I now owned the entire cavern! Well, except the nest of webs that the insect dungeon controlled. I’ve also noticed, upon further inspection, that there are no actual insects in the insect dungeon! Instead, it’s just all spiders! Well, unless there’s some 8 legged bug that lives in webs that I don’t know about. Or if the spiders are just the front line soldiers, and there actually are insects deeper within that I can’t see.
Either way! The actual dungeon space itself started out much larger than the webby nest, but it didn’t take much for me to fight it for control. The interesting thing happened when its will fought a hundred times harder once I reached the webs. I knew they were there due to the reports from my thralls and the other humans, but I personally couldn’t see them. We had guards posted up at all of the ground exits, weapons and fire ready. Most of the others were just collecting bounties from the Grove.
Leave alone. The insect dungeon mumbled.
My avatar floated in front of its dungeon lazily. It was strange. Though I felt the normal amounts of instinctual hostility towards the other dungeon, I didn’t really feel any malice in its words. Why should I? You’re a threat.
Not yet. The insect dungeon mumbled again. A quiet sort, them.
You’re still going to attack me. I told it. You can’t survive otherwise.
No. Smart. Have farm. Self sustaining.
A farm? What kind of farm? For animals, or dungeons?
Both. Very smart. Hole in wall.
You’re very forthcoming with your information. I pointed out.
You talk, you don’t attack. The dungeon observed. I smart. I see.
So your plan is to keep me talking until you’re ready to attack me? I smirk. What if I get bored.
Leave alone!
Can’t do that buddy. You might attack my people, and I don’t want that.
Me neither.
I raise an eyebrow. That so?
Why kill? Grow fast. Not smart. Take slow. Grow better. Make bugs. Many legs, and many eyes. Very cool.
That was a topic I was very interested in talking about. You MADE your insects?
Yes! The dungeon was very excited about that. Can’t submit bugs, so make some! Turn rat inside out, make exoskeleton, squishy insides. More and more, breed together, and start evolving the fresh borns! Slow, but progress! Create new species! Large spiders! Worker ants! Flight stupid. Webs cool! Build things! Dig things! Maze!!!
This dungeon… actually didn’t seem all that bad. Breeding takes a while. How old are you?
Old? The dungeon asked. Ah, time. Been here long while. Seen dungeons rise and fall. I remain, always watching. Come from other cave.
Oh ho? You have a tunnel hidden somewhere back there? Hows this other cave?
Other cave perfect! Full of bugs! Feast on nasty rats! Breed fancy mice. Better tastes. Also fishies. Evil fishies. Bugs don’t swim nice.
I give it a smirk. What, you don’t have any water beetles?
Beetle?
After considering it for a minute, I teleport my avatar away, heading for the upper cave systems. It doesn’t take me long to find some beetles roaming around up there, but they all seem to be near the entrance of the cave. Maybe they simply didn’t last very long down in the lower areas. After all, they’d be prime food sources for dungeons and their denizens.
Tell you what, how about we make ourselves a truce. You don’t attack me, and I don’t attack you. In the meantime, why don’t we trade? I’ll give you some beetles to look at, and you give me a ball of silk. How about it?
The other dungeon seemed to think about it for a while. But eventually, it agreed. I sent the Dungeon Rats team to the upper caves to collect some bugs. They brought clay jars from the supplies to capture them in.
You’re alright, you know? I hope we can get along. What’s your name?
Dungeon. It replied.
I shook my head. That simply won’t do! You need a proper name! I’m Lucid! Nice to meet you. Can I give you a name?
Promise won’t attack?
I promise buddy.
Ok.
I didn’t even need to think of a name. Your new name is Entomologist! Where I come from, that means bug scientist!
Scientist?
Oh, uh… smart person!
The dungeon gave off a small feeling of pleasure. Smart bug scientist! Then, quieter. Entomologist…
Glad you like it buddy. Good truce!
I called away my guards. Many of them seemed confused, because weren’t we going to be attacking the dungeon? It took a while, but I explained it in terms they could understand. Just because we were dungeons didn’t mean we couldn’t be civilized!
