The Crafter's Defense: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 2) Jonathan Brooks (large ebook reader TXT) 📖

were desperate for more machines to haul things in the capital, Violet thought they would probably cannibalize this creation for its parts.

For the most part, she stayed out of the conversation and arguments over how it was supposed to look and how it was put together, as she didn’t really work with Haulers like that.  Instead of listening to them describe what the pins that would connect the track pieces together looked like in detail, she rested in the corner to recharge some of her Spirit elemental energy for the upcoming enchantments she was going to be creating later.  She still had plenty of Natural energy left, but the feedback system was entirely Spirit-based; the more complex machines required multiple elements to get them to work properly, which usually meant at least two Master Enchanters working on it together – if they each had access to three or more different elements.

That was rare, however, so the most common number that used to work on those feedback systems were four.  That was the main reason her people were in trouble, actually; while there were some retired Master Enchanters still alive to teach what they knew, they couldn’t teach using a hands-on approach – because there weren’t even enough of them to create even a single War Machine.  With some help from the Journeymen Enchanters they could get by, but it would take longer – and then they wouldn’t have time to teach.  There was no simple solution other than to train as many that had the aptitude as they could and hope for the best.

Which was why Violet had been both reluctant and eager to work with Sandra, if only for the chance of changing that.  She wasn’t really looking forward to teaching and learning from the same entity that practically orchestrated the destruction of Glimmerton, but she resolved to see it through in the off chance that some good could come from it.  She didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget what happened, but over time she thought she might be able to forgive her.  Maybe…the verdict was still out on that one.

And supplying all of the material she could see stacked up along the corner wall to them for free, as well as allowing them to return home, would go a long way toward that forgiveness.

At some point during the construction of the Hauler, Violet fell asleep.  The enchanting she had done on those strange “Repository” pillars had fairly wiped her out with the sheer size of the enchantments, as it took a lot more out of her than she was expecting.  She hadn’t wanted to admit it at the time, but that last one nearly depleted every drop of Spirit elemental energy she had in her body.  It would come back with rest, she knew, which was probably why she had been so tired – and had been able to sleep even through all of the arguments and loud noises as the machine was put together.

When she woke up later, only the squeak of springs echoed through the room as some of the metal apes finished loading the transports with supplies.  She was surprised to see that there were now three of the wagons that she had seen being constructed earlier, and all but the last were heavily laden with all types of precious materials.  Violet got up and walked over to one of the full ones, using a little ladder permanently attached to the end to look inside.

Bars of different types of metals, with steel in the greatest quantity, were evenly distributed on the wagon – along with a myriad of other materials from high-quality wooden boards to skeins of thread – and held in place by additional wooden boards that crossed the bed of the wagon.  They were all loose and not packed in small crates like she usually saw, but that was fine; she just had to make sure that they were covered with something to prevent any from flying out later while on the move.

* Don’t worry, I’m planning on sealing it all up once it’s all ready to go, as well as providing a place for everyone to sit. *

Sandra’s voice in her head startled her for just a moment, but she recovered before she lost her grip on the side of the wagon and fell off.  “This…is a lot.  Are you sure we can just take all of this?”  Now that she had a chance to see it all loaded up on the wagons, it was a literal treasure trove of material the likes of which she had never seen before.

* Absolutely, it’s not really a hardship to create all of this for you, and I want you all to succeed.  As contrary as it sounds coming from a Dungeon Core, I really do want you to thrive and fight back against the dungeons that are surrounding your people.  If this all works out, I’m hoping this will establish a relationship between us that will benefit us both greatly. *

That last statement gave Violet pause as she hopped down from the back of the wagon.  “How would we benefit you, especially when you can do all—” she waved her hands at everything in the room— “this by yourself?”

* For one, I would love to learn more about the way you enchant your machines, as it is almost entirely unfamiliar to me.  I told you I have a passion for crafting, and learning as much as I can from various sources such as yourself feeds that passion.  And, two, well…I’m hoping that – in the future – helping you now to get a handle on your dungeon monster problem will free you up to help the other races around here.  It’s not just the Gnomes that are in danger of being wiped out over the next few decades or centuries; the Elves, Orcs, and Dwarves are threatened as well. *