Chapter 13: When Nature Calls

Monday, March 27th 3:27 PM

Fern Grotto Beach

Wilder Ranch State Park

Santa Cruz, California

“Well, come here, puppy. What are you doing out here all by yourself?” Michael lightly slapped his thighs to beckon the dog over.

A young Border Collie emerged cautiously through the hole, then rolled onto her back to look imploringly up at Michael. A chrome-plated name tag hung from her black canvas collar.

“Come on, girl. Come say hi.” Michael snapped his fingers lightly and gave the dog a slow blink to show her he meant no harm.

The pup stopped whining, righted herself, let her tongue hang out and crawled across the sand to Michael’s feet with her tail between her legs. The dog’s tail wagged slowly as she eagerly licked at his hands.

Her fur was matted in a few places, but she appeared to be in good health otherwise.

“Aww, you’re just a little sweetheart. Where’s your family, pretty girl?”

The dog whined loudly and covered her snout with her paws.

That’s right. Border Collies are super smart. Poor girl.

Michael frowned, realizing he should have already known the likely answer to his question. “Okay… what’s your name? Can I see your collar?”

The dog seemed to understand, and she rolled over so Michael could check her tag.

“Bella,” Michael read the tag aloud.

Bella’s ears perked up and she let her tongue loll to one side. Michael gave her a couple of belly scritches, then stood to wave at Rihelah, who erupted from her hiding place and charged down the beach to greet the dog.

Rihelah had listened well to Mike and Joe, maintaining her position to cover Michael until she received the signal for all-clear. Michael knew it must have been hard for her since she loved dogs even more than him.

Rihelah’s learning and adapting quickly. He smiled at her.

Bella yipped and licked her chops, making eyes at Rihelah as she neared.

“That’s right, Bella-girl. Rihelah’s a friend!” Michael kneeled to rub Bella’s flanks, noticing they felt rather thin.

“Aw, are you hungry, girl?” he asked Bella.

Bella yipped and looked Michael in the eyes. She raised her puppy eyebrows at him and made the saddest face he’d ever seen, her tail wagging vertically in earnest.

“Okay, Bella. We’ll get you some food as soon as we can, sweetie! But first, we have some things to do. You wanna come with us? Huh?” Rihelah stood a few feet away, beckoning the dog to her.

Bella wasted no time and soon seemed like she was in heaven as she rubbed ardently against Rihelah’s legs with her tail whipping madly about as Rihelah scritched her all over.

With their new canine friend “helping” by maintaining close physical contact with at least one of the pair at all times, Michael and Rihelah set about gathering the things they could carry from their camp.

---

Date and Time Unknown

Dungeon Ciara

With Sunny and Sandy assisting Turd, I felt I’d made some real progress. Granted, Nino rarely did anything aside from lounging in her little home or outside in the sun. But at least the fish brought in by my pups kept Nino well-fed, and although she eyed the mouse from time to time as he scurried about, there hadn’t yet been another fatal interaction between her and Turd.

The expansion of my First Floor was going well.

I enlarged the mouse highway leading to my old basement enough for canines to pass side-by-side between my core room. I hid the basement’s original entrance, shaping it into a stone access tunnel just large enough for my girls to pass through.

Most of the remaining structure and wreckage of my old house ended up in my inventory. The rubble had stood taller than most of the surrounding wreckage, and I didn’t want it to stand out.

A new canine passage connected from my old basement to a new main entrance for my Dungeon, next to the Harbor where the Crow’s Nest—one of my favorite restaurants—used to stand. I even took the time to build up a rough stone replica of the place to serve both as an entryway and a memorial to the amazing food my former self had enjoyed there.

Along the way, I claimed and assimilated a vast plumbing network, spanning more than nine city blocks. Sven explained that the hollow space inside the pipes was enough for them to count as subterranean tunnels.

One happy discovery was that I could compress and harden the metals, ceramics, and plastics in the pipes to make them much stronger than before, though, as with stone, that took time. I left most of the pipes as they were, but absorbed the water from inside them to prevent mold from growing.

My inventory of raw materials grew as I gathered materials from the destroyed houses. With the extra mana my puppies and Turd were bringing in, I continued my subterranean expansion, clearing away wreckage at the rate of four to five houses per hour.

The possibility that I could help get the city up and running again had me excited. Except there hadn’t been any humans near my Dungeon since those two men wandered off.

My girls ventured out with Turd every thirty minutes or so, taking turns allowing the mouse to ride on their heads. The dogs seemed to enjoy his presence so much, I pondered acquiring another mouse so they could each have their own tiny lookout.

