often this species is found in great numbers under the employ of fey royalty, beyond that they act as sheriffs, police, and other jobs across the realms and dancing pathways of the fey. However, they have kept the group tactics from their time as fairies and expanded upon them to make even smaller groups just as dangerous as larger forces. A simple platoon can lay waste to any single foe without issue, though can struggle if facing off against forces more numerous than their own. Still rather precocious and filled with the mischief that her previous form held, Sue has taken to her free time being about pranking members of the red shirts. This soldier has honed her stealth skills and made it to where she is the most fleet of foot in the entire military. Currently being reviewed by the dungeon as a potential leadership candidate.
“Now, as much as I don’t approve heckling your fellow soldiers, Sue has done a lot in regards to beefing up her stealth as a skill. Not to mention the unique nature of her random element has made it to where she is adept at evasion. So, instead of being direct military might, I want you to be indirect. I believe the correct term is spymaster but I don’t know enough terminology to actually verify that. So if you’re willing to accept then you can become the Stealth Captain.” Red said, afraid of his own words, especially after what happened when he had spoken to Herc and made a whole new species.
Sue seemed to think about it some, chewing on a pancake before washing it down with a bit of the provided juice. She didn’t seem as absentminded as Sun but at the same time she didn’t appear to be the quiet type like Akane.
“I suppose if that means I can do my pranks more frequently with less reprimands.” She said with a mischievous grin under her helmet as she delighted in the idea. Red noted that it seemed like she had sharper canines than the other individuals at the table. He wondered if there was more to the division between the military than what he had originally assumed. He would check into that if he had the time, but there was a laundry list of other things that needed to be done.
“Well… if any of them are more than just playful fun and someone gets hurt you’ll be reprimanded.” He warned before the quest appeared in front of Sue. It was also simple, in the fact that she would just need to train two other soldier fey to be as stealthy as her.
“Last but not least by any margin; Akane.” Red said as he pulled up her character sheet, seeing her grip the table as he knew that she didn’t want the others to see it. “I will just check it real quick. No one else will see it.” He promised as he looked at her, getting a sigh of relief as she relaxed.
Dungeon Individual Sheet
Name: Akane
Type: Minion
Species: Soldier Fey
Tags: [Fey], [Elemental], [Poison], [Melee], [Warrior], [Knowledge]
Title: N/A
Age: 3 Weeks
P Skills: Martial Prowess, Melee Mastery, Platoon Tactics
A Skills: Decisive Slash, Brutal Blow
Height: 3’6”
Weight: 75
Mood: Fearful
Ascension XP: 15/25
Level: 12
Ascension: 2/10
Description: A fairy that has lost its wings and dedicated its life to the pursuit of martial prowess in defense of its kin. Often this species is found in great numbers under the employ of fey royalty, beyond that they act as sheriffs, police, and other jobs across the realms and dancing pathways of the fey. However, they have kept the group tactics from their time as fairies and expanded upon them to make even smaller groups just as dangerous as larger forces. A simple platoon can lay waste to any single foe without issue, though can struggle if facing off against forces more numerous than their own. Akane is the most improved member of the Red Dungeon military, having used her knowledge element tag to study every enemy that she has come into contact with. Her constant study of both enemy and friendly tactics has led to a deeper understanding of both groups. By this point she knows how to effectively dispatch every other soldier fey within the military.
Red knew that the other members of potential leadership would see this as a threat or challenge. While no one could kill someone else permanently in his dungeon so long as both were born of it, he had no desire to see what kind of torture that could bring about.
“Just as I thought, you’re a really clever individual. Your intelligence is invaluable to the military, both on the field and off. So the position I suggest to you is Chief Tactician.” Red said, the quest appearing for Akane that was a little more complex than the other two. She had to coordinate a mission with at least ten soldiers and keep over half of the individuals alive by the end of it. She also had to make good relations with those who would technically be her subordinates, the other fey at this meeting.
Akane said nothing, pressing the quest box to accept the offered Title Quest as she continued to eat her breakfast. She didn’t seem to be the most talkative of the soldier fey, but that was most likely because she was analyzing everything around her constantly.
“Now, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior.” Arabella commented as she looked at the three of them. She had been rather silent during Red’s judgement, but it seemed she was showing some of her leadership quality in this moment.
“Yes, I agree-“ Red paused while he was going to begin a tag team effort of making sure the new leaders in training were going to be acting professionally. Ras had appeared, and came with a message.
[Red, it appears tat Ka’ron has spawned, and she would like to speak to the manager of this dungeon.]
A deep primordial fear entered Red’s heart as he read those words. His time as a restaurant owner echoing in his mind.
“I have to go, important business. You’ve got this handled, Arabella!” Red said cheerfully before he popped out of existence to the second floor. What he did not see was how everyone seemed to relax when he was gone. Arabella included was a bit nervous with the dungeon core looking so closely at their stats and usefulness.
