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Story Codes: Gamelit, Fantasy, Magic

For a list of all the dungeon builder stories click here

Comments are very welcome. I would like all criticism, positive and negative, so long as it’s
constructive, and feedback is very appreciated.

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Click here for Part 6.

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Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Chapter Fourteen

I began my exploration for the First Dungeon. But I was also hoping to find more Mana Veins. So while I was helping Fara with her goal of understanding dungeon builders, I was working on finding more power. I needed it. I wanted to get to the next level of magic. I had to be stronger.

The mayor’s warning had me worried. Neither Halia nor Fara had any idea of what Lord Shorvin could be doing that was worst than calling on stronger adventurers to attack me. “Unless it’s a crusade,” Halia said. “That would be bad.”

“A crusade?” I asked. “A holy war.”

“If he can get the Temple Authority to agree to call on a crusade, armies will be gathered to attack you. Not just bands of adventurers, but a concerted effort to siege you out and kill you. It’ll be thousands and thousands of soldiers, weaker than adventurers, but numbers have their own weight.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “That sounds serious. What do we do?”

“Well, if it was a crusade, and those are rare since it means weakening strong territories threatened by their own dungeon builders to, frankly, attack one that is as remote as us. We are not threatening Myrecilla yet.”

“Never,” I muttered. I had no intentions of attacking the city to the south of us. It was beyond Lord Shorvin’s estates.

“And Mayor Bevlin would have heard the call,” added Fara. “That sort of event cannot be kept quiet. Instead, it will be on the tongue of every crier and carried by every merchant. So I cannot think of what it is. Unless he has made a pact with another dungeon builder.”

“Does that happen?” I asked in shock.

“It… has.” Halia squirmed. “There have been those who use dungeon builders to destroy rivals. It is a course of folly since you cannot trust most dungeon builders.” My paladin glanced at me, giving me an apologetic look.

I raised a forestalling hand. “Should we start reconnoitering his estate? Use the wildhounds or the arachnes?”

“It’s dangerous, Lord Leo.” Halia put her hand on her blessed sword. It had been her father’s. She had inherited it after he had died trying to kill Fuegin. Anguin had a reputation for killing several powerful dungeon builders before he met his aim. From what I understood, Fuegin was the most powerful of us. He had conquered several kingdoms and ruled them. He claimed he made things better in his territory and that he had only done it to protect himself. They kept escalating their attacks on him, so he had to respond in kind.

I wanted to believe that since he was the only dungeon builder who had extended me a hand in friendship. He wanted to learn about our origin and purpose, too. Until he showed himself false, I would give him a wary sort of trust.

I sunk tunnels into the mountain beneath my dungeon, exploring. It was always strange driving exploratory shafts. I could feel the stone melting away. I was digging through the layers of rocks and the minerals they had. When I removed my tunnels, what I had destroyed, whether veins of precious metals, clusters of precious gems, or interesting pockets of stone would all be restored. Like the world remembered what was here before I had meddled.

My dungeon was an intruder that was replacing sections of reality with my Will. So long as my words shaped my dungeon through the Void Crystal, I imposed my desire upon this world. So why would this First Dungeon still be around?

“You sure it exists?” I asked Fara in between sessions.

“Of course I am,” she said.

“But how. If the Void Crystal is destroyed, surely this all vanishes.” I looked around. “At least once any minds not bound to the Crystal exit the dungeon.”

“They stay,” said Halia. “They can become haunts for bandits or dragons. Even if the Void Crystal is destroyed. Those that are not destroyed because the builder was too cunning in hiding it, do not decay. They remain as they were in the past.”

“I see,” I said and sank more shafts.

Three times adventurers attacked, stopping my exploration.

The first group did not get past the basilisks and the werebears in the entrance. Though a few of my monster girls died, the poor adventurers hadn’t stood a chance. Between the basilisks’ petrifying breath and the werebears’ brute strength, they were in for a tough opening.

It annoyed me I had to stop exploring and deal with it. I didn’t want to kill adventurers, but I was growing less and less concerned about it. More calloused to their deaths. If they turned and fled, I would let them escape, but if they kept going, it was their own fault.

The second group penetrated farther. Smerta and Feya coordinated the defenses from their forward command room. The group made it to the stalactite room and there met their end, but not before hurting my monster girls.

That pissed me off. Every time I had to bring a monster girl back to life, she had suffered for me. She had endured pain. Their deaths weren’t always pretty. Mages threw fireballs and lightning around. Rogues used poisoned blades. Warriors hacked with massive weapons.

My monster girls suffered for me. Every time they came back to life, though, they had smiles on their lips.

They were proud that they had died for me.

