Aurora
I kept an eye on Roland and his party as I planned a defense. I had no idea what to really do other than to have everyone line up and point their weapons at the enemies that were in clear pursuit of my vampires. At least we had nearly seventy meters of heavily trapped hallway that they would have to pass through.
The sound of running began to echo down the tunnel just before Varroth, heavily injured as he was, led the rest of the group back into the dungeon. Only a few of the normal vampires remained, but they were nearly mindless, so I had a hard time worrying about that. The Greaters, however, we all present bringing me some relief.
The goblins rounded the corner less than a minute after my vampires did. Carson was throwing spells back along the passage to slow them down, but the player goblin had some level of magic of his own and was managing to cancel out most of the spells. I raised my hands then cast Prism in several places amongst the enemy. The sudden loss of sight caused more than a few of the goblins to collide with the wall or each other.
The goblins didn’t cease their attack, however, with many of them continuing their charge. That was until they ran head first into the traps. The floor collapsing around them sent dozens of goblins to their deaths. The player managed to stay on the partial path. With his assistance, the NPC goblins were able to circumvent the trap, for the most part.
They were soon in the next section. Spikes made from stone burst from the sides of the passage impaling goblins by the handful. These two traps were one off since once they were triggered, they could be avoided easily enough. Pointing at a few of the weaker looking goblins, I used Death Siphon to transfer their health to my vampires. In the darkness of the Prism spell, it looked like the goblins were simply collapsing for no reason to me. I had no doubt that in the pitch black, the sound of collapsing goblins was much more frightening for the goblins.
By this point half of the goblin force had been decimated. There was still another thirty meters to go before they were anywhere near us. The player goblin emerged from the darkness and slid to a stop forcing the goblins that were with him to stop as well. I gave him a beckoning smile and gestured for him to keep coming. The goblin next to him collapsed bleeding from the face as I used Death on him. Since he was still a few levels higher than I was, the spell didn’t kill him but instead caused immense pain. Anger filled the player’s face as he charged ahead.
The ground turned to sand instantly making the next ten meters hard to traverse. Those of us with magic began to throw spell after spell into the goblin force. One goblin would freeze while his neighbor would burst into flames. The player was doing his best to counter the onslaught, but not only did Carson and I have magic, but a few of the normal vampires were able to use basic attack spells. The Worgs also had access to fireballs that very surprisingly dangerous.
The goblins finally ground to a halt unable to go any further due to the magical onslaught. The player yelled something in goblin causing his remaining forces to retreat. Though, I liked to call it running away. The bleeding and bruised player goblin managed to retreat back to the solid ground before the sand pit.
“You’ve made a great enemy today,” the goblin player yelled at me.
“Get in line. I have plenty,” I shouted back.
He glared at me before slowly backing away into the darkness. I felt it was a shame to let him leave just like that. Using three hundred of the mana I had just gained from the death of his soldiers, I summoned a pack of Worgs. With a gesture, they charged down the passage then into the darkness. A few seconds later, the sounds of growling, yells, screaming and general beast versus man fighting echoed back to us.
“Thank you, my queen.” Roland kneeled and took my hand before kissing the back of it. “Your assistance was well-timed.”
“Just helping my boys,” I smiled enjoying the attention. When he released my hand, I walked over to the heavily bleeding Varroth. I was worried that he was going to die if this kept up. “Are you alright, dear?”
He growled before nuzzling his head against me. I somehow understood that as yes. If Losa was here, I could ask him to actually translate for me since he had telepathy. The raid party picked themselves up then headed back to the deeper dungeon. I reset the traps, making sure to add a new variation to the mix. If the path was the same, then if the goblins attacked then they could just trigger the trap and bypass it.
Walking back, I was disappointed that the dungeon didn’t level up again. At least, I had gained a level from the goblins I killed. It was something. I checked my status to see if there was anything interesting.
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Name: Aurora Nightingale
Level: 10
Race: Vampire,
Sub: Dungeon Master – Night Queen
Sub: Dungeon Core
Total Mana: 1,340/2,000
Abilities:
Blood Sucking
Blood Magic
Elemental Magic – Fire, Earth, Death
Basic Sneak
Dungeon Menu
Learn Spell: 1
--
[Dungeon Core: Vampire – Night Queen. Owner: Aurora Nightingale]
Dungeon Level: 4
Total Mana: 277/4000
Absorb.
Create.
Destroy.
Summon.
--
Not too bad. I also had a spell to learn. We made it back to the core room where Roland and the others collapsed against the wall. They had regeneration, but it still took time to recover their wounds. They were no doubt exhausted as well from the fighting. I went to sit down when I felt something… off. I stared around the room not sure what it was.
