Too perfect, obviously, because the Dungeon Cores – minus the Slime-Classification Core, which was still rebuilding its forces after Sandra’s attack on it – changed their tactics once there was no more forward progress. In effect, all assaults on the tunnels stopped; instead, the focus returned to the surface, days ahead of what Sandra had been expecting.
Delarthe! Chryla! Prepare for a resurgence at the dungeon entrances!
Both the Elven Rangers and the Shieldmen were prepared for this eventuality, and they jumped into action just as the first of the Dungeon Monsters emerged from the Golem, Beast, and Goblin dungeons. Orcish Mercenaries helped the Elven Rangers tear through the Beasts that emerged, alongside the Wyvines that accompanied the Rangers; their savagery as they sliced off limbs and decapitated the Monsters that emerged just showed how bored the mercenaries had been over the last day and a half.
Delarthe and the Shieldmen, however, were having a little more difficulty. The two-pronged assault by both dungeons at the same time caught them a little unprepared; the constructs that they employed in defense were nearly overrun by Goblins as they poured out of the entrance at speed, and the sudden appearance of a swarm of simple 3-foot-tall Dust Golems confused and disoriented the defenders at the other dungeon entrance. Behind those weaker Dust Golems were Iron and Steel Golems, ready to strike when Delarthe and the other Shieldmen were distracted.
It seemed as though they adapted their methods from below to above the ground, which was sadly working quite well. Without the traps to thin out their numbers, the Goblins and Golems were making headway.
Sandra immediately started to create more constructs for reinforcements, but it was almost too late. One of the Shieldmen, easily slaughtering the Dust Golems that attacked him and the constructs he was controlling nearby, was surprised by an Iron Golem that stomped up behind him. With a powerful blow, the Golem punched the Shieldman in the back, sending him flying at least 50 feet into a nearby tree, where he snapped the trunk practically in half from the impact. He rolled as he landed, coming to a stop and didn’t move.
His armor was still in one piece, though there was the slightest indentation on one side that seemed to work itself out even as she watched. The fact that it was still there and there being no sudden influx of Mana into her Core showed Sandra that he wasn’t dead, but likely very hurt. That was the good news; the bad news was the direct attack on one of hers caused the shard in her mind to surge to the surface again.
You will all die! I will destroy all of you until there is nothing left but dust!
The single-minded attitude was getting a little tiring to Sandra’s conscience, but there wasn’t much that she could do about it as she was shoved to the side. Losing all control of her actions again was also starting to get old, but she had to admit that it was what she needed right now. Half of the constructs protecting the underground tunnels were quickly pulled out and sent up top, additional constructs were produced, and all other activities in her dungeon stopped as all Mana was delegated to bolstering the flagging defenses of the Dwarves.
A small portion of the Energy Orbs that had been produced was also consumed, which annoyed her no small bit, but they contributed to producing a veritable army of Champion Totems to be used against the Golems, as well as Powered Arachnids and Animated Iron Shears to be used against the Goblins. In addition, at least 2,000 Shears were pulled from the AMANS up above in the sky, where they rained down on the Goblins, giving Delarthe and the other Shieldman with him some breathing room. Surprisingly, the loss of 2,000 Animated Shears from the constant funneling of ambient Mana wasn’t too impactful on her replenishment rate. Sandra could only assume it was because the rate of incoming Mana had been thoroughly bolstered by the tens of thousands of stick-and-leaf spiders that were roaming around.
Overall, the reinforcements were going to help, but they would arrive too late to contain the breakout by the Golems. Fortunately, the 3 Shieldmen were able to retreat in safety, with an Ape construct picking up the fallen and now-unconscious Dwarf and running with him until a Repair Drone could help heal him back into fighting shape.
Fine. If they are going to play that way, I think it’s time to target the Golems from below. I was stopped from destroying the Slime-Classification Core, but nothing will stop—
Another warning came from the workshop up above, stopping the shard’s ranting about how it was going to destroy the Golem Core.