When they returned from their latest outing as the evening fog rolled in, I addressed Turd while Sandy chewed up a Giant Green Sea anemone’s rubbery flesh and Sunny dispatched a hefty species of Rockfish.

[Turd! How would you like to go find a pretty girl mouse so you’ll have someone special?]

The little guy perked up immediately. He furiously cleaned his little face for a few seconds, then paused and almost seemed to be smiling.

[Okay, little fella. There are plenty of mice living in the Dungeon already and I know you can smell them—go find a mate!]

Turd darted away through the network of tiny tunnels, and I wished him luck.

I’d assimilated not only my old basement but three smaller basements and two wine cellars—though all except my own were damaged beyond repair, so I absorbed their materials and filled them in. Beyond that, I’d quickly fashioned numerous tunnels to the surface, to make sure Turd could go practically anywhere in the surrounding area without being forced to the surface when Nino was around.

I spotted a black cat close to the harbor, but it didn’t seem keen on approaching. Nino looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her if she wanted another cat to come and live in my Dungeon.

Along with the mouse tunnels, I added hundreds of subterranean chambers for small animals to live in. Sven told me that one of the keys to being successful as a Dungeon was to entice as many denizens as possible, so I took him at his word.

I became better at controlling my vision as I moved my awareness through the tunnels and counted nearly five hundred rodents who’d already taken refuge inside my halls over the past day.

Sunny and Sandy sniffed around for Turd when they finished chewing on their latest catch.

[Mommy sent Turd off to look for another mouse. You girls go hunt together, okay? Turd will come with you another time.]

As expected, I endured a bit of whining since they couldn’t have things as they preferred. But it didn’t last long. When Sunny stopped to stare at Sandy and boofed once, her sister met her eyes. The next instant, they shot off like two furry missiles, charging out from the new entrance toward their favorite place in the world, with tongues trailing beside their joyful faces.

Together with Turd, my pups had gathered an incredible variety of creatures for me—mostly from in and around the ocean.

Some of the species my dogs had caught included three different kinds of seagulls, pigeons, Red-wing blackbirds, Dungeness crabs, Bat Eagle rays, California Halibut, Red octopi, Leopard sharks, several species of Rockfish, Sanddabs, Pacific Whiting, and more.

Nino, of course, partook of the bounty at her leisure, then proceeded to loaf about imperiously, as cats are wont to do.

Before the dogs made it back, I spotted Turd leading another mouse through the tunnels and focused on them. Turd’s female companion was a little smaller than him, as is typical for mice, but her calico pattern was not what I expected.

[Aww. She’s such a cute little girl, Turd. Good for you! She reminds me of my first kitten, Mocha. Welcome to the Dungeon, little one.]

<Mocha has accepted the name you provided along with her new home and shall henceforth be considered a resident of your Dungeon.>

Turd and Mocha stopped running to sniff at one another. They cleaned themselves for a moment before licking at one another’s backsides. A few seconds later, Mocha laid down submissively with her tail held to one side, while Turd mounted her from behind and thrust into his cute little mate for all he was worth.

Whoa! Holy lightning-courtship… well, mice will be mice.

Amused and flustered, I decided to give the wanton little pair some privacy and refocused my efforts on enlarging my Dungeon.

Sunny and Sandy came running back toward the entrance, barking loudly on the heels of the black cat, who darted inside with a look of abject terror.

[Okay, girls. Stop chasing the poor kitty and go find something else to bring back.]

The black cat ducked into a small side refuge that I’d fashioned for Nino and backed against its far wall while my pups bounded back onto the beach to search for another plaything.

[Nino. There’s another kitty in the Dungeon.]

I startled Nino out of a deep sleep, but she seemed not to have heard what I said. Nino’s right eye twitched a little and her ears laid back as she looked around to see what had disturbed her.

I reiterated. [Nino-kitty. There’s another cat inside the Dungeon.]

Her ears perked up, and Nino took a fierce, territorial stance with her tail whipping behind her before she launched like mad through the tunnels toward my entrance. Nino’s claws scraped against my Dungeon’s hard, smooth stone in a similar way to how they might on a waxed linoleum floor whenever she turned.

I giggled each time until her forward velocity finally caught up with the speed of her legs, and Nino began running sideways along the walls on her way to intercept the feline intruder.

