The Crafter's Defense: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 2)

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The Crafter's Defense: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 2) Page 19

by Jonathan Brooks


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  Emmalyra Arlen

  Elf

  Holy, Air

  And there she was, right at the bottom of the list; however, instead of it saying Echo, it said Emmalyra. Sandra figured that Echo was actually a nickname the Elf had earned based on her special invisibility that left echoes of her form if she moved quickly enough. She was glad that she had guessed her elements correctly and that there were only two; thank the Creator that there weren’t three or more – Echo probably wouldn’t have survived long enough to bond and be healed.

  Now that Echo was as healed as she could get her, Sandra had the Ironclad Ape pick up the unconscious Elf’s body and used the VATS to bring her down to the kitchen. While she had been working to save her life, the Gnomes had chosen to finally get up and explore a little; they were currently looking at her oven/stove she had made, as well as her faucet.

  “…don’t even see any enchantment runes anywhere—what is an Elf doing here?” Violet looked up in surprise as Sandra’s Ape walked through with the limp form of Echo in its arms.

  * She was bitten by a venomous snake and I had to bring her inside to heal her – I’ll explain everything in a few minutes. The threat from the other Dungeon Core has passed for the moment and the reptilian force has been completely destroyed. *

  “Dungeon Core? What is that? And you said the entire force was destroyed? Even those giant lizards?” Violet asked in surprise as Sandra’s Ape placed Echo’s body next to Felbar. The two healthy-but-unconscious people looked peaceful lying there together, though Sandra knew as soon as they woke up they would be anything but peaceful. From what she saw of him back in the village, Felbar didn’t seem like one to take the bonding against his will very well and Echo was already suspicious of her dungeon in the first place.

  When that was done, the Gnomes crowded around her Ape as they looked for answers, despite that not actually being her; she supposed it was easier to talk to something physical rather than talking to a voice in their heads. So, now that she had the opportunity, Sandra began to explain everything to them – or at least everything she thought it was safe for them to know.

  * * *

  Violet’s head was reeling as she listened to the dungeon – who she now understood was something called a Dungeon Core – explain her existence there in the wastelands. Sandra – an interesting name for the intelligence behind the dungeon – was apparently Human at one point, and she also indicated that all of the other “Cores” were once a sentient race at one point in the past, but that they had gone a bit insane (hence their homicidal tendencies). Contracts and whatnot were also spoken of, but that didn’t really interest her.

  The fact that the mere presence of Sandra’s dungeon being there was the cause of the attack on her village, however, did.

  * …entirely unintentional, and I had no idea they would attack your village. As soon as I learned of them there, I sent my constructs to help defend you – and you know the rest of what happened from there. The smaller reptilian army that was following us here entered my dungeon and was annihilated fairly quickly from my defending constructs and traps, but the two massive Ancient Saurians turned back soon after that happened. They’re not quite back to their old territory yet, but they’ll be there soon. *

  Violet didn’t know how to respond. She was just slightly relieved to learn the reason they were attacked in the first place when it should’ve been impossible; knowing that every dungeon around her homeland wouldn’t be doing the same and attacking everyone at once took a little weight off her shoulders. That didn’t excuse what had happened, though, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

  If the dungeon intelligence could be believed – she was still accepting the fact that it was intelligent and could communicate with them – then what had happened was unintentional, and that Sandra had done what she could to rectify the situation. That in no way excused the deaths of 71 of her fellow villagers.

  * I understand completely after learning about all of this if you wish to leave and I will in no way stop you. In fact, if you do want to leave, I’ll even send you back out with transportation from my Mechanical Wolves again, as well as some supplies. *

  That was also a relief to know that they weren’t prisoners in the dungeon; despite the assurances when she had first communicated with Sandra, Violet wasn’t wholly convinced that this all wasn’t some sort of ploy meant to lull them into compliance. Compliance into what, she didn’t know, but her knowledge and experience regarding dungeons in general was quite limited.

  “Where would we go? Glimmerton is destroyed and there are only a few of us left. If this dungeon is to be believed, then those lizards could be back to attack at any time and we don’t have any more War Machines left that are operational. I’m sure we could repair the basic shell of one of them, but without a Master Enchanter—” Kasdon looked apologetically at Violet— “we can’t completely repair the runes to get it to work.”

  That was a sore spot for her; Violet had been one of the “lucky” ones that had been away from the ELA when it was overrun by the nearby dungeon. She had just started her training in the art of War Machine rune-making, but the Academy had been destroyed before she could learn more than the most basic enchantments. When many of the Apprentices, Adepts, and Master Enchanters were killed, much of the knowledge was lost with them. That wasn’t the only thing that was lost; her parents – Master Enchanters themselves and essentially all of the family she had left – had also fallen as part of the attack.