Seriously? No, not again—
Chapter 37
Sandra clawed her way to the surface as she saw who was inside of her dungeon, shoving the shard so far back into her mind that she doubted that anything would bring it back. Almost immediately, she could hear desperate and pitiful noises coming from the shard’s location, as it realized the same thing; it had been banished to obscurity, unlikely to be brought forth again as the light of hope surged through Sandra’s mind and self-actualization.
With the return of Gerold – who was leading a group of Dwarves inside her upper workshop – Sandra finally felt…whole. It was as if she had been missing pieces of herself, pieces that she hadn’t even known were missing until now. It took seeing her friends return from where they had journeyed, all obviously experiencing their own hardships as soon as they had left, only to come back to Sandra and the wasteland. It was in that moment that she realized the reason behind all of her recent troubles with the Core shard in her mind.
Abandonment. Sandra had felt as if she had been abandoned, but it was more than that. It was a reflection of the guilt that she was holding inside of herself, and it took something like this happening to bring it to light. Guilt over abandoning her father when she had died as a Human merchant, him never knowing what happened to her, leaving him all alone in the world. What happened to him after she had disappeared she would probably never know, but she was well aware that it probably wouldn’t have been good. All because of the choices she had made to pursue her dream of being the most knowledgeable crafter in the world.
That guilt had left a crack in her mind that festered unknowingly through the last few months since she had come into existence as a Dungeon Core, allowing the Core shard to latch onto that and grow stronger with it. As her friends came back, though, she began to feel some of that guilt fade away; it was the knowledge that they hadn’t stayed away of their own choice, but because of the actions of others. Just like it wasn’t necessarily Sandra’s choices that had led to her demise, but from the actions of others. Namely, the actions of Dramien, the Holy and Nether Enchanter that had killed her to fuel the powerful enchantment on a weapon.
I need to stop feeling guilty because of the actions of others. It didn’t just apply to the feelings of abandonment she felt when her friends didn’t come back, but also how she felt overly responsible for the actions of the Dungeon Cores around them. She logically knew that it wasn’t her fault that they had done what they did, such as attacking the Gnome village of Glimmerton, or the Undead dungeon’s assault on the Dwarven village of Nurboldar. But internally, she had felt guilty that she hadn’t known enough to stop them, or prevent the attacks altogether. No longer.
The world was the way the world was, and there wasn’t any way to change the way the Dungeon Cores operated. Or is there…?
She was pulled from her brief musings as Gerold spoke.
“Sandra! I need help with healing! I have walking wounded here, and King Mynag has suffered from the loss of his armor,” the former Shieldman said soon after walking inside the Bearling lair. Behind him was a powerful-looking individual carrying another Dwarf, armor-less, who was unconscious but appeared relatively unhurt. Behind him was an older Dwarf, much older than any Sandra had seen before, followed by 6 Shieldmen and a handful of obvious non-Shieldmen, though they all held weapons. Regardless of who they were, they all appeared exhausted and ready to fall down; even the knowledge that they were walking into a dungeon (which she assumed Gerold explained to them) didn’t seem to faze them in the least.
I’ll have my Re
pair Drones help those wounded, and I have some Elemental and Energy Orbs at the ready for Bonding. Did you already explain that part?
The question made Gerold miss a step, but he recovered quickly. “Uh…no, but I will now.” He turned and walked backwards, talking as he went. “Listen up! There is a small thing that we need to do before we can fully enter this dungeon for safety. For the civilians, this is as simple as holding onto something and you’ll receive a tattoo of sorts, allowing you access to this place; you can join the villagers from Nurboldar down below – I think you’ll be surprised at what they have accomplished.”
Sandra couldn’t help but smile inwardly at that, because Gerold didn’t even know the half of it. The fact that there was freshly made Ale and Whiskey there would surprise a lot of people. While Gerold kept speaking, Sandra quickly sent a message down to Glencha and Teving, the Distiller and Brewer, to expect some more company.
