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

was certainly a bonus.  Sandra briefly explained the extra benefit, which caused the newly Bonded Elf to finally smile after her painful ordeal.

“Oh, and there’s something else Sandra told me about…” Chryla mentioned, before she pointed towards one of the Mechanical Jaguar Queens.  The large construct abruptly moved towards the Elf and the Rangers readied their weapons and started to manipulate their elemental energy, before the Elder held up a hand and ordered them to stop.

Apparently, the older Elf had already figured it out.  “I had wondered after I saw Echo arrive in Avensglen on the back of a Pegasus yesterday, and this just proves it.  Are you able to control it completely?” she asked Chryla.

“Yes, though the dungeon—Sandra—warned me that she can regain control of it at any time.  For the time being, though, it will take orders from anyone…bonded…to her Core and has been instructed to follow directions.”  Chryla showed off that control by making the Jaguar Queen jump up and down and even wiggle around like it was dancing, which elicited a little laughter from the gathered Elves.  The break in the tension was quickly followed by all of them clamoring for the same process of Bonding, which began soon afterwards.

All of them screamed just as loudly during the process, but the impending pain didn’t seem to deter any of them; the Elder went last, which allowed her to time to recover before she went through another painful ordeal.  She seemed just as happy as the others to have it done, however, and was looking a bit more “alive” after even just a few minutes.  The Rangers were even more excited when Sandra explained about the new bows and bundles of bolts that were created for them, and the Elder – having seen it in action before – briefly demonstrated how they worked.

* You’ll all have to adjust them so that they fire the bolts exactly where you want them, as I’m not experienced enough in firing them to finish them off.  Otherwise, these are all yours to use against the Dungeon Monsters that are only going to get tougher as time goes on. *

At the mention of the Monsters roaming the nearby forests, the Elder quickly interjected herself in the conversation.  “Speaking of that, you all need to get back to Avensglen and start on the culling process before it gets too late in the day.  And I will have to start the journey to the capital with Echo.”

* If you double up, you can take 6 of my Radiant Pegasi to fly back; it’ll be slightly faster than just running back, and it’ll give you a chance to practice controlling them.  Eventually, my hope is to give each of you your own construct or Dungeon Monster to help you with the culling process; for instance, these Mechanical Dire Wolves and Jaguar Queens – as well as the Steelclad Ape Warriors you see – are being used by the Dwarves to help with the culling of their own nearby dungeons. *

They seemed genuinely excited by that idea; after gathering up all of the weapons and mounting on the backs of 6 of the 7 Pegasi in the workshop (she made sure to leave Starlight 3 there for Echo to use), the Rangers left for their village and for the start of their day of culling the Beasts and Slimes in the nearby forests.

By that time, Echo had eaten and been informed of all that had happened up in the workshop.  Sandra’s original plan had been to have the young Elf strap herself onto the Roc’s harness down below and meet the Elder up top so they could leave, but after the older Elf was wounded, all of those plans changed – though it wasn’t Sandra’s idea.  Echo immediately went up to the Workshop and found a wan-looking Elder standing there in bloodstained clothes, looking better than she had just after she was healed, but not completely recovered yet.

She had also been slightly more affected by the Bonding process than she let on to the Rangers, which Sandra thought was because she had three elements that she had access to, instead of just their two.  The result was that her left hand now had two Orbs implanted in her palm, making it a little lopsided-looking, while her right hand had only one.  Regardless, the Elder still looked happy over her new additions, even if she appeared ready to fall down in exhaustion.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up before we leave; I imagine you don’t want to meet everyone at the capital looking like you’ve just bathed in blood,” Echo wryly commented as soon as she saw the Elder, who only nodded in response.

The young Elf brought her down to the bathing room, where the Elder seemed to perk up in excitement after seeing the setup there.  Using the jets of hot water, Echo was able to help scrub all of the blood off the older woman and even cleaned most of the bloodstains off of her clothing, before allowing themselves to be thoroughly dried off by the blasts of hot air just outside the bath.

“And you can use this anytime?  This is unlike any dungeon I’ve ever seen or heard of before, that’s for sure.”

* I’m certainly not your ordinary dungeon. *

Sandra’s voice in the Elder’s head seemed to startle her, as if she forgot that the Dungeon Core could now communicate mentally.  “That is probably the most accurate statement I’ve ever heard.”

While she was still a little wary of allowing the Elder near her Core, Sandra had enough defenses and constructs in place in her Home room to protect her if she needed them.  In addition to her flying constructs to deflect many types of attacks, she also had a giant Aerie Roc there that could practically swallow the Elder whole if it came to that.  Luckily, she ended up