Dungeon Bound Read online

  “I wasn’t sniffing her, just trying to get fresh air back into my lungs!”

  “Packmaster doesn’t hate scent?” Cindra growled, her rumbling voice hopeful.

  “No, you smell wonderful. Like the incense used at the Temple of Justice,” he said without considering his words.

  Sthuza and all of her snakes glared up at him again.

  “What?”

  “You sssound a bit too eager to talk about a lady’sss ssscent, Massster.”

  Gabriel blinked down at the glaring green eyes. “I’m not sure what to say to that. More importantly, we can make this work if you and Meri can explain what exactly we are dealing with.”

  Sthuza took a steadying breath, then sinuously shifted and climbed to her feet before pulling him up to join her. She shot him a fang-baring smile, her reptilian eyes studying him.

  “What’s with that look?”

  She chuckled. “Nothing, Master. Just thinking I rather like this more confident version of you.”

  Gabriel smiled at her and nodded. “Good, I intend to step up and be the best DM I can.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Sthuza’s dark-green lips formed a teasing smirk. “So, Master, do you have a plan to save us from this disaster?”

  “Yes,” Gabriel said.

  Sthuza snickered, but her vertical pupils flashed at his words. She raised one curved eyebrow. “Would you care to share this plan with your bonded?”

  “Yeah, but first, Cindra needs to calm down, and you need to step away so I can check on Meri.”

  That drew a pitiful whine from one bonded, and a soft sigh from the other, but both monster girls did as he asked. He smiled at them, then moved around the black altar to look at the Core’s hidey-hole.

  Gabriel squatted down to spot the shivering orb. “I’m not going to yell at you, Merideva. But you need to come out here and explain what is going on so we can decide how to solve our problems.”

  Sniffling sounds echoed from the small alcove, and to his surprise, Gabriel found that what he thought was a shelf or storage space was ten times deeper than its foot wide entrance.

  “Your bonded hate me,” she muttered, her voice weak as she floated out of hiding.

  “That’s not true,” he assured her. “They don’t know you yet, and we are all having to deal with some significant changes recently.

  “I’m sure you’ll get along great with them once you all get to know each other.”

  The dim deep-blue crystal brightened slightly at that, its shivering becoming less noticeable.

  “You still… want to be my DM?” she asked, a hiccuping sob interrupting her quiet words.

  “Of course.”

  I have a choice?

  He smiled, knowing he’d said the right thing when she shifted from a soft blue to a warm yellow. Glowing brighter, though still dimmer than he was used to, the Core cut through the air. It slammed into his chest, rubbing against him as desperately as Cindra moments before.

  Not exactly the response I expected, but I can work with this.

  Chuckling, he cradled the still sniffling orb and spent several quiet moments gently rubbing her flawless surface.

  “Feeling better?” he asked after her sobbing subsided.

  “Yes, I’m sorry about that, Gabriel Grimm.”

  “It’s okay. We’re both learning to work together, right?”

  “Yeah, we’re the best team ever!” she said, drastically more enthusiastic than seconds before.

  She… she’s like a child, isn’t she?

  Still carrying the polished stone that served as her body, which now glowed pink, Gabriel walked back around the blood-stained altar and faced his two bonded.

  Sthuza stood with her refined grace on full display, and while Cindra still looked barely tamed, she lined up in humanoid form next to the shorter gorgon.

  “Wait… how are you still wearing your armor?” he asked, eyes wide as he gawked at the armored hellhound.

  Sthuza chuckled throatily while Cindra twirled from side to side, obviously thrilled at having her Packmaster’s gaze focused on her.

  “As I said before, that suit belonged to a similar warrior. The woman who wore it before the hound was not furred, but she was a capable shapeshifter and thus required armor which could shift with her.”

  He blinked at that revelation, then smiled at the pair before him. “Awesome. Thanks again, Sthuza. That’ll make it much easier for her to fight, won’t it?”

  “Yep, Packmaster! Cindra can fight back and forth, except she can’t carry the big knife when she doesn’t have hands,” the beaming hellhound said in her rich contralto.

