Further back, there was a forge and the Gnomish Hauler and wagon that had gone unused (but which came in handy for making deliveries to the Orcs), as well as two multi-colored blobs that formed the unshifted shape of Unstable Shapeshifters. There were also quite a few storage boxes around, though most of them were empty; one held all of the Energy Orbs she had created, however, which was sitting next to the large pile of bows and bolts that Sandra had created during the night for the Rangers.
Speaking of the Rangers, the bow-wielding Elves were so on edge that anything unusual happening might just set them off – which Sandra didn’t quite recognize in time. She had one of the Unstable Shapeshifters move forward and start to change into Violet, as she was small enough to hopefully not cause much of a stir and wouldn’t be very intimidating; unfortunately, the movement caused one of the Rangers to whip around too quickly and trip over her feet. Being an Elf – and a Ranger to boot – she caught herself from falling to the floor, but she had to let go of her nocked and ready arrow…which shot right into the back of the Elder.
* I swear, it’s almost as if it’s a requirement to be mortally wounded in order to get a Visitor’s Bond here. *
Elder Herrlot screamed and collapsed to the floor, blood immediately staining the stone as she bled profusely out of the wound in her back. Judging by the angle and location, Sandra thought it was entirely possible she had been shot in or near the heart and perhaps even the lungs, which would explain the copious amounts of blood emitting out of her back and bubbling out of her mouth.
One of the other Rangers rushed over after throwing down his weapon, and the bright-white light of Holy Elemental Energy streamed out of his hands as he laid them on the wound in the Elder’s back. “My Minor Rejuvenation spell isn’t going to be enough! Does anyone have anything stronger?!” he said, in a panic. “We need to pull the arrow out, but as soon as I do that, the wound will tear open even further; however, if I don’t start healing what I can right now, she’ll be dead anyway.”
“No, no, no! I’m so sorry, Elder! I didn’t mean to—”
“Stop sniveling, Chryla – it’s not helping. We know it was an accident, but now we have to save her. You’re the fastest; run back to the village and grab—”
Sandra’s Multi-access Repair Drones were already on the move, and the Violet Copy was already running towards the group. The Dungeon Core thought it was only the fact that the Gnome was naked that prevented them from firing on her, though one did fire at one of the Drones getting closer. Luckily, the arrow was hastily fired and ricocheted off the top of the white cylinder shape of the Drone, making the slightest scratch in the metal it was made from but not actually harming it.
Sandra had the copy of Violet wave her hands in as much of a “no” motion as she could, while also pointing between the Repair Drones and the Elder. The Rangers all nearly fired on the two Drones when their “arms” emerged from their cylinders, but fortunately they only held their weapons at the ready.
“What—what are they doing?” the Elf trying to heal the Elder asked as soon as the two constructs got close, before backing off when they practically shoved him out of the way. “Violet” crouched over the bleeding older Elven woman and waited for the “hand” pads of the two Repair Drones to slap down on her prone form. As soon as they did, she gripped the arrow stuck in the wound and yanked it out, to a gush of blood that quickly covered the bare skin of the Shapeshifter. At least now I have her form to shift into if I feel like it.
“What are you doing?! She’s going to die!” the healing Elf said, before tossing “Violet” away and placing his hands on the Elder’s body again. He tried to knock the Drones away as well, but they were linked to the dying Elf and wouldn’t be moved without extreme physical force.
White Holy light flowed out of his hands again and after a moment he gasped in surprise. “Wait,” he said to the other Rangers as he pulled his hands away. They appeared to be closing in and were about to exert some of that extreme physical force needed to move the Drones, but stopped at the healer’s words. “They’re healing her – and doing it faster than I’ve ever seen or heard of before!”
The Elder hadn’t lost consciousness through the entire ordeal, and though she was frozen during the entire process of healing, Sandra could see in her eyes that she understood what was going on just as much as the Rangers now did. They left the Drones alone to do what they were doing, and even the healing Elf only now and then moved in to touch the Elder with his Holy energy to check up on her. After 10 excruciating minutes for everyone, the Drones finally backed away and put their stick-like arms back into their forms, before going back to their positions along the wall.
