by Cara Vance
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Master of the Dungeon
~ A Heroes and Harpies Fantasy ~
Cara Vance
Copyright © 2015 Cara Vance
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author. Your support of author’s rights is greatly appreciated.
All characters in this novel are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The use of any real company and/or product names is for literary effect only. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
Edited by Rick Gualtieri & Hercules Editing
Cover by www.estrellacoverart.com
Published by Freewill press
Freewill Press
PO Box 175
Dunellen, NJ, 08812
MASTER OF THE DUNGEON
The difference between reality and fantasy rests in a single roll of the dice
All that college student Trinity Sanders wanted was to stay at home - watching TV, eating ice cream, and bemoaning her cheating louse of a boyfriend. Instead, she let her roommate talk her into an evening of throwing dice with her gaming group.
Annoyed at the prospect of wasting a Friday night with a bunch of social rejects, Trinity decides to take out her frustrations on their game master Seth. He might be cuter than expected, but as far as she's concerned he's still a dork. Sadly for her, she's picked the wrong person to mess with. Seth is in control of a very special book, one that lets him bring his world to life - a world that he rules over as a god.
Now, Trinity finds herself trapped in the body of a scantily clad barbarian as Seth tests her with terrifying ordeals - ordeals that the warrior inside her finds oddly titillating as well. She must battle monsters, complete her quest, and satisfy all of her desires because the mythical creatures hunting her are not only real; they're interested in a lot more than just her blood.
Special thanks to Gwendolyn for helping plant the seed of an idea that eventually blossomed into this story.
ONE
A cold wind blew across the campus as the sun set, the shadows deepening with every step the two young women took.
“Come on, Trin,” Becca implored. “You said you’d give it a try.”
“I know, I know,” her roommate, Trinity Sanders, groused, following along, yet still purposely dragging her heels.
To say that she was less than enthused about the night ahead was the understatement of the year as far as she was concerned. It was a Friday, for Christ’s sake. There surely had to be something better for her to be doing with her evening. On any other given weekend, she’d be at a party, on a road trip for a night out in the city, or - she dimly considered - locked away in Trevor’s bedroom, her face buried in his crotch while he lay there with his head back, cooing, “Oh yeah, baby. That’s the ticket.”
Resentment burned in her at the thought of him. Too often that had been the extent of their relationship - her going down on him until he blew his load and subsequently fell asleep. They’d been a steady couple for about eight months, Trinity and Trevor - TnT as he liked to joke, to which she would pretend to laugh despite the lameness of it all. For a while, he’d been a pretty good boyfriend and an adequate lover too, usually able to bring her to orgasm whenever they made love.
The problem was, in the last two months of their relationship, sex had occurred with less and less frequency - with her often being guilted into a quick blowjob instead. The main issue was that he never reciprocated the favor. Trinity had been sexually active since the year of her seventeenth birthday, three years prior. Her slim figure, long legs, and bright green eyes had meant there’d been few weekends of her adult life spent alone. Although the few boys she’d been with had been pretty goddamned selfish sexually, she’d had enough experience to know how good a determined tongue felt across her wet slit. Sadly, that was rapidly becoming a distant memory.
More often than not, their evenings ended with him getting off and then snoozing while she ran to the bathroom to gargle the taste of him out of her mouth.
Well, okay, that hadn’t been the entire issue. If it had, she wouldn’t be so pissed right now and almost certainly wouldn’t have agreed to the silliness that Becca had insisted on, purportedly as a way to get her mind off of things.
For several weeks now, she’d been hearing nasty rumors about Trevor and Lisa Hampton, a member of the rival Phi Omega Gamma sorority. Hah, the P.O.G. sisters, Trinity thought. PIG would have been a far better acronym. The Phi Omegas had a reputation for being the biggest sluts on campus and Lisa Hampton was surely their whore queen.
Even so, she knew people liked to spread bullshit when they were bored and hadn’t wanted to believe any of it.
Sadly, those rumors had turned out to be far truer than she would have liked.
Trevor had apparently forgotten about the spare key he’d given to her, because he was mid-thrust in Lisa when she opened the door and stepped into his room just three days prior. The fucker had continued to pump the whore doggy style twice more before realizing she was there. Worse still, he’d had the gall to stand there, dick still rock hard and dripping, and proclaim things weren’t as they appeared.
Even if Trinity would have been stupid enough to believe her naked boyfriend had just tripped and ended up accidentally fucking that slut, Lisa’s smug grin would have said differently.
That had been it for her. She dumped his ass on the spot and stormed out. For all she knew, he’d gone right back to plowing Lisa without a second thought.
Good, she’d bitterly thought afterward, hopefully he’ll get every STD in the book and a few more that science hasn’t identified yet.