Which made me hate the adventurers more and more. I could feel it wearing down my humanity. It was hard not to care when a cute wildhound came back to life, and I knew she had died bloody.

The third group was stronger still. They decimated the defenders of the First Labyrinth. Smerta herself died. They had a Paladin of Lord Anshar with them that had been able to endure her weapon and then took off her head. They left so many dead monster girls in their wake.

They penetrated the Lightning Column Room, their mage warding them from the electric attacks while their priest bolstered their spirits. They broke through to the second labyrinth. But here, the tide turned. The arachnes struck from ambush.

Before they were ready, their mage was wrapped up in webbing, their priest bitten and dying of poison. The rogue managed to kill one arachne, but the others webbed up the paladin. Though he called upon his cold power, the arachnes held him long enough for the rest of the werebears and basilisks to arrive and finish off the party.

I had many, many monster girls to revive after them.

It was frustrating, but my dungeon defenses were working. My monster girls were doing their jobs. They were happy fighting and dying, which only made my heart heavier. If they weren’t cute girls I loved, this would be so much easier.

I wouldn’t have this growing anger in me. This resentment that I had to watch out for.

It wasn’t long after the third battle, that I sank a tunnel deep and ran into something. I broke into an open space. Not a natural cave. I could sense that I had found a tunnel. I explored down it, opening up space around it.

There it was. A man-made hallway.

I released the Void Crystal and glanced at Fara. “I think we found it.”

The elf glanced at me from the desk she had me set up in the Vault where she was doing her work, writing down what she had learned about dungeon builders and monster girls for sharing with the world in the future.

“You are certain?” she asked, her already large eyes even wider.

“I think so,” I said.

I paced in the Vault, then I sent out a telepathic message: “Usiku and my companions, meet me in the map room. Halia, you, too.”

I hurried out of the Vault, Fara on my heels. The elf seemed giddy with excitement. We passed through the living quarters. Most of my companions were in here. I had expanded the living areas. Added what few games they had in this world, which amounted to backgammon, checkers, and various versions of chess that had strange rules I wasn’t used to.

We all headed to my throne room, the largest part of the dungeon. I headed straight for the map and shifted it down the levels to where we had found the tunnel. It was deep underground. I showed off the room and there it was, the tunnel around mine.

“Your dungeon didn’t break through it,” said Maya as she studied it.

“That makes sense,” Hagane said, adjusting her glasses. “If Fara’s version of history is correct, Meskalamdug wasn’t killed in his dungeon but had retreated to it and was never seen again. Presumed dead. Then there is an active Void Crystal down there making sure his dungeon is intact.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That makes sense.”

“We have to explore it,” Terra said. “This is so interesting.”

“It’ll be dangerous,” my mom said.

“Oh, yeah,” Crystal said. My big sister glanced at me. “You up for getting dirty spelunking someone else’s dungeon.” She smirked. “Wait, you already are a dirty, dirty boy.”

I gave her a look.

“You have to take a guard with you, Lord Leo,” Usiku said. “Monster girls that can explore for traps. You want to make sure you have the best at sniffing them up. The wildhounds. All of them.”

“Yes, the puppies are so good at it, big bro,” my little sister said, her red wings fluttering.

“And a mix of other monster girls,” Maya added. “For protection.”

“Not too many,” Lana Fulmine pointed out. “There should be nothing alive in the dungeon, just traps. You’ll want to leave enough up here to protect the dungeon. We can survive having the wildhounds pulled out, just not too many of the others ones.”

“I am coming,” said Fara. Her ears twitched. “I must come.”

“Of course,” I said. “You’ll stay behind me while we scout ahead. Halia, you, too. You’re an adventurer. Your instincts will be invaluable down there.”

“I would be glad to go,” she said.

“Mrs. Lucina for your light, Maya and Garnet because you two won’t be left behind.”

“Yes!” Garnet fist pumped. “Kweh, heh, heh, we shall conquer Meskalamdug’s dungeon and plunder all its secrets.”

Maya rolled her eyes.

“Hagane,” I said, glancing at my nerdy monster girl. “You might have ideas or see something we miss. Usiku in case there is something down there dangerous. We’ll take Paanee, too. Plus all the wildhounds.”

“And the other monster girls?” my mother asked. She gave me a concerned look.

“A will o’ wisp, arachne, satyr, werebear, basilisk, orc, yuki-onna, and a unicorn,” I said. “A small party. It’ll be a tight fit down there.” I glanced over at Lana Fulmine. “You’re in charge while I’m gone.” She was my first companion; it only felt right to let her command.

“I wish you would take more,” said my mother.

“It’s smart,” Terra said. “We’re still getting attacked by adventurers. That last group made it to the Second Labyrinth.”

