Dungeon Bound Read online

  “Maybe it would be easier if he tried scrying through you or Cindra?” Meri said, hovering near the stone altar. “As beautiful as you both are, I’m sure you’re well attuned by now. If your bonds are strong enough, it should be easy.”

  Gabriel cheered up at the oddly worded suggestion, smiling as he turned to face his bonded, only to have that smile vanish at the sight of Sthuza’s face.

  She looked scared, embarrassed, and angry all at once.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, shocked by her sudden shift in mood.

  Instead of responding, she looked down at her feet, as if they were the most exciting feature in the room.

  She does have cute feet. Wait, focus.

  “Oh my Eternal Dungeon, you didn’t do any attuning with him, did you?” Meri gasped, her soft pink glow brightening and shifting to a harsh red.

  “Didn’t what? I bonded with both of them, though I made Sthuza my Prime,” Gabriel said, growing increasingly uncomfortable with how silent his first bonded was.

  “You! You come in here, acting all high and mighty, and you didn’t even attune enough to let him scry through your eyes? And you want to pretend you’re Prime-bonded?” Meri spat. She darted over to hover in the suddenly meek gorgon’s face.

  “I should—” Merideva said, but her words cut off when Gabriel reached up and wrapped his hands around the small globe.

  “That’s enough now. I told you earlier that there’d be no fighting amongst ourselves, remember?”

  “Sowwy,” Merideva replied, her bright glow dimming.

  “Now, would you care to explain what she is talking about, Sthuza?” he asked firmly, staring at the abnormally submissive monster girl.

  I’ve never seen her so unwilling to meet my eyes. Not even a single snake will look at me.

  Sthuza mumbled something, and he strained to hear it. Even with his radically enhanced hearing, he couldn’t make out any words. Frustration mounting, he blew out a sigh, then grasped her chin tenderly and lifted her face until she couldn’t see anything but his.

  Her vertical pupils still refused to meet his gaze, so he cleared his throat and stepped closer. Sthuza stepped back, but he followed, and she wound up pressed against the smooth stone wall, her modest breasts pressed against his chest.

  “I’m waiting,” he said, letting a fraction of his frustration bleed into his voice.

  “I am not your Prime,” she whispered, head-snakes curling around her face, trying to comfort the distraught woman.

  “What? Of course, you are.”

  Sthuza shook her head slightly. “No, I am not. I have not been entirely forthright about the nature of bonding.”

  It felt like his heart froze when she confessed. He staggered back from the shocking declaration, trying to wrestle his thoughts into order.

  No! Not again! I can’t handle another betrayal.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sensing Gabriel’s sudden rush of fear and revulsion, Sthuza flinched back, stumbled against the wall, and collapsed to her knees.

  “I am sssorry, Massster, I did not mean to deccceive you,” she wailed, her snakes hissing in sorrow as she reached one slim arm toward him.

  “Why would you lie to me? You knew I was struggling with what Estrial did! I trusted you!” Gabriel screamed, panting as he struggled to draw breath.

  This can’t be happening.

  A sudden flood of sorrow and self-loathing washed over him, drowning out his own fear and terror.

  What the hells was that?

  Shocked out of his grief, Gabriel closed his eyes to focus on the foreign emotions.

  It only took a moment for him to notice the soft green tint to all the painful feelings. His eyes snapped open when he realized their source. He looked on in awe at the devastated beauty staring up at him with tear-filled eyes.

  “I did not lie to you, Massster!” she hissed. “Pleassse, believe me.”

  Still studying her, Gabriel nodded, buying time with a deep breath.

  “Then what did you neglect to tell me,” he said with forced calm, his pulse hammering in his ears.

  Sthuza hiccuped, several of her head-snakes weaving sadly.

  “The bond between a Dungeon Master and his monsters can grow or shrink. As long as the bonded monster does not overwhelm the ritual and dominate the DM at the start, they can never turn on their master. Nor choose to break the bond,” she whispered.

