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Story Codes: Fantasy, Gamelit, 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 20.

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Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

Chapter Forty-Six

The next day, after reviving all my monster girls and spending that time recovering, I thought about how to redesign my dungeon. I conjured a table and paper and was sketching some ideas when Nina Naughty entered the room.

“Sup, Director,” my devil said, her big boobs jiggling. My favorite porn star in the world hopped on my desk, glancing down at my writings.

“What’s up?” I asked her. “Bored? How’s the translating with Fara going?”

“Tedious,” she said. “We have been trying to figure out what characters are the most common and figure out what they mean, but cuneiform is, well, it’s partly syllabic which means each mark represents a syllable instead of just one letter. But it’s also partially logographic. Like Egyptian hieroglyphics, they also represent concepts. Like bird, wheat, bear, man, woman. The concept of punctuation isn’t a thing, either. No spacing between the characters. So it’s hard to say what is and isn’t words, but we made some progress.”

“Oh?”

“Meskalamdug is looking for his mother,” she said. “We have figured that much out.”

“Mother?” I asked.

“We can’t figure out the name. We think we’ve found the name, but mother and search are the only words we’ve deciphered so far.” She sighed. “It would be great if we had a Rosetta stone.”

“That’s how hieroglyphics were broken, right?” I asked.

She nodded.

“And how about cuneiform?”

“That’s the bible’s fault,” said Nina. She had this impish grin. “Ever heard of Aramaic.”

“Uh… No.”

“It’s the language spoken in Jesus’s time. Some of the new Testament is written in Aramaic and many of the Second Temple writings of Judaism are also in Aramaic. You see, the Jews started speaking Aramaic, a close tongue to Hebrew, after the Babylonian exile. The original inhabitants of Babylon, the Akkadians, were a Semitic people. They spoke Aramaic. Their script is the square Hebrew letters used to this day. They also used their own form of cuneiform. There is a monument we found that has the same message written in Aramaic, Akkadian Cuneiform, and Sumerian Cuneiform. It was the key. And from there, we found dictionaries. The Babylonians made dictionaries of Sumerian words. It was all rather simple after that.”

“But we don’t have these dictionaries.”

“Not unless you want to make your next monster girl an expert in cuneiform,” she said. “Do you know any?”

“Nope.”

“Well, we’re working on it, Director.” She paused. “There is something else.”

“Hmm?”

“What are the names of the gods of this world?”

I stared at her. It was a strange question. “Ahh…” I said them all the time. What were they. “Lord Enlil and Lady Uttu are lightning.” My first glyph. “Lord Zuen and Lady Ninazu are Dark.” I rubbed at my head. “It’s easier to say them casting spells… Uh… Lady Ianna is life. So is Lord Dumazid.”

Nina winked at me. “Lord Gibil and Lady Lamashtu are of Fire, Lord Anu and Lady Tiamat are of Air, Lord Enki and Lady Ninli are of Water, Lord Abzu and Lady Ki are of Earth, Lord Anshar and Lady Kishar are of Ice, Lord Nabu and Lady Nisaba are of Metal, Lord Nergal and Lady Ereshkigal are of Death, Lord Shamash and Lady Sherida are of Light, and Lord Ishkur and Lady Kittu of Thunder.” She arched an eyebrow. “Are any of those names familiar?”

“Er… Did you say Tiamat?” I leaned back in my chair. “I know that name. It’s… it’s a dragon goddess in D&D. The evil dragon goddess. And Baphomet is a good god. And Nergal. He always struck me as sound like a death god.”

“Tiamat is a dragon god in D&D because, in the Sumerian pantheon, she was the Goddess of Chaos. A great beast who was disemboweled to create the world.” Nina landed in. “They’re all Sumerian gods. Some are obscure, but all twenty-four of the Gods of this world are from our world, Director. I had Fara write them down. They all started clicking. Many of them are married in our world. Enlil and Enki are brothers. Shamash is the Sky God. Ianna is another name for Ishtar, the fertility goddess.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“That this all comes from Sumeria,” she said. “The glyphs, the first dungeon builder, the gods of this world. None of them were native. Not them. Not the monster girls. Only dragons, as far as Fara knows. So why are the gods helping the people they invaded. And why are they your enemy?”

