Chapter 14: CH14 Doll Game part 3

The trio had a meal of fish and berries prepared by Alex as usual.  Merumeru had made some nicer ceramic plates so the food was served on those instead of the flat rocks they had been using before.  After all, a properly plated meal was nicer to look at. It was an important part of the dining experience. Fufi sat beside Merumeru with her wings spread behind her and ate her own portion off of one plate with her beak. Lily was with Merumeru who the slime girl pretended to feed.  Being a slime girl, she could just make the food vanish into her hand to make it look like the clockwork doll was eating.  Alex thought it was kinda cute.

"So what are everyone's plan for tomorrow?" Alex asked.

"Meru meru meru.  Ru meme ru ru," Meruemeru explained her plans to everyone at the table.

"That is nice dear." Fufi said while looking at the excitable slime girl.

"I plan to go back into the rift dungeon and see if I can complete the second wave.  I'll need to create a second clockwork doll to defend the prince from the siren invaders." Alex's voice faltered a bit on the word siren.  He wasn't looking forward to continuing to face the dungeon but he wasn't going to give up so easily.  Fufi's story about the hero strengthened his resolve.

Lily nodded in agreement as she nibbled on some berries from the plate she held in front of her, "That is the spirit Alex. You can defend the prince from the invaders!" She spoke with the same cheerful demeanor as usual.

"Well, let me know when you are ready to head out again," Fufi finished and took another sip of water.

"It is getting late so how about tomorrow morning?  Will you and Merumeru be okay spending most of the day without me?" Alex asked.

"We will be fine dear. Merumeru doesn't sleep or eat so she won't need any food." Fufi explained.

Merumeru looked back and forth between Alex and Fufi. The slime girl seemed happy enough but was a little confused by the idea of being left alone. Fufi explained it further to her, "It will be like today. Alex and Lily have to clear the dungeon so they need to face that trial alone.  But we can stay here and play adventurer or something new.  Won't that be fun?" Fufi said while trying to encourage the lonely-hearted slime girl.

Alex turned towards Merumeru who still had questions written on her tiny face. He gave her an encouraging smile and replied, "That's right Merumeru, I'm sure you'll find plenty to do around here besides waiting for us in the rift dungeon.  Thank you for making the counter upstairs and the board to post quests on.  It is very nice." Alex complimented the slime girl for helping in the guild. Merumeru smiled brightly at his words of praise.

"She likes hearing people say nice things about her work," Fufi commented.

Alex stood up and stretched his arms over his head and yawned, "Okay everyone, time to hit the sack."

"Goodnight Alex," Fufi added as she also got out of her seat and headed toward a good spot to roost for the night.

Alex covered himself in his cloak and slept on the uncomfortable rug placed on top of the stone table again.  He made a mental note to see if there was something that could work as a blanket or bedding in the dungeon tomorrow.  His sleeping arrangements for the past week had been really rough.  Merumeru placed the clockwork doll with the plushies on the shelf and hopped up next to Alex on the bed.  She snuggled up to him under the cloak and fell asleep quickly. Alex thought having Merumeru around must be what it is like to have a daughter.  He never had kids before so he wondered where that thought came from.

Merumeru kept sleep-talking softly in her slime girl language. The sound of her voice lulled him into slumber after several minutes passed.

When Alex woke, Merumeru was curled up beside him in her usual position. She looked more peaceful than normal since her body wasn't moving.

Alex rolled onto his side and saw Fufi standing on one leg next to the bed.  He said, "Morning, sleepyhead." Fufi opened one eye and stared at Alex while mumbling something unintelligible. He sat upright and took care not to wake Merumeru.  He left her wrapped in the cloak.  Quietly, he prepared breakfast for everyone.  He took his and went into the rift to get to work on the next clockwork doll in the workshop.

The workshop was the same as he had left it.  While he ate breakfast, Alex looked through some of the text books for schematics of possible parts that he could use to peice together the next doll.  There were all kinds of types that he could use: knight dolls, bolo slinging dolls, sling firing dolls. Each kind of doll had its own advantages and disadvantages.

"The important thing here I think is to counter the siren." Alex said while glancing at the game table. "How would the singing best be stopped?" There were so many different possibilities but nothing he could actually build with the things at hand.  If this was a role playing game he would want a sorceress doll that could cast a silence spell.  However, he didn't know the first thing about magic, much less how to create a sorceress doll.  There had to be a simpler solution. He just needed to look harder and try new combinations until something worked out.

Alex stood up from his chair and paced around the workstations when his eyes fell on an object on top of the desk in front of him. It was just a squirt bottle but it gave him an idea.

