Dungeon Madness: The Divine Dungeon Book Two

by Dakota Krout

  ~Dale~

  Entering the fort, Dale’s group was met by cheering, hugs, and sobbing. Rose was intently inspected by Chandra before getting the okay to go anywhere again. Hans and Dale left Father Richard with the healers and joined the gathering. There was a small meeting of the council, but all they decided was that they needed to take a few days to recuperate.

  Dale looked over to see the Goblins entering the small spawn room and decided to go and thank them before they became enemies again. He walked over, spotting the Amazon removing her helmet. He opened his mouth to offer his gratitude when a spray of blood splashed wetly across his face.

  Confused, Dale looked down. He wasn’t injured..? He looked up to see the Amazon Goblin slumping as its head rolled away. “What the abyss are you doing?!”

  Nick glanced at Dale and scoffed. “What, you expect me to believe that I’m going to have a warm reception here? With you in charge?” He ducked down and collected the Mithril helmet. “Do you have any idea what this is worth? I won’t need to bother coming back.”

  Dale was furious that Nick had killed a Goblin instrumental in their survival. “How are you planning to leave? Did you forget that the portal is closed? You going to walk?”

  “No need for that.” Nick turned with a sickly grin. He held up a small enchanted vial. “Emergency portal access. Lets me get where I need to go, as long as I can make it to the portal arch.” His eyes flickered past Dale, and an awestruck look crossed his face. He shot forward and Dale yelled, ducking into a defensive position.

  Looking at where the man was currently standing, Dale gasped to see a shining pink orb trapped in bands of Mana. “What are you doing?” He repeated the words again in the span of a few seconds.

  “It’s a real Dungeon Wisp!” Nick whispered. “I thought I had imagined it, looking down into the Boss room weeks ago.”

  “A Dungeon Wisp?” Dale looked at the orb of swirling light. “Wait. Minya told me that dungeons go insane if they lose their Wisp! You can’t take that!”

  Nick looked at Dale, sneering mightily. “Like. I. Care.” His eyes shone with greed. “The bounty for a Dungeon Wisp… I’ll never need to-”

  “Get off my-” Dale bellowed, all he could get out before a fist impacted his throat.

  “Can’t be having that now, can we?” Nick *tsked* at him. “Who knows, I may need to come back some day.”

  “I’m Dani!” A tiny, chiming voice sounded. “Tell Cal that I will find a way back! I prom-”

  A heavy fist impacted Dale’s face, and the world went dark.

  ~Thirty~

  Dale woke up with a start, a vile smelling vial being waved under his olfactory organ. “Gah! No! Never that!”

  “Dale.” Chandra’s calm voice reached him through his sputtering. “What happened?”

  “What?” Dale looked around, they were in what remained of the church. A bitterly cold wind was blowing in through the holes in the walls and roof.

  Amber stepped forward, eyes flashing. “Do you know who the abyss used a highly illegal portal jump? People are dead from this, and trust in the Portal Guild has plummeted!”

  Realization was slowly dawning in Dale’s mind and he threw off his blanket, trying to run out of the room. He was stopped by Frank, who was just entering the room.

  “Wow, where is the fire, young man?” Frank queried him, holding him with his unbandaged arm. “Shouldn’t you be in bed? You had a nasty head wound.”

  Dale stopped, knowing that they needed explanations. “The person who used the portal was Nick, leader of The Collective.” He started to sink into despair as it dawned on him that he was too late. “Where did he go?” He asked weakly, already sinking into depression.

  “We don’t know.” Amber stated grimly. “That is one of the reasons they are so illegal. That, and also if someone is using the portal and it is intercepted, they get cut in half.”

  “That is horrible, but-” Dale was interrupted.

  “Damn, right it is!” Amber was about to go on a full tirade when Dale held up a hand.

  “I’m sorry, but I have more bad news.” He took a breath. “The dungeon’s Wisp was taken.”

  The group looked at him, nonplussed. Chandra broke the silence, “So a collector took a Mob? That isn’t uncommon, Dale.”

  Minya strode into the room, eyes fixed on Dale. “Are you sure?”

  Dale nodded. “I was there. That’s why he attacked me.”

  “What is the big deal?” Frank’s voice had high notes of nervousness creeping in.

  Minya sighed. “This is why my lore is so important, but no one bothers to read it… Frank, when a dungeon loses its bonded Wisp — its Dungeon Wisp — it goes insane. Its influence spreads wildly, and corruption becomes rampant. That is usually when a crusade is called to kill a dungeon.”

  “The… like the Kantor incident?” Frank shook, gripping the wall for balance. “Is that what caused the disaster?”

  Minya nodded grimly. Chandra leaned her head against the wall. “This is bad. Should we take preemptive action and kill the dungeon now?”

  “We have time, and that needs to be a last resort.” Minya hurriedly stated. “If the dungeon dies… so does Dale and so do I.”

  Amber looked at Dale. “I think it is time we all had that chat we’ve been looking forward to.”

  “I think so.” Dale nodded and began his story.

  ~Cal~

  I smiled brilliantly, looking around for my partner. She always had the best reactions to good news!

