Chapter 16: Dungeon Ciara

Tuesday, March 28th, 8:55 AM

Dungeon Ciara

Joe produced four of the plastic grocery bags they’d been keeping in Mike’s pack, then handed them to the others. “We’ll need to bring most of this back for everyone else. Scurvy hasn’t been a problem for a long time, and we should keep it that way.”

Mike took one and started to fill it. “Don’t stuff the bags too full. We can always make another trip if necessary. Besides, getting back isn’t a long walk.”

[Walk?] [When walk?] Two female voices spoke with raw excitement, but there was no echo inside the cave.

“What? Who said that?” Joe looked around with one eyebrow raised. The others looked back with similar expressions.

“We’re not alone.” Mike dropped the bag to grab his rifle. Joe moved ahead of him, switching on the flashlight beneath his Glock.

[Big human coming.] [Is walk-time?] The voices continued.

As he followed the curved stone ramp that led up to the Dungeon’s entrance, Joe saw only the two Yellow Labs and Mr. Stapp, who’d curled up to sleep against one of the stone walls.

Joe stepped outside for a look around while the dogs followed, then called down to Mike, “Entrance is secure.”

He stopped to rub the dogs’ heads and muttered, “Maybe I was just hearing things…”

[Yes, human.] [Sandy likes human!]

Joe’s brow furrowed. He stopped rubbing their heads and stared at the dogs in disbelief.

“Did… you just talk?”

[Human keep rubbing head?] the higher of the two voices said slowly. The darker dog cocked her head to one side and raised her eyebrows.

[Sunny likes human.] The lighter Lab let her tongue hang out, smiling at Joe.

“Heh. I’ll be damned. We’ve already got healing, Dungeons, and Dragons. So, why not talking dogs?” Joe chuckled and rubbed their heads again.

Siobhán and Joy scrambled around the bend into the Crow’s Nest. Rihelah followed close after, dragging Michael behind her, and more footsteps sounded behind them.

[Dungeon is Mommy,] both voices said in unison.

“Girls, is that true? Is Professor O’Connor here? How are you talking? I love you girls so much!” Siobhán’s voice broke. She fell to her knees in front of the dogs and touched the sides of their faces while her tears flowed freely.

[Mommy made smart.] [Strong Mommy!]

[Sunny loves Soybean.] [Sandy loves all beans.] [Sunny too!] The dogs wagged their tails furiously and licked Siobhán’s hands.

[Mommy misses students,] they said in unison.

“Beans… you girls know that’s her nickname for us. You’re so smart!” Joy broke down beside Siobhán, and Rihelah followed suit.

[Mommy says hi.] [Mommy loves beans!]

The next five minutes were filled with the ugliest crying from the three women as they hugged the dogs and one another. The others stood respectfully back, taking in the scene and listening to the dogs talk with looks of awe and wonder.

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Technically, a Dungeon can’t cry. Not physically.

It’s hard to do that when your consciousness resides in a hovering glow-stone. But inside, I sobbed uncontrollably after I heard my wonderful girls’ voices for the first time. Their adoring words of loyalty matched every bit of the pure devotion I’d felt from them since they were puppies.

After they started talking with the humans, and my students got involved, I choked up so hard from it all that I had trouble speaking to my pups.

I can communicate with people again.

After losing my former body and becoming a Dungeon Core, I thought for certain that I’d lost everyone dear to me.

And now, I could send messages to my beans—my wonderful, bright students who’d made work such a pleasure.

[Girls, I need you to tell the humans that Mommy’s here to help. Tell them they’re welcome to the food.]

[Mommy want food?] [Sandy fetch!]

There were murmurs of confusion among the humans.

[No, girls. Tell the humans they can have the fruit.]

[Mommy says no…] Both dogs sulked.

“No, to what? Sandy? Sunny? What’s wrong, girls?” Siobhán asked.

The dogs looked at one another. [Fruit smell funny.] [Sunny not like.]

“Wait—is the fruit bad? Is it radioactive?” With a look of horror, Rihelah spat out a cherry she’d been chewing.

A few other humans followed suit, littering my entry with pulp. I suppressed a gag when my Dungeon absorbed their mess.

Right. They always look sad when I say no.

[Tell them the fruit is safe!]

[Safe fruit.] [Sandy like fish.]

Sunny looked at her sister. [Sunny want fish.]

[Fish!] They stood with ears perked up.

The Labs bolted through the entrance and raced to the ocean while the humans exchanged glances.

This is going to take some getting used to.

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After the dogs disappeared beneath the waves, Joe chuckled at Mike as they stepped onto the beach, with the others’ footsteps following close behind. “This shit is FUBAR.”