“No, this is enough,” I said. “The rest of you will be able to handle it. If need be, you can join the fight before it gets to the throne room.”

“We won’t fail you,” said Lana Fulmine. “I’ll keep us safe.”

I winked at her. “I know.”

Fara just squirmed. “When can we go? Now?”

“I have to make a way for us to get down there.” I stretched my back. “And it’s been a long day. Tomorrow, Fara. Tomorrow. First thing. We’ll have provisions for the three of us, and I need to make a way for us to get down. An elevator, I’d say.” Elevators were easy to make. Could I make a horizontal one to make getting to Astovin easier?

That was something to look into.

“Very well, Lord Leo, tomorrow,” Fara said. “My excitement to explore this site is getting the better of me.”

“I get it,” I said, grinning at her. “Trust me, it’s not going anywhere. It’s been down there for five thousand or so years. One more day won’t matter.”

“Very wise,” she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fauraliiithiliana had trouble sleeping.

Lord Leo had created a private room for her to sleep in off the main living area. Through Astovin, he had procured her some books to stock the library. The search for the dungeon had taken over a week. It had been a tedious affair but now they had found it. She could not wait.

She had spent the night tossing and turning. Though her room was lit by magical lanterns, she was well aware that she was beneath all those mountains. She was far from the forest home of her people. No great trees towering over her. No breeze on her face as she slept with her windows open to nature. The scents of leaves, flowers, and bark did not feel her nose.

Stone. Stone. More Stone.

Still, she did not care. She was in an alien place, but it was worth it to find the secrets that she craved. She would explore this dungeon and find out the secrets of the first builder. The one who had first come to this world.

Who was he really?

Why was he brought?

How had this all started?

Only fragments of the past were remembered. So much had been lost thanks to the actions of the marauding dungeon builders. The tragedy of it could not be denied. It was terrible that all that knowledge had not been passed down.

It changes tomorrow, Fauraliiithiliana thought over and over again as she lay on her bed.

Finally, she could stand being in her bed no longer. She wandered out of her bedroom and headed into the dungeon. She padded on bare feet through the dungeon. The stones were not cold to her touch like they should be. Nor was the air chilly. The dungeon was at the perfect temperature to walk naked through it.

Nothing in it could hurt her. I am a denizen of a dungeon, she thought as she passed through the throne room. Nothing more than a monster girl myself. A useless one in a fight, but, still, I will be killed with the rest of them when Leo’s defeat comes.

And it would come. No dungeon builder lasted forever. Fuegin the Inferno might have been around for fifty years and controlled a large tract of land, but a hero or another builder would kill him one day. He could grow lax and an uprising could happen. Someone would kill him.

A new tyrant would take his place.

The cycle would continue over and over again. How long before Leo was impressed in it. Would his perceived weakness of not conquering let other dungeon builders think they could challenge him? He had already killed four of them, including the rising powers of the Twins.

And I am in the middle of his court, Fauraliiithiliana thought. A traitor to my people and world. But she didn’t feel like a traitor. She felt like an explorer, a hero fighting in her own way to save her world. To end the scourge of the dungeon builders, their origin had to be understood. Whatever brought them to her world had a beginning.

It could have an ending, too.

She pondered these thoughts as she passed the guard room where Usiku, Paanee, and Baaghi slept. Monster girls didn’t need sleep, but they must cherish their dreams. They would waken the moment there was an intrusion.

She padded down the hallway and to the water room. The bridge was up and accessible. It would be lowered when the dungeon was attacked. The mermaids were more than happy to operate it for Fauraliiithiliana.

She navigated the third labyrinth with ease, nodding to the orcs and their golden weapons. Not iron, but gold. That was different. She filed that away. She passed the yuki-onna’s fridge room, not feeling the cold on her body. She gained the stairs to the second labyrinth, chatting with the arachnes as they scuttled on the ceiling.

Her restlessness passed her through the Lightning Column Room and into the first labyrinth. The wildhounds and satyrs were excited to see her, as horny as always, but Fauraliiithiliana didn’t desire to have sex. She wanted to feel the air on her face.

She reached the guard room, nodding to the werebears and basilisks, and took the elevator up to the Observation Tower. She climbed up it and stood at its pinnacle. Here, the cold, night air rippled over her naked body. But the wind was real.

The smells of nature were exhilarating.

Her ears twitched and her black hair fluttered in the breeze. She hardly felt the cold as she stared down towards Astovin to the west. Behind her, the world lightened. She turned to face the snowy peaks and watched the sun climb over them.

It was almost time. She drew in deep breaths, rejuvenated by leaving the dungeon behind while still enjoying its protection. She was still in Lord Leo’s power right here, hidden by his illusion. She closed her eyes and savored being beneath the blue sky.