  Unspoken words caught in his throat, a chill sending shivers down his spine.

  She could have dominated me?

  “What happens if the monster dominates the bond?” he asked, his overactive mind throwing up lurid horror after horror.

  If possible, the distraught woman grew even sadder at his question. She looked back down at the ground, all of her snakes curling about her face protectively.

  “They can take over the mind of the DM, effectively turning them into a puppet,” she said, her voice a brittle monotone. Even without seeing them, Gabriel knew her red-rimmed eyes were viewing a scene from the past.

  Oh shit. Is that what happened to Iylara?

  “Could you have done that to me, if you wanted to?”

  Sobbing softly, she didn’t speak, bobbing her head limply instead.

  You got damn lucky you bonded with her instead of someone like that arachne. “Okay, so you honestly wanted to bond with me, but what did you not tell me?”

  “The Prime-bonded is the one with the strongest connection.”

  “That much makes sense, but I’m still not seeing what is going on. You were the first one I bonded, so wouldn’t that make your bond stronger than Cindra’s?” he asked, shooting a concerned glance at the quiet hellhound.

  Cindra met his gaze with her large blue eyes and smiled sadly.

  Looks like she’s more aware than I’ve been giving her credit for.

  “You can strengthen a bond in many ways. Time bonded, of course, is the most obvious, but there is also actively serving the DM. Such as in battles,” Sthuza said.

  “And then there is…” she said, trailing off too quiet for him to hear.

  “Meri boosted my hearing, but not that much,” he replied, trying to lighten the mood, but Sthuza only sobbed.

  “Sex!” the Core shouted, shocking Gabriel.

  He glanced at the glowing orb. “What?”

  “The fastest way to strengthen a bond is with lots of sex!” Meri boasted authoritatively.

  He stared at her for several seconds before blinking.

  “That’s ridiculous,” he growled. “This is no time to be making jokes.”

  “Please do not be angry at Lady Merideva, Master. She is correct. Physical intimacy is the quickest way to increase affinity and strengthen the bond. Though it does not provide any direct power boosts.

  Spinning around at the outrageous statement, Gabriel flinched back when he saw the raw sadness marring the gorgon’s stunning face.

  “I was too embarrassed to explain it to you earlier, Master. And you seemed so sincere last night that I did not want to rush things,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

  It took Gabriel a moment to process her statement, but the second it struck him, he dropped to his knees and pulled her to him. Shocked at his action, she froze up, allowing him to crush her in a tight embrace.

  “It’s okay, Sthuza. I’m not mad,” he whispered into her elfin ear.

  ***

  For several minutes Gabriel and Sthuza sat there in silence. He held the sobbing gorgon as she shuddered, gently stroking her back.

  “Is it mating time now, Packmaster?”

  He froze at the startling question, his face reddening.

  Then Sthuza let out a giggling hiccup. She shook her head, slowly pulling back from the tight embrace. “You are the most tactless person I have ever met.”

  “How many tacks am I supposed to have?” the naive hellhound asked, tilting her head, one ear flopping over.

  He tried to suppress the urge to snicker, but Sthuza soon joined h
im. Before long, the pair were laughing wildly. All the previous tension vanished like a half-remembered dream.

  Is she a genius and manipulating us, or as simple as she acts and just incredibly lucky?

  It took them several minutes to calm down, Cindra staring at him the entire time.

  “No, Cindra, it is not ‘mating time,’” Sthuza said, her melodic voice once again strong and cultured. “I believe it best to shelve that discussion and refocus on Master’s scrying ability.”

  Eager to keep the topic off of sex for the moment, Gabriel nodded in agreement. “We can talk about that later. Perhaps some time would help me think it through. In the meantime, Sthuza’s right. I need to learn how to scry.”

  Both seeking distraction, the pair resumed his training, after having asked Meri to watch over Cindra. They spent three more hours working on developing his Dungeon Sense before attempting to look through a goblin’s eyes again.

