Dungeon Enslaved

by D. R. Rosier

  For floors four through six I made similar slight tweaks with the elementals.

  I also realized rather quickly that the levels wouldn’t be in the right order later, when I made those changes and added the new levels to the dungeon. I planned to add another level of undead, for four levels total, and another level of elementals. Of course, once they were made I couldn’t shuffle floors like a deck of cards, and simply slip hidden level seven into level four as I lowered the rest, especially if I made twenty levels. It also occurred to me similar things would happen in the future as well, when I modified the dungeon.

  That prompted me to develop teleport alcoves instead of stairways, that way the physical order of floors when I was done wouldn’t matter, I could shuffle them around as much as I wanted if I wasn’t using stairs, and I could change level orders simply by changing the teleport targets. That was more magic and enchantment instead of dungeon creation, so went a lot faster in my head as I set it up. Plus, I’d been in my father’s dungeon, and was already familiar with those enchantments.

  Then I started to develop the floor plan of the new level four, and the new level eight, which I’d stick under level six which would become seven. In addition to the new floors, I also took the time to create a very hard mob, a boss mob, for the end of level four and level eight. Kind of a final hard challenge before they could graduate to the next phase of the dungeon.

  Once the planning was all done, I wondered where Astrith was, it’d been several hours.

  Regardless, I started to build floors seven and eight, slowly, and started to fill them in with the air enchantments, mobs, and bosses. They’d stay disconnected though, until we decided it was time for me to free myself, and I hoped I could fight back if they tried to destroy me.

  I didn’t start working on any other level ideas as I built those two new levels to round out the current dungeon. I figured it was a good idea to wait for Astrith to return and see what she’d brought me. Depending on what kind of rewards and mobs I could make, it would definitely influence the layout for the third and completely new stage of the dungeon, which I intended to make four levels as well.

  I could also feel my potential rising, as I started to absorb mana through the new mobs as I placed them. It occurred to me at that point I couldn’t stop building once I’d started, so far it was moving very slowly, but it would pick up faster and faster as I went. Not that fast, but enough that I’d have to keep my eye on it.

  I was a dark dungeon, but I also made the decision not to build levels with demons, like my father had. My will wasn’t endless like his was, and it would be more trouble than it was worth, and it would require my constant attention. Better not to mess with it at all. I was also a fire and earth dungeon, and an earth dungeon meant flora and animals, I hoped the sexy imp brought me some of that.

  Until then, I just slowly grew out the two levels simultaneously, adding what each room needed as it was built…

  Chapter Four

  Jenny didn’t ever remember being as young and green as the initiates in front of her. The four of them were new finds that came in yesterday, and she was going to initiate them. They all had looks of hope and excitement on their faces, and absolute trust in their futures and the goodness of the church.

  She held back a snort, let them have their illusions for now.

  “Can anyone tell me how affinities work, and what actually happens when you use magic?”

  She nodded after a short moment, none of them had a clue. That was fine, and she solidly had their attention at that point.

  “Someone with an affinity, can simply absorb and transform the ambient magic around us into life force, and the reverse as well, from lifeforce to magic, but only to the magic we have an affinity for. As the magic is slowly absorbed from around them, it will enhance your life force, and make it grow. The higher rank you are, the better understanding and control, which means the greater amount of life force you can hold within your body. For an affinity of earth, they slowly absorb the ambient earth magic that flows from the ground constantly. For us, as either paladins or clerics, we absorb the ambient light magic of the gods and goddesses of our pantheon.”

  She paused for a moment, “Both paladins and clerics do that first step, and there’s no difference in how we do it. Obviously, there are advantages for us being in a temple, where our pantheon’s presence is stronger, we regenerate our magic faster. Some also believe prayer and meditation increases the rate of intake, that’s a decision you'll have to make for yourselves. Now, for those of you that choose to be clerics, we can re-convert a small portion of that life force to light magic, and then form it into spells with words to shape it, will to control it, focus to target it, and understanding to modify it. You’ll learn when you’re too low to continue casting spells, and when you must focus on absorbing and rebuilding your life force. If you ignore your body and warnings, you will pass out and could even harm yourself.

  “Paladins take a different path. They absorb magic and convert it to life force the same exact way, but after that they control and spend that life-force directly. Which is completely different, and why there are very few practitioners of both paths. We won’t even teach someone a second path, until they complete the first. They can spend that lifeforce to enhance their strength, speed, stamina, and even rate of healing. An experienced paladin can even share their lifeforce directly with another to heal another, which is called laying on hands.

  “Let me warn you now, some choose the paladin discipline because it sounds easier, and it is easier in the beginning, but as you progress the control and understanding required is just as intensive. A cleric must learn all about spell craft and magic, the rules, laws, and configurations of magic, not to mention the language of glyphs. A paladin on the other hand, is an expert in the human body to an extent that exceeds most healers. They’ll be required to learn about all the organs, bones, muscles, bodily processes and systems as they grow in power.

