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[Qloos]

Use the power of steam to create a spooky fog around your lair to dissuade people from snooping.

[EveryZig]

Fog seen outside our lair would let people know something is up (unless these are foggy mountains).
That does raise a question though: can we see through any fog we cast (or with higher level magic, see things out of normal sight that are in our fog)?

We should have the machine do some exploratory mining for metals or coal. The first thing we need to do is obtain more digging machines to get infrastructure started.

[IronyOwl]

I think the first thing we need to do is acquire the essentials, namely a place for us and our minion to sleep, and probably a storage room for food and such. A farm of some description would be ideal, but I'm not sure what kind of food-production facilities we can create as a Steam-Keeper.

To that end, I say:

>Have digging machine dig out two small rooms, facing one another in our hall, that can easily be enlarged later.
>Contemplate how we usually keep ourselves fed.
>Contemplate how we usually get non-steam, non-orphan, non-seduced minions. We... do occasionally get those, right?

[SeriousConcentrate]

Fog seen outside our lair would let people know something is up (unless these are foggy mountains).
That does raise a question though: can we see through any fog we cast (or with higher level magic, see things out of normal sight that are in our fog)?

We should have the machine do some exploratory mining for metals or coal. The first thing we need to do is obtain more digging machines to get infrastructure started.

Not running a turn just yet, answering questions instead. Feel free to ask me if you're confused or want clarification on anything, by the way; just append @SC: before your question to make sure I notice it 'cause I tend to get sidetracked easily and if I don't have something to focus on I'll probably overlook/forget it. ^^^; Anyway...

1. Axemark Crossing is about midway up the mountain, and you're within a mile of the town. In the morning it'll be obvious the lower reaches are constantly foggy and the peak is snowy, but where you're at fog would be a bit suspicious.
2. You can find (or with enough appropriate magic materials like enchanted glass, make) goggles that would allow you to see through the steam. You used to have a pair but, well... :\ As for being able to 'feel' things in the steam you create, I'm sure somewhere out there there's a 'detect life' grimoire you can study and incorporate into your own spells...

[EveryZig]

So what did our character do to get food in her previous dungeons?

[Yoink]

Could we perhaps salvage the ruins of the dungeon we once had near here, re-using the basic structure of it?
Unless it's completely caved-in, of course.

[SeriousConcentrate]

That's going to depend on on how Irony rolls. There will be one for how common her food source is and how often she needs to eat. Aragox, of course, needs normal food at regular intervals, but if you can provide a steady source of food he'll take care of himself for the most part. Also, I know no one asked, but I'm going to say it anyway: once lodgings are relatively secure, it's possible to use actions to skip over extended periods of time. So if you want to train Aragox as a mechanic or an apprentice mage or whatever, you can just say 'spend 1 month/2 months/10 months/etc. training him'. Since he's still young he can get up to 10% competency in a skill per year, but he's capped at 50% efficiency for everything since he's just an NPC. When he's 15 his maximum efficiency will raise to 60% but his skill gain will slow down significantly. Nici herself has a maximum effectiveness of 75% at everything because I don't want it to be possible to just ace everything, and has to dedicate time and resources to train things. For example, if you want to raise her charisma with females, you'll have to kidnap/have Aragox kidnap some damsels and practice on them.

@Ninja Yoink: Only one way to find out...

[Qloos]

>As it is now 1AM, now is the time for covert action.  Walk into town while everyone is sleeping and walk away with a bag of potatoes and one chicken one rooster.

[IronyOwl]

Could we perhaps salvage the ruins of the dungeon we once had near here, re-using the basic structure of it?
Unless it's completely caved-in, of course.

Given that it was destroyed once, it's probably not a good idea. There's no guarantee that it was in a bad spot or near someone dangerous or something, but I'd rather not tunnel all the way over there just to burst into the living room of some horrible demon who kicked our asses all the way to the jungle last time.

That's going to depend on on how Irony rolls.

Oh dear. I'm getting RTD vibes already.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Oh dear. I'm getting RTD vibes already.

:3

But uh, yeah. I'll begin writing the turn around 11, you guys decide if you want to seek out your previous dungeon or not in the meantime.

[Qloos]

((If we're going to seek it out, lets not tunnel to it.  It would be like pointing an arrow "Hey, were over here, come invade!"))

[EveryZig]

We should seek it out after we have some military power and defenses.

[SeriousConcentrate]

So, not doing it then? I would have gotten to this earlier but I got 504'd for forever. :\

[EveryZig]

We should get some infrastructure and defense before confronting the nearly-inevitable ruin dwellers.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Actions
filiusenox: Have the Machine carve out a medium-sized room. Look and see if you have an axe.
Roboboy33: Have Aragox look in town for any shops, and see what wares they sell.
Qloos: As it is now 1AM, now is the time for covert action.  Walk into town while everyone is sleeping and walk away with a bag of potatoes and one chicken one rooster.
IronyOwl: Have digging machine dig out two small rooms, facing one another in our hall, that can easily be enlarged later. Contemplate how we usually keep ourselves fed. Contemplate how we usually get non-steam, non-orphan, non-seduced minions. We... do occasionally get those, right?

