A Living Dungeon

by Allan Joyal

  “Lanheim? Did she take you anywhere else while you were there?” the dwarf asked.

  “There was a stone hut just outside the town. We talked to an old woman. At least I believe it was an old woman. My mother handed her something shiny. The woman whispered something to Mother and then we left,” Faestari said.

  “She visited The Kess of Lanheim?” the dwarf asked.

  “Who?” Faestari asked.

  “Some humans can touch the flows of mana and time in unique ways. I don’t know how it works but there is always an old woman in that hut. She can see possibilities. If you are willing to listen to her riddles, she provides a guide to the future. What happened after your mother talked to her?” the dwarf said.

  “We moved again,” Faestari said petulantly. “We started moving constantly until we finally stopped at the village. Father wanted to move again, but Mother insisted that we remain there.”

  The dwarf nodded. “That does make some sense. Well, I’ve found a small tribe of orcs. Looks like fifteen or so warriors, twenty breeders, but few youths. They appear to have lost a challenge for territory. If you call to the south they’ll be here in a few days.”

  “How long until the others show up with their items?” Faestari asked. “I don’t want my doorway open when they arrive.”

  “What will you do with the orcs?” the dwarf asked.

  “My first floor is going to be just a couple empty rooms. Good for a merchant or a small chapel,” Faestari said. “I’ll set up the second floor to be a living area for the orcs. Their breeders will be kept safe behind some special doors, but the warriors will patrol the halls. I’ll have to see about treasures. Maybe the others will provide something I can use.”

  Faestari frowned. “Orcs don’t feel right for the dungeon. I feel uncomfortable with inviting them.”

  The dwarf snorted. “You don’t like orcs? Why not? Just about every dungeon uses them. They can provide a decent challenge, but are rarely too powerful. Most can’t defeat an experienced adventurer, but they grow up quickly so you can replace losses. The band I sense would be perfect.”

  Faestari nodded. “Will they obey?” she asked.

  “I don’t have trouble with mine, and I have four separate tribes. Of course, they do have to be kept from meeting, but my dungeon is over five hundred rooms now,” the dungeon bragged.

  “Five hundred?” Faestari asked.

  “I’ve existed for over a thousand years,” the dwarf said. “I first became aware nine hundred years ago. Back then I was a massive cave complex being used by an orc tribe. They had once commanded everything for miles, but a human kingdom and the local elf tribes banded together and defeated the orc army. Then they paid adventurers to keep the population of orcs under control. Waves of adventurers would enter the caves looking to slaughter the orcs, and the orcs would fight to eliminate the adventurers. I gain mana from a creature dying almost every day.”

  “I won’t have that,” Faestari said. “But I can have many chambers. Just have to use many floors.”

  “You need ten to twenty good rooms when the summer comes. Use the orcs to help establish that. As I said, they should wander by in less than ten days. The items shouldn’t appear for thirty.”

  Faestari nodded. “Will I see you again?” she asked. “This winter.”

  “I managed to come out earlier than I planned thanks to a blizzard,” the dwarf said. “I can’t say what the weather will be like this winter, but I’ll try to arrive shortly before the spring thaw to see if you are ready. Remember, adventurers want a challenge.”

  Faestari nodded again. “I’ll start work on the upper floors. And I’ll close off my home chamber.”

  The dwarf snorted. “Just stop using an avatar. You don’t need it. You can see and feel anything inside your domain with a thought.”

  Faestari shook her head. “No,” she said firmly. “I won’t betray my father that way.”

  “Do what you want then,” the dwarf said as the wind at his feet started to swirl. “But consider the risk. A lot of mana is required to form a body. If it’s destroyed you lose that mana.”

  Faestari shrugged. “My mana, my choice.”

  The wind rose up and the dwarf’s body slowly began to unwind into the whirlwind. He said nothing as the wind dissolved his spirit avatar. A few moments later the wind died and Faestari was standing looking at an empty chamber.

  Chapter 8: Troublesome Immigrants

  Six days later Faestari was standing near the middle of the second floor of her dungeon. She was in the process of setting up a new rat nursery and grain garden. Five families of rats crouched against the wall, watching as the tunnel to their new burrows extended from a passageway.

  She was just finishing the hollows when she felt a disturbance on the slopes of the mountain. She released the rats to enter their new home. They scampered out of sight as the young girl paused and closed her eyes. She sought a vision of the mountainside with her mind.

  A group of large green-skinned humanoids were climbing the mountainside. There was no clear path, but two of the younger ones roamed upward. They pulled loose stones from the cliff and tossed them away from the path as they prepared a trail.

  Faestari immediately realized that the group was powerful. Her instincts warned her that some adventurers might not be prepared to fight a full clan. She rushed to the stairway leading down to the lower levels of the dungeon. She had not prepared anything on her planned third floor. The only chamber was the room with two stairways. It was currently a lair for the largest and meanest web spinners she had created. They blocked any access to the lower floors.

  She rushed down the stairs; In the room she swept spider webs from a path leading to the west wall of the room. The path she created now led to a new passageway. She began opening up additional rooms and passages beyond that one as she checked the progress of the orcs.

