The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) by Jonathan Brooks (best english books to read TXT) 📗

will all of this cost me and my Kingdom?  I can tell you right now, we will not be your slaves; we’d rather die than be subjected to that.”

* What is it with people thinking I want slaves?  That’s not at all what I want, your Highness.  In fact, I ultimately want your people to thrive and take care of your problems by yourself, with minimal assistance, but that time hasn’t really come quite yet. 

 

* As for what this is going to cost you, there is something that I need your help with.  I’ll go over it in just a little bit, as soon as I can get everyone together.  In the meantime, I’m sure you and First-shield Parten are quite hungry; Gerold can show you to the kitchen to get a bite to eat. *

“You bet, Sire.  And there’s a surprise there as well,” Gerold said happily.

“A surprise?  I think I’ve already had my fair share of surprises lately.”

Jespin smiled, acknowledging the King’s statement.  “Oh, I’m well aware of that, Sire, but I think you’ll like this one.  You too, Parten.”

Sandra left them to finish outfitting the King, while she dealt with what she suspected was going to be the most volatile of her visitors: The Elven monarchs.  Echo used her Air energy to speed herself up, and she fortunately arrived before the disoriented and confused Royal couple could start blasting their way out of their room.

“NO, STOP!” Echo screamed as soon as she skidded into the room, the King with a giant fireball between his hands and the Queen with a chunk of rock half her size in her own, both ready to be flung towards anything in their way.

Sandra nearly took control of the two Elves when they seemed intent on launching their attacks towards the Ranger as soon as she appeared, but she restrained herself; a good first impression would immediately be soured if she did something like that.  Wanting to keep it as an option of last resort, the Dungeon Core was relieved to see the King and Queen dissipate their spells at the last moment, though they were still a bit hostile.

“Who are you?  Where are we?” the Queen demanded, her hands up in a defensive posture as she glared at Echo.

This might not go well if they don’t even recognize her.

“Please stay calm, everything is alright.  You’re safe now, and the effects of the mind-control have been—"

“Mind-control?!  What are you talking about, and who are you?” the King shouted, getting closer to Echo in a threatening manner.  Sandra almost acted again, but the Royal Elf stopped himself from actually touching her when he cocked his head to the side.  “You…seem familiar, somehow.  Why?”  To Sandra, he seemed more curious than angry, which she supposed was an improvement.

“My name is Echo, your Highnesses, and I brought you here to help remove the effects that you were under because of the Chamberlain—”

As the mention of the Chamberlain, both the King and Queen threw their heads back and screamed.  Almost seeming to come from nowhere, multiple elemental energies surrounded them in a whirlwind, swirling around like a tornado of crackling power, and Sandra feared for Echo’s well-being.  After a few seconds, fortunately, the screaming stopped and they both stared at the Ranger, who stepped back in obvious fright; when the Dungeon Core saw their eyes, hard and unforgiving, she immediately took the reins of both the King and Queen before they did something to harm either Echo or themselves.  She didn’t stop them yet, though, but she wouldn’t hesitate to do so if they tried anything funny.

“WHERE IS HE?” both Royal Elves said deeply in unison, which was starting to freak even Sandra out.  “WE WILL KILL THAT TRAITOROUS CHAMBERLAIN!”

The Core wasn’t sure how Echo could even speak after being the focus of all that powerful attention, but she managed it somehow.  “H-he is dead.  Eaten by a giant bird, in fact.  It’s partially what freed you from his control.”  Their stare in response to her words was so powerful that Echo literally dropped to her knees as her strength apparently gave out.

The tornado of elemental energy, stronger than anything Sandra had seen before that wasn’t created with a dungeon’s Mana, slowly dissipated after a few moments, and the King and Queen turned to each other.  “Is it true, my love?  Are we free?” the Queen asked, her voice a lot more melodious and softer than it had been just moments ago.

“I…don’t know, but I can’t feel his influence anymore.  Oh, how did we let that happen?” he responded, reaching out to the Queen and enfolding her into his embrace.  They stood like that for a few minutes, just holding each other, before Echo cleared her throat.

“Umm, your Highnesses?  There’s some things you need to know about where you are and what is going on around here.  Do you remember anything?” she asked, plaintively.

The two Royal Elves finally broke apart, before the Queen responded.  “Bits and pieces of memories over the last year or so, though there is a lot more before that.  What I remember most is having concerns about our new Chamberlain, but for some reason they were swept away.  After a time, I was fully aware of what was happening, but I was powerless to stop it.”

The King nodded as well.  “About the same with me.  I can’t believe we let our guard down and that filth took advantage of it.”  He paused, looking at Echo.  “Please explain to us what is going on and who you are.  And—” he continued, looking around the small room— “where in the world are we?”  The King cocked his head to the side again. “Better yet, how are we even alive?  If I remember correctly, the use of the spell he cast on us was banned specifically because it eventually destroys the minds