  I cast my mind about, but she wasn’t in here. She must be out flying around..? Something felt different. I ached. How strange…? I examined myself, and found the issue. There was a rip in my aura! I tried to fix it, but it resisted my tampering. I looked closer. It wasn’t so much a tear as a horrendous stretch, extending so far away from me that Essence was leaving but was unable to cycle back to me.

  If I remembered correctly, that was the part of my aura bound to… to Dani? I shouted frantically. Maybe she just couldn’t hear me? I shouted. No response. I flooded my aura with an amount of Essence that I would normally be horrified about wasting.

  I screamed from the bottom of my soul, Essence flooding the world around me. Weaker beings went through a short period of rapid growth as the massive surge of power flooded their affinity channels, forcing natural evolutions upon their bodies. Those that survived would have interesting changes that even just yesterday I would have loved to study. Today, I was a broken soul. I broke off, sobbing. <…Dani…>

  “Cal.” A pained voice broke through my weeping.

  I latched onto his voice like a lifeline. Dale had legs! He could go find her!

  “Cal.” Dale called firmly, cutting off my babbling. “I’m so sorry. I’m going to do everything that I possibly can to get her back for you.”

  My dread shifted into suspicion.

  “Cal, we are…”

  I screamed at him and the room jumped ten degrees as fire Essence flooded the room.

  He paused, stunned by my anger directly assaulting his brain. “Cal… Dani was taken. By Nick, the leader of The Collective. He ran and teleported away before we could stop him. She talked to me. She said she would find a way back to you, no matter what.”

  I stared at him, and even though I didn’t have actual eyes I could project a mental image of myself into his mind.

  “Cal, I tried, he…” Dale petered off as the air began to fill with corruption. The light shifted from a soft blue to a undulating, patterned red.

  My voice was the barest of whispers as I turned to my work. I had so much to do. There was n
o time.

  No time like the present.

  I shifted my attention away just as someone else entered the dungeon, “How did it go?”

  Dale let out a heavy sigh and a few tears. He gulped, trying to clear his voice. “You were right, Minya. He… he’s already drifting into Dungeon Madness.”

  End of Book Two

  Don't forget to read the epilogue after the appendix!!!

  Look for book three in Fall of 2019!

  …

  Just kidding! I’m already working on it!

  Like and follow my Facebook page to get updates, sneak peeks, and chances to put in your characters into my next books! Either look for The Divine Dungeon, or follow this link: https://goo.gl/W2GAc7

  ~Appendix~

  Adam – A mid D-Ranked Cleric who joined Dale’s group. He was corrupted by a massive influx of celestial Essence, which he may have gained powerful abilities from.

  Adventurers Guild – A group from every non-hostile race that actively seeks treasure and Cultivates to become stronger. They act as a Mercenary group for Kingdoms that come under attack from monsters and other non-kingdom forces.

  Affinity – A person’s affinity denotes what element they need to Cultivate Essence from. If they have multiple affinities, they need to cultivate all of those elements at the same time. The affinity can be a mix of any basic elements.

  Affinity Channel – The pathway along the Meridians that Essence flows through. Having multiple major affinities will open more pathways, allowing more Essence to flow into a person’s center at one time.

  Amber – The Mage in charge of the portal-making group near the dungeon. She is in the upper A-Rankings, allowing her to tap vast amounts of Mana.

  Artificer – An artificer is a person that devotes themselves to creating powerful artifacts, either by enchanting or inscribing them.

  Assassin – A stealthy killer who tries to make kills without being detected by their victim.

  Assimilator – A cross between a jellyfish and a Wisp, the Assimilator can float around and collect vast amounts of Essence. It releases this Essence as powerful elemental bursts. A pseudo-Mage if you will.

  Aura – The flows of Essence generated by living creatures, which surrounds them and holds their pattern.

  Bane – An F-Ranked Boss Mob that is a giant mushroom. He can fire thorns and pull victims toward him with vines made of moss.

  Basher – An evolved rabbit that attacks by head-butting enemies. They have a small horn on their head that the use to “bash” their enemies.

  Beast Core – A small gem that contains the Essence of Beasts.

  Flawed: An extremely weak crystallization of Essence that barely allows a Beast to cultivate, comparable to low F-rank.

  Weak: A weak crystallization of Essence that allows a Beast to cultivate, comparable to upper F-rank.

  Standard: A crystallization of Essence that allows a Beast to cultivate well, comparable to the D-rankings.

  Strong: A crystallization of Essence that allows a Beast to cultivate very well, comparable to the lower C-rankings.

  Beastly: A crystallization of Essence that allows a Beast to cultivate exceedingly well, comparable to the upper C-rankings.

  Immaculate: An amalgamation of crystallized of Essence and Mana that allows a Beast to cultivate exceedingly well, any Beast in the B-rankings or A-rankings will have this Core.

  Luminous: A Core of pure spiritual Essence that is indestructible by normal means. A Beast with this core will be in at least the S-rankings, up to SSS-rank.

  Radiant: A Core of Heavenly or Godly energies. A Beast with this Core is able to adjust reality on a whim.

