Deliberation about who would be obliged to begin work on the grueling task of dungeon excavation came to an end when Zogi inexplicably reappeared, then volunteered to get busy. Schnupfen was happy to see one of his colleagues take initiative, mostly because it meant he couldn't be press-gangeded into physical labor himself, but truth be told, the sight of Zogi headed off to work filled the shadow with much less confidence than the goblin carried himself with. Even if he could somehow revive himself and therefore theoretically be worked to death ad nauseam, Zogi was not what Schnupfen would call a physically impressive specimen. It would take a very long time for him to perform the necessary renovations to get a workable dungeon layout going, and with the serious lack of muscle among the staff here, progress wouldn't be much faster even if everyone chipped in.

Of course, hard work wasn't Schnupfen's strong suit anyway; he was more of an ideas geist. At least he and the other intellectuals would have plenty of time to put together a plan. It sounded like Muste knew what he was talking about, but before he could put his plans to paper it seemed like he'd need to acquire some paper first. He marched off to check the great outdoors and see what resources the dungeon's surroundings had to offer. Schnupfen considered following him, since he was also curious where he'd been brought into being, but he held back. On one hand, it seemed very likely that it would be daytime outside, which he could not abide. On the other, the Oracle's summoning ritual promised to be much more interesting. It was no overstatement to say that the dungeon's future depended on the whimsy of fate and whatever it decided to materialize from the ether. Schnupfen gave the siphonophore a wide berth, sniffling, as it whipped up a quick boon for Zogi and his kobold compatriot. Just the sight of all those ethereal pickaxes made the shadow's eyes water. "Eugh, those conjurations are making my allergies act up," he complained as he dried his eyes with his rags. "I'll just leave you two to it." He said it as if he hadn't been about to do that already.

After that, Schnupfen turned his full attention to the lightshow and ensuing results of the Oracle's rolls, ignoring Zoppy and Salbjörg. Three freshly-made psychedelic eyes went wide as the sheer quantity and quality of everything that materialized, including items, underlings, and even ready-made dungeon features. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure (manifesting a third arm in order to make sure all three eyes were sufficiently rubbed) before clapping two of his hands together. "Mother Void has graciously withheld her nothingness, for this is certainly something!" Without any further acknowledgement of the Oracle's efforts, he darted over to the pile of goodies for an up-close-and-personal examination. He sniffed monsters and materials alike, like an excitable puppy dog meeting strangers for the first time. Though the naga instinctively shied away from him, which elicited a disappointed [i]tsk[/i], the treant stolidly withstood the nosy ghost's probing. "Hmm..." Schnupfen scratched his nose. "Subtle aromatic terpenes. Floral, herbal notes. A rich, earthy undertone. The musk of turpentine, the resin of autumn pines...a bouquet of inner strength and vitality." He gave an approving nod. The digging crew was now twice as big, and over twice as strong. "You'll do nicely."

He let that hang in the air while he continued to examine. While the amulet and warp bell made him gag, the different traps pleased the Schnupfen greatly. "A pitfall!" he crowed, pinching the pitch-black crystal between two claws for a closer look. "Humble in its simplicity. Undeniable in its lethality. With this, a little push can do what a hundred soldiers cannot." Schnupfen sprouted two more arms to rub his hands together as he licked his fleshless lips in anticipation. "I can hear the echoed screams fading into silence already...all that remains is to find the perfect place to put it."

At that point he noticed the rat stack, currently doing their darnedest to get the Oracle's attention. Though not the disembodied entity the risible rodents wanted, Schnupfen floated over to carefully stroke the topmost rat with an index finger, then help stabilize the rats' formation before they toppled over. "United at last, are we? Though you yet number few, your host holds great promise. I eagerly await the advent of your multitudes, a ravenous tide of fang and fur under which our foes may be crushed." While Schnupfen viewed the rats more as assets than colleagues, he seemed to appreciate them for what they were and what they could be relied on to do. 

Of course, he had other matters to attend to aside from rat supervision. Despite not having eyes at the moment, Schnupfen turned to look at Muste when the illithid returned. He asked for the bed, which the shadow consented to with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Take it. The darkness is my mattress, and the cobwebs my sheets." He then watched, his expression dubious, as Muste sketched up a proposed dungeon layout and then levitated it in the air. If Schnupfen hadn't been pitch black, he might have blanched at the lingering enchantment that irritated his nostrils the moment he tried to inspect the scroll. "Bleck...I can't read that." He thought that Muste would use it to give orders to the digging crew, but instead he went over to Salbjörg. "Hm." Since those two were busy playing around with bones, it fell to him to direct the digging crew, didn't it? "Well, someone's got to do it," he decided with a shrug. 

He floated over to Zogi and his three pickaxe-touting comrades. For the sake of inspiring the others, he grabbed a pickaxe of his own, which he waved around like a flag using the combined strength of four hands. "Gentlemen, our labyrinth is in there. We need only chisel it free from its stone bindings. Let us begin!" He swung at the nearest wall. The pick bounced off, flew out of his hands, and clattered on the floor noisily. Schnupfen wiped his brow with the back of his hand, then put his hands on his nonexistent hips as he watched the others get to work.