Dungeon at War: Dark Dungeon 03

by D. R. Rosier

  Selwyn looked at the pit filled with sleeping soldiers, and at the bodies, weapons, and armor being pulled down into the ground. A moment later they were all gone, as if they’d never been there. Earth elementals were good for cleanup.

  “So, what now?” Selwyn asked in a voice that only shook a little.

  I said, “Wait here, preach to the soldiers if you want, they’re just peasants too. After Lila and I sweep the city, you can come in and do your thing like at the village.”

  Selwyn nodded, “Good luck. Don’t worry about the reactions, they’ll get over it. We knew what the plan was, but it’s one thing to know it, and another to see it. I’m just damned glad you’re on our side.”

  I laughed, “Me too, I couldn’t do what you do.”

  Selwyn nodded.

  As we walked toward the city, Lila asked, “Master hunting?”

  She wasn’t exactly bloodthirsty, but she craved the hardest challenge to prove herself, and they were our enemy. Okay, maybe she was a bit bloodthirsty too. Still, it was a good division of labor, as a mage I could take out larger groups more easily, and she took down the ones most likely to resist my master level spells.

  I said, “Sure, but stay out of the temples. But that’s two you owe me.”

  “Of course master, I know the plan. Besides, it’s not like I wouldn’t have ended up in your bed anyway,” she added seductively.

  Considering what we were about, she gave me a shockingly gentle, lingering, and sweet kiss, before she took off toward the city. I imagined when I got there, all the soldiers, warriors, and mages would be nicely grouped for me to take out as they raised the alarm.

  I wouldn’t use fire in the city, I didn’t want to burn it down, but the stone walls around it was another story. I summoned half a dozen flame atronachs and set them the task of clearing the walls, and burning down the gate. They rushed ahead as I walked sedately toward the gate that I thought wouldn’t be there when I finally arrived.

  They taught me not to be cocky though, when two ballistae were fired at me. One of the large spear sized bolts bounced off my protections at a glancing angle. The second was dead on, and sent me flying back about twenty feet where I landed on my ass.

  Fuck, that hurt.

  I looked down at the bolt through my stomach, and managed to cast a spell to pull it out, and then followed that up with a light spell to heal myself. The pain was excruciating, and only my ability to multi-task and have a portion of me ignore pain let me deal with it.

  I stood up and shook my head, dumb ass. Anger raged through my chest, mostly pointed at my own stupidity but I had another target in mind.

  I summoned one of the largest earth elementals I could. When it rose from the ground it looked more like a small hill than a vague humanoid shape, and it moved along the ground like a wave. The stone wave collapsed on the wall, ripping the fortifications up, and literally tearing out and eating almost a whole twenty-foot section of the wall where the gate was.

  By now, the atronachs had finished clearing the rest of the wall of soldiers, and my large earth elemental and fire elementals left as their task was completed. I was still a little embarrassed, and walked forward carefully, using my sub-dungeon aura to locate all the people with power. It was easy enough to determine that directly, and I sent smaller earth elementals after them.

  Lila had no trouble keeping ahead of me, and no masters ever entered my aura. Which was a shame, because a hell of a lot of life force escaped my grasp, as she later told me she killed eighteen of them that day. Easy come, easy go, I already had twelve of the large crystals, and more power than I knew what to do with.

  Slowly but surely, we destroyed the council in the small city, as well as the guards that wouldn’t surrender. Once we got all the active defenders, we cleaned up the government buildings as well. As for me, I didn’t have any more stupid close calls, and used the elementals as much as possible, and stuck to light bolts if anyone got too close. We were very careful about avoiding collateral damage. Some building damage was unavoidable, but not one peasant died due to our magic or steel.

  Lila and I both met up at a very nice tavern and inn across the way from the temple quarter of the city. It was less a quarter of its own, as one giant complex with several temples and offices in one. The inn was a good place for me to keep track of them through the sub-dungeon aura, I’d know when they started to move, and could listen to their plotting. When they attacked, I’d have to intervene this time, because there were a few master clerics and paladins among them. The mage masters with us could probably handle it, but not without losses.