  “It isss a sssword, you… boob monssster.”

  Cindra and Gabriel both dropped their gazes to the breasts in question, one looking on in confusion, the other swallowing as he stared.

  He cleared his throat. “Anyway, we need to find out what is going on with the dungeon, and then we’ll go after the stolen crystal just as Meri wanted.”

  Still held tight against his chest, the Dungeon Core emitted a muffled sound. When she didn’t repeat it, he continued, directing his attention to his bonded.

  “When she first told me to hunt down Estrial and steal it back, I thought she was crazy. Not sure if I explained it, but Estrial’s a renowned elven sorceress with a veteran party.

  “I refused to consider the idea. I knew I’d never stand a chance hunting her with only goblins for support, even with my new dungeon-boosted abilities.”

  Sthuza nodded her snake-topped head in understanding. “But you were unaware of the ability to bond monsters to you and never imagined that you could increase your effective power in so short a time.”

  “Exactly. With both of you helping me, maybe we can catch Estrial’s party in an ambush if we plan well. After all, they won’t be expecting me to chase them down, now will they?” he said, chuckling darkly.

  The Core shifted in his arms again, and he loosened his grip, allowing her to hover free.

  “You should have told him the truth about Core and Master relations,” Sthuza hissed, glaring at the yellow orb.

  “I-I know, I’m sorry,” she said, her words shaky. “It’s just that I’m new to the whole, independent Core life, and I panicked. I didn’t even think he would survive the process to bind him to me anyway, so it kinda surprised me.”

  Gabriel blinked at that.

  She didn’t know it would work? Wait, wasn’t she worried that the process broke me like the others? How many others broke? Guess it doesn’t really matter, she saved my life. And my soul.

  “Lady Merideva,” Sthuza said, her cultured voice back in full control now. “What happened to the rest of your retainers? Surely you did not arrive here from the Eternal Dungeon alone.”

  The floating Core flushed a dark swirl of blue and orange at the gorgon’s question. Everyone stared at her guilty reaction, but they waited patiently for her response. After a long silent moment, she replied in a sad voice.

  “The moment we came through the portal, horrific bug monsters attacked us. The-they slaughtered my guards in seconds,” she cried before choking up and shuddering.

  “Asssmodeusss perssserve usss!”

  Gabriel hesitated for a bit, then reached out and stroked the Core’s top, which soothed her, restoring her swirling colors to a single softer blue.

  “The portal snapped shut before we could retreat, so all my remaining minions started a running battle as they tried to get me past the hostile monsters.”

  Sthuza’s elfin face darkened as Meri continued.

  “They kept chasing us, but my porters turned and slowed them down, delaying the worst enemies on the twenty-fourth floor. At least long enough for my handmaidens to carry me to safety,” she whispered.

  “Wait, there are twenty-four floors in the dungeon?” Gabriel asked, staring down at the Core.

  “No, Master. Last I heard there were thirty-seven floors. Though many of them were never intended to be visited by adventurers f
rom this world,” Sthuza said distractedly.

  He switched his attention to the bonded gorgon and stared without breathing at the sight of her conflicted face. “What’s wrong, Sthuza?”

  “I will explain after the Core finishes her story,” she said, her gaze still locked onto the darkened orb.

  Not understanding her reaction, he nodded numbly, then glanced at Cindra. The muscular canine woman remained motionless, squatting at his side and watching him with big blue eyes.

  “Sorry for interrupting, please continue.”

  Meri sniffled, then resumed her story. “All of my servants and guards were dead, except a trio of handmaidens, who kept rushing me toward the surface. They hoped to get me clear of the dungeon so we could set up a new Domain, somewhere safe.

  “That didn’t work so well though,” she said, sniffling, her voice filled with pain. “Two of them fell to free-roaming monsters between the tenth and fifteenth floors, but Sylia carried me to this floor, where we detected the Domain Crystal.”

  “What happened to her?” Sthuza asked, her voice gentle.

