So instead she’d decided to focus on something she could solve. The adventurers had gotten farther through her dungeon than Sistina was comfortable with, so she was working on her creatures and defenses again. Plants were easy to re-grow, unlike wolves or bears. Those she had to use sparingly, else she wipe out their population. The ants and other insects had proven quite useful so far, but she wanted something that wouldn’t take nearly as much work to replace.
So she had spent the last few hours summoning a handful of air, earth, fire, and water spirits. They were an odd bunch, but the nearby nodes made them much more reasonable than they otherwise would be. As long as she allowed them to live inside the nodes they were willing to help her. The air spirits were the least cooperative, but the air node would be within her domain within the month, and they were willing to wait that long.
The spirits would occasionally possess portions of their element throughout the dungeon to challenge adventurers, effectively functioning as lesser elementals, save that they didn’t actually risk death in combat. It was much more efficient than any of the other opponents that Sistina had gathered for the dungeon.
Nor were those the only creatures she was working on. The experiment with the mutated worms she abandoned when she found the results to be a bit too disgusting, even for a dungeon. Similarly, she ended up abandoning several experiments with beetles and rats. The latter would have eaten far too much for her to be willing to deal with, while the beetles weren’t different enough from ants to feel worthwhile. Which left the mountain lion and her cubs living on her southern slopes, and the bats that lived in several caves.
She was mildly worried about them, so she was going more slowly with them. The lion was the more promising in Sistina’s mind, but she didn’t want to underestimate the bats. Plus, she was working on evolving the plant-maiden into something approaching a dryad, but it was slow-going.
The easier job was adding traps to the foundry area. Fire jets, swinging blades, and even crushing walls were much more predictable than other threats. It took some consideration to make certain they wouldn’t be impossible to spot, but it was hardly a difficult task. But it was there that whimsy struck Sistina.
At the entrance to the 10th floor, Sistina created a hallway a hundred feet long with holes in the floor and walls, designed to allow fire jets to blast into the hallway. She placed a chest at the opposite end of the hallway, with a particularly nice breastplate with matching gauntlets and greaves that she’d found in the old foundry and cleaned up. Placing a lever next to the chest, she built the next part with a mental grin.
Into the wall, she built a machine powered by the foundry that would play a massive music box. And not just one music box, but ten of them. Each would play in turn, with each song taking about ten minutes. But what she thought was particularly fun was that the fire jets would fire in sequence with the music box, creating patterns and gaps that if one watched for long enough, they could exploit to get to the treasure chest. The lever would simply deactivate the jets for two cycles of the music box.
The project, along with all the other traps and hazards, took Sistina hours. At which point, she pulled back to check on Phynis. When she saw what the princess was up to, Sistina mentally flushed and went back to work, trying to give her some privacy.
It was hard keeping her mind off of the two women, though.
Chapter 44
“Here it comes,” Evansly murmured, looking out the window at the approaching storm clouds.
“Here comes what?” Graystone asked, taking the mug of spiced ale from Isana and adding, “Thank you, Isana. I greatly appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Master Graystone,” she replied with a faint smile, placing the other mug in front of Evansly’s seat by the table.
Turning around, Evansly nodded, smiling at Isana as he took his mug, and explained, “Winter. It comes hard and fast out here. Those clouds are coming from the center of the mountains, which means that the winter storms are going to hit soon.”
“Huh. I heard someone mention that heavy winter storms came from the Godsrage Mountains, but I wasn’t sure I believed them,” Graystone murmured, tilting his head and taking a sip of his ale. “Do you know why the storms come from there?”
“No one is entirely sure. We do know that most of the monsters that live in the deep mountains are frost and snow aligned, though, so I imagine that there’s some kind of… cold node, or something of the sort in there,” Evansly guessed, shrugging as he smiled wryly. “There have been expeditions and explorers, but no one has ever come back from the heart of the mountains.”
