by Matthew Peed
Dungeon Robotics
Book 5
Cataclysm
Matthew Peed
Copyright © 2020 Matthew Peed
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
First publishing, July 2020.
Matthew Peed
Iteration 64 Publishing
P.O. Box 481
Dover, TN 37058
https://www.Patreon.com/DungeonRobotics
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21700/dungeon-robotics
About the Author
Matthew Peed is a single father who works hard to provide for his daughter and also for his loyal readers. He has read or devoured millions of pages of novels, web fiction, and any other media that he can get his hands on. He started this project in order to shape something with his own mind that he could leave for his daughter to read.
Feel free to reach out to him.
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Dedication
To all the people who have helped me along way: Thank you! Here we are five books into the series. Without your and everyone else’s support I’m not sure I would have gotten this far. I plan to continue expanding this world as far and as wide as possible, and I hope everyone stays with me every step of the way.
Something witty and offencive
Jens Jensen
Reviv3pls
Phill barr
Spellman—RiahWeston
Kwynirith
BrauBaer
Jack
Everyone else on my Patreon and RRL!
Contents
About the Author
Dedication
Chapter 1
Necromancer Stronghold
Ezal
Chapter 2
Louella
Chapter 3
Regan
Chapter 4
Izora
Chapter 5
Regan
Chapter 6
Izora
Chapter 7
Louella
Darr
Chapter 8
Regan
Chapter 9
Izora
Chapter 10
Louella
Trido Guill
Chapter 11
Regan
Chapter 12
Louella
Chapter 13
Regan
Chapter 14
Regan
Chapter 15
Izora
Chapter 16
Regan
Chapter 17
Louella
Chapter 18
Regan
Chapter 19
Izora
Chapter 20
Louella
Chapter 21
Regan
Chapter 22
Izora
Chapter 23
Louella
Chapter 24
Izora
Chapter 25
Regan
Chapter 26
Darr
Chapter 27
Xenio Blackheart
Oparens Wanderer
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Helicilia
Chapter 30
Creation and Destruction
Chapter 31
Kingdom of Lecazar Capital City
Chloe
Chapter 32
Gnome Evacuation Fleet
Chapter 33
Yo’ei Meng
Afterword
Chapter 1
Necromancer Stronghold
“This is impossible,” Helicilia said, reading the report in front of her. The array of people in the room tried to hide their flinch. No one liked to bring bad news to the mistress. It generally resulted in someone being added to the army of undead outside the city.
“My apologies, Mistress, but everything we’ve done has barely slowed this force down, the biggest issue being the attack from the heavens,” a man reported, doing his best not to stutter. People had died when reporting to Helicilia for less.
However, Helicilia wasn’t even mad. She just couldn’t believe that nearly a century’s worth of work was coming undone in the span of a few weeks. So much effort had gone into making sure everything was set. So much time spent converting the north into their haven. The only holdout was the goblin dungeon to the west, but even that was nearly about to collapse.
“Tell me we’ve learned something by now,” Helicilia said, standing up to look out the window in the office. She wouldn’t let it end like this. There had to be something behind this mystery force. If they could find that, they would be able to deal with it, one way or another.
“Again, I have to disappoint. An aura much like a dungeon’s surrounds the fleet. Even members from Shadow have been unable to penetrate it. They are attacked almost instantly when they cross the invisible barrier. All our current information comes from long-distance scrying and scouting,” the man reported.
Helicilia’s fist turned white as she gripped the windowsill, and the stone cracking from the force. “Have we found its point of origin?”
Necromancers were the best at gathering information! She just couldn’t understand why this was happening now. Had she known a little less than she did, she would have believed it was divine intervention.
Helicilia had the most invested in this endeavor. If it failed, the work of her family over the last six decades would be wasted. She couldn’t even remember the number of people she’d sacrificed and killed in the last two years, let alone the last two decades. Her hands were thoroughly dyed crimson from the amount of blood she’d spilled. Not that she regretted anything. But if she was going to do something, she wanted to be the winner at the end.
“Yes, Mistress. It is the mountain fort that appeared overnight to the south. The mages have already confirmed there is almost a straight line between it and the dungeon that appeared in Robia Valley a few months ago,” the man replied.
“How is that possible?” She frowned. Those mountains were several hundred kilometers thick. She couldn’t think of anything that could get over them, much less carve their way through, in only a few months.
“I’m afraid we would have to ask the host that, Mistress,” the man answered before he thought about it. Fear clouded his expression as he took several steps back. “My apologies, Mistress! I meant no disrespect!”
“Huh? Oh. I don’t care right now! What have the non-blessed learned for us?” she asked distractedly.