Well, maybe we were the exception, but still! Entomologist and I were friends! You know, as long as we gave the dungeon a wide berth. Just in case.
Man, it really sucked not being able to trust anyone but my own thralls. Whatever, if everyone was my thrall, then things wouldn’t be interesting!
Speaking of interesting things, now that we had access to a regular supply of wood, and I was back around, more buildings were being built! I had a little trouble integrating wood with my whole ‘merge rocks together until they look natural’ method of building, but the humans were well able to make up for that. Owyn says it has something to do with interfering with the ‘will of the wood’, which I called bullshit on, but whatever. Apparently, besides mind control, it was very hard for a dungeon to impart their will on living creatures. Same for human magic really. It’s why working with tangible, inorganic things, like stone, water, and fire were much easier to do than intangible concepts like ‘night vision’. Not that he blamed me for forcing him to make such a difficult spell, though. After I explained the physics behind thermal vision, apparently creating the spell was a cake walk!
Could I see in thermal vision?
Yes. Yes I could. Though I didn’t see the purpose in it.
Wait, what if I wanted to see in radio waves? Or sound waves? Everything was on the same spectrum, so why not!
Ugh…
Ok, maybe not. I mean, I could see in those spectrums, still being limited to only my dungeon’s domain of course, but it was possible. For some reason though, seeing in anything else than normal vision or thermal just made me feel sick. Maybe it’s because I was trying to see through human eyes, and I actually needed a special organ to perceive these other forms of energy? Well, that made sense. I had ears for a reason. No point in seeing sound when I could just hear it.
Oooh! Is that how the thausens worked!? They built a special organ from the ground up to detect magic? Like eyes or ears? I needed to find out! Uhhh, you! Random mimic crab! Do you want to see magic!?
The answer was an emphatic yes.
So I called Owyn and Damian over, my two examples of magic. I spent a very intriguing evening with Owyn, discussing various theories on how such a magic sensing organ would work that included various memory sharing sessions that made Damian and my other thralls increasingly jealous. We even managed to gather a small crowd of both humans and monsters, trapping them in with the discussion about how various senses evolved over time.
We were in the process of arguing about the origin of magic from an evolutionary standpoint when someone knocked on the door.
I say that to bring just a touch of levity to the situation. What really happened was that the cave wall where Lefty had escaped through rumbled a bit, and some rocks fell loose. Then, a giant, near pink thing burst through the wall. It looked like a scaly worm, where the entire face was just mouth. And as it crawled through, using dozens of thin arms with hands on the end located everywhere on the body, I got to see even more mouths. Slits, circles, mandibles laying flat on its back, all sorts of mouths that spewed out glowing red stones in perfectly cut shapes. The blob, worm, mouth thing crawled fully into the dungeon, half curling up at the entrance it had just made. As it passed through, the hands near the back of the creature picked up the stones the other mouths vomited up and placed them on the ground and walls, creating a decorated hallway that wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval castle.
Basins sat halfway up the walls, and as the next few figures entered, they lit up with fire.
The lead creature, vaguely humanoid, stood eight feet tall and had protrusions coming out of its shoulders that squirted flaming oils into the basins. It walked with unhurried steps, steepling seven fingered hands in front of it. It had a second pair of arms, much thicker than the others and with only three fingers on them. Its white skin, if it could be called that, draped around itself like an elegant robe, parting at the neck to join with the spouts on the shoulders. The face had no eyes or nose, and looked almost akin to a hammerhead shark with horns.
Five others followed behind it. A giant stone gorilla looking thing, a human that definitely didn’t feel human, a lizard with six legs and two heads, a flying imp with a bulging forehead, and a thin, humanoid rabbit that walked on two legs, standing nearly as tall as the gorilla next to it.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The whole of my dungeon was in chaos, and I couldn’t blame them. My dungeon senses informed me that not a single one of these seven creatures were things I should mess with. They all felt like boss monsters, fully evolved beings from another dungeon. By luck alone, most of my occupants weren’t around the area and could quickly escape to the confines of my pathetic castle walls. What more, the intruders didn’t give chase after those that lagged behind, allowing them to fully retreat. Various orders were shouted, some at my behest, and we prepared for the worst.
