Season 4 Chapter 12
I gripped my Void Crystal the next day. Fara was in the room with me. She stared at the black gemstone with this look of awe. She had changed when she touched it. Transformed from a woman who just wanted to work with me into an elf who loved me.
"Your map is perfect," I said, glancing to it on the wall.
"Let's just hope the maps I used were accurate," she said. "If this is off too much, we'll miss it."
"Just get me in the ballpark," I said. "I can find his dungeon if I have to."
"Yes, you can, Lord Leo," Souleen said. She perched on top. "I'm so excited. I feel like you'll learn something amazing."
I winked at her.
"I am intrigued myself," Fara said. "Another dungeon to explore. I just hope the dwarves haven't looted the place."
"Yeah," I said, remembering those poor dwarven slaves the Twins had used. "I should have done this right away, but I got distracted."
"You didn't miss out on much," Smerta said. "Led was a tool."
I had brought my Valkyrie in here today. She would be invaluable if I reached Led's dungeon. I might hit Ziamili's by mistake. She would be able to tell the difference between the two.
"I'm excited," Lana Fulmine said, her wings crackling with electricity.
"Yes," Morana said. I brought my goth banshee here. She was new to the harem, so I wanted her to have more experience beneath her belt. She had never been in another dungeon before. "I am quite curious what dark and macabre secrets Led's hiding."
"BDSM porn," said Smerta, rolling her eyes.
I put my hands on the Void Crystal and concentrated. I pictured Fara's map. Her dimensions. I drove it from the main hub that lay off the cave entrance. The safety feature kept anyone who breached these tunnels that ran to various places from being an immediate threat. They would still have my full labyrinth to go through to reach this room.
I wasn't taking a risk even if having a direct path from here to Astovin would be nice.
I hoped to run into a Mana Vein, too. I had searched the surrounding area and gotten all I could. My dungeon had to start greatly expanding for me to have any chance of growing more powerful. I would need it. If the Gods sent another saint against me or if a powerful adventuring party attacked us.
Or a dungeon builder with Level 3 magic and monster girls...
The tunnel was long and narrow, big enough for me to ride my undead horse down. I followed Fara's calculations on the gradient, passing beneath so much land. The people above would have no idea a dungeon stretched beneath their feet.
Once I had it fully fixed in my mind, it existed. All that way to, hopefully, the Twins' dungeons.
"Damn," I muttered. "I didn't hit a single Mana Vein."
Fara sighed. "I am sorry, Lord Leo. I wish I knew a way to detect them." Her ears twitched. "I will start researching that."
I swallowed the bitterness. "Now let's find the dungeon."
I sent out some feeler tunnels, driving in the rock from a room I made. One of my tunnels intersected an open space. A tunnel that I crashed through. I smiled. I had found Led's lair. This wasn't like Meskalamdug's dungeon. This wasn't an active one that could resist my intrusion.
I concentrated. Smerta, Lana Fulmine, Morana, and all the wildhounds (save Du who was on watch outside of Siwang's dungeon) vanished. I let go of the crystal. "Now we have some time to kill while they explore, Fara."
"Would you like to use my body?" the elf asked, a wicked smile on her lips.
Morana trembled as she appeared at the end of a tunnel. It opened onto another dungeon, cutting into the floor making a heavy step. The banshee's cloak of black mist that fell down her pale form thickened with her excitement.
"What horrors and despairs we shall find," cooed Morana as Smerta climbed up into the tunnel. She had her sword in hand, clad in her armor. She looked so dangerous and deadly.
I bet she would ravish me after killing a hundred men, thought Morana. Dripping in blood. She's a valkyrie. A Corpse-Goddess of the Norse.
"We're in luck, Lord Leo," said Smerta telepathically. "We broke into Led's dungeon. I'm unleashing the wildhounds to scout it. We'll make for the entrance first then work our way around. We're about in the middle of the dungeon."
"Oh, good," the Dark Lord answered, his thoughts a little scattered. "That's perfect."
"Very perfect," Fara added on the group chat. "Yes, yes, that's just wonderful, Lord Leo."
"He's fucking her," Lana said with a smirk. Her wings crackled with electricity.