An inevitable pissing contest ensued when Nino reached the black cat’s hiding place. Growls and yowls were exchanged for a moment until each sniffed at the air, and the aggression stopped.

Wait. Do they know each other?

Nino started purring, and the other cat poked its nose out. Nino blinked slowly, and the other cat emerged, returning the gesture. They sniffed one another in the same manner as Turd and Mocha.

Hold up.

I glanced behind the black cat. Oh, boy… testicles.

[Do you know him, Nino?]

She ignored me entirely, showing her backside to the tomcat and smacking his face with her tail while she ducked back into the hidey-hole and he followed.

The male cat had a small chunk missing from his right ear, and a dirty tag hung from his collar.

I checked the name while he sniffed and licked Nino’s hindquarters.

Hanzo

Huh. Well, I might as well offer for Hanzo to stay.

<Hanzo has accepted the name you provided along with his new home and shall henceforth be considered a resident of your Dungeon.>

Is it always so quick?

Every animal I’d offered Residency to had thus far accepted instantly.

Turd and Mocha will be an excellent source of additional mice, at the very least!

It was too bad for Nino and my girls that they’d all been spayed.

If I’d known what would happen, I would’ve left my dogs’ girl parts alone…

To my surprise, Nino allowed Hanzo to mount her, and she cried out with the first discordant note of that furious, agonized wailing cats are famous for while mating. I focused elsewhere as little Nino pointlessly endured the barbed equipment that had entered her.

Don’t get involved, I told myself. It’s Nino’s life and her body. Animals deserve the freedom to make their own choices.

Sunny and Sandy trotted toward the entrance, each holding one end of an undulating, two-meter Moray eel. Sandy dripped a little bit of blood as she walked, and I noticed the eel had twisted around just enough to bite the scruff of Sandy’s neck.

Oh, no! I told them both to be careful! What if that wound gets infected?

I knew they’d come back if they died, but I didn’t want my babies to suffer through that.

[Sandy-girl! Are you okay? Mommy’s here!]

Sandy whined a little in response as they entered.

But immediately after the dogs were inside, Sunny bit the eel’s body savagely while Sandy held on and the eel thrashed.

When the Moray seemed to panic and let go of her at last, Sandy practically blurred as she lunged to catch the top of its head in her mouth and bit down. I heard bones crush and felt a rush of mana.

[Girls, I want you to stay inside for a bit.]

An inevitable round of whining ensued as they protested against me restraining their freedom. Both Labs huffed as they plopped beside one another in the middle of the passage near the eel’s carcass. But I was proud. Just like before the war, the pups obeyed while they knew I was watching.

When Hanzo emerged and trotted toward the entrance to head outside, I checked on Nino to find she was busy with her post-coital cleanup.

I had intended to ask her to clean Sandy’s wound, but in light of the situation, I decided to give her a bit more time.

When I looked back at Sandy, her wound had stopped bleeding.

That’s odd. Those sharp teeth made some pretty nasty cuts.

I looked closer.

Her wounds have closed up already? How?

[Sandy, stand up for mommy.]

Immediately excited, Sandy stood up and let her tongue hang out. I examined her wound more closely and saw the skin regrowing, albeit slowly, right in front of me.

What the hell? I’m not complaining or anything! But my girls can regenerate? That’s insane! I love it!

[Okay, girls. Play-time! You don’t need to bring anything back. Just go have some fun, and be safe! If you see fish that are bigger than you, don’t get too close. They’re dangerous.]

As they usually did, both dogs waited until I finished speaking before they moved, but when they did, the palpable joy they exuded with each stride made me smile.

It did not, however, make Hanzo smile. He hissed and his fur stood on end, then he scrambled like mad to clear the entrance.

The dogs thundered toward Hanzo like a furry freight train, and the tomcat barely managed to move himself aside before my Labs barreled past onto the dirty parking lot. They scrambled away to run along the beach, howling for joy.

[Sorry, Hanzo! Don’t worry… Sunny and Sandy won’t hurt you. Nino is already friends with them.]

Hanzo growled for a bit at my words, then trotted toward the Harbor cove in a huff, with his fur standing part-way up.

Inside the Dungeon, Nino sauntered through the tunnels to the basement like she owned the place, then leaped atop the water heater and settled herself down, becoming a perfect little Calico cat-loaf.

Checking around my Dungeon, I found Turd and Mocha… doing exactly what they’d been doing when I looked away, in a different location.

Hah. Well, that’s nature!

---

Minions: 0/100

Residents: 6/10

Denizens: 2974

Traps: 1/5