“Lucid.” The hammerhead demon echoed. Its voice didn’t come from its mouth, seemingly echoing through and out its skull. “The God Core greets you.”
The monsters that could, bowed.
“What the actual fuck.” Mr. Vernant muttered from atop the wall.
Damian shuffled uncomfortably next to him. Though he might be specialized for killing, seven was too many. The worm thing didn’t look like a combatant, but that just made the reality of it all so much more terrifying. With life revolving around combat, dungeons needed fighters to survive. Anything non-combat related should never evolve past its ability to do the job assigned to it, and yet, here stood before us a boss monster designed for tunneling.
I was about to get one of my human thralls to call out a question. Who are you? But they answered before I could give the command.
“We are servants of the God Core. And one of us is a gift. However, we must ask a few questions I’m afraid. You see, the God Core grows impatient. You have been speaking with our delegates for far too long without giving an actual answer. So, allow me to ask directly. Are you willing to work alongside the God Core to conquer the surface?”
Get the civilians to the surface. I spoke calmly. Damian, you too. All the children as well, combatants included.
Rab rumbled approval.
Damian was of a different mind. My lord! We need our best combatants down here to fight! You cannot afford to send me-
Damian. My voice never raised. Never wavered tone. Escort the civilians and children to the surface.
Damian grit his teeth. My lord. He stepped back behind Mr. Vernant, disappearing from the sights of the invaders.
The hammerhead demon spoke again, gesturing with one of its smaller hands to its compatriots. “All seven of us are here to give you an option. Once you join us, one of us will join your forces. A paltry sum of gratitude for a dungeon as advanced as yourself. Surely, any one of us can entice you at a glance, yes?”
I could see the veiled threat. It was telling me to look at each of the monsters in turn, judge exactly how useful they’d be to me. Perhaps, in another light, this could be taken as a test. However, they had already shown their hand. They said the God Core was growing impatient. And impatience led to dire consequences.
Entomology. Full defensive. Abandon your forward operating base. Protect your core.
What going on? It asked.
“I implore you, not to ignore me in favor of your pet dungeon.” The hammerhead demon spoke low.
I grit my teeth, mind racing. I didn’t respond to Entomology. Could this thing read my mind? How!?
“I am the perfect servant.” The demon echoed proudly. “I know all your desires before you do. However, the God Core is graceful, and full of mercy. So it gives you one last chance. Will you submit?”
If it really could read my mind, then there was no point answering.
Angler, have your soldiers consume all the cores we’ve collected up there. Full combat initiative. Slaughter the church’s men. Clear out the surface, only kill those who fight against us. Lady Bellamy, get all of the villagers out of here as fast as possible.
What about you?! She practically shouted.
My core sat trapped within Mimi’s embrace. She could not move. I hadn’t had time to help her like I did with Grant.
Grant will take my core.
I can fight too! Grant insisted.
GO! The voices of me and his parents all shouted at once, forcing my thralls into motion.
“I thought so.” The hammerhead demon said calmly. It gestured.
The rabbit thing shot out, nearly as fast as a bullet. I barely saw it collide with one of Rab’s leg joints, but I heard it crack sickeningly. Rab roared, half falling in the direction of the injured leg. He shoved his lance into the stone to steady himself, but already the rabbit had climbed up the rest of the leg.
Silver roared and took flight, chasing after the fast creature. The rest of my thralls shouted their war cries as well, but none of them left the safety of the castle. We had things we needed to protect.