"Hela, lead your girls," Smerta said. "The traps should be inactive now, but there's a lot of them. Ice spikes and blinding traps are the worst. The Frost Room can be avoided if you find it. If it still is deadly, don't go in there."
"I'm on it, Lady Smerta!" Hela said, the petite wildhound saluting.
They are so cute, thought Morana. Dark, deadly, and adorable. Just the sort of monster girls the Dark One needs.
The wildhounds surged out in both directions on all fours, their black tails swishing as they sniffed at the ground. They had such cute rumps, their hairless pussies an inviting sight. Morana was horny all the time in this world. All the monster girls were.
"This way," Smerta said, heading after Marwo, Cysgo, and Nos. The other three went the other direction.
Morana walked beside Lana Fulmine, Smerta before them, her sword out and ready to attack anyone. The wildhounds found traps, but they were all disabled. The place was so eerie. Morana loved it. Leo's dungeon always had the moans of monster girls making love echoing through it. They spent much of their time sparring or fucking.
After all, monster girls didn't have to sleep. Those protecting the dungeon were always awake, but only the ones in the entrance room had to be ready at all times, alert for danger. The others could respond when the alarm went off.
"Spooky," Lana Fulmine said. "It feels so dead."
"I know," Morana said, her pussy so wet. "You can feel that death has walked through these walls. Do you think there will be bodies?"
"Most corpses are not beautiful," said Lana Fulmine. "They bloat and rot."
Morana grimaced. "That's why our Dark Lord can preserve the dead and keep their beauty eternally. He did that for me. I will never age. Neither will you. No hitting the wall for this version of Lana Fulmine."
She smiled. "It takes a lot of the pressure off. I did so many drugs trying not to think about what would happen when my ass wasn't hot enough. When not even the CGI guys could make me look hot. Probably I would have started whining about how I was 'objectified' by the male gaze. Play the feminist card in a bid to stay relevant. But, really, I used how hot I was. I loved that men were staring at my ass in those booty shorts on screens across the world. Every actress wants to be desired. If we weren't attention whores, we would have gotten other jobs. Ones that matter."
Morana nodded. "Yes, the conformity of preps shackles women."
"You're the one that wants to be young and hot forever. You sure you're not shackled with us."
A smile crossed the banshee's lips. Mrs. Lucina had helped Morana to understand that she wasn't any different from the preppy girls. It was just a different aesthetic she had adopted. She had found conformity in another way.
"True. It is wonderful when the Dark One objectifies me. I enjoy being desired by him."
Smerta laughed. "I know what you mean. I loved coming out in the ring, all the guys lusting for me as they cheered me on. Then I got to dominate another woman before their eyes. They were all thinking about me doing more than just pinning her."
Morana was glad the Dark One had set her on this mission.
They moved through the silent dungeon, looking for any signs of danger. The wildhounds cleared it, moving down side passages. Smerta guided them. She knew this dungeon well. She probably helped Led design it.
Eventually, they reached the entrance.
It was bricked up.
"Well, well," said Smerta as she marched up to it. "Dwarven work. That is a wall that's not going to come down."
"No," said Cysgo. She pressed her ear against it. "I can't hear any sound out there."
"Dwarves probably went back to their real homes," Smerta said. "Good. It was wrong of Led and his dick-brother to enslave them."
If the Dark One ever falls, would I want to serve his vanquisher? I would get to live on, but would I come to despise Leo like Smerta hates Led?
Morana didn't think so, but it was a question that made her uneasy.
"Let's go," Smerta said. "Hela, have you and your girls made it out of the labyrinth yet?"
"I think so. We're heading down a corridor through a door we found bashed down."
Smerta nodded. "Let's hurry."
She ran.
Morana was glad to see that her undead flesh had the stamina to keep up. They hurried back through the labyrinth, Smerta at the lead, the three wildhounds running behind them. The valkyrie wound through the tunnels.
"We found the Vault," Hela reported. "The Void Crystal is missing. We have cleared our half of the dungeon!"
"It's safe for you to come," Smerta said as they reached the breach. She stopped. "There is no threat in this place. The dungeon is sealed. I will see if his office is secure. I'm leaving the wildhounds at the breach to guide you. Hela, come back."
"Yes, Lady Smerta!" the wildhound yipped in delight.
