The Dungeon Fairy: Three Lives: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 3) by Jonathan Brooks (the false prince TXT) 📕

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