  There were still a few retired Master Enchanters living elsewhere that were attempting to pass on their knowledge, but everyone was worried that they would die of old age before they could teach everything they knew. It took nearly a decade of study and constant practice before one could become a Master Enchanter, and there were very few Gnomes left anywhere that had the necessary elemental affinities to learn how to maintain, repair, and craft new War Machines – their ultimate defense against the dungeon monsters encroaching on their lands. The loss of three Machines was a significant tragedy; production had essentially stopped after the ELA fell, so what they had now was – potentially – all they had for the future.

  Since Violet herself could maintain them and repair the most common rune problems on the War Machines, she had been sent to Glimmerton to ensure they were in top working order. The supply of steel and other metals – which were dropped by the lizards, crocodiles, and turtles when they were culled – was important to maintain those same War Machines, as well as providing material to craft other weapons like the defensive crossbows they had used to defend the village. With new War Machine production stalled, other weapons – using those same materials – were being designed and created to help them against the monsters getting closer to their settlements every day. Of course, they weren’t nearly as effective as the powerful Machines, but they were doing what they could.

  “Even if we were to repair one of them, if those massive lizards are still there, it would just be smashed apart again. With the threat of them there in the forest, there’s no chance of culling the monsters for loot anymore; which in turn means that the entire point of the village being there is lost,” Jortor contributed, gloominess in his voice as he commented. “I suppose we could go back to the capital, but then what? We were supposed to be in Glimmerton for years, supplying much-needed material, and I don’t know of any other dungeons nearby that would be able to provide what we’ve just lost.” He looked extremely downcast, and Violet couldn’t blame him – she felt the same way.

  There didn’t sound like there was a good solution anywhere; even ignoring the fault of Sandra in the role she played in killing so many of her friends and the destruction of the village, that didn’t change the fact that it happened. They couldn’t change the past and she needed to look towards the future; not only their future – herself and the others with her in the dungeon – but the future of the entire Gnome race. The loss of
Glimmerton and the materials it gathered and supplied was significant and would put a major dent in their weapon production; she couldn’t see any way to recover from that without years of work and establishing another outpost elsewhere – if a suitable dungeon supplying what they needed could even be found.

  * If you do decide to stay, at least for a while, I can help you. *

  Help? What could a dungeon do to help? And why would we want help from someone who has done so much harm to us already? Angry and sorrowful thoughts flowed through her head as she remembered dozens of her friends being cut down outside of Glimmerton’s walls earlier that day in the fields, after being overrun by the surprise attack by the dungeon’s monsters. However, reason and curiosity cut through those thoughts as she thought about what Sandra had said. “Help how? Keep in mind that I don’t entirely trust you, or forgive you for what you did, and this better not be some sort of trick.”

  * It’s perfectly understandable for you to feel that way, and I assure you that this is no trick. I’m not like all of the other dungeons in the world; I already told you that I’m not looking to attack or harm anyone. Honestly, I just wanted to be left alone.

  * You see, crafting is my passion and is really all I wanted to do. Of course, that was before I learned about the nearby races here: Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and then you Gnomes. All of you are facing a crisis, even if you can only see a glimmer of it right now. Eventually, given enough time, the dungeons around your lands will become too powerful for you to fight back against and you’ll be wiped off the face of the world. If you don’t believe me, just look at what happened to your Enchanter’s Academy or even your village once a dungeon started killing innocent people.

  * If that scares you, it should. You need to fight back now before it’s too late, and I think I was brought here to help you do that. *

  How does she know about the ELA? Did she have something to do with that, too? She desperately hoped not, because then that meant that the dungeon was even more powerful than she previously thought. After a moment’s reflection, though, she realized that it was highly unlikely that Sandra had anything to do with that attack given that it was almost a month’s travel away from her dungeon.

  And, as much as she wanted to deny it, what the dungeon had said about their eventual fate might be true. Recovering from the destruction of the ELA was nearly impossible, and try as they might, Violet didn’t think that they’d ever be at the same point they were just a few years ago. From the information she had been able to gather, the expansion of the dungeons had been held in check for centuries through the use of their Master Enchanters and Warmasters, but given the recent reduction in culling, it wasn’t likely they’d be able to keep that same equilibrium they had enjoyed before.

  “Okay…say I believe you. What can you do to help?” Violet finally asked as the others all seemed lost in their own depressed thoughts while thinking about their homes and families.

  * Well, for starters, I can supply as much—where did that come from? *

  Violet looked around to see what had made the dungeon pause in its explanation. The only thing she saw was Jortor eating an orange; the others also looked at him in confusion and not a little bit of consternation. When they were all eating meat earlier – which wasn’t her favorite, but she could eat it – none of the other Gnomes had spoken up about having any other food on them.

  “What? Why are you all looking at me like that? You know that I always eat when I’m depressed…or nervous…or happy. So, I like to eat – is that a problem?” Jortor answered defensively, attempting to hide the orange in his hands.

  * That’s not a problem, but if you don’t mind, can you drop one of the orange seeds on the floor?”