“They let me use their magic,” I protested.

“Let them, or do you take.” She arched an eyebrow. “Like how you take the mana veins and use them to power your dungeon.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. “I never thought about it. But there must be a reason that Lady Sherida has blessed Halia. That she supports us. A schism in the gods.”

“Maybe.” Nina Naughty leaned forward. “This mother that he’s searching for. I think she’s important. She might be the Incarnate. I don’t know. But his name. Meskalamdug. I feel like I’ve read it somewhere. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t quite remember it.”

“What do you need to translate this?”

“We need to find more ancient sites that have cuneiform. Build up a larger vocabulary.” Nina hopped off the table. “But we’ll keep at it. If I can figure out what the mother’s name is, maybe that will trigger something.”

“Keep at it,” I said. This all came from Sumeria. Why? “You know, there’s something that I’m curious about. Led… He didn’t seem to get his second power from conquering another dungeon builder. He didn’t give me access to two Level 1 monster girls. So how did he get Light?”

“Ask Smerta,” said Nina Naughty. “She was his first, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “That sounds like something I need to do.”

As Nina Naughty left, I headed to my Vault and grabbed the Void Crystal. I concentrated and summoned Smerta to my presence. My valkyrie appeared wearing her armor. She blinked in surprise and then smiled. Her armor vanished.

“Feeling frisky, Leo?”

“No,” I said. “You were with the twins from the beginning, right?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course. Led summoned me that first day. It was heady. We were right by the dwarves. He and Ziamili teamed up. They conquered the dwarves. It was easy with Zmiaja. She was Ziamili’s wife, the gorgon.”

“Her,” I muttered, anger swelling in me. I didn’t want her, and she hadn’t wanted to be mine.

“Then we had to deal with his other dungeon keeper. He had metal. Ziamili killed him.” Smerta shrugged. “He got Metal while Led, well, he was more interested in poking around in his dungeon. I spent a lot of time outside. One day, he just had Light. I didn’t care how he got it. I was keeping the dwarf slaves in line.”

“I see,” I said, frowning. “He didn’t leave his place.”

“Nope,” Smerta said.

“Did he teleport around?” I stared at her. “Did he tell you how he made that teleporter?”

“They sacrificed a mana vein for that. They were excited. They had a tip about a dungeon builder that had more glyphs. A protector of Astovin. They wanted to take you out. So they established the teleporter outside your dungeon and moved us through. They sent Ziamili to raid Astovin and pull you away while we hit the dungeon. Only you got back too soon and ruined our first attack.”

I smiled. “Yeah, we tend to do that.” An idea was popping into my head. “I’ve been told there are other ways to gain powers than killing a dungeon builder. You said Led liked to spend most of his time inside. What was he doing?”

“No idea,” Smerta asked. “He didn’t tell us. He had his study. His private space. No one was allowed in. Especially not Feya.” The valkyrie shrugged. “They did not get along. They fought all the time. She was mad I was chosen first.”

“You didn’t love him,” I said. “Why not?”

“He didn’t want us to love him.” Smerta smiled. “You do. He wanted us to desire him. A difference, no? You can hate what you desire. No, it is wrong. Destructive. You can despise yourself for giving in to it.” She smiled. “Love is different, is it not. I think that matters how monster girls act. It’s all dependent on you. Our builder.”

“Thanks,” I said. I grabbed my Void Crystal. I wanted to go out to the dwarven lands. “Can you ask Fara if she has accurate maps of the Vorianil Mountains and where the Twins’ dungeon is at?”

“South of Great Kharabarnath, the dwarven capital,” she said. “I’ll get it done.”

“Thanks.”

