//------------------------------// // Chapter 20: Dogs and Techs // Story: Factory of the Magical Variety // by Conglomerate //------------------------------// I had successfully escaped the grasp of the insectoids. Now I had several chunks of Ignite, about twelve, enough to fabricate some items, but I'd need more soon. That was a thought for another time however, I was just glad to finally have some Ignite to work with. The flight home took a while though, plenty of time for me to think about what to make. First things first, I'd make some better propellers, the Seraphim Nose Propeller was a great upgrade, not much bigger and a lot more thrust to give. I would be able to fly faster and higher with one of them. The Zero Propeller was also good, with a fully encased blade, it held many attachment points with a more streamlined structure. It didn't provide as much thrust however, an interesting choice. I wanted my plane to be more defensible though, so I chose to fabricate some Zero Propellers, it already flew faster than with the Pinwheels propellers, but not as fast with the Seraphim Propellers. Next up, with the Ignite I could fabricate the next upgrade for the Component Factory, allowing me to make some high tier stuff, full on A.I. cores and Nuclear Explosives. Of course, I couldn't fabricate half of them without Celestite, but I could fabricate the components necessary for some powerful weapons. I could create the GSO's Big Bertha Cannon, able to punch through almost anything, while also packing a mean explosion. Shield Bubbles didn't even stand a chance against it. I would have to wait though, it required a lot of Luxite to Fabricate. Next up was Venture's Rapid Cannon, not as powerful as the Big Bertha, or even it's downgrades, but it shot and aimed faster, a good tradeoff. Finally, was Venture's Sonic Lance, it wasn't very good at piercing defenses, but boy could it launch stuff. This thing packed enough power to catapult several tons a good distance. It could also be deafening if set to the right frequency. I didn't need any of these weapons right now, at least I didn't think I did, at least nothing I fabricated was really permanent either. With just a simple Scrapper, I could completely undo any fabrication I made. Boy do I love advanced technology, not much waste products. I was looking at what else I could do with the Ignite, when I saw I could make even more advanced circuit boards. This time, the paths diverged, one path used Ignite, and focused on power over efficiency. The other path used Celestite, and focused on accuracy and finesse. Using some Erudite, I made an Ignite Circuit. Testing it had some interesting results. It didn't affect the speakers much, just allowing me to use a louder volume. The radar's distance extended quite a bit, but I couldn't use advanced detection or icons. Finally, the Inserter became powerful enough to punch through a standard block, and be able to crush a piece of Plumbite ore. It regained a bit of it's jerkiness however, though I could probably use it to dig. I was excited to see how the Celestite Circuit would upgrade my items, there were definitely some uses I could think of having. I still didn't have Celestite though, but I did finally have working 'shovel'. By gripping a large plate of Plumbite, I could use the Ignite boosted Inserter to dig into the ground. It was pretty effective actually, but the Plumbite could not handle the stress for long, the shovel head broke after digging around for a bit. I was definitely able to excavate Erudite better, but it still wasn't the best. With this new found ability, I went straight to the Erudite fields to gather more. You can never be too careful after all. I stocked up on some Plumbite plates, carrying them on the back of my tech. The short drive over was uneventful, but what lay before me at the fields was quite the sight. A multitude of piles made of loose dirt sporadically littered the fields. They weren't there last time, so something must have made them, and recently too. None of the dirt was settled. Driving closer to inspect the piles, I learned that these piles were probably made by some sort of subterranean creature. How I learned this you might ask? Well it's simple really, the immense weight of my tech was enough to buckle the supports in the cave system below. All of my wheels sunk into the ground, I was unable to drive out of the pit as it rumbled and shook. It started sinking into the ground, not unlike the first time I fell. Then everything stopped, and I thought I wouldn't sink any lower. Then the whole area around me collapsed, I didn't fall too far this time, but it wasn't a short distance either. Thankfully my tech was upright, so the wheel's suspension took the brunt of the fall. My tech was now inside a cave system, it looked dugout, with claw marks evident all along the walls and floor. Sunlight streaked in through the brand new skylight I had just unintentionally installed. It certainly helped with visibility, and I was able to see some old rusted minecarts, tracks, and support beams. None of it had any dust on it, well, no old dust. The cave-in produced quite a lot of it. This equipment must have been just brought here. Despite it being rusted. Looking around again, I switched on my tech's lights as I drove out of the pile of rocks and dirt. There wasn't much around, though it looked like several chunks of stone were pulled out of the walls. Just what exactly was going on around here? I had to find some way out, the only problem was there I didn't see any exits the size of my tech, except for the one I just made. I couldn't just go straight up though, not yet at least. I'd have to either find myself an exit, or make one. It was clear something had passed through