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

“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