She missed her home, but this was where she belonged. Fauraliiithiliana believed that with her entire being.

And then she was no longer standing on the tower. She was in the throne room. Halia, Garnet, Maya, Hagane, Mrs. Lucina, Paanee, and Usiku were in a circle with her. Around them had appeared the wildhounds (Hela, Ci, Du, Nos, Gwyllt, Cysgo, and Marwo). Sviesos the will o’ wisp, Nimhe the arachne, Havas the satyr, Daant the werebear, Piaro the basilisk, Slepkavi the orc, Prekrasnyy the yuki-onna, and Kin the unicorn.

“That is disconcerting,” Fauraliiithiliana said, blinking. She was still naked, but she was not at the tower.

“You weren’t in your room,” Garnet said. “If you were feeling restless, I would have fucked you. You’re fun to fuck.”

Mrs. Lucina shook her head, her halo glowing over her face and her angelic wings fluttering. “You have a one-track mind, Garnet.”

“Yep!” Garnet said. “I’m just what Leo wants me to be. A dirty, dirty girl like him.”

“He’s a girl?” Maya asked. “News to me.”

“Ssss, he’s a man,” Paanee said, her armless body swaying, her boobs jiggling. “Massster is a man with a big, throbbing cock.”

Garnet puffed out her cheeks. “You know what I meant, Maya! My big bro’s a big perv, and so am I!”

“That he is,” Maya agreed. “Shame he can’t teleport himself around. It’s cool he brought us together, but now…” She tapped her foot, sending waves rippling up her watery form, distorting the curves of her body, even her face.

Which was freckled, Fauraliiithiliana noted. Little dots of darker water marked them. Monster girls are so fascinating.

She glanced over at Nimhe and memories of being bound in webbing played through her mind. She quivered before she remembered that this was an expedition. “I need to get my supplies.”

She darted off just as Leo was entering the throne room, Lana Fulmine at his side, the pair talking. He glanced at her and gasped, “Where are you going?”

“Need my pouch,” she called. “I have to take notes.”

Leo shook his head. “At least the rest of you are ready.” He nodded to Halia who wore her golden armor. “Lana, you are going to do fine.”

“Thanks for your trust.” She smiled. “In the real world, I wouldn’t trust me to watch over a dog.”

“You’re not that train wreck,” Leo said, smiling at her. “You’re my movie starlet.”

Then Fauraliiithiliana darted out of earshot.

Chapter Fifteen

The horizontal elevator worked out great. It used more of my resources, but I had plenty. That last adventuring party had given me a nice boost, something I didn’t want to think about. We all crowded onto the elevator and it moved us sideways down a horizontal shaft that I had made to reach the dungeon below us. I had to start branching out to find it.

It was a shame I found no Mana Vein. I needed three more to get the next level of magic.

“Whee!” Garnet shouted as she stood at the front of the elevator, her black pigtails whipping in the wind behind her.

I shook my head at my little sister.

Fara had dressed in her leaf gown and had her pouch on. Her long ears quivered. She looked like she was going to Disneyland for the first time. I guess visiting a dungeon counted as that. We reached the end of the tunnel in a few minutes, traveling nearly a mile out from the throne room. From here, there was another elevator that took us down.

And it was deep. Two miles into the rock.

Hagane adjusted her glasses as we descended. “The temperature should be increasing, Leo.”

“It’s hotter outside the walls,” I told her. “How did you know that?”

“The deeper you go into the earth, the hotter it gets. It’s a limit to how deep we can dig mines down. The deepest one, a gold mine in South Africa, has temperatures that are nearly impossible to work in. And you say this goes down two miles?”

I nodded.

“We should be boiling.” She looked at the walls and touched the smooth surface whizzing past. “But, I suppose, your dungeon keeps a controlled environment even with such pressures upon it.”

Fara was writing furiously with her phoenix quill, burning her words into the parchment. I glanced at it. The writing looked similar to cuneiform but looked more cursive. Like it had evolved from beyond wedge shapes being pressed into clay tablets.

I felt my own glyphs on my chest almost burning me for a moment. Cuneiform-like symbols. Cuneiform-like writing. What was the connection? I wished I knew more about ancient Mesopotamia. But it wasn’t anything I could do now. No internet for me to access. No Wikipedia for me to access.

Maybe I should get an academic or something for my next companion. I had four more I could get. Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Death. Who? I didn’t know any women who were experts on the Near East, did I?

The elevator reached the room I had made around the tunnel. The stone walls ran through the room. I couldn’t change them. They were a barrier to manipulating the Void Crystal. It had been the first time I ran into someone else’s will.

“Ladies,” I said, motioning to the pickaxes I had placed down here. “Let’s get to mining.”