“Interesting.” Graystone pondered, looking toward the mountains for a minute. Finally, he sighed and murmured, “I wonder what sort of rare ores might be under those mountains? Not that I’ll ever see any, I’ll bet. If it’s that bad over the mountains, it must be just as nasty under them.”
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t care for caves.” Evansly chuckled softly as he took a seat. “If the dungeon’s anything to base it off of, you’d be right.”
“Who knows? But if you’re right about the snows, everything is going to slow down pretty damned quick,” Graystone muttered, shaking his head. “The priests are gonna be pissy about the construction of their temple.”
“They’ll live. We finished the living quarters first, and hopefully the rest can get finished before the snows hit too hard,” Evansly mused. “Too bad they haven’t managed to get the relics necessary to revive the recently dead yet. That’s making the adventurers more cautious.”
“I wouldn’t expect to finish the temple. We’re too close to the mountains,” Isana spoke softly, nodding out the window.
Turning, Evansly’s eyebrows rose as he saw the first white flakes begin to fall from the sky. “Damn, that’s a little sooner than I thought.”
“Pretty though.” Graystone seemed relaxed, and Evansly snorted.
“I’d like to hear you say that in two months,” the elf retorted, and the dwarf chuckled softly as they watched the snow falling silently.
Despite all expectations to the contrary, Graystone’s construction crew managed to finish the chapel to Tianna before winter descended in its full fury. Part of it was some hired assistance from the Adventuring Guild’s mages, but mostly it was that Graystone himself spent hours urging them on and making certain the work was done as efficiently as possible.
Even so it was a near thing, for not more than four days after the temple was finished came the first blizzard, which dumped nearly three feet of snow on the town. Almost overnight, the trickle of travelers coming to and from Granite Point dried up, and those who were there hunkered in for the long winter ahead of them.
One of the few saving graces was the dungeon, oddly enough. The number of people who went inside just to visit the dungeon storeroom had increased immensely as they realized that the supply of fresh food Sina provided hadn’t dwindled at all. In fact, the demand grew enough that Ilmas had begun to even cart the occasional pieces of venison up to sell. Not a day went by that the dungeon inhabitants didn’t sell all of their produce, and the town was more cheerful with the better food as well.
The delves into the dungeon had slowed slightly despite that, with the adventurers growing warier of the various tricks that it had available in the lower floors, especially the first time a pool of water had animated and attacked a group. No one had died, but the presence of an elemental had produced a quiet furor among the adventurers, especially with Albert muttering something about elevating mana levels.
Within a few weeks, Eric and Sayla managed to summon their own spirits. Eric ended up with an earth spirit, which had surprised no one, and Sayla with a wind spirit that allowed her to move with eerie speed and stealth. Eileen had surprised everyone for having enough of a knack for magic to be able to start learning more basic spells, which brought a rare smile to Nirath’s face as the elven mage taught the much younger human.
“Shambler, Eileen!” Eric called out, grunting
as he shoulder-slammed a wolf back and cut into a second plant monster with his axe. The plant monster, reduced in height by a foot, fell to the ground in a heap of foliage.
“Got it!” the apprentice mage replied, murmuring the words of a spell which caused an orb of fire to grow in the palm of her hand. As the shambler lunged toward her, Eileen tossed the orb toward the plant. The orb of flame struck the shambler almost gently, but where it hit, steam, smoke, and ashes burst into the air as it left a scorching hole through the center of the creature before evaporating into nothing.
Daniel mostly focused on his own fight, holding off a trio of more shamblers while keeping an eye on the strangling vines they’d cropped earlier. They were slow, but if they didn’t deal with the plant woman soon, the fight could get pretty difficult. Thank the gods there wasn’t a firestorm tree in the room! He dodged under the attack of one of the three, and slipped in between them, trying to get them to attack one another. In their rush to turn toward him, two of the shamblers nearly knocked each other over.