  Without responding except with a shrug, Jortor plucked out a seed from his orange and dropped it on the stone floor. It disappeared so fast it barely had a chance to bounce.

  * This should work for a demonstration, actually. If you would follow my construct here, I’ll show you what I can do to help. *

  The large metal monkey moved off towards a tunnel leading slightly downwards and Violet and the others hesitated. She looked over to Felbar in worry, as she didn’t want to leave him there alone.

  * Don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine. My Repair Drone is right there in case he needs any healing. *

  With an expression that mirrored Jortor’s from earlier, she shrugged and followed the dungeon’s “construct” through the tunnel, leading to some unknown destination.

  Chapter 24

  Sandra watched the faces of the Gnomes as they followed her Ape through various workshops in between the kitchen and her growing room. They passed her Gem-cutting station in one room, her Gold/Silversmithing/Jewelry worktable in another, her Leatherworking Workshop next, and then at her room with the boiling vats before they arrived at the Textile shop, which was where her growing room was located, just off of it. It took longer than she was expecting for them to arrive, mainly because the Gnomes couldn’t help but ask questions about everything they saw. She answered them as well as she could while trying to usher them through, until finally they arrived where she was planning on showing them something interesting.

  There was a lot inside her dungeon that she could show them about her crafting initially – which, if they agreed to stay for a little bit, she was still planning on showing them – but she wanted to show them that she wasn’t all about war and fighting. Kelerim had been suitably impressed by the weapons and armor she could craft using her forge because he came from a society that prized warriors and fighting prowess – or at least half of him did. The Gnomes, on the other hand, knew how to create great and interesting machines through the use of their Enchanting; they would be less impressed by a longsword she could masterfully craft in her forge. Even the Steel knives at their sides were actually quite well made – not mastercraft quality, certainly, but they were worlds better than anything she had seen come from the Orcs.

  Nor could she craft something as impressive as their War Machines, though she had thoughts about how to do that; she would be missing the enchantment runes, of course, but if she had some sort of schematic she thought she could build one if she had enough time and a brand-new room entirely just for that…

  Anyway, since neither of those would impress upon them her willingness to help, Sandra knew she had to do something else. When she had seen the orange, another idea had popped into her mind. While she didn’t think it was as impressive as, say, forging weapons or building War Machines, she thought its impact would better convey the message she was trying to get across.

  As soon as they were assembled in the room and lined up along one walkway, she used her Mana to produce a large pile of Orange Tree Seeds like the one she had absorbed in the Kitchen area.

  New Origination Material found!

  Orange Tree Seed

  While the Orange Tree Seed cannot be used directly as a Monster Seed, it can be used in specific applications to create a whole new Monster Seed.

  If the sudden appearance of the pile of Orange Tree Seeds startled them, then the sudden movement of dozens of Articulated Clockwork Golems all around them freaked them out. They all pulled their knives out and held them in front of themselves defensively, but none of the Golems even came close to them. Instead, they picked up seeds and started to dig and plant them in one of the dirt plots, seeding one entire 100-foot plot. As soon as they were done they stepped away from the plot and her Singing Blademasters went to work; she had enough inside the room to completely cover an entire plot with water as soon as it started to pour down.

  She had the Rolling Force above start the water trap and water started to pour down on her spinning constructs, and soon enough the sprouts from the Orange Trees were popping out of the dirt, reaching up to the bright light that was also emerging from the ceiling. Fruit-producing trees apparently took much less time to grow, because within minutes they were already two feet high and growing at a rapid pace from there.

  The G
nomes all looked shocked at what they were seeing and were completely silent as they watched the trees grow; Sandra had seen the Elves using their elemental energy to increase the speed at which plants grew, but the Gnomes didn’t really utilize their energy in the same way. She could also say without any type of false modesty, that her plants and trees grew much, much faster than anything she’d seen the Elves accomplish.

  Within a half hour, the Orange Trees were already tall and mature enough to start bearing fruit. Large, juicy oranges were already hanging low on the branches nearest the Gnomes, and it wasn’t too much hardship for them to reach up and pluck one off for themselves. After peeling the skin back, they tasted them and exclaimed in surprise.

  “These are so much more delicious than anything we get from the capital! I guess that having it fresh instead of shipped out to us on the border makes all the difference,” Jortor added after he had eaten the entire orange and was licking his fingers.

  “Okay…so you can feed us. I’m actually very impressed – I’ve never seen anything like that before, and it amazes me how you can grow anything down here, let alone fruit trees. However, we’re not exactly starving for food right now, but it’s nice to know that you can help provide some if we need it. What I’m more fascinated by, though, is how you made those seeds appear out of nowhere.”

  * That was actually what I was trying to demonstrate to you. I can reproduce almost any material that I have initially absorbed, but it needs to be crafted or grown as you’ve seen here. So, while I can supply you with all the Steel you might need— *

 

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