  The inn itself was well appointed and very clean. The common room was polished, and it was obvious only the rich stayed there.

  We checked in with a terrified innkeeper, and then contacted Selwyn via the communication devices. It was their turn to do their magic. I imagined a city of almost twenty thousand would be a lot harder to convert than the small village was.

  As for Lila and I, well she kept her word, and was absolutely wild in bed for the first few rounds. We didn’t calm down enough to make love until round four. Our relationship was far more than that, I loved my dark angel, and she loved me, but the battle seemed to bring out certain instincts which we were more than happy to give into…

  Chapter Twelve

  The expansion was complete, and I just got done moving us all down to the new bottom level as I added the new levels into the teleport network. Twenty-six levels, not including the hidden level ten for the gnomes, and fifty-two teleport alcoves. My dungeon also encompassed all twenty-five rating levels, five levels each in initiate, apprentice, journeyman, adept, and master, which was impressive I thought.

  I was thinking of adding another four levels once the large war golems were finished. Kind of an area with high risk and higher rewards for even those of master level. But that wouldn’t be for a while. Still, the only way I’d need to expand again, is if my dungeon got too crowded, as the amount of adventurers coming still seemed to be going up.

  In that case, I’d probably just double up every level, and change up the copies a little bit. More space for the adventurers to spread out. Still, I wouldn’t be bored, as I rearranged and moved traps on a nightly basis to keep things fresh and interesting. I still had lots to learn as well, which meant new elements would be added to those levels over time.

  I could feel Donnell’s annoyance, as he grabbed the paperwork to let the guild know I’d once again expanded. For a brief moment, I was mischievously tempted to fill it out for him, he looked tired.

  “Master?”

  “Yes, little imp?”

  She giggled, “That should piss me off, but I love when you call me that, almost as much as sexy. I want to stay here, and raise our daughter together, and not in here. I can hide my horns, wings, and tail, and appear human if I need to. I just never do it. I don’t actually need to be in the dungeon since I’m bonded to you, and your avatar will be there with me anyway. Plus, I can still do library days, so you’ll get time alone with our little one. Maybe once or twice a week?”

  I asked, “What made you decide all that? Not that I disagree with any of it.”

  She sighed, “If my child was a dungeon imp, then I’d raise her here. But she’s a mix of higher being, and fallen, but she’s a part of this mortal plane and not of the hells or higher planes. She deserves to be raised with others. I suppose I’ll have to dress normally, and act like a human.”

  That would be a shame, I’d miss her slutty sexy dresses. Then again, the green dress she had on now was quite fetching and conservative, minus the open back for her wings.

  “Her? Do you know something I don’t?”

  Ebony shrugged, “Tired of saying he or she, so I’ll call her a her until she’s born. Or he.”

  She snickered.

  “We’ll figure it out love. Remember talking about you advancing to master levels? I don’t suppose that’s changed any since you’ll have a child to protect?”

 
; Since technically I couldn’t, protect my child I mean, or Ebony outside of the dungeon, I wanted her as strong as possible to do both. Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t prepare a bunch of stuff before I returned to the higher realm for my vengeance and to take my rightful place. Things like protections, armor, or anything my child would need no matter what magical path he or she took. Of course, as an immortal both paths are likely, like a war-mage. Not to mention personal golem guardians, and a powerfully protected home. Where would that be though, here in Tenemin perhaps?

  Maybe at least in that home, since it was mine, I’d be able to protect them there as well. Maybe.

  She nodded in agreement, “I’ve been practicing with magic a few hours a day since we talked. My knowledge is already master level, I just need the casting and fighting practice.”

