CONQUEST: The Dungeon Core Gambit Book One

by Antony W. F. Chow

  These guard dogs bumped up his minion count from 30 to 42. However, due to the existence of the 6 split cores, his Hivemind was already controlling 48 individual minds. Thus, he could create and control another 32 minions if necessary. Hopefully, the Hivemind will not be forced to do so anytime soon!

  By the time Markos had finished building his wall and setting up his guard dogs, it was almost daybreak.

  The party on the surface awoke and ate their simple rations quietly. No one was foolish enough to eat anything else inside Mabel Anopii's house for fear of poison.

  Speaking of Mabel, the elder stayed in the same spot in her house the entire night. She did not speak to anyone or even acknowledge them as the party left the house.

  When the party stepped out of the elder's house, they saw that the villagers were waiting with their belongings, which was whatever the common folk could carry personally. There were no horses in the village to assist in carrying their valuables.

  Cinta decided to leave her farm animals behind because she concluded that her chicken, rooster, and pigs would draw too much attention from predators in the forest such as wolves and hawks. Furthermore, she did not wish to endanger the lives of her fellow villagers by selfishly bringing her farm animals for the move.

  Lemia stepped forward and introduced herself again to the fourteen villagers who had agreed to leave. "Hi! I'm Lemia and I'll be your guide to take you to your new home." Her enthusiastic attitude was in deep contrast to the melancholic mood of the villagers, many of whom were reluctant to leave their homes behind.

  Sibalt commanded one of the two hidden Earth Elementals to appear. He ignored the stares and gasps from the villagers. He gave two orders to his minion: first, to follow Lemia's orders; second, to protect the villagers from harm.

  As soon as the group traveled a good distance from the village, they will enter his domain. This would allow Markos to raise more minions to protect the group if necessary.

  In the meantime, the dungeon core contacted Faster Runner. Please accompany the villagers until they reach the mountain and then come back to me.

  The alpha wolf barked mentally. The wolf pack had stayed outside the village and they were antsy to start moving again.

  Alethea gave Lemia a hug and then released her friend.

  Lemia approached toward Sibalt and pulled his ear toward her head. "Please give the princess some extra loving," she joked.

  The embarrassed young man shot her an angry look.

  Lemia chuckled and released him. The guide turned around and started walking south.

  The villagers, burdened by their personal belongings, walked slowly behind her and the earth elemental took the rearguard position.

  The dwarfess made sure to walk at a pace that they could keep up with her. Despite her little legs, Lemia was energetic and a fast walker. In fact, she was the fastest runner in the clan and she was often sent away on scouting missions for this reason.

  Sibalt waited until the group was out of sight before resuming his own trek northward.

  While his assimilated beings continued their journey, the dungeon core contacted Iyelda telepathically. I'm sending a group of villagers over to you. It will take at least 4 or 5 days for them to arrive because they are carrying their personal belongings with them. In the meantime, I need you to chop down wood and build housing for them. If you're short on manpower, you could ask Deet, the ogress, in my fort for help.

  A blessed morning to you, Master Markos, the dwarven clan elder replied mentally. I don't think it will be necessary to ask your friends on the mountaintop for assistance with this task. But I do need to know where exactly you want the new human town to be built? I'm not comfortable having it so close to my home.

  The dungeon core thought for a moment. Actually, I would like the new place to be near the lake next to the mountain. Would that be okay? Most of the villagers are farmers and they would appreciate being close to a source of water.

  That is acceptable, Iyelda agreed. She sent him a mental map of the mountain, the lake, and a red "X" over the proposed location of the new town. How does a half mile from the lake and south of the mountain sound to you?

  That sounds reasonable.

  Great! I will ask the clan to get started. They've been smithing new hammers using the magma-heated forge. This task gives them an opportunity to use their new tools.

  Markos chuckled. Thank you. He closed the mental link. The dungeon core was more than pleased with the location of the proposed houses. It was right above his dungeon.

  Now, he needed to shift the dungeon's entrance slightly because he didn't want the entrance to empty into a house similar to the way that the dark elves had an exit in Mabel Anoppi's house.

  Markos took a moment to survey the surface above his dungeon. Then he used Earth Work to create a small cavern which served as the new entrance to his dungeon. The cavern was located west of the new housing and close to the old ancestral grounds of the Yellow Sky Clan.

  At this point, there was nothing else the dungeon core could do except to await the arrival of either the villagers or the dungeon explorers. To keep his mind occupied, Markos became a more hands-on manager in the affairs of his allies.

  Deet and her clan were holed up in the fort and became quite bored. Some of them started playing with the young griffons, who kept hopping out of the nest to explore the world below.

  The parent griffons were understandably upset and sent mental complaints to the dungeon core. In particular, Clear Eyes, his ally, sought to have the ogres move out of the mountaintop.

  However, Markos made it clear that he was not interested in leaving his fortress. In the end, he made another proposal: to create barriers around the nest to prevent the young griffons from falling off the nest. Markos was inspired by the childproof window guards back on Earth. These were simple attachments placed over windows to prevent young children from falling out of high apartment windows. The former human had to send many mental images of these guards for the skeptical griffon parents to give their permission.

