As the Orcs entered the trees heading towards the Avian dungeon, Sandra had her flying Shears follow along for as far as it could before something unexpectedly dive-bombed her construct and destroyed it nearly instantly. She didn’t bother sending any more into the forest after that, because she already knew where they were going.
The Avian-Classification Core and accompanying dungeon were apparently a little tougher, because it took some time for anything to happen. While Sandra was waiting, most of her guests were starting to wake up and look for food, which she easily supplied from a small kitchen she had replicated down below near the Dwarven bedrooms – though she didn’t really have a dining area set up quite yet. The villagers and Shieldmen were happy enough to be eating meat and especially fruit, as it was apparently quite the luxury for them, sitting on the floor wherever they could find space to eat.
She took that opportunity for Gerold to come forward and finally fess up and tell them precisely where they were and who Sandra was – and she promptly freaked out half of the villagers with her voice in their heads. The Shieldmen were a bit more stoic about the whole thing, but that could also be because they were all still reveling in the Energy Orbs embedded in their palms to care that much one way or another. Luckily none of them started screaming and demanded to be let out immediately, though she certainly let them know that they weren’t prisoners and could leave at any point.
They calmed down even further when she showed them the growing room she had created to plant their crops, and that they could produce as much as they wanted – and do it much, much quicker in the process. She also found out that a few of the villagers had extensive experience back in their strongholds brewing and distilling, so the potential for making the drinks that they so desired was now a real possibility for the future.
She also talked to Violet, Felbar, Echo, Gerold, and the Shieldmen about the new development concerning the destroyed Dungeon Cores. She would’ve included Kelerim, but he was still sleeping, and he seemed like he needed it more than he needed to be awkwardly introduced to the others to take part in the conversation. Besides, he probably didn’t want to hear about what a mess he had caused with his actions immediately after waking up.
* …and that’s pretty much all the information I have at this point. We’ve got two choices: leave the Undead dungeon and its Core alone and attempt to contain it so it doesn’t expand even further, including the extra Enhancement it’ll receive over the next 50 days, or destroy it and make every other dungeon within 100 miles or more that much more powerful. Though, if the Orcs do succeed in destroying the Avian dungeon that they just entered, it could make the whole situation even worse. *
“If that does happen, I think we’ll have no choice. If what you said is true—” Violet said – and Sandra translated for everyone else— “then it will become more powerful no matter what you try to do to contain it. So will every other dungeon, though it will happen a little more gradually; regardless, the issue isn’t really what will happen immediately, but what will happen in the future if these ‘enhancements’ continue to grow more powerful.”
“I know for a fact – because I was one of the ones doing it—” Echo chimed in— “that we were maintaining a comfortable balance in the nearby dungeons, and this change will already upset that precipitously. What you said about not destroying dungeons too close to each other and in rapid succession is true, as that has been passed down to us for as long as even our elders can remember. I thought it was true everywhere, though I also thought that since Sandra was doing it that the rule didn’t apply…I was obviously wrong.”
The Shieldmen and Felbar acknowledged that they had also heard that rule, so it was apparent that the limitations had been in place for quite a while everywhere. Sandra was sure it was the same with her former race as well, even if she hadn’t heard of it before; Violet and most of the villagers seemed not to know about it, so that kind of information might’ve only been necessary to pass on to those that actually had to abide by the rules.
“As much as I want to destroy that dungeon for what it did,” Gerold finally added, which garnered nods from the other Shieldmen, “I say wait and see what happens with the Orcs; the situation is probably barely manageable right now, and I fear what will happen if you start something that could have serious implications not only to my people, but every race nearby.”
The others reluctantly nodded, even Echo – who was naturally predetermined to want all Undead dungeons to be wiped off the face of the land.
* I guess that settles it, then. I’m already starting to mop up many of the scattered Undead that emerged during and after the battle in Nurboldar, though I can’t reach nearly all of them. It will require an upgrade to my Core Size to accomplish that, which I can’t afford to be down for right now; once we find out what happened to the Orcs— *
They didn’t have to wait long, as Sandra could feel the collapse of another Area of Influence. Sending her attention there immediately, she roamed the now-destroyed Avian dungeon rooms, seeing hundreds of Orc corpses, some lying on top of each other and ripped to shreds. In the final room, the Avian’s Core Room, there were only about 50 Orcs left alive, though even they were wobbling around on their feet unsteadily from multiple wounds. Not a single one had an intact sword, though most of them had some sort of dagger or destroyed sword in their hands.
They ran as fast as they could through the rooms, the dungeon collapsing behind them, striving to make it out before the entire thing buried them. A few minutes later 45 of them emerged, leaving 5 of them that had fallen behind to suffer the fate of being crushed by tons of falling dirt and rock.
* It looks like our choice has been made for us. *
Temporary Dungeon Core Enhancements
(Your Core is not currently eligible for any enhancements)
Current Nearby Dungeon Cores Destroyed:
3
Current Distance Threshold:
110.0 Miles
Current New Core Threshold:
Core Size 22
Previous Temporary Enhancement for 2 destroyed Cores:
Area of Influence is increased by a total of 50% over the course of 50 days and stays until the current New Core Threshold is reached.