  I paused for a moment, “I have a new spell I’ve been playing with. It’s like the fantasy spell, but it promotes training. It has another component, which would also speed up time in a bubble around you, for your whole body so your magic would grow as your mind did. That way you can fight and train in real time in your mind against dream opponents, but out here almost no time would pass at all. It won’t ever be popular for a mortal, because it would age them, but for immortal beings it could work as a relatively safe and very fast way of training. Technically though, it would take the same amount of time and effort, only just experientially instead of literally compared to the outside world. Which means it would probably be very lonely as well.”

  She frowned, “I’ll try it later, after I give birth. If it accelerates the body that means it would accelerate the pregnancy, right?”

  Shit, that would have been bad. How the fuck did I miss that?

  “Of course,” I said softly, trying to sound confident.

  She laughed, and posed for me, “You didn’t think of that master?”

  “Maybe.”

  She giggled, and I wondered how long she would tease me about this.

  Well at least I knew her answer, and I had a lot to plan out and decide before I left this plane, mostly left this mortal plane…

  Moments later, I heard the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard at the edge of my detection range, in the forest toward the south west. It was seductive, but that wasn’t really the right word. Perhaps enchanting was correct. Beguiling, mesmerizing, enthralling? All good words. It was pure, and riveting as the woman poured out her soul in song. It was filled with emotions, possibilities, and a deep sadness that pierced my soul.

  The woman herself was as beautiful as her song, with long dark flowing hair that looked like liquid midnight, and dark blue eyes the color of a starry sky at false dawn. Her face was angelic, with a delicate ethereal beauty that looked untouched by time. She was wearing a light blue silk dress, that was layered and partly diaphanous, and flowed in the wind.

  She was also another damned avatar, and her presence was quite disconcerting.

  Her speaking voice was sweet, but tinged with regret, “Hello brother. Did you like my song?”

  She was my enemy, and at the same time my heart broke for her, the music had been transcendent. She was obviously far more dangerous than the crazy one.

  “What do you want?”

  She sighed, “I wanted to meet you dear brother, and I wanted you to know me. Singing that song, was me, and allowed you to see the essence of what I am. I am not like most of my family, and dislike the way they manipulated the humans leading our church. I am Hedea, the goddess of music. You’ve already met my crazy… our crazy older sister, Tythys, goddess of life and death. Congratulations by the way, she’s really terrified of you now, and has no idea how you defeated her.”

  I wanted to ask so many questions, but the one that fell out of my mind was full of shock, “I’m a god?”

  Hedea laughed, “Yes, but don’t be too impressed with yourself little brother. We may be above beings of power, like angels and demi-gods, but the multi-verse is a very complicated place, and we are of the lowest and weakest echelon of gods. We are tied to worlds, and in some ways we are slaves, power sources for light and dark magic for those that worship us and give us power. The gods above us, and above them, and so on all have their own inherent source of power, yet are completely barred from the mortal worlds they watch over. We are their tools, and servants of great power, but in the end, we serve.”

  That explained a few things, like why I was beyond the rules. I couldn’t be punished because the gods over the pantheons couldn’t reach me here. I wasn’t sure I trusted her sweetness, she seemed genuinely good to me, but how could I trust that? Yet, I had a lot of questions, and she seemed willing to talk.

  “So tell me, why did you imprison and banish me?”

  Hedea replied sadly, “I didn’t, I was against it. Tythys did it out of fear, and with our parents’ blessing. There was a prophecy of sorts you see. One of the goals of the gods who get their power from the worshippers in the mortal plane is to gain enough power to ascend to the next level in the hierarchy. That’s true power, where the whims of mortals won’t affect us any longer. Our family is, or was, extremely close to reaching that goal. I believe one of the gods above us moved to sabotage us, maybe he believed that we weren’t worthy to reach the next echelon, and there were signs that you, the only dark god born to our pantheon, would destroy us.

  “Of course, if we hadn’t banished you here, you would never have had the ability to permanently harm us in any way. It was also why Tythys had to banish you, because it was the only way to cut you off from the pantheon and destroy you. A double-edged sword if there ever was one. I’m sorry Nurien, you were just a baby at the time. But she screwed up, and lost your location almost immediately, as that holy sword you woke up next to hid your dark magic essence for centuries until your prison was breached.”

