Gabriel nodded and ordered Cuix to run laps around the room while sending the other two out.
All three goblins bolted, the two males in silence, while Cuix muttered about too much running being bad for her figure.
There’s nothing good about her figure.
Gabriel shuddered but felt a smile tug at his lips as he continued to mentally command the three monsters to move about.
“Wow, maybe you will be useful. I’m an excellent judge of character, unlike certain Dungeon Masters I know,” Merideva said, sounding far too cheerful for his tastes.
“Uh, thanks?”
“You’re welcome. Now take a couple of the goblins and go get my crystal back,” she said.
He blinked at her. “Wait, are you serious?”
“Of course, you have to get that Domain Crystal back, or I’ll die.”
“Yeah, I get that, but I kinda need clothes, probably a weapon. And I definitely need more than two or three goblins!” He tried to control his temper, but the oblivious Core didn’t seem to understand the severity of the situation.
She shrank back from his outburst, her color morphing rapidly to dark red.
“Don’t yell at me,” she cried, sniffling and vibrating oddly. The fear and sadness in her voice struck him like a physical blow. The flood of despair sent a shiver down his spine.
What the hells? Am I feeling her emotions?
Gabriel took a deep breath, then another, and focused on counting to ten. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
Before he’d even finished speaking, Merideva started back to brighter colors, and the spine-tingling sensations vanished.
“That’s right. You shouldn’t yell at me. I’m your precious Dungeon Core.”
“Yes, but I can’t go after Estrial and the others without more stuff, like clothes and stronger monsters,” he said, keeping his voice calm.
“Fine.” She let out a loud sigh. The Core flashed brightly a few times, and then a lump of discarded hair materialized on the altar next to him.
He jumped back at the sudden change, then paused and poked the strange pile of… fabric? Nothing happened when he poked it, so he lifted it at arm’s length.
Am I supposed to wear this?
He was holding what one might call, if they were very generous, a robe. He shook the itchy garment in the Core’s direction. “Did you make this?”
She bobbed twice. “Yep, you can thank me a lot.”
“Gee, thanks.”
What did she make it from? Goblin ass-hair?
“Go ahead and put it on, I won’t watch,” Merideva said, her voice muffled as though she was speaking through a covering hand.
Sighing, he shrugged and pulled the crappy robe onto his new muscular body. Observing the way his body shifted, muscles flexing, was almost enough to distract him from the horrifically scratchy fabric. Almost.
Then he inhaled and forgot all about the abrasive rasp of cloth on flesh.
This thing smells even worse than it feels.
“I’m guessing you want a weapon too before you agree to go, right?” she asked accusingly.
“Yeah, I’m going to need to find another arcane conduit. Without it, my magic will be far too weak.”
“Fine, I’ll make you a conduit as well. But you need to stop making excuses.”
What, seriously?
He clamped his mouth shut and watched as she flashed again. A gnarled black branch, complete with rough bark, appeared above the dark stone.
Reaching for it, Gabriel picked it up and swallowed hard before forcing a trickle of mana into the shoddy staff. It eagerly absorbed his power, and he felt it bond to him, accepting him with comfortable ease.
It’s uglier than sin, but it’s not too much weaker than my old one.
“Now, are you ready to hunt down that slut and steal back my crystal?” Merideva asked, her voice sharp and impatient.
“Let me guess, you can’t do that same thing to create stronger monsters, can you?” he said, glancing back to the floating orb.
Her soft pink glow flashed, producing a surprisingly good imitation of blushing, and she wobbled side to side.
“No, all I can create right now are goblins. I have five. And after the robe and staff, I don’t have enough DE for many more,” Merideva mumbled.
“DE?” Gabriel asked, a bit tired of all the acronyms.
“Dungeon Essence, it’s what we use to create monsters, items, build rooms, everything.”
“Oh, I thought you just used Soul Essence like you did for my new body.”
“I used DE for your new body. Sure it has an SE value now, but until I bound you to it, it was just a flesh construct.
