But even that impact didn’t kill the boar, as it quickly struggled to its feet. Chryla and the Wyvine weren’t idle, however, and a bolt that appeared to have some sort of Natural elemental energy applied to it slammed into the thick fur and skin of the Beast’s neck just as the dark lizard-cat pulled its claws out of the boar’s side and started to furiously tear into the tendons and muscles of the Monster’s legs. With two of them torn apart so thoroughly in a matter of seconds and the boar seemingly weakened by whatever the Natural energy had done, the Beast crashed down again; in the process of lethargically trying to turn its head to gore the Wyvine, another bolt slammed into its open jaws, driving itself into the roof of its mouth and into its brain, killing the Dungeon Monster instantly.
“Ok, I love it,” Chryla said happily after a moment as the Dungeon Monster dissolved, leaving behind a large Yew Wood stick that would probably be greatly beneficial in making bows – if the Rangers weren’t already wielding Sandra’s crafted composite bows. “I missed my first shot there, and while I probably could’ve outrun that beast, it would’ve been difficult to take down without endangering myself. This Wyvine is exactly what I didn’t know I needed.”
* I’m glad to hear that! Now, there is a limited amount of time that your new companion can use its special abilities, which uses elemental energy just like you do. Unfortunately, it cannot regenerate that energy naturally outside of my dungeon; fortunately, I can send some Fire and Nether Energy Orbs along that will fill it up, similar to how you regenerate your own through the ones embedded in your palms. *
“That’ll work, I guess – but isn’t there a way you could embed those Energy Orbs into the Wyvine? That would make it much easier, I would think.”
* It doesn’t work that way, regrettably. I have to use— *
Wait. Why didn’t I think of that? It was so simple that Sandra didn’t know why she hadn’t tried it before. Well, she knew why; using an Elemental Orb – which was a lot more expensive Mana-wise – rather than almost any other Monster Seed to create a Dungeon Monster was foolish, because it was a waste of Mana, essentially. When she added in the time and effort it took to enchant an Elemental Orb into an Energy Orb, then it was equally ridiculous. For her constructs, it wouldn’t even make a difference, because they couldn’t use elemental energy; for her other Dungeon Monsters, though….
* Hold on, Chryla; let me test something. *
Quickly, Sandra created a Small Fire Elemental Orb and had one of her Unstable Shapeshifters quickly enchant it to convert it into a Small Fire Energy Orb. Then, selecting the Goblin Foreman (as it was the least expensive non-construct Dungeon Monster she had), she used the Energy Orb as the Monster Seed. As she hoped, the Foreman coalesced around the Orb and appeared normal. It worked!
“What worked?” Winxa asked, looking at the Goblin Foreman in Sandra’s Home room underneath her Core. “All I see is a Goblin.”
Yes, it’s a Goblin Foreman, but this one is using an Energy Orb as its Monster Seed.
“Huh. I never thought of that before. But does it work?”
I’m not sure. Let me try something.
The Energy Orb that comprised the Seed inside of the Goblin wasn’t visible, but Sandra had a feeling it was still there…somewhere. Looking at it closely, she could see that her Dungeon Monster was still at full Fire and Spirit energy and nothing was happening. Therefore, she had the Goblin activate its Special Ability that increased its strength and speed for a limited time. There was no visible reaction, but she saw both elemental energies available inside of the Goblin Foreman dip down 10 points each. That didn’t last for long, though; the Spirit energy ticked up by one, as the natural regeneration from it being inside of her dungeon took effect. The Fire energy, though…
The amount of Fire energy ticked up 1, then 2, then 4, then 16 – all in the matter of a second. From there, it continued to increase exponentially, blasting through the maximum the Goblin could reasonably hold. In less than 3 seconds, the Fire elemental energy had increased so much that the Goblin suddenly flashed and ignited on fire – from the inside – and exploded in a spectacular fashion, sending fragments of scorched bone, skin, and muscle in all directions. It was only luck that it didn’t harm anything (her Core especially), as most of it was blocked by the Aerie Roc that was still inside of her Home room. The massive bird seemed only slightly hurt by it even though it didn’t really react to the pain, but Sandra could plainly see that a sharp bone fragment had embedded itself underneath one of the Roc’s feathers.
That fragment quickly disappeared, along with the rest of the blood and viscera from the exploded Goblin Foreman as it dissolved and left behind…nothing. There was no Monster seed left behind, as it appeared as though it had been entirely consumed by whatever it had done.
“Umm…that was unexpected.”
You’re telling me. Sandra had trouble even processing what happened. I think that, as soon as the process of refilling its Fire energy started, it couldn’t stop – almost like what happens when there isn’t a Limiter rune on enchantments I try to power using the Energy Orbs. I’m not sure why making this a part of them would make a difference, because my Dungeon Monsters can certainly use them externally to refill their elemental energy. So, unless I can somehow put a Limiter rune on there with an extra Spirit Energy Orb, I’m not sure if this will work.