The other four monsters behind the demon responded in kind, charging forward without hesitation. Rab became entirely dependant on Silver and the bombardier bats to defend him. He slammed his giant claw down in front of the castle in an attempt to buy the others time. The imp did something, and frost suddenly coated the ground, forcing the moss beneath to shrivel, harden, and die. The giant gorilla crashed into Rab’s claw, shattering it on impact but not quite breaking through. More frost built upon Rab’s insides, and those were torn apart, bit by bit. It was all Rab could do to hold it and the imp back.
The six legged lizard did not stop moving. Once Rab’s claw had come down, it and the not-human ran around the side, with the not-human riding the lizard like a horse. The not-human grinned, raising a large, heavy looking shield up just below its eyes. Stone spears and rocks were thrown by the thralls who were able, but the lizard wove through them like air. Each projectile missed it with no room to spare, though some did manage to hit the not-human’s shield. Dweller leaped down to meet them head on.
The not-human met his mace with a shield strike by leaping off the lizard mid-dodge. The shield did not make the proper sound of metal striking metal, and Dwellers mace was somehow lodged into the shield. Then, the shield opened up, revealing a great toothy maw that screeched and lashed a serrated tongue out at the undead.
Mycroft barreled into the abomination, half trampling it. But the thing, the mimic, was tough, and quickly shoved her back. Its eyes no longer locked on one target, but stared at both of them separately. Its human mouth cracked further back than it should and hinged open at the bottom, showing another mouth that went all the way down its neck.
A gunshot rang out, and the head of the mimic exploded.
Undeterred, it spun around to face the offender, Owyn. I was surprised too, because he was supposed to be with the evacuees!
“What are you doing here!” Mr. Vernant shouted at him.
Owyn dropped the broken stone barrel and pulled up his second, and last one, from where he normally kept his arrows. “The hell are you talking about!? I’m here to help!”
The two headed lizard thing scaled the walls and began tearing at my human thralls, as well as the brave few villagers that stayed behind. Mr. Vernant needed to help them, as the only one who might stand a chance. I should have evolved my humans more!!
Mr. Vernant grabbed Owyn by the shoulders with one hand. The giant of a man lifted Owyn up to his face and growled at him.
“You protect my wife, else I’ll kill you myself.”
He reared back and threw Owyn at the staircase leading to the upper levels. The Dungeon Rats, already at the top, encouraged everyone else to hurry up. That was the last I paid attention to them.
Rab!
The stone gorilla had torn a hole through Rab’s shield claw. It didn’t seem to want to stop there however, and it grabbed both walls of the shield. Rab, not seeing the point in holding the shield down any longer, lifted it and the gorilla up. The gorilla growled, pulling in towards its chest. Like a finger being bent the wrong way, Rab’s shield claw broke. He roared and tried to throw the gorilla away, but it wasn’t any use. It held fast.
The fast rabbit darted down, smashing at another one of Rab’s legs, breaking it off at the shoulder. Rab struggled further, but anyone could tell it would be a losing battle. He was sagging off to the one side, entirely imbalanced.
Protect. Rab rumbled. He pushed himself upright with his lance. KILL!
His mimic shell opened up. Before the gorilla could react, Rab shoved the entire rest of his shield claw inside and closed it, crunching off his arm. His crown rose in pairs of horns, each sealing the lid tighter with a thump. But he wasn’t finished. With his one good eye blazing with fury, he pushed away from his post, using his lance as a replacement for his missing legs. He charged at the hammerhead demon, gaining speed with each step.
The tunneler worm reared up, swelling at the chest. Each mouth along its body shut tightly, sealing the body shut. A glow began in the center of the swelling, and slowly, it rose up the body. It rolled back down to earth, and belched out a pool of superheated liquid stone. Rab tripped into it, falling. He couldn’t even get his lance up in time to strike at the two monsters.
The cavern was filled with a great hissing screech. The sound you hear when crabs are boiled alive. Rab’s children screeched the same from near the top of the staircase. Some of them even tried to run back down, but their non-combatant brothers and sisters held them back, practically dragging up the rest of the way through tears. Numerous humans helped them ascend, but most just bolted for the safety of the caves.
