The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4)

by Jonathan Brooks

  Either way, Echo and the Elder obviously hadn’t been hunting these Crocatiles earlier from what the Elf had said about finally using one of her explosive bolts – as well as there still being half a dozen still left in her quiver. Sandra watched as Echo pulled out two, nocking one on the Spirit-energy string that appeared invisible to the Elf, while placing the other one nearby her location and within easy reach. The Dungeon Core knew that Echo could easily pull and nock one from her quiver in quick succession, but placing it like that meant that it would be even faster – and it told Sandra that the Elf expected to need it.

  The Elder nodded at her and whispered back, “Agreed. There shouldn’t be any Agorphiers out here, and the fact that one is here means that the dungeon is certainly getting stronger. I’ll back you up if you need it; let’s see if your new toy can take it down, though.”

  Agorphier? Is that what that thing is called? I like Crocatile better.

  Without waiting any longer, Echo stood up from behind the bush they were hiding behind and loosed her explosive-tipped bolt that contained the Fireburst enchantment. The Tiny Fire Energy Orb contained enough Mana inside to supercharge the explosion, and when the bolt easily crossed the distance in less than a second, Sandra inwardly cheered as it smacked into the side of the Crocatile and blew up spectacularly.

  The Dungeon Core was also watching the Elder at the same time, and was able to catch the look of surprise and some other emotion as a chunk of the Dungeon Monster was blown away from its upper body. Unfortunately, the Fireburst-enchanted bolts – which had been remarkably effective against the Undead – wasn’t quite as powerful against Beasts. Oh, it blew a hole through its hide that was approximately 2 feet wide and half of that deep; that certainly hurt the Monster, causing massive bleeding and even disabled the nearby leg – but it was far from incapacitated.

  A second explosive bolt flew out at high speed, slamming into the head of the Crocatile as it turned with a ferocious roar, only to cut it short as the explosive force of the projectile hit the Monster just under the eye. The flash of fire and impact sheared off a large amount of skin, revealing white bone underneath, and the Crocatile’s eye was basically obliterated; despite those wounds, however, the large Dungeon Monster only got angry.

  Moving faster than Sandra would’ve thought possible for something its size, the Beast ran toward the two Elves, agilely dodging a third Fireburst bolt that would’ve hit its head again and instead taking the hit on its lower neck area. Even bleeding profusely from three different areas, the Crocatile kept running without seeming to feel or care that it had been wounded. From what she had seen and knew of Dungeon Monsters, that was indeed the case; they would continue to attack until they couldn’t move anymore or were killed.

  “Uh…Elder? Now would be a good time to help!” Echo desperately called out as she nocked another bolt in her bow.

  The Elder was already doing something, and she held out her hands toward the incoming Monster. Streams of brown, green, and blue energy flowed out of the older Elf and shot into the forest floor in front of the Crocatile, disappearing to all sight – except for Sandra, of course. She could see everything that happened underground within her Area of Influence, so she saw bands of Earth, Natural, and Water elemental energy wrap themselves around the extensive roots of the nearby trees. In a literal eyeblink, the roots expanded and burst out of the ground in a spray of dirt, each root surrounded by a viscous mud-like substance.

  The Crocatile was already running at full speed and couldn’t stop itself as it ran into the tangle of roots shooting out of the ground, and was slammed to a stop as it was wrapped up by a dozen mud-tentacles. The Dungeon Monster squirmed and tried to break free, but the mud on the roots started to harden into thick spikes, gouging into the hide of the Crocatile and drawing blood as it thrashed around, doing more damage to itself.

  “Now, Echo,” the Elder said calmly, still holding her hands out and shaking a little. More and more energy was draining out of the older Elf as she struggled to keep the Monster in place; it seemed like a waste of energy to Sandra, as she was positive that the Elder could probably find something to actually kill the Crocatile. Then again, I’m still a bit of a novice when it comes to manipulating energy externally, so I could be wrong.

