The Dungeon Fairy: Three Lives: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 3)

by Jonathan Brooks

  It certainly did, and it was unlike anything he’d seen before in a dungeon – which was becoming a bit old by that point. Marvus didn’t like surprises because they were too hard to plan for.

  A large cliffside at least 100 feet tall greeted them, with an obvious switchback path up the face of it. While they fortunately didn’t have to climb it, there was always a risk of falling if they weren’t careful; luckily, each and every one of them was quite agile and had a superb sense of balance, all benefits from their Class selections.

  “Trap! I can’t tell what kind it is, but if the rumors about this place were true, it’s probably some sort of enchantment that’ll mess with us,” Gerthin called out to the rest as they were walking up the switchback, and it was easy enough to pinpoint once Marvus got close enough with his Detect Traps ability. There was a foot-wide strip near the edge of the pathway that wasn’t included in the trap, which made it the obvious choice for where they could bypass it altogether. Too obvious. One didn’t survive for years delving through dungeons without learning some of the tricks these nasty places liked to pull to take advantage of the unwary.

  Marvus wasn’t the only one that thought so, and everyone prepared for the inevitable surprise. Gerthin easily walked to the side of the trap, avoiding it altogether, but when the attack came no one was caught off guard. Despite the fact that a large cat the same color as the cliff suddenly appeared no more than 10 feet above Gerthin, the Assassin managed to avoid all but a few cosmetic scratches along his dark leather jerkin as it flew past him. If he hadn’t been prepared, he might have been knocked off the cliff itself, injuring him severely.

  The greyish-brown cat – some sort of Lynx if he wasn’t mistaken – agilely landed below the switchback on the cliff, before bounding back upwards, intent on attacking Gerthin again. It was met with a pair of swords wielded by the Cohort member that moved so quickly that they sliced the cat apart in the middle of the air; the monster was dead before it even hit the ground.

  Now knowing what to look out for, the journey up the cliff face went a lot more smoothly. It was still hard to pick out the Lynxes when they sat perfectly still along the rocky outcroppings of the cliff face, but after a while it was possible to pick out their eyes – which were the only things that didn’t blend in with the surroundings. Bombarding them with expertly tossed throwing knives was enough for the Cohort to take them out before they could even attack. From that point on, making their way up to the top of the cliff was easy enough.

  The journey down the backside of the vertical mountain was even easier, as there didn’t seem to be any monsters to kill or traps to avoid. At the bottom, there were two more options of where to go next, but one of them was quickly investigated and ruled out, as it was closed off at the end.

  The next room was their first glimpse of the forest-like environment that Squab had described the previous dungeon was full of. There were trees lining the middle of the room, with small hills of even more stone along the sides, combining the two environments seamlessly.

  Spreading out, so as not to present a tempting target for an attack, the Cohort moved forward cautiously, using their Detect Traps to verify the safety of their steps. Just before the tree line, a long trap suddenly filled Marvus’ vision, running the entire distance from hillside to hillside. While they might be able to jump over it with no ill effects, leaving a trap that couldn’t easily be avoided at their backs was never a good idea, especially if they needed to flee. “Derf – Disarm it while we watch your back.”

  Derf, their Disarm Trap specialist, got to work immediately. A billowy mist flowed out of his hands, covering the entire trap within seconds as it did its work. It would take a minute or two for it to fully finish, which was why they needed to watch his back while he was otherwise occupied.

  It was good that they were, too, because almost as soon as Derf got to work, some unheard signal started an attack from 3 sides. Large cats, larger than the Lynx in the last room, seemed to materialize from the hillsides, jumping down towards the assembled Cohort, narrowly missing their targets as they dodged out of the way. Knives flashed out in counterattack as the cats landed, swift and deadly strikes and stabs that made short work of the dungeon-created monsters, even as howls coming from the forest of trees made Marvus shiver slightly at their sound.

  A handful of large wolves emerged from the trees at a run, attacking those closest to the forest, but again their targets were too swift to fall prey to their assault. Dodging, rolling, and even jumping out of the way of danger was easy enough to accomplish with their Classes, though facing an enemy head-on was always a bit risky. Marvus joined in and held the attention of 2 of the wolves with his Provoke ability, and the others took advantage with stealthy backstabs and swift shanks into their flanks as he practically danced out of the way of the monsters’ deadly bites.

  Soon enough, the big cats and wolves lay dead, disappearing into loot – more silver coins and what appeared to be some shoddy leather armor. It was nothing that any of them would want to use, even Squab, but they could sell it for a small profit in Heftington. A minute later, the trap was completely disarmed and harmless, and they made their cautious way through the forest, finding the entrance to the next room.

  That was where things started to get a little strange.

  Chapter 8

  Tacca had recognized Marvus immediately, leading a large group of Scout-classed Thieves and Brigands up towards her dungeon entrances. It was hard to forget any of the people that had participated in the destruction of one of her past Bonded Cores; in this case, it had been Darlene, one of the first Cores in which she had Bonded. The misguided Dungeon Core had essentially shut down her dungeon in the hopes of hiding from everyone, hoarding heaps of Rewards in her Core Room.

