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

the branch that consisted of the main pathway upwards became much narrower as they ascended, and avoiding not only Guards but the few residents of the tree was much more difficult.  I guess it’s a good thing that there aren’t a lot of people living here, otherwise this would’ve been literally impossible.

Eventually, she thought, their luck in avoiding discovery thus far would give out, and they would have to make a run for it.  When that happened, Echo was worried that there could be some casualties as a result, which was why she was being as quiet and obedient as possible.  She didn’t want to be the cause of unnecessary deaths if keeping her mouth shut and staying in her place in the group was all it took to prevent that from happening.

Strangely, as they neared the Royal Bowery, they saw fewer and fewer Guards.  Whether they figured the topmost portion of the Royal Tree was already more secure, or if they didn’t have enough Guards to station or patrol everywhere at once, Echo wasn’t sure – but it was eerie to see fewer people blocking their way towards their goal than there was down below.  Eventually, they arrived at the top of the Tree, where the upper branches all met together in a ring around the top of the trunk, creating a massive area between them that formed the Bowery.  Echo had never been inside that she could remember, but she had heard that it was one of the most beautiful sights that could be seen throughout all of Symenora.

It didn’t take long to see and confirm that, indeed, the sight of the massively thick branches extending up and outwards, creating a crown of leaves that left the very center of the Bowery open to the sunlight, was enough to take her breath away.  Or, more likely, the reason her breath was suddenly taken from her was the sight of nearly 100 Royal Guards assembled in the middle of the Bowery.  They appeared to be protecting two people on thrones made of exquisitely shaped wood and a smug-looking Elf in pompous-looking robes, and the Guards were on edge, as if they were waiting for something.

Such as the arrival of The Rebels.

Chapter 25

“Ah, our guests have arrived!”

How—?

Before she could complete that thought, a large disk made from pure ice appeared above the group of Guards, reflecting the bright sunlight coming down from above, angled perfectly to fully envelop The Rebels.  Cries of shock and surprise erupted from the group as Echo found that the sunlight was bright enough to fully reveal them, with only a slight haziness that evidenced the shadowy cloud that had been hiding them.  After a moment, even that fell away as Mordecai dropped the spell, as it was obvious to everyone that it wasn’t working anymore.

“See here, my King and Queen, I spoke the truth!  These individuals, led by Herrlot and Churven, have come to usurp your rightful place!” the smug-looking Elf continued, waving his hand in their direction, as The Rebels stood stock still in surprise at the revelation of their presence.  How did the Chamberlain, whom I assume this pompous fool is, know we would be here?  And how did he see us?

Echo was staring at the Chamberlain, trying to figure out if what she had been told was true about him; the vibe he was putting off was that he was the sort of person that lived for being in charge and wouldn’t take no for an answer, as well as walking over anyone in his way to get what he wanted.  But does that mean he’s controlling the minds of the King and Queen, or is he just a mean, inconsiderate person?

She thought she got her answer a moment later as she saw the Royal couple flinch almost imperceptibly, before issuing an order.  “Guards!  Capture them so that we can get to the bottom of this!” they said in unison, word for word.

Ok, if that isn’t a sign that something is going on, I don’t know what is.

“No, Chamberlain.  It is you that has been trying to usurp the King and Queen’s authority, and you need to be stopped,” the Elder said, stepping forward confidently.  As she spoke, her staff holding the Natural Energy Orb flashed once and a wall of branches suddenly sprang into existence 5 feet tall, nominally cutting off the rushing Guards from reaching them.

“Nonsense!  It is you, by your actions right now, who has shown your treachery!” the Chamberlain shouted, before giggling under his breath.  “I would think that someone as old as you would know that casting any spell in the Bowery is punishable as treason against the Royal Family.”

Echo had known that, but she hadn’t really thought about it when the Elder had talked about infiltrating the Bowery.  With surprise and brute force, she figured the plan was to take out the Chamberlain and deal with the fallout afterwards.  What she also knew, at least by rumor, was that there was reportedly a bubble of magical negation that the Royal Tree could create in the Bowery itself, similar to how it protected its trunk from nearly all harm.  Reportedly, this bubble canceled all spells as soon as they were cast, meaning that most of The Rebels – despite their powerful strength in manipulating elemental energy – were practically useless.  So how was the Elder able to cast the spell that created the wall of branches?

An inaudible *pop* reverberated through the entire Bowery, and suddenly the world felt muted somehow.  Echo had a suspicion of what it was, and a quick experimentation of using her Holy energy to turn herself invisible was met with instant failure as the energy just seemed to dissipate as soon as it left her body.  I was right; somehow, the Chamberlain is able to turn that bubble on and off.

“You were right, Chamberlain.  It