  Startled out of the staring she was doing at the display of spellcasting, Echo let loose a fourth explosive bolt at the bound Dungeon Monster, smacking it in the middle of its upper chest this time since it couldn’t try to dodge away. The Crocatile roared in pain and frustration, thrashing even more in the root bonds keeping it in place; first one, then two, then four of the roots were ripped out of the ground and torn off from the trees themselves, where they fell to the ground dead and limp.

  Fortunately, Echo had already launched her next-to-last explosive bolt, aiming for the roaring mouth of the Crocatile. The dangerous Monster saw the threat too late and tried to shut its jaw, but the tip of the bolt just ricocheted off one of its teeth on the way in and flew inside unhindered. The explosion from the inside was relatively anticlimactic as the Beast’s tough hide and strong bones kept it mainly contained, but they also didn’t stop a gush of blood and viscera from emerging from what remained of its eyes and nose, as well as some dribbles from its mouth.

  A second later the Crocatile collapsed on the ground, its brain destroyed, and then dissolved away. All of the blood and internal nastiness that had leaked out disappeared along with the body of the large Dungeon Monster, and soon after that the roots that the Elder had been controlling sunk back down beneath the ground. The only evidence of their presence at all were some piles of dirt left in their wake – and the exhausted-looking sight of the Elder.

  “Wow…I’m really out of practice. These Energy Orbs are a miracle, though.” Sandra looked closer at the Elder and saw that she had three different Orbs set in a very stylistic wooden necklace against her chest.

  * Nice job, Echo. That was also some impressive spellcasting by the Elder there. *

  Sandra’s words did indeed startle Echo, which made the Dungeon Core glad that she hadn’t interrupted them earlier. The young Elf looked up, spotting her Shears within a second, before nodding. “Thanks, Sandra.” Echo turned to the Elder and said, “Thank you as well, Elder Herrlot. These bolts didn’t work quite as well as I had hoped.”

  “Nonsense, child. You just helped to take down a Beast that very few your age – if any – have ever seen before, let alone killed. Even I would be hard-pressed to kill an Agorphier by myself, so I’m impressed that your bow and those bolts could do that,” the Elder said, while looking up at Sandra’s Shears watching from above. “I’ve decided that I’m going with young Echo here to the capital, though she said I might need to get one of these…bonds in order to do that. She said there were some—” the older Elf turned to Echo and asked— “what did you call them?”

  “Uh…special bonds?”

  “Yes, special bonds that would be highly beneficial to have. I’d also like to have some of the Rangers here get this ‘special bond’, because – based on this Agorphier alone – it appears as though we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  Sandra knew exactly what they were talking about with the ‘special bonds’, of course; they were the new type of Visitor’s bond that infused Elemental Energy Orbs into the palms of whomever was making the bond, allowing them to continuously regenerate their elemental energy and would never run out – as long as they were within Sandra’s Area of Influence. It was still unknown what would happen if they were depleted outside of her AOI; she expected that the Orbs would eventually deplete after a while and disappear, though the Bond would remain. I have to see if I can add those Orbs to my older Bonds like Echo, Kelerim, and the Gnomes; that way I could replace any that are used up outside.

  * Are you sure about that? I’ve heard it is…painful. *

  Echo relayed Sandra’s words to the Elder. “Yes, yes; I can handle a little pain. Now, when do we leave?”

  * I was planni
ng on Echo leaving in the morning. Why don’t you stop by in the morning and we’ll form a new Bonding with anyone that wants one then? For now, I need Echo and Kelerim back to finish up a few things before she—and you—leave in the morning. *

  For just Echo, the Dungeon Core added,

  * You may want to get Kelerim out of that village soon; the other women there are very interested in him. Though, not as much now; after seeing him speak to empty air to communicate with me, I’m sure they think he’s a bit strange. I doubt that will last long, though. *

  The young Elf looked shocked and then a bit angry. “Let’s get going then—”

  * You might want to hurry; those explosions have drawn a bit of attention to your location. Once you get past the Dungeon Core’s Area of Influence, which ends just before the break in the trees near your village, you should be fine. *

  “Sandra said that there are more beasts coming – let’s run.” Echo took off to the northwest using her Air elemental energy to speed herself up, while the Elder kept pace with her, using her Earth and Natural energy. Instead of reducing air friction and pushing her forward like the younger Elf, however, the Earth and Natural energy caused the ground to move along with Elder Herrlot, practically propelling her forward in leaps and bounds. Once she passed, the floor of the forest returned to normal, leaving no indication that she had even been there; Sandra was actually quite impressed on how economical her energy expenditure was for the continuous fast-traveling spell she was casting.