  That was, of course, when Tacca showed up and her bad luck led to her destruction. The former Dungeon Assistant still hadn’t fully come to terms with her role in any of the fates of her former Cores, even if she hadn’t been the one to actually end their lives.

  No, that had been the act of those like Marvus.

  He had shown up with other Brigands, using his Valuation Sense ability to sniff out the massive hoard of gold coins and enchantment scrolls (as well as a myriad of other things) in Darlene’s Core Room. Without any traps or creatures defending her many rooms, as they had been removed previously, even the Core’s desperate additions of Panthers had been only partially successful. Marvus, having killed the leader of his thieving group, had taken it upon himself to destroy Darlene, so that there wasn’t a chance that anyone would find his massive treasure.

  I WILL KILL HIM!

  Shale was taken aback by her vehemence and nearly dropped his Invisibility in surprise. “What? Who? Why?”

  Marvus – the one that appears to be leading this group. He destroyed one of my previous Cores before all this happened.

  “Which one?”

  While Tacca explained what had happened, she listened to the group talking via the Link with Shale, as well as watched them loot the bodies of the corpses that had been killed by the invaders outside of her entrance. To see them uncaringly desecrate their fellow Raiders like that, without any visible sign of caring that they used to be their own, only indicated to her that these were not the most savory of characters. The rage she felt only increased.

  “Tacca…don’t take this the wrong way, because I don’t want to make light of what you went through, but…you can’t take revenge on him as a personal vendetta.”

  That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. What? Why not?

  “Because he was justified in what he had done.”

  No; it’s never justified destroying a Dungeon Core, especially because of greed.

  “So you say, but I think you’re thinking of it as a Core, and not as a Fairy anymore.”

  What does that have to do with— Tacca stopped her rebuttal and stepped back for a moment, trying to wade through the fury she felt upon seeing the Brigand again. It took a few minutes to let he
r mind clear enough to understand what her Assistant was saying. In those precious few minutes, the Gnoll Scout she had in her new section entrance was chased and cut down before he could escape.

  I…see what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take it easy on these Raiders. They are coming in with way more people than they should, so I’m going to up the challenge a bit.

  Tacca really did understand what Shale was saying: Darlene had been breaking the rules and had to be destroyed. It wasn’t just an accidental breaking of the rules, but a deliberate act that was detrimental to the entire world; when Darlene wasn’t acting as a functioning dungeon, she wasn’t actively participating in regulating the “balance” – something she was starting to learn more of over the past few weeks, as Shale had spent more and more time helping Malachite and the Council. She didn’t comprehend all of it, but she did understand her role in “pruning” those dungeons that were hindering the maintenance of that balance.

  That did not mean that she liked it. Nope, not one bit.

  Regardless, she could see Marvus in a new light. She still didn’t like the Brigand – or whatever Raider Class he was now – and wanted him to die, but ultimately he had played a role in Darlene’s destruction just as Tacca had. While she still could – and did – blame him for the Core’s ending, it was quite likely that if it hadn’t been him, it would’ve been someone else. For that reason, she wasn’t going to specifically target him in an attempt to kill him, but she was serious about making things a little more difficult for the entire group.

  “That’s only fair, I suppose, seeing as they have much greater numbers. And while I don’t know their Raider Levels, from their actions so far, I would put most of them at the limit of your new section or beyond.”

  With tacit approval for her actions, Tacca started adding more creatures to her new section. Using all of her Dungeon Force, bolstered by Shale’s Energy Transmutation and her own regeneration, dozens of new creatures joined their brethren already prepared for the upcoming group. Because of time constraints, as it took a little while for her new additions to fully materialize, she skipped over adding anything to the first two rooms, as they wouldn’t appear in time; for the others, though, they were getting a slight increase in their number.

  Unfortunately, she didn’t have nearly enough time to place additional traps, as those usually took longer to set up and more DF to create.

  “Not that they would matter, anyway, as these Raiders will just be able to detect and disarm them with ease.”

  Her Dungeon Assistant was correct, as those that had just invaded her dungeon were all specialized in trap detection and disarming them – which was why a balanced group of Raiders usually contained at least one Scout-type Class. Fortunately, unless there were some hidden very high-Level Raiders in the bunch, the traps in her defensive section outside of her Core Room would be too difficult for any of them to disarm.

  Not one to take a chance, though, especially if she could do something to prevent a disaster, once she had initiated the placement of additional creatures throughout the majority of the rooms, she started on something new. Moving her Core to the 3rd section, which was currently under construction, she added a new creature to her Core Room – along with some smaller friends for some synergy action.

  Gnoll Archmage

  If Gnolls are the evolved versions of hyenas, then the Gnoll Archmage is the evolved version of a Mage. Wielding powerful spells, the Archmage can absolutely devastate its enemies and only the stoutest of individuals can withstand their onslaught. The downside to this Variant of Gnoll is their severe weakness to physical attacks, though that weakness can be shored up by the activation of defensive spells.