"Fara and I will be there in a few hours," Leo said. "It'll take us at least that long to ride that way."
Smerta nodded. She sheathed her sword and broke into a run again.
Morana followed, Lana at her side. Wings of lightning and a cloak of mist trailed behind the pair of monster girls. They passed the wildhounds running back to the breach. Soon, they were moving through the broken door and entered Led's throne room.
It had an ice motif. It was chilly in here, but Morana didn't mind. She was already dead. Temperatures were not a factor to her. Lana's breath frosted the air. Smerta also wasn't bothered by the chill. She was an Ice monster girl.
Led's throne was sculpted out of a block of ice. It held a beauty to it. An elegance. It sat on a raised dais so whomever came to him would have to look up. His map of the dungeon was off. Forever broken. There was no Void Crystal or Soul left.
What happened to your Soul, Led? Morana wondered. Does she haunt this place? Or did she return to the Incarnation to be given out to the next dungeon builder?
After the throne room, they passed into the living area. It was simple. One door was made of heavy iron and locked. It was not the Vault, that door lay hammered down. Smerta went to this door and touched it.
"I was never allowed in here," Smerta said. "Led's office. Whatever Lord Leo is looking for is found in there. I'm glad it's intact."
"Yeah," Lana said. She sank on a couch. "Rather a spartan place."
"Led wasn't his brother," said Smerta. "That place was practically pornographic with its decoration."
Morana drifted to the bed. She sank on the fur blanket on top. The hairs tickled her body. She squirmed on it, smiling. Another dungeon builder had slept here. A wannabe Dark Lord. Not her Dark One, but a failure.
"Well, well, look at you," cooed Smerta. The valkyrie advanced, her armor and sword melting away. She had skin as pale as Morana's, the valkyrie's hair blonde, her blue eyes as cold as the glacial. "Led fucked me so many times in this bed. Me and Feya both. I had my first time with a man where you are lying."
"Right, you're a lesbian," Morana purred, stretching on her back. "Want to soil this bed. Really get back at Led for daring to challenge the true Dark One."
Smerta laughed, her big boobs jiggling. "Aren't you a kinky one?"
"Oh, she is," Lana said. She moved up beside Smerta, her round breasts jiggling. She had this silvery skin that was so wonderful to behold, her wings of crackling lightning spreading out behind her. "Maybe we should ravish the little goth slut."
"Ravish me," Morana moaned. "This is now the Dark One's territory. Let's break it in for him."
"Gladly," said Smerta. She rubbed at her clit. She formed frost with her touch. I watched as she encased her clit in the frozen liquid. The more she rubbed it, the larger it grew. A shaft of ice formed.
Morana's pussy clenched in anticipation. She spread her thighs apart, her chilly body wanting that frozen dildo ramming into her. It grew thick. Smerta started stroking it like a cock, fisting up and down it, a big smile on her lips.
Lana Fulmine flapped her wings and twisted in the air. The movie starlet landed with grace straddling Morana's head. The banshee licked her black lips as the tart pussy planted on her mouth. She licked at the lightning sprite's cunt.
Feasted on her.
"Yes," Lana Fulmine moaned, her perfect ass clenching before the banshee's face. "Ooh, I love that cool tongue."
"The tingles," purred Morana. Every time she licked the movie starlet's pussy, this wonderful tingle raced through her. It was a delicious thrill to feel her tongue go slightly numb.
"There we are," Smerta pronounced. The Russian-wrestler-turned-valkyrie mounted the bed. She grabbed Morana's thighs and lifted them.
Lana Fulmine shoved a pillow beneath Morana's rump, keeping her pussy elevated. A shiver ran through the banshee, her pussy juicy for the icy dildo to ram into her. The cold tip rubbed at her hot flesh. She loved the sensation.
"Lady Smerta, Shieldmaiden of the Dark One, and Chooser of the Slain, fuck my pussy!" moaned Morana.
"Shieldmaiden of the Dark One," said Smerta as she moved the dildo up and down the banshee's juicy cunt. "I like that."
She thrust.
Morana gasped as the icicle plunged into her cunt. She squeezed her pussy down on that wonderful shaft. Her body trembled. The pleasure shot through her undead body. She moaned into the movie starlet's pussy, loving the taste of her tart pussy.