The man gulped, glad he was still alive after his slip up. “Yes! That has also turned into a fiasco. The town has some way of being able to tell if a person is lying. The method doesn’t use magic apparently.” He read out loud from another report. “We have not been able to contact any of our people who we’ve sent in.”
Helicilia sighed. “Please tell me the other plan is still on track. As long as that one works, we’ll have nothing to fear anymore.”
“In that regard, I have good news. All factors have been adjusted for, and the ritual can take place within the new time frame. The only variable is the prince, but a contingency is being worked up to deal with him.”
“Good. Return now,” Helicilia ordered.
The man bowed and backed out of the room. An observer would be impressed by the fact that he didn’t bolt from the room once given the chance.
Helicilia turned back to the window to look at the surroundings. An army that would rival any country’s gathered outside. It was composed of undead ranging from tier one all the
way to tier three. It looked grand to Helicilia, but she didn’t know if it would be grand enough for her master. He had his own vision of the world. That was what allowed the necromancers to gain so much strength.
“You appear to be having some trouble,” a voice echoed throughout the room. The shadows started to bend at twisted angles even though the single candleholder never moved.
“Master!” Helicilia cried, then immediately bowed, her face nearly touching the ground.
“It would seem a new piece has joined the chess board. One that could upset the entire game,” Cassin whispered into Helicilia’s ear. He was losing power lately, and the bitch Lelune was making things even more difficult in the other countries. He couldn’t afford to lose the north, not when he was so close.
“We’re taking care of it, Master. There is no reason to be worried,” Helicilia said quickly as she stood up.
“Worried? I’m not worried. I have many more toys I can use to dispose of this core that thinks he is more than a hole in the ground. Let’s see him deal with true power!” Cassin’s voice echoed through the room. The shadows warped and rippled, then Helicilia found herself in the gathering room. The shadows around the altar stopped moving and were pulled into a single spot.
The fallen Celestial Morka breathed in deeply, inhaling all the shadows that had been around the altar. She stood up as the shadow radiated from her, forming another pair of horns alongside the first pair. Her wings gained a liquid shadow appearance. Armor that appeared to absorb light formed around her figure.
“But, Master, what about the attack from the heavens?” Helicilia asked. They had captured Morka a long time ago. The anticipation of the powerful weapon finally being used exhilarated her, but at the same time the thought of losing it worried her almost as much.
“I doubt the core will attack itself with that weapon,” Cassin laughed. “Morka, my child, it is time for you to fulfill the mission I went through the trouble of getting you here for. Destroy those that would stand in my way,” the dark Celestial ordered. “Destroy the main core of this dungeon!”
“Yes, Father,” Morka whispered.
She held her hand out, and shadows swirled into a vortex around it. A double-bladed spear formed out of shadow and unholy green mana. It was deceptively simple, but Helicilia could feel the power rolling off it in waves. This was a Celestial weapon, something that could destroy entire towns.
“I thought the first council captured her?” she asked, confused.
“Ah, I let them think that so they would be more confident. Sped up my timeline by nearly a decade too,” Cassin said, not bothering to lie. Morka could wipe them all out easily by herself, after all.
Working up her courage, Helicilia asked, “What is your goal, Master?”
Cassin considered for a moment. The plan was already in motion, nothing could stop him from succeeding. Even if she had a change of heart, she was much too invested to leave the fold. He nodded to himself. “To return. Or more precisely, to bring my brothers and sisters back to this hell hole.”
“Brothers and sisters . . . but you are in Celestia.” Helicilia tilted her head.
“Indeed, but my home is not here. It is in the heavens, somewhere you can’t go to without incredible magic. My home is Deorus!” Cassin said. He almost felt joy at being able to tell someone after so long.
Helicilia blanched; she knew that name. It was buried deep in the old capital’s records, but it was the name of the demon world that had attacked many centuries ago. How did a demon become a Celestial? She recovered from her shock, then shook her head. It didn’t matter, as long as she got her due in the end.
“You are more powerful than I could have imagined in that case, Master.”
“Very good. Get Morka across the mountain, she’ll take it from there. I leave this mission to you personally,” Cassin ordered, his voice starting to fade.
“As you command,” Helicilia said, bowing.
She looked over to Morka, who hadn’t said a word since being addressed by Cassin. Helicilia couldn’t help but feel that she looked more sad than anything, even with her face that looked more like a mask. Morka turned to Helicilia, then walked out of the cathedral she had stayed in for the last couple of decades.
“I’ll arrange the trip for us.” Helicilia said before walking away.
Morka stared after her for a long moment before walking over to the window in the hallway. Even the fields of undead out the window were change to the cathedral she had been stuck inside for sixty-seven years, two hundred forty-one days, and seven minutes. She may have been given a mission by her father, but she planned to enjoy the outside for as long as possible. He’d made her wait, so it was only fair that she does the same.