  Once Markos received such permission, he started setting up the guard immediately. Of course, there weren't any windows over the nest. But what he had in mind instead was a barrier, perhaps made of glass, that extended vertically over the top portion of the nest. This would prevent the young griffons from hopping out of the nest.

  The problem, though, was figuring out how high the top should be extended so that the parents won't be trapped inside, too. Markos created extenders of various heights and, after much cajoling, convinced Clear Eyes to jump over each until there was one that she couldn't jump over. After he used Earth Work on the nest, Markos extended the glass barrier until both ends touched the stone cliff.

  After this problem was resolved to the satisfaction of the griffons, Markos commanded one of the Air Elemental guardians, which had been protecting his secondary core on the cliff, to fly above the proposed site for the new housing. He wished to observe the construction of the human town under the mountain.

  The dungeon core was pleased to discover that Iyelda had taken his request seriously and devoted generous resources to this assignment. Initially, she assigned half the population to leave the mountain and chop wood.

  Given his frightening experience with the dark elves, Markos was quite paranoid that some of them will come to the forests near the Bulddinger Mountain to investigate who was cutting down the trees. Thus, he asked Deet to send her ogresses out of the fortress to serve as guards for the dwarven lumberjacks. He also convinced Clear Eyes and her spouse to fly over the forest regularly.

  Thankfully, the dwarves were able to obtain lumber with few issues. There were some animals, including a few boars and a bear, which tried to attack the dwarves. However, Deet and her clan were able to put these animals down without injury to themselves or their charges.

  Once the dwarves started bringing in the lumber, Iyelda reassigned half the lumberjacks to the task of building houses instead.

  When Mar
kos made his daily round to check in with the Bulddinger clan, he marveled at how diligently the dwarves worked on their assigned tasks. The houses were slowly being built. They looked strong and sturdy. The craftsmanship was as good as the wooden houses back on Earth.

  The dungeon core made sure that the houses weren't placed too close to the lake because he wanted to avoid flooding of the town after rainstorms. Mindful of the floodings back in his old town on Earth, Markos used Earth Work to raise a stone platform of six feet in height before each house was built. He didn't know how badly the area will flood after a storm but he felt six feet was a safe estimate to protect the houses from flood damage.

  By the time the villagers arrived five days later, there were a handful of houses awaiting them. The newcomers quickly divided the houses.

  Cinta took the house furthest away from the rest. She requested the creation of a barn and enclosures. She then sought to domesticate the wild animals nearby.

  The other villagers divided the plots of land near the lake and starting preparations to turn them into farmland. The dwarves built whatever farm tools the farmers required in exchange for a share of the future harvest.

  And so, the Village of Markos was unofficially created.

  Chapter 31

  Town of Bethmund

  Sibalt and his company journeyed another four days but traveled only 50 miles. They were slowed by both the terrain and the desire to avoid walking into another ambush from the dark elf raiders. The slow pace also permitted the dungeon core to expand his domain beneath their feet.

  During the evenings, Sibalt performed his duties as a husband to Alethea, fully aware that everyone else in camp was watching his conjugal performance. After all, he was the only living man in camp.

  Sibalt would like to do nothing more than to use Earth Work to build a private hut for some personal privacy at night. But he recognized that the other women in the camp were lustful and sexual aroused, and they openly stared at him to release their pent up sexual energy. He also noticed that they often masturbated while he was having sex with his wife.

  Thankfully, no one tried to rape him at night! And if that were to occur, he doubted that Ryota or Yozka would interfere either. Thus, for the sake of the morale of his female companions as well as their sanity, he had to put on a nightly private show. The former human pretended that he was on in an adult chatroom and that lessened his anxiety and self-consciousness somewhat.

  What surprised Sibalt, though, was how open Alethea was to the idea of copulating in public. He had no idea that she enjoyed exhibitionism. She was treated like a princess by the guards, Pewma and Tensa, and yet, Alethea didn't mind offering them an intimate show.

  Markos was again reminded of the different values of the culture in his new world.

  On the fifth day after their departure from the Village of Anopii, they arrived in the Town of Bethmund. The party stood on the slope of a small hill and the entire layout of the town was visible in the valley below. Markos saw that the town was composed of rings of circles. The outermost circle was a thick, stone wall with a gatehouse. There was an inner circle also composed of stone. Embedded within the inner wall were four towers positioned like a compass. Between the two walls were streets and simple looking houses. The streets were crowded with pedestrians and vendors. Inside the inner wall were elegant looking mansions.

  "Looks like the nobility lives inside the inner ring," Sibalt observed.

  "This is a common structure dividing the aristocracy and the commoners," Yozka agreed.

  "Are dwarves allowed inside?" Alethea asked.

  "Bethmund is a major trading town at the center of Vessar. They have to allow demi-humans to come in and bring their goods," the witch replied.

  "In that case, we're going in with you," the Earth Singer decided.

  Pewma and Tensa nodded in agreement. They were hoping to hit a tavern and drink some good old fashioned dwarven ale.