  “She wanted to scout ahead and see if the exit was safe, but… she never returned, and I had to start harvesting Aether, or I’d have perished.”

  Sthuza stepped closer and placed one slender hand on Meri’s dimly glowing orb as she spoke. “So you slipped in here, realized the golems guarded the crystal, but decided to usurp it from whoever controls it?”

  “Yes. I didn’t mean to deceive Gabriel Grimm, but he was my only hope, and I was afraid he’d abandon me if he knew how weak I am,” Meri sobbed, her color dimming further.

  “You have had a very rough time, Lady Merideva,” Sthuza whispered, caressing the Core. She glanced up, her green eyes meeting his. “I am still very concerned about our current situation and displeased at her deception. But we have more serious issues to address now, Master.”

  ***

  Letting out a breath he hadn’t consciously been holding, Gabriel nodded, then slipped past the gorgon to take a seat next to Cindra, who leaned into him. Careful not to drop Meri while settling himself, he patted the hard stone next to him.

  A small smile flashed across Sthuza’s concerned face, lightening her dark expression, and she complied, dropping gracefully to sit next to him, opposite the hellhound.

  “That’s better. I figure we should get as comfortable as we can at the moment,” Gabriel said while stalling the conversation in the hope he could help calm their mounting fear. “So we’ve covered Meri’s story, but what part of it freaked you out so much?” he asked, glancing over to the gorgon.

  She couldn’t hold his gaze, instead staring down at her feet as she leaned in closer.

  “I will need to get more details about ‘the bugsss’ that ssshe sssaw, but I fear Ssswarm have infesssted the dungeon,” she whispered.

  “Swarm? I’m not familiar with that term.”

  “I am not terribly surprised, Master, they have no presence on this world,” she said darkly. “Or had none.”

  “Then, where do they come from?”

  “Another Realm entirely. Swarm are a devouring plague of death and destruction. They are to Soul Essence, what locusts are to a farmer’s crops.

  “I feared having bonded to a doomed Core, but if they are Swarm, the entire planet is at risk of annihilation.”

  About to ask another question, Gabriel paused when the crystalline Core shivered against his chest.

  “Merideva?” he asked, looking down at the darkened orb.

  “I didn’t even think about it, but they totally could have been Swarm. If they were…” she said, trailing off with a wail.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, the spillover of their terror ramping up his concern.

  “Master,” Sthuza said, her voice calmer now, though filled with an undertone of despair. “If the Eternal Dungeon believes that there is a Swarm infestation here, it will send a force through the portals to purge any potential infested.”

  “Infested? Purged?”

  She sighed, her dark-green snakes coiling about her head fearfully.

  “They are capable of corrupting and dominating almost all life forms larger than a rat.”

  “But I thought you were worried about creatures that looked like bugs, shouldn’t they be easy to spot?”

  Sthuza smiled acerbically. “It is easy to identify their warrior caste, yes. Those they ‘infest’ can pass for whatever the host was for months, even years.”

  “Could they take over an adventurer or guard and fool the Guild?” he asked, his stomach dropping at the thought of such a threat.

  She nodded.

  “Yes, though the Soulstones used by such organizations might spot them. I cannot guarantee it.”

  “And you’re worried the Eternal Dungeon will send an army through and kill us all?”

  “More or less. As a human, you have no basis of understanding. But consider that for all intents and purposes, the Eternal Dungeon is a god. One that still interacts with the Mortal Realm. It creates new Dungeon Cores, and seeds them across all the worlds within every Realm it can reach. It even erects dungeons within the various Realms of Hell, with Asmodeus’ blessing.”

  Jaw dropping, Gabriel stared mutely at her unfathomable revelation.

  “So, we’re screwed even if we get the crystal back?” he asked in a whisper.

  Her pert lips twisted in a frown of uncertainty, and she shrugged. “There are too many variables, but the possibility is real.”

  Letting go of the orb, he brought both hands up and covered his face, taking a moment to let the news sink in.

  This sounds far worse than I ever imagined. And right when I was starting to believe we could succeed.