  He caught on much quicker to shifting his attention from his own body to the dungeon’s. Though they soon discovered that the only attuned space was the small cubbyhole carved into the stone wall behind the altar. Technically, Meri’s entire dungeon comprised a narrow, ten-cubic-foot hole in the wall.

  Gabriel collapsed back, dropping to the ground as his Dungeon Sense rebelled at how tiny her Domain was.

  “Well, at least she has already begun establishing her Domain, Master,” Sthuza said, struggling to support his fragile focus after he explained what happened.

  “Yeah, it’s a great deal to take in. Seems like it’s just now beginning to hit me.”

  She nodded in understanding, white teeth worrying at her lower lip as she watched him refocus.

  Gabriel continued practicing the fundamental clairvoyance exercise she’d taught him. Even though they sat on the cold stone floor, sweat drenched his whole body. Physical evidence of his efforts as he burned through more of his diminished mana pool to power the most basic dungeon abilities.

  After another hour of observing him struggle with scrying, Sthuza let out a shocked hiss and almost fell over when he burst into motion.

  He’d sat still as a statue for the past hour, then raised a fist and yelled. “I did it!”

  It took a moment before she replied, her words hard to hear over the angry hissing of her head-snakes. “You saw through the goblin’s eyes?”

  He blinked several times, then poked himself in the face.

  “Master?”

  More rapid blinking before he shook his head, his blue eyes refocused on her face.

  “That was weird,” he said cryptically.

  “What exactly was weird? Are you all right, Master?” Not giving him time to answer, she scooted over, leaned in close, and placed a hand on his forehead.

  “Oh, sorry,” Gabriel said, pausing when several of the small snakes brushed his face. “It was really crazy to see myself through your eyes.”

  Now it was her turn to blink at him. “You sssaw through my eyesss?”

  That drew a nod from him, his dark hair flinging sweat around him.

  “Oops,” he said, blushing when one of the dark-green snakes flinched back after being struck in the face with sweat. Embarrassed about splashing sweat on the gorgon, he was blushing by the time his vision cleared enough to see her.

  Why is she embarrassed?

  Sthuza’s light-green skin was flushed dark across her high cheekbones. Once again, she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you dirty.”

  That caused Sthuza to look up and match his gaze, her emerald eyes wide, vertical pupils flaring as she blinked rapidly.

  “No, Massster, I am… it isss not about,” she hissed, her eyes tracking back to the floor as she trailed off.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

  “Yes, Master, I am well. Though I believe it is time that we stop for the night. You have put in a lot of effort and should not overdo it,” Sthuza said, turning away and heading back to the altar room.

  Is she upset that I saw through her eyes? Should I have asked permission first?

  He sighed, paused long enough to run through a quick centering routine, and then followed his bonded back to the Core.

  At least they’re all willing to work together. That’s something, right?

  ***

  In the room, Gabriel found both of his bonded seated near the altar where he died. Floating above the foreboding stone block, Merideva glowed a soft pink, engaged in a quiet discussion with his Prime.

  Cindra noticed his entry and leapt to her feet before dashing across the large room and nearly tackling him to the floor.

  “Packmaster returns!” she cheered, squeezing him tight against her firm breasts and rubbing her face against his.

  “Yes, Cindra, I’m back, but I wasn’t gone for very long,” he gasped, struggling to break her hold.

  She’s crazy strong!

  “It felt like forever. You shouldn’t go anywhere without me,” she said, pausing her vigorous grinding long enough to speak. Then she resumed with forceful intensity.

  If she keeps that up, I’ll turn into one giant bruise.

  “Cindra, loosen your grip, let Master breathe,” Sthuza called out from where she sat.

  The hellhound responded instantly, relaxing her rib-cracking embrace enough for him to draw a full breath.

  “Glowy Lady told us about how the ‘slutty elf bitch’ wronged you. Snakey and me want to help hunt her down and kill them all. No one gets to hurt Pack,” she growled, baring her fangs and scrunching her nose in a lethal yet cute fashion.

  Not sure if I should be aroused or terrified.

