Chapter 8 – Barriers, Broadsides, Bastards

Before Leese and I could complete the talent selection, a warning siren blared through my implants, with a flashing red exclamation point throwing itself up in my vision.

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~~WARNING~~

Your Dungeon Beacon has been activated. Heroes have been dispatched to the location and will arrive within 24 hours!

Prepare yourself, Dungeon Lord.

>>>

“Leese, what the shit!?” I shouted, waving my hand through the notification and trying to clear it away.

“I didn’t do it, I figured we had another day to get prepared.” She said, frantically flipping through interface screens.

“Aren’t you the Dungeon Core!? What do you mean you didn’t do it?” I was pissed.

“I said I didn’t do it, Grimm. Give me a break, I’m still new to this.” Leese turned red, her digital appearance shifting and stuttering.

“Now what’s the problem?” I tried to pull up the Dungeon Interface, but it wouldn’t load.

The little loading disc stuttered, turned to static, then disappeared.

“I can—” Leese couldn’t finish her words before the digital image of her disappeared with a blink, leaving a trace of digital dust behind that floated in the air.

“Leese!” I shouted to the ceiling, but there was no response.

Grimm. A voice rang through my head, harsh and grating.

“Who in the Underneath are you?” I turned around, looking in every direction. “Give me back Leese.”

I didn’t take her, but I will take the Dungeon. The voice called out again, grating on my skull.

The lights around the throne room flickered and went out. A thunderous sound rumbled through the Dungeon itself, then the lights came back on.

Leese appeared where she had been, panic on her face.

“What happened, where did I go!?” She looked around, confused. Digital sweat ran down her face.

“I don’t know, but I got a threat from someone. They claim they’re going to take the Dungeon from me. Hah, I’d like to see them try.” I clenched my fists, popping the knuckles in my fingers as I did so.

“We need to get you prepared, and get the Dungeon sorted then.” Leese said, shaking her head and pulling up several screens.

I pulled up the Dungeon Interface, and found that I was able to get it to come up this time.

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Eldritch Halls of Horror – Dungeon Level: 1

This Interface will provide you, the Dungeon Lord, with simple, quick interactive options to improve, modulate, or alter your dungeon layout, monster complement, and supplies. It will also provide you with various options to organize resources and summon Heroes or Daemons to improve your dungeon.

Welcome, Dungeon Lord Grimm Darkfyre

~The following Options are available to you~

Summon Monsters (Remaining: 25 Points)

Format Dungeon (Remaining: 5= Points)

Change Dungeon Name (Remaining: 5)

Gather Dungeon Resources (None Available)

Change Monster Types (Current: Aberration)

Open Dungeon to Heroes (23 Hours, 17 Minutes)

Teleport out of Dungeon

~Please make your Selection~

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I looked over the choices quickly, noticing that the monster type was Aberration.

I pulled the option slider down for Monster Types, and leafed through it.

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Monster Types Available

Aberration (Currently Chosen)

Daemonkind

Goblinkind

Humankind

Fae

Forsaken

Manufacted

Undead

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

>>>

There were an awful lot that were locked, but I could have a considerable selection to choose from.

I looked through each, getting a quick understanding of each type of creature.

The Aberrations were horror-type creatures that had a high cost per monster, but were powerful and horrifying, along with carrying some intense passive effects, like poisons, toxins, and hallucinogenic venom.

I was relatively familiar with Daemons and Goblins, but the fact that Humans were an option confused me. Would I be able to populate the Dungeon with bandit-type individuals? That was something I would have to look into.

Leese and I had a discussion, a while back when I captured her, on the Fae and their existences, so I knew some, though not everything, about them.

The Forsaken were a group of Crystalline Monsters that had high defense and high magic stats, but were relatively high cost, and had next to no HP. They did, however, multiply when they were slain, which was a really beneficial trait.

The Manufacted were a machine race that I had seen in the Ruins outside of the Populated Zone, but for the most part, they were dead, or dying. Tough as nail, with attack power to spare, they ran on uncommon fuel sources and were typically quite slow and easy to outmaneuver.

And finally, we came to the Undead, which were skeletons, wights, ghouls, ghosts, and various other Spiritual entities. They appealed to me the most, though it was quite cliché to have a Dungeon full of undead warriors.

