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

a primarily wheat-based malt – and differing temperatures at certain times, but the nice part is that it doesn’t take nearly as long to produce as Ale does.  I think the first batch can be done in just a few days.  After that, I can probably experiment with different tastes to see what works – and tastes – best.”

That was more like it!  While she wouldn’t be drinking it, Sandra was happy to hear that they would get results fairly soon.

By the time she had finished creating the first Brewery and Distillery, it was nearly midday.  Looking over the horizon from far above through her Shears, she was hoping to see enormous Rocs coming from three different directions…but there was nothing.  Where are they?  I hope they haven’t run into any trouble.  If they did run into trouble, then there wasn’t really anything that Sandra could do at that point.  Possibly send another of the Shieldmen for the Dwarves or one of the Rangers for the Elves, but she didn’t have anyone for the Gnomes.  Regardless, she told herself to be patient; they would return when they could.  Right?

Unless…they’ve abandoned me?  Do they not want to come back?  Have they left me here alone to see to their people, and yet won’t even deign to tell me that they don’t want anything more to do with me?

“Why all these dark thoughts, Sandra?” Winxa suddenly asked, which made the Dungeon Core realize that she had inadvertently projected her thoughts again.  Luckily, it seemed as though she only sent those thoughts toward the Dungeon Fairy, as none of the Dwarves seemed to react.

I…I don’t know.  Perhaps it’s a remnant of that piece of Dungeon Core I absorbed.  Thanks for looking out for me.

“No problem, Sandra,” Winxa said, before patting her Core on the top with a calming gesture.  “Don’t worry, they’ll be back before you know it – and then you’ll probably have a whole new set of problems to take care of.”

Sandra inwardly chuckled, which helped to ease some of the morose attitude that had suddenly struck her.  You’re probably right, Winxa.  Maybe it’s a good thing they haven’t come back yet, because I’m still trying to get a handle on everything around here.

Speaking of that, a brief look at the Orc village of Grongbak indicated that it was about time she made her first delivery of supplies to them.  She didn’t see any sign of a Warband for a few miles past the small border village, but she knew it would only be a matter of time.  At least, she hoped it was only a matter of time; if this plan didn’t work, Sandra wasn’t sure what she would do.

Time to get back to work.

Chapter 21

To maintain the foodstuffs she was transporting as long as she could, Sandra created a series of stone storage boxes that were similar in design to the ones she had created for the Dwarves’ meat storage – though about a third of the size.  It used a smaller Stasis Field than the large ones down there, which meant that she only needed to use one Shapeshifter for the work; once the runes were in place, she placed Small Energy Orbs with the Limiter rune and attached them to the enchantments there, prolonging their longevity.  As far as she could determine, she estimated that the Fields would last a decade or more because of their smaller size.

In these new Stasis boxes, Sandra filled one to the brim with raw Bearling meat, which she was sure that the Orcs would appreciate; she still remembered Razochek and his Warband hunting Bearlings out in the wastelands, which was what led to them discovering her dungeon entrance.  She also filled two others with a mixture of apples, oranges, peaches, and pears – after asking Kelerim if they would be appreciated.

“Of course.  They aren’t grown and cultivated very many places in Orcrim, and they are usually maintained by Warchiefs like my father; in other words, common Warband members would rarely – if ever – eat them.”

So, a nice treat, she assumed.  A fourth box was filled with day-old loaves of bread that the Dwarves had baked and were extra; even though they were a day old, their hard crust protected them enough from exposure to the air that they were still light and fluffy on their inside.  A fifth and sixth box were filled with potatoes, which the  Dwarves had grown entirely too many of to eat.  That was enough food to feed the residents of the Orc village for months, especially since their population had been much reduced.  Of course, if they managed to catch the attention of some nearby Warbands, the amount she was planning on sending could be consumed quite quickly; that was why she was planning on making deliveries at least once a week, if not more as needed.

Along with the food supplies, she was also sending all of the swords and chest armor that she had created by that time – which she hoped enough for a start.  Her constructs, through her “automatic” crafting portion of her mind (along with Kelerim’s contribution), had brought their total up to 90 Steel swords and 8 Titanium swords, as well as 75 leather chest pieces.  Using a half-dozen of her Steelclad Ape Warriors in her Home room, Sandra loaded up her Animated Slab Dungeon Monster with all of the supplies, which had been converted to a flat platform with slightly raised sides.  Along with the boxes of supplies, weapons, and armor, there were two other things she was sending.

Two of the Steelclad Ape Warriors were coming along, with normal – as in unenchanted – Steel warhammers to act as guards.  She wasn’t worried about the villagers because they were the ones she was giving the supplies to; no, it was the villagers she was sending the Apes along to protect.  Kelerim informed