“Lord Leo!” barked the wildhounds. They surged out ahead of the others, rushing to grab them. Slepkavi came next, the orc grabbing a pickax. She had an Amazonian build. Strong and sexy all at the same time.

Daant grabbed one and sighed. “I can’t hold anything in my paws, or I could really tear this down.”

“I think it will be okay,” Kin said, nodding to the pack of wildhounds.

Their black tails wagging, they were attacking the stone tunnel with enthusiasm, slamming their pickaxes into the joints of the stone. I watched on impassively. Garnet was daring around the room, flying and flitting and unable to stay still. Slepkavi hammered away with the wildhounds. They slowly opened a hole onto a dark tunnel covered in dust.

“It’s so deep,” Maya said. “I can’t believe it. I wonder where the entrance to it is?”

“Well hidden,” Fara said, her ears twitching even more than before. “No one ever found it.”

“Must be a shaft going up somewhere in the mountains,” I said, glancing up at all the stone above us.”

“It’ll be a labyrinth,” Mrs. Lucina said. “We should make markings so we don’t get lost.”

“That’s a great idea, Mother,” Kin said. It seemed the Light monster girls saw Mrs. Lucina as their surrogate mother the way the satyrs and werebears saw my mother as one.

“My webbing can suffice,” Nimhe said. “I can leave it to mark our passage. It will last for weeks.”

“Smart,” Garnet said and then landed on Nimhe’s back and hugged her from behind, riding her like a horse. “You’re so smart.”

“Thank you, little sister,” Nimhe said, the Dark monster girls seeing Garnet as their sister.

“Hela, lead your sisters,” I commanded. “You’re our scouts. I want you to find every active trap. The monster girls are all gone, but the defenses are still going to be in place. Our safety is in your hands.”

“Lord Leo!” Hela gasped and turned to me. “We won’t let you down.”

The pack of nubile monster girls flowed in and spilled in both directions into the tunnels. They were sniffing around, thrusting their cute rumps up into the air. Nimhe scuttled in next with Garnet still riding her followed by Prekrasnyy and Kin. Then Daant and Havas entered. Piaro ventured in next. Slepkavi had her sword out and was standing at the back with Usiku and Paanee, the rear guard. Fara edged closer and peered into the hole. Maya was at her side. Halia had her sword out, ready to leap into the hole if anything attacked.

“There are traps,” shouted Hela. “We’re disabling them, Lord Leo. Give us a few minutes.”

I nodded.

Fara squirmed, her hips wiggling from side to side. I could feel her excitement. We all could. Mrs. Lucina’s halo pulsed. Maya breathed heavily. Garnet was inside having fun. I was already regretting bringing her along.

I loved her, but she didn’t take things as seriously as she needed to.

“It’s dusty in here, big bro,” Garnet reported. She appeared in the breach no longer on Nimhe.

“Lose your ride?” I asked her, amused. I shifted my grip on my lightning spear. It doubled as a walking staff.

“She’s exploring the ceiling for traps. You might have brought more arachnes.”

“Too late now,” I said, glancing at Fara. She was on the verge of just darting in there.

“Traps are disabled,” Hela cried. “The tunnels branch at both ends. I could not tell you which is the right way to go.”

“Well, let’s go right at every option,” I said. “So long as we do that, we’ll get through any maze. Wildhounds, sniff down every branch about thirty feet just to make sure there are no dangers. You have point. Nimhe, you’re right after them, then Kin, Prekrasnyy, Piaro, Sviesos, Daant, and Havas. Usiku, rearguard is yours.”

“Lord Leo!” my monster girls all shouted together, all sounding so excited.

Halia stepped into the hole and I followed her. The tunnel was ten feet wide. The wildhounds had dug up floor tiles and pried out false ceiling tiles and wall bricks to disable the traps. A pit trap had to be walked around.

My heart pounded in my chest. We were the first people to walk in here in five thousand years. The thick layer of dust wasn’t surprising. I felt like one of those explorers who had broken into the Egyptian tombs a hundred years ago. Venturing into the unknown.

I smiled as I looked around. The tunnel was the same sort of bricks I used. If it wasn’t for the layer of dust, I could mistake this for part of my own dungeon. It was even the same temperature, comfortable.

And yet, it felt oppressive. This dungeon did not want me in here. I wasn’t the owner. Meskalamdug had been dead for a long time, but the dungeon still waited for him to return. Was his Soul of the Void Crystal sitting on her perch wondering where he was? Was she waiting in vain for him to return?

Or had she died with him?

“Brilliant and revealing, let the light of Lord Shamash float!” I chanted. A ball of light appeared in the air, the Beginner Tier Light spell shedding light for those of us who had to see. It bobbed before me as I followed my monster girls into the dungeon.

