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

Why do all of these Elves like to name my Dungeon Monsters?  First it was Echo with her “Starlight” Pegasus, and now it was Chryla with a large lizard-cat Monster that was going to help her hunt Beasts inside the forest.  It would also be able to help kill Slimes, as its claws could literally shred the Slime apart to get to the central nucleus inside of the Dungeon Monster that kept it alive.  Though, most of the time the Elves were fairly adept with their bows and Steel projectiles hitting the small target inside the Slimes, but a little help would probably be appreciated.

Sandra started the process of creating more of the Wyvines with a portion of her concentration, while another portion was focused on creating more Brewery and Distilling stations deep down in her dungeon for the Dwarves.  However, she quickly paused on everything she was doing when the Animated Slab and its contents finally approached the outskirts of the Orc village of Grongbak.

Chapter 23

The sun beat down intermittently on Furbrea’s head as she walked towards Grongbak’s supply hut, easily navigating the dirt pathways that ran between the huts that comprised the rest of the village.  Despite the years she had in her bones, she could still get around well enough to do her job; though, to be fair, there hadn’t been much for her to do over the last week or so, especially after most of the others that had lived in the village had abandoned it after the two dungeons nearby had been destroyed.

With their main reason for maintaining the border village near the wastelands gone – such as the iron and other metals that the Warband used to acquire from dungeon monsters – there was no point in staying.  For those that had other prospects elsewhere, they had quickly left and took what they wanted with them, leaving just enough for the dozen or so people that were staying to survive on for a week…if they were careful.

That timeline was shortening, though, after 8 of their number had left the village and taken what they needed to survive; they weren’t fleeing like the ones that had absconded with most of their resources, but were instead doing what they could to save everyone else.  Not that the Warbands that they were contacting would necessarily see it that way, even if it were true.  They would likely see that the deal they would make with the Elven people was only a way to make themselves stronger individually; Furbrea, and possibly some of the others that remained in the village, had been around long enough to know that this influx of superior weapons and supplies from the Elves was just the first step in allowing their entire race to survive.

Before the Elf and Kelerim Halfanorc arrived in the middle of the night unexpectedly, Furbrea expected to die in the village along with the remaining villagers.  After they arrived and gave them hope of not only the chance to survive, but thrive, the old Orc had found an extra spring in her step; she felt better than she had in years, and it showed in the way she moved around Grongbak, as well as the way she interacted with the handful of other Orcs still inside the village.  Which was precisely why she was going to the supply hut to get what food was left inside, to share out amongst the others.  Before all this happened, she had been quite strict on making sure everyone only got what they earned or deserved, but at that point Furbrea was both beyond caring and just wanted everyone to survive.   There was no reason to deny any of them the necessary food to live – because they were all they had left in the world.

The others, who were either older or had no family to speak of, were busy turning all of the empty huts into living quarters for the “mercenaries” that would hopefully be recruited by those that were out sending propositions to any Warband they could find. The main barracks, which comprised the largest building in the village by far, was straightened up and cleaned, though in general it wasn’t changed; it was there to designate a place for Warbands to stay while they were protecting the village, and would now serve to host any Warbands that arrived to take part in the deal they were being offered.  Her only worry was if multiple groups showed up at the same time, though if they were forced to do it, the villagers’ own huts could be turned over to them temporarily.

Additional wooden bedframes were very simply constructed by cutting down a few trees from the edge of the forest, though the two villagers – Perchunk and Gorbal – who felled the trees made sure not to venture too far inside.  Just because the dungeons had been destroyed didn’t mean that there wasn’t any danger; in fact, if rumors could be believed, the absence of a dungeon nearby meant that “normal” beasts and creatures usually moved into the territory.  Whether or not that had happened yet, no one really knew, but they weren’t going to take any chances.

They didn’t have anything but rags at the moment to put on the bedframes, but from her experience members of Warbands really didn’t care so much for comfort; as long as there was someplace to lie down, that was all they really cared about.  They would sleep on the floor if it came down to it, but Furbrea and the others wanted to at least try to show that they didn’t consider the “mercenaries” property.  Though, really, that’s what they will be – despite what Kelerim and that Elf said.  I wonder if they will keep their promise of letting them leave