Dungeon World 3: A Dungeon Core Experience

by Jonathan Brooks

  “I was waiting until we were at a relatively safe place before doing this, and I guess this is as good a place as any. Now—” Fred said as he turned toward her for a moment— “I’m really hoping this works, but if it doesn’t, it might knock me out. If that’s the case, you may have to drag me somewhere to keep me safe until I wake up.”

  “Wait, what—” Eisa began, before she saw him pull something out of his front pocket. It appeared to be a large sliver of some sort of gemstone, though she’d never seen one that was so black that it almost seemed to suck in the light. Where did he get that? She was about to finish her question, but she saw Fred move some of Regnark’s furs off of his chest until she could see his pale, lifeless skin…and then he pulled his hand back and stabbed the gemstone into the big man’s chest, right where his heart was.

  Blackish blood oozed up slowly from the wound on the corpse, which mixed with the fresh red blood of Fred as the sharp sliver had cut him deeply. “I guess I should’ve used something other than my hand…” Eisa heard him mutter, before he froze in concentration and stared at the big man in bear furs. Sweat started to pour off his head as he started to shake violently, before a blindingly bright light enveloped Regnark, and Fred collapsed on his side – alive, breathing, and conscious, fortunately.

  “That…took…much…much…more…than you…Eisa…” Fred croaked out.

  Wha—me? What is he— The bright light suddenly faded in less than a second until it was completely gone…and then Regnark sat up, screaming incoherently. It took him a moment for his wild eyes to focus on anything, but as soon as he registered the bright light, Eisa standing there with what she was sure was a shocked expression on her face, and Deecy looking at him with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, he shut up and looked around.

  “Hey there, friend – glad to have you back,” Fred croaked out by his side, apparently just barely recovering himself.

  Regnark whipped his head down at Fred, surprise and a smile fighting each other on his face. “What happened? What did you do?”

  Eisa had recovered from what she had just witnessed enough to realize what Fred had just done. “You were dead, Regnark. Fred brought you back to life and…well…welcome to the ‘Shard’ club, I guess.”

  “Like she said…welcome.”

  Apparently, hearing Deecy’s voice in his head was too much for him, and the big, strong, hulk of a man rolled his eyes into the back of his head and…fainted.

  * * *

  “I did not faint. I was just…so overcome with joy at being alive that my mind couldn’t handle it,” Regnark repeated as they walked towards the city of Allroads in the distance.

  They all let him get away with that excuse, mainly because it seemed to make him feel better for not having fainted. In his defense, though, he had been out for less than 5 seconds, so it was easy enough to pass it off as something else. Regardless of whether he fainted or not, the fact that he was alive and walking around was something to celebrate.

  Eisa could see the black aura of Dark surrounding the big man, though instead of it being in any way scary like she would’ve imagined it, the feeling she got when she looked at him was more of…kinship than anything else. As much as she had enjoyed sharing her status as a “Shard” along with Deecy, it just wasn’t the same as having a connection with another human. Regnark was more like an older brother she’d never had before; she felt like she could count on him to protect not just her, but her entire family.

  Because that was what she was beginning to think of these other people (and Dire Wolf) as: family. If Regnark was an older brother, Deecy was like an older, wiser sister; on the other hand, instead of Fred being a younger brother or whatnot, she liked to consider him her husband – or at least possibly that at some time in the future. She blushed as she considered that possibility but pushed it from her mind as they slowly approached the city of Allroads.

  They didn’t really have time for such romantic pursuits as what she was thinking of, because they had a mission to accomplish. Not only were they still looking for their Guild and the townspeople, but there was still the chance – despite Deecy’s memories saying otherwise – that the Earth, Dark, and Nature dungeons out there would send in their monsters to hunt them down even in that forbidden place.

  She couldn’t help but think of this Supreme Council that the Dire Wolf had told them about like the mayor of a large town or even the King of a Kingdom; if someone went to them with a petition to hunt down a dangerous thief or murderer – but such a hunt would require passing into different jurisdiction like another Kingdom – then she wouldn’t put it past the two people in charge to agree that they could allow an exception of crossing borders. Eisa just hoped that she and the others weren’t the exception in this case.

  As they got closer to Allroads, she could feel the intensity of the ambient Mana rise as she walked; judging by the excited/energized state of the two other Shards with her, it seemed as though they felt the same. Fred seemed totally unaffected, though she supposed that made sense – he couldn’t absorb the natural ambient Mana all around him. Poor thing.

  She couldn’t absorb any of that Mana, however, because she was already full; she could only absorb over and above what her maximum was if she touched what was left over from an Earth monster dying or when Fred gave her some of his own. So, while she was practically bathing in ambient Mana there, it ultimately didn’t do much for her – or the others.

  They had found a nearby road that led toward the city, which wasn’t hard – all the roads they saw led to the city…which, when she thought about it, was probably why they called that place Allroads. Since all roads led there, it seemed like it was obvious.