  “I’d greatly suggest the four of you take the time to pray and contemplate which path would be better for you before you choose. Any questions?”

  George asked a question, at least she was pretty sure that was his name.

  “I thought we had to choose today?”

  She frowned, “You have until all your orientation lessons on magic, the church, and our gods are complete to declare your choice. Is that this day?”

  George shook his head.

  She said, “Then you have your answer.”

  A young girl asked, “What about dual affinities?”

  She said, “There are two obvious advantages. A dual affinity can absorb both types of magic to charge their lifeforce to its maximum aura, which makes it faster, and of course they can cast either magic. The downside, if there is one, is they have to learn all about two magical spheres instead of one. It’s a lot of work.”

  It was true enough, she could recharge her lifeforce faster than anyone she knew. She could absorb from light, dark, and earth, even if she only knew spells for light and earth that didn’t mean she couldn’t at least absorb from dark magic.

  There were no more questions, and she left the room rather hastily. She was late and needed to be at the dungeon in a half an hour, and the dungeon was almost an hour away. Twenty minutes from Tenemin, it was only a couple of miles, but it would take time to thread her way through the city and get out of the gate. Usually the master of duties scheduled things better, but that morning she had an early orientation class on the magics, and an hour later she was supervising a dive on level three.

  She wound up burning off some of her life force aura to increase her speed. She’d been training with Andy for a while. The good thing was her power level was her power level, for both. She’d be considered an apprentice paladin, not an adept like her clerical magic, but that was out of understanding and control as she enhanced her body. Her raw power, was adept, even if she wouldn’t be ranked that way, perhaps even master.

  She barely sweated as she
ran up only fifteen minutes late, instead of a half hour.

  “Sorry I’m late, scheduling difficulties.”

  There were four of them, all apprentices on the verge of journeyman. Sandy, Aaron, Jill, and David. Sandy had golden hair and blue eyes, with a petite lissome body at five foot four, she was also a cleric. Aaron had black hair and brown eyes, he was easy on the eyes and built like a brick wall, paladin. David had brown hair and brown eyes, he was a bit shorter than Aaron at six foot two, but he was of a similar build. Jill had light blonde hair and gray eyes, she was athletic and a paladin as well.

  That was pretty much a normal breakdown, the church as a rule had three paladins for every cleric. She supposed most were physically inclined that way. Of course, a master paladin could never rise to the position of highest, or high cleric of Tenemin, so she supposed ambition might play a part in that as well for those that chose cleric.

  Sandy smiled, “Been there more than once myself.”

  She sent her a grateful smile.

  David said, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  She nodded, “Alright, you know the rules. Pay attention and guard each other’s backs.”

  Her job was simply to make sure they didn’t do something very careless and stupid, and wind up dead. It was a boring job, and in her opinion it made the training less effective. Without true risk to sharpen the mind they’d be at a major disadvantage the first time they faced a true threat out in the real world. She knew she’d almost frozen on the first real mission she’d been on. As it was, the brief hesitation had almost cost her life, all because she’d never been truly threatened before. Worse, they’d all been through the dungeon multiple times already, at least up until the end of the third floor.

  The first floor was initiate, the second was low to middle apprentice, the third would finish off apprentice level threats. After that four through six was for journeyman and low adept. The jumps there were a little too sharp in her opinion, but with the consistency of the dungeon and it never changing it also got the job done.

  The first two floors went quickly, they knew where all the traps were and could avoid them in their sleep, and the skeletons on the first floor and skeletons and zombies on the second were pretty easy for the four of them to take out too, being apprentice level five with the threat being low apprentice level there wasn’t all that much risk for her charges. Of course, low-risk is when people made stupid mistakes, which was human nature, so she kept a sharp eye on her charges as they made their way down to floor three without mishap.

  She’d suggested once early in her training that they should let the dungeon free, it would still be a managed risk, if slightly less so, but would better prepare them for real life danger. She’d never been stupid enough to bring it up again, her ass had been red for hours.

  “Alright, this time Aaron and Jill take point. David, you stick close to Sandy and protect her from physical attacks. Sandy, you’re leading the party this time.”

  Sandy smirked, mostly because it was old hat by now. They’d been through level three a lot already, and they’d continue to use it to practice until they’d broken into the journeyman ranks and go to level four.

  In truth, she kind of hated it. It was boring, stupid, and a waste of a good resource in her opinion, but she knew no one would listen. It was truly dangerous, perhaps even more dangerous than a freed dungeon that would be the cause of some training accidents and even a death or two on occasion for the unwary or plain stupid. They weren’t the best they could be.

  She loved her goddess, but between the bad training with a hobbled dungeon, sexual impositions of the masters on teen woman, even if they did need an outlet anyway, and the fact the masters kept the others down she really hated the church of light at times. Most times. She’d even wondered once or twice if the training was bad on purpose, just another control mechanism to keep men who were adequate masters of magic at best in power.

