Dakota Krout - Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon Book 1)

“Of course, Madame. I need all the friends I can get.” Dale was greatly cheered by this statement.

“My name is Chandra; it is a pleasure to do business with you. We will talk later then.” With a smile and a wave, she walked away.

“Shh-ann-drah.” Dale repeated, “Man am I bad at names.” He turned toward Hans, “You think she will have trouble with making the building?”

Hans snorted. “Doubtful. She’ll likely grow it in a day, she’s an A-rank nine plant Mage. She’s the closest thing to a Saint I have ever seen. Heck, she trained Frank for nearly a decade.”

Dale's mouth dropped open, he hadn’t even thought to look at her cultivation. A bad habit he would need to break, even regular seeming people could be horrifyingly dangerous if he didn’t even bother to notice them. He needed to keep his eyes and ears open, and get used to all of the overwhelming input. It may save his life someday. He activated the Essence flow to his eyes, watching the overlay appear, colors becoming brighter, the flows of the heavens and earth visible to him once again.

“You feeling ok, Dale?” Hans enquired worriedly.

“Yeah. I’m just working through some stuff. Hey,” Dale realized he hadn’t mentioned his earlier encounter, “I met an Elven ambassador this morning.”

“Really? Today already?” Hans seemed surprised by the sudden conversation topic. “It is, what, eight o’ clock? Did they shake you out of bed?”

“Naw, I had gone for a walk around dawn, they found me on the outskirts of the camp.” Dale nonchalantly stated. “They wanted to make a deal for access to the Silverwood tree.”

“Were they surprised when you told them it was in the dungeon?” Hans demanded gleefully.

Dale was stunned for a moment, “Uh, I may have failed to, um, mention that.”

Hans thought this was a hysterical riot of course. “Wait, they made a deal to see it, and they didn’t even ask questions? Typical High Elves, never really thinking of the details. They’re all about the ‘big picture’.” He chuckled at the thought of the dainty Elves trying to ward off Raile. “It should make for a fun afternoon if we watch ‘em though.”

“High Elves?” Dale was confused. “What are High Elves? Or is that just what they call themselves?”

“Oh boy, you could get in some real trouble. I’ll find someone to tell you the whole history, but basically there are High Elves, of the nation Luminaria . These guys are the largest nation, and spend most of their time as merchants, artists, or thinkers. Rich beyond any need to actually work, their King is an S-Ranked expert, and their cities shine with light and wealth. They like to think of themselves as ‘above’ other Elves, thus ‘High’ Elves.” Hans explained with a shake of his head at the thought.

“Next, there are Wood Elves, shorter than the High Elves, and a bit more reclusive, they live in the forests ! Surprise!” Hans dictated, “Seriously though, they are not a fan of the High Elves. They think they are too hedonistic or something. They live more simply, but have greater connection to the earth and the elements. They are ruled by a counsel of S-ranked elders, and rarely leave their woods. Though seen less often, they have great power. They grow and collect food and animal products for themselves and other Elven nations.”

“There are the Sea Elves, who live on boats their entire lives. They facilitate trade between all the races of Elves and man, trying not to take sides in conflicts. They work for themselves, and are considered rather mysterious.”

“The fourth type are known as ‘Wild Elves’. They are the outcasts of their societies, basically feral, they scorn society and civilization, and the rules of others. They have the worst reputation of any of the races of Elves, practicing dark arts and infernal summoning. They have no homeland, living only where they can get away with their dark deeds.”

“The fifth and final are the Drow, or Dark Elves. No one knows where they live, only where they can go to get in contact with them. Dark Elves also have a dark reputation, as assassins and mercenaries for the other races. The worst of their lot are ‘Moon-Elves’, the best known assassins of any race.” He pondered for a moment, “Anyway, Dark Elves work for the highest bidder, and will change their allegiance mid fight if offered enough. Never work with them unless they sign a Mana-contract, else you could quickly end up dead.” Hans finished, a bit out of breath.

Dale listened raptly to these descriptions. He had never much considered the outside world, and was constantly amazed by how intricate it really was. Someday, he promised himself, he would travel and see everything the world had to offer. He would live long enough to see it all if he became strong enough.

“Well, I might be in trouble.” Dale gave a weak chuckle, “I didn’t make a deal with the High Elves, it-“

Father Richard walked up to them at that point, forcing Dale to abruptly stop talking, so he made motions to Hans that they would talk at a later date.

“Oh, there you are!” Father Richard exclaimed cheerfully. “Listen, I didn’t think about it, but making you wait till noon seemed like torture. Are you ready now, or do you have other things on your plate?”

“Well, no, but I just ate and-” Dale began frantically.

Father Richard cut him off with a wave. “No problem, my child, you’ll likely vomit either way. Might as well get it over with!”

Hans chimed in, “You aren’t trying to avoid Frank being there are you? I can go get-“

A slightly panicked look crossed Father Richard’s face, “No, no.” He hastily stated, “No time for that if you want to join us! I have the area prepared, we need to get to it!”

Dale’s wrist was grasped firmly and he was all but dragged along behind Father Richard. They were moving toward the celestial infused lot, which made Dale gasp when he saw it. A white granite, coliseum-style arena had appeared around the entirety of the area, perfectly framing the quartz. Beyond that, a massive chapel was glowing in the morning sun. Father Richard was also using this as an opportunity to showcase his purchase, it seemed.

“If you look over there, there is a healing ward that connects directly to the exit from the dungeon. That way, people can be checked in and healed as soon as they leave their fight. Next to that is the vault, which I personally blessed and enchanted, to hold valuables as we begin our function as a bank. Sermons will be given next to the quartz, the roof is perfectly clear glass, so we will function in all seasons. The doors are granite reinforced with steel and Essence, to protect the worshippers within.” Father Richard babbled happily.

“Over there is the dormitory, we can have up to thirty people living there comfortably, or near one hundred uncomfortably. Kitchen, library, garden.” Father Richard turned toward Dale. “So? What do you think?”

“I’m amazed. This was build overnight?” Dale gaped at the gleaming building.

“Of course not,” was the scoffed reply, “we started after lunch yesterday, I could only hire that team of Mages for twelve hours or so.”

“How did I not see this when I went to breakfast?” Hans squinted at him suspiciously.

Father Richard smoothly countered, “Must have been dark.”

“I think there is more to it than that,” Hans narrowed his eyes further. “No rumors, no one noticed the work, why? What were you hiding?”