earlier, evident by the paw prints in the dirt. The strange thing though, was that they were too far apart to be quadrupedal, and there weren't any other prints in the dirt either. Some sort of bipedal canine or feline? An interesting discovery. Hopefully I could converse with them, they at least had enough intelligence to use primitive mining equipment. Many of the tunnels were too small for my tech, I wasn't able to move around much either. It looked like I had to do some downsizing if I wanted to explore these caves. Quickly shedding extra blocks, I was left with the bare bones of a tech. Cabin, drill, gun, battery, repair bubble, radar, speakers, and a couple of blocks. I had to leave behind the inserter, I couldn't really fit it onto my tech in a useful way. I really hope these things didn't attack on sight. To protect my extra blocks, I assembled a quick wall out of all the standard blocks and loaded everything else behind it. It wasn't anchored to the ground, but it did weigh a bit, enough where I was sure nothing would move it much. I started down one of the many tunnels of this cavern, I didn't really know which way to go, so I just chose the most well worn tunnel. There was a lot of foot traffic down this path, it would be a good place to start. I didn't have that much light, only the ones from my cabin, but the enclosed space allowed those lights to reveal a great much. The cave ahead split, but the prints did not, I continued to follow them. Eventually, light came from the end of the tunnel, driving up to it, it revealed a large room. Inside the room were several grated doors, like prison cells. I could see makeshift beds with several piles of belongings next to them. These must be the living quarters, they were very run down. There was only one other thing in this room, a single form on one of the beds, unmoving. Getting closer, I could see it was definitely dog-like, also bipedal, and had several dirty bandages wrapped around it's body. It must've been injured somehow, and was now recovering. But where were all the others? The dog was asleep, and while I could wake it, I didn't really want to. Then again, this thing was in no position to fight me, the best time to talk to something. "Hey, wake up," Was all I said. It grumbled, and shifted a bit on it's bed. I tried again. "Get up, I've got some questions for you." I said. It opened it's eyes, it groaned as the lights from my cabin irritated them. These dogs must be a bit sensitive to light. "Go away." It said, in a gravely voice. "Not until you answer my questions." I reiterated. The dog finally looked over to my tech, and it's eyes widened, it would've jumped out of bed if it could. It almost did actually, but just fell on it's side and almost fell out of the bed. It must've landed on something painful, because it whimpered a bit. "Intruder!" it said after taking a moment to recover, "What are you doing here?" "Looking for a way out mostly." I simply said, "And maybe getting some crystals while I'm here." It's eyes narrowed, "You steal from us? Big mistake for you." "No, not steal, trade perhaps, I'd like to see if you have anything I want, and I'll tell you what I have to trade." I explained in a neutral tone. "Trade? Not many trade..." It trailed off, before it realized something, "You are still intruder! How did you get here?" "I accidentally caused a cave in, apparently I was too heavy." I explained. "Cave in bad, cause many problems. You cannot get out?" It asked, looking a bit confused. "I fell straight down, I cannot climb the wall either, can you help?" I replied. "I get Alpha, follow me," It said, slowly getting out of bed and grabbing a makeshift crutch/walking stick. I was surprised on how much it trusted me, I guess even though it had bad grammar, it wasn't dumb, or at least smart enough to see reason. I followed it down a different cave, it didn't walk very fast, and let out a few grunts of pain as it hobbled along. After a few minutes of walking, we entered a different room. This room wasn't as large, and I could see several support pillars dotted around. There were a lot more dogs in this room, just sort of milling about. There lay a trail of dogs pulling carts to and from a section of tunnels. It looked like they were still building/digging this place, no wonder I didn't find them before. "How long have you been here?" I asked the dog. "Arrived here five days ago. Started digging two days ago." The dog answered. All this in only two days? That was... well I didn't have an accurate comparison. For me, if I had the right gear, I could probably get this whole thing done in a couple of hours. Still, two days was a pretty short time. These dogs must be good diggers. "How did you get injured?" I asked. The dog looked at my tech, even with the wheels it was just a bit shorter than the dog. It seemed to think for a bit before answering. "Cave in." Was all it said. "Were you the only one hurt?" I asked "Only one to 'survive'." it said, looking down. "Oh, sorry." I replied. The dog didn't respond, we continued down another cave, leaving the unfinished room. After a couple more minutes of walking, I was lead into a much larger room this time with 'ornate' pillars if you could call them that. They had designs and patterns that were haphazardly scratched into them. They each held small gems and torches in holders, it definitely gave an odd aesthetic. It certainly wasn't a throne room, there was no chair. It was definitely more 'lavish' than the rest of the cave system though, the floor and walls were smoothed over, and there was a set of wooden furniture on one side of the room. A more stable looking bed lay on the other side, with actual covers on it, one looked like it was made of hide. Sitting on one of the wooden chairs