My castle walls crumbled. The mimic and lizard were in fierce combat with my monsters, yet besides the mimic missing its head, neither of them looked worse for wear. Silver had managed to grapple with the rabbit, and was trying to bite its shoulder out. They tumbled to the ground. The rabbit kicked and kicked, tearing a hole in Silver’s stomach. The few, still living monsters that remained to help tried, piling in on the rabbit in an attempt to hold it down. I couldn’t warn them fast enough of the imp’s arrival.
Everything slowed, covered in frost. Blood cracked out where skin stretched beyond its limits, and the blood froze too. The bombardier bats flew in for the kill, but the imp just summoned blades of ice. Nothing dynamic, but enough that it prevented the giant bats from getting close.
A new dungeon crashed into my borders. A heavy, oppressive force. I was taken so off guard that it managed to steal away a large chunk of my territory.
You were given a chance. It drawled, deep and low.
Darkness encroached as my territory was stolen from me. The hammerhead demon, disinterested in the fight, wandered over to Entomology’s spider nest. Liquid fire shot forth, burning the webs. I didn’t get to see if it was able to defend itself.
You have met the Goddess, and still you refuse to join me.
Rab rolled over, screaming. His lance rolled around to slice at the worm, but before it could get halfway, his arm popped off. The stone gorilla’s fist appeared where Rab’s shoulder used to be. He turned back his one good eye to stare down the empty space between him and his mate.
Mimi crawled on her hands, reaching out for Rab, screeching the whole way.
I have offered you gifts, time and time again, and you have denied every single one of them.
Stop it! I shouted back. Stop!
I didn’t want this. This was too much! There was no challenge! This was just a slaughter!
A nearly invisible black form wove through the forest of ice spikes. The imp, safe in the center, watched as the black form wove around it. It spun around, following the darkness when suddenly, Subsonar crashed into its back. Spindly black hands clawed at the imp as they crashed to the ground together. Subsonar hugged the imp tight as his back ran into an awaiting ice spike, impaling him. His life force vanished, and his grip loosened just before the spike of ice could impale the imp all the way through. Still, I sensed fear, and saw blood drip from it.
I have no use for weaklings and morons who do not understand the situation they are truly in.
Please! I shouted, but it was weak. The cry of a broken man.
Submit yourself, and I’ll let you live.
That wasn’t good enough.
The rabbit broke free of Silver’s grasp. Its overpowered legs shot it away from the dead and dying. Silver croaked out a wet gurgling cry that only opened up more of its stomach.
“AAAARGH!” Dweller attacked with reckless abandon. Even when the mimic opened up its stomach to bite him whole, Dweller just used the closer contact to inflict more damage. Unfortunately, parts of the chest and leg armor were real armor. He couldn’t break through.
Mycroft’s tentacles were torn out, one by one. The lizard was on her. She fought back beside Mr. Vernant, actually managing to nick the lizard's skin a bit. But my domain continued to shrink. Soon, my fighters would be fighting in darkness.
Run! Mimi shouted out to her daughter. Protect your human! Protect Lucid!
Mycroft screeched. She spun around, throwing off the lizard. Mr. Vernant was on it in an instant. She crawled over the body of Silver and around the icy forest. Her gentle claws reached for her mother, but she pushed her away.
Go!
My throat tightened as my domain closed further and further in, enveloping my friends in nothingness. Mr. Vernant fought outside my territory, a certain death sentence without the ability to see anymore. It didn’t even feel like the God Core was trying. It just shoved mana at me, overwhelming my will to fight back. It was like an overwhelming tide, unrelenting and all powerful.
Mimi stopped crawling on her stomach. She stood as upright as she could, spreading her arms out wide as Mycroft ran away behind her.
The lizard, mimic, rabbit and imp all walked into the remains of my sight. Then, so too did the gorilla. It paused just before Mimi, raising both fists.
NO!
The world halted, just for a moment. Like I had paused time, just for long enough that I thought I could see Mimi smile on her expressionless carapace.
And then the gorilla’s fists crashed down.