  Still, it wouldn’t do to start picking up lazy habits herself, she hadn’t grown so quickly in personal power by being lazy. She was stuck at adept, but that was lack of access to knowledge, not her own driving ambition. Point was, she kept a close eye on her four charges, as they slowly crossed floor three. Just because they all knew where the traps were, didn’t mean people never lost focus of where they were in the moment.

  There were multiple rooms and even different paths, that time Sandy ordered them down the left-hand split, which was full of skeleton archers, and undead knights with full armor, sword, and shield. Sandy did a good job with it, sending out Aaron and Jill, while she supported them with casting, and David worked to stop charging knights from overwhelming her.

  There were only six levels, but at least they were big, and it was almost two hours later and about thirty fights before they reached the other side. The alcove beyond the last room had two stairway entrances, one that led directly to the surface, and the other headed down to the fourth-floor entrance.

  They returned to the surface.

  She said, “You all did well. Sandy and Aaron, report to evaluation when you get back, I think you two might have reached journeyman. I’ll see you all in three days, enjoy the weekend.”

  Instead of returning to the city, she headed for the tavern for lunch. She had two more escorts scheduled that afternoon, so there was no point returning to the city to eat. The small tavern and inn had a few servants hired by the church, and the master responsible for overseeing the dungeon as a whole also stayed there.

  There were a couple of other adepts there, and after grabbing some food she went to join them…

  She lunged forward with the sword held at chest height, and then felt a hard smack of metal against her ass.

  She glared at Andy, he only did that when she did something exceedingly stupid.

  He was rather handsome and well built, muscular and athletic. He was six foot even, with black hair and gray eyes, wide shoulders, and a ruggedly handsome face. They were still by the dungeon, outside of it in fact, he’d started her training after their duties were done for the afternoon. That was several hours ago, and she was drenched in sweat.

  Andy waved a finger at her, “Take a deep breath and calm down, you’re doing it again. Stop pushing so hard, or you’ll permanently damage your body, then where will you be? You have the power of an adept, but a body of an apprentice, stop pushing so damned hard, or I’ll stop teaching you.”

  She blushed, “Sorry, I just…”

  Andy snorted, “I know, get impatient. But your muscles and organs can’t take being flooded with all that lifeforce energy at once. Not yet. You don’t want to explode do you?”

  She giggled, “I feel like I might,” then she winked.

  She blushed again, she didn’t usually flirt as a rule during training, but channeling all that energy into and through her body was like an aphrodisiac. It was a wonderful and frustrating feeling at the same time, her nipples were tight and sensitive, and she was absolutely soaked down below. She both loved and hated the results of intense training, which could be considered foreplay, something she hadn’t felt with her cleric magic in two years. She still practiced of course, to keep her edge, but not for hours upon hours a day.

  Her whole body was tingling. Worse, or perhaps embarrassing, her stinging ass had ramped up that needy feeling in her body by a whole lot.

  It was late too, their two days off started tomorrow, so she could usually talk Andy into training longer since they could sleep in the next day.

  She also liked Andy, he never leered at her, and he never assumed they’d wind up in bed after training, though she knew he loved her body and took pleasure in teasing pleasure from it. He was a gentleman, one of the few in the church. He was also the only man in the church she’d still let in her bed, she’d turned the others away once she’d reached journeywoman status. He also had magical hands, and a really nice, long, and thick… never mind.

  Andy snapped, “Pay attention. How does your body feel?”

  S
he frowned, “Achy, tired, hot, and…” she trailed off. Needy, but he would get that one without it being said.

  He was right of course, she’d been pushing too hard to make contact, it was frustrating being on the losing side of their every bout, but she reminded herself he was an adept, and she had a long way to go before she could face him with a sword. On the other hand, she probably could hold him off long enough to get off an adept level cleric spell, but that would be cheating.

  That was a spellcasters biggest weakness, in the time a cleric took to get off a spell a fast warrior could remove their head. It was one of the reasons she wanted to train as a paladin as well, even if in a war situation she’d be deployed alongside paladins to watch her back that way, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to watch her own while simultaneously casting.

  “I suppose we should break for the night?” she asked.

  Andy nodded, “You also need to work on your secondary sword forms, being a paladin isn’t just about enhancing the body, you have to know what to do with that enhancement. Your sword work was a little sloppy tonight.”

  She sighed, “Understood.”

  Andy smiled, “You’re doing well though, I don’t imagine it will be too much longer before you hit journeyman. Work hard on your knowledge, control, sword forms, and studies, but don’t push your body too hard with magic at the same time, and just let it happen. You’re learning much faster than most, but that could backfire if you’re not careful.”

  He added, “We can do a dungeon run or two tomorrow if you want? Stay the night with me?”

  She smiled at his confident tone, but at the same time not an assuming one, “I’d love too.”

  They took the time to wipe down their swords, and check for any damage. She’d done well that night she decided, sloppy or not, there were no nicks in her sword blade. She sheathed it, and they moved together into the small inn and tavern, to eat dinner, clean up, and spend the night together.