Heading right, I walked amid my monster girls. Garnet managed to take my left arm, my right holding my spear. She clung to me, humming in delight. Fara was just before me, her eyes darting around, recording her thoughts. It was slow going as the wildhounds and Nimhe cleared the territory for any traps.

Halia sneezed.

“Gesundheit,” I said.

She turned and glanced at me. “That’s a strange word.”

“It’s German for ‘Good Health’,” Hagane said, her eyes flicking around the tunnel as much as Fara.

Halia nodded and then sneezed again and a third time, making such cute sounds. I understood why, the dust was thick. The wildhounds were sneezing up a storm ahead as they sniffed around, moving slowly as they covered territory, working together to make sure they missed nothing.

“I am glad I do not breathe,” Hagane said as Garnet was the next to sneeze.

“Lucky you,” said Garnet.

“Yes,” Mrs. Lucina said. My busty angel-MILF’s nose twitched. She looked on the verge of one and then stopped.

“It’s coating my feet, though,” muttered Maya. “I can feel the dust starting to infiltrate my body. It’s so disgusting.”

“You should have Leo make you sexy thigh-high boots,” said Garnet, the only monster girl that wore anything other than armor, like Slepkavi had.

“I can taste it,” Paanee hissed. “Blegh. Every time my tongue flicks out. And it’s coating my scales, Massster.”

“I’m sorry for making you all suffer,” I said.

“It’s not suffering, Lord Leo,” Du called, her head shooting up and looking back at me. Though the wildhounds all looked similar, I could tell them all apart.

“We never mind, Lord Leo,” Sviesos said, glancing back at me. The will o’ wisp smiled dazzled, the roiling plasma, a mix of sapphire and azures swirling together, dancing across her cheeks. The first monster girl I had created moved with a light step.

“You don’t have to breathe,” muttered Garnet. “But that’s okay, big bro. We’re exploring a tomb. That’s so neat.”

We came across more branches, going right each time. Nimhe marked the walls with webbing forming an arrow that pointed which we had gone. Once, we hit a dead-end that had a nasty trap the wildhounds had disabled.

“It would have fired a giant gout of flame down the hallway and incinerated us all, Master,” Marwo reported.

“Damn,” Maya said. “Fire, huh?”

“Most of the traps are fire,” said Hela. “I suspect that was his primary glyph. But we also have found spectral traps. Life stealers.”

“Death magic?” I asked.

The wildhounds nodded.

“Fire and death, huh.”

“He was most infamously known for Fire,” said Fara. “Other than that, none of his Glyphs were known. He was an early one. The opportunities for him to get other glyphs might have been rare.”

“He had a lot of power but not as many options,” I said.

We backtracked and Nimhe put an entire web across the dead-end to let us know never to go that way again. We kept going, moving deeper and deeper until we came to a large room that had a circle inscribed in the middle of the floor.

“What is this?” I asked when we found the circle. Well, two circles one a few inches smaller than the other. Cuneiform markings were inscribed along the edges.

“A summoning circle?” Hagane asked. “Like used in magic?”

“Summoning what?” I glanced at my animated statue. “I summon with the Void Crystal. Why would he be different?”

“The markings are very strange,” said Fara, sketching it. “I believe they are what wizards use to enchant items and what their scrolls are written in. There are glyphs worked into it, too. Wind.” She pointed to three cuneiform-like arrows stacked on each other and pointing the same way. “And Light.”

I recognized seven arrows radiating out from a middle, their heads touching to form an inner circle like a sun with long rays.

“It’s repeated over and over at eight points on the circle,” Fara continued. “Then there is arcane writing in between. This is not dungeon builder magic. This is wizardry. Why would it be here?”

“It’s a teleportation circle,” Halia said. “Some dungeon builders figure out how to work magic. It links to somewhere else if you know the words to speak.”

“Where?” I asked.

Halia gave me a helpless shrug.

“Copy it, Fara,” I said. “This could be useful.”

“I am, Lord Leo,” she said.

“This could be the entrance,” Hagane said. “Imagine if there is a room up high that links to here. A way to get out of here and still have an “entrance.”

I shook my head. “There has to be a way out. Always. Otherwise, it would be too easy for us to find. This must have led somewhere. Probably been destroyed. It’s five thousand years.”

“It is fascinating to see that wizardry as it’s used today is this ancient,” Fara said. “It rose in response to the dungeon builders. Scholars who studied their glyphs and created their own way of working it. Fascinating stuff.”

“Yes,” Hagane said. She stroked a metal finger across the cuneiform-like runes that were around the edges. “Very fascinating.”