Current Temporary Enhancements for 3 destroyed Cores:
Includes all previous Temporary Enhancements, plus: Ambient Mana Absorption directly by the Core is increased by 10000%, Area of Influence is increased by an additional 10% over the course of 10 days, Distance Threshold is increased by 10%, New Core Threshold is increased by 2 Core Sizes
Next Temporary Enhancements for 4 destroyed Cores:
Includes all previous Temporary Enhancements, plus: Mana Cost to upgrade Core Size is decreased by 25%, Mana Cost of all Dungeon Monsters decreased by 25%, Ambient Mana Absorption within the Core’s dungeon is increased by 2500%, Area of Influence is increased by an additional 25% over the course of 25 days, Distance Threshold is increased by 25%, New Core Threshold is increased by 3 Core Sizes
Chapter 31
By the next morning, the undead that Sandra’s Dungeon Monsters could locate, and reach of course, had been wiped out – though she suspected that there were again hundreds hiding out in the Undead Core’s AOI that she couldn’t see. There hadn’t been any large gatherings of Undead like they had done before, but she was starting to learn how the other Core went about their strategies; making her have to hunt down the Monsters was a delaying tactic and only temporarily kept her from doing what she needed to do. Whether it was because there was some other sort of attack planned or perhaps because the Core already had enough Mana to upgrade again, Sandra didn’t know.
It didn’t matter though, because she currently couldn’t move any faster; there were people coming along that needed sleep to function properly unlike her Dungeon Monsters, so the earliest it could happen was late the next morning as everyone got up from another nap they took overnight. Kelerim eventually woke up in the middle of the night and Sandra let him kn
ow what had transpired, as well as the unfortunate results of the Orc army’s action – both to their numbers and the Temporary Enhancements the nearby dungeons were now experiencing.
He didn’t take it well.
* There’s nothing we can do about it now, but I fear there are going to be some hardships in the future before we can fully get a handle on the situation. There have already been sacrifices made to protect everyone here in this dungeon, and we’ll all be doing our part to keep further casualties to a minimum. So cheer up, my friend, because we’ve got a lot of work to do. *
“That’s easy for you to say; you’re not the one that caused all of this.”
* That may be, but I think I was already heading in this direction from the get-go, so it was inevitable. So stop moping around and be useful; make some blades for your Orcish heritage – because those things they are using are utter garbage. *
Having something to do was the best thing for him, and while he grumbled a little, he didn’t protest. While she could certainly make better swords and other weapons for the Orcs – and probably would, with what was likely going to be coming their way – she didn’t have the time nor inclination to do it right then.
Knowing his way around, he went right to work in the forge where Sandra had taught him the basics and a few advanced techniques of Blacksmithing; luckily for the others, she had moved their rooms further down below, otherwise the banging would’ve certainly woken them up. In fact, he was still going when Felbar, Violet, Gerold, and Echo woke up and got some food from the nearby dining area.
“Who are you?” Echo asked Kelerim after hearing his incessant banging from down the tunnel. The others had come along, just as curious as to who this new person was.
Sandra translated, but didn’t bother introducing him – he did that all by himself.
“I’m…Kelerim. Sandra said I could work in here – did I disturb you?” he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. He had taken his torn and ragged shirt off from the heat at least an hour earlier, so he was essentially just there with threadbare pants and a leather Blacksmith’s apron.
“Uh…no. I’d just never seen anyone actually use that thing other than Sandra’s constructs. Are you coming with us to destroy the undead dungeon?” Echo asked with a strange tone in her voice.
“Me?” Kelerim laughed depreciatingly at the question. “No, I’m not a fighter – I’m a Blacksmith by trade.”
“You’re a Blacksmith? You don’t look like any Blacksmith I’ve ever seen before, but for some reason you look oddly familiar,” Gerold interjected himself into the conversation.
“Um…well, my mother was a Dwarf and my father was an Orc, but I left the mountains of my birth a long time ago—”
“Now I remember! You were just a little lad when they forced you out; I remember that vividly because I didn’t agree with it just because you were different. I was a little odd myself, and I always worried they would put me out like you were.” He paused for a moment. “I’m glad to see you survived, at least.”
“If you call being beaten daily, half-starved, and forced into a trade without my say-so surviving, then I guess it qualifies,” Kelerim said dejectedly.
“Well, that’s enough catching up – we’ve got to get going. Nice to meet you, Kelerim,” Felbar said abruptly, likely sensing the dour mood that had fallen over the group. The others also said their goodbyes as they realized what he was talking about.
“Yes…it was nice to meet you…Kelerim,” Echo said last with particularly slow emphasis on his name, following the rest out of the room – though her eyes lingered on the half-Dwarf/half-Orc longer than necessary.