“Yeah. Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.” Mike stared at the ocean.

“There’s no mess,” Jeffrey Stapp exclaimed from inside the Crow’s Nest.

Joe raised an eyebrow and trotted back inside.

“What do you mean? What mess?” Joe asked the old man.

“Them dogs were eating fish right next to me. Big ol’ fish. Guts and scales everywhere—but it’s clean,” Mr. Stapp continued, seeming to ignore Joe entirely.

“My cherry!” Rihelah exclaimed.

“Uh…” Michael glanced sideways at her.

“It’s gone. I spat out the one I’d been chewing, but…” She got on her knees and swept her hands across the floor.

“My orange, too.” One of the others said from the doorway, with a furrowed brow.

“There’s some fuckery going on here. Everyone get outside and stay there.” Mike cautioned.

“Where’s Sio?” Joy looked around.

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“Professor, are you in here?” Siobhán called into the tunnel ahead of her.

The only reply was her voice, echoing for a few seconds.

She froze up for a second when her cheap flashlight flickered, but it didn’t seem to be dimming just yet, so she crawled onward through the surprisingly-clean and smooth passage.

Ahead of Siobhán, a glint of silk appeared, and it moved. She stopped to shine her light from different angles.

What was that? A Black Widow, maybe?

She shuddered a little.

While not technically afraid of spiders, Siobhán had studied them extensively and gained a healthy respect for those whose bites were medically-significant.

Trusting her knowledge, she edged forward.

“Sio! Where are you?” Joy’s voice came through the tunnel behind her.

“Just checking something. I’m okay! Be back in a minute,” she replied.

There was nothing when she reached the location where she’d seen the glint.

Damn brain. Stop playing tricks on—

Siobhán’s mouth fell open.

Ahead of her, the passage ended in what looked like a basement.

Gulping, she pressed on.

“What the hell? This is Professor O’Connor’s basement.” She regarded the pristine interior, wondering if she was dreaming as she shined her light over the familiar space.

Siobhán jumped a little when she spotted two yellow eyes regarding her. Then she recognized their owner.

“Nino! Hey there, pretty kitty! Aww, you survived, too!”

Nino didn’t move from her perch atop the water heater. The cat just shut her eyes, unfazed by Siobhán’s arrival.

So, this is how they survived! The Professor’s old bomb shelter!

“ProfCon? It’s Soybean! Are you home?”

Again, the only replies were the echo of her voice and Joy calling faintly through the hole in the basement wall.

The lack of any mess drew her attention as she scanned about with her light.

How is the place spotless? There’s no sand in the tunnel, or in here. The dogs have been out on the beach…

More than three weeks had passed since the bomb with three animals living in the O’Connor basement, but Siobhán could hardly smell anything.

Someone’s cleaning up after the animals.

She checked the dark suede sofa in the main living space, where the dogs often napped.

There wasn’t a trace of fur on it.

She’s alive!

Moving through the basement as quickly as she dared with only her flashlight, Siobhán continued calling for her teacher.

She stopped to stare at the darkness where the wall at the end of the storage room used to be.

Siobhán’s breath caught when she reached the end of the basement, where a huge cavern opened before her. Stalactites hanging from its ceiling seemed to be carved, rather than grown. And there were no stalagmites on the perfectly-flat floor.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A glimmer shone high on the rear wall, and Siobhán centered the flashlight to illuminate a perfect orb web.

Orb weavers don’t usually spin their webs in caves! That doesn’t make much sense. None of this makes sense.

The sound of running feet echoed through the basement, and Siobhán moved back to the storage room door to shine her light at the hole where she’d entered.

Sunny and Sandy rushed in a few seconds later to shake their fur out. They licked at each other for a moment and Siobhán’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when the sand and saltwater droplets vanished before her eyes.

“Girls… what’s happening? Where’s your Mommy?”

[Mommy watching.] [Mommy is here.] Their tongues hung out.

“Where? I don’t see her.” Siobhán’s arm hair stood on end as she looked around again.

[Mommy everywhere.] [Soybean safe.]

“What do you mean, she’s everywhere?” Siobhán looked askance at the Labs.

[Mommy is Dungeon,] the dogs said in unison.

Siobhán shook her head and squinted hard for a moment.

“What do you mean, Mommy’s a dungeon?”

[Bean want stay?] [Live with us?]

“Girls, what are you—of course, I want to live with you, but here? Is it safe? Where would everyone else stay? How is any of this even happening?” Siobhán caught herself against the water heater, and a small paw smacked the top of her head.