“In fact, if you hadn’t agreed to be my DM, I wouldn’t have been able to make it anywhere near that powerful. Until you get that crystal back, I’m limited to goblins,” she said, sighing.
That’s… unfortunate. I don’t like my odds trying to take down Estrial with nothing more than goblins. “What about those golems from earlier, can you make more of those?”
Merideva sank lower. Already orange, she quickly shifted to a pitiful yellow tone. “No.”
“Do you have any more on another floor?”
“No.”
“Did you make those golems?”
“… No.”
“Would you care to explain?”
“… No.”
He sighed. “Are there any monsters stronger than your goblins in the dungeon? The Guild listed the dungeon at twenty-plus floors, and this is only the fourth.”
“… Yes,” she whispered.
“You’re going to have to use more than single-syllable answers, Merideva,” Gabriel said, pleased at how calm he kept his voice.
“Yes, there are stronger monsters, but they were bad. Wrong,” she muttered.
That doesn’t sound good. “Bad how? Where?”
“Down on the lowest floors. I guess you could try to recruit some monsters between here and there. I think they’re all unbound, but some of them might join now that I’ve got a DM.”
“Great, that sounds like a plan. I’ll take a few goblins with me and recruit some bigger monsters. Then come back up here, and we can figure out how to hunt down those adventurers.”
She perked up, her pink color returning as she hovered close to his face. “You mean it? You’re not going to abandon me?” she asked hesitantly.
“Abandon you? No, of course not. You saved me, right? You didn’t have to help me, but you did, so I’m not going to walk out on you,” Gabriel said, reaching out and stroking her Core.
The glowing stone warmed his hand, and a similar warmth brushed against his mind. Meri startled him by pressing up against his hand, sticking close as he continued to rub her.
I suppose she is kind of cute.
CHAPTER FIVE
Merideva finally relented and allowed Gabriel to take three of their goblins with him as he went exploring the lower floors. But only after she made him swear another soul oath that he wouldn’t poach Cuix.
How would I even steal a monster from her? More to the point, why in the world would I want to? Hells, Meri was acting like she expected me to have sex with the goblin as soon as we got out of sight.
“We not go past the tenth floor right, big boss man?” Cuix asked for the fourth time.
“No, we’re not going that deep. We need to find some monsters closer to the Core. Besides, Meri seemed terrified of the lowest floors.”
She refused to elaborate, but I definitely don’t want to find whatever it is she’s afraid of down there. There should be plenty of monsters on the closer floors anyway.
The female goblin nodded, her thick mane of black hair poofing wildly, throwing up a small cloud of filth.
Descending to the fifth floor required backtracking a few hallways and then taking a left to reach a narrow staircase. Gabriel quickly grew lost, but Merideva had assured him the goblins knew the way. Cuix and two of her bumbling minions took the lead wit
h minimal grumbling. They led him along a path they’d used before, spears held casually.
All three goblins wore patchwork padded armor reinforced with hides, with hideous leather helmets protecting their round heads and floppy bat ears. The bulging packs strapped to their backs enhanced their hunchbacked forms. Both males also carried small wooden shields that reminded him of barrel lids.
They should be reliable for another couple of floors. But as soon as we go farther than they’ve explored, I’m betting their innate cowardice will come to the forefront.
Gabriel followed behind them, keeping a careful eye out for any signs of movement. He split his focus between observing their winding path and trying to process the extreme changes he’d experienced.
Still not sure whether it would be better if this is all just a dream or not. It’s not like this is the first time people betrayed me. Though, it’s definitely the most extreme case. Maybe I’ll have better luck dealing with other Dungeon Bound? Are there others? Another thing to ask Meri.
After spending twenty minutes exploring the new floor, he hadn’t seen a single hint of any monsters living there. The longer they went without an encounter, the more he relaxed, lowering his guard and thinking back over recent events.