  Markos saw roads leading to the town from all four directions and this made sense given what Yozka just said. There were lines of people and wagons waiting to enter. However, carriages were permitted to enter and leave without much hassle from the guards. Ah, the privileges of the nobility!

  "Once we're inside, let's go and look for the Adventurer's Guild. We should be able to announce the new dungeon and also get a legal charter to form a town," he suggested.

  The dungeon core commanded his human avatar to start descending the road leading to the town ahead. Along the way, he dismissed the two Supreme Earth Elementals that had been the party's companions for this journey. Whenever he leaves the town, he will summon the minions again.

  After a half-hour walk, the party reached the town and took their places on the long line. After an hour wait, they finally reached the gatehouse.

  Two guards stood and blocked the entrance. A third guard motioned for Sibalt to approach. "I need to see your identification card. The entry fee is one silver per adult and 10 coppers per child." All three guards were women.

  Yozka approached the guard and showed her ID. "These are my companions and that one is my property," she replied while pointing at the dark elf. "They do not possess ID cards. I will pay for their cards," she added.

  The guard eyed the dark elf with suspicion and spat on the ground. "You are aware that the master is responsible for the actions of the slave. Any inappropriate act committed by that dark elf will be treated as committed by you. Do you accept this responsibility?" she asked.

  "I do," Yozka replied.

  The guard grunted as she did a quick headcount. "Okay. Your party has 7 adults. The entry fee is 7 silver pieces. You need 6 ID cards. That's another 18 silver coins. Your total fee is 25 silver pieces."

  The witch untied the small sack from her belt and handed it to the guardswoman. "There should be 25 silver coins inside." She had prepared the coins beforehand while waiting on line at the gate.

  The guard took the coin and passed it to a young girl standing nearby. The coins were counted and confirmed to be correct with a sharp nod from the girl, who was dressed like a boy. The girl then passed the sack back to the guard.

  The guard said, "Please follow the apprentice clerk. She will make your ID cards." She handed the empty sack to Yozka. She then raised her right hand and made a fist.

  Seeing the signal, the guards behind her stepped aside.

  The young clerk walked past the guards and the party followed her. The clerk turned left and entered a small wooden booth next to the stone wall. She returned with a board and a sheet of parchment and a quill. "Please write down the names of each person getting an ID card. There should be one name per line," she instructed.

  Yozka took the board and carefully wrote down the names of her companions. She returned the board to the girl.

  The clerk entered the booth again. A few minutes later, she reappeared with 6 ID cards. The names were written down carefully in black ink, which was already dried. Each card had a stamp with the date at the bottom: "5th day, 2nd week of Mares, 12th Year of Levioda." Once she handed the cards to the party, she dismissed them. "You may leave."

  Sibalt was irked by the arrogant tone in the girl's voice but kept his mouth shut. He realized that the girl could be the daughter of a minor noble. Sibalt was a commoner and it was customary to be treated poorly as such.

  Yozka sensed the anger and pulled on Sibalt's arm. She led him away from the booth before the young man could say something regrettable.

  "Sorry," Sibalt said quietly.

  The witch finally released him with a sharp nod. Through the Hivemind, she already understood the reason for his anger. But since Sibalt recognized that this was how commoners were treated in this world, there was nothing further for Yozka to add.

  "Let's go to a tavern and have lunch," Yozka suggested. She led the group to a place called The Angry Bull. The wooden sign above the entrance depicted the silhouette of a bull in brown color over a painted red background. The witch quietly entered the dining room and took
a table at the rear. The tables were circular, with stools placed under the single-legged tables.

  Markos stared at the tables for a moment and winced. They did not look sturdy at all. He could easily imagine an angry patron slamming a fist and toppling the table. But then again, perhaps this was by design to squeeze more coins out of the patrons. That realization gave him a poor impression of this establishment.

  Unfortunately, the tables were small and could not seat the entire party of 7 people. Thus, Sibalt, Alethea, Pewma, and Tensa shared one table while Ryota, Yozka, and Sin claimed the adjacent table. The seating was arranged around Sin; the three dwarves were still uncomfortable being near the dark elf and therefore, Sin did not join their table.

  A cheerful tavern girl with long, curly brown hair approached the patrons. Her yellow dress was tight-fitting and revealed an ample bust and a narrow waist. She wore a red apron over her dress. "What would you like?" she inquired.

  Yozka spoke up. "We'll have today's special plus ale for each of us," she ordered.

  "Today's special is fresh ham with vegetables on the side. The cost is 2 silver pieces. The ale is 10 coppers per mug. For 7 guests, the total is 14 silver and 70 copper pieces," the girl calculated.

  The witch opened her small sack and counted out 20 silver pieces. "The rest is your tip."

  "Thank you," the girl smiled broadly and accepted the coins with a deep curtsy.

  When the waitress was gone, Alethea looked at Yozka. "You seem to be familiar with this place."

  The witch nodded. "I grew up in this town as the daughter of an apothecary shopkeeper. When I came out of age, I began to display magic powers. The townspeople started blaming their misfortunes on me and called me a witch. One night, my neighbors marched to the family shop and set fire to it. I was forced to flee and lived in the forest by myself for many years until I found and adopted Sibalt," she revealed.