“Sorry, Nino.” She sniffed a half-laugh.

I need to sit down.

She went to the couch, and two damp dogs piled beside her. Their bodies were warm, and she felt emotionally drained.

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Siobhán felt a soft hand rubbing her upper arm.

“Mm?”

“Sio, how could you just fall asleep in here? I know it’s Ciara’s old basement, but—Sio? Wake up.” She could hear Rihelah, but it was so cozy she just wanted to sleep.

The hand patted her left cheek, and Siobhán opened her eyes. She sat up straight.

“Rihelah? Uh… I was—”

“Sleeping. In a familiar place, with two puppies. I get it. But everyone’s waiting for us, you know. We need to go. Papa Mike and Uncle Joe insisted.”

“How long was I—”

“About a half hour, sleepy butt! Let’s move it. Think the old stairs still work?”

“Uh… maybe?” Siobhán shifted Sunny’s head off her lap and stood to stretch for a moment.

The women started for the door.

[Beans want stay?] [Mommy misses beans.]

“Oh, that’s right.” Siobhan stopped to look at Rihelah.

“What’s right?” Rihelah asked.

“They offered for us to live here with them.”

“That wouldn’t be so bad, I guess—especially if we find the Professor. Have you seen her?”

“No. But the girls insist that she’s here. Maybe we should go look for her?”

“Everyone’s waiting, remember?” Rihelah continued toward the door.

“Ah, right. Anyway, I don’t really wanna be crawling through a long tunnel to get outside.”

“Yeah, same.”

When they stepped into the first hallway, the dogs spoke. [Mommy make big.] [Beans walk easy.]

Rihelah turned and kneeled to beckon the dogs over.

“Girls, where’s your mommy now?”

[Mommy watching.] [Mommy is.]

Rihelah looked around with her flashlight. “I don’t see her.”

[Beans inside Mommy.] [Dungeon Mommy.]

“They’ve been saying things like that, but I don’t understand what they’re—Rihelah?” Siobhán waved a hand in front of her friend’s face.

Rihelah turned to face her with wide eyes.

“Girls,” Rihelah began, “is the Dungeon your mommy?”

[Yes,] they replied in unison.

“Is she the same mommy you had since you were little?” she continued.

[Mommy is Mommy?] The dogs looked at one another, seeming perplexed.

“How can we talk to her?” Siobhán asked.

[Live in Dungeon.] [Live with Sunny.] [Sandy too!] Their tails wagged madly.

“Who said that?” Siobhán trembled in fear as she scanned frantically around them with her light.

“You heard it, too?” Rihelah asked as she did the same.

Rihelah’s hand tapped Siobhán’s, and Sio grasped it.

“I don’t see anyone. Maybe something was talking into our heads like Joe said?” Siobhán asked.

Rihelah squeezed her hand, and Siobhán reciprocated.

“I guess. I mean, magic is real, so maybe we should accept and see what happens?” Rihelah shrugged in the dim light.

“If it means we can heal people like Joe does, that would be pretty amazing,” said Siobhán, half-chuckling.

“Why not, then? Oh!” Rihelah’s body glowed with a soft blue light immediately after she accepted.

“Rihelah! Are you okay? What happened? Say something!”

Siobhán saw tears welling in her friend’s eyes.

“It’s her,” Rihelah choked through a sob. “Professor Ciara O’Connor… is the Dungeon.”

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[I missed you beans so much!] I could hardly keep my voice steady after Siobhán finished glowing as she, too, became a resident of my Dungeon.

“I can see without the light.” Rihelah’s eyes were wide.

“Oh, my Go—me too.” Siobhán looked at Rihelah, and they both turned off their flashlights.

“But Professor, why can I only hear you in my head?” Siobhán asked through her tears.

[Well… that’s a long story.]

“We have time,” Siobhán stated flatly.

“But the others—” Rihelah began.

“Can wait a little longer,” Siobhán interrupted. “ProfCon’s alive, she’s got powers like Joe, and I want to know what happened.”

I gave them an abridged version, carefully skirting around certain embarrassing details.

“So, you died?” Rihelah frowned deeply.

[Yes, but only my human body.]

“And you can create new species with combinations of others, just by spending this mana?” Siobhán asked.

[Yep! Do you beans wanna see my minions? They won’t hurt you because you live here now.]

“I do!” Siobhán hopped excitedly.

“Maybe? You guys know I was a nursing student, and… well, you’re both creepy-crawly heads.” Rihelah nibbled at her bottom lip. Worry shone in her eyes.

[Fair enough! But don’t worry, they obey me completely.]