After Fara had copied the teleportation circle, we returned to exploring. I wanted to find the entrance. This is connected to my dungeon right now. That meant there was a point of vulnerability, if a small one. Plus, it would let us know where we were in the labyrinth. This could stretch on for levels. If he was as powerful as we suspect, he could have a massive labyrinth.

But so far we hadn’t found it.

“I wonder if he has a single shaft going up to the surface,” said Halia. “And then it’s cleverly hidden. A chimney, like. If it popped out at the top of the peak, it must be impossible to find.”

“And then he used the teleportation circle to get in and out?” I asked. “That makes sense. Lets him have the entrance and use another way to get in and out.”

“A room like your old donkey cave,” Usiku said. “Not connected to the rest of the dungeon but still has an exit. He’s the only one who knows the passcode. It must suck for getting his monster girls in and out.”

“He could always create a proper opening to temporarily let them out,” I said. “They could flood out, reset it, and then use the teleportation circle.”

“And it’s far from the heart of his base in case someone figures out his code,” Garnet said. “Smart. He thought about things.”

I nodded.

“If he hadn’t been killed outside of his dungeon,” said Halia, “he could have grown even more powerful. The world didn’t know much about dungeon builders. He might have taken it over.” She shuddered. “It must have been so scary for our ancestors. They didn’t have wizards to lay wards around cities or clerics praying to the gods.”

“No clerics?” I asked.

“The gods were the ones who came to us to show us how to fight the dungeon builders,” said Halia. “Or so the priests teach.”

Fara nodded.

“Very interesting,” Hagane said.

“Something you want to add?” I asked my nerdy monster girl.

“Not yet, Leo.” She had a slight smile on her lips. “I want to be sure of my suppositions.”

“Okay,” I answered, curious. “What happened to Meskalamdug after he was killed? I know the monster girls vanish, but our bodies don’t.”

“I hope they dismembered him and sent the pieces to the eight pillars of the world,” muttered Halia.

“There is a scrap of a poem that said his body was spirited off,” Fara said. She flipped through her journal. Here it is.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “He had a wife who wasn’t a monster girl and could fly?”

Fara nodded. “It is much debated. This is the only reference to his wife, but as I have long lamented, we had lost much writings and knowledge of the past before the Great Library was constructed. It took us time to perfect wizardry and for the priests to fully understand the powers the Lords and Ladies had given us to defend ourselves. I cannot at all begin to think what the passage means, but if wizardry was advanced enough in Meskalamdug’s time, it is possible he married a mortal woman who mastered wizardry. Halia proves that our peoples can fall in love with a dungeon builder.”

“And I have seen mages fly,” Halia said. “It might even have been her work making the teleportation circle.”

We found stairs that led up to a large room that had six different passages leading off it. I blinked at that. The room itself didn’t seem dangerous. The wildhounds sniffed out of it while my impatience was growing. Six passages. Any of them could lead to the way out. We had already been down here a few hours by now.

“Wildhounds, break up into pairs. The odd one out, go with Nimhe. Explore these tunnels. Disable traps. We don’t need all of you sniffing at the same territory,” I said, stretching my back. “That will let us cover four of these tunnels. We’ll stay here and see what you find.”

“Yes, Lord Leo,” my wildhounds cheered.

“As you command, Lord Leo,” Nimhe said.

They split up into pairs. Gwyllt, the odd one, jumped up beside Nimhe. Then they all headed down the four new tunnels. The wildhounds were sniffing while Nimhe scuttled, her head turning. She had those fractal eyes.

“Usiku, let’s get a perimeter set up,” Halia said.

“That’s a good idea,” Usiku said. “Let’s go monster girls. Sviesos, you stay with Lord Leo since you’re ranged. The rest, I want you all standing by.”

“There’s nothing down here,” Garnet said, her wings fluttering.

“Better safe than sorry,” Maya said. “Let’s not take chances.”

“But what could be down here?” Garnet glanced over at Fara. “What sort of things can be lurking in a dungeon that has no great connection to the surface and has been abandoned for four thousand years? That’s a fricking long time. All the monster girls have gone. Poof.”

“Some monster girls survive the death of their masters,” Fara said. “They’re rare. No one quite knows how it happens. Perhaps they found a new way to sustain themselves without the connection to an active Void Crystal. Maybe one in a thousand. It’s hard to say.”

“So there might be a monster girl down here?” asked Garnet.

“Probably not,” Fara said. “Four thousand years is a long time.”

“A dragon could have found his or her way down here,” added Halia. “But I doubt that. They tend to make nests in abandoned dungeons that are easy to get into. This place is not easy. We’re too deep. No dungeon builder has ever gone this deep before. Not that I’ve heard of.”

“Dragon?” Garnet asked. “Aren’t those just a type of monster girl?”

Halia shook her head. “They’re rare beasts, but they’re not created by dungeon builders. They are native to our world.”

