The Survivor Becomes a Dungeon

Trisha POV

Her limbs felt shaky and loose after facing another life-and-death situation so soon after that incident with the skeletons. Thankfully, little red seemed more than happy to show her some care and attention, sprawling out on her legs and nuzzling her stomach with comforting purrs. The red cat seemed to radiate a soothing warmth; it was a kind and gentle feeling that grounded her back in the moment. With a heavy sigh, she opened her eyes as she looked up to the shade of the tree supporting her before looking down at little red and smiling as she began gently scratching the space between his ears. "Thanks, little red… W-we should probably head back to the others; we've been out on our own for too long." She lost her smile at that thought and sighed a bit more. "Not to mention all that work I've got ahead of me."

At that, the red cub mrowled and reached up, using his soft paw pads to bat her cheek before stepping off her and curling his tail, seemingly signaling Trisha to follow him.

Trisha watched little red curiously, tilting her head before flashing a smile as she pushed up off the tree to get to her feet. "So you don't want to go back yet, eh? Sure little red, let's go where you want." She said, accepting any excuse not to head back right away.

Vitmori POV

The Sinners have taken to their training quite well; under Dread's guidance, the seven of them have found their niches within the day of their births. First of the group is Pride; of course, she was made from a human woman who seems to speak for the group readily, but the others have not found their voices for some reason. Of course, they were just born today, so I shouldn't rush them when they're not ready to speak. As it is, Pride prefers wearing as many stones as she can, just trying to keep up with their mentor Dread, mimicking heavy armor. Her preferred equipment was a one-handed warhammer and a shield.

After Pride is Greed, despite their tanned skin, they still appear ashen-skinned like all the others. He seems to be a mischievous kind of man, a human that's perhaps in his twenties. He prefers a cloak-and-dagger style of combat from what I've seen so far, moving on light feet and quick swings and jabs of the small blade while also taking practice throws with wooden daggers at an impromptu target made from a shield.

Another of my sins is Envy, a younger-looking elf man whose body came from one of the acolytes. He's slight and not particularly impressive looking, but he has strong potential for magic, as far as I can tell. He prefers using a staff, not wearing armor in particular, and has spent most of his time meditating after some light sparring. I've caught him staring at the others, watching their every movement and seemingly studying their developing techniques. I wonder if it's an exaggeration to say his eyes seem the greenest out of the others.

Next is Gluttony, a dwarven woman who seems to find her style with a pair of handaxes. She wears a moderate amount of stones for her build; she's probably trying to emulate a medium-grade of armor, not too light or heavy. Her strikes are heavy with a confident follow through, her swings aiming high as it seems she anticipates fighting opponents larger than her.

On the other end of the room is Lust, an admittedly handsome-looking green-skinned orc that has a well-maintained beard and sleek brown hair which was tied back in a ponytail. He wasn't overly built up regarding his musculature but found a good balance in using a stone greatsword with stone plates that should be weighed to medium armor. Despite not saying much, he smiled the kindest and seemed to get along with all the others.

Sitting beside Envy is Sloth; they seemed to have moved the least when considering everyone else. They're a sleepy-looking elf woman with pure black skin and silvery hair. She's admittedly plump for being on par with the other acolytes and knights, but from what I can tell, her build certainly doesn't matter when I consider that she's the first among the Sinners to develop their manahearts from simple meditation.

Finally, there's Wrath; she seems to be a kind of half-orc with gray skin and elvish features if what I'm seeing is correct. Ironically she appears to be the calmest and most collected of the group, methodically and precisely handling her weapon despite choosing to wield the biggest and heaviest weapon of the group as she swings around a great stone warhammer. As for her armor, she has opted for a light amount of stone plates for her training, preferring to move fast and strike hard at the expense of leaving herself open.

It's been a few hours since I directly oversaw their training, much to Dread's delight when he seemingly sensed me. I had been so distracted that I didn't even notice I had a guest in my core chamber.

Trisha POV

When she had decided to follow little red to slack off on her duties, she didn't expect to be climbing a mountain. However, the little red cub seemed to be just so happy to have her tagging along, so she wasn't about to turn back now. Though nearly halfway up, the steep climb suddenly turned into a more manageable array of stairs that zigzagged up the mountainside.

She passed by several neatly carved cave entrances, but little red didn't seem interested enough to stop at any of them until they approached a triangular entryway where the stairs had ended. "Soo… Little red… Where'd you take me?" She asks the cub as he trots inside. Trisha glances back down the way they came before following after him.

Before she knew it, a warm green glow had caught her attention. There, in the center of the chamber, on a pedestal that was near to her chest in height, was a glowing green gem the size of a troshk melon. "Is that Vitmori? It's… He's… Beautiful." She says under her breath while gradually approaching the core. Little red meeps at her cheerfully as he sits on the steps to the pedestal. Her hand outstretched to the core, something about the swirling glow inside just beckoning her to touch it.

Suddenly a voice emanates in her head, causing her to jolt in surprise as she pulls away. 'Well, thank you very much for that; it's not every day I get a compliment.'

Trisha can't help but take another step back, smiling sheepishly while glancing at her hand as if wondering what came over her. She then looked over to Vitmori and smiled a little more. "Y-you're welcome."

She could feel joy and kindness emanating from the core, though his voice called from within her again. 'Now then, what brings you here? Do you have something to ask of me?'

Trisha couldn't help but glance at little red, who was happily cleaning one of his paws. She then looked to Vitmori and cleared her throat. "Actually, I do. You see, I'm a Blacksmith, and the group has tasked me with making the tools required to build up our community. However, with the lack of a forge or even a furnace, I can't exactly make much of anything beyond stone tools. Even then, I have next to no experience making stuff with stone." She explained, seeming more bashful with each passing moment as she rubbed the back of her neck.

However, the core just oozed with excitement as it echoed in her head. 'A Blacksmith, you say? Excellent! You're just what I was hoping for. Do you need tools, a forge, and a kiln? I'll make sure you have everything; I just need your help with my projects in return. Are you up for it?'

Trisha seemed to look stupefied by his response, glancing over at little red, who just chuffed cheerfully before licking his paw and rubbing at an ear. With a hard swallow, she looked back to Vitmori and nodded confidently. "Yes, anything to feel the heat of the forge! I'm happy to accept any commission you put before me." She gushed with a grin.