Chapter 69: Trapped Inside

Saturday, April 15th, 4:49 PM

Dungeon Ciara

2,978 people, not counting my residents. That’s all I saved. 604 people had refused to leave the homes built by awakened humans, in the ill-fated belief that their dwellings were stout enough to withstand the surging waters. Not even the homes of Dwarven design, shaped of pure stone, had come out unscathed.

Under the circumstances, all 604 were missing and presumed dead.

The Chinook helicopter that failed to take off had fifty-six souls on board.

Also missing and presumed dead.

The number of casualties on stranded fishing boats and cargo ships was unknown. It was the same for the wrecked frigates.

Across the area, not much remained aside from loose detritus. In some places, everything was scoured away as the water removed every bit of soil down to bedrock, then deposited wreckage in its place. Trees were reduced to shattered and twisted driftwood. What had remained of Santa Cruz and the rest of the Monterey Bay area after the bomb up to 290 meters above sea level—was gone.

A cruel trick of hydrodynamics meant that the bay was hit worse than the surrounding coast, which received wave heights centered around 240 meters compared with the 291-meter high-water mark I’d seen above the Dungeon.

My imbued trees and plants on the surface were washed away. Even my wall of hardened stone, shaped around the Dungeon’s compound, had been mostly destroyed.

UCSC was gutted. Skeletons of the stronger buildings had remained, stuffed with debris from the city and the forest.

The amount of floating trash and driftwood in the bay was staggering after the third wave, and, despite their decreasing height, each successive wave added insult to the injury the coastline had suffered. I was able to absorb everything from areas I’d claimed each time the water retreated, but the next wave would leave a similar mess behind. So, I repeated the action to keep gathering materials and reduce debris in the water. It was far from enough.

The titanic waves of the tsunami just kept coming, but although each was smaller than the last after the second wave, they were still monstrous.

Nobody dared to leave the Dungeon until the sea calmed.

Sunny and Sandy appeared more reserved around anyone in military uniforms following their deaths, and even Siobhán seemed less social than normal. By contrast, Joy had come out of her shell and was spending time with a group of marines that included Ben Larson, the corporal who’d had his ass handed to him by Siobhán when they first arrived.

When the fourth wave in the tsunami train had ebbed, I cleaned my area again.

Then I saw the first snowflakes floating down.

[It’s snowing outside.]

President Thomas took a deep breath, then deflated. “When it rains...” He lowered his gaze and ran his hands through his hair.

Thomas sat with his advisers and military leaders around a copy of the table from my castle, inside a meeting room fashioned to give them a place to plan their response to the disaster.

Colonel Hart’s mouth tightened at the news. He leaned close to the admiral and whispered, “Sir, the Dungeon reports snowfall outside.”

“You’re kidding.” Admiral Winberg shot a weary, sidelong grimace at Hart.

Hart met the admiral’s eyes. “Negative, sir.”

The President spoke, and his voice was unsteady. “Freezing temperatures and snow, following an unprecedented tsunami. Casualties will be staggering. With wave heights to 955 feet above sea level in our area, we can assume the entire west coast is a loss, along with Hawaii, Guam, and the Alaskan coast. Japan and the Philippines. New Zealand, Australia, Samoa, a good portion of China, Korea… The entire Pacific rim.”

Winberg said, “Survivors of the tsunami will die if they don’t find shelter.”

I realized there was something I could do for survivors, if I could find any.

[I’ll be busy for a while. If I locate survivors on the surface, I will inform you as I create shelters for them.]

President Thomas choked out a laugh, then said, “When this is over, I’m naming you woman of the year, Ciara.”

As I checked around the mountains just above where the waves had crested, I replied, [I appreciate the sentiment, Mister President. But I’m not sure I qualify for that. Lack of a human body, and all. Dungeon of the year, perhaps?]

Thomas snorted. “Bullshit, Ciara. In my book, you qualify for woman of the century. I don’t give a damn about your biology. You saved thousands, today. You may have saved our country, today.”

[Just doing what I can, like everyone else—ah, I found sailors from one of the wrecked frigates. Make that two frigates. They’re huddled together in the mountains north of Aptos. Looks like around 200 people. There. I made a shelter big enough for them with hearthstones set into its floor for warmth, ten fireplaces they can use with hearthstones to ignite wood, and enough light so they can see at night. No windows, but I left the doors open facing them. They’re already moving toward it.]

“You’re really saving our asses, Ciara,” said Colonel Hart. “That’s hundred more sailors who will survive the night because of you.”

Frowns in the room curled upward a bit, but nobody smiled.

