The Dungeon Fairy: Two Choices: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 2) Jonathan Brooks (online e reader TXT) 📖

him practically falling on his face.  The Fighter picked himself up and shook his head, only saying that he was fine and that he was just thinking about one of his Abilities – and he had a smile on his face.

Soon after, as the others looked at him with awkward skepticism, another wave of force identical to the first blasted out of the Caster, though she didn’t trip – but she did look shocked.  The emotion was missed by the others because they were looking at the other Hill Dwarf, who at that point had recovered enough that he appeared back to normal.

“Ok, I think I’m fine.  Uh…if I remember correctly, there are 4 of those same brown foxes we just fought…there, there, there, and there,” the smaller Fighter said, pointing precisely where Tacca’s creatures were hiding, ready to emerge from their hiding places.  They were camouflaged so well that if the Dungeon Core didn’t know where they were, even she would be hard-pressed to identify their locations – and yet, the Hill Dwarf did precisely that.

The Scout looked at the tree roots from a distance, trying to see if what the Fighter had said was accurate; even though he seemed fairly observant, he obviously couldn’t see the Foxes there.  Nevertheless, he shrugged and pulled out one of his throwing knives from the brace on his left arm, holding it loosely in his right hand.  Then, so quickly Tacca could barely see it, he raised his arm up, flicked his hand forward, and released the knife in one fluid motion that indicated a lot of practice.

*Thunk*

Despite not being able to see his target camouflaged in the tree roots, the Gnome’s toss had been “luckily” accurate based on the general information he received from the Hill Dwarf regarding its location.  The Root Fox had been watching them the entire time with its eyes open, one of which was now embedded with a knife, piercing through to its brain and killing it instantly.  Tacca wasn’t sure who was more surprised: The Fox or the Scout, as the Gnome saw that his throw had flown true.

The other 3 creatures hiding in wait immediately attacked after one of their brethren was killed, and a second Fox was incapacitated by another knife pulled out and thrown quickly by the Scout; this throw wasn’t as accurate as the first, but instead hit the brown creature in the throat with enough force that it connected with the Fox’s spine, causing it to collapse as its limbs became unresponsive.  The other 2 creatures stood no chance as the Fighters stepped forward and caught their attention, bashing or slicing them up until they quickly succumbed to the assault.

“Wow – good memory!” the Healer exclaimed, all trace of his earlier annoyance gone.  “They were exactly where you said they’d be.”

“Yes…well, now that I’m focused on that, I seem to remember a lot more,” the small Fighter said, as the others were picking up the rewards dropped by the creatures they had slain.

His “memory” proved to be extremely accurate, as the next room he was able to mark out the boundaries of the Rage-inducing trap, as well as identifying where the Frond Coyotes were hiding behind the ferns in the room.  Tacca had been correct when she thought he could “see” her traps as easily as her creatures, and with precise descriptions of where everything was located, the group was able to lure the creatures into attacking before they ever stepped foot in the trap – which was usually when they attacked.  In fact, they were able to completely avoid the trap by going around the edge of it, so it was essentially nullified by their knowledge of its exact dimensions.

Hmm…this could be bad if they chose to hunt for my Core; it’s mainly protected by traps – and those creatures wearing the enchanted gear, of course – and if they can bypass them this easily, well then….  It was yet another reason why she was trying to avoid Bonding with anyone, because that kind of Ability was dangerous.  Thankfully, she didn’t believe she had anything to fear from the two Hill Dwarves and their group, mainly because they seemed like they were only there to delve – not to destroy her Core.  Besides, if what I heard from them was correct, they had “moved up” in the world because of my dungeon’s presence here. 

Out of everyone, the two Bonded Hill Dwarves would have the most to lose if she were to be destroyed, so she was fairly confident that they had no ill intent towards her.  That didn’t mean that there weren’t still some Raiders out there that wanted her gone, but she didn’t have to worry about this group.  In fact, since they were so fully on her side – at least as far as the two Hill Dwarves – she thought that they were the only ones she could trust, if she could trust any Raiders.  With that being the case, and with it being likely that they had no awareness of the threat she had been under by that group of “Merchants” a few weeks ago, she thought it might be a good idea to let them know.

With a quick check on Shale to see that he was still firmly asleep in his Hibernation, she carved something into the stone floor of the exit staircase tunnel, just outside of the Boss room.  Seeing how they were easily handling the third room, she had no doubt that the group would face the final room’s inhabitants and finish her dungeon; therefore, as a secondary reward, they would receive her warning.  It was a slight risk, because the other members of the Raider group would see it; regardless, she thought it was important enough to communicate what had happened to risk it.

Her assumptions had again been correct, as the 2 Hill Dwarves and their group methodically