As that thick shaft of ice penetrated the banshee's cunt, she moaned all her pleasure into Lana Fulmine's pussy. Her tongue thrust into the movie starlet's cunt, growing numb with the delicious charge. Morana swirled about in that naughty twat, making the lightning sprite's golden hair crackle and wings flutter.
"That's so good," moaned Lana Fulmine. "Ooh, that's just delicious. You're just amazing, you wicked cutie."
Fingers pinched Morana's nipples. Warm with life. She squealed, her pussy clenching down the slick, icy dildo that reached so deep into her twat. She shuddered, reveling in the pleasure that rippled through her flesh.
Smerta drew back. The banshee's pussy gripped the valkyrie's dildo. Delight spilled through Morana. She moaned into Lana Fulmine's cunt, tongue dancing around in the electric pussy. The banshee stirred up the lightning sprite,
"Oh, you delicious and dark girl," Lana Fulmine moaned. "Mmm, you just love pleasing the Dark One's servants, don't you?"
"Yes," the banshee moaned. "It's so decadent and wicked to do this!"
Her tongue caressed Lana Fulmine's clit then stroked through her folds, gathering up those tart juices. Morana savored them as Smerta fucked the thick, icy dildo in and out of the banshee's cunt. The frozen shaft plunged in so deep, numbing all her wonderful flesh.
Her orgasm built in her pussy. She eagerly awaited La Petite Mort. She wanted the little death to shiver through her as she drowned in Lana Fulmine's pussy juices. The naughty banshee latched onto the lightning sprite's clit and nursed.
"Yes!" Lana Fulmine groaned, her fingers twisting Morana's small nipples. "You wicked slut. Yes, yes, make me cum. I'm going to drown you and ruin Led's bedding with my pussy cream."
"That's right," Smerta grunted. She thrust into Morana's pussy harder, that icy dildo stretching out her cunt. "I want you gushing those juices and soaking the bedding when you cum."
"I will!" Morana moaned, her pussy clamping down on that wonderful shaft thrusting in and out of her pussy.
The undead goth girl trembled in delight. She suckled on Lana Fulmine's clit, nursing on the movie starlet's bud. Wings of crackling lightning fluttered above as the banshee nursed hard. Her cheeks hollowed with the force of it.
Smerta fucked hard, thrusting the icicle into Morana's cunt. her pussy clung to that naughty shaft. She squirmed, her orgasm drinking in all that pleasure as she rose towards her orgasm. She would have a huge one. A big burst of delight. She was so eager for it.
"Yes, yes, just ram into me!" she moaned, so close. She licked Lana Fulmine's clit.
"Mmm, fuck her hard," the movie starlet cooed. "I love watching those pale tits heave, Smerta."
"They are gorgeous," the valkyrie said. "And your boobs. Fuck a bear's dick, they are gorgeous.":
"Yes, yes, yes!" Morana groaned, about to cum from that wonderful icicle plunging into her cunt.
The valkyrie slammed her icy dildo deep into Morana's pussy. The banshee shuddered, her twat drinking in the slick friction. Her cunt clamped down on the shaft as she suckled hard on Lana Fulmine's clit. The pleasure burst through Morana.
She exploded.
Squealing around the lightning sprite's clit, Morana bucked. The banshee's cunt convulsed around the valkyrie's frozen dildo pumping in and out of her twat. Pleasure surged through the banshee. She howled her pleasure, her screech of bliss echoing through the room.
"Yes!" Lana Fulmine groaned. "Fuck, yes!"
Her pussy cream gushed out into the hungry banshee's mouth. Morana gulped down the tart juices as her cunt spasmed. Howls of delight screamed through her body and shook her mind. Her thought resonated with the ecstasy of her orgasm.
She bucked and spasmed, her eyes squeezing shut as she enjoyed this bliss. Her cunt went wild, spasming and convulsing around the wonderful dildo that filled her up. She tossed her head from side to side, her pussy spasming with such force.
"Yes, yes, yes!" she gasped. "I love being the Dark One's monster girl!"
"Fuck, yes!" Smerta moaned and buried her dildo all the way into Morana's convulsing cunt. "Fuck a bear's dick!"