As Daniel quickly cut at the joints of the one that hadn’t been entangled, he glanced toward the flower girl and scowled. She was well away from the room entrance, in the middle of a clearing. She looked like a green-skinned human torso sticking out of a bright red tulip, with hair the color of the petals around her. The creature was immobile, but with gestures and gurgling near-words, she directed the other plants against them. With five shamblers and a wolf still up, this would be difficult if she didn’t go down soon.
Which was why Sayla chose that moment to ghost out from behind a rock, both daggers in hand as she struck hard and fast. Both daggers struck at the plant-woman’s throat, cutting deep into the creature’s neck and spilling sap. The other plant-creatures faltered as the woman reeled, and Sayla savagely finished her target off as she softly growled, “Die already!”
As the tulip drooped to the ground, the various plant creatures staggered. Eric was busy finishing off the huge wolf, and Eileen took the moment to throw another ball of fire, this one burning a hole through two of Daniel’s opponents.
Daniel took the moment to shove his opponent into one of the fanged traps, destroying it, and in fairly short order, their opponents were dead. Pausing as the battle finished, Daniel blinked, and asked aloud, feeling winded and dazed, “Did that just happen? Did we just manage to finish the first floor?”
“Sure looks like it to me. And without any injuries that’re more than scratches,” Joseph answered from behind them, the cleric grinning at them. “Good job, all of you!”
“Holy shit,” Eric breathed, taking a deep breath, then grinning. “I honestly was wondering if we’d ever manage it this year.”
“Heh. It hasn’t been easy. Thanks, Joe. I think I might’ve died a couple of times if you hadn’t been there to get me back on my feet,” Daniel told the cleric sincerely, cleaning his blade and sheathing it.
“Agreed,” Eileen added, shaking her head as she said, “I’m just remembering that first attempt we made. All seven of us nearly died there.”
“And that’s something you four really need to remember.” Joseph’s smile turned concerned as he continued. “You finally finished the first floor, and Darak and the others all agreed with me. At this point, aside from the occasional advice, team-ups, or sparring, you four are on your own from here on out. We’ve helped out and mentored you, but you’ve got to learn to stand on your own.”
“Oh.” Eileen’s smile faded slowly, and she slowly nodded. “Does that meant that I can’t keep training in magic with Nirath?”
“No, no, I’m saying that we’re not going to go out of our way to help anymore. When we’re all in the guild house, though? Nirath enjoys tutoring you, Eileen. She’s happy to help,” Joseph assured her.
“Alright. We knew it had to happen eventually.” Eric sighed. “It’s definitely going to make things more dangerous.”
“Which is why we should be more cautious,” Sayla said quietly, looking concerned herself.
“Exactly. What’s the thing that’s more important than treasure in a dungeon?” Joseph asked.
“Living,” Daniel replied succinctly, standing straighter. “We can’t spend wealth or grow if we die in here.”
“Exactly. Now, grab your rewards and let’s get out of here. Time for a celebration.” Joseph grinned as he added, “And we’re funding this one.”
“That sounds amazing.” Eric laughed, grinning broadly as he hefted his ax, heading for the small pedestal where four small piles of gleaming silver were waiting for them.
Each of the groups improved further through the winter, with Darak, Joseph, Nirath, and Penelope slowly venturing farther into the foundry, though each time they were forced to retreat before venturing far. Daniel’s group, on the other hand, only reached the end of the first floor about half the time, and were waiting to be able to consistently clear the floor before they ventured further.
Of course, Daniel spent a large amount of time visiting with Sina when he was able to manage it, rekindling their relationship as best he could. Fortunately, it seemed that Sayla finally decided she didn’t have a chance with Daniel and turned her attention elsewhere. The change caused a great deal of relief, even when she started flirting with Albert. The resulting conversations made much of the winter a good deal more entertaining for all of them.
