Fantasy Dungeon Builder's Harem

Halia could not shake that there was something they were missing about the encounter with her father. It filled her mind, itching at her, at the worst moments. She should be enjoying Zobens's golden dildo drilling into her pussy, but Halia wasn't.

"What's wrong?" the busty, green-skinned orc asked, pausing in her thrusts. Her big boobs swayed over Halia.

The paladin lay on her back, her legs wrapped around Zobens's waist. They were in the Third Labyrinth, the place patrolled by the orcs and the ghosts. One of the latter, Grobi, had her head thrust out of the wall watching them.

"Nothing," said Halia. She smiled up at the orc, squeezing her pussy around on the dildo. "Mmm, you going to keep fucking me with your big dick?"

The orc scowled. "Nothing is right. You're totally not feeling me fucking you. Really throws an orc off. I want to hear gasps. Moans. I want to hear you quivering in ecstasy, your pussy melting around my dildo as I fuck you so hard."

"Yes, yes, you are not crying out, Lady Halia," whispered Grobi. A greenish light glowed from the ghost. More of her appeared as she floated out of the wall. Her shadowy hair fluttered through the air. "Are you not enjoying yourself."

"Sorry," Halia said, noticing Grobi was masturbating, her hand between her thigh. "I just keep feeling like I'm missing something."

"A tongue in your asshole?" asked Grobi.

"No, no, that's not what I'm missing," Halia said.

"It's certainly not a hard fucking," Zobens said. "Only one who's going to pound your pussy harder is Lord Leo."

"Yes, yes, the Dark Lord will fuck you so hard." The ghost cocked her head. "Shall I ask if he'll ravish your asshole?"

"No!" Halia sighed. "It's not what's going on right now. I just feel like I'm missing something about my father. I keep thinking about it, and it's driving me insane with this itch."

"You should cum harder then," Zobens said. "That always satisfies my itches." The orc's green hands grabbed the paladin's pale breasts.

"It's not that type of itch," Halia groaned.

"Let's find out. Grobi, lick her asshole while I ravish her pussy with my dildo."

"Yes, Zobens," the ghost said, her voice haunting and mournful despite the excited smile on her translucent lips.

She sank into the floor of the dungeon. A moment later, a face pressed between Halia's butt-cheeks, parting them. The ghosts could choose when to interact with the world. Halia gasped as the cool lips kissed at her asshole and licked her sphincter. The rimming delight melted to her pussy.

Zobens grinned and, squeezing Halia's tits, drew back her hips. The golden dildo slid out of the paladin's cunt. She groaned, her cunt gripping the shaft. Then Zobens thrust back into her twat. The dildo buried deep and hard. It slammed to the hilt in Halia's pussy.

Pleasure rippled through her. The delight of being fucked by the orc's dildo mixed with the ghost's ethereal tongue dancing over her asshole. Halia moaned, her butt-cheeks squeezing about Grobi's face thrust out of the stone floor of the dungeon.

"Yes, yes, how is that?" groaned Zobens, her fingers sliding up Halia's tits to her nipples.

The orc pinched them. Halia gasped, her pussy clamping down on the thrusting dildo. "Better! Oh, that's better."

The itch about her father faded as she surrendered to the pleasure of the orc's thrusts. Those green fingers pinching Halia's nipples shot delight down to her cunt being so thoroughly reamed by the golden dildo. More bliss melted out of the human's asshole stirred up by the ghost's dancing tongue.

Then Grobi pressed her tongue against Halia's sphincter. The human gasped as her anal ring parted to the drilling delight. The tongue sank into her flesh. She groaned, her face twisting with the delight of this moment.

"Oh, that's so good," the human paladin moaned, her orgasm building and building with Zobens's every thrust. The orc pumped away hard and fast. She buried her dildo into the human's cunt. "You two! Ooh, you're relaxing me."

"Good!" moaned the orc. "Lord Nabu's mighty cock, I'll make you cum, Halia. I'll make you explode on my golden dildo!"

Zobens buried her dildo into Halia's cunt. The paladin gasped. Her face twisted in delight. She squirmed on the dungeon floor while the ghost's naughty tongue licked and lapped at her asshole. Pleasure swept through her body. She groaned and whimpered, her butt-cheeks clenching down on the ghost's face.