You pat Aragox on the head for a job well done. Stealth isn't your strong suit, and he needs some food to live on. It might be a good idea to know what the town has for sell, as well. To that end, you send him back into town (good thing he's a night owl thanks to the hours you usually keep, because otherwise he'd be pretty tired!). (Information: 62. Theft: 16.) While he's out, you go back to your machine and activate a few settings. It should dig out three rooms now, according to your specifications. (Medium Room: 98. Your Room: 70. Aragox's Room: 96. Mineral Chance: 1.) The machine makes about two inches of progress before it's halted.

Praise the underlords! You've struck sinimite! ...and blunted the drill! D: You're going to have to replace that now. On the other hand, if you can get a block of this metal out... (Machine now operates at 25% efficiency, but you have a (60) goodly amount of sinimite to work with. You can forge approximately one large thing such as a suit of armor or a piece of furniture out of it. 1 large thing = 2 medium things, such as a weapon/shield or a drill for your machine. 1 medium thing = 2 small things, like tools, parts, or ornamentation. First, though, you'll need a forge, hammer, and anvil. You might want to also get a forge specialist to make sure you don't waste any!)

Well, so much for further lodgings for now. Instead you use the time to think. (Sustenance: 59. Requirement: 29.) Since you're a demon, you can't process human food. What you feed off of is the emotions of mortals! And you haven't fed in few months... that's probably why you got overrun. You're going to need to feed soon or start starving. As for minions, those you've drained tend to make pretty good slaves as long as you instruct them very carefully. Otherwise there are always poor people willing to work for a bit of coin; pity you lost all of it in the escape.

While you're contemplating all of that, Aragox comes back with a chicken, a rooster, and a bag of potatoes. "Sorry, Mistress, none of the buildings have any windows so I couldn't see inside," he said, looking rather ashamed of himself in spite of his success. You give him a chance to make up for it by ordering him to retrieve an axe. (Possession: 100. Theft: 22) You don't have one, unfortunately. In fact you're not even quite sure what an axe is! Aragox is still quite happy to have a chance to redeem himself in your eyes, however, and runs off to go get one. He comes back an hour later with an axe in fairly decent condition. You think it's an axe, anyway. You can't be certain, but he's a trustworthy young lad so that's probably what it is.

Spoiler: Notes (click to show/hide)

You are Nici Fainthearted, a female demon steam mage, mechanic, and dungeon keeper. You are also a decent warrior. For the most part you appear human but you have a few demonic traits revealing your heritage: your fingers are half again as long as a normal human's with an extra joint, your green eyes have snake-like pupils, your hair naturally forms itself into spikes, and you have a devil tail that's usually hidden in your pants. You are not insane in the slightest: you have a certificate saying so.
Your minions consist of

• Aragox the eight year old boy, whose destiny you've yet to shape. - He can perform fetch tasks and has a 25% chance of success on sneaking missions.

Your assets consist of

• A digging machine with a blunt drill - This machine has a 25% chance of success when used
• Your toolbox - You don't have many tools; working on machines only has a 30% chance of success
• Your book of spells - You lost most of your grimoires in the escape; magic only has a 40% chance of success
• Your fists - You lost all of your weapons and armor in the escape; you only have a 20% chance of success in fights
• Your charisma - You ARE a demon temptress, after all, but you haven't needed to do so in a long time; you have a 50% chance of passing dialogue checks on males, but only 20% chance on females
• Sinimite vein - you have enough for 1 Large item, 2 Medium items, or 4 Small items... as soon as you have the equipment to forge it

You know these locations

• Your current lair, unnamed
• Nearby village, Axemark Crossing - A mining town/traveler stop, 75 people?
• Mountain lair is dug into, Mount Al'Kavi - no details known
• Jungles of Lon Lagoon - Location of your fifty-eighth dungeon, halfway across the world.

Miscellaneous Knowledge

• Sinimite is a black and red metal that only occurs naturally. In its native form it is easily melted, but when melted down and tempered with a bit of iron becomes one of the strongest, most durable materials to make things out of. Objects made out of it tend to be quite lustrous, but due to popular opinion most of the populace want nothing to do with it. Among Keepers and collectors, however, it is the most highly sought after material for armor, weapons, doors, walls, and decorations to give one's dungeon and appearance that particularly evil look. It is extremely heavy, so only the Keepers built like tanks tend to actually use sinimite armor and weapons.
• You are a Night Mistress, a succubus-like creature that feeds once every two or three months on a human's emotions. The human is completely drained and becomes your willing slave.

It is 3:00 AM, Winter 9th, 1302.