Dungeon Master 3

by Eric Vall

  “We broke the law when we traveled into your dungeon?” Carmedy gasped.

  “No, pussycat,” Rana sighed. “We found his dungeon because of that old map, remember?”

  “That’s right,” Annalíse said with a nod. “We started our quest on Master’s continent because it wasn’t known for having more than a few dungeons on it, and they had the rumor of being too hard to find. Rana did have the map, so we figured that we wouldn’t be competing with anyone else.”

  “How long after they sealed you in did we come into your dungeon?” Rana asked.

  “I lost track of the time,” I replied. “Perhaps a few millennia, maybe more.”

  “Dammmmnnnn,” the fox-girl gasped.

  “Master must have been so lonely,” Carmedy sighed, and she started to blink her eyes quickly as if she might cry. “That makes me so sad.”

  “It is no matter now,” I continued. “The mages wished to keep me a prisoner, but then they forgot about my existence. Morrigan freed me, and soon I will have my revenge. Then I will conquer this world and set my eyes back on the heavens, but first, I will help Annalíse deal with her father and then take care of Rana’s wizard.”

  “Thank you, Master,” Annalíse said as she nodded at me.

  “Uhhh, thanks,” Rana said.

  With that, I issued the order without a word as I would communicate with my shadow slaves, sand demons, or other conjured creatures. The ice demons’ eyes abruptly flickered to life and stood more upright. The creatures immediately turned to face the far wall that still glowed with red quartz formations. They shook their heads, hissed, and flexed their claws as their eyes came to life. As the creatures bared their terrible teeth, they hurled their bony bodies at the cavern wall. They clawed relentlessly, and the unpleasant sound of their talons scraping against the quartz filled the air, forcing the women to cover their ears. Bits of rock and dirt flew through the air as my demons burrowed tunnels into the wall. The sounds of claws on stone gradually turned to the softer sounds of scratching through dirt, and my minions lowered their hands from their ears.

  “I take back everything I said before,” Rana said as she watched the vile beasts continue to tunnel. “Now that I get what you were planning in that devious head of yours, I gotta say I’m all for it. We get to sit back and let someone else do the work for a change. A refreshing change of pace if you ask me.”

  With that, the curly-haired woman sat down on the ground and lay on her back casually. Then she released a blissful sigh and closed her eyes.

  “Don’t get too comfortable over there,” I said as I walked over to her and lightly tugged at one of her fox ears. “You’re getting a little break now, but it won’t take long for them to break through to the next dungeon. As soon as they do, it’s back to business.”

  “Ah, no rest for the weary as they say.” Rana shook her head slowly. “I wasn’t going to take a nap or anything, I was just getting in a little relaxation time.” The fox woman stretched out her arms for a moment and then folded them beneath her head.

  Morrigan and Carmedy joined her on the floor while they waited for the ice demons to finish their work. As they relaxed, Annalíse and I stayed near the wall and watched my conjured cronies dig. Before long, the four tunnels faded into the shadows as the ice demons gradually disappeared from sight along with the scratching sounds of their talons digging through the earth. They were already making quick progress, and I knew that it wouldn’t be long before one of them dug through to the next dungeon.

  “How do you know which direction for them to dig?” Annalíse asked after we had watched the demons for a few minutes.

  “I can sense their power,” I said. “It is like a pulse that echoes through the rock. It took me a few centuries to learn it, and I would not call the ability perfected, but it is enough to direct the workers, combined with our intended goal of your father’s castle.”

  Her eyes lit up at that. “I see now! We will tunnel dungeon to dungeon not only to gather power and treasure, but to take us right under the walls of my father’s castle!”

  “Indeed.” I smiled darkly at that, not just because of my own cunning, but due to the princess’s advancing tactical knowledge. I was training her well.

  “How long will it take to get to the next dungeon then?” she asked. “We’ve got enough supplies for a few days, but we might have to--”

  “A few hours,” I said.

  “It is that close?” she asked as her eyes opened wide.