The Elder coughed out a large glob of blood, and then coughed a few more times for good measure, before she allowed some of the Rangers to help her up. She appeared amazed to be alive, not only because that normally would’ve been a fatal wound, but also because she was healed by a dungeon. That certainly has to make an impact.
“Thank you…Sandra. Your…monster…is quite unique,” she sounded out of breath, but Sandra suspected that she was just exhausted. She had lost a lot of blood, after all. “As for you, Chryla,” the Elder said, turning toward the Ranger that looked like she was ready to be executed, “…we’re going to…have to work on your control. As a punishment, I want you to go first with this…bonding process; I was going to go…first, but I think I need to rest…a little before I do that. Just try not to die…from the pain.” The older Elf looked much paler than usual, and for the first time Sandra could see a hint of the age in the Elder’s face from a few wrinkles that hadn’t been there before.
The fear on Chryla’s face – as well as some of the other Rangers – was evidence that the Elder hadn’t exactly told the others what was coming, which seemed a bit mean to Sandra. Regardless, there wasn’t really anything the Dungeon Core could do other than beckon the poor Elf over with a blood-spattered, naked Gnome girl to the chest of Energy Orbs. Picking out a Water and Air Orb, her Violet copy handed them to the Elf; Sandra could tell which elements Chryla used because of the two partially consumed Energy Orbs tied on a string around her neck. While those might be enough to create the special Bond, the Dungeon Core hadn’t tried it with anything but full-strength Orbs before and didn’t want to cause something to go wrong.
Sandra had her blood-spattered Gnome look at the young-looking Elf and smile, sticking two thumbs up and tilting her head to the side; since she couldn’t speak, it was the only way she could figure out how to non-verbally ask if she was ready.
Chryla flinched back at the sight of the Gnome covered in the Elder’s blood, almost as if it were the first time really looking at her. The poor Elf looked back at the others, and Elder Herrlot said softly, “Go on.” With that being the only acknowledgement she apparently needed, the Ranger nodded and looked down at the Orbs in her hands.
The next moment, she was screaming so loudly Sandra was worried she would break the eardrums of the others in the room; Chryla collapsed to her knees as her eyes were opened wide in obviously tremendous pain. The other Rangers flinched back a few steps and were wide-eyed as well, but before they could react by either bolting out of the entrance or by starting to shoot everything in the room, the screaming stopped. The Elder watched rather dispassionately, but then again she knew what was going to happen.
* Welcome, Chryla. You should be feeling a little better now, but if you need any additional healing, please let me know and I can have my Multi-access Repair Drone see to you. *
“Who—what was that?!”
The Elder chuckled a little, taking unfathomable amusement from Chryla’s confusion and panic. Well, I guess I can’t completely fault the older Elf; she did just get shot by Chryla, and I’m sure she was telling the truth about originally going first and explaining things afterwards.
“Oh good, it worked! I’m assuming you just heard the dungeon speaking to you. Her name is Sandra, I believe.”
* Sorry, Chryla –
I didn’t mean to startle you. Since your Elder already introduced me, I’ll quickly tell you about the Energy Orbs you now have embedded in your palms… *
Sandra briefly went over what she knew of the Water and Air Energy Orbs now permanently attached to Chryla’s body, and how they would continue to regenerate her elemental energy as long as she was inside Sandra’s Area of Influence. The astonished Elf then relayed all of that information to the others, who – despite the pain of the process – were visibly interested in getting the same done to their own palms. What they didn’t seem to understand, though, was that it was more than just being able to communicate with the Dungeon Core down below and gaining Energy Orbs that could help them regenerate their elemental energy – though that was certainly a bonus. Sandra briefly explained the extra benefit, which caused the newly Bonded Elf to finally smile after her painful ordeal.