I delved my thoughts into my Void Crystal. I had ideas, but first, I needed to find Mana Veins. I began writing over Meskalamdug’s dungeon, destroying what he made. Mana Veins had to intersect the place. Bit by bit, I worked, searching. I needed more power. What if the Gods sent another “saint” like Anguin to attack me.

What if another dungeon builder with more strength than me attacked? I had to be ready.

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

Halia stood on the green, the village’s pasture still damaged from the attack. She looked out at the villagers who had gathered. “Who here wants to be an adventurer?”

A few of the young men thrust up hands. One girl did, too.

Halia smiled. There were always a few. Her promise to her father swept through her. “I want to train you. Mold you. Help you develop your skills as warriors. I hope to find others. Thieves and mages that can teach their skills. Maybe even more clerics of Sherida.”

I can’t trust the other gods.

“Why?” Mayor Bevlin asked, staring at me.

“I want those who want to fight for our world!” Halia cried. She pulled her blessed sword from her scabbard. “I want men and women who will stand with Lord Leo and attack those dungeon builders who are plaguing our world. He cannot do it on his own. He needs supporters. He needs brave men and women who will stand against those who are evil. Who hurt us.”

Men like Fuegin! Leo trusted him, but Halia knew that he was a snake.

“Swear yourself to Lord Leo and earn the benefits of serving a dungeon builder,” Halia cried. “We will be ambassadors and defenders. Paladins and knights and saviors of our world. Something has to change. The way we have operated for all these thousands of years is not working. We must work with the good ones.”

All of the villagers were nodding. They were all looking excited. Men and women and even children. The brash ones pushed forward. Young men I had grown up with like Karvin, Melin, and Nomaz. With them was Bellia, one of the girls kidnapped by that disgusting Jindag. She looked eager.

“We have thought about it,” said Mayor Bevlin. “Since the attack yesterday, we have been discussing it. We were not able to evacuate as fast as we could have if… if we had been Lord Leo’s vassals.”

Halia blinked.

“It is true that he can teleport his servants about his domain?” Mayor Bevlin asked. “He could have taken us into a place of safety in his dungeon. Those who could not fight.”

“Yes,” Halia said slowly. “But only if you’re inside the confines of his dungeon.”

“We are a target now,” said Mayor Bevlin. “Leo has challenged Lord Shorvin’s dominion over us. He might raise an army. Send more adventurers. Not just to attack Leo, but us. He has sworn to protect us, well… We wish to swear to him.”

“You’ll be bound to the Void Crystal,” said Halia in shock. “Your lives tied to him. If he ever failed, you would all die.”

“Do you think they would let us live after we had willing served a dungeon builder?” shouted Farmer Hovlin.

Others cried out, “NO!”

“The gods sent the corrupted form of Anguin to exterminate us,” said Mayor Bevlin. “We are already in danger of being wiped out. Our future is with Lord Leo. Please, we need his protection. We will be his servants. Grow his food. Provide him with soldiers.”

“Adventurers,” Halia said. “I… I have to talk to him.”

“Of course,” the mayor said, bowing his head.

Halia was bewildered. She just wanted to start recruiting adventurers to help attack other dungeon builders. Especially the low-level ones. She pictured strike forces of warriors, thieves, mages, and monster girls working together. Leo had a finite number of defenders he could make, but there was no saying how many humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings could swear to him.

He could have an army as loyal as his monster girls if they would swear to the Void Crystal. Their lives tied to his. To free her world from the curse of the dungeon builders, they had to solve the mystery of why they were there.

And to do that, Leo needed power. He needed to spread his dominion. He had to be protected at all cost. The hundreds of villagers of Astovin were a start. With his rituals, he could make the plants grow with more prosperity. Bloom, it was called. He had never used it, but she knew he had access to it. Life magic.

“I will go and speak with him,” Halia said and headed towards the dungeon entrance.

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

“This is frustrating,” I muttered. I had covered all of Meskalamdug’s dungeon save for the important room. The one with the inscription. I couldn’t risk destroying it. “How did I only find a Mana Vein, Souleen.”