Another quick experiment with a single Spirit Energy Orb and another Goblin Foreman produced similar results, though not nearly as explosive. Instead of blowing up with explosive force, the Spirit energy built up to the point where the Goblin swelled up like an expanding bubble before it popped and deflated with greyish energy leaking out of all its orifices. Somehow, despite not sending blood and guts everywhere, the death of the Goblin in this method was more terrifying.
The Dungeon Fairy looked sick. “Ok…so, I’m thinking that isn’t going to work. I also think I’m going to have to ask you to stop doing that in here, or I might have to leave.”
Don’t worry, that’s all the experiments I’m planning on doing right now. Until I figure this out, I don’t think this is a viable method. I’ll break the bad news to Chryla.
“Thanks, Sandra; that was one of the most disturbing things I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a lot.”
All told, the experiments only took about 5 minutes to complete, so Sandra found the Elven Ranger still where she had left her – though now she was petting the neck of the Wyvine fondly.
* Ok…so that really didn’t work. It looks like it’ll have to be separate Fire and Nether Energy Orbs until I can figure it out. *
“What happened?” Chryla asked after visibly twitching at the return of Sandra’s voice.
* Suffice it to say that you’d probably be better off not knowing. I should have some more Wyvines for the rest of the Rangers soon, now that we know that they will work for you. Eventually, I envision each of you having more than one, making all of you capable of handling almost anything by yourselves. *
“More than one? I can see that being highly beneficial,” Chryla said, before smiling and taking off further into the forest with her new companion running along with her. “Just…don’t try to scare any of the other Rangers when you deliver the new Wyvines, because I can just see one of the others making it a pincushion before you can explain its presence there.”
* Yes, probably not a good idea and a waste of Mana. Good luck and be safe; don’t take unnecessary risks, even if you have some extra help now. And remember, your new assistant there is replaceable; you are not. *
Chryla looked a little offended at that. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to my Foofoo Kitty here. No I won’t, huh, little guy?” she asked in a sickly-sweet voice as she petted the side of the Wyvine as it ran next to her. The fact that she was calling the large Shadow Beast at her side “little” was rather amusing, because it could crush the Elf if it tried to sit in her lap.
Why do all of these Elves like to name my Dungeon Monsters? First it was Echo with her “Starli
ght” Pegasus, and now it was Chryla with a large lizard-cat Monster that was going to help her hunt Beasts inside the forest. It would also be able to help kill Slimes, as its claws could literally shred the Slime apart to get to the central nucleus inside of the Dungeon Monster that kept it alive. Though, most of the time the Elves were fairly adept with their bows and Steel projectiles hitting the small target inside the Slimes, but a little help would probably be appreciated.
Sandra started the process of creating more of the Wyvines with a portion of her concentration, while another portion was focused on creating more Brewery and Distilling stations deep down in her dungeon for the Dwarves. However, she quickly paused on everything she was doing when the Animated Slab and its contents finally approached the outskirts of the Orc village of Grongbak.
Chapter 23
The sun beat down intermittently on Furbrea’s head as she walked towards Grongbak’s supply hut, easily navigating the dirt pathways that ran between the huts that comprised the rest of the village. Despite the years she had in her bones, she could still get around well enough to do her job; though, to be fair, there hadn’t been much for her to do over the last week or so, especially after most of the others that had lived in the village had abandoned it after the two dungeons nearby had been destroyed.
With their main reason for maintaining the border village near the wastelands gone – such as the iron and other metals that the Warband used to acquire from dungeon monsters – there was no point in staying. For those that had other prospects elsewhere, they had quickly left and took what they wanted with them, leaving just enough for the dozen or so people that were staying to survive on for a week…if they were careful.
That timeline was shortening, though, after 8 of their number had left the village and taken what they needed to survive; they weren’t fleeing like the ones that had absconded with most of their resources, but were instead doing what they could to save everyone else. Not that the Warbands that they were contacting would necessarily see it that way, even if it were true. They would likely see that the deal they would make with the Elven people was only a way to make themselves stronger individually; Furbrea, and possibly some of the others that remained in the village, had been around long enough to know that this influx of superior weapons and supplies from the Elves was just the first step in allowing their entire race to survive.
Before the Elf and Kelerim Halfanorc arrived in the middle of the night unexpectedly, Furbrea expected to die in the village along with the remaining villagers. After they arrived and gave them hope of not only the chance to survive, but thrive, the old Orc had found an extra spring in her step; she felt better than she had in years, and it showed in the way she moved around Grongbak, as well as the way she interacted with the handful of other Orcs still inside the village. Which was precisely why she was going to the supply hut to get what food was left inside, to share out amongst the others. Before all this happened, she had been quite strict on making sure everyone only got what they earned or deserved, but at that point Furbrea was both beyond caring and just wanted everyone to survive. There was no reason to deny any of them the necessary food to live – because they were all they had left in the world.
