Dungeon Born

by Dakota Krout

  “If anything were to happen to the tree, I am sure the Elven-kind would destroy everything nearby in an attempt to find what had happened.”

  Shuddering, I watched as they cast magic and left a few offerings. One of them even fed me a symbol with celestial Essence infused in it! I filed the enchantment on it away for future reference. As they left, Dani spoke up.

  “I cannot believe that just happened. All of that to give you tribute?” She started laughing, the previous feeling of impending death moving away.

  I shushed her, my concentration too honed to be polite.

  Obviously affronted at my lack of happiness, she demanded, “What are you doing? Celebrate with me!”

  I mumbled. I felt really weak right now. Their auras had made it difficult for me to put the mushroom back in the room, especially when they were getting so close to it.

  “... You never cease to amaze me, Cal.” Dani declared. “For a dungeon, you are surprisingly giving. That Elf was right; you are a really fast learner. Also, for being a low level, you are really adept at making monsters perform better than their rank should allow. Concepts come easy, and you are able to absorb every type of Essence...” She started mumbling too quietly for me to hear.

  She had told me that the church was powerful after all. Did she mean a different church?

  “Politics too now. Cal… Do you have any memories that are…? Before you became a dungeon?” She prodded, looking hopeful yet still worried.

  A flash of a knife, pain, filthy Necromancers…

  I admitted.

  “There is no way.” She muttered, “Cal, were you a… human?”

  I considered. The Elf had seemed too foreign so...

  “Oh wow. Oh boy, oh boy.” Swooping around the room, Dani was trying to process this new development. “Cal, how did this never come up? This explains so much.”

  I voiced weakly, knowing this answer wouldn’t work for her.

  Dani stopped flying, and looked right at me. “This is very, very important. Let me explain, unlike beasts, animals, and plants, humans and other close relations like Elves or Dwarves have the ability to use all kinds of Essence. While they may have a greater affinity for one or the other, they are made of all of them, so can use them all to some extent if they have the training.”

  Well that cleared up a few things.

  She bobbed vigorously, “Yes, and it also explains why you can absorb all of them without ill effects! I still don’t know how you can get rid of the corruption, but we will... figure it out.” Enlightenment touched her, “Cal! That is why it is so easy for you to learn some things! Words and concepts especially! It is because you are re-learning them!”

  I was watching her insane flying and weaving with a bit of concern for her mental well-being.

  “You are unique! That’s why! Remember how I told you dungeon Cores were usually naturally occurring? The gem always forms first, and usually a Beast who dies nearby, or maybe a strong animal, gets pulled in entirely by accident.”

  He had certainly sounded human, or at least more intelligent than a simple animal.

  She moved around in a pattern I had associated with a negative. “Nope, he was actually an Alpha Dire Wolf when he died. It took him something like fifty years to learn how to ‘talk’ in a way that humans and other sentients could understand.”

  I wanted to know more about Kantor, but I needed to know about myself. My single process mind finally broke through her babbling.

  She was almost too riled up to answer me directly, “Humans never get pulled into Beast Cores! It doesn’t happen! It never has, Cal!”

 

  She squealed a bit, “That makes perfect sense! Oh. My. Gosh, Cal! We have so much to learn! Imagine, ME being the first wisp to be bonded with a cunning, human-soul dungeon! We are going to get SO famous.”

  Well, when she puts it like that… I ‘grinned’.

  ~Nine~

  We decided we probably had some time before people delved into my depths again. I was particularly nervous that another group would come in soon, due to every living thing in my dungeon except me, Dani, and the Silverwood tree being dead and reduced to ash when the jerks, I mean- the scouting group, had come through. It was not too hard to make new Mobs and plants, but each one took some energy to produce. Without a source of ready Essence to replenish me, I had to go really slowly.

  I definitely did not whine.

  Dani had heard this, or a variant thereof, rather frequently in recent times. “You are just grumpy because you are hungry. Why don’t you eat some granite? Mm-mm, tasty earth Essence!”

  I huffed.

  “We used to call it ‘hangry’. It means angry because of hunger. How is the first room going?” She tried to divert my attention to happy thoughts.

  It didn’t work.

  She rolled in the air, her equivalent of an eye roll, “Definitely not grumpy. I’m surprised all of your grumbling didn’t start another earthquake.”

  Not dignifying her comment with a response, I focused all my waning power on increasing the number of Mobs in the first room. I had made ‘biting’ shroomish more populous, remembering how people were just walking through without having to fight at all, and included a few of the ranged Bane types where the biters were especially thick. I felt good about the strength contained in the first room, but thus far had been unable to even grow moss in the remaining rooms.

