Somewhere new

If you’re going to have the opportunity to claim a new home you think you could do better than some dank old cave. No, you decide that it’s time to set out and find somewhere new to call your own. You think on the territory you’d already explored that day and decide upon reflection that there may have been one place that would be suitable for a new den.

You trek back through the forest to the place you’d chosen and look closer at the area before you decide whether or not to claim it as your domain.

Before you is a dip in the earth: a vast, gently sloping, bowl-shaped depression. Through the center runs a stream that disappears at the far side of the gully, sinking into the earth. The smell of the air here is rich with the lush scent of verdant greenery. A vast improvement to the stale air of a cave. Game trails wind through the area, promising the presence of prey. Somewhere in this area there was sure to be a suitable place. You enter to explore more thoroughly and soon find a dense thicket, overgrown at the edges with thorny brambles. There are several places where you’re able to slip between the thorn covered canes the criss cross the border of the thicket which allows you to creep towards the center.

To your surprise you find at the center of the little thicket a small clearing within which a fallen set of ancient rune stones lie. The air is unnaturally still, and an odd feeling makes your fur prickle and stand on end. Still, nothing happens as you approach the stones; and they lean against each other in such a way to form a natural shelter. This will do.

You remove the claimant stone from your inventory and hold it up, wondering at how to use it. You need not have wondered though as a window appears before you.

Claimant Crystal Used

Runeglade_Thornthicket_18.7_location_5

Claim Land?

The text prompts a response from you. You move your clawed finger over Yes. The window closes only to be replaced by another.

Land Claimed by

Error: Unnamed_Creature

Process Paused

Replaced immediately by another window.

Please Name Character

Huh, so you didn’t even have a name. Well, time to pick one you guessed. What should it be though? You hadn’t ever really put any thought into it before. You’d never had reason to think of a name. Most times you died before anyone would have had any reason to call you anything. You’d been the runt, and if any of the pack had referred to you before they were slain by adventurers it was by that. Runt. You scowled to think of it. You’d never be called that again. You just…. Didn’t know what you should be called. You look down at yourself. Dark fur? Too simple. You think of your fangs. Crackedfang? Oh yes, terrifying. As if. You slump in thought as your mind circles the problem of what to call yourself. Suddenly something occurs to you. Your skills. Fade into Shadows…. Fade…. Fade? Fade. Still simple, but somehow it felt right.

“Fade.” You speak to the window and it disappears.

Land Claimed by Fade

Claim Type: Monster Lair

Resources Detected:

15x Unrefined Wood

Special Features Detected:

3x Rune Stone

Add resources to stockpile?

You shrug and choose yes. The popups vanish. So too do the rune stones and half of the trees that line the clearing at the center of the thicket. Your jaw drops and you scramble to the center to examine where the rune stones had lain. The ground is completely undisturbed. You look around dumbfounded before noticing another pop up behind where you had entered the thicket. You pad over to stand before it.

Runeglade_Thornthicket_18.7_location5

Monster Lair Claimed by Fade

Welcome Fade

Huh, okay. Your home was welcoming you? Below are a couple of options that seemed to open further menus.

Access Stockpile

Building Options

Lair Actions

Fully absorbed in learning more about what you could do with your claimed land you begin to go through the building options. Many were blacked out due to your lack of resources, but it looked like the wood that had been included when you claimed the land would be enough for a basic shelter at least. You select it and are greeted with another menu to select the appearance of the shelter. While you could go for something that looked like the dens you were used to you decide otherwise. You’re done with being a normal Warg, so there’s no need to keep up appearances.

There’s an option that looks more like a ramshackle cabin. The menu lists the style as Hunter’s Lodge. Perfect. You select it, the menu disappears and a progress bar appears along one side of the glade along with a stack of roughly hewn logs.

You approach the stack of resources and tilt your head curiously. “What am I supposed to do with this?” You wonder to yourself and kick gently at the edge of the resource stack. A pop up appears below the progress bar and you read.

Non-applicable skill, -80%. No tools, -50%. Strength Penalty, -30%.

Unorthodox build action, -80%.

Total build speed: .5%

You stare at the window before laughing. The sound a low rumble that faded into the silence of the glade. Unorthodox build action? That’s good. You think to yourself and laugh again before crouching in front of the pile and try hitting it with your hand. The same pop up appeared sans the unorthodox build action debuff. You look up at the darkening sky and back to the minute progress of the bar. It would still be slow without the right tools or skill but staying up to finish the shelter would probably be a better choice than sleeping mostly exposed on the ground.

Your mind made up you smack at the resource pile and let your thoughts run, allowing the earlier events of the day to replay in your head. Your lips raise in a snarling grin thinking about your encounter with the adventurer and you wonder how she fared after respawning in town with her equipment in shreds and body covered in Warg cum.