  The half-dozen beasts coming after them – that Sandra had noticed with her Shears – never got the chance to catch up with them and were turned away far before the two Elves got to the edge of the trees. None of them were as dangerous as the Crocatile, and they both could’ve easily killed the beasts; however, Sandra wanted Echo and Kelerim back in her dungeon for the rest of the day, so that she could go over some things with them.

  Echo strode into the village with a purpose, smiling at Kelerim as soon as she saw him, while somehow staring down the village women at the same time. That was a good thing because they were starting to lose their reluctance to get close to him again after the Blacksmith’s conversation with the empty air.

  “Come, Kelerim; we’re going back to the dungeon.”

  Sandra translated that for Echo, which caused Kelerim to look extremely relieved. The village women were disappointed – at least according to their facial expressions and body language as they watched the Half-Dwarf/Half-Orc walk away with the young Elf – but the two ignored them completely.

  The Elder followed them to where the Pegasus had been waiting for them likely all day to come back; as they were mounting up to leave, the older Elf looked towards one of the Shears above her head and asked, “Can we get some of those bows and unique bolts for our Rangers? If there are more of those Agorphiers around, I fear that we aren’t quite equipped to handle them as…adeptly…as young Echo did today.”

  * Tell her that I can have some ready in the morning, though they will have to finish up the process of adjusting them. Crafting them using the materials I can create is the easy part; it’s the fine-tuning that I don’t have the necessary experience to do that’s the hardest part. *

  Sandra could easily create the materials, put together the bows with their Elemental Orbs, and even enchant everything, but the precise trimming and shaving needed to adjust them completely was something that her Unstable Shapeshifters could do if pressed, but she’d rather leave those to the experts. Echo conveyed the message, quickly explaining what was necessary to finish them off after Sandra was done with them. From what the Dungeon Core knew – and from what the young Elf had told her – it was almost better for those who would be using the bows to adjust the weapons themselves, because what was good for Echo…wasn’t necessarily good for a different Ranger.

  “Thank you…Sandra. We will stop by at dawn tomorrow morning to get these special bonds and to pick up those bows. Once again, we are in your debt.”

  While the Dungeon Core was a bit amazed and shocked that the Elder – of all people – was willing to get a Visitor’s Bond, Sandra was also glad that the older Elf was doing it; not only her, but some of the Rangers as well. The new Bonds would allow her to communicate with the ones in charge of culling the forests, and it would be easier to warn them if there was a significant incoming threat or change they needed to know about. Plus, perhaps selfishly, Sandra was excited to acquire some additional Advancement Points from the new Bonds.

  With everything arranged, Echo and Kelerim climbed on the back of the Pegasus – Starlight 3 if Sandra remembered correctly – and headed back to the dungeon.

  Chapter 12

  “What did you need me for, Sandra? I hope you haven’t changed your mind and are thinking of sending me to see if I can convince some Warlords to cooperate with everyone. I really don’t think that would be a great idea.”

  It didn’t take overly long for the two to get back to Sandra’s dungeon and settled, and the Dungeon Core had immediately informed them both of what had happened with Violet and Felbar – as well as Gerold and the other Shieldmen – while they were gone. Speaking of them, Sandra checked up on them and they seemed to be doing well, despite their lesser numbers; the addition of the constructs to help them move quickly and efficiently, and a scouting force of nearly 50 Shears running through each forest, was enough to overwhelm just about anything.