“Oh, and there’s something else Sandra told me about…” Chryla mentioned, before she pointed towards one of the Mechanical Jaguar Queens. The large construct abruptly moved towards the Elf and the Rangers readied their weapons and started to manipulate their elemental energy, before the Elder held up a hand and ordered them to stop.
Apparently, the older Elf had already figured it out. “I had wondered after I saw Echo arrive in Avensglen on the back of a Pegasus yesterday, and this just proves it. Are you able to control it completely?” she asked Chryla.
“Yes, though the dungeon—Sandra—warned me that she can regain control of it at any time. For the time being, though, it will take orders from anyone…bonded…to her Core and has been instructed to follow directions.” Chryla showed off that control by making the Jaguar Queen jump up and down and even wiggle around like it was dancing, which elicited a little laughter from the gathered Elves. The break in the tension was quickly followed by all of them clamoring for the same process of Bonding, which began soon afterwards.
All of them screamed just as loudly during the process, but the impending pain didn’t seem to deter any of them; the Elder went last, which allowed her to time to recover before she went through another painful ordeal. She seemed just as happy as the others to have it done, however, and was looking a bit more “alive” after even just a few minutes. The Rangers were even more excited when Sandra explained about the new bows and bundles of bolts that were created for them, and the Elder – having seen it in action before – briefly demonstrated how they worked.
* You’ll all have to adjust them so that they fire the bolts exactly where you want them, as I’m not experienced enough in firing them to finish them off. Otherwise, these are all yours to use against the Dungeon Monsters that are only going to get tougher as time goes on. *
At the mention of the Monsters roaming the nearby forests, the Elder quickly interjected herself in the conversation. “Speaking of that, you all need to get back to Avensglen and start on the culling process before it gets too late in the day. And I will have to start the journey to the capital with Echo.”
* If you double up, you can take 6 of my Radiant Pegasi to fly back; it’ll be slightly faster than just running back, and it’ll give you a chance to practice controlling them. Eventually, my hope is to give each of you your own construct or Dungeon Monster to help you with the culling process; for instance, these Mechanical Dire Wolves and Jaguar Queens – as well as the Steelclad Ape Warriors you see – are being used by the Dwarves to help with the culling of their own nearby dungeons. *
They seemed genuinely excited by that idea; after gathering up all of the weapons and mounting on the backs of 6 of the 7 Pegasi in the workshop (she made sure to leave Starlight 3 there for Echo to use), the Rangers left for their village and for the start of their day of culling the Beasts and Slimes in the nearby forests.
By that time, Echo had eaten and been informed of all that had happened up in the workshop. Sandra’s original plan had been to have the young Elf strap herself onto the Roc’s harness down below and meet the Elder up top so they could leave, but after the older Elf was wounded, all of those plans changed – though it wasn’t Sandra’s idea. Echo immediately went up to the Workshop and found a wan-looking Elder standing there in bloodstained clothes, looking better than she had just after she was healed, but not completely recovered yet.
She had also been slightly more affected by the Bonding process than she let on to the Rangers, which Sandra thought was because she had three elements that she had access to, instead of just their two. The result was that her left hand now had two Orbs implanted in her palm, making it a little lopsided-looking, while her right hand had only one. Regardless, the Elder still looked happy over her new additions, even if she appeared ready to fall down in exhaustion.
“Let’s go get you cleaned up before we leave; I imagine you don’t want to meet everyone at the capital looking like you’ve just bathed in blood,” Echo wryly commented as soon as she saw the Elder, who only nodded in response.
The young Elf brought her down to the bathing room, where the Elder seemed to perk up in excitement after seeing the setup there. Using the jets of hot water, Echo was able to help scrub all of the blood off the older woman and even cleaned most of the bloodstains off of her clothing, before allowing themselves to be thoroughly dried off by the blasts of hot air just outside the bath.
“And you can use this anytime? This is unlike any dungeon I’ve ever seen or heard of before, that’s for sure.”
