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

or something?” Kelerim asked worriedly, copied almost exactly by Echo.  It took Sandra a second to wonder why they were asking that; when she figured it out, she felt horrified.

* Oh, no!  Nothing like that!  I didn’t mean to say to me, exactly; what I meant was that I want their help for a certain period of time.  I want them to help with the defense of the other lands against the Dungeon Monsters, which could certainly use their help.  None of the other races have enough capable people to do what needs to be done to survive; like I’ve said before, it’ll only be if we all work together to achieve the impossible that this will work. *

“So, you want to buy their help?  Like…some sort of mercenaries?”

* Yes, exactly! *

Kelerim looked up at the ceiling of the dining room he and Echo were lounging in, deep in thought; after a long moment, he looked back down at the Elf and the Sentinel standing in the kitchen before he spoke.  “You know, I actually think that could work.  I honestly can’t think of a better description of my people than ‘mercenary’ – and that isn’t an insult.  I believe they would go for that, as long as the…payment…is sufficient.”

* That’s good to hear because I need you two to go tonight. *

Echo looked shocked and Kelerim wasn’t much different.  “What?  Tonight?” the Elf asked tiredly.

* Yes; you’re leaving for the capital in the morning, and I need you there for the initial setup of this business deal, especially if we’re going to be using the Elves as a front of sorts.  Don’t worry, you’ll be back in plenty of time to get some sleep before your big trip. *

The Blacksmith didn’t look very enthusiastic about going back to the village, particularly because that force of Orcs sent by his father were looking for him.  However, Sandra didn’t have anyone else that could do it, and after the initial meeting, Kelerim would hopefully never have to go back.  He admitted that he knew where Furbrea would sleep at night and that he was fairly sure he could get both him and Echo in and out of the village without being seen.  Sandra wasn’t going to take chances, though, and she made sure that they had backup and a means to escape quickly.

Without any arguments, the two left for Grongbak on top of two Mechanical Dire Wolves, and accompanied by one of her Steelclad Ape Warriors that she borrowed from her dungeon temporarily.  She also sent over 1,000 of her Reinforced Animated Shears with them, though they were going to stay up above unless they were needed; if it came down to it, she could sacrifice any of her constructs to ensure that they escaped.  As a final precaution, she had Kelerim take along one of her Hyper Automatons in his pocket, where she could communicate with them if necessary.

Luckily, it didn’t appear as though there was a Warband in attendance at the village, though that wasn’t that surprising when Sandra thought about it; with the absence of the two dungeons that had been destroyed, there really wasn’t a need to provide protection to the villagers.  She had seen a small Warband sweep through earlier in the day via her Shears keeping a lookout, but it had barely stopped before it was on its way again – to dungeons farther away from the border with the wastelands.  Both the Orcs and the Gnomes had that going for them, at least; with two of the dungeons destroyed in both lands, they could now devote their resources to other areas.  Until the new Dungeon Cores eventually “grew up” and became threats in and of themselves, of course.

As a result of their absence, Sandra needn’t have worried over Kelerim and Echo’s safety, because there wasn’t anything that could or would want to hurt them left anywhere nearby.  Their meeting with Furbrea went better than expected; it seemed as though the village was in danger of being abandoned, as it was thought not to have any use anymore.  They weren’t bringing in any Iron from Monster Seed drops from the dungeons, so that also meant that they weren’t creating any weapons (as horrifically crude as they were). Any supplies coming to replenish their stores would stop within a week, giving them time to relocate; but with another option presented to her, the old Orc was revitalized.

“…what happened to your assistant?” Sandra heard Kelerim ask.  She couldn’t “see” anything, but she could hear through the Hyper Automaton in Kelerim’s pocket well enough.

“That worthless fool?  He left with the last Warband; said he didn’t want to stick around and rot here with all of us when his talents could be put to greater use elsewhere.  Foolish, that; I doubt the Warband kept him alive more than a few hours, especially if he started to run his mouth like he was prone to do.”  There was silence, and then Furbrea continued.  “I think we’re going to need this entire village in on this plan if we want it to work.”

Kelerim literally sputtered, shocked at the old Orc’s words.  “Is that wise?  What if—?”

“No, she’s right, Kel,” Echo said, after Sandra automatically translated the words for the Elf.  “This is big enough that there’s no way to keep it from them; if they’re in it from the beginning, then they’re more likely to keep things a secret and help, rather than hinder the operations and potentially leave themselves without a home.”

“I suppose so,” Kelerim conceded, blushing at Echo’s sudden use of a nickname for him.  “In fact, we might even be able to turn this village into some sort of mercenary base, where they could operate out of – and protect the people here at the same time.”

Furbrea seemed on board with that.  “One question, Elf.  How long are you planning