Following that, Trinity alternated moods between spiraling depression to being pissed off beyond belief. In the latter case, she’d ended up snapping several times at her roommate, poor sweet Becca, who’d never done anything to anybody. If anything, Trinity’s compliance this evening was as much apology to her friend as acknowledgement that she had nothing better to do this night.
What Trinity kept telling herself was that she really needed to find a good party, get drunk off her ass, and maybe let some asshole take her home. Becca, though, had been the voice of reason there, pointing out what a poor idea that had the potential to be.
It also hadn’t helped that the campus was nearly empty this weekend, the final days of spring break playing out. Trinity had originally opted to stay on campus to spend time with Trevor and conversely keep from going broke. She’d been saving up for a trip to the Bahamas and really couldn’t afford to blow her savings now. Becca had remained on campus as well because...well, because she was Becca.
Shy where her roommate was outgoing and four inches shorter than Trinity’s five foot six frame, Becca was the poster child for being introverted. She kept her blonde hair short in a pixie cut, contrasting to Trinity’s long, shimmering, auburn locks. She preferred wearing glasses, despite owning a full box of perfectly good contacts, and was typically more interested in talking comic books than fashion magazines.
Of course, the chances of ever getting Becca into a string bikini were just slightly better than the odds of Trinity enjoying tonight’s activities.
* * *
“Come on; it’ll be fun. I play with these guys all the time,” Becca had implored once it became obvious that Trinity’s plans for the weekend were to sulk in their room, binge eat, and bitch about Trevor every chance she got.
The thing was, as much as Trinity was forced to admit her evenings with Trevor as of late had been disappointing at best, she had to imagine they were heaven itself compared to Becca’s idea of a happening Friday night.
For most girls on campus, if it were ever implied they were spending their nights in a locked room alone with four guys, then surely folks would think the worst. Hell, in the case of the Phi Omegas, it would also probably be entirely on the money. But Trinity knew that wasn’t the case with Becca. She was certain the only physical excitement going on with that group was whoever was tasked with answering the door for the delivery boy.
“That game’s for dorks,” Trinity had protested sullenly.
“Didn’t you say your brother used to play?”
“Yeah, and he’s a dork. But even he gave it up when he turned fifteen and realized he couldn’t admit to liking it and still get a date. Besides, I hear that shit is for little kids. How old are you anyway?”
Becca had put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. Though Trinity could normally out-argue her mousy roommate, she also knew nothing set Becca off more than seeing a friend in need. She was a timid mouse most of the time, but one with a big heart. Once she decided someone needed saving, she could be surprisingly tenacious.
Apparently, she’d thought Trinity was in need because she had badgered her ceaselessly until Trinity agreed to sit with them for one evening, even if it was just to shut her up.
“You’re gonna like Seth. He’s a good guy,” she’d said, “and he’s an incredible Hero Master. Seriously, nobody can spin an adventure like him.”
The way Becca had said it made Trinity think perhaps her roommate’s interest in this Seth loser were slightly more than that of gaming buddy, but at the time, she’d been more concerned with her own self-pitying and had let it drop.
Even so, deep down, Trinity wasn’t sure what would be worse this night: the boredom of dealing with geeks, or the certain loss of face should it ever be found out she was hanging with the lowest of the low on the social leper scale - gamers. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s really incredible.”
“He is,” Becca had replied, her eyes lighting up. “Seth is like no other game master I’ve ever played with. He’s special. Trust me, by the end of tonight, I have little doubt you’re going to agree with me.”
TWO
“Walk faster. I don’t want to be late.”
Trinity had stopped to retie her laces, something she wasn’t in a particular hurry to finish. “You afraid you’ll miss something?”
“No. They won’t get started until we’re all there.”
“Then what’s the big deal?” Trinity asked with a sigh.
“It’s just rude. Trust me, you don’t want to tick off the Hero Master.”
“Yeah, what is it with that name? Sounds like the title of some stupid low budget movie...or porno maybe.”
Becca turned toward Trinity, the breeze fluttering through her short hair. “That’s his title in the game. He runs the setting, the world we’re playing in. He’s essentially God.”
Trinity couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Really? What? He thinks he’s David Koresh or something?”
“No, silly, that’s just how the game works. We’re playing Heroes and Harpies. The person who emcees the adventure is called the Hero Master. He’s basically the unseen force that drives our hand, doling out rewards or consequences as the players deserve.”
“And what makes us deserve these rewards?”
“Killing monsters, saving kingdoms, that sort of stuff.”
“And the consequences?”
“Failing at any of that.” Becca grabbed the sleeve of Trinity’s coat and pulled her along. “Or ticking off the Hero Master.”
Trinity couldn’t help but think, I have a feeling there’s gonna be a lot of that last one going on tonight.