A soft hissing caught Gabriel’s attention, startling him, and he glanced about for the source. He gagged as the air filled with the stench of wet dog, rotten eggs, and cherries. “Oh gods, what is that smell?”
“Sorry, Big Boss Humie, Graz belly don’t feel too good,” the shortest goblin said, rubbing his bloated stomach.
Clamping down on his body’s desire to vomit, Gabriel sped up and moved past the gassy monster. “Whatever, just keep alert. We don’t want to get surprised down here.
I wouldn’t have believed they could smell worse on the inside.
The three green-skinned goblins bobbed their heads, their eyes darting around wildly.
Yeah, don’t rely on those three to spot anything.
He cast the comical monsters from his thoughts, focusing on the path ahead. Unlike the fourth floor, which consisted mostly of worked stone, the fifth floor looked like natural caves. While the first three floors had dirt-covered walls, the walls here were bare stone.
The rough ceiling would have been uncomfortably close for him back as a regular human. Now that he stood a good four inches taller, it was positively claustrophobic. After slamming his head into the shadowy stone a second time, he took the hint and hunched over like the far shorter goblins.
They might be four feet tall if they stood up straight.
The first two intersections they reached branched off into identical passages, but Cuix ignored them, continuing to move forward.
“How many times have you been through here?” Gabriel asked, trying to break the foreboding silence.
“Hmm, twice?”
“Twice? But you’re sure about where we’re going, right?”
“Sure?” Cuix parroted. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at him and shrugged.
Just great.
He took a calming breath and reminded himself that dealing with goblins still beat having your soul shredded and ceasing to exist. Probably.
It took half an hour and four wrong turns before they reached the next set of stairs. Cuix never admitted to leading them down a dead-end, instead suggesting the routes changed. While Gabriel wanted to call her bluff, after the day he’d had, he couldn’t be sure.
“We here, Boss!” the three screeched in sync.
How did they do that?
“Yes, I noticed,” he muttered, working a finger into his ear to help with the ringing.
The trio stared at him expectantly, their bulging eyes reminding him of the sickly stray that lived near the inn.
“Nice work. Now, how about we head down to the next floor.”
The goblins nodded, then dashed down the dark stone stairs.
Gabriel had grown accustomed to each staircase leading to another floor. So he found it unusual when the broad, stone stairs emptied onto a small landing with only one way out—straight up another set of stairs.
Are we still on the fifth floor then?
Whether or not it was the same floor, this new area was far darker. Fortunately, the goblins seemed prepared. Each male pulled a battered lantern from the filthy packs on their backs and lit the greasy yellow candle within. The flickering light drove back the inky darkness of the stairs, allowing him to follow them down safely.
Bad enough having to walk barefoot down here, the last thing I’d want is to stumble about blind. Still can’t believe Meri wouldn’t make me a pair of boots.
Even with both lanterns glowing, the dark stone around them refused to brighten. Instead, it seemed to absorb the light.
Gabriel let the goblins lead the way again, trying not to focus on how they darted glances around nervously. After a few minutes of traveling through the winding square-cut tunnels, the three already tense goblins grew even twitchier. Cuix sniffed at the air several times before turning back to him.
“Uh, boss, you smell that?” she asked.
“I’m guessing not. Why, what does it smell like?”
She shot him a big smile.”Virile, you should get this one.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
As they traveled through the floor, he spotted several scattered piles of bones.
It looks like one of the denizens of this floor got hungry.
Both males moved closer to Gabriel, and he glanced down to watch. They kept shifting closer, until they slipped in behind him, leaving only Cuix ahead of him.
“What is with you two?” he asked, glaring at one when it grabbed the back of his robe.
“We just watching your back, dun want you getting sneaked on,” one said, the other nodding vigorously.
“Whatever, but let go of my robe. I doubt it can handle much more abuse,” Gabriel said, brushing the goblin’s grubby paw off.
He bent close to inspect several piles of bones. While he spotted numerous human, or at least humanoid remains, there were a large number of quadruped bones he couldn’t begin to identify.