  “So what? We’re all just pawns then?”

  Hedea shook her head, “No, I won’t use that as an excuse, but we were tricked, and the god who set up the self-fulfilling prophecy is depending on your dark nature to finish us off when you can. It’s no more than we deserve. You’re making good progress by the way, I can already feel myself diminishing as we lose worshippers. I just wanted to meet you, and tell you I regret what happened. All I’ve ever wanted was to enjoy the music, and inspire its creation.”

  “Aren’t you worried?”

  Hedea smiled, “Yes, I don’t want to end, but Karma is real, and is a total bitch. Even the gods must pay the price and heed the consequences of their actions. I didn’t agree with Tythys, and I argued with her, but I didn’t try to stop her. I’d wish you good luck brother, but I’m not suicidal. I think I’ll go into Tenemin, and enjoy the music in the local taverns. It’s been many years since I’ve created an avatar and walked this world, perhaps too long.”

  She disappeared.

  I wondered why she didn’t attack me, waiting would only give me more power, and her less as my avatar crossed Jennesar. Still, my heart ached for my youngest sister, and her soft presence. I’d felt both deep regret and familial love from her. Was it a trick, to make me feel merciful and spare her when I went after the rest of the pantheon? Or did she truly feel sorrowful, did she truly love her little brother?

  In the end, I decided that it was probably both… the only question left was, what would I do when the time came?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Catalina felt like she was stronger, as she cast a tornado on top of two undead archers and an undead mage. Diana had convinced her control was ninety percent confidence, and ten percent concentration, and that she could, would, control it. They’d even done so alone the other afternoon, just to prove it when there were no other people around.

  The tornado lifted them up, and despite their steel sheathed bones, the skeletons were hit with hundreds of air blades moving at over a hundred miles an hour. They were ripped apart into pieces.

  There were several zombies and skeletons attacking nearby, and her focus shifted to the closer threat. Two were fa
ced off with Karl as he blocked their access to her.

  “Incoming Karl.”

  Karl dove to the ground as the tornado flung several steel covered bones at the backs of the skeletons right before it dissipated, and he came back up to his feet after the few that missed went over his body. The two skeletons were still in the game, although one had lost an arm and several ribs, and the other’s spine was hanging by a thread of metal.

  She watched him rather closely as he lunged in and finished off the latter by cutting it in half, and then attacked the other with a fierce cry. She admitted to herself, that she very much liked to watch Karl fight.

  She turned her head, and saw her lover was similarly entranced with Levin’s fighting prowess, even as Mina launched several balls of ice that distracted and even harmed the skeleton and zombie as it melted and refroze around their joints.

  It wasn’t just the men’s looks, or their bodies, but both men were attentive, respectful, and most of all didn’t judge either of them for their close relationship. It was impossible not to like them. She wasn’t too worried about the attraction either, she was committed to Mina, but not dead, and looking and even appreciating wasn’t a bad thing.

  She glanced at Cary and Diana, who were fighting an undead knight, and seemed to be holding their own quite easily. She decided to help them though, simply because Karl could help Mina and Levin without going far from her side. It was what they were trained to do, the two men always protected both of them, her and mina stuck together, and both assisted Cary and Diana after seeing to themselves and the man they were teamed with. It worked well as a system, and they were starting to work extremely well as team.

  She supposed the truth of that was in Diana’s decision to take them to level ten today.

  She cast two supporting spells, making Diana and Cary faster, and verified her air shields on everyone was still strong. Then she cast a small tornado around the knight’s head. The winds were too fast to be considered a whirlwind despite its puny size, and it wouldn’t harm either Diana or Cary as they closed into weapon range. She imagined that a tornado around its head was highly distracting, and made it hard to follow Cary and Diana’s strikes.