  Their road snaked around an outrageously hot lava pit on the right side, and then curved by one of the almost-blindingly bright crystal pillar forests a little further up on the left, before skipping past one of the deep, crystal-clear lakes on the right again. While they were walking, Eisa could see that the other roads leading to the city passed through different elemental “hotspots”, so that every way into the city had a slightly different path through the natural obstacles.

  But what held her main attention was the small mountain range lined up behind everything like a backdrop. It pulled at her and she had to push down an impulse to run all the way there and fling herself onto the 500-foot-tall rock projections – and then hug it and squeeze it like a long-lost friend. It felt silly when she identified those feelings, however, which helped to restrain herself.

  She could see the same sort of restraint on Deecy when they passed by the lava pool and lake – which she was glad to see, because Eisa didn’t think that jumping into burning-hot lava was the best idea. Regnark had his gaze set on the dark and dreary graveyard over a mile away, but he also was restrained enough that he was at least paying attention to where he was going and his other surroundings.

  When she forcibly turned her attention away from the mountains in the distance, she realized that they had been passing or were being passed by people as they walked – and she had been fairly oblivious. Many of those she saw were obviously Adventurers as they were decked out in armor, carried a few weapons, and had PIBs at their waist. They traveled in groups ranging from 2 to up to 20, though she knew that such large groups were likely just a Guild traveling together to a certain area and would split up into smaller groups when they got where they were going.

  However, there were plenty of what appeared to be merchants, slowly leading small caravans of wagons pulled by large oxen – which was the best way to transport large amounts of goods, though they were quite slow. She saw a few of the obviously wealthier merchants almost speeding by in comparison, as they used Brawn-focused Adventurers to help pull their wagons; it was common practice by many of the not-so-well-off tanks and other front-line fighters to take a commission like that on their way to a dungeon delve, as it provided quite a bit of extra gold if they were strong or fast enough. The other members of the group usually chipped in wi
th whatever they could, as well as providing protection against aggressive wildlife and the occasional (but rare) bandits or thieves that sometimes roamed through some areas.

  Most of those they passed paid absolutely no attention to them as they walked at a steady pace towards the city of Allroads, though a few stared at them – or, more accurately, they stared at the Dire Wolf in her normal form walking next to Regnark. Eisa could vaguely tell that the old and new Shards were having a mental discussion; she couldn’t hear them, per se, but it was almost like hearing a very faint conversation through thin walls in a building. While she could sense that they were speaking, she couldn’t make anything out.

  Fortunately, no one had done any more than stare; looking at it from an outsider’s perspective, she assumed everyone thought that the big man still covered in bear furs – they really needed to get him something else because the sun shining down was hot – was somehow the Dire Wolf’s owner, like she was some sort of trained pet or something. That, of course, was far from the truth – but if other people thought that, it only made it easier for them to travel without being accosted.

  The city got closer and closer, and she could see farmland stretching for at least a mile in every direction outside of the walls, which was generally clear of any specific elemental hotspot. To her, it almost appeared as if the center of the valley was left clear specifically for the city to exist but looking around at the relatively wild and disorganized placement of the elemental areas, she thought that was unlikely. It was probably just happenstance that enough room was left for the large city – a fortunate coincidence, indeed, but a happenstance, nevertheless.

  Eisa couldn’t help but think that the capital city of Craytion – where the King and the Kingdom’s DAS headquarters were located – could fill only about a third of the massive city stretching out before them. Although the huge valley that held all of the elemental wonders was at least 100 square miles in area, about 5% of that was just full-on city. The 50-foot-tall stone walls loomed above the local landscape, dwarfing everyone below that was either entering or exiting the city.

  Which was, admittedly, quite a lot. Eisa and the others were heading towards what appeared to be the northeastern gate, one of the six gates that they could see the city had from farther away. And, from what she could see of the eastern and northern gates, they were all likewise swelled up with large crowds.

  “How are we going to find our people in there?” she asked, practically shouting to be heard over the figurative mob of people shouting orders to teams of oxen and Adventurers screaming at those same caravans to get out of their way.

  “I’m not quite sure, but if they still have their marks above their head, I assume it won’t be too hard,” Fred responded, talking just as loudly.

  I sure hope so. The worry about people knowing her tarnished reputation there started to fade as she saw the mass of people everywhere; rumors and gossip about Syndicate members was one thing in a relatively self-contained Kingdom, but in a place that looked to contain almost as many people in the entire Kingdom they came from in a single city, it was likely easier to blend in when no one knew who she was – or cared. Sometimes anonymity can be a good thing.

  Feeling a little better about it, Eisa smiled at Fred and joined him and the others in the slowly progressing line heading into the city.

  Chapter 34

  Fred couldn’t help but smile back at Eisa as they waited in line to enter the massive city of Allroads. Though, the more he looked at the lengthy walls and masses of people, it wouldn’t have been far-fetched to call the city and surrounding environs a Kingdom in and of itself.

