The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) by Jonathan Brooks (e ink epub reader .txt) 📕

I know.  Not what you would want to hear, but I promised you the truth when I invited you all here.  The fact of the matter is that the times dictate that we can’t allow this to stand, because he is blocking the only salvation for our people that has given me hope in the last few decades.  You all have seen what these Orbs can do; just think if everyone had them.  All our Elites.  That’s precisely why the Chamberlain needs to be removed, the King, Queen, and everyone else affected by his nasty spell freed.”

“But—the King and Queen—”

“Will not die, if things work out the way I hope.”  Elder Herrlot turned to Echo, looking her right in the eyes with a heavy stare.  “Which finally brings us to Echo.”

The Ranger suddenly remembered why she was there, or at least why she was told she was.  “How does my bringing them to the dungeon help?  As miraculous as they are, even Sandra’s healing Drones won’t be able to heal their minds – if that was what you were thinking.”  Echo remembered how the Elder had nearly been killed inside the dungeon’s upper workshop by accident, and it was only Sandra’s Drone construct and some quick thinking that allowed her to survive the horrendous gut wound.

“That was what I was thinking at first, but you are right.  Even magical means such as that Drone aren’t strong enough to fix a broken mind that they are likely to have; it will take something even more powerful and unusual.”

“Like what?”  Echo was going through everything she had seen and experienced while at or around the dungeon, and she couldn’t think of what the Elder was hinting at.

“The Bond she can create with them.”

Oh.  But….

“How do you know that will work?”

Now it was Herrlot’s turn to hesitate before she answered.  “I…wasn’t stationed in Avensglen because I had upset someone in the capital, nor for my retirement.  No, I asked to be transferred there for a reason I didn’t tell anyone about, and which I thought I could live with in a relatively low-stress environment.  You see—”  The Elder started to choke up a little bit.  “—I was starting to suffer from some mental problems that would cause me to freeze up under too much pressure, and my mind would shut down; there was nothing I could do to stop it, and I realized that I needed to take myself away from my previous life to live out the rest of my days where my steady degeneration wouldn’t harm anyone.

“Most days, I barely felt it or recognized that it was there, but it was always in the back of my mind.  It made me cranky and bad-tempered, which I’m sure you experienced at some point.  That all unexpectedly changed when Sandra Bonded with me.  Not only could I hear her in my mind, but that mind of mine was newly and completely freed from whatever had ailed it.  At first, I thought that it was the healing itself that did it, since the Bonding came so near that painful ordeal, but I didn’t really feel the difference until the Bond took place.  It was like I was truly alive for the first time in decades, if not centuries; I’m not even sure how long I had been suffering before that.

“And that, Echo, is precisely what we need to save the King and Queen, get all of Symenora back on track with using these Energy Orbs, and work with Sandra and her dungeon to contain the influx of monsters that are sure to come with the destruction of 4 dungeon hearts so close together.”

“Wait, what?!  Why weren’t we told about—” Winter shouted, obviously hearing about the destruction of 4 Dungeon Cores for the first time.

“Shut up, Winter—now is not the time.  I’ll explain in a bit, but the short version is that we’re in a spot of trouble if we don’t do something soon.”

That was an understatement.  A “spot of trouble” did not quite convey how much they were screwed if they didn’t get a handle on the situation, which was why they needed to get moving.  “Then let’s do it.  What are we waiting for?” Echo asked impatiently.

“For one, we need to finalize our plan – or are you planning on just walking in and politely asking the Chamberlain to please step aside while you take the Royals back to the dungeon on that massive bird?”

Ah, so that’s why I’m needed – transportation.  I remember Sandra hinting that she didn’t quite trust the Elder, so only I was to have control over the large Aerie Roc.

“And two, even with a plan, we need to wait a few days until the hubbub surrounding your rescue dies down; security is much too tight right now to get within a half-mile of the Royal Tree.”

Something about what the Elder said caught her attention.  “Speaking of escape…why was I even being held?  How did they know that I was coming?  Why didn’t the Chamberlain try his spell on me?”  A lot of questions still surrounded exactly why she had been held “for her own safety” in the first place.

“That would be my fault, I’m afraid,” Churven said apologetically.  “My investigations caused the Chamberlain to become informed of our activities, and information about who you are was already well-known.  Once you were captured, he was kept too busy hunting for us to pay you too much attention, but it was our thought that he would eventually prop you up as a figurehead of our faction – whereupon he would then execute you to emphasize his point.”

That didn’t sound good.  “What point?”

“That this talk about a dungeon helping out by providing assistance in terms of Energy Orbs was actually a plot to subvert Royal authority and needed to be stopped,” the Elder interjected.  “There was no way to hide