  The gorgon’s frown deepened upon seeing his distress, and she reached up to cup his cheek. “Master, it is not certain that they are Swarm, and even if they are, we do not know that the Eternal Dungeon spotted them before closing the portal.”

  Gabriel uncovered his face and took a deep breath. Exhaling loudly, he nodded and smiled back at his supportive bonded.

  “You’re right. We don’t know enough about that to bother focusing on it. Right now, we need to recover that crystal so that Merideva can control this area of the dungeon. Then we can investigate the lower floors.

  “Maybe it’s Swarm. Hopefully, some lesser threat. Either way, we’ll deal with it once we know more,” Gabriel said, sounding more confident than he felt. He didn’t like their options, or that he knew so little about the issue, but he thought it was their best chance to push ahead.

  Worrying about doomsday events while we don’t even have a safe place to live is putting the cart far before the horse.

  A glance at the three dungeon-related creatures revealed all of them cheering up after his decision.

  “That makes sense, Master. I will, of course, support your plan wholeheartedly.”

  “Cindra always has Packmaster’s back.”

  “Do you mean it? Gabriel Grimm?” the Core’s soft, hesitant voice called out from where she huddled against his padded coat.

  Glancing down, he nodded. “Yes, Meri, I mean it. I intend to protect all three of you. And the best way I see to do that is getting the crystal back.”

  Her glow brightened, but then shifted to a yellowish hue. “Why do you call me Meri?”

  Startled, he blinked a couple of times before responding. “Honestly? Merideva is a little long and somewhat hard to say, especially if we need to talk fast. Does it bother you?”

  “No,” she drawled. “No, it doesn’t ‘bother’ me, but it seems odd.”

  “Bright Lady, he uses nickname as a term of endearment,” Cindra stage whispered, her rich voice far too loud to avoid drawing attention.

  Merideva’s glow brightened again, shifting pink, and she wobbled side to side.

  “Then it’s fine!” she chirped before darting up and zooming back to her small alcove.

  “Where are you going?” he called out as the glowing orb va
nished behind the altar.

  “I need to rest,” she said in a rush.

  Okay, that was weird.

  “You should keep your furry muzzle shut,” Sthuza said, glaring at the oblivious hellhound.

  Cindra alternated between looking at Gabriel and the gorgon several times before shrugging and giving up.

  “So, now that we have a plan, what is our first step, Master?” Sthuza asked, pointedly ignoring her fellow bonded.

  “Meri gave me a very abbreviated introduction to commanding dungeon monsters, but I need to learn more to prepare.”

  “That is a good goal. However, we will be working on a time limit.”

  “Because of those Swarm monsters?” he asked, doubts crowding out his earlier confidence.

  “No. Because Lady Merideva has most certainly already started attuning with the crystal. Even if she had not, it would still lose the connection to the local Domain if the thieves keep it away from here for too long.”

  Damn, that’s another concern to deal with.

  “How long do we have?”

  “I am uncertain how far she progressed with it. But regardless of attunement, if we do not restore the Domain Crystal within a month, it will become useless for controlling the dungeon.”

  “I spent two weeks attuning to the Crystal,” Meri called out from the far side of the room.

  The gorgon nodded, her piercing eyes closed as she considered the Core’s words. “That reduces our time frame even further, Master.”

  “Reduces it how much?”

  Crestfallen, Sthuza sighed and reluctantly met his gaze. “Less than two weeks, I would suggest we not let it stay gone for more than ten days to be safe.”

  Gabriel sighed. “Yeah, that’s a bit shorter than I was hoping for.”

  Straightening his back, he nodded. “But we can still make this work. I’ll rush through all the teaching you and Meri can give me, and we can be on their tail within a couple of days. It shouldn’t take us too long to catch up.”

  Still looking dispirited, Sthuza shook her head slowly, head-snakes rubbing against her high-boned cheeks consolingly. “I now somewhat regret my advice that you stay away from the Core for a few days to strengthen your position, Master. Since those days count against the short period I quoted.”