  I did not grump at her.

  “Fair enough. I could use a break from Mr. Grumpy-face.” She zipped away, her retreating form shouting, “Take a nap!”

  I rumbled after her. She was way too far away to hear me but I swear I heard her chuckle. Brat. I switched to absorbing energy from the rocks and metals in my influence, but I swear I was getting less than I had ever before. Keeping my Chi spiral going was starting to get easier, but still took a bit more concentration than I liked. Pulling hard on the energy sources, I was able to regain a trifling amount of Essence. I was sitting far below what I felt comfortable with, but this process simply took a lot of time. Twilight was falling outside when Dani returned.

  “Nothing too special this time Cal, sorry.” Dani started, “I did get some flower seeds and a few more herbs that smell really good. Let’s see, I got basil, parsley, and some... mint I think? Not really scary, I know, but you are starting to smell a bit.” She tested my mood jokingly.

  I apologized sheepishly.

  “Aww, thank you.” Dani flew over and dropped the seeds and herbs in front of me, to make it easier for me to study them. Within a few minutes I had made copies and planted them along the tunnels. That would freak a few people out. I chuckled at the thought. ‘Oh no, basil!
Look out, it’s mint!’ Maybe I would get lucky and someone would be allergic to them and die from a bad reaction.

  I chuckled, projecting accidentally.

  Dani glanced over, “Hmm?”

 

  “I knew you would like them!” She beamed, then whispered, “Narcissist.”

  I gasped at the unexpected attack,

  “Well you do spend all day every day looking at yourself soooo…” She teased me.

  I played along,

  The friendly banter continued for a bit, until Dani got sleepy and flew over to the ledge she tended to rest on. As a living creature, she still had to sleep occasionally. For the rest of the night I focused on growing plants. Mint grew like a literal weed, covering anything I gave it access to very quickly. The basil grew a bit slower, but had much thicker leaves and was quite a bit hardier. The flowers blossomed, adding splashes of color around my otherwise somewhat monochromatic dwelling. And each of these plants gave off a heady aroma, which is what eventually awoke Dani.

  “Mmmm something smells good. You making me breakfast?” She yawned.

  I smiled at the thought of me trying to cook.

  She took off, and I could soon hear multiple sounds of appreciation. Coming back rapidly, she pronounced, “You know, if you wanted to be really boring, you could feed an entire city for decades.”

  I responded tartly,

  “Dead body odor.” She quipped, looking over for a reaction.

  I questioned confusedly.

  Dani acted like I was intentionally not understanding her pun. “Never mind. Today, lets-”

  An odd sensation alerted me to an uninvited guest.

  She went still for the first time since waking up, “What! Dungeon divers again this soon?! We aren’t ready!”

  While I had made the stairs, my influence was not yet dense enough to see what was on them. I made a note to focus on that when I had some Essence stored up.

  <...>

  “What is it?!”

 

  “Should I be worried?”

  I howled, desperately searching for a way to fight back.

  Dani was aghast, “All of them?!”

  I really didn’t have the energy to make more plants. As it was, my Chi spiral had no excess swirling Essence to pull from, and I was exhausted. I asked Dani to take a look, as she could connect with me with a bit of effort. Her reaction shocked me.

  “Bwahahahah! Cal, oh sweet naive C-cal,” She laughed, choking on the words, “That is the scourge of the mountains, the destroyer of herbs, a mountain bunny!” I could get nothing else from her for a few minutes, as she was laughing too hard to catch her breath.

  Grumbling,

  “No,” she gasped a bit still in an attempt to contain her mirth, “They are plant eaters! Usually prey for the larger animals and Beasts, they survive by being really prolific.”

  Prolific?

  “That they have babies really fast, and a lot of them.” She explained offhandedly, used to me asking questions about new words.

  An idea came to life in my mind, <...Dani. Idea Dani. Do you think I could spawn these as Mobs?>

  Catching on instantly she replied, “I think so, these are low F-ranked animals.”

  I had been able to study humans, but the complexity involved in the pattern made them too far beyond my knowledge or power to produce. A mindless husk? Sure, though the mushrooms were more useful. If I were able to produce an ambulatory, semi-intelligent creature, no matter how weak, it would be a huge stride forward for me. For us, really.

  I took aim.

  It came in range of the Bane, and when a speeding thorn penetrated its skull, my mind exploded with information.