  Cost (Level 25): 1200 DF

  Control Requirement (Level 25): 190

  Creation Time (Level 25): 3.5 Hours

  Equipment: Carved Elderoak Staff (Magical Attack +20, Physical Attack +2), Fine Magisilk Robe (Physical Defense +5)

  Physical Attack: 5 (9)

  Magical Attack: 80 (120)

  Physical Defense: 8 (12)

  Ranged Defense: 4 (6)

  Elemental Resistance: 80% Earth, 80% Fire, 80% Water, 80% Air

  Specials: Bonus to sensing those hidden by Invisibility spells and effects

  Abilities: (select for list of available spells)

  Synergy Addition (+): Adds a bonus to Physical and Ranged Attack and Defense when paired with unevolved creature form; this bonus lasts for up to 30 seconds even after paired form is killed

  It was a bit of a strain on her Core, as it still didn’t like her using more than 25% of her maximum Dungeon Force on a single creation, but although it nearly felt like she was going to cause some cracks in her form, nothing happened. She thought she might be able to push it another 100 or 200 DF before something bad happened, but she didn’t want to push it. As it was, it was already going to take 3.5 hours for the Gnoll Archmage to fully appear, which she hoped the rest of her rooms would delay the group for long enough. Actually, she really hoped that she wasn’t going to have to utilize the Archmage at all, and that the group would just leave after a while.

  Tacca didn’t think she’d be that lucky.

  The Dungeon Core watched as the large group made their way down the slide, investigated the first room quickly – they’re lucky that they had so many people to check all of the different passageways – and then blow through the first two rooms without any difficulty at all. Not that she expected them to, but she was at least hoping that her creatures would be at least partially effective. That just wasn’t to be, unfortunately.

  It was in the third room, where she had made some additions, that she finally had some success.

  * * *

  Marvus didn’t have to instruct everyone to bring forth whatever kind of light they had, because they did it automatically as they ventured into the next room. The ambience of the new area was dark, much darker than the previous rooms had been, but it wasn’t something that they were unused to when traipsing through dungeons. It was why they were prepared with Amulets of Illumination or gear equipped with Darkvision enchantments, though those were relatively expensive and didn’t work the best when the rest of the group was lighting up the place with so much light.

  A few steps inside of the room made the leading edge of the Cohort pause, as insane laughter echoed through glossy, smooth, and narrow hallways that indicated some sort of maze they needed to navigate their way through. This wasn’t the first maze most of them had seen in a dungeon, of course, but it was the first time that Marvus had heard something like that.

  “What is it? What is making that noise?”

  “Is this place haunted by the spirits of those that died up above?”

  “I don’t like this – we should turn around and get out of here.”

  Marvus heard the whisperings of his crew as they listened to the incessant laughter that seemed to sink into his bones, and he was this close to agreeing with them. However, he wasn’t going to let something as stupid as laughter keep him from scoring another payday.

  “Knock it off!” he yelled, making his voice carry over the creepy giggling. “Keep moving; there’s nothing to be afraid of here. This is just a ploy by the dungeon to scare us.”

  As if in answer to that, the sheer volume of the laughter increased, until a cacophony of giggles and cackles echoed through the hallways. Even if they got over the fear that the sound caused, it was so loud that they would have difficulty hearing if there was danger about.

  Thankfully, the group started moving again, either bolstered by his words or determined not to give into their fear. Before too long, the hallway ended in a T-junction, giving them two choices of where to go; it only confirmed that this was indeed some sort of maze. “Two teams, one left and one right!” Marvus immediately shouted, still needing to raise his voice significantly to be heard over the laughter. Without too much trouble, the entire group split in half, and he joined with 9 others as they turned to the right.
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  Within 2 turnings, they detected another trap, which was immediately disarmed with a minimum of difficulty. This dungeon is a whole lot easier than I expected; no wonder those two Hill Dwarves made it through. A few feet past where the trap was disarmed, however, Marvus heard a cry come from behind them, barely audible over the annoying giggling.

  The smaller Cohort group turned around with him, only to see Yates – a Level 19 Thief – on his knees, his knife barely holding off the attacks from another Gnoll. There was a shiny wetness to the back of his leather Cuirass, and Marvus instantly knew what it was.

  “Assassin! It backstabbed Yates!” he called out, moving into position to block another underhanded slice by the Gnoll. Yates had been hurt pretty badly, it seemed, which was unfortunate; he slumped over on his side as Marvus took the attention of the creature, blocking one strike after another with ease. Within a few seconds of quick knifework, he managed to stab the monster in the throat, shoving his weapon into its brain, killing it instantly. “Got it. See to Yates—”

  The sounds of fighting crashed into him as he turned, only to see most of his people fighting against what appeared to be Hyenas, though the creatures were extremely outmatched. It didn’t take long to put them down, but that wasn’t the only thing that had attacked. Another Gnoll Assassin had apparently ambushed the front of the group when they turned to help Yates, and Burns got his throat cut for his inattention.

  “What in the world is happening to you all?” he asked, exasperated. Burns – a Level 18 Brigand – was dead, but Yates had survived by virtue of a couple of Minor Healing Potions he had carried with him. “We are supposed to be the ones surprising and attacking monsters, not the other way around.” He could only put their inattention down to the atmosphere, but he was still severely disappointed in them.