  “Trust that dungeon to send me too powerful monsters,” she said in an annoyed snort. “And I’ll have to adjust the next floor down as well. I can’t have adventurers skipping the orcs. But first I have to get them into their rooms.”

  She started climbing back up the stairs. “And I’ll need another set of rat nurseries. This is going to be a lot of work.”

  The two young orcs were only a few feet below the summit when Faestari finally opened the stonewall that blocked entry to the dungeon. She stood in the middle of the archway and watched as the two green-skinned, pig-faced humanoids clambered over one last slab of granite.

  The orcs paused and stared at her. One reached over his back and grabbed a large knotted branch that was clearly a primitive club, but the other rushed over to grab his arm. They started barking out an argument. The language was made up mostly of grunts. Faestari caught the meaning behind the argument, but could not understand the words. It was clear that one of the orcs merely saw a human child, while the more cautious one sensed her power.

  The argument continued. Both orcs squared off. They had their hands on their weapons and muscles were tensing when the leader of the main group of orcs climbed up onto the small clearing in front of the archway. He looked over at the young orcs and in a thunderous grunt shouted at them.

  The two orcs dropped their weapons and turned to look at the larger orc. Faestari turned to look as well. She noticed that the other orcs were climbing up, but stayed near the edge as the lead orc stomped over to the two young ones.

  This orc had three long scars down the left side of his face. His pig-like snout covered a mouth containing three long tusks. It probably should have been four, but while there was a tusk rising from his left lower jaw, the right side of his jaw had no visible teeth. The orc was leaning on a spear shaft; the blade of the spear looked more like a scimitar, than a simple blade and in the light it appeared to be almost purple.

  The orc looked at the two youths who had not said a word after he barked. He watched them for a moment and then turned to look at the archway. The creature’s eyes widened when he saw Faestari
standing in the doorway.

  “You speak trade?” the orc asked. His voice sounded like he was trying to speak through water, but Faestari was able to understand him.

  “Yes,” Faestari replied.

  “Why here?” the orc asked.

  “I am the voice of the dungeon,” Faestari said carefully. “I was sent to meet you and lead you to the chambers you can use.”

  “Good chambers?” the orc asked.

  “New chambers,” Faestari admitted. “But the dungeon is willing to change them within reason.”

  “Food?” the orc asked.

  “Rats are plentiful,” Faestari said.

  “We want fungus,” the orc said.

  “None currently grow in the dungeon,” Faestari admitted.

  The orc waved towards the crowd female orcs that cowered at the edge of the cliff. “They bring, we plant. Need offal.”

  Faestari nodded. She was unhappy with how forceful the orc was being, but he seemed to respect the power of a dungeon. “A room filled with the kind of debris fungus will need to thrive is available. If you would come and follow me. The dungeon wants to close the entrance.”

  “Close dungeon?” the orc asked.

  “To give you time to set up your lair,” Faestari said. “So no adventurers arrive when you aren’t ready.”

  The orc looked back down the mountain. “Good,” he said. “We follow.”

  Faestari backed up carefully. She had a feeling that turning her back on these orcs would only invite an attack. She passed through the archway and started down the short branching passage. She had empty rooms to the left and right of the passage before another chamber dominated by a stairway down.

  “Empty?” the orc asked as she started down the stairway.

  “It’s not big enough to be a full floor, so I left those for when a merchant comes or someone wants to set up a temple,” Faestari said.

  The orc paused and then nodded. “Can we use merchant?”

  “Don’t kill him,” Faestari said firmly. “I don’t mind if you kill the rats, or if you protect your lairs from the spiders and snakes, but the other inhabitants are not to be killed.”

  “We rule,” the orc said firmly.

  Faestari summoned her mana. She made the entire mountain shake for just a moment. “I rule,” she hissed.

  The orc stopped walking and stared as she continued down the stairway. He grunted something to the orc following him and then continued forward.

  Faestari led them down to the second level of her dungeon and then through the maze of chambers she had originally set up for the orcs. The leader was looking around and snorted. “Good rooms, who for?”

  “The dungeon has not decided. It feels you are too powerful to be the first creatures a group of adventurers encounter.” Faestari responded.

  “Good,” the orc said again. “Broken Knee tribe not weak. Not easy.”

  Faestari had been walking slowly as the chambers in the floor below formed. She worked to raise and lower some of the floors as a way to make it feel like the orcs were receiving more space. Finally they reached the stairway.

  Faestari turned to look at the orc. “The next level is yours. I’ll show you the rooms the adventurers won’t be able to reach. There will be a stairway down in the first room, but that will be removed in a day. I’ll point out the new stairway when I show you the area you’ll control.”

  “Many rooms?” the orc asked eagerly.

  “Ten that are connected to each other as part of the main part of the dungeon. A trio where your breeders can live safely. And then the room for your fungus,” Faestari said. “The trio of rooms will only allow orcs to enter or exit, so adventurers should not bother you.”

  “Safe?” the orc asked.

  “If an adventurer forces his way through the door, the walls will crush him,” Faestari said firmly as the walls of the passage behind them slammed together. A couple of the young orcs grunted in surprise and moved away from the walls. “Like that,” Faestari said.