Chapter 45
As winter fell, the plans of Archon Ulvian Sorvos and Justicar Ivan Hall proceeded at a steady pace. Soldiers from the front lines of Yisara were slowly transferred to the northern lines around Grayhold and to Westgate in preparation for their spring campaign against Sifaren. Only a small number of soldiers and slave legions were left on the southern border. Mostly they were there to slow down an assault enough to arrange a counterattack. In the meantime, they turned their full focus on the dusk elf nation. All of which was part of why Ulvian was in Westgate, planning with Ivan for the campaign that spring.
“I also have another group of orcs who’ve agreed to serve on the front for two years. We’re looking at about five hundred of them,” Ulvian told Ivan, chuckling as he added, “They seem to like the idea of raiding the elves for some reason. Where do you want me to send them?”
“Are they all one clan? Or can I safely split them up into detachments?” Ivan asked, frowning as he looked at the map. Ulvian knew that despite everything they’d done, the lines were much thinner than the Justicar would prefer.
“It’s split between two tribes; one’s about two hundred strong, the other three hundred in a second tribe,” Ulvian told the other man, tilting his head slightly. “I think you could split them up somewhat, but it’s safer not to.”
“I think the detachment of two hundred should reinforce the fort anchoring the western front, while the main force should go to Grayhold,” Ivan suggested, tapping the map slowly. He frowned, looking up at Ulvian. “Despite of all our plans, I have my concerns, Ulvian. I’m not sure we can strike enough of a blow to break the morale of Sifaren in the time you’re talking about. If we don’t capture them before the end of the summer, Alcast or Morak might get nervous enough to actually step into the fight, which could get nasty.”
“Alcast isn’t a threat, but Morak would be. They’ve got a large, skilled standing army. Alcast barely counts as having an army by comparison,” Ulvian agreed, tapping his chin as he considered. “I wonder…”
Ivan waited as Ulvian thought, but after a minute he prompted. “Ulvian? Share what you’re thinking, would you?”
“Right, sorry! I just got caught up considering options.” Ulvian laughed to himself, smiling as he nodded at the map, reaching to touch the symbol of Galthor. “I think our best bet is Galthor.”
“That would be a tough nut to crack. Baron Galthor has spent years fortifying and preparing for us to come against him,” Ivan replied unhappily, looking at the spot. “We could get pinned down in a war of attrition.”
“I wasn’t thinking of purely a full-scale assault, Ivan. I want you to contac
t Farren Galthor,” the Archon explained, his smile widening. “He betrayed Phynis to us, after all. Certainly, he didn’t get what he wanted, but that wasn’t our fault. I want you to offer Princess Jaine to him if he helps us break Galthor’s defenses, along with ruling a larger area than a mere barony. If you have to, use the information he gave us to blackmail him. I’m not sure it’ll work, mind you, but I think it has better odds than a frontal assault.”
“Umm.” Ivan frowned and considered, then slowly nodded. “I suppose it might at that. He’s young, and has seen the front lines enough he might be desperate enough to do it. What if he doesn’t play along, though?”
“Then we wait for my backup plan. Tyria should be ready by that point, but I don’t dare count on it,” Ulvian said, smiling broadly as he chuckled. “As much power as we have available already, adding her will turn our advantage into overwhelming superiority.”
“True enough, I suppose. But like you said, we can’t count on it.” The Justicar finally nodded and smiled. “I’ll do the best I can, Ulvian. Even if neither work, I’ll do my damndest to have Sifaren on a silver platter by next fall.”
“I knew I could count on you.” Ulvian smiled broadly. “Now then, I’m going to get back to Kelvanath and make sure you have the supplies to make it happen. Keep it up, Ivan!”
Chapter 46
The autumn was a slowly moving nightmare for Diane. Things often didn’t seem all that bad, but then she would make the mistake of looking back on the preceding weeks and months, and she would see her own slow descent down a path that she’d sworn she would avoid with all her power.
Spells of Old (Ancient Dreams Book 2) Page 32