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

she was suddenly connected to his mind and saw what he was seeing and experiencing through his Perception Link.  She was confused for a moment at what she was looking at, as the change was a bit abrupt, but the next second she figured it out: it was a dungeon entrance.  Shale flew inside, passing over the threshold…and she felt nothing through his Link.

She had learned over her multiple Bondings when she was a Dungeon Assistant that there was a subtle “tingle” in her senses when entering a dungeon that made each one of them unique.  It was hard to feel it when Translocating inside, but when flying in from outside, that “tingle” was more than obvious.  When Shale flew inside this dungeon, there was no “tingle”; needless to say, the dungeon was dead – and so was the Dungeon Core.

Shale, the Core has been destroyed?

“Yes.  Hold on, I’ll show you.”  Her Dungeon Assistant flew through the multiple rooms quite quickly, as there was nothing impeding his flight: no traps to avoid, no creatures to watch out for, and no environmental objects to weave around.  In less than a minute, he was inside of the Core Room, where she saw the remnants of a Dungeon Core, the shattered shards of it on the floor.

This…is horrible, Shale.  But why are you showing me this?  Have those invaders started destroying Cores again?

He physically nodded his head, and Tacca could feel his heart beating faster in his chest as he started to panic.  “Yes, they’ve started again, though I’m not sure how many have been destroyed before this one.  The reason I’m showing you this one, however, is because this is the last dungeon the Council Leader visited…before he disappeared.”

He’s gone?  What do you mean?

“I mean exactly that – he hasn’t shown up anywhere in the last few hours, despite a veritable army of Fairies out looking.  I talked to the Head Instructor right before I contacted you, and he gave me some disturbing news.”

More disturbing than Malachite vanishing?

Another nod.  “It seems that in 82% – Lapis’ numbers, not mine – of those Cores thought to or known to be destroyed by these 6-armed monster people, the bodies of their Dungeon Assistants were never found.  Some had been killed around the same time as their Cores and their remains were discovered later in the dungeon, but the rest were missing.”

How was this not seen before?  And what exactly does it mean?

“Well, the Head Instructor blames himself.  Some of his data concerning the lack of bodies had been combined with the other attacks committed by Raiders, where their Fairies were stolen away after being killed, so it wasn’t until he looked through everything again that he found it.”

Tacca could see how that might be a little confusing, especially when she thought back at what happened with her Mentor, Cobalt.  Those Raiders had destroyed the Core, which killed Cobalt as he was still Bonded to her; afterwards, they had picked up his body while she hid in a crack in a wall, saying something about it being a big payday.  She wasn’t sure what they were doing with it, but she could only assume that there was some sort of bounty regarding Dungeon Assistant Fairies – the thought of which made her want to shudder in revulsion.

“As for what it means, Lapis thought it might mean a few things.  One, they are doing something with their remains, of which the Head Instructor has no clue what that could be.  Or two, which he thought more likely, is that those who are missing are still alive.  Why, and in what state they are in, no one knows.”

Tacca’s mind reeled at the possibilities.  It didn’t take her long to connect it to what happened at the DPRC.  And if that is the case, then the rest of the Council might still be alive, as well.

“That’s what the Head Instructor considered, but he didn’t have enough information to know for sure.”  Shale was quiet again, as the panic he had been experiencing began to subside.  “What are we going to do?”

Tacca had no answer for him – at least not one that he wanted.  I don’t know, Shale, I really don’t.  All we can do is keep things running here, and hope that Malachite shows up soon, or else the Head Instructor finds some way to combat these monsters.  Now, get yourself safely back here before they decide to show up again.  She doubted they would, but she didn’t really know enough about them to know for sure.

“On my way.”

A few seconds later, Shale popped into her Core Room, looking frightened out of his wits.  Tacca couldn’t really blame him, though, especially after learning that the most powerful Fairy on the planet had likely just been taken.

Calm down; it will be okay, Shale.  Now, since we don’t have the Council Leader to consult, we’re going to have to do this without permission.  Not that we wouldn’t attempt it anyway, but I’d prefer to have someone at least a little more knowledgeable approving something like this before we did it.

“We could always ask Head Instructor Lapis—”

Nope, no, don’t think so.  I still don’t like him, so the less I have to deal with him, the better; he’d probably want to come here, and I really can’t stand him any more than I could months ago. 

She was well aware that it was highly irrational to have such hatred toward the Head Instructor of DAPS, but that was how it was; he had based his prejudice against her because of her birth, not for any other reason.  She had felt a similar hatred toward Lily and even the Council Leader at one point, though that had subdued somewhat after learning why they had done what they had done – even if it was torture on Tacca’s mind and