After a couple of minutes spent trying to guess what killed them all, he abandoned the fruitless search, and they continued to follow Cuix down the winding, black stone tunnels. Her small head turned side to side, and she sniffed at the air, seeming to decide the path based on whatever she detected.
Two left turns later, they descended a sloping passage, and the female goblin paused, raising one little fist. Her high-pitched voice echoed down the hall when she whispered far too loudly, “He’s just up around the corner, Boss Guy.”
Gabriel winced, then shrugged and stepped up to her side.
I hope this works.
“Okay, let’s go say hello.”
***
Gabriel waited as Cuix dragged the other two forward, then proceeded into the foreboding darkness. He forced down the growing worry and focused on the task at hand. Wet, heavy breathing caught his attention as lantern light flickered across the black stone.
That sounds a lot bigger than a goblin.
“Uh, hello?” he called out, wincing at his eloquence.
“Yeah, hello, you want to have a quick romp,” Cuix said.
Wait. What?
“Adventurers?” growled a deep, masculine voice.
“No, I’m a Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master.”
A methodical pounding, like something hard and heavy striking stone, approached them. The hidden monster snorted, sounding closer this time. “Hmm, never seen one of you before.”
Gabriel’s response froze in his throat as a shape stepped out of the shadows. A massive black-furred chest captured his gaze.
That thing looks bigger than an ogre.
His eyes slowly tracked up, following the veiny neck—thicker than his own thigh—to a prominent muzzle that ended in a broad pink nose. Thick brown fur covered every inch of the monster’s skin. Above the bovine nostrils, a pair of brown eyes glared
down at him.
That’s a very large minotaur.
“Oh, I like what I see,” Cuix purred.
No doubt she was going for sexy, but her high-pitched squeak sounded more like a snake swallowing a live cat. Her hideous voice shook Gabriel’s attention free, and he glanced over to see what she was looking at.
He sighed, averting his gaze. “Of course.”
Dangling almost to its knees, was a ridiculous phallus. Cuix’s eyes stared at it with a frightening intensity. As her gaze lost focus, the goblin licked her lips.She turned to Gabriel and shot him a pleading glance.
Damn thing is almost as big as she is.
“So, yeah, I’m a DM. I was hoping you’d be interested in joining forces with my Dungeon Core, Merideva,” he said, with only the slightest tremble in his voice.
Really hope this guy is friendly because I do not want to see what he can do with those ham-sized fists of his. Or those hooves.
“Gromp not want join. Gromp needs to breed. All of you furless, take off your coverings, and present yourselves.”
“Uh, what?” Gabriel asked, staring at the beast as it snorted.
“Gromp will impre… Gromp will put babies in each of you.”
Gabriel frowned. “No, thanks?”
What the hells is wrong with this guy?
“No choice, Gromp breed you all. Gromp have much stamina, will mount all. Big pink one go first.”
“Aww, I wanted to go first. But, it’s only fair Boss gets to go, then it’s my turn,” Cuix said. “You is very lucky, Boss.”
Yeah, screw this, going to command them to kill this asshole.
When Gabriel didn’t agree, he’d expected the minotaur to turn hostile. Instead, Gromp just stood there flexing and boasting about how thoroughly he would breed each of them.
Gabriel sent a mental command for the goblins to get ready, thankful that Meri had taught him how. He let Gromp continue to monologue, and turned his focus inward, connecting to all three goblins as he prepared a haste spell.
Suppressing the spell circle makes it a lot less efficient, but I don’t want to give it away early. If this guy is half as tough as he looks, I want no part of a fair fight with the horny bastard.
To his surprise, the nine-foot-tall monster kept still for over a minute, giving him plenty of time to ensure his spell was flawless. Gabriel concentrated on visualizing each of the glyphs without tracing them. Without a visible image to guide him, it took several times longer to form the simple spell he desired. But when the final piece settled into place, he smirked, and the almost invisible spell construct flared into reality.
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