“They are mysterious,” she said. “Maybe Fara understood it better. Maybe they do not last forever.” The little woman gave a helpless shrug. “I’m sorry, Lord Leo.”

I was back to three veins. I could make Isatu into a dragon, in a pinch. Or this teleportation method the Twins used. It seemed so costly to sacrifice one vein to establish it. Was I just unlucky that there wasn’t a lot where I was?

“Well, the Twins’ veins should be in place,” I muttered.

“The Twins?” asked Souleen. “Aren’t they far away.”

“Far when traveling over mountainous terrain. But a straight line underground… I can make my dungeon go for miles. Killing Anguin gave me a lot of energy.” I gripped the stone and drew back all but the tunnel that led down to Meskalamdug’s Vault and the inscription. I kept the bend to hit that one mana vein. The rest I removed so I could have more distance. “Fara will pinpoint it. Then we can figure out just what Led found. I would love to gain an ability not taken by force.”

“Lord Leo,” Halia said. “Can you meet me in the village? They want to swear to you.”

I froze. “What?”

“The entire village wants to be your servants. They know they will continue to be targeted. They… They want you to teleport them to safety if there’s danger.”

“But that means I have to extend the dungeon to include their village,” I said. “Can I even do that?”

“I really don’t know,” she said. “But they are scared and know that you are all that stands between them.” She hesitated. “And I have a plan. I want to build an army of adventurers sworn to me as I am. Men and women who will fight against the evil dungeon builders. Something has to change, Lord Leo. My world has failed to solve this problem on our own. Cooperation is needed. You taught me that.”

I gripped the gem. “They can die.”

“I know. Adventurers take that risk. For the glory. The riches. But also because it’s a fight worth dying for, Lord Leo. Your monster girls can only do so much. You need the help of the people of this world unless you want to be a monster like Fuegin and crush them through fear.”

“No!” Fuegin had told me what he had done to achieve peace. It was monstrous. I mulled it over in my mind. “You’re right. I can’t do this on my own. You and Fara are the start.”

I gathered up my companions, leaving Fara to figure out the distance and direction to the Twins’ dungeon. My ten companions moved around me. I was missing only Wind and Thunder. I didn’t want to kill a dungeon builder to achieve it.

It took about an hour to walk out to Astovin. The tunnels made this easier than walking overland. I thought about means to speed it up. If I had a mage who could work out those teleportation circles Meskalamdug had, that would be awesome. If not, maybe I could just have, I don’t know, horses or something.

Maybe those golems I could make could be shaped like a horse and could gallop too and fro. The only way I could move fast was to move my Vault around and me with it. But that was dangerous. Left my Void Crystal exposed.

My plans to expand my dungeon were bold. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. To control a large amount of territory, I needed to thrust my dungeon far and wide to move my monster girls about.

I bet Fuegin did that. It was how he ruled his nation.

I arrived in Astovin. Halia was there in her golden armor. She led me out into the sunlight. I blinked against it. I so rarely saw it. It felt wonderful. The people of Astovin were on the green. The survivors of Anguin’s attack. His butchery of his own people.

Twenty-three had died.

The villagers knelt. More than a few of the young women beamed at me. I shifted. Those hungry eyes. A few of the older women, too. I swallowed. I would have to tread carefully. I threw my arms wide as I stood before them, Garnet and Maya flanking me, the others of my companions around me.

“Do you really understand what you are doing?” I demanded. “Do you know what swearing to me will mean?”

The hundreds of kneeling men, women, and children all cried out, “Yes!”

“We know what we are doing, Lord Leo,” Mayor Bevlin said.

I shook my head in shock by this. “Okay. Swear.”

They spoke the words. They resonated through the air. Their oaths fell on me. Through me, they were bound to the Void Crystal. That was how my powers worked. Words. Oaths. Promises. Commands. They gave meaning to our thoughts, purpose to our ideas.
Words shaped the world.