Halia humped into the strokes. She met Zobens's hard thrusts. The human groaned, her boobs jiggling, nipples grasped in the orc's pinching fingers. Zobens twisted and twerked those nubs, shooting delight down to Halia's pussy being so thoroughly reamed.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Halia moaned. "Lady Sherida's pussy, that's so good! Oh, that's wonderful."

"Lady Ereshkigal's cold pussy," purred the ghost, her voice mournful and muffled. Her spectral tongue thrust back into Halia's bowels.

The human groaned, the ghostly tongue dancing around in her asshole. It felt so good in her. Such a rush to have swirling about in her asshole. She groaned, squeezing her bowels around the tongue while the dildo rammed into her cunt.

The human shuddered, her face contorting with delight. Her orgasm built and built in her. The two monster girls pleasured her. Zobens slammed her dildo hard into Halia's cunt, the orc's big boobs heaving and smacking together. The green mounds rippled from the impacts.

"Yes, yes, yes!" moaned Halia, her hands shooting up to cup the orc's big tits. She squeezed those soft mounds. "Thank you, Zobens! Grobi. Lady Sherida! I'm going to cum! I'm going to explode on your dildo and tongue."

The ghost purred, her spectral fingers massaging Halia's butt-cheeks while that cool tongue danced around in her asshole. The pleasure melted to her pussy. Her cunt clamped down on the dildo ramming into her depths. It buried into her hard and fast. It reamed her out.

She gasped and moaned, loving every second of that thick shaft plunging into her pussy. The orc twisted Halia's nipples. The ghost's tongue churned up the paladin's asshole. Everything quivered through the human. She whimpered.

Came.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she howled as her body bucked. Her flesh rippled and writhed around the thrusting dildo. It buried into her hard and fast. She groaned, savoring that delight. It was amazing. "Lady Sherida!"

She came, crying out to her Goddess.

Pleasure exploded in her pussy. Her cunt writhed and spasmed. Waves of bliss rushed through her body. She gasped and bucked, the ecstasy spilling through her flesh. She groaned, her face contorting from the rapture surging through her.

"That's so good!" she moaned, her cunt convulsing. "That's amazing. I love it. I love it so much! Yes, yes, yes, I'm cumming so hard."

"That's wonderful!" groaned Zobens. "Lord Nabu's mighty cock, yes!"

The orc buried her dildo into Halia's spasming pussy. The orc moaned, her boobs jiggling in the human's grip. Halia shuddered, her asshole convulsing around the ghost's tongue as the rapture washed through her body and drowned her mind.

Ecstasy swirled over Halia's thoughts. She gasped and moaned, the ecstasy bursting through her. It was intense. Electric. She groaned, her head tossing from side to side. She squeezed her thighs around Zobens's waist.

"Lady Sherida, yes!" the human moaned, hitting the peak of her pleasure, Grobi's naughty tongue dancing around in her writhing asshole. "Yes, yes, that's wonderful. Oh, Thank you Zobens! Grobi!"

The human collapsed. Her breasts rose and fell. Her hands slipped from Zobens's big boobs. A dizzy wave of delight rushed through her. She shuddered, savoring every moment of this. She felt so wonderful right now.

And then it itched at her. I'm missing something. What?

"Didn't work?" the orc asked, pulling her dildo out of Halia's cunt.

"It didn't--" The alarm rang through their thoughts. Another adventuring party was attacking the dungeon. Unless... "Is it my father?" she thought on, what Leo had called, the broadcast network.

"Band of dwarves," answered Skamianiela. "Fierce ones. Immune to petrification. They're going to breach the first labyrinth."

"Let's get ready to meet them, oozes and satyrs," called Smerta. The valkyrie was in charge of defenses on the first level. "They'll be good in tight quarters, but not fast. Let's use hit and run tactics, satyrs. Oozes, wait for the dwarves to get separated before dropping down on them."

"Will do!" Cikata, one of the oozes, answered with a cheery voice.

Zobens sighed. "I wish I was stationed in the first labyrinth."

"Oh?" Halia asked. She had to get back to the living quarters to don her gear.

"I only get to fight if so many others of the harem die." Zobens sighed. "Makes me feel bad when I hope for the adventurers to get this far so I can have the pleasure of ramming my sword into them." She summoned her golden sword, showing that she still had Lady Sherida's blessing. Halia had given that to the orcs. "I was born to fight for Lord Leo. I want it so much."

"Nothing wrong with wanting to fulfill your destiny," said Halia. "But you know why you're stationed here."

"He wants the strongest monster girls in deep so the enemy will be at their weakest when they face us."