Ezal
The last couple of days had been rough, as I had to keep the nobles and merchants in line. The ominous-looking automata walking the streets did a lot to keep them in place, but nobles always try to take as much as they can. The soldiers were always worried about upsetting someone they couldn’t afford to upset.
Just the number of times they’d tried to cause trouble in the local restaurants and shops was enough to give me a headache. The locals had resorted to having Regan install those obelisks inside their homes and businesses to keep the nobles from getting too much of a big head. If he was accepting gold and silver, he’d be the richest person in town by this point.
I sat down and rubbed the bump of my stomach that was steadily getting bigger. I didn’t care about rank, money, or any of that. I just wanted this child to know his father. Though, I thought, The next time I see Valamar, he better be ready for a fireball straight to his face for leaving like he did.
“Bruce, anything to report while we were gone?” I asked.
“Two of the nobles got into a fight earlier in the day. One was hurt severely enough that they had to be taken to the hospital but should have made a full recovery by this point,” Bruce reported with a salute.
“Probably staged,” I murmured.
“Most likely. The nobles do enjoy their games. I doubt they managed to learn anything.” He shrugged. “I do know that the hospital charged them enough to make several nobles cry tears of blood,” he continued with a chuckle.
“That’s good to hear,” I said, matching his chuckle. While not all nobles are evil or cruel, just take Val for example, most do have their own agendas on their minds. Getting a bit of a kick every now and then was good for them. “Anything else?”
“There are strange rumors filtering in from Lecazar. People going missing. I have a feeling it is related to the . . . event Lord Regan told us about a while ago.”
“Lovely. I just hope Regan manages to cut the head off their leader before they achieve their goal,” I said, tapping my finger on my desk.
“Immigration is only getting stronger as the . . . culprit grows bolder. People fear the Lecazar cities.”
“Make sure to keep the taxes under control. Remember, the protector of this area likes when people are moving here. The more the better. I know the lines at the gates grow worse every day, but do the best you can.” I smiled at him.
“Anything for you, Mistress.” Bruce saluted once more and walked out of the room.
I felt bad about not telling him what I’d learned, but it was safer for him. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Bruce, but I knew he was the type of person who would charge off into the horizon if I told him Valamar was still alive. According to Regan, Val was in a peculiar situation. I would just have to trust him for now.
After Bruce left, I started going through the documents of the people currently in jail. We were still trying to decide what to do with most of them. The biggest ones were Dess and Chips. They were just . . . unstable. One day they would cooperate, almost like perfect gentlemen. The next, they would appear quite insane, talking to themselves among other things was not out of the norm.
The irony was that I wanted to recruit them if possible. They were both powerful and worked well as a team. I j
ust couldn’t trust them with something as delicate as town security. I could send them to the dungeon, I thought after a moment. They would be a tremendous help in letting the guards reach further into the dungeon. They were also easy to control. I had never seen someone as obsessed with gold as much as Dess, while Chips was interested in eating.
Feuer had flown in while I was working on the paperwork and thinking. I grabbed him and scolded, “You need to stop running off.” I got the image of Gulv and sighed. “I know you like playing with Gulv, but it’s dangerous right now. I never know when I’m going to need you.”
I got the distinctive feeling that he was sulking. I hugged him to my chest and felt him cheer up a bit, then channeled a bit of the fire mana that was getting stored in my arm and leg to him. While there were no immediate changes, I thought I could feel him growing stronger as I gave him more mana.
I stood up and left my office, making my way to the jail section, pleased to find the soldiers hard at work training. Bruce was keeping them to a strict regimen. When I heard that the training was only half as much as the Royal Guards trained, I grew even more impressed with the guards who I’d seen on occasion on duty at the palace back in Lecazar. Surely, they would have skills to match their Thonaca doubles.
I noticed a few of the ex-slaves that Louella had freed among the soldiers. In particular, a large bearkin that was dominating the practice fights. He was using gauntlets that had wicked blades for claws. Facing down that would require a decent amount of courage, practice fight or not. The guards stationed in front of the jail were alert and saluted me as soon as they saw me.
“How is it today?” I asked them.
“They’re quiet today, Captain. Dess even more so than normal,” Tod, one of the guards reported. He was one of the youngest recruits we had and was from the original village.
“Thanks. Keep up the good work,” I said, then pushed the door open.
The jail looked more like a giant box to me. If you were more than ten meters away, you would think the walls were solid. But once you got close enough, you’d find that there were actually slits about three centimeters wide and a meter long. When I first came in, I thought it would be damp and humid like other prisons I had visited in the past. I was very wrong and was surprised that it was one of the most comfortable buildings I had ever been in. Other Regan-built buildings aside.