He grabbed the bottle and started pulling it apart to see how things were ordered on the inside.  On a piece of paper he drew up a simple schematic that might just work to silence the siren's song.  The new doll could use a liquid canister with a rubber hose that went and sprayed water out of it.  The weapon wouldn't have as long of range as the archer doll but it should be a hard counter of getting water in the mouth of the singer, ruining the song.  The concept drawing looked like a doll wielding a flame thrower.  Though it just squirted water in his mind this new doll was a total badass. Alex had only created one other clockwork doll before so he didn't want to make the second one too different and set himself up for failure. He took the design back to another desk to sketch some ideas for clothing and makeup.  He decided to go with a bit of a punk-rocker look.  His drawing was not great but it was just to get the idea out of his head.  This new doll would sport a blue mohawk, wear a cotton tank top and wear baggy camo pants.  Of course she'd wear a leather belt with pyramid spikes on it and have several buttons of oversized stars. She'd have big black army boots. At least that was his idea to give this new doll a badass-don't-mess-with-me look.

Alex worked until midday making progress on his plans for the next clockwork doll. Alex decided he'd grab some things and head back to show his drawings to his friends.  He also decided to grab the mannequin in the hallway and bring it back as well.  He'd walked by the creepy faceless figure in Victorian clothing enough times to invite it home.  Hopefully it wouldn't creep anyone else out as much as it did him. The figure stood in the same pose as always as Alex approached.

"Hello Ma'am," Alex said with a while still keeping his distance from the thing. "Let's go back and get some food.  I'll introduce you to my friends." With the mannequin in one arm and his sketches in the other, Alex went back through the portal and came out in the basement. Fufi came down the stairs and greeted him at once, "Good afternoon, I see you brought a new friend!"

Alex set down the mannequin against a wall and greeted Fufi, "I found this thing not really sure what to do with it but after crossing paths in a hallway dozens of times I figured I'd take it back and see if we could find a use for it.  How are things going?  What is Merumeru up to?" He asked as he looked around.

"Everything has been fine! I've been having fun playing with Merumeru." Fufi replied enthusiastically.

"Oh, what game are you playing?" asked Alex.

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"We've been playing house." Fufi said matter-of-factly.

"How is that going?" Alex was a little worried about what trouble the little slime girl was up to.

Fufi walked back up the stairs and said, "Take a look for yourself.  She's been doing remodeling all morning."

Merumeru was busy on top of one of the walls depositing her own brand of slime-made cement.  He noticed the stairs going up to the second floor were repaired.  They looked like actual stone stairs now instead of half-debris like they were before.  Alex was impressed but a little jealous.  When he first arrived in this world it was all he could do to throw together a simple shack.  Getting outdone by a toddler sized slime really hurt his pride as a man. He thought it was somewhat ironic that Merumeru was working construction while Alex was playing with dolls.

"So these are the sketches for the next doll.  What does everyone think?" Alex said as he set the papers on the counter of the adventurer's guild.

"What kind of clothes is it wearing?" Fufi asked curiously, "Is she dressed for combat?"

"No," answered Alex, "It's a punk rocker sorta thing. I figured if I made something badass enough I wouldn't need anything fancy and just go full power."  Merumeru hopped down from the wall and stood over the sketches eyeing them carefully.

"Meru?" She asked while pointing at the strange weapon. Her little arms stretched out as far as they could to point at the sketch.

Alex leaned in close to see what Merumeru was looking at then realized what was confusing her. "Oh," he stated, "That is a squirt gun.  When the two parts are pulled together it squirts water out of the tip." He went through an example of how he'd like it to work before continuing, "If you squeeze both pieces of together it will pump a spray of liquid."

Merumeru tilted her head slightly trying to comprehend this concept but eventually gave up on making sense of things. It looked like she had no intention of learning any more than necessary. Alex wished he would have brought a squirt bottle back to show her and example.

Fufi saw Merumeru wasn't interested so turned back to the drawings again and said, "I think your outfit design is good.  that outfit is cute in its own way."

"Thanks," replied Alex. "I'll get started after lunch.  Is anyone hungry?" Merumeru and Fufi both nodded in unison.

Alex made everyone a plate while Merumeru grabbed some water from a barrel. The trio ate their meal at a stone booth set against one of the walls that the slime girl had recently created.  The second floor was mostly gone and the building lacked a roof so they were more or less still eating outside. A warm wind blew over them as they enjoyed the sun on their backs. "With a sink and stove this place could have a proper kitchen. Though without a backhoe it would be super hard to dig up the street and place a pipe from the line feeding the fountain.  I bet the sewer is collapsed too.  I didn't see any passage heading this way when we were investigating a couple days ago.  Oh well, I miss my old cabin." Alex sighed and munched on some berries.