"And because he trusts you to hold," Halia said. "I have to get my gear and defend our Lord."

Zobens nodded. "You get to fight even less than me. I suppose there's that."

"Yeah," Halia said, bemused. She cupped Zobens's face and kissed the orc before she jogged off.

"They're heading your way, Khur," Smerta said. "Just disabled a fire trap. They'll be at intersection 3b in a moment. Hit them and get out. Don't be a hero. Just do some damage and scamper off."

"Will do, Smerta," Khur the satyr answered.

Fauraliiithiliana tried to ignore the reports of the latest band of adventurers penetrating the dungeon. They came almost every day. It had been a week since the harem had almost all perished to Dark Anguin's attack, and the elf was hard at work deciphering the inscriptions found in the First Dungeon.

That sent a giddy rush through Fauraliiithiliana every time she thought about it. She had trod through Meskalamdug's dungeon. Walked in some of the most ancient ruins in all of the world. Her research had been right. Those narrow-minded old farts at the library, whose brains had fossilized from all the dust they breathed in, had laughed at her. Mocked her.

But she was right.

And when she published her book on what she had discovered, it would be revolutionary. But first, she had to translate the cuneiform script that they had found in the dungeon. It was similar to the arcane language, but more ancient. She was making only guesses sometimes.

But what really excited her these days was Leo himself. Touching his Void Crystal and knowing him had left a mark on her. Why, she had fallen in love with him. How could she not have when she had known him so profoundly.

"Okay, here's what I have on the rarity of unique symbols," said Nina Naughty. The "porn star" devil had been assisting the elf. That had shocked Lord Leo and his women from his world. Apparently, porn stars were not viewed with much intellectual achievement.

"That is a very interesting distribution of symbols," said Fauraliiithiliana as she looked down the list. Each of the symbols had been counted, some occurring hundreds of times, some only tens.

"Code breakers do this to understand which ones are the common letters," said Nina Naughty. "You say this script is similar to the arcane tongue."

"I hope so," she said. "But the symbols are different in places."

"Not surprising. Alphabets change." Nina smiled, her coal-bright eyes smoldering. "In my world, the alphabet we've used is ancient. Like three thousand years old. The Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Babylonians all used it. The Greeks adopted it. Then the Romans. That's how it came to my people. Through the Romans. We call it the Latin alphabet because of that. And they say our alphabet itself is descended from Egyptian hieroglyphics."

"Fascinating," Fauraliiithiliana said, jotting down notes.

The other world was so fascinating. Like being a porn star. A prostitute paid to have sex in front of other people who then watch it and masturbate to it. There was a magic called "film" and "video" and "streaming" involved. A way to project images that were recorded like complicated illusions.

"So cuneiform in my world is a log-syllabic script. This means that the letters can both be used to represent an idea or concept. Say that one might mean bird. But it could also represent a syllable like bi which is the first sound at the start of bird."

"I know what you mean," gasped the elf. "The arcane tongues have their glyphs. There are the twelve elemental symbols, the ones that are branded on Lord Leo's chest, but there are also other ones that represent simple concepts."

"Let's start comparing them," said an eager Nina. "And do those symbols also represent a syllable?"

"They do." The elf smiled. "I wish I had studied this more. I really, really do. I'll have to go off my memory."

"Let's hope it's better than mine," said Nina, a big smile spreading on her lips.

"You have a very keen mind," said Fauraliiithiliana. "I am surprised you did not become a scholar on your world."

"Porn was more fun," said Nina. "College just gets you straddled with debt. Most don't use their worthless degrees. So I thought I'd just embrace being hot. I had a lot of fun, and now... Now I get to be here and have more fun. In my spare time, I learned things. Read books. You have a lot of time waiting around to get fucked. I got my knowledge on."

Fauraliiithiliana smiled. "I am glad. You are a joy to work with."

"And I eat your pussy so well your ears twitch," purred the devil. She leaned in and licked one.

A shiver ran through the naked elf. Her pussy clenched. If they weren't in the middle of being attacked by adventurers, she would suggest taking a break. Her study had a very comfy bed and several wooden dildos to play with.

"Last dwarf is down," Smerta reported. "He got Feya. Threw his ax and split her head open."

Hearing that killed Fauraliiithiliana's excitement, though. She grabbed fresh parchment. She had all the paper she needed. Leo could easily make it for her. It took hardly any of the magic he was accumulating each time an adventurer died.