“For the Shieldmen, you can go that route, but I suggest you opt for these,” Gerold continued, holding up his palms so that everyone could see them. “I know you’ve seen these on me, but you may not know exactly what they are….”
By the time he explained it all, they had arrived at the workshop. Sandra had 2 Multi-access Repair Drones ready to go, and while their movement caused almost all of the Dwarves to tense up and raise their weapons, Gerold assured them everything was okay. “They’re here to heal you. Let them touch you with their little arms and you’ll feel better quite quickly.”
One-by-one, the civilians allowed themselves to be healed, but following the actions of the Shieldman that was carrying the unconscious Dwarf – of yet more royalty, Sandra thought – the others held off.
“Gerold, I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I refuse to let one of those things to touch the King—”
“Parten, I told you to leave off.” The older Dwarf with the most spectacular grey beard Sandra had ever seen cut the stuffy-sounding Shieldman off. “If you want the King to recover at all, you’ll have to put your prejudices aside and get with the changes.”
The Shieldman stiffened at this, though he didn’t say anything right away. Sandra assumed that the old Dwarf was someone special enough to order around Shieldmen—and that’s when it hit her. From what she knew (which was, granted, a depressingly small amount) the only ones more revered in Dwarven society than the King and Shieldmen were the Master Blacksmiths.
You did it, didn’t you?
Gerold just nodded, not having to say anything more. Sandra felt a thrill shoot through her as she realized what she would soon learn, but it was tempered by the situation happening outside.
“Master Jespin, the only way the King will recover fully is if he gets a new set of armor; so, tell Gerold to bring us back to Grandhall, where your colleagues there can create another one – since you seem not to be so inclined,” the important Shieldman said testily.
“I never said that, Parten, which I explained on the way here. This isn’t just about the King – you know this. This is about all of our people, and the only way to do that is to get what we need here so we can save everyone.”
“I highly doubt that—”
I hate to cut this discussion short, Gerold, but Delarthe and the other Shieldmen need some help containing the Golems, Sandra said quickly to the former Shieldman. I have some reinforcements heading in their direction, but it will be difficult to contain without some more help.
Gerold moved into action as if he had been slapped, standing between the Master Blacksmith and the Shieldman known as Parten. “We don’t have time for this! Delarthe and the other Shieldmen are in trouble up above and they need help to contain a Golem breakout.”
“Gerold, we’re exhausted and almost out of energy as it is—” Parten tried to say, but her friend cut him off.
“First-shield, with all due respect, I’ve already explained what these Energy Orbs do; you don’t ever have to worry about energy again when you obtain these,” he said, holding his palms up once again.
There was silence for a moment, before one of the other Shieldmen that came with them stepped forward. “I’m in. I won’t stand by while more of our brethren are killed defending against dungeon monsters; there’s been too much death already today.”
“Fourth-shield, I forbid you from—” Parten ordered, but the rest of the Shieldmen suddenly stepped forward, stating variations of the same thing the Fourth-shield had.
That shut the Dwarf up, and he watched as Gerold led them over to the box, where they immediately snatched up the Energy Orbs that called out to them. “Now, this is going to hurt more than anything you’ve ever felt in your life; luckily, it only lasts a few seconds. Are you ready?” With only a slight hesitation, they all nodded, and Sandra knew it was her cue.
One at a time, she initiated the Bonding down the line, and the screams were constant as they reverberated through the workshop for the next 15 seconds. The citizens shrank back in fear, but Parten just gazed at the Shieldmen with something that appeared like desperation or perhaps envy on his face. When the process was complete, the newly Bonded Shieldmen looked at each other with awe, smiling as they felt their diminished energy start to replenish itself automatically.
Welcome to my dungeon, my friends. I’m bringing in some rides for you, which will bring you to where your fellow Shieldmen are needing some help. You can control them by giving them orders, but for now I’ll send them where they need to go.