“Quiet!” The order was absolute. The room instantly became as quiet as the grave. I cast my gaze around not sure what the difference was. I even sniffed to see if I could smell a difference. “It must have been…” I started to say when I checked on Losa. The world froze around me as I found he’d stopped breathing. “No.”
I reached inside checking the imp over, but there was no sign of life. I tried to perform CPR on him, but after a minute, nothing changed. I dropped to my knees as blood red tears started to slide down my cheeks. He had been fine just a few hours ago! He’d been asleep! This couldn’t be happening!
Rage filled me. I wanted to tear something apart. The edge of the coffin cracked before shattering in my hands. I stared at the stone turned to dust in my hands. Why!? Losa had been my friend. It had only been a few days since his creation, but he’d been better to me than any friend I had in the real world. He had helped me. Calmed me down. This couldn’t be happening!
“AH!” I screamed until I felt my lungs were going to burst. Swatches of black washed out around me like gusts of wind. This wasn’t fair! Was this world going to be as cruel to me as the other one!? Maxwell! The goblin player! They would both pay dearly! I swore it.
Time passed. How long exactly? I didn’t know or care. I finally found the strength to stand up. I ran my hand down Losa’s cheek for the last time. I couldn’t believe he was actually gone. Grinding my teeth, I stepped back from the body. “Roland!”
“Yes, my queen?”
“Take Losa and have Dersoa create a tomb for him in one of my private rooms.”
“As you wish,” Roland moved passed me with his head down. Once Losa was taken from the room, I looked around and found the core room a wreck. Chunks of the walls had been gorged out as if by giant claws. I ignored it and sat down in my chair that had most of the back and part of one arm missing.
I had hesitated to do so before, but if I had done so before now, I might have not lost Losa. Whether it would work or not was about to me seen. “I formally side with Rezdona!” Demonic energy rushed through me as the world went dark. Blinking rapidly, I found that I was in a new room.
“Hello child. I must say I am so happy that you sided with me.” I turned toward the sound of the silk like voice and found a dark skinned beauty sitting in a silk-lined throne. Servants fanned her while one held out a bowl of fruit. I felt like I had stepped right into a movie on ancient Egypt.
“Demon lord Rezdona, I presume?” I asked turning fully to face her.
“You presume correctly.”
“Your title does not do you justice.” Even as straight woman, I found her extremely attractive. It reminded me of the story of Helena of Troy.
“Aw. Don’t you know how to butter someone up.” She looked at her servants. “Leave us!” She then waved for me to come closer. I decided it wouldn’t hurt and made my way up the stairs. She took my hands with a shockingly strong grip forcing me to sit next to her like we were BFFs. “Now. No one sides with a demon lord without wanting something. So tell me, what do you want?”
“You’re a demon lord. Then you must know of a way to bring back a demon that has died.” Rezdona asked me to give a few more details and I quickly filled her in on what happened to Losa.
“First. Demons are sort of a contract given form. You used the summoning magic to create a contract that was known as Losa. It is hard to say he has an actual soul.” My heart dropped at her words. Was there no hope? “That said. The demon realm does exist. The ultimate contract if you will. The only beings that can come and go freely are the demon lords and a few high ranked demons.” I ground my teeth in annoyance. It would figure that I passed over the key I needed.
“Is there anything we can do?”
Rezdona smiled and I nearly lost my breath. “There is always something we can do. We just have to revive a certain demon lord. Astrar, Demon Lord of Contracts. He’s a bit of an eccentric, but he could revive your imp.”
I got to my feet excited there was even a chance. “Excellent. I revived you. Surely, I can do it again.”
“My case was a bit different. My seal was weak, hard to even call it a seal. When I sensed the immense energy you released I was able to take it. Astrar’s seal is much more powerful. I’m talking full on god seal.”
I threw my arm to the side. “I don’t care. I’ll find a way. Where is it?”
“I can’t say I disapprove of your attitude. Here,” she waved me close before putting a finger to my forehead. A location flashed through my mind. Whether it was the game or Rezdona, I was able to figure out where the Seal was in correlation with my own dungeon. It was stupidly close in the middle of the forest I bordered.
“I’m sure there must be a cost for all this information?”
“No cost. Technically, I am repaying a debt. Can’t say that for our next interaction however.” She grabbed her wine from the small table and took a sip. “Oh. You sided with me, so if you find anyone worshiping any recently risen goddesses, make sure to teach them a lesson.”
The image of Maxwell flashed through my head. “You got it.”
“Until next time then,” Rezdona waved and the scenery broke up around me. I returned to my destroyed core room.