El used the next two days to recuperate his Mana and Energy, meditating, resting, and observing the Dungeon from the distance. He left the building of the camp to Trim and the Prince and decided that they were doing a way better job than he could.

He went back down the hill and found his two staffs, partially buried in the freshly fallen snow, and decided to fully charge them as well, making a mental note not to go anywhere without them.

Alice, on the other hand, invested herself completely in building up the camp. The people from the village quickly organized under Trim’s leadership, proving to be very skillful builders, and with the help from soldiers and their horses, they quickly progressed in building up enough shelter for everyone.

Alice used her axe and the power of her special ability to help clean the fallen timber of the branches and carve them in a way to fit into the constructions.

They progressed rapidly and in two day’s time, they finished constructing two cabins big enough for all of them to sleep inside.

The plan was to build a third one that would be considerably bigger and could serve them as a stable for horses and food storage.

Just as El expected, the dungeon did not send any more goblins or any other beasts to confront them.

But there were raves always present around.

“It’s watching us, studying us. Trying to find a weak point and how to attack us. While at the same time, it is regenerating and building up its forces.”

“When do you think it will attack?” Alice asked him.

“I do not know. But I will not wait. Tomorrow morning I will go down and try to interact with it.”

“Are you sure that is smart? What if it sends goblins at you?”

“That is the risk I have to take. Now, I think it is just confused and does not understand what had happened. But, slowly, it will start to regain its strength. We cannot allow that.”

“So, confusing it is good?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any way we can get rid of those ravens? If they are from the dungeon, then, would it not be best to try and get rid of them?” Alice asked him. “Maybe you can use your Mana to neutralize them?”

El looked at the nearby tree that had about a dozen large, dark birds quietly sitting on the branches of the nearby tree and observing them.

“Maybe there is a better way,” he said and asked Alice to call in Elma and Gok over.

“You think arrows will work?” Alice asked him quietly, guessing his intentions.

“No. Not a normal arrow would not,” El said. “They would fly off before they were hit. But, let’s see if we can change that a bit.”

A few minutes later, Elma and Gok came to join him with bows in their hands.

El took a few of the shafts and as he poured a few units of Mana and Energy into its metallic tips, he said, “Alice gave me a good idea. I was never a good archer. Both of you are way better than I am. But let’s see with this kind of modified arrows, if you could shoot down a few birds.”

Gok fired the first shaft and, guided by El and his Mana, it bolted through the air, piercing the raven that was closest to them, sending him to the ground.

Elma right away shot an arrow at another raven, and, so did Gog, and before the birds realized what was happening, three of them, dropped dead to the ground.

The rest of the birds instantly protested and with their loud gurgling croaks, they lurched themselves off the branches, flapping their big wings.

But, as they tried to fly away, Gog and Elma continued to shoot arrows at them, bringing a few more down before the rest could safely fly away.

“I guess that should confuse the dungeon a bit more,” El said, happy with himself. He only invested twelve units of Mana inside the arrows and the result was six dead birds.

“Or piss it off even more,” Alice added.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“We’ll see how pissed-off it is tomorrow,” El said.

“You think it will not attack us again tonight?” Elma asked.

“Doubt it. Now we have such a better defensive position, it would be crazy to try and charge us from the lower ground. And, now it must deal with another thing, our improved arrows. No, it will not attack. But that’s not a good thing either.”

“What do you mean?” Alice asked.

But El suddenly got lost in his own thoughts, silently staring at the sky that grew dark and heavy.

“The snow is coming,” Gok said. “And I think it will fall heavily tonight.”

“Are those goblin prisoners still alive?” El suddenly asked.

“One is,” Alice answered. “The one who talked, the noseless one. I got him some old rag to cover with. The other one froze last night tied to the tree.”

“Yeah, that’s

“You’re not thinking of trusting him and letting him lead you to that ‘secret entrance’ he talked about, are you?” Alice asked him.

“You think he was trying to lead us into a trap?” El asked.

“I do not know. But I would not bet my life on it.”

“It will get dark soon. Tomorrow before it gets light, maybe I’ll take his offer and see where he’ll take me. So, maybe, we should keep him alive for tonight.”

When the night came, a boy riding a horse came from the village with a message from Dmintiz. Two days ago, seeing how he could hardly stand on his two feet, Trim and Holgar had pressured him to go with the wounded to Twin Oaks and recover in the comfort of Holgar’s tavern.