I added a few dozen fruit trees outside the structure and infused them with mana.

“Magic… we’d be lost without it right now,” said FBI Director James Koel.

[We wouldn’t have had a massive tsunami without magic, either—if my guess is right. This was probably an attack by another Dungeon. If I wanted to, I could build up an enormous amount of material near deep water, then cause a massive landslide that would trigger a wave like the one that hit us. I’m glad I paid attention in geology.]

“It’s like a whole island slid into the ocean at once. These waves are absurd,” said Admiral Winberg.

“It’d have to be a one hell of an island to send a wave almost a thousand feet tall at the west coast,” said Colonel Hart, rubbing his cheek.

[The sailors are inside and huddled together by the fireplaces. They carried some limp, shivering bodies with them. I haven’t absorbed them, so they’re still alive.]

“I know you’re busy, ProfCon, but… thank you for saving people.” Siobhán sniffled. She was cuddled against Kiwi with Joe out in the redwood forest, while Nita rested in a web nearby.

Siobhán’s eyes were red. She held Joe’s cheek while he slept with his head in her lap. Both Joe and Mike were exhausted after going nearly forty hours with no rest.

[You’re welcome, Soybean. I wish we’d known this was coming. If I had a week, I could have protected the coast with a wall…]

Siobhán glanced at the Shadehunter mantis on her shoulder. “I miss Rihelah and Michael,” she whispered. Her frown twisted as she shut her eyes. She laid her head back against Kiwi’s fur, and looked to be drifting toward sleep at last.

The actions of Michael and Rihelah flashed across my mind. Rushing off together to protect Joy before being gunned down, doing their best to make people smile even while they found it hard to do so, and trying their best not to fall behind. None of us knew they had a chance to be stronger than any of us, or that they would be torn from us forever.

I miss them, too.

My heart ached, and there was nothing I could do for the pain.

On top of that, everyone was exhausted. We’d lost hundreds more to the tsunami, and the surface I’d worked hard to mend was a wasteland.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Inside the meeting room, discussion continued.

The President asked, “We know there’s an enemy Dungeon somewhere on the mainland. Remind me again where Felt and Marchant were found?”

General Greene replied, “Rexburg, sir. North of Idaho Falls. National Guard elements set up a refugee camp there. We received an all-clear from them yesterday.”

“Once we have a solid team of awakened ready to deploy and an upgraded chopper, I want that place vetted.”

“Yes, sir.”

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As they continued their planning, I listened to my new minion creation options.

Wow.

That means… my krakens are safe from trauma.

I need a way to remove it for my residents.

Considering the list, one species had stood out to me.

I need creatures that love cold on my fourth floor, so...

[I’m going to try summoning one of my new sapient minions. If I go berserk, don’t panic. Everything’s far enough away that you’re all safe.]

My residents who were awake grunted in acknowledgment.

Bracing myself for a possible rampage by pulling my minions further away from the sheltering humans, I summoned a spawn point for a single Snow Goblin in the middle of my fourth floor.

Forty percent of my mana drained away, which wasn’t nearly enough to send me berserk. A skinny, hunched humanoid creature one meter tall appeared with a deep blue flash. He had skin of bluish-white, translucent claws on his gnarled hands and thick feet, a bulbous nose, pointy ears, and sharp teeth lining his wide mouth. Combined with his rounded, bald head and the scraggly white fur that topped his odd-shaped male genitalia, it would be difficult to mistake the goblin for a human. His enormous eyes seemed intelligent but nervous as they scanned his surroundings.

He narrowed his eyes and bared his sharp teeth as he stomped around and gestured to the gentle hills of snow. “No trees? Why no trees, Dungeon?” He lowered his head. “Goblin not can without trees…” His voice was high and gravelly. He sounded forlorn as he plodded through the snow, kicking at it.

[Ah, I’m glad you can speak.]

He stopped moving.

“Creator-Dungeon?” The goblin’s already-large eyes opened so wide, I worried they might pop out of his head. Then he prostrated himself on the snow.

[Were you not expecting me to speak?]

He kept his head down and rasped out, “Is great honor to serve, Creator-Dungeon!”

Since my mana had refilled and I didn’t want him to be alone, I spawned a female Snow Goblin beside the first. Her appearance was similar to the male, though smaller and shorter. Her limbs were more slight, but her oversized hands and feet had the same sharp, translucent claws. She lacked his external genitals, but her hips were slim and straight rather than curved like those of a human.

