The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) by Jonathan Brooks (e book reading free txt) 📕

though not without casualties.  By the fifth day after the first seven arrived, a total of 4 out of the 52 Orcs that had joined her growing force or mercenaries had been killed, though none of the Orcs seemed to care overly much; instead they celebrated the deceased with more carnage and all agreed that they had died well.  Strange people.

There were so many mercenaries staying in Grongbak now that Sandra had needed to send along supplies to build some more huts; a small fleet of 4 Animated Slabs arrived with large sheets of Pine Wood, simple hammers, and Iron nails in small crates that they could use to easily put them together.  It took a small demonstration by a Steelclad Ape Warrior to show them how to use the nails, because they normally built their huts out of wood, dried grass, and a clay-like substance that worked remarkably like glue.  They didn’t have extra metal lying about for something like nails, so it was new to them.

She also sent along beds and many other things to furnish the new huts, which wasn’t much of a hassle and she felt responsible for them.  Therefore, anything she could provide to make their experience as mercenaries more comfortable was worth it in the end.  Whether or not they appreciated it she could never tell, but she knew they appreciated all of the martial items she provided, as well as the constant fighting.

The first few batches of Ale were also finished, though Teving wasn’t satisfied with half of them.  He said that he had messed up the recipe on those and they had to be dumped, and even aging couldn’t help them.  However, the other half he said were more than acceptable and he stored them away…after a huge celebration where at least half of the barrels that had been crafted were cracked open and consumed.  Now that he had dialed in what worked, Teving was confident that the rest would be to his exacting specifications…including a batch for his girlfriend Glencha, who preferred the more-bitter taste of a particular style of Ale.

Things were looking good, which was always where it started to go wrong.  It didn’t seem that way at first, though.

After the last unsuccessful attempt to break out from their dungeons on day 5, the 4 Cores went silent.  After a day, there still wasn’t any sign that they were going to attack, which only made Sandra create more constructs in the event that they tried again the next day with such a large number of Dungeon Monsters that her forces might have trouble containing them.  It was during the evening on the 6th day that the Golem Core upgraded its Core Size.  An hour later, the Beasts did the same, then the Goblins a half-hour after that, and finally the Slimes a short 10 minutes later.  That wouldn’t have been all that bad, considering that the Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs were able to still keep them contained…but their new AOIs stretched all the way inside the wastelands, overlapped each other, and put Sandra’s own dungeon right smack in the middle of the two groups of Cores.

A bare hour after all of the Cores had completed their upgrades, the unthinkable started to happen.

Winxa?  I’m pretty sure you told me before, but could you remind me again about other Cores not being able to tunnel into my dungeon?

“What?  Why?”

Because all four of the Cores that we have been fighting against have now started to create a large tunnel using – what I’m assuming is – the same Bulk Elimination technique I’ve been using…and they are heading straight into the middle of the wastelands.

“Oh…my.  Well, they will not be able to absorb the material surrounding your dungeon, as it is technically not inside of their Area of Influence.  Just like you cannot affect their dungeons from where you are or even manipulate anything aboveground, it’s impossible for them to do anything to it.” Winxa shrugged as if it were of no concern.

Umm…does that apply to their Dungeon Monsters as well?

“What do you mean—oh.”  She seemed to think about it for a moment.  “I’m not sure, but I also don’t remember there being any specific occurrences of anything like that in the past.”

Great. So, what you’re telling me is that if one of those Golems, for example, walks through a tunnel 4 miles long that ends right next to my dungeon and then beats on the stone surrounding my rooms and tunnels, they’ll be able to break through?

Winxa hesitated again, swallowing audibly.  “I cannot confirm nor deny that.”

Sandra was going to take that as a “yes”.  She immediately let Chryla and the Rangers, Delarthe and the Shieldmen, and Perceine and the Orc mercenaries know what was going on and not to necessarily expect there to be any more action over the next day or so, but to be ready just in case.  The Elves and Dwarves were visibly relieved…and of course the Orcs were disappointed.

* Don’t be too down.  I think the brand-new dungeons will be opening up in a day or two, so we’ll certainly need some help to start culling them. *

That seemed to mollify them a little, though they still seemed eager for a fight.  Regardless, they stayed around the Beast Core’s entrances and sparred lightly among themselves, as Sandra had forbidden them from doing any serious damage that would need healing; they understood, at least, because they were aware by that time that they would be stuck in one place as they were healed and therefore would be out of the fight if another assault occurred.

As for Sandra, she spent all of her incoming Mana and even some of her Reserves turning the walls of her dungeon from plain stone to thick Steel, though she left a thin layer of stone on the inside for effect.  For her Home room,