  There were more people in just the nearest 500 feet around him than Fred had ever seen in his life – and they weren’t even inside yet. To tell the truth, he was a little nervous being around so many humans; the thought that one of them would learn of his real identity sent shivers through his body. Everywhere he looked, he saw Adventurers ranging from those just starting out in the low G-Ratings, all the way up to the high A-Ratings; if even a dozen of those in the A-Ratings were to try to kill him and his friends, he doubted they would survive – even if he had an established territory and a dungeon at his disposal. At least, not yet; Fred was still getting stronger, and he knew that the day would come when he would be able to not only survive but thrive if Adventurers ran through his dungeon.

  He frowned at that thought, which caused Eisa to look worriedly at him – which he immediately waved off without explanation and put a smile back on his face. It was a bit forced, he knew, but he didn’t want to worry her. Those strange thoughts were popping up in his mind and manipulating his emotions more and more lately, and he wasn’t sure what – if anything – to do about it. It started with his incomprehensible anger back in the town of Death’s March, almost like that had triggered more issues. He had been busy enough fleeing and surviving since then, but as soon as he had room to breathe, the thoughts had started up again.

  Luckily, none of his thoughts were directed towards Eisa, Regnark, Deecy, those they were searching for, or even the group that had assisted in getting Fred to the Dark Core; instead, when he looked at the people going in or out of Allroads, all he could think about was how much Mana they would provide to his dungeon. It was almost as if they were some sort of commodity to be exploited for only one thing and had no other uses.

  Kind of like…livestock.

  The thought that his mind was becoming more and more like every other Dungeon Core in the world brought a bout of anger, though it was directed more at himself than anything else. I will not be like them! I won’t be like those that murdered my parents!

  The more he interacted with Dungeon Cores, the more he realized that his parents – despite taking care of and raising him without judgment of his obvious differences – were probably of the same mindset as all the others. He shied away from labeling them with the same callous attitudes towards humans as “livestock” that every Core seemed to have, but…they had existed for centuries or even a millennium before he arrived; there was always the possibility that they had changed over the years and grew more thoughtful of humans, but they had likely thought exactly the same viewpoint about people like Eisa, Regnark, or any other human that every Core he had spoken with seemed to share.

  That still didn’t forgive what the Supreme Council did to them.

  Fred decided that when he found his people and made sure they were safe, only then would he plan what he wanted to do to get revenge on those that murdered his parents. He had to ensure that he wasn’t endangering more humans in the process, though, because that would go completely counter to his main intention: personal retribution. They had wronged him; if he ended up dragging thousands or millions of humans into the fight, then he couldn’t imagine the chaos that would ensue.

  However, just like his previous internal debate about his revenge, he didn’t know where it would stop. Even if he succeeded in destroying the Supreme Council, it wouldn’t make a difference; no one but him would care that he got his personal retribution, and there would just be more to take their place. They would continue to punish and destroy any Cores that had the thought of doing what his parents had done, and the cycle of treating humans as livestock would continue. And – from a conversation he remembered overhearing from some of his Guild – the territories of the Cores would continue to encroach on human lands, reducing the amount of space where they could live safely.

  He had to imagine that this reduction of human-controlled lands was happening over the entire world. If what he had heard was correct about the constant wars between the elemental factions and alliances, then the places where humans were “allowed” to live could shrink over the centuries as the Cores tried to expand as much as they could to hold an advantage over their counterparts. Within 500 years, it was entirely possible that the Craytion Kingdom could be reduced to nothing more than a few towns that were jealously protected by the nearby Cores as a dwindling “resource”. And they would only have them
selves to blame for the scarcity.

  In 1,000 years or more – which was a long time to a human, but honestly not that long to a Dungeon Core – the only place where humans might be safe to live would be these “Convergences”. In his mind’s eye, Fred could see Kingdoms and other habitations around the world being reduced to nothing more than a luxury trade resource, fought over by the powerful Cores as they attempted to steal away the livestock of another faction in constant wars that would likely end with humans perishing in the fight. Eventually, the millions or billions of people around the world would be hunted down to near extinction, forced to procreate, and shoved into dungeons to make the Cores stronger.

  Ideally, the interactions between the two entities should be a symbiotic relationship. Humans got stronger by delving through dungeons – there’s no doubt about that – and dungeons in turn accumulated the Mana from humans visiting their dungeons; it seemed like the arrangement had worked for quite a while after the disastrous war between humans and dungeons long ago, but something had changed.

  From what he had learned, Dungeon Cores used to need to get stronger so that they weren’t destroyed by powerful humans – it was a matter of survival. The threat that the humans presented to them, while also helping them of course, kept them constantly trying to improve themselves to survive; this also helped to keep the Cores’ “population” at a reasonable level, so that they were able to spread out and be harder to find.

  It could almost be said that the humans had “control” of the situation; they were smart enough to keep the dungeons around, but they occasionally had to hunt down some to “cull” the herd, so to say – almost like the way the Cores nowadays treated humans like livestock. It wasn’t necessarily the right way to do it, but the balance between the two species had apparently lasted for thousands upon thousands of years.