The Dungeon Fairy: Two Choices: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 2) by Jonathan Brooks (free e books to read .txt) 📗

during creation and adding the additional 40 DF requirement – but the results had been less than satisfactory.  Despite her orders, the Fox didn’t seem to be able to use any of the Ability at all.  She knew that it had enough Stamina, because a look at all of her creatures showed that they did indeed have some measure of the resource now, but it still didn’t do anything to indicate that it had used the Ability.

You’re probably right.  If they end up not being able to use any of these Abilities, then I’m not sure I should keep risking myself to acquire these temporary Bonds. 

Therefore, she splurged, when she had a little extra DF after a few short delves by a couple of very inexperienced Raider Groups – no casualties, remarkably – and switched up the two Root Foxes by the entrance, giving them both the new Ability she had acquired.  If they ended up not utilizing the new Ability, they would be easy enough to return to normal; if they did utilize them, then the 80 DF she would spend on them every time was something she thought she could adjust to during her restocking process if she needed to.

It wasn’t long before the next group of Raiders entered her dungeon, and Tacca held her figurative breath as she waited for her creatures to emerge from the roots of the flanking trees.  When the time came…she watched the two completely silent Root Foxes emerge from hiding and leap on the unsuspecting Gnome at the back of the group.  The delving group either hadn’t actually looked at their map of her dungeon or didn’t have one, because they were thoroughly taken by surprise.

“AAAAAAHHH!!  Get them off!” the young-looking Gnome screamed as she was knocked over on her side from the sudden attack.  Tacca’s creatures managed to get a few scratches and a nasty bite on the Gnome’s exposed neck before they were quickly dispatched by the two Human Fighter-Classes that were part of the group.  Overall, it wasn’t nearly enough to deter the Raiders from going on any further, and the wounds were easily healed – by the Gnome herself, no less – but for Tacca, it was a glorious proof-of-concept.  She could indeed assign particular Abilities to her creatures, provided they had the appropriate equipment (or lack of equipment, as it were).

Giving the Ability to more than just those two creatures, however, was out of the realm of possibility at the moment.  Unless she wanted to slow down the introduction of new groups to her dungeon while she regenerated enough DF to afford the cost – which she absolutely didn’t want to mess with right now, as it was going very well – then it wasn’t going to happen.  However, the future was still ripe with possibilities, and if things kept going the way things were…well, then that future wouldn’t be all that far away.

Of course, a few days after she thought that, something just had to happen that messed up all her carefully laid plans.

Chapter 8

Who are these people? Tacca asked Shale incredulously.  Dressed as they were, with custom-crafted suits of plate armor, detailed leatherwork, and gold-embroidered (and likely enchanted) silk robes, they seemed extremely out of place.  They didn’t appear to be entirely comfortable in their gear, as if it were the first time they had worn something like that; that was entirely possible, because other than a fine layer of dust that likely came from their trek up the mountain, each piece looked like it hadn’t seen a single fight before.  Even their weapons – two fine steel swords in the two Fighters’ hands, a polished and intricately carved bow from the Scout, an equally detailed dark wood staff held by the Caster, and an unwieldy-appearing mace in what Tacca assumed was the Healer’s weak grip – looked expensive enough that it probably didn’t belong on anyone delving through her dungeon that really needed to.

“I have no idea…though they’re all dressed similarly to a young Human I remember seeing from one of the delves when I was with my Mentor,” Shale responded, his tone and hesitation indicating that he was trying to remember more about the situation.  “It was only the one at the time, not all five like this, and it was obvious that the Human was being escorted through the dungeon by four fairly powerful Raiders.  The reason it stuck in my mind was because they completed the entire dungeon in record time, without much effort – or so it seemed to me – and the Human dressed in a silk robe did almost nothing.  In every room, he would cast a very minor spell at the creatures defending the area, which didn’t actually do any damage, and then he would step back and let the others kill everything.”

Huh, that does sound strange—

One of the Fighters started to talk as soon as he was inside with the others.  “I can’t believe it only took a single gold coin to get that other group to exchange their place with us!  Fools, they are – we would’ve paid 20 times as much!  Not that they’d have much chance to use it—”  He was wearing a helmet that obscured most of his face, so she couldn’t see it – but the sneer that was likely on his face was obvious in his voice.  Tacca immediately disliked him for some reason.

“Whatever; stop gloating.  Let’s get this over with so we can get back to some semblance of civilization,” an extremely tall Elf Caster in her silk robe said from behind him, cutting him off, looking angry and bored at the same time.  “The Minister said that we have to be done quickly so that we can be on the road before they figure out—”

“Shhhh!  Don’t you remember them saying that these places can hear what you say?” the diminutive Gnome wielding a