* * *
Trinity tried to pull up the collar of her jacket as they entered Vilmer Hall. She really didn’t want to be seen there. It was an upperclassmen dorm, but had a reputation as the place where stoners, dorks, and other assorted losers congregated.
Most of the denizens there were also independents, no fraternities to call home. That made it even worse. Trinity loved the Greek system with its comradery and sense of belonging. She couldn’t understand anyone wanting to go it alone throughout college. Jeez, to her that sounded like something only rapists and would-be serial killers would want. Hell, even shy little Becca had made it through rush and become Trinity’s sister at the Zeta Kappa house.
“Oh, will you stop it,” Becca scolded as she led them down the second-floor hallway. “We’re going to a game, not a crack house.”
“Says you. I must be on crack to have agreed to this.”
Becca made a dismissive noise. “You need to at least try to have fun. Besides, we’re playing third edition,” she said as if that explained anything. “It really streamlines the rules from the last version.”
“Oh, third edition?” Trinity asked with mock enthusiasm, her voice louder than she meant it. “Why didn’t you say so? That makes all the difference in the world.”
Becca looked as if she was about to respond to Trinity’s negativity, but she was interrupted by a man sticking his head out of an open door a few steps ahead of them. She immediately brightened and called out, “Hey, Seth!”
Trinity was surprised to discover this was their host for the evening. He had dirty blonde hair and a cute face, framed by light blue eyes. He took a step out and Trinity took notice of his lean frame, but then she saw he was wearing a weird t-shirt that had “R’yleh Realty - finding your perfect home in the mouth of madness” written on it - whatever the hell that meant.
Even so, a small part of her considered that perhaps this evening might not be entirely intolerable, but then Seth had to go and ruin it by speaking.
“You’re damn straight about third edition,” he said. “From what I can tell, they barely even play-tested second edition before releasing it. I mean, who the hell does that?”
Trinity stopped dead in her tracks, unsure of how to answer this strange fellow. It figures. A cute dork is still a dork.
Fortunately, Becca was there to save her. “We’re not late, are we?”
“Right on time as always, Becs,” he replied. “And is this the new blood you mentioned?”
Trinity managed to suppress a grimace as Becca introduced them. Although his appearance surprised her - she’d been expecting a three-hundred pound, acne-covered doofus - the weirdness of his attire spoke volumes to her. Already she was yearning her lost evening spent brooding in front of the TV. Surely it couldn’t be any worse than this.
“Nice to meet you, Trinity.”
“Hey,” she replied, not wanting to show any enthusiasm, lest that encourage him and his friends.
“Will Neo be joining us tonight as well?”
“Huh?”
“You know...Neo from the...Sorry,” Seth replied, looking slightly embarrassed. “Bad joke. Anyway, Becca’s told me all about you. I think you’re gonna have fun with us. Heroes and Harpies...well, it’s hard to explain in mere words, but I think it’s just one of the best things in the world. There are no walls, no boundaries in it. Just people free to be who they really want to be.�
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“Uh, yeah,” she replied, a little taken aback by his zealousness for what she considered to be a stupid game.
“So, are you ready to brave the dungeons of Terra-doom, hidden for centuries somewhere beyond the plains of the Bone Riders?” he asked.
Trinity arched an eyebrow. “Bone Riders?”
“You bet!” Becca replied with enough enthusiasm for three people. “Are the guys here yet?”
Seth shook his head. “They’re not coming tonight. Ramiro and Craig went home for the weekend and Jack’s sick. He was gonna come over anyway, but I told him to keep his diseased ass away from here.”
Becca’s face immediately fell. “Oh, so no game tonight?” From the tone in her voice, Trinity would have guessed it more likely that someone had just said her favorite puppy had gotten hit by a car.
On the flip side, Trinity felt a glimmer of hope. Please say yes. Hell, even if Becca insisted on not letting her grouse alone, they could still go out, maybe grab a bite to eat. Anywhere was preferable to being here in loser central.
“Don’t worry. We’re still a go,” Seth replied.
“But you said...”
“Yeah, I know. But I figure we can have an easy starter adventure instead. Something to help your friend ease into the game. So it’ll be just the three of us. Me and you two lovely wenches.”
Though Seth’s tone didn’t contain any overt tones of creepiness, Trinity found herself internally gagging nevertheless. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the evening in this guy’s dorm room, only to wake up tomorrow to hear he’d been bragging to anyone who’d listen about all the adventures they’d had together. Fuck that noise. He could keep his fantasies to himself.
“Listen,” she said, “maybe we can do this another night. I’m not feeling too well and...”
“Can you excuse us for a moment?” Becca interrupted.
“Sure, you two ladies take your time.” He turned and stepped back into his room, the door left open.