  There hadn’t been any major increases in strength as far as the Goblins went; for instance, there wasn’t an equivalent of a Crocatile roaming through the expanse. There were a few larger Hobgoblins – which Winxa mentioned were called Hobgoblin Brutes – that were easily three times the size of the smallest Goblins running around, but they were no match against the combined might of Mechanical Dire Wolves, Jaguar Queens, Titanium Anaconda, and the three Shieldmen. Sandra’s Mechanical constructs were large, fast, and deadly; they could snatch up one of the smaller Goblins in their jaws and practically snap them in half. The Anaconda was even faster, wading into the midst of a temporary Goblin camp and striking out with barely a moment in between bites; not only that, but on a few occasions Sandra saw the metal snake snap its tail around like a whip, slicing through dirty cloth or (occasionally) leather clothing or armor and flesh with deadly efficiency.

  Delarthe and the Shieldmen weren’t to be outdone, however, as they waded into the fight with surprising enthusiasm. After a few moments of watching, however, the Dungeon Core realized it was because they were using their elemental energy in their armor and weapons without reservation, as by the time they finished with one group and arrived at the next, their energy pools had regenerated due to the Orbs embedded in their palms.

  While the Goblins hadn’t gotten stronger they were certainly more numerous. It seemed as though there was nearly no end of camps to destroy, and the solitary Goblin scouts roaming around seemed to be everywhere. Fortunately – or rather, unfortunately – there were no new Monsters streaming out of the dungeon; it meant that there was a finite number of Goblins that had to be eliminated, but it also likely meant that the Goblin-based Core was undergoing an upgrade. There was nothing they could do about that, however, other than to keep doing what they were doing and negate the advantage the Core had before the Dwarves came back to cull their numbers.

  Gerold and the Apes were absolutely devastating toward the Golems as well. The Monsters in the other forest were the opposite of the Goblins, as there were stronger Golems roaming around than before. There were also more of them than usual, but that was probably due to there not being anyone culling them over the last few days. There were the normal dust, mud, pebble, and dirt Golems that had been fairly common – or so she had observed; however, when those survived long enough to gather more Mana (along with the enhancements the Golem-based Core had lately received), stronger and larger Golems had started to emerge from the dungeon. Now there were a few rock and hard stone Golems, which occasionally reached 20 feet tall or even taller.

  Luckily, the Apes
, the two Shieldmen, and Gerold in his Deep Diver suit were capable of destroying the stronger Golems out there – though not completely without injury. The massive rock Golems formed from plain rock were similar to Sandra’s Animated Slab, except that these Monsters were person-shaped – and were a bit more dangerous and agile. They hit the Dwarves with tremendous force, flinging them into trees or each other with an unfortunate hit every now and again; the elemental-energy-powered armor withstood any damage – at the expense of a large amount of energy from the wearer – but that couldn’t really prevent injury to those inside. There was some padding inside of the armor, but it could only absorb so much before something had to give.

  Sandra’s Multi-access Repair Drone easily fixed those hurt in this way – including some heavily damaged Apes that took the brunt of a rock or stone fist to their sides – but it also slowed down their progress. The warhammers wielded by Gerold and the Apes worked beautifully, at least, and easily cracked or cut through Golem limbs upon impact; the problem was getting close enough to some of the larger Monsters without getting smashed apart. Taking one of the harder Golems down became a strategy of surrounding the Monster and letting one of the Ape Warriors take the brunt of the damage – as they were a bit sturdier and could be healed quickly afterwards – while the others demolished the limbs of the Golem as best they could.

  Like the Goblin-based Core, though, there seemed to be a halt to new Golems coming from the dungeon; even being forced to “heal” after some of the harder fights, Gerold and the others were starting to catch up with how many Golems were stomping around the forest. They were still going even as evening hit a couple hours after they started, and were planning on keeping the culling process going through the night if necessary. Dwarves – being used to living underground – had a bit of darkvision apparently, which helped them see better in the much darker forest, though not complete darkness. They would see if they could manage it without too much danger, otherwise they would retreat and start again the next day.