As soon as she knew that she was getting some more help, she rerouted some extra Mechanical Wolves from where they were reinforcing the Shieldmen killing the Goblins. In fact, they were just about to drop into the workshop from above.
The Shieldmen looked around as if to see what was talking to them, but they were interrupted when 7 Wolves dropped down 40 feet away from them, staring at them expectantly. Go on, hop on – they’ll get you there in no time. With only a moment’s hesitation, they raced for the Wolves, who obediently squatted down so they could climb on their backs, and they took off, leaving a single one behind.
“Parten, are you really going to let them help their fellow Shieldmen without you? What purpose does this serve?” The Master Blacksmith folded his arms across his chest and challenged the First-shield.
“My first duty is to protect the King—”
Master Jespin interrupted him, though he spoke softly. “There’s nothing more you can do here, and you know it. You’ve brought him to the one place in all our lands where we might be able to do something about it, so leave him in our hands and go do what you’re so good at doing.”
The conflict was warring across the First-shield’s face, but Sandra saw the moment when resignation finally won. He put the King down gently on the floor, before walking over to the box of Energy Orbs. Picking up 3 of them, he held a Fire and Earth one in his right hand, and an Air one in his left. “How is this possible—”
His scream cut off his question. Sandra was tired of waiting around.
Thank you for finally agreeing to the Bond, First-shield Parten. We will take very good care of the King; go save your people.
If he was surprised at the voice in his head, he didn’t show it. He also seemed relatively unaffected by the intense pain that had just shot through him with no warning. “You had better, or I will come back here and destroy you myself.”
Based on his status as a First-shield, which was a step above the powerful Second-shield Bregan that led the Shieldmen in Nurboldar, Sandra had no doubt he would prove to be a formidable foe. Probably as strong or stronger than the Warlord that had attacked her dungeon, and he had been very powerful.
Noted. Good luck, and may the Creator guide you on your way.
He nodded, before racing for the Mechanical Wolf. The Shieldman leapt onto the back of the construct, grabbed ahold of its upper spine, and the metal-formed canine took off at a run, moving fast enough that it might even catch up to the others that had left a minute or so before him.
“Gerry? I think I want thos
e Energy Orbs in my palms, too,” the Master Blacksmith said as soon as the First-shield was out of sight.
“Are you sure? It’s quite painful as you no doubt saw.”
“Pain means nothing to me; besides, being healed by that wonderful thing over there,” Jespin said, waving toward one of the Repair Drones, “fixed some of the aches that I didn’t even realize I was suffering from.” Without asking any other permission, he walked over to the box of Energy Orbs and picked out a single Energy Orb: Earth. Hmm, not what I was expecting. He held it in his hand wonderingly, before looking up at Gerold and nodding.
His screams were painful to listen to, but they were thankfully over fast enough that they were soon forgotten. “Ouch. Worse than I was expecting, but worth it I’d say.” He looked down at his palm and smiled. “Alright, let’s get the others done and see what we can do for the King.”
It took some convincing, but the civilians picked out Elemental Orbs for their Bonding, which wasn’t painful in the least. Within a few minutes, the Bondings were all complete (including an Energy Orb Bond with the unconscious King), and Sandra felt a loosening of the restrictions throughout the dungeon. She mentally sighed in relief and had one of her nearby Apes lead the civilians down to where they would meet up with the villagers, and she was left alone with Gerold, the Master Blacksmith, and the unconscious King. She had already tried to heal him with the Repair Drone, but other than some minor scrapes and external cuts that were fixed quickly, it didn’t seem to help.
“Parten was right about one thing, as much as his blind devotion to the King sometimes interferes with what needs to be done,” Master Jespin said, looking down at the relaxed countenance of the King. The Energy Orbs – 3 of them in total: Holy, Air, and Fire – were embedded in his palms, slowly feeding energy back into the poor Dwarf; Sandra had suggested just an Elemental Orb bond at first, but it turned out that it was the lack of energy that had knocked the King out in the first place. Even with it regenerating now, he still wasn’t waking up.
The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) Page 37