* I’m certainly not your ordinary dungeon. *
Sandra’s voice in the Elder’s head seemed to startle her, as if she forgot that the Dungeon Core could now communicate mentally. “That is probably the most accurate statement I’ve ever heard.”
While she was still a little wary of allowing the Elder near her Core, Sandra had enough defenses and constructs in place in her Home room to protect her if she needed them. In addition to her flying constructs to deflect many types of attacks, she also had a giant Aerie Roc there that could practically swallow the Elder whole if it came to that. Luckily, she ended up not having to worry about any deception or betrayal on the part of the older Elf, as the Elder still looked entirely drained – but alive, at least.
There wasn’t much difficulty in getting them strapped into the harness, and with a quick explanation of the enchanted plaque and how it worked, they were ready to go. Before they left, Sandra also placed the – now closed – box of Large Energy Orbs that had been left over after the Rangers had been bonded, so that they could deliver them to the capital directly. Sandra watched them leave her Home room as the giant bird ran through the tunnels on its way out of her dungeon, with the sun just barely over the horizon. They lifted into the air after some brief practice by Echo, with both the young Elf and the Elder not seeming to be fazed by the height like Violet had been.
Truth be told, their entire departure was a bit anticlimactic after the events in the workshop. I suppose I shouldn’t complain; I could use a little anticlimactic every now and then.
When they were out of range of her view outside of her Area of Influence, Sandra turned her concentration back to her dungeon…and got back to work.
Chapter 15
The rest of the morning was relatively quiet, as Gerold and the other Shieldmen were going to sleep until at least the early afternoon before they headed out again. The other Dwarven villagers – despite not being able to actually see the sun – woke up a little bit after the two Elves left on top of their Aerie Roc, and started in on the fields which had now been completely planted. From the small plots of Wheat, Barley, Hops, and Potatoes that Sandra had originally planted in order to acquire their Origination Materials, there were now long rows of each type of grown foodstuff in two different large growing rooms. Now that they were all planted and the Natural portion of the trap that she had set up in the two rooms had grown them all to maturity, the villagers were starting to harvest it all with the help of a veritable horde of Sentinels she had originally provided the Dwarves to help out.
While her constructs were able to p
ull the Wheat and Barley out at the root, the villagers used some Steel sickles that they had brought with them from the village; though they didn’t bring a whole lot with them when they fled, they made sure to bring their important tools. The sickles were unique tools that had short wooden handles with a long Steel blade that was drastically curved, making almost a “U” shape; the inside of the curve was sharpened, and the blade came to an almost hooked point. Theoretically it could be used as a weapon in a pinch, but what it excelled at being used for was harvesting – and Sandra got to see it in use for the first time in her life; she had never been very interested in the actual harvesting process back when she was a merchant and learned about crafting, though she did learn how to craft a sickle.
The Dwarves crouched down with their sickles, pulling at the stalks of Wheat and Barley – but not to rip them out of the ground. Instead, they gathered up a small handful and used their tools to almost wrap around the lower stalks, pulling at the same time to cut through the stalks near the ground with ease. They kept doing this until they had a large handful, where they would then use a few of the stalks to bundle them all together, depositing them on the ground to be collected later and moved on to the next area – where they would do it all again. They were fast and extremely efficient, and by not ripping the stalks out of the ground, they would regrow again without having to be reseeded.
Therefore, instead of her constructs helping to harvest them directly, they instead transported of all of the sheaves of Wheat being harvested by the much more efficient Dwarves to the threshing area. Since the harvesting was being taken care of, the threshing was done by Sandra’s constructs; it was similar in practice to how she had harvested flax, though in slightly different ways. With the Wheat and Barley, all it took was smashing the sheaves of stalks against the floor or wall using her Sentinels, where the grains would fall out and be collected by the various Automatons there and put to the side. The chaff covering the actual grains needed to be removed, but that was much easier to do by the small hands of the automatons in rapid succession. Unlike the Dwarves, who had to rest, her constructs could constantly do the threshing and chaff-removing without stopping, which meant that they got through it very quickly.
The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) Page 16