  “Thanks,” he said, wrapping his arms around her well-muscled body, causing the tall monster girl’s chest to rumble.

  “Then maybe Packmaster hunts Spider Bitch and her sisters, avenge old Pack?” she asked, her deep voice carrying traces of hesitation and fear.

  Gabriel leaned back, looked into her luminescent blue eyes until she matched his gaze, then nodded. “Yes, Cindra. Once we recover the Domain Crystal and have Meri installed safely, I promise we’ll hunt that arachne down and kill her.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Cindra howled, forgetting Sthuza’s instructions and clutching him tight against her. She buried his head in her cleavage and spun about ecstatically.

  He tried to get her attention as the exuberant hellhound continued to dance and whirl. After much desperate flailing, he gave up, saving what little breath he had in the hope she’d finish soon.

  At least it’s a better way to go than sacrificed on an altar.

  Just as Gabriel was blacking out, Cindra’s vice-like grip loosened. He drew in a deep breath as she dragged him across the room. After reaching their other companions, she plopped down, pulling him with her, and he laughed when she settled down with him in her lap.

  “You should laugh more. Being happy is good.”

  Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t resist smiling at her infectious cheer, and he reached up to pat her defined shoulder. “Yes, it is. Thanks for reminding me.”

  “If you two are done now,” Sthuza said, her voice sharp and cold. “Lady Merideva and I were just discussing sleeping arrangements.”

  Gabriel swallowed hard, the playful mood vanishing as quickly as Cindra had created it.

  “Yep, she told me her lair is way down on the thirteenth floor and only accessible via a secret passage. You should all stay up here with me, where it’s safe,” Meri declared, her glow brightening as she spoke.

  “I didn’t realize we were that deep in the dungeon. Thought it was only seven or eight at most.”

  A dark look passed over the gorgon’s face for a moment. “The path I led you through was intended for monsters. It is a shortcut to the region they assigned me to defend,” Sthuza said, not looking at him.

  “So, is that what you meant about making direct routes?”

  Sthuza nodded, her eyes focusing somewhere over his head. “We decided i
t would be best overall if we remain here for the foreseeable future. Perhaps we can erect some defenses tomorrow.”

  Guess she is mad. It’d be a good idea to figure out why soon. Don’t want her staying angry.

  “Okay, that sounds like a good plan. I’ve got to admit I’m exhausted now,” Gabriel said. He glanced over to the hovering Core. “Can you make us bedrolls or something?”

  “There is no need, Master,” Sthuza said before Meri could reply. “I brought a few supplies along when you mentioned Lady Merideva was a new Core.”

  “Really? Thanks, great thinking.” He paused and looked over her slender form. “Um, where are you hiding them?”

  A wry smile spread across her face, and she finally looked at him, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.

  “In my handbag, of course,” she purred, her voice rich with mirth. She lifted a slender arm, holding up a stylish green leather satchel that he’d noticed her carrying before.

  “I remember you storing a bow in your belt pouch. Does that one carry a spatial enchantment as well?”

  With his goal of becoming a bureaucratic mage for the Guild, Gabriel was well acquainted with the nature of dimensional storage containers. Still, the few he’d seen before were at least three times larger than the gorgon’s.

  A delicate green eyebrow rising was Sthuza’s only response, until her grin widened, and she opened the green bag.

  He watched on in amazement as she withdrew three plush bedrolls and enough cushions and blankets for the three of them. Before he got up to retrieve one, she surprised him by reaching back into the satchel and began withdrawing dozens of other items.

  Within minutes teetering piles of kitchen goods, clothes, and several assorted items that tickled at his arcane senses surrounded her.

  “Snakey brought camping supplies! She’s the best Alpha Bitch ever!”

  “What is wrong with you, Cindra? Don’t call her a bitch!” Gabriel yelled, startling the large hellhound and causing her to whimper.

  “Master!”

  Gabriel stared incredulously at the fuming gorgon. “What? She was way out of line, and that was the second time.”