“Thoughts?” I asked Leese absentmindedly, not really interested in an answer.

“Either the Manufacted or the Forsaken are my votes. Though Humans could be interesting.” Leese rubbed her chin.

“We need to change the name of the Dungeon.” I looked back at the information for the Dungeon and my jaw dropped. “What!?”

“What’s wrong?” Leese asked with concern.

“Why is the Dungeon level one.” I narrowed my eyes at the information, sure it was a mistake.

“Every time a Dungeon is taken over, the Dungeon’s level resets. The good news is that you’re not level one.” Leese said, smiling.

“But doesn’t that impact the Monster level?” I was frustrated that we were going to have to start back at the beginning, when it was originally level twelve.

“Yes, it allows a range up to three levels in either direction, either increasing or decreasing the cost.” Leese said very matter-of-factly.

“So, a hero stomps their happy ass in here, and crushes all of my monsters, then what?” I asked, remembering the fight with Caiaphous.

“Then you get to fight them. And if they die, you get their EXP, and some of their Loot. Hard to beat.” Leese said.

“Are the Monsters sentient, or are they just, you know, ‘monsters’? Can I talk to them, give them orders?” I wondered, scrolling through the list of creatures again and landing on Forsaken.

“That depends. Most of them are sentient, but some are too dull to really understand. Like the Goblinkind. They mostly do what they want, but they can understand basic orders.” Leese landed on the ground, her wings flickering and vanishing.

“What if I wanted a team of insane Wizards?” I scrolled down to the Humans option in the Monsters list.

“That’s an option, though they’re likely to try to rebel. You’d need to show strong leadership.” Leese tilted her head at me and smiled.

“Strong leadership with an iron fist. Got it.” I selected the Humans and looked at the listings.

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Human Monster Variants (Tier I)

Soldier (3 Points)

A basic infantryman, with a long sword and a lot of muscle. Wears heavy armor, but is weak to magic attacks. Best as a front line of defense.

Rogue (3 Points)

Quick, stealthy, and brutal, though physically weak, Rogues are most effective when paired with Soldiers in order to protect them from assaulting forces.

Acolyte (4 Points)

A mixture of a melee fighter and a spell caster, an Acolyte is a hybrid unit that wears medium armor and carries a big, flanged mace, as well as a spell book with a number of powerful spells, including those that can heal.

Wizard (5 Points)

A powerful magical caster, though physically weak. Best kept to the back lines, and protected from harm by Soldiers or Acolytes.

Cleric (5 Points)

A healer, damage dealer, and overall clergyman who, at higher tiers, can resurrect fallen allies in exchange for a portion of their own HP. Armored in Chainmail, Clerics can take a beating, though they would prefer not to, as they can be easily interrupted while incanting their long, spiritual prayers.

>>>

The options for the Human creatures looked especially useful, especially if I were able to get Cinza involved to work them harder than I could normally.

“I think I made the choice, Leese.” I selected the Human Variants option for the Monster Types, then continued down the listing options set. “Now we need a new name.”

“What about Darkening Dungeon?” Leese asked, her hands clasped behind her back as she looked at me.

“What about it indeed. I think that’s a decent name.” I selected the Rename option, and changed it to Darkening Dungeon, then hit accept.

Then, remembering that I absolutely hated the layout of the old Dungeon, I chose to format the Dungeon, deleting the entire thing and starting from scratch.

I wanted it to be at least one floor, but I didn’t have the points to make it more than two. Each floor required a minimum of thirty points, and I only had seventy-five to play with.

So, after doing some work, and adjusting a few things, and realizing that straight hallways only cost two points each, I was able to come up with a decent layout for the first floor. The second floor, on the other hand, was going to take some work, and I didn’t want to bother right away. Not until I got my Monster locations sorted out first.

It was simple, but it would also be effective, with several ambush locations in the secondary hallway, as well as those smaller treasure rooms right at the beginning, for a false sense of security.

I was looking forward to getting in a good slaughter for my first Hero run, but I had no idea how many Heroes would be attacking at once.

A level one Dungeon was unlikely to draw too many Heroes at once, but there were always the ones who were trying to Power Level their friends to bring up their ranks within the Guild of Heroes and the Grand Cathedral.

Ugh, brownie-hounds.

