The Crafter's Dungeon: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (literature books to read TXT) 📕

– unless he looked down at his chest.  He hadn’t mentioned the massive bronze-colored gear tattoo yet, so Sandra hadn’t brought it up either.  “What bond are you talking about?  Is that like a slave bond or something?”

Oh dear, she hoped not.  The thought hadn’t even occurred to her that Kelerim might think she marked him on purpose, as if he was her property.  From what she could tell, the bond allowed communication between them – for which she was thankful for – and told her Dungeon Monsters not to attack him; she hadn’t really dug into it any further, though.

* Not at all!  I created the bond as a means to get around the fact that you were formerly considered an invader, so that I could keep working on my dungeon while you were here and preventing my constructs from automatically attacking you.  It also had the benefit of allowing me to talk to you as well as giving my Repair Drone the ability to heal you, nothing else.  Well, other than the tattoo on your chest. *

He obviously hadn’t seen it before, because his confused look was back for a moment, but then he finally looked down at himself.  “What the heck is this!” Kelerim screamed out and got up out of his chair in a flash, staring down at the glittering gear and the now-ragged hole that was made in his clothes.  Sandra was surprised he hadn’t seen it previously, as it was hard to miss; nevertheless, his reaction wasn’t entirely unexpected – she did permanently mark him without his permission.  Then again, she couldn’t really obtain permission, but she did save his life – so she considered it an even trade.

* That’s the representation of the Dungeon Visitor’s Bond I had to create with you.  Don’t worry, it shouldn’t have any adverse effects…I hope. *

“You hope?!  What, you haven’t done this before?” Kelerim asked, rubbing at his mark with his hands as if he was trying to rub it off.

* Nope.  You’re the first official visitor I’ve had that wasn’t trying to overtly destroy me, so I had to experiment on you to get the bond to work in the first place.  I wasn’t expecting that tattoo to happen, though – and especially not that big.  I apologize for the mark, but there wasn’t anything else I could do. *

Kelerim rubbed ineffectually at his new tattoo for another moment or two, before he gave a big sigh and put his hands down.  He must’ve heard the sincerity in her voice, because he said, “It’s ok.  I appreciate what you did for me, and if this is the price I have to pay for my life, I’d be willing to give it again.”  He paused for a moment, before continuing.  “Thank you for everything, actually.  I’ve never really had someone do something nice for me before, without looking for something in return…unless you’re planning on using me for something?” he asked cautiously.

* Now that you mention it…No, I’m just kidding.  Like I said, you’re free to go home if you want, I’m not going to keep you here against your will.  The only thing I ask is that you don’t mention my presence, as I like my privacy and I don’t want to be invaded by people trying to kill me every other day. *

Kelerim’s face fell at her statement for some reason, and he sat back down.  “I…don’t have any home to go back to.”  In a monotone voice, the half-Orc/half-Dwarf started telling Sandra his life story, which was full of disheartening hardships and unfairness.  He had been essentially abandoned by both his races and didn’t have anything else to fall back on.

“…and I just don’t understand why Razochek chased me out of the village.  I know he doesn’t like me, but I was a decent Blacksmith and could churn out iron swords faster than almost any other Orc.  The way it’s going, there won’t be anyone left that knows how to forge a knife in a few years, let alone a sword.”

* What do you mean by that? *

“What?  Oh, I forgot that, as a former Human, you wouldn’t know.  Orcs look down on anyone that primarily does any crafting work, as they value fighters and Warriors more than anything.  As a result, fewer and fewer of them have any desire to take up things like Blacksmithing, which means that the quality and quantity of iron swords that are made has diminished greatly over the last few decades.  The blasted dungeons – no offense – nearby are expanding farther and farther into Orcrim, and there are few that can stand up to them for long, especially when the shoddy work put out by other Blacksmiths breaks in their hands.”

*  Why don’t you make steel swords and Enchant them for strength then?  That way, they would last hundreds of times longer and help the…warbands?...push the dungeons back. *

“I’m sure they would if we could, but as far as I know, the secret of making steel has been lost to the Orcs.  I’ve heard that a few of the most powerful Orcish families have some older steel weapons in their possession, but they are few and far between,” Kelerim replied, before rummaging in his pants pocket, looking for something.  After a few seconds, he pulled out a small, polished Steel mirror-like object and held it up.  “My mother’s family gave this to me before I left, and it’s the only piece of Steel I’ve seen up close.  It’s also the only thing I have to remember her by, which is why I’ve kept it nearby all these years and refused to sell it.”

He stared at the mirror for almost a minute, before continuing.  “As for Enchanting, I’ve heard of a few Orcs that can do some minor Enchantments, but they are rare as well.  I’ve never personally met anyone who could do