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

The Fighter was similar in its use of Abilities, but where it differed from the Caster was the fact that it had them at all.  None of the creatures she had ever researched had Abilities that they could take advantage of – it was only Mages that had spells who were unique.  The “Stamina” portion was also unusual, as it gave her an idea of how many times her Hill Dwarves could use their Abilities before they had to wait for it to regenerate.  Of course, during a fight they probably wouldn’t have that opportunity to wait, so it was more of a one or two-shot deal.

“Is…that Stamina thing only for these Hill Dwarves?”

Shale’s question hadn’t even occurred to her to think about her other creatures.  That just proves that I don’t know everything; it might be beneficial to keep him around for more than just someone to talk to.  Tacca quickly looked at the information for a Forest Wolf and, lo and behold, there was a Stamina count for it at 40; not as much as the Hill Dwarves, though that made sense because the Dwarves apparently had a bonus to their Stamina.  What was more, she could give them any of the Abilities she had just acquired; the only problem was that they didn’t have the necessary equipment to use them.  However, if she somehow acquired an Ability that didn’t require equipment…

“…then you could give these Abilities to any of your creatures,” Shale finished.  Tacca had been absently describing what she was seeing and thinking to her Assistant, so it surprised her to hear her thoughts finished for her.  “I may not be as familiar with the attacks that Raiders use as you are, but I’m pretty sure that there are plenty out there that don’t require a weapon or other equipment of any sort to be used.  I’m almost positive that if you had another creature like a Goblin or a Gnoll, those abilities could be used by any of your creatures that came with the correct equipment.”

“You know, I think you’re right.  I don’t have any way to test that yet, but perhaps when I acquire some more Core Improvement Points I can see about choosing some additional creatures…”

They spent the next several hours discussing different strategies and options, of how to best use the Hill Dwarves in conjunction with her Canines, going back and forth over whether it would be a good idea to include them at all, and what her next creature choice—creature family, actually—should be.  It was only when Shale looked a little crestfallen and announced that he should probably report to the Council about Tacca’s situation that she realized how much time had passed.

The talk with her Assistant was beneficial in more ways than one.  While she possessed a bit more knowledge than Shale, he had a unique way of looking at things that helped her look at her dungeon in a different light.  Multiple times he made some valid points that Tacca hadn’t even considered, and if she had done it her way without consulting anyone, the things she wanted to do probably wouldn’t have worked out the way she planned.  It wouldn’t have been a disaster by any means, but by making a few subtle changes she could mitigate some of the problems.

“I hope they let you come back; I’ve really enjoyed this discussion, Shale.”

“I would like that as well…but it’s in the hands of the Council now.”

Tacca hesitated before she ventured her next question.  “Are you sure you want to report this?”

She was glad to see that he hesitated as well, but he eventually nodded reluctantly.  “I don’t really want to, but I feel that I have to.  My duty is to the Council first, as much as you and I may wish differently.  However, I’ll do my best to convince them that you’re alright and hopefully they’ll allow me to return.”

“I understand.  Good luck.”

Without another word, Shale fluttered to an open space in her Core Room and activated his Translocation, disappearing quickly to his destination.  Tacca had no idea what kind of reaction the knowledge of her situation would elicit, but she figured it probably wasn’t good. She didn’t want to mention to her Bonded Assistant that not allowing him to return was probably the least of things the Council could do; it was entirely possible they might do their best to destroy her, even though they weren’t “technically” allowed to personally destroy a Dungeon Core.  Then again, she also wasn’t “technically” supposed to be in a Core, so there might be some grey area there.

Regardless, there wasn’t much else to do but wait…and continue digging more rooms for some planned expansions to her dungeon.

Chapter 30

Sterge and Gwenda stopped by his cabin for about an hour’s rest and practically gorged themselves on food; the one thing about living on a farm was that there was almost always large quantities of food to eat.  For himself, he ate more in one sitting than he usually ate in an entire day and Gwenda wasn’t far behind.  For the first time, Sterge started to understand why Raiders needed so much food all the time; if this was how he felt after just a few hours inside of a dungeon, then those that potentially spent days inside some of the larger ones he’d heard of would be even hungrier.  He supposed it was a good thing, though, because otherwise there probably wouldn’t have been as much of a market for their vast quantities of produce and meat from their livestock.

 After they ate until they were stuffed, they left for the town of Heftington and the Raider Delving Clan where they had first become Raiders.  It was a long, hot walk – especially since he was still