  “I believe so,” I said, “but I won’t know for sure until we breach it. At any rate, you have no need to worry about supplies for the time being.”

  “Ahh, that’s good,” the swordswoman said, and then we both turned back to watch the demons work.

  Carmedy and Rana chatted amongst themselves while Morrigan quietly conversed with Fea and Macha. Annalíse and I passed the time quietly as the swordswoman peered into one of the freshly dug tunnels. Each of the new passageways was just wide and tall enough for us to pass through single file though I would have to duck my head a little.

  After about four hours of digging, I finally sensed that one of the ice demons had successfully broken through to the next dungeon, and I turned toward my minions.

  “They’ve finished,” I announced to the others. “Time to get going. Sorry, break time is over.”

  Carmedy and Morrigan rose to their feet quickly while Rana lazily stood up and stretched out her back.

  “It was nice while it lasted anyway,” the fox said as she stretched out her arms over her head and wagged her tail to get the blood moving.

  “We’ll take this one.” I pointed to the tunnel farthest to the right, the one that had broken through to the next dungeon. No longer in need of my ice demons’ services, I sent them away. As I did so, Annalíse and Rana lit their torches and my minions settled into their usual marching order behind me.

  I stooped over to enter into the narrow passageway and led the way in the cramped darkness. As we went, I ran my hand along the tunnel’s side. The surfaces were rocky and uneven, and our boots scratched through the rubble. Every so often some loose rubble would break away from the roof of the freshly dug passageway and sprinkle onto our heads and the smell of limestone and a strong earthy scent drifted to my nose.

  As we went deeper, I noticed the temperature decreasing just as Annalíse had said it would. I could hear someone’s teeth chattering from behind me now, presumably Carmedy’s or Morrigan’s. Still, no one complained after the first half-hour of travel, and I felt a bit of pride at how much tougher my women had become.

  It was pretty slow going. Either the tight confines of the space slowed down our pace, or the tunnel was truly that long in length. Regardless, at long last, we reached the end of the passageway and were greeted with a light that made me blink my eyes a few times before they adjusted. After a few moments, I and my minions could see clearly, and we looked around at our new surroundings.

  This dungeon was quite unlike the one that we had just emerged from. While the last had an eerie atmosphere and resembled an ancient tomb, this one was luminous and resplendent. The corridors of the dungeon were crafted of immaculately polished ice, and every surface gleamed with reflected light. I ran my fingers across the nearest wall to find it was completely smooth and icy to the touch, with not a single raise or groove present on its surface. Even the floors were crafted from the same flawless ice and held not a single scratch. It was as though everything had been crafted of pristine diamond.

  The light that illuminated the halls came from the ceilings. Glowing translucent crystalline structures protruded from the ceiling as their long narrow bodies came to a thin point. The crystals only added to the radiant beauty of the place, it was like we stood in the heart of a palace of ice.

  I turned my attention away from the lofty heights above and looked around the small circular cavern we were in. There appeared to have at least twelve tunnels branching out from it, and to make things more difficult, our prey must be
quite distant, for while my senses told me that this was the lair of another deity, they could not pinpoint an exact location.

  Annalíse walked across the small room in a few long strides and peered into the nearest tunnel entrance. She tilted her head to one side and then stepped into it. A few moments later, she reappeared and walked back towards the rest of us.

  “This place is like a maze,” the freckled woman said with a frown. “I just looked into this passageway to see what was inside and there are several more tunnels branching off from that one.”

  “Is that so?” I raised an eyebrow and walked into a tunnel in the opposite direction. This passageway had the same polished walls and glowing crystals as the entryway, and beyond it were five more tunnels. It was safe to assume that there were even more passageways leading away from each of those as well.

  “We should split up and look down each of them,” Annalíse said, and everyone moved toward their own tunnel.

  “This one also appears to have multiple paths,” I called out to the others as I came back into the main room.

  Rana poked her curly red head out from one of the nearby tunnels. “So does this one.”