"Let me mark out the major and minor arcane glyphs, what they mean, and what syllable they represent and see what we can make of it," said the elf. She grabbed her phoenix quill and started scratching, burning the marks into the paper.

I finished bringing my monster girls back to life. The adventurers were flooding the area. Mayor Bevlin reported that the bands were pouring in from every direction. I had gained a reputation as a tyrant. They kept boasting about liberating Astovin from my dastardly hands.

I just wanted to be left alone. I had to find more mana veins. I couldn't use Isatu in her dragon form nor get Level 3 Monster Girls and Expert Magic Spells. I had to find at least two new veins. It was tedious work.

The attacks did not help.

I had to keep abandoning my work of sending exploratory tunnels into the surrounding mountains. I was working down and out, searching for those Mana Veins. They could be anywhere. They were never too long, maybe a half-mile at most.

I didn't know if new ones would sprout or if they could ever run out short of me spending them.

It was tedious work sending out my tunnels in new paths, picturing what I want. After a few hours, I would have to stop, my head pounding from the headache that formed from the concentration. The pressure. If we didn't have Isatu able to turn into a dragon, would we have a chance against Halia's father?

I had Death magic now, and Light magic seemed effective. I had to come up with a better plan. The monster girls could only distract him. He was too fast. Too deadly. His powers were deadly in the confines of the dungeon. He navigated it with such ease blindly. I could redesign the entire thing, but he penetrated every trap and even found the secret door that led to my base.

It was a shame I couldn't shut off access to the dungeon. That was the one thing I didn't seem able to do. The way to the outside had to be maintained. Otherwise, some dungeon builder would just use Life magic to grow his own food and shut out the world. Then where would the challenge be?

The woman who brought us here, the Incarnation, wanted us to grow stronger. That meant being forced to adapt. But if Fuegin was so powerful he ruled over his own country, there was a different sort of strength she wanted from us.

That was the part that had me scratching my head when I wasn't delving into the depths of the dungeon.

I was working my way down toward the depths of Meskalamdug's dungeon. I had a feeling Mana Veins were running through his place. Assuming they could last 4000 years. But I also wanted to be methodical. There were a lot of "Y layers" in Minecraft terms. A lot of space between us that was statistically likely to have what I needed.

Now he had the right idea. His teleportation circle was a fascinating idea. If I could replicate that and then have a small chimney that led to the surface. Something that wasn't obvious... A place that adventurers couldn't find.

I had illusion magic that I could use to hide it. I could move where my dungeon exited at will. But what about Astovin? I swore to protect it. And I still wanted to be able to go there for the food. The tunnel to it would still be a point of vulnerability. Someone in the village would reveal its existence.

I ran another batch of exploratory tunnels to the east about a hundred feet beneath me. It was a grid pattern. I focused on it, my hands gripping the stone. Just as I was about to manifest it, I was shoved out of the system, an alarm ringing.

"Fucking adventurers," I muttered.

Most didn't get far these days, but I hadn't made it farther than my bedroom where my women were scrambling when the dying began. Mom held out my gray robe to slip into while Maya held my lightning spear. I was comfortable with the weapon. I could make other ones--a light sword, a water hammer, earth gauntlets, a fire whip, and so on--but I knew how to use the lightning spear. I had the dark dagger for a backup and my magic was just impressive.

Mom was just sliding on my robe when the werebears and the basilisks in the entryway were wiped out. The adventurers had been prepared. Smerta was shouting orders to the first-floor defenders in the hallways.

"Sounds serious," said Maya as Mom belted my robe closed.

"Yeah," I said, rolling my shoulders. "They were ready for the entry hall. We have to start changing up our front guardians. They're ready with anti-petrifaction measures these days."

"The ghosts would give them a pretty good scare," said Morana. My banshee had a wicked smile on her lips. "Usher these adventurers into death sooner."

I sighed. I hated killing them. Had I done anything threatening to the world? Nope. Did that matter?

We moved down the hallway to the throne room while Smerta planned her first ambush. The adventurers were disabling traps. They had a good rogue with them. At least they were being slowed down by the obstacles.

One good thing, it wasn't Anguin coming to kill us.

"Leo," Halia said as sge entered the throne room, the map set into the floor active.

"Yeah?" I asked, wincing as a few of the wildhounds were picked off. They were scouting the enemy, learning what they could. Smerta was sacrificing them. Not that the wildhounds minded. Every time I brought them back, they were full of smiles, just so happy to serve.