was another dog, this one was clearly the alpha. It as standing a bit taller than all the others and wearing a red jacket with a lot of gems in it's pockets. It was conversing with two other dogs, also wearing jackets, maybe they were the seconds in command? The injured dog barked, albeit a weak one. It still got the alpha's attention though, and all three looked over, and immediately noticed the large green bubble around us. The injured one probably didn't notice it, I mean he was inside it since the moment he woke up. "What are you?" The one with the red jacket spoke up. "Why are you here?" The next one asked. "Who are you?" The final one asked. They all got into defensive stances, as if expecting me to attack. "I mean you no harm, I'm just looking for a way out." I said back to the trio. "Why you here Scruff? You injured." One of them said. "Thing woke me up, also wanted trade." the now named Scruff replied. "Trade? For what, Thing?" Another asked. "I have a name you know, it's Tecka. And I wanted to take a look at what you have, to see if you have anything I want." I said. Might as well ride this 'multiple' techs lie for as long as possible. "Tell us what you have first." The first one said, "Very well, to start, I have some Sunstones, though not many, I also have Fire Topaz, also not much. I do have some green gems from around here as well." I listed, not knowing the common name for Erudite. All their eyes widened as I listed my inventory, they huddled together and whispered to each other. Finally, they broke their huddle and looked back at me. "Sunstone is valuable yes, Fire Topaz even more. We don't want your Earth Jade, we get it here." One of them said. Earth Jade huh? Makes some sense, it does come from the ground, though I guess they haven't discovered the utility of it yet. They must simply use it for decoration, I could use that to my advantage. It made sense Sunstone was valuable to them, in this world it could only be found at the top of mountains, not the most easiest places to get to, even if you could tunnel under the ground. The Fire Topaz was valuable too, considering it's 'guardians' and the fact you can't really tunnel under sand made it a good bargaining tool, if I wanted to give it up however. There was also that chunk of Quartz I found in the forest, though it probably wasn't very valuable due to how common it was. Since I had a relatively infinite supply of Luxite given time, though the mineral content of the soil would deplete eventually. I was ready to trade some, though I wanted to make sure I had enough for myself first. The next batch would be ready in a couple of days too, so I might just trade with that. There was one problem though, I didn't know if they had anything I wanted to have. "Alright then, what do you have? I'm not just giving you anything for free." I said with sass. "We show you hoard, you like what you see." Was all they said, beckoning me to follow them. With nothing else to lose, I followed the trio of dogs down another cave, leaving behind Scruff, who I assume went back to his bed. It wasn't a very long walk, I guess the Alpha wanted his treasures close to his chamber. The next room revealed a large pile of gems, and some debatably precious metals. It wasn't anywhere near the size of the dragon's pile, but it pretty large. Looking closely, I could see a majority of it was Erudite, or Earth Jade. Most of the rest of it was simply useless gems that only looked good. There was something interesting though, in the large pile of minerals, there was a large diamond, about a standard chunk size. Now diamonds certainly had their uses, their high durability allowed them to be on par with Titanite, the only drawback was you couldn't shape them easily. But diamonds weren't just used for their strength, they could also be used in optics, with a much higher melting point than simple glass, they could be used to focus high powered lasers. Something I could see myself doing. I didn't need it right now, I didn't even have a powerful laser to focus yet, nor was there enough to fabricate anything durable. It was nice to know that it was here though, I could definitely see myself using this later. "I'm liking this diamond, though I do not need it now. Keep it around, and I just might trade you for it later." I told the dogs. They looked a little disappointed, though they were excited at possibly getting Sunstone or Fire Topaz in exchange for a diamond. "We understand, we hope you trade soon." One of them said. "One more thing too," I said "I'm still currently trapped down here, do you think you could help me out?" "But you can fit out exit?" Another said, confused. "I brought a lot of stuff with me, that will not fit out the exit, I need help getting it out." I explained. "Fine, we help you, then you trade soon, we want gems." The Alpha said. "Thank you, let me show you where my stuff is." And with that, I headed back through the caves, sparsely remembering which way we had come, and lead the dogs back to my stuff. They looked at the 'wall' with interest, until I pulled it apart revealing all of my belongings. Nodding to each other, they called out several dogs with carts and loaded them up with my parts. We then all headed toward the exit. It was good to have a trading partner, even if they only had one thing I wanted, though I could probably trade for some more Erudite if I needed more. That was much easier than trying to dig it out myself, for now. I would keep these dogs in mind, they were certainly helpful, and they kept their word, an uncommon practice where I'm from. I was ready to fight my way out the entire time, even though I only had one gun ready. I rebuilt my tech, and headed back to the base, prepared to make some upgrades. To Be Continued...