“That’s not a bad design.” Leese said, looking at the layout as we walked through the first floor.

“I figured it would provide sufficient play for them, and it didn’t cost me too much. I have enough points left to make the second floor equally nasty.” I ran my gloved fingers along the stone wall of the hallway, tapping various places to add torches.

“You still need to use your points.” Leese said, reminding me to get that handled.

“Yeah, thanks. Let’s get the second floor built, then we’ll get the traps and the room layouts sorted.” I stood at the top of the stairs to the second floor and looked down at the empty abyss that lay beneath me.

It was simply empty space, like staring into the night sky, but without the stars to guide me through Mysticism or Chantry. It was a terrifying feeling, as though I could simply plunge into abject darkness and be in the Underneath itself without warning.

The void called to me, begging me to join, asking me to just take that fateful step.

Before I could stop myself, I was about to take a step, but a barrier appeared and a warning sound blared through my implants, preventing me from falling into the abyss beneath.

I shook my head, thankful that I couldn’t plummet into the infinite darkness, but confused as to how I had totally lost control in that moment. It was akin to the time I had killed myself during a mission years ago, to escape being a POW in a Cathedral Raid. It was horrible.

I had to reattempt the second floor three times, because I ran out of points to make the rooms themselves work, but I knew that I would be refunded a few points when I took the Tactician Talent.

I walked the halls of the newly made floor, adding torches in a proper, orange firelight color, giving everything a warm, yet dangerous look.

I changed the color of the stone from simple, brick grey, to moss covered, cracked stone. Yes, much better.

After I reached the boss room, I looked over the entire layout and smiled. Surely this Dungeon was better than the past by far.

“Nice, it looks pretty good.” Leese said, landing on my shoulder gently, her body weight more accurate than it used to be, but still not quite right.

“Did you read my mind about your digital weight?” I asked.

“I did, yes. Is it better?” She took a few steps around on my shoulder before leaning against the side of my head and placing a soft peck on my cheek.

“Yes, I rather like the idea of you still being real.” I admitted, though I never would have thought I wanted her around.

“Alright, time to take your Talents.” Leese said, pulling up the interfaces in front of me.

“One point in each.” I said, making my selection and placing the points as I intended.

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Dungeon Lord Talents Unlocked!

Caregiver Rank 1 Unlocked

All Dungeon Monster and Dungeon Lord HP, MP, and SP increased by 2.5%

All Dungeon Monster, Dungeon Lord, and Dungeon EXP Gains increased by 5%

Unlocked New Monster [Harbinger – Cinza]

Tactician Rank 1 Unlocked

All Dungeon Trap, Monster, and Room Deployment Costs reduced by 5%

Unlocked New Trap [Crystal Shatter]

Unlocked New Room Type [Monster Den]

Unlocked New Room Type [Vault]

Annihilator Rank 1 Unlocked

All Dungeon Monster, Traps, and Dungeon Lord Damage Output increased by 5%

Unlocked New Trap [Flame Explosion]

Unlocked New Room Type [Torture Chamber]

>>>

With the reduction in cost, I was able to recoup four points, which was enough for me to install four traps, or change two of the rooms to various types.

With that information, I chose to change the first floor polygon room into a Monster Den, which filled it with broken furniture, like an old tavern, and placed various sigils on the ground, which Leese explained were Monster Spawn points.

Here, I chose to place Cinza, because she would have been more accustomed to this kind of thing.

The door that blocked the hallway to the second floor I trapped with a Flame Explosion trap, which dealt a large amount of Fire Damage to everything within thirty feet of the trap. Hopefully it would be enough to kill any would-be intruders.

Finally, the door leading to my boss chamber, I trapped with a Crystal Shatter trap, which would freeze anyone foolish enough to try the door without checking it for traps, and deal a small amount of ice damage.

After accomplishing this, I placed Monsters in various locations, picking several Soldiers, a few Rogues, a Cleric and a Wizard, leaving me with exactly one point leftover, though there was little I could do with a single point.

Finally, after finishing all of this, I walked through the Dungeon and called all of the Monsters, or in this case, my fighting force, to the main entrance for a quick meeting.

This, of course, included Cinza. Which gave me cause for concern.

“What do you want?” She asked me when I stood in front of the collected Monsters.