  “This one too,” Carmedy shouted as she emerged from a far passageway.

  “It should be no surprise that there are many branches here as well,” Morrigan said, her voice void of concern as she stepped out of another of the passageways.

  “Great, an ice labyrinth,” Rana groaned and rolled her blue eyes. “As if we haven’t already had our fair share of labyrinth experiences.”

  “Well, you guys had some,” Carmedy said excitedly. “I didn’t, now it’s my turn.”

  “Trust me, it isn’t very fun,” Annalíse said gravely as she put a hand on Carmedy’s shoulder.

  “Well, we don’t have to take on this maze right at this moment,” I said to the others. “While we can’t see the sky from here, I’m sure it’s night time by now. Why don’t we make camp and start fresh in the morning? We’ve done enough for today.”

  “You’ve got my vote,” Rana said as she removed the pack from her shoulders.

  “Fine with me too!” Carmedy grinned. “I’m getting pretty hungry, anyway.”

  “I am fine with resting for the evening,” Morrigan said, “but what is to stop whatever deity who resides here from attacking us while we eat, or worse, while we sleep? The only dungeon in which we have ever slept overnight was yours, Master, and you graciously allowed us to go about our evening peacefully. We cannot assume that this dungeon’s deity will be so obliging.”

  “I know,” I said to the white-haired elf. “I have already thought about that. I’ll post my shadow slaves around, as well as some ice demons. If something should occur, I will know immediately.”

  “That is comforting to hear,” Morrigan said as she let out a sigh of relief. “At least we can rest peacefully.”

  With that matter settled, we went about our preparations to make camp. As usual, Carmedy used some of her powders and chemicals to make a fire. Out of all the feats I had seen the feline alchemist perform, I still found it amazing that she could start a fire with common sugar. I had expected the ice floor beneath the fire to melt, but interestingly, it remained completely intact. It didn’t even drip from the fire’s heat.

  “That sure is some strong ice,” Rana said suspiciously as she glanced at the ground.

  “Of course it is,” Carmedy said with a smile. “It’s--”

  “Let me guess,” the blue-eyed fox held up a paw to interrupt her, “magic ice?”

  “Yep,” the feline alchemist said chipperly. “That’s the only logical explanation.”

  “I don’t think I can argue with you on that one, pussycat,” Rana said with a chuckle.

  With that, we sat down on blankets of fur and wool and began to cook our food in the fire’s wriggling flames.

  “So, Annalíse,” I turned to the freckled woman who was turning a stick of meat in the fire, “why don’t you tell us more about your family? We know so little about them. Your father is High King and didn’t approve of your desires to become a warrior, yes, and we know that you have a mother and three older brothers, but that is all.”

  “There isn’t much to tell,” Annalíse said quietly as she gazed into the fire. She pulled out her stick of meat from the orange licking flames, blew on the glistening morsel a few times, and then bit into it. “I mean, there’s really nothing important.”

  “Well, could you at least tell us the names of your mom and your brothers?” Rana snorted. “You could at least tell us that much.”

  “I agree.” I nodded. “That would be a good place to start.”

  “Alright, if you insist.” The human woman sighed, took another bite out of her meat again, and chewed for a few moments. After she swallowed the bite, she finally continued and looked up to face each of us. “My mother’s name is Adalyn. She married my father through one of those ghastly arranged marriages like the one they had lined up for me.”

  “What does she look like?” Carmedy asked through a mouthful of bread and sprayed crumbs into the air in the process.

  “She looks a lot like me actually,” Annalíse said with a small smile. “She’s just shorter, about Rana’s height, and long wavy hair with a bit of grey. To be honest that’s the only sign of her age. You’d be hard pressed to find a wrinkle on her face.”

  The princess’s voice grew wistful as she gazed off into the distance. “Her eyes are a lovely shade of hazel. She has a way of looking at you and knowing just what you’re thinking.”