“Dragons are the original monsters,” said Fara. “They haunted this world before the dungeon builders. They are even, rarely, subjugated by builders. The females, anyways. They can be bound like Halia or I can. They are creatures of immense power, associated with one of the Twelve Elements. Because of all their power, they can be quite lazy. They have a hard time regaining the mana they expend. So they spend a great deal of time hibernating. They sleep away eons before emerging to cause problems then retreat to a lair when they are running low on mana.”

“Huh,” Garnet said. “A dragon would make such a neat pet, big bro. We totally should get one.”

“I don’t think so,” I muttered.

“But I’ll take care of her, big bro!” My little sister charged over to me, her black pigtails flying behind her. She stood coquettishly before me, her eyes fluttering as she stared up at me. “I would feed her and clean up after her and everything.”

“A dragon’s not a puppy,” I said. “It’s a much bigger responsibility.”

Garnet puffed out her cheeks. “I’m not a child. I’m fourteen! A succubus! I can handle it.”

I arched an eyebrow at her. “No. We have more important things to do than go out and hunt down a dragon.”

“But…” She gave me the cutest, most adorable begging look ever. “Pleeeeease?”

“No. You have the wildhounds for pets,” I said.

“I love the puppies, but I’m ready for a dragon.” She squirmed in place, her tail swishing back and forth. “I’m responsible.”

Maya snorted.

“Now Maya’s picking on me, big bro!”

“Yes, she is,” I said. I put a hand on my little sister’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we’re not getting a dragon. I’ll get you something else. How about a pony.”

Her wings fluttered. “A pony? That I can ride around on and look so cute doing it.”

I nodded.

She squealed and threw her arms around my neck. She pressed her body into me and rained kisses on my face. I grabbed her rump and then her lips met mine. She felt wonderful kissing me. The incestuous thrill of making out with my own little sister shot through me.

“Lord Leo,” Hela sent. “Ci and I have found just dead-ends this way. Just a few empty rooms. Traps disabled.”

“Come back,” I sent to them.

“Yeah, this is a labyrinth on our end, Lord Leo,” Du sent. “Nos and I are sniffing around, but just a lot of nothing.”

“One of these paths has to lead to the quarters,” Fara said, the elf closing her eyes. “Please, keep looking.”

“Of course!” Nos sent.

Hela and Ci soon came back and joined the guard. They had gone down the shortest path, it seemed. The other teams were moving deeper and deeper. Fara interrogated the two wildhounds that returned to see if anything interesting had been spotted. Didn’t sound like it.

Cysgo and Marwo were the next team to complete their section. They scampered back. “We found a room that was too hot for us to get through,” Marwo reported. “It’s a trap room. There’s a door at the end. I bet it goes somewhere important, but we’ll need your magic to get through.”

“We’ll wait for everyone to get back,” I said. “That sounds important. Perhaps our way forward.”

“I just hope we’re not missing any secret rooms,” Maya said. “Your concealing doors are amazing.”

“We’ve seen no sign of Dark magic,” Hela said. “I think we’d notice if there was any. It calls to us. Darkness… It’s wonderful down here. So black, Lord Leo.”

Garnet sneezed. “I’m glad someone likes it down here,” she muttered and wiped at her nose. “Too dusty.”

Nimhe and Gwyllt scurried back a few minutes later. “We found a room that sapped life. It was freaky.” Gwyllt shuddered. “We couldn’t get through it without dying, Lord Leo.”

“Damn,” I muttered, staring at the way they came. “Two different impassible trap rooms? I thought those would be dead after all these years.”

“Void Crystal is still active,” Fara said. “It’s fueling all the traps still. Maintaining the temperature down here. It didn’t sustain the monster girls, but the rest of the environmental hazards are still active. More proof that nothing’s been here.”

“No dragon,” sighed Garnet.

“How’s it going, Du and Nos?” I sent. “You’re the last team.”

“Big labyrinth here,” Nos sent. “We’ve been down a dozen false branches. One really long tunnel that ended at nothing. Lots of traps. It’s slow going. We think we’re on the last section.”

I itched to go to the fire or the death room. I had Ice and Life magic. I should have the ability to counter whatever was in those rooms. Or figure out a way to disable the magic. I flexed my fingers and tapped my foot.

Du suddenly died.

I felt her death. I gasped as Nos screamed, “Fire! There’s fire!”

Then she died.

I stared at the tunnel they had gone down, my jaw dropping. What had just happened? What had killed them so fast? Fire? Did they blunder into a trap? My heart raced as everyone stared at me. They wouldn’t have felt the deaths.

Something had killed two of my monster girls.

“Let’s go,” I growled.

To be continued…

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