The others, who were either older or had no family to speak of, were busy turning all of the empty huts into living quarters for the “mercenaries” that would hopefully be recruited by those that were out sending propositions to any Warband they could find. The main barracks, which comprised the largest building in the village by far, was straightened up and cleaned, though in general it wasn’t changed; it was there to designate a place for Warbands to stay while they were protecting the village, and would now serve to host any Warbands that arrived to take part in the deal they were being offered. Her only worry was if multiple groups showed up at the same time, though if they were forced to do it, the villagers’ own huts could be turned over to them temporarily.
Additional wooden bedframes were very simply constructed by cutting down a few trees from the edge of the forest, though the two villagers – Perchunk and Gorbal – who felled the trees made sure not to venture too far inside. Just because the dungeons had been destroyed didn’t mean that there wasn’t any danger; in fact, if rumors could be believed, the absence of a dungeon nearby meant that “normal” beasts and creatures usually moved into the territory. Whether or not that had happened yet, no one really knew, but they weren’t going to take any chances.
They didn’t have anything but rags at the moment to put on the bedframes, but from her experience members of Warbands really didn’t care so much for comfort; as long as there was someplace to lie down, that was all they really cared about. They would sleep on the floor if it came down to it, but Furbrea and the others wanted to at least try to show that they didn’t consider the “mercenaries” property. Though, really, that’s what they will be – despite what Kelerim and that Elf said. I wonder if they will keep their promise of letting them leave their “mercenary” position after a year? I really doubt they would re-enlist like she had hinted, though I could be wrong.
It didn’t take long for Furbrea to reach the supply hut, as she had walked to it every day for the last 20 years and could probably walk it with her eyes closed. Over the last few days the journey seemed shorter somehow, or it could be because she had hope buoying her steps, making it less of a chore. Either way, she unlatched the door and went inside, glad to be out of the direct sunlight, but was also hit by the sweltering heat of the enclosed building. She was used to it, however, so it was easy to ignore; besides, sometimes a little heat felt nice on her aging body. Going to the corner of the small hut, she lifted up the trapdoor that led underneath the hut and climbed down the stone steps that had been laid to form a staircase leading 20 feet down.
This was where they kept most of their foodstuffs that weren’t being directly consumed, as the coolness of the underground cellar kept supplies fresher, longer. “Not that there’s much to store right now,” she muttered under her breath as she looked around the dark room, only lit by what was coming down the staircase. She could’ve brought a small candle or even a torch to see with, but she was so familiar with the space that it wasn’t even needed. That, and she had already transferred what they had left to eat near the entrance, so that it would be easy to find.
All of it fit into a burlap sack off of the bag stack she had stored down there for when she needed to bag allotments up for the villagers – or at least she used to. That hadn’t been something she’d needed to do for the last few days, except to give those that left to find Warbands the necessary supplies they needed to travel.
It wasn’t much; there were a few strips of dried meat that had seen better days, some extremely stale flatbread that would need to be soaked in water before they could even be eaten, and the last wedge of slightly moldy cheese that came from central Orcrim, where they raised a variety of animals that provided milk that was made into the delicious substance. It was a bit of a luxury that they received every few months in their normal supply shipments, though now this was likely to be the last of it they would see for a long time.
Theoretically, the 6 villagers – including herself – could ration the food out another day or so, but Furbrea knew it was better to have everyone at full strength to finish their preparations. If something didn’t happen soon, though, like the promised delivery of supplies by that Elf, then they might be in trouble. They had some options – like attempting to hunt in the forest for meat – if it came to that point, but it was something that none of them had much practice or talent in; those types of activities were usually reserved for members in – or expecting to join – a Warband.
“We’ll do what we have to in order to survive, I suppose.” Furbrea walked back up the stairs, the cold sinking into her bones enough that the heat above felt wonderful. She closed up the trapdoor and headed out of the supply hut, only to almost run into Perchunk as he ran up to the hut’s door.
“Whoa! What’s going on?” she sa
id, catching him before he could slam into her.
He was breathing a little hard, as if he had been running. “That Elf is back!”
Finally! “Let’s go and meet her, then. I hope she’s not disappointed that we don’t have any…volunteers…yet, but I warned her that it would take at least a few days, if we succeeded at all.” Furbrea followed the relatively young Perchunk as he raced off towards the southeastern side of the village – which was the area nearest the wastelands. Eagerness lent speed to her own strides and while she couldn’t keep up with him, she arrived soon after him – only to find everyone else already there looking off a short distance into the wastelands.
Furbrea could barely believe what she was seeing. Standing on top of a floating platform of stone with short sides was the same Elf she had met before—Echo, I believe Kelerim told me her name was—and she was accompanied by two other metallic figures. Around them all were arranged a bunch of what looked like wooden and stone boxes, as well as piles of…something. They were still too far out for her to see exactly what it was, but the point was they all appeared to be some supplies. The whole floating stone platform was hard to fathom, but the fact that the Elf was back boded well for the future. She had to admit that she had almost thought that the deal was some sort of hoax; the sight of Echo was a relief, to say the least.
The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) Page 25