Hmm…
Kelerim went back to work on the sword he was making, completely oblivious.
For her part, Sandra made sure everything was assembled for the trip to the dungeon. Most of her Dungeon Monsters were already there, surrounding the entrances/exits again, but a few that had just been created were going to join Felbar and Gerold in their Deep Delvers, as well as Echo on her Pegasus that she named…Starlight. Not a particularly inventive name, but I guess it fits.
Five of the Shieldmen also insisted on going because they wanted to be a part of eliminating the threat; Sandra was sure that revenge was also playing a factor in their decision, but at least they had the presence of mind to only send half of their number away, electing to keep the rest to protect the villagers. Not that they really needed protecting at the bottom of Sandra’s dungeon, but she could appreciate where they were coming from.
Violet was of course staying, but she had plenty to work on – including trying to figure out how to fix the War Machine’s left arm that had melted. Sandra had already repaired much of the actual physical damage, but now many of the movement enchantments were all messed up and might need to be replaced completely.
One spot of good news – at least she hoped so – was that the Orcs that had survived the destruction of the Avian dungeon had left the area first thing in the morning; they headed back northeast up the same road they came down, though with only about 5% of the number they arrived with. She told Kelerim the news and his reaction was one of surprise and then suspicion.
“Either they think they completed the mission they were given, or they know they don’t have enough of them to search for your dungeon – or whatever it is they think killed Razochek. Let’s just hope that it’s the first, and that they’re not heading back to get more help.”
* That’s something I don’t even have time to consider right now, so I think I’ll shelve that for another time. No need to borrow trouble at this point in time. *
The group left just after mid-morning, off to join the rest of her forces outside of the Undead dungeon entrance. Just so that she hopefully wouldn’t be surprised by any last-minute strategies by the other Core, she took 500 of the Shears in her AMANS and spread them throughout the border of her AOI to inform her if the Undead started to stream in from the areas she couldn’t reach. It wouldn’t necessarily prevent them from attacking, but she heard Felbar say the other day: Forewarned is forearmed…or something like that.
It took a little over an hour and a half for them to walk all the way to the dungeon entrance, mainly because the Shieldmen Dwarves – though they tried to walk quickly – couldn’t move nearly as fast as Echo and the Deep Delvers. Regardless, the sun was high in the sky above the trees as they approached the large assortment of constructs and other Dungeon Monsters.
When they were all together, it was an impressive display: 50 Steelclad Ape Warriors armed with Titanium warhammers enchanted with either a Fireburst or Holy Light enchantment; 50 Celestial Authorities holding their longswords made of light and wearing Leather necklaces around their necks containing Large Holy and Spirit Energy Orbs to regenerate their elemental energy; 40 Unstable Shapeshifters that had accompanying enchanted bows made from Yew and Titanium, each with a leather quiver that held 50 of the special arrows that would explode upon impact; 20 Radiant Pegasi that would help dampen the severity of Nether-based traps and effects, which the Shapeshifters (in Echo form) could ride, also with supplies for the Echo copies strapped to their backs; 8 Multi-access Repair Drones to heal anyone who was hurt (she made sure to have one for each living person going); 5 Shieldmen with full sets of plated armor, shields, and battle-axes that became stronger through the use of elemental energy – which was also helped by the Energy Orbs embedded in their palms, along with more hanging around their necks underneath their chest plates; Felbar and Gerold in their Deep Delvers (with Gerold’s Energy Orbs connected to his attack enchantments replaced from the battle in the Dwarven village); and finally Echo, riding on the back of her Pegasus Starlight, who would have a commanding view of the fights to come to direct the Shapeshifters in battle.
Sandra and Echo had already practiced with that portion of the plan earlier, and it worked well enough; all she had to do was order the Shapeshifters to target whatever the Elf targeted, and they immediately shot their
bows – which only worked if Sandra wasn’t directly controlling them, otherwise they would fumble about like the novice archer the Dungeon Core was – or sent out a spell using their elemental energy. Along with the bows, quivers, and arrows they were bringing, each of them had a pair of Holy and Air Energy Orbs that they could wear to keep them from running out of that energy too quickly.
“So…what? Do we just go in?” Gerold asked when they were all assembled and ready to go in front of the Undead dungeon entrance.
* Not quite yet. I’m sending in some…sacrifices…first to hopefully trigger some of the traps and get a better look at what’s inside. Hold on. I need someone living to go with them, though, to keep the Core from changing anything afterwards. Just stepping inside the entrance should do the trick. *
“Is that the reason you needed these…tattoos?” Felbar asked, rubbing the chest on his Deep Delver with the side of the warhammer attached to his left arm.
* Precisely. Without those Visitor’s Bonds, I can’t create much other than Monster Seeds – you know them as Dungeon Loot – and the Monsters themselves; it’s a hindrance to me, but it also ensures that anyone entering a dungeon with the intent to destroy it won’t have to worry about new traps springing up or walls collapsing on them. *
The Crafter's Dilemma: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 3) Page 36