  “Hey, that’s just like my mom,” Rana said with an airy laugh.

  “Mine too,” Carmedy chimed in. “All moms are mind readers.”

  “I’d have to agree with you there.” Annalíse smiled. “Anyway, she came from another royal family and had an advantageous marriage with my father.”

  “Does she love your father?” Morrigan asked the swordswoman, a question that seemed to surprise the others. As they looked at her in shock, she arched a delicate eyebrow.

  “Is something the matter?” the pale elf said as she glanced around at their expressions. “Did I say something to offend you?”

  “No, not at all,” Annalíse said hurriedly. “I just... I think none of us expected you to ask something like that.”

  “Why is that?” The elf tilted her head slightly to one side. “It is a logical question, is it not?”

  “It is, it is,” Annalíse replied. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure if she does. I asked her that once when I was younger, and she said something like she respects and honors him, and that’s greater than love.”

  “Sounds like a nice way of saying no if you ask me,” Carmedy mumbled to Rana though we could all hear her.

  “That’s what I thought as well,” Annalíse said, seemingly unbothered by the feline’s comment. “I didn’t press her on the matter though. Whatever the case, she seems satisfied enough. My father does treat her very well at least, and she never wants for anything.”

  “And your brothers?” I asked the chestnut-haired warrior. “Tell us about them.”

  “As you already know, I have three older brothers,” she began. “Ansel is the oldest, and then there are the twins Amos and Adam. We all have the same brown hair and freckles, and they’re big and tall like my father.”

  “So basically, you but male” Rana said with a wry grin.

  “Pretty much.” Annalíse smiled. “Anyhow, they’re all pretty great. We’ve all always gotten along. They’re probably the only ones that never treated me any differently simply because I’m a female.”

  “Did they approve of your desire to become a warrior then?” I asked as I chewed on a piece of bread.

  “They did.” Annalíse nodded. “When I told them about my training in secret with Kalon, they were very proud. Not only that, they thought I was good enough to join them in combat.”

  She tilted her head forward. “You see, my brothers are all high-ranking officers in the royal army.
They became soldiers after they each turned seventeen, the age when young men in Tamarisch may begin the trials to enter into the army. It is quite a long and gruesome process and understandably so.”

  The princess’s voice swelled with pride now. “Our army is one of the finest in this part of the world, not just anyone can be allowed to join. My brothers encouraged me to enter into these trials as well after my seventeenth birthday. They had no doubt that I would pass the tests and rightfully become a warrior just like them.”

  “What sorts of tests are these?” I asked as I leaned forward, my curiosity truly piqued.

  “Well, the process is quite gruesome,” Annalíse began. “Many young men become injured in the process, and several die.”

  “It’s that bad?” Carmedy asked with widened eyes.

  “It is.” The princess nodded gravely. “The first trial is a test of survival. The young men are released into the wild of Tamarisch with only a basic uniform and a small pack with two days of food and a knife. The object of the test is not only to survive in the frigid conditions for two weeks, but to kill a bánwolf.

  “Wait, did you say bánwolf?” Rana raised her eyebrows as a look of shock spread across her face. “You mean those monster wolves that you were talking about earlier today?”

  “Yes, that’s right,” Annalíse replied. “The young men must cut off its tail and pluck out one eye, then bring them back as proof of their conquest.”

  “Geeze, that’s some rite of passage,” Rana said under her breath. “My brothers just had a little birthday party with some cake and stuff.”

  “It is a great honor in our nation,” Annalíse continued. “To have completed the survival trial is an impressive feat.”

  “And that is only the first step in this process?” Morrigan asked.

  “Yes,” Annalíse went on. “My father says the first step serves to weed out the weak ones. Out of the hundreds that participate each yeah, only a few dozen make it back with a bánwolf’s tail. Those survivors go on to a series of combat competitions in front of the war council with swords, battle axes, spears, or whatever weapon the council desires. This is done to ensure that the warriors that make it to the end are skilled in a wide variety of weaponry.”