“Why is knees?” She screeched at him, running in front of the male to stand feet apart with her hands on her hips. Her hairless brows perked up. “Is breeding-time?” Mischief shone in her eyes as she turned and wiggled her backside for him.

“Kneel for Creator-Dungeon!” He growled. He still sounded terrified.

“Ee!” She squealed and fell on her face, then scooted herself alongside him. “Thank for life, Creator-Dungeon!” Her voice was higher than his and childlike, though it had an inhuman, raspy timbre like the male’s.

[You’re welcome. You don’t have to kneel or lie down when I talk with you. You said you need trees?]

I was already replacing some of the snow with sandy soil and stones as I raised the ceiling of the main cavern they were in to accommodate pine and cedar trees.

“Kind Creator-Dungeon…”

“Nice Creator-Dungeon…”

They both wept, shedding viscous, slightly-blue tears into the snow.

[Are Creator-Dungeons not always kind?]

“Normal Dungeon, Goblins free,” said the female.

“Creator-Dungeon… control the thinks.” The male tapped at his broad forehead.

[Ah, I see. I would rather be friends.]

The goblins climbed to their knees, snapped their heads toward one another, and locked eyes. It looked like they were scowling. I realized that assumption might be wrong when they embraced and cried harder than before.

[What are your names?]

Both goblins passed out.

Did I say something wrong?

When they awoke, the crying faded to sniffling.

[Was it wrong to ask if you have names?]

“Named Goblins strong. Creator is to name us?” asked the male. His hairless brows raised up high at their center. It reminded me of my Labs, and I almost squeaked over how cute he was. For a goblin, that is.

[You can give each other names if you want.]

The Goblins glowed bright blue, and my mana dipped below twenty percent.

Hunger sank its fangs into my mind, but I held on tight, only uttering a few snarls of rage. After a few seconds, it was bearable and I apologized to my residents.

Right after I recovered, the Goblins glowed a second time. And they grew.

The male stood almost as tall as my Soybean, with longer limbs and rope-like muscles. But his head, hands, feet, and genitalia remained as goblin-like as ever. The female was similar, though still shorter than him.

“You allowed Goblins give names to each other… such kindness.” The male goblin buried his eyes in his forearm as his neck muscles twitched.

His speech had improved.

She said, “Vox will follow the kind Creator forever…”

He added, “Bigs will protect the Creator.”

They embraced.

[It’s nice to meet you, Vox and Bigs. I’m protecting humans in the Dungeon right now. Would you like to meet them?]

“Humans are dangerous,” they growled in unison.

[Yes, I know. I was human before I became a Dungeon.]

The goblins fell to their knees again, begging forgiveness.

[Don’t worry about it. Just be nice when you meet them tomorrow. They’ve never seen goblins, before.]

In between summoning another thirty-eight Snow Goblins as mana permitted, I fashioned dwellings for them out in the snow between the trees. I also grew a few hundred trees in the areas I’d prepared, then sprinkled snow over the soil.

My new tribe of Snow Goblins all received names from Bigs and Vox. Their tradition seemed to be that opposite sexes named one another when it was permitted. Each goblin grew to a size that roughly matched Vox or Bigs, depending on sex.

The goblins told me a few things about Gaia, the planet Michael and Rihelah were stranded on. First was that goblins were treated horribly by most other sapient species, with the exception of elves and enkelyn. Female goblins were stronger with magic, while males had physical power and special skills with missile weapons.

They gave me an earful about enkelyn, whom they described as tiny people who used dangerous magic. Goblins also considered enkelyn to be a delicacy, which was a little concerning.

All the goblins I summoned had been enslaved by orcs before I saved them, and every single one wept for joy, then swore an oath to defend my Dungeon forever on learning their situation.

On my third floor, I summoned a tribe of forty Rock Goblins, and another forty Forest Goblins near the bottom of the second floor. Each time the process was repeated, the goblins sang my praises for their salvation. But they nearly lost their minds when they were allowed to name each other.

Rock goblins had slate-gray skin and blood-red eyes with vertical black pupils, but were otherwise identical to Snow Goblins. Forest Goblins were similar, though their skin was an olive green and their eyes pale yellow.

Since my fourth floor had no denizens, I created ten snow-white deer with thick fur coats and added ten rabbits, for whom I did the same.

Listening to my new sapient minions and their requests, I gave each tribe basic steel tools to work the hides, start fires, and mine the numerous ore deposits.

They were overjoyed when I permitted them to move between the three floors so they could trade and mingle.

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Floors: 5

Minions: 551/600

Residents: 12/20

Denizens: 1.73M

Traps: 10/25