“Well, this is my Dungeon now, and as the Dungeon Lord, I need to discuss some things. Firstly, you’re going to treat me with respect, or I’ll have you murdered endlessly by the Heroes who will be stomping through here. Got me?” I snarled at Cinza, who snarled back, but backed away after a moment.

“Yeah, whatever.” She said, looking away.

“Good. Now, the rest of you. This isn’t going to be easy. Heroes are tough, and often carry decent equipment. You kill them, you get loot. This isn’t all for me, I want this place to be a fighting example of Badassery.” I said, tossing my old armor to the Wizard, who looked at it like it was trapped, then slowly put it on.

“Thanks?” He said, looking at his new leather armor.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s kick some ass, hey? We’ve only got a few hours before the first Dungeon Raid, and I have a feeling it’s not going to be easy. Get those barriers up and broadside the bastards.” I went through the battle plan with the group, pointing out places where the most damage could be done most effectively.

I also warned them about the traps. Because it would hit everything in the area. Including them.

I suggested the Rogues head into the ambush points in the main hallway, while the Wizard, Cleric, and a pair of Soldiers stood guard outside my Boss Chambers.

I left Cinza and four Soldiers in the main Tavern area, as well as placed a Soldier in the hallway in the second floor where the blind turn would catch anyone off guard.

Finally, I set up a series of Runic Circles of my own design, along the walls as wards to inform me of how far the Heroes were progressing into the Dungeon, like reporting markers, but a little different.

After all was said and done, I took all of my own remaining Gold, and dumped it into a small coffer in the north room of the first chamber.

It wasn’t much, just a couple thousand, but it would be enough to make anyone greedy for more. Even the most stalwart of Paladins in the Guild of Heroes would be greedy over some Gold.

After that, I used the Dungeon Control System to generate random, garbage loot from the resources within the Dungeon to place in various locations, including some weapon and armor racks, which cost nothing to install.

Some junk vendor items were always entertaining as a secondary form of money gathering for low-level Heroes and Wizards alike.

And of course, there was always the chance that the Monsters I summoned would drop decent loot.

“Cinza, come’re.” I beckoned her over with a wave of my hand and she came, begrudgingly.

“What.” She asked, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her dessicated face.

“Here.” I handed her the rapier she had tried to kill me with, the Slipstrike Rapier.

“My sword?” She took a few practice swings with it, then slipped it into a sheath on her hip.

“Yeah, it’s yours. I’m not into fencing, and I know that sword was your pride and joy. Just, you know, don’t die too many times. It takes much longer for you to respawn than all of the others.” I said, turning away from her.

I could feel her staring daggers into my back, but I had a feeling that, this small connection of trust would go a long way.

“Thanks.” She muttered as I walked down the hallway and headed toward my Boss Chamber.

I arrived at the door to my chamber, and the same, metallic door with the skull was emblazoned like it was when I delved the first time. Except the skull was much smaller, and it was the skull of a Troll, one of the largest creatures of Goblinkind. I had never seen one alive and, based on the size of the skull on my door, I never wanted to.

“I thought you might like that touch.” Leese said, appeared in front of me at the door.

“I do, it’s nice. Thanks for doing that.” I gave her an appreciative nod, then entered the door.

My Boss Chamber was practically empty, except for a few small tables, a few wooden chairs, and a small, shoddy throne at the far end, flanked by a pair of large braziers on the floor, sending out a steady stream of fragrant smoke that smelled of blueberries for some reason or another.

I sat in the throne and looked at the timer spiraling down in the corner of my vision. Only an hour left until the first Raid. It had taken me almost an entire day to get everything prepared, but hopefully it would be less challenging to upgrade and repair later.

For now, though, I needed to prepare myself mentally for the fight to come. I highly doubted that my level one fighters, the Bastard Brawlers, as I had decided to call them, would keep anything out of my room. But Cinza, she would likely stand a chance.

So I prepared myself, going through my list of spells, and practicing remaining calm. I was useless if I got angry.

I sat in the darkness of my Boss Chamber for a short period after my practicing, listening to the braziers burn, and the sound of the crew outside my door chatter, when a blared warning screamed through my implants.

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Incoming Raid!

Dungeon Lord, prepare yourself.

>>>

It was time.