"It's not such a bad thing." Fufi pointed out. "We're all doing something useful here and having a good time."

"I suppose so.  Like Luna said, coming here is like camping.  Well, I better get back to work.  I need to start on the new doll.  Though I haven't thought of a name for her.  Do you two have any ideas?" asked Alex.

Merumeru opened her mouth to say something but before she got anything out Fufi spoke up, "Why don't you call her Rose? Her sister is Lily so they can be the two flowers."

Alex was surprised at how quickly Fufi came up with an idea but liked it nonetheless. "Rose it is!" He called over his shoulder as he headed into the basement. Merumeru was already following him but he stopped her when he got to the portal, "Stay here with Fufi and don't cause any trouble. I'll be back for dinner."

Alex went through to find things exactly as he left them.  There were a couple of doors that he hadn't opened in the workshop so he went to go check them out.  He found a closet filled with bedding and cleaning supplies.  He emptied those out and placed them through the portal in a couple of quick trips.  Another door led to a water closet.  It even had a working sink, mirror and a toilet.  Alex was kicking himself for not finding this earlier.  He made a mental note to disconnect everything and take it back with him before he finished the dungeon. The toilet was a 19th century style.  The tank was high up and it had a pull chain that one had to grab above their head to get it to flush.  It was more difficult than the ones we have today.

Alex headed back to the workshop and pulled out some of the books that had the examples he needed.  He guessed he needed two days to get the next doll assembled and clothed. The rest of first day Alex spent mostly putting all the pieces together. The second day he got busy adding all the decorations like clothes,  jewelry, and makeup.  The squirt gun was a lot easier than the weapon system for the archer configuration. It took about half an hour before he got it worked out. He put the extra parts away after finishing up. Of course he didn't spend every waking minute working.  Meals were still shared in the ground floor of the adventurer's guild.  By the second day Fufi and Merumeru got the walls repaired and the ground floor to look like a proper adventurer's guild with lots of tables.  It just sadly lacked adventurers.  Some tweaks were needed on Rose when Alex got her completed enough to put on the test tower.  Alex finished after several small tweaks then his phone rang out from where it was charging on the game table.

[New class skill acquired: Toymaking Level 1]

"Of course making dolls would be a class skill for magical girl," Alex complained, though it was only half-heartedly. He really did want the new skills to help him with crafting. He thought he'd get a skill called 'doll making'. Toy making seemed less feminine. Rose was beautiful and badass at the same time. He was looking forward to seeing streams of water pour down the sirens' mouths when they tried to sing that enchanting song again. Placing both of the clockwork dolls in their towers, Alex's finger hovered over the 'start next wave' button on his phone. After hesitating for what felt like forever, he pressed it. The sound of gears whirring filled the room as the game table activated. As expected a line of clockwork siren appeared from the chute, this time there were five of them. "Alright, let me see how these guys fare." He muttered while putting his fingers into his ears hoping to drown out the singing that was sure to start any moment. A few seconds later came the familiar high pitched voice. "Ohhhhhh... miiiiiiine..." Alex gritted his teeth trying to resist the charm.  A second later the song turned into more of a 'glug glug' noise. Rose was keeping a stream of water focused on the enemy's face. The sound now resembled someone gargling with mouthwash. Lily fired some of her toothpick sized arrows and felled the first siren. It wasn't perfect though.  Lily's torso could only rotate left and right. So when the siren got too close to the tower she wasn't able to aim down.  Also, Rose had much less range than Lily so she couldn't stop the singing of the last one.  It got past the two towers and was headed towards the prince's castle and singing. Alex felt it taking control of him but fought it with all of his will.  Just as he felt himself falling into the spell again Lily finally got an angle on the enemy and shot two of her arrows into the back of the siren.  

His phone rang out: [New trait acquired: Mental Resistance lvl 1]

A fanfare played across the screen proclaiming 'Wave 2 complete, reward issues.'

"Good job girls, that last one almost got through but you pulled it off." Alex praised his two dolls.

The dumbwaiter came out from the floor and delivered a simple game-sized card to him before going back down.  The card had a picture of what looked like a gaudy palanquin but with two wheels and all sorts of mechanical parts. The whole thing was wrapped in gold fabric with fancy trimming. It looked like something that belonged in a bridal procession at some royal wedding or on top of a parade float. However it was just a card.  Maybe one of the girls would like it.  Alex gathered up Lily and Rose and headed back to the adventurer's guild.