  The orc’s eyes widened again. “You do that for us?” it asked.

  “I will,” Faestari said. “Let’s go and look around.”

  They headed down the stairway. Once at the bottom of the stairs Faestari stepped out and silently commanded the spiders to back away from the pathway she had created for the orcs. The leader looked at the walls and floor covered in spider silk. “Guardians?” he asked. “Dangerous?”

  Faestari nodded. “They will move deeper into the dungeon once your people are secure, and you can protect the room. For now, they will prevent others from entering.”

  The orc snorted. A couple of the warriors poked at the spider silk. One started cursing when a particularly sticky section held onto the blade of his spear. Two youths came over and assisted him in pulling it free.

  Faestari walked over to the passage and headed into the area she was giving to the orcs. The first room was shaped a bit like a flattened egg. The entrance was at the tip of the narrow end. The orc looked around at the rough floor and smiled. “Good guard place. Need two orcs, give good challenge.”

  Faestari was going to respond when she felt movement at the archway. The black stone wall was back in place, but she could feel pressure against it. She used her mana to send a command to sit and wait as she continued walking deeper into the dungeon. She wanted to check, but the orcs were crowding her as they explored the chamber.

  The rest of the tour proceeded smoothly. Seven of the ten chambers she was giving to the orcs as combat zones were set up in a chain. The orcs were happy as the group moved through chamber after chamber of seemingly roughhewn caves. In one cave Faestari had left a long vein of iron pyrite visible. Several of the orc youths charged over to look at the shining crystals before the lead orc ordered them to return to the group.

  The hidden stone door and passage to the lair was equally well received. The leader had most of the women begin to set out the tribe’s meager goods once he saw the size of the chambers. Several of the orcs expressed thanks for the trickle of clear water that flowed through the final room.

  “Fungus?” the orc leader asked.

  Faestari turned and without a word led them back to the hidden door. They left the lair and headed one chamber deeper. There she led them to a corner of the chamber. The entrance was hidden by a fold in the wall.

  The passage was a bit on the narrow side for the broad-shouldered orcs, but the leader just grunted a command. Only one warrior followed him as the youths jumped to be close to him. A moment later Faestari stepped out into a large chamber. The smell in the room was rank and she moved to the side to avoid the orcs as they entered.

  The lead orc looked around. “Good,” he said. “Bring jars. Throw into room.”

  All of the orcs turned to leave. Faestari followed, watching as the youths pushed and shoved. Several crashed into the walls of the passage, but the leader ignored their antics.

  When they emerged into the room the leader waved for the others to leave. “Prepare,” he commanded.

  “Are you happy?” Faestari asked.

  “Need guards. Wolf or Goblin best, but tribe safe. We serve,” the leader said.

  Faestari nodded. “Good. I have to go check on other preparations.”

  The orc nodded. Faestari carefully backed away until she was near the passage and then turned to head to the original stairway. The new one was almost complete, but she needed to head back up to the surface to find out what had knocked on her door.

  As she passed through the second room on the floor she noticed that a trio of orcs were standing andholding one of the youths so the youth could touch the ceiling. A coil of rope had been hoisted to the ceiling. Faestari reached out with her mana and found that the orcs were preparing a trap. It was designed to release a stone that would swing down and strike an adventurer who came through the passage.

  “They are going to be trouble,” Faestari thought. “I don’t mind the traps, but they clearly are going to prove quite dangerous to
adventurers.”

  The spiders were a bit agitated when Faestari entered the first room on the floor. She allowed them to start repairing the damage she had done to their floor traps as she ascended the stairway. She thought that this might keep the orcs from wandering while she figured out how to keep them under control.

  With the orc problem under control for now, Faestari allowed her spirit to look outside the mountain. She found that a small group of strange dog-headed humanoids were huddled in the archway. There were only about twenty of them. Four were male and the rest appeared to be female. She could feel that some of the females were pregnant. The creatures were smaller than she was.

  “What are those?” she asked as she rushed through the second floor. “And how did they get here? Did they follow the orcs?”

  Faestari reached the top floor. She hurried past her two empty chambers and stood at the doorway. It melted into the floor at her command.

  The four male creatures turned their dog-like heads in her direction as they jumped to their feet. The leader held a short sword in both hands. The tip trembled as it attempted to keep the point aimed at Faestari’s throat. Another of the creatures raised a long stick over his head. One end had been decorated with a bird’s skull that had been given a crown of feathers.

  The other two rushed to stand between Faestari and the female members of the pitiful band. Now that she was close Faestari could see that other than stained and tattered loincloths none of the creatures had clothing. There were the two weapons, but the rest had empty hands as they cowered in front of her.

  Unsure of what to do Faestari stood and looked at the creatures. They remained defensive. After she failed to move, the one holding the staff lowered the unadorned tip to the ground and leaned on it. He barked at the one holding the sword.

  The sword-wielding creature looked over his shoulder at his tribesman. The barking grew louder as the two creatures argued. Faestari noted the fear that permeated the exchange and waited patiently. Finally the one holding the sword lowered it until the point was aimed at the ground.