The Dungeon Fairy: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (read novel full .txt) 📕

Regardless of the reason why the DPRC headquarters was so empty, the newly placed Dungeon Assistant knew she needed some sleep before she reported for her assignment.  Peering down the mountain in the dusky light of impending night, she saw a narrow valley filled with grass and what appeared to be flowers; nothing made a better place to sleep than the petals of almost any flower.  Tacca zipped down the mountainside, feeling her eyelids start to droop as the day caught up with her.

Within minutes, she was close enough to see that there were indeed flowers in the peaceful-looking valley, and that they were giant lilies 20 inches across from petal to petal – thousands of her mother’s namesake in a myriad of different colors.  Maybe this is a sign that things are about to change for the better…

Gently setting down on the nearest white-colored lily with hints of pink, she lay down and curled up around the stamen and stigma in the center of the flower, as the petals naturally rose up around her, keeping her safe and comfortable.  It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, despite the horrendous memories of her Mentor and his Dungeon Core flitting through her mind as she closed her eyes.

Chapter 3

A nightmare caused Tacca to jerk awake with a scream on her lips.  As she calmed her rapidly beating heart, the petals of the giant lily folded down and the Fairy was surprised as she couldn’t help but notice that the sky was starting to lighten.  I don’t think I’ve slept that long in…well, ever.  Normally she only needed an hour or two of sleep, but apparently her body and mind needed at least eight or nine to recover from the ordeal she had gone through.

Shaking off the disturbing dreams of the previous day’s events, she stood up on the lily’s petals and stretched, emitting a happy yawn at the same time.  “This is the start of a new phase in my life; I’m finally getting my own Dungeon Core!” she shouted to the field of lilies around her in semi-false joy; she really was looking forward to meeting her new Core, though the feeling of joy she knew she should feel was tempered by the memories of her Mentor.  Regardless, she knew that it was a new day, and in turn it was a new stage in her life.

A quick flutter of her wings brought Tacca safely up above the valley, and without further delay she activated her Translocation ability while thinking of the odd image she was given by the Lead Placement Council Member the day before.  Unlike the large and fairly uniform Core Room where she had Translocated to meet her Mentor, the new one was a lot smaller and had stone and dirt walls that were cut in odd angles.  I’m sure I’ll find out what that’s all about soon.

Fairy Mana drained out of her body as she felt the Ability activate, and a quick eternity later she was inside a comparatively dark space – at least relative to the last Core Room she had been in the day before.  Tacca looked around, expecting to see a Dungeon Core…but there was nothing there.  Oh, no – did this one get destroyed before I even got here?

She dismissed the thought, however, as she could tell that there was still a Core around; the walls of the room she was in had a faint ambient glow to them, though it was turned down to the lowest setting that a Core could dictate.  It cost a bit of extra Dungeon Force to do so, which was why it wasn’t recommended that low lighting be used – at least, that’s what all her schooling said.  It was much more cost-effective to leave the ambient illumination alone or even increase it, saving some Force in the process, as it was easy enough for Raiders to bring a way to see in the dark with them.  Torches, Amulets of Illumination, and even Darkvision Enchantments on their gear were almost standard, so in general it was considered a giant waste of Force.

Tacca shook her head and spoke out loud, while hovering in the middle of the air with her hands on her hips.  “It looks like there’s a lot I need to teach this Dungeon Core about Dungeon Force conservation and streamlining the construction process—”

A presence near her interrupted her vocal thoughts, and she instinctively activated her Repellant Shield Ability.  Tacca felt an invisible bubble surround her as a portion of her regenerating Fairy Mana was siphoned off to maintain it; I should know better than to arrive in a new dungeon without my defenses in place. 

She turned around mid-air and saw that she was just in time; a long tentacle coming from a nasty brown-grey ooze was reaching out for her and stopped only inches away.  The Repellant Shield was the easiest way for a Dungeon Assistant Fairy to avoid being killed by a dungeon’s creatures, as it repelled them and caused them to lose interest in attacking.  Sure enough, as soon as her Shield was activated, the long “arm” of the slimy ooze retracted and sunk back into its form.

Great – the Dungeon Core chose “Ooze” as its initial creature.  Oozes weren’t the best choice for a new dungeon; while the shapeless blobs of deadly, viscous, and semi-fluid creatures were quite effective when used in conjunction with other hazards, by themselves – and as the only creature in a dungeon – they weren’t a great choice to start out with.  For one, they moved rather slowly, and therefore were easy to avoid unless the dungeon’s rooms were specifically built around their placement.  Second, they were excellent Raider killers when they were large enough to completely engulf a victim and were difficult to destroy, but it usually required a lot of Dungeon Force