I stared out at them in awe. I would protect them. Protect them all. I glanced at Halia. She had a bright smile on her lips. These were her people. She had led them to this. Been their example. She would be an example to the entire world.

I pulled her to me and kissed her. She groaned into the kiss while my subjects rose. A great chorus of jubilation rose through them. Elation shot through me. I had been accepted here. I would spread that. Use them as an example. Win allies to my cause.

A throat cleared.

I broke the kiss and glanced at Mayor Bevlin. The older man looked uncomfortable. “Yes?”

“Er, I am sorry to bother you, my lord,” he said, looking embarrassed. “It’s just… We’ve started to pick up signs. Another dungeon builder has appeared in the valley. One of the farmers thought he saw a black-skinned woman with white hair. Her eyes glowed white.”

“A lemure,” said Halia.

“A Level 1 Death monster girl,” I said, glancing to Morana. My banshee’s cloak of misty shadows radiated around her. “She’s not one of mine, Lord Bevlin.”

“Then you shall exterminate him?” the mayor asked, his voice tremulous.

I swallowed. “Maybe, but first…” Fuegin didn’t exterminate me. “But first, I have to speak with him. Guide him. Feel him out. Another dungeon builder in our alliance wanting to save this world and not destroy it… We have to try to make him into an ally.”

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

I had to give this man a chance. He was like me, plucked from our world and plunged into this one. Enemies would beset him. It could turn him cruel fast. The power could corrupt him. He needed a…

A mentor.

I had to try.

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

Sulanga Stormfury watched as his monster girls swarmed into Sharithin, the halfling city that had defied him for too long. At his side stood his first companion, Paetu. A dusky-skinned woman with long, flowing black hair and large breasts. Her hard nipples were pierced by gold rings. Matching bracers clad her arms.

His djinn and his brother’s wife. The woman Sulanga had wanted for so long. She had rejected him in the real world, but here she was his slave.

“Master, the hippogriffs are performing wonderfully,” she purred.

Sulanga nodded, seeing his wind monster girls soaring over the village and attacking.

“Not as well as my phoenixes,” hissed Esclava. The ifrit stood on Sulanga’s other side. His second companion. A fashion model that was on all the billboards about Colombo back in Sri Lanka. Her beauty had inflamed him. Now she was his slave. Tall and busty, her skin dark-red. When she became a whirlwind of fire, she devastated. “Look at them burn.”

Smoke rose from the town. Floods of halflings raced out of the city.

“Look,” growled Vilkas. She was his raiju, his lightning companion. Made of blue-white plasma, she had wolfish ears thrusting out of her hair and a predator’s eyes. A tail of static electricity, as bushy as any canine, swished behind them. Once his boss, now she was his slut. His slave. “My thunderbirds have them.”

The refugees screamed as the thunderbirds swooped down on their wings of crackling electricity. Bolts of lightning smote them, ripping them apart. A mage fired a ball of fire from the halflings, an impotent act of defiance.

Sulanga smiled, loving the carnage that his monster slaves unleashed.

“But don’t forget my werewolves,” purred Sulanga’s last companion. Peda, his mother. The busty treant had woody skin and small branches thrusting from the top of her smooth head covered in green leaves. “They are going to tear them apart.”

Bursting out of the fields were great wolves that crashed into the halflings and tore.

Sulanga smiled at the carnage. The world had to learn that defying his kind was not a wise decision to make. “They thought this Lord Leo would come and help them. Can you believe it?”

His companions joined him in laughter. He felt them squirming. All four ached to know which one of them had pleased him. And which one had not. One would be rewarded. And one would be punished. He watched the fighting and their forces of monster girls, deciding who would be the most fun to discipline.

Sulanga savored this world. He would never be weak again.

“Perhaps we should crush this Lord Leo,” he mused. “Show those that are inspired by him that there is no hope. No one will ever save them.”

He liked the idea as he watched Sharithin fall.

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