The message was delivered into Trim’s hands. It was short but to the point, and as soon as he read it, he instantly went to see El and the Prince to share it with them.

The Prince’s face frowned as he read it, and Alice pulled the message from his hand to read it herself. It said.

‘A dozen soldiers here. Seasoned killers from the south. Not looking for a dungeon. Looking for the Prince.’

“What does this mean?” Alice asked.

“It means… my uncle had sent someone for me.”

“Well, at least you have time now to prepare for them, no?” Trim said and tapped the Prince on the back.

“Did these soldiers look like they will stay the night in the village or head out?”

“They were drinking ale,” the boy said. “My friend attended their horses, and I think they will stay at Trader’s Jack house tonight since Holgar’s place is full with the wounded.”

“Well, that means, you have at least a bit more time to figure out what you want to do,” El said, staring at the Prince.

“I… don’t think I have much choice in that,” the Prince said, suddenly uncertain.

“Of course you do. You just might not like it very much” Scarface added as he spat on the ground. “You always have a choice.”

“If there are only ten of them, and they are not here looking to join us with the dungeon, then they are meant only to escort me back.”

“Probably,” El said. “And I’d hate to see you go. You proved yourself to be a very good fighter. Without you and your men, we all would probably be all dead by now. So, yeah, I don’t think you should leave. But then, that’s my opinion.”

A few hours later, Trisha’s group with the hired swordsman came to the camp.

“We started with twenty-eight of them. But six of them sobered up on the way here, decided not to have a stomach to face any dungeon and stayed behind,” Trisha explained to him.

“Still, very glad to see you,” the Prince said, not hiding his joy at seeing them.

Sergeant Rewin suddenly appeared to stand right next to the Prince and cleared his throat, making the Prince swiftly ask Trisha, “His family? Did you do what was asked?”

“Yes. They are staying in one of the houses in Twin Oaks. Together with your Steward of Arms. He insisted on coming.”

“There you go,” the Prince said, looking at his sergeant. “You may still see them. But, I still need your sword, Sergeant.”

Everyone could see a huge relief overcome Sergeant Rewin and his hand swiftly dropped from the handle of his sword. “Steward Helfin is an honorable man. If he’s with my wife and children, then I know they are safe. That’s all I ask for. And, yes, you can count on my sword.”

El got up during the night, long before the daybreak, and warmed up a bit next to the campfire that the guards just loaded with fresh logs.

The snow was falling heavily and he took his time making each step to climb to the top of the ridge.

Alice came suddenly from behind, bringing the noseless goblin behind her, pulling him by the rope that was tied around his hands. “You’re not thinking of going alone, are you?” she asked him.

“It might be a better that I do,” he said.

“No, I don’t think so,” Alice said, staring at him hard.

A shadow suddenly appeared right behind them, but before Alice could take out her axe and El could move his staff, the shadow took down its hood and revealed a red-haired woman in her late twenties who had come to the camp last night with Trisha’s group.

"What are you kids doing up here?” she asked them, a relaxed smile on her face.

As they stared at her, not offering an answer, still trying to figure her either for a friend or a foe, she said, “So, you've made up your mind to slay a dungeon, huh? To destroy it all, and to do it all on your own, huh?"

"Who are you?" El asked, his hand holding his long staff really hard.

The woman sighed. "The name is Tarra. And I'll do this only once,” she said and lifted her two hands to put on El’s and Alice’s shoulder.

Alice felt a sudden bolt of energy go through her.

But before she could say anything or even read the letters that suddenly appeared in her vision, El was already talking

“Tarra from Somria, Level 31? Oh, you're the warden I was warned about."

She kept on smiling at him as she said. "And you? You're not Level 25 yet. But then, you’re so young.” Then she looked Alice in the eyes. “And you... what is your excuse? You're back to 2? When are you going to learn never to trust anyone?"

"What... what are you talking about?" Alice said, not understanding her.

But Tarra just shook her head. “Never mind. Don’t feel like explaining. Not now. Besides, when you get to Level 30 and higher, you will figure it all out yourself."

"What?"

"Yeah, never mind. Now, you were heading to see a dungeon, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, don’t mind me if I join you,” she said as she nodded her head. “Would love to see how you plan to handle it all.”