  Brianna – A Dark Elf princess that intends to build a city around the dungeon. She is a member of the council, and knows that the dungeon is alive and sentient.

  Cal – The heart of the Dungeon, Cal was a human murdered by Necromancers. After being forced into a soul gem, his identity was stripped as time passed. Now accompanied by Dani, he works to become stronger without attracting too much attention to himself. This may soon change.

  Cats, dungeon – There are several types:

  Snowball: A Boss Mob, Snowball uses steam Essence to fuel his devastating attacks.

  Cloud Cat: A Mob that glides along the air, attacking from positions of stealth.

  Coiled Cat: A heavy Cat that uses metal Essence. It has a reinforced skeleton, and can launch itself forward at high speeds.

  Flesh Cat: This Cat uses flesh Essence to tear apart tissue from a short distance. The abilities of this Cat only work on flesh and veins, and will not affect bone or harder materials.

  Wither Cat: A Cat full of infernal Essence, the Wither Cat can induce a restriction of Essence flow with its attacks. Cutting off the flow of Essence or Mana will quickly leave the victim in a helpless state. The process is quite painful.

  Catalyst – An item that allows an Inscription to be powered with less Essence.

  Celestial – The Essence of Heaven, the embodiment of life and considered the ultimate good.

  Center – The very center of a person’s soul. This is the area Essence accumulates (in creatures that do not have a Core) before it binds to the Life force.

  Chandra – Owner of an extremely well appointed restaurant, this A-ranked Mage is the grandmother of Rose. She also spent a decade training the current Guild Master, Frank. She is Rose’s Grandmother, and very protective of her.

  Chi spiral – A person's Chi spiral is a vast amount of intricately knotted Essence. The more complex and complete the pattern woven into it, the more Essence it can hold and the finer the Essence would be refined.

  Cleric – A Cultivator of Celestial Essence, a cleric tends to be support for a group, rarely fighting directly. Their main purpose in the lower rankings is to heal and comfort others.

  Corruption – Corruption is the remnant of the matter that pure Essence was formed into. It taints Essence, but allows beings to absorb it through open affinity channels. This taint has been argued about for centuries; is it the source of life or a nasty side effect?

  Craig – A powerful C-Ranked monk, Craig has dedicated his life to finding the secrets of Essence and passing on knowledge.

  Currency values:

  Copper: one hundred copper coins are worth a silver coin

  Silver: one hundred silver coins are worth a Gold coin

  Gold: One hundred Gold coins were worth a Platinum coin

  Platinum: The highest coin currency in the human kingdoms

  Cultivate – Cultivating is the process of refining Essence by removing corruption, then cycling the purified Essence into the center of the soul.

  Cultivator – A cultivator is one who cultivates. See above. Seriously, it is the entry right before this one. I’m being all alphabetical here. Mostly.

  Dale – Owner of the mountain the dungeon was found on, Dale is now a cultivator who attempts to not die on a regular basis. As a Dungeon Born person, he has a connection to the dungeon that he can never be rid of.

  Dani – A pink dungeon wisp - Is that important? – Dani is the soul bound companion of Dale, and acts as his moral compass and helper. She is also an integral portion of his psyche, and losing her would drive Cal into madness.

  Dire – A prefix to a title that means “Way stronger than a normal version of this monster”. Roughly. Kind of paraphrasing.

  Distortion Cat – An upper C-Ranked Beast that can bend light and create artificial darkness. In its home territory, it is attacked and bound by tentacle like parasites that form a symbiotic relationship with it.

  Dungeon Born – Being Dungeon born means that the Dungeon did not create the creature, but gave it life. This gives the creature the ability to function autonomously, without fear that the dungeon will be able to take direct control of its mind. The dungeon can “ride along” in a Dungeon born creatures mind from any distance and may be able to influence the creature if it remains of a lower cultivation rank than the Dungeon.

  Dwarve
s – Stocky humanoids that like to work with stone, metal, and alcohol. Good miners.

  Elves – A race of willowy humanoids with pointy ears. There are five main types:

  High Elves: the largest nation of Elvenkind, they spend most of their time as merchants, artists, or thinkers. Rich beyond any need to actually work, their King is an S-Ranked expert, and their cities shine with light and wealth. They like to think of themselves as ‘above’ other Elves, thus ‘High’ Elves.

  Wood Elves: Wood Elves live more simply than High-Elves, but have greater connection to the earth and the elements. They are ruled by a counsel of S-ranked elders, and rarely leave their woods. Though seen less often, they have great power. They grow and collect food and animal products for themselves and other Elven nations.

  Wild: Wild Elves are the outcasts of their societies, basically feral, they scorn society and civilization, and the rules of others. They have the worst reputation of any of the races of Elves, practicing dark arts and infernal summoning. They have no homeland, living only where they can get away with their dark deeds.

  Dark: The Drow are known as Dark Elves. No one knows where they live, only where they can go to get in contact with them. Dark Elves also have a dark reputation, as assassins and mercenaries for the other races. The worst of their lot are ‘Moon-Elves’, the best known assassins of any race. These are the Elves that Dale made a deal with for land and protection.