I started them off easy for Ryebean’s sake, with a Devilfly.

“Oh, pretty! A dragonfly!” Rihelah held her hand out. She dropped her jaw when the winged minion landed lightly on her fingers, and I had it bow for her.

“It’s cute.” Rihelah held my minion up to admire its wings.

I wanted to tell them about the differences between my Devilfly and a typical dragonfly, but thought better of the situation and had it fly to Soybean instead.

Siobhán held her hand in front of her face while the Devilfly perched her knuckle. Her eyebrows scrunched down and she wrinkled her nose to the side as she stared closer.

“It’s different. What is—are those chelicerae beside its mandibles? ProfCon, did you mix a spider with a dragonfly?” Siobhán brought the Devilfly in for a better look.

[I’m proud of you, Soybean! You always paid close attention to details. Yep. They’re called Devilflies. A hybrid of Blue Darner dragonflies and Black Widows!]

Siobhán’s eyes lit up in wonder, but Rihelah shuddered piteously and shrank away.

“Professor! You—why didn’t you say something? That thing was on my hand!” Rihelah yelled, shuddering in horror.

[I told you it was safe, Ryebean. A smartphone packs enough electrical charge in its battery to give a terrible shock or start a fire, but you kept yours in your pocket, handled it regularly, and put it next to your face, right?]

Rihelah nodded slowly. She’d always hated lectures on animals she feared, but I wasn’t letting her off the hook just because she’d graduated.

[Only a couple of millimeters of plastic or metal separated you from the danger inside that device, at best. Spiders can only cause harm if you’re bitten. My minions will never harm you. Do you think I’d put two of my favorite students in danger?]

“Well—” Rihelah looked thoughtful.

Siobhán cut her off. “Of course not! It’s so adorable. Can I pet it?” She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as the fingers of her right hand hovered impatiently above the Devilfly perched on her left.

[You may, but be gentle. They’re not much tougher than a typical dragonfly.]

Rihelah moved to the couch to sit. Sandy followed and hopped onto Rihelah. “Whoa, Sandy! You’re too big for my lap.”

[Sandy misses Ryebean.] My Sandy made her biggest and saddest puppy dog eyes at Rihelah, who hugged her but lifted the dog to stand.

“What the heck?” Rihelah exclaimed, “Sandy—you hardly weigh a thing!”

She let Sandy hop down as I chuckled silently.

[Ah, you beans probably gained the same kind of physical improvements as my girls. Be careful as you get used to it. Oh, also, you’ll come back to life in the Dungeon if you die.]

“We’ll WHAT?” they shouted in unison.

Their raised voices elicited a bunch of yelling from the other end of the tunnel after the other humans overheard.

Once my two resident beans had calmed down, I explained the ins and outs of being a resident.

“We need to head back to the others. They need to know.” Rihelah put her hand on Siobhán’s shoulder.

[Be careful who you tell. I’m powerful, but not invincible. I want to help the city recover, but I can only do that if people work alongside me. Think about what humans will do if they get the idea that they could claim this place as their own. Think about the bomb that was dropped and the kind of mindset it would take to give an order for something like that.]

“Oh.” Rihelah frowned.

[Remember—technology may be less plentiful than it was before, but people still know how to make terrible things.]

Rihelah shrugged. “That’s a fair point. There are only four people I trust aside from you and Sio. Michael, Joy, Uncle Joe, and Papa Mike.”

[Even with them, I’d prefer that you only talk about what I can do to help, for now. Especially the part about how I can clean up pollution—including radiation.]

Siobhán tilted her head. “They’re good people, ProfCon. I don’t think we need to—”

[I can see that you trust them, and I’m not concerned about Joy. But I’m asking you to let me get to know and trust the others in my own time.]

Rihelah and Siobhán shared a glance and nodded.

[Oh, one last thing. I only have room for two more residents right now. I’ll have more capacity later after I finish the first floor of my Dungeon. But don’t go telling people that I can grant powers, or there’ll be a mad rush in here. I’m only going to offer residency to people whom I trust.]

“That’s a good point.” Siobhán rubbed her chin.

[Don’t show off your strength or speed too quickly. You said Joe’s abilities are unexplained, right?]

Rihelah shrugged at Siobhán and said, “Well, kinda? He says it’s from Lord Auronox.” She did her best imitation of Joe’s voice, and Siobhán chuckled.

[Oh. I see.]

“What is it?” Siobhán asked.

[He’s the Dragon who turned me into a Dungeon.]

“Dragon? That thing was real?” they asked in unison.

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Minions: 36/100

Residents: 8/10

Denizens: 6182

Traps: 1/5