"I've been thinking about something my father said," Halia said. "It's been itching at me all week, and I think I finally know why."

"Okay, why?" I asked, stepping over the elevator. The red dots of the adventurers were moving deeper in the labyrinth. A group of satyrs and wildhounds prepared an ambush. They were at the door to the Lightning Pillar Room, almost done with the first level of the labyrinth. They had gotten there fast for going so carefully.

"Maybe later," Halia said. "How are they at the Lightning Pillar Room?" asked Halia. "Did they go straight there?"

I asked Smerta and she confirmed it.

"I definitely need to change the layout again," I muttered. "Survivors must be making maps, figuring out routes and where the defenses lay."

The ambush happened. The satyrs and wildhounds charged in as their rogue worked on unlocking the door to the Lightning Pillar room. The oozes dropped down on the party. Red dots and blue dots merged. Feya and Smerta's blue dots were lurking around the corners, close enough to help, but not engaging.

It was over fast. My Level 1 Monster Girls didn't stand much of a chance.

Smerta was already coordinating the forces in the second labyrinth as the party entered the Lightning Pillar Room. The traps started discharging. But they must have been ready for the electric damage, too.

"They're well prepared, Lord Leo," Smerta said.

"Can't you do a better showing than this?" Crystal asked, my older sister using a mocking tone.

"Don't make me come up there and spank that frozen ass red," Smerta said. "Bear's dick, I'll do it."

"Crystal, now's not the time for you to flirt with Smerta," I said, my voice stern.

"Yeah, yeah," Crystal said. "Just need to bleed out some energy. I would love to be out there. We could just attack them. All of us here. We'd mop the floor with them."

"Your brother doesn't like fighting with normal humans and the other races of this world," Mom said, her voice loving.

"And letting your monster girls kill them makes it any better?" Crystal asked. "They're still dying."

"They can always realize that they are in over their heads," I said. "That's the point of the dungeon. To wear them down and convince them to leave. To try something easier. It's supposed to get harder for them. If I wanted them dead, I would just force them into a large room full of all my monster girls and massacre them."

"A few dungeon builders have done that," said Halia. "Dangerous. Very, very dangerous. If the adventurers get desperate, they'll bring in an army. There are more of them out there than there are monster girls in here."

I gave a slow nod as they moved into the Second Labyrinth. It didn't go well. The defenders of the second labyrinth were much like the entry hallway. Werebears and basilisks, whom the adventurers were ready for. The arachnes must have made some difference. The fighting was fierce. Smerta and Feya joined it.

One blue dot was missing, but the other six were still there at the end of that. Smerta passed on vital information. The party had two mages, a cleric, a rogue, a paladin, and two warriors. One of the warriors had died, but their mages were effective and the cleric a strong healer. The paladin and the two warriors were skilled fighters. They used the tunnels effectively with shields to protect their squishy spell casters.

"They're going towards the Overgrown Room," I muttered. "Look. Not making any wrong turns. They know the fastest way to the second floor. How many groups make it back out after getting this far?"

"Not many," muttered Halia. "Maybe this is my father's work. He might have prepped them. Or shared his knowledge."

"Prepped them?" I glanced at her. "What if he comes in after them? Using them to mop his way in."

"I don't think that's what his next move is going to be." Halia bit her lip, looking worried.

"What is it?" Mrs. Lucina asked, her voice gentle and motherly.

"Yeah, I'm real curious," Nina Naughty asked. The devil porn star had her arms folded beneath her large breasts, a serious look on her face.

"Time to tell us what you've figured out, Halia," Maya said.

Hagane pushed up her glasses, looking ready to take in information. All of them were. Even Garnet was bouncing on the balls of her feet, her red wings fluttering behind her while her black pigtails swayed about her face.

"My father said all who support the dungeon builder will be destroyed," Halia said. "And I don't think he was talking about me and Fara."

I frowned, listening to the quetzalcoatls and the unicorns defending the Overgrown Room. Vast swaths of plants were being destroyed. Fire magic unleashed against it. My mind, though, was focused on what Halia said.

"He's going for Astovin?" I asked, my stomach twisting.

"I think so," Halia said. "That creature wasn't my father. He was animated by Darkness. He was cold and angry. It might be his form, maybe they ripped his soul out of paradise, I don't know. "Something awful happened to him. It twisted him. Astovin is his home. Our family has lived there for generations. He has kin there, but you noticed he had no problem trying to kill me."