  ~Ten~

  It had taken a few weeks of hard travel, but the group of mostly C-ranked adventurers had finally reached a city large enough to have a Guild office, an Elven embassy, and a church with a B-ranked priest. Going to the embassy first, as the Elf in their midst had seniority, they made their report to the incredulous Elven ambassadors, inciting a near riot as they rushed to make memory stones to hold the news.

  Memory stones were Beast Cores that had been further refined by Essence to be able to hold copies of memories, skills, or other pertinent information. When someone used a memory stone, they would gain all of the information in the stone as their own ideas and memories, allowing them to gain knowledge quickly and easily. This helped with learning skills, cultivation techniques, and even fighting styles. Depending on the quality, more people could use them before their power was exhausted, at which point they would crumble and become useless. Higher grade stones could be refined with Mana, and were able to hold items in a sub-dimensional space, nicknamed a ‘Bag of Holding’ as these high grade stones were usually attached to bags in order to hide their identity, being very expensive to purchase.

  A few Elven delegates were selected for their endurance, rare amongst Elves, given supplies and a memory stone each, and told to make for the Elven nation, allowing nothing to stop them. Their horses were spelled, allowing them to run the entire distance without discomfort, and the Elves were given potions that would mimic the effects of a good night of rest. Riding within the hour, the Elven nation would soon prepare to move part of its population to this newfound Silverwood location.

  Their Elven leader’s mission complete, the party split to make their individual reports. Most went to the Guild, but the priest went directly to the Church. After a short prayer near the altar, he went in search of the Bishop. Although he needed to wait a short while, he was admitted when they heard the seriousness of his business.

  “Good afternoon, my child.” The sonorous voice of the bishop spoke. “Tell me of your travels.”

  “Thank you for seeing me, your grace.” The cleric gave a short bow. “With the rumor of a dungeon being discovered in the mountains, we were dispatched to check the rumors validity. As per regulation, we gathered a Mage, B-ranked, several Guild warriors, and myself to determine if the dungeon were an infernal cesspool. Upon arrival to the village, we were guided to the entrance of what was indeed a dungeon and quickly and easily dispatched the creatures inside. While we did find plants with a vampiric effect, there was no evidence beyond that to suggest infernal designs.”

  Taking a breath, he continued, “To ensure this, I lowered my blessed pendant to the dungeon Core. Far from being destroyed or even slightly damaged, my pendant was absorbed.”

  “Is it a celestial dungeon, then?” The Bishop interrupted, nearly as concerned about this possibility as he was at the thought of an infernal dungeon.

  The cleric shook his head, “I was unable to discern that fact, but as we were leaving a small mushroom appeared in the first room. We killed it, but as loot it dropped- this.” He pulled out his restored pendant, handing it to his spiritual leader with a flourish.

  Brow furrowed, the bishop inspected the pendant and the Essence contained within. “This is odd. It has no affinity that I can sense, but certainly is a Runed item. The Inscription to turn aside infernal creatures is correct, but cannot
be activated without being filled with celestial energy. Therefore, I am sorry to say, this is useless.”

  Crestfallen, the cleric sat down. “I had hoped you would be able to find what affinity it had. I just assumed my knowledge was insufficient to ascertain its origins.”

  “We can always try prayer.” The bishop held the pendant in his hand and began to pray. The celestial Essence which was his greatest strength extended to and entered the Inscription on the pendant’s face. Dropping the necklace after an instant, the bishop looked at it in shock.

  “Your grace?”

  “W-we need to build a church in that area forthwith.” The Bishop looked down at the pendant, which was now nearly humming with celestial energy. “As my prayer touched it, all of the Essence it contained gained a celestial affinity. This pendant alone represents six months of Inscription work, purification, and prayer. If that dungeon drops more, we will have a potent weapon against the darkness in the world. I think… I think I know the perfect person. Go and find Father Richard for me.”

  The cleric blanched at this order.

  ~Frank~

  The group that went into the Guild were finally able to relax as they returned to their erstwhile home. Grabbing some beer from the counter, they dropped an expense report with the secretary, and moved to make their accounting. Explaining that there was indeed a new dungeon, no the mountains had not finally driven the sheepherders insane, the local Guild leader was about to dismiss this as a beginner training area of no importance when he was told of the Elven nations mobilization.

  The Guild Master twitched, and just knew he would be getting a headache soon. “What? Why? No! Come on! It is a low F-ranked at best, suitable for giving our fishies some combat experience, and you told us it dropped only copper on the Mob death. The loot isn’t even good enough for us to justify setting up a training camp there, it is too far out of the way!” He was concerned by this direction of events. When the Silverwood tree was explained, he closed his eyes and grit his teeth.