"Fuck," I muttered. Astovin had become more and more on my side. I had helped them. Protected them. "Fuck, that's not good."

I glanced down at the map. The red dots were moving through the Overgrown Room. From there, they would have a straight shot at the Darkness Room and the stairs to level 2. I glanced up at the ceiling, feeling this group of six progressing. They must be angry to have lost one of their own.

"Where is Fara?" I asked, looking around and not seeing the elf.

"She's in her study, Director," Nina said. The devil had been working with the scholar.

"Fetch her," I said. "We need to start planning Astovin's defense."

"Now?" Maya asked. "If you haven't noticed, we got an adventuring party slaughtering their way through the dungeon."

"They're not my father," Halia said. "They're strong, prepared, but they will not survive getting past the Third Labyrinth."

"You're confident," Maya said. "I'm worried. This is the strongest party that's ever attacked us, Leo. They're equipped to defeat us. They are high level. We're becoming threats to the world. We have to figure out how to stop them, then redesign our defenses."

"He's coming for Astovin," I said. "We need to be ready. This party is a distraction. They're too well-prepped. They know our defenses far better than they should. Anguin sent them. He wants me panicked even more. I can feel it."

"Are you sure?" Maya asked. My Undine took my arm and pressed against me. "I'm scared that more parties will come knowing just how to navigate the labyrinth. We should be redesigning it."

"Yeah," I said, my stomach twisting with this nervous worry. The party was almost at the Darkness Room. Once more, they didn't make a wrong turn in the labyrinth. "I feel it, too. The fear. It pulls at me, but... That's what he wants."

"Never give your enemy what he asks for," Hagane said. "When they are driving you to do something, you must find a way to thwart it. To do the unpredictable. If his next plan is to attack Astovin, then he wants us distracted. Wants you focused on changing your defenses. Then he will take out our supply line while we're reacting to having such a well-prepped party attack us. Further, this will demoralize the people of the area. Turn any who might sympathize with us wholly against us. He wants us weakened. He's afraid of us."

"He slaughtered the entire dungeon," Maya gasped. "Why would he be afraid?"

"My big brother hurt him," Garnet said. "Forced him to retreat. You better believe he's afraid. Kweh, heh, heh, he's going to want to turn the entire world against us. Hit us where he has the advantage. This is only the start."

"They've paused outside the Darkness Room," reported Crystal. "What are they doing?"

"Prepping," I muttered. "They'll be readying lightning resistance and casting spells for light. They'll spring across the bridge instead of moving slowly. The will o' wisps won't be as effective then. Orcs and Ghosts, I want you to hit them the moment they step out of there. Ghosts, come at them from the floor and ceiling. I want you to hit the mages first."

"Yes, Dark Lord Leo," Duhot whispered, the ghost's voice haunting even over telepathy.

"We're going to fuck them up," said Zobens. "Finally, we get to have some fun."

Nina returned with Fara. The elf's ears were twitching. "The attack is still going on. Is it serious?"

"Do you have any maps of Astovin?" I asked her. "Good ones. I need to start planning its defenses. I'm expanding my dungeon beneath the village. I want to be able to protect it."

"From what?" the elf asked.

"Anguin."

"For you, Lord Leo!" Zobens roared in my mind.

"LORD LEO!" the other four orcs roared.

I glanced at the map to see their blue dots slamming into the adventurers as they came out the door. The warrior and paladin were at the lead, meeting the attack hitting them from the north and south. Then the ghosts' blue dots merged in with the middle of the party, overlapping the red dots.

It was soundless, even bloodless, here. I didn't want to think about how the ghosts killed. One of the red dots in the middle winked out. Then Zobens died. Slepkavi followed. One of the fighters died next. Another red dot in the middle vanished. The mages down. Two of the ghosts vanished. The cleric's work?

But that didn't matter. With one defender down, the orcs were pressing in. Soon, it was down to one dot surrounded by the others. The ghosts swarmed in, their blue dots merging over the red one. I could imagine the adventurer screaming.

And then my dungeon was free of intruders.

"I'll get to work on ideas on how to defend Astovin," said Fara.

I nodded and thrust my spear at Maya. "I have to get to work. Need to get our girls back on their feet. How long do you think we have before your father attacks Astovin?"

"No idea," Halia said, following me as I marched out of the throne room. "It could come at any time."

"Fuck," I muttered.​