The valkyrie's boobs slapped together, the sound so wonderful to Morana as she trembled through the last of her orgasm. She squirmed on the furry blanket, her pussy cream spilling down her taint to her ass and dripping on it.
A big smile crossed her lips. They would have to utterly ruin Led's bed.
Before heading to begin the ride, I sent the orcs to guard the blocked-off entrance of Led's dungeon. Zobens and her girls would keep it secure just in case. Then I headed out with Fara, my cum dripping out of her pussy and asshole, a satiated smile on her lips.
"Big perv found Led's dungeon and fucked his elf," Maya said as she lounged on a couch.
"I could have fucked her, too, big bro," my little sister said. She lifted her face from between Mrs. Lucina's thighs, face smeared in pussy cream.
"Instead, you're coming with me to explore Led's dungeon," I said. "Maya, you two. There are three horses. I could use the company."
That turned out to be impossible. I made the tunnel narrow enough for one person to ride down, so we formed a line. The hooves drummed so loudly, we had to shout to hear each other, and even then it was hard to understand.
So we talked with our minds. But even that grew boring after a while
So for the last few hours, I let my mind drift. I had sent word to Myrecilla with a runner from Astovin to recruit some prostitutes for the trainees. They deserved some comfort. They had to be willing women, of course.
And I would have to use Vaccinate, a Life spell that cured diseases. I didn't want this world's version of the clap or gonorrhea to get into my dungeon. Then I thought about my alliance with Siwang. Should I help him gain more glyphs? What if he advanced his magic higher than me then turned on me?
What if Fuegin decided to end our friendship? Or if he thought that recruiting Siwang was a threat? Fuegin seemed to be keeping an eye on the area. He sure found out about me pretty fast. Would he think it was a good idea?
It was all because he extended me a hand of friendship that I had done this.
Finally, I reached the room at the end and found the wildhounds waiting for me. They all yipped in greetings. The moment I dismounted, Hela and Ci pounced on me and licked my face, their lips brushing mine. Then the three of us were kissing.
"Puppies!" squealed Garnet.
"Little sis!" Cysgo yipped, my sister pulling her in for a tight kiss.
"Maya! Maya!" barked Marwo.
"Fara!" Nos gasped.
Kisses were exchanged. Then Hela and her girls led us through the dungeon. It didn't take too long, we were about in the middle of the dungeon.
"This feels even deader than Meskalamdug's dungeon," Maya said, looking around. "There's no life here at all. It's all gone."
I nodded. Memories of the fight with Led in my bedroom, his dwarves trying to break through the Vault's door and smash my Void Crystal, filled my mind. I had barely beaten him. But I had prevailed. I had no choice.
I had too many beautiful women to protect.
"How tacky," Garnet said as we passed through the throne room. "Ice? Doesn't his butt freeze? And where are his thrones for his ladies? Smerta and Feya didn't get seats?"
"Yeah, I think I know why they gladly signed on with our big perv here," Maya said.
"This is so fascinating," Fara cooed. "He had a floor screen like you do. Fascinating. Does that come with the throne room?"
"I think so," I said. "It's been a while since I made it."
We soon came to Led's living area. His bed was rumbled and drenched in pussy cream. Lana, Morana, and Smerta were all lying sprawled on it, clearly savoring hours of lesbian passion on it. I was sad I missed it.
"Oh, Dark One," Morana cooed. "We have ruined your enemy's bed with our passion."
"I can see that," I said, smiling.
"Let me join!" Garnet squealed and threw herself on the bed.
"That's the office door," said Smerta, pointing at it as Garnet squirmed between her and Morana. "Dwarves didn't touch it. He never let me in there."
"I can't wait to see what lies beyond," Fara said, her ears twitching.
I considered the door and selected a spell I thought would work. "Waves slam into the shore, let the strength of Lord Enki hammer!"
The mace of water slammed into the door. The metal dented from the impact. The hinges creaked. I cast the spell a second time. The iron groaned as the door bowed inward even more. I rolled my shoulders and thrust out my hand as I cast Water Mace a third time.
The door burst inward. Stone broke from the side of the wall. The hinges creaked as it opened inward onto a small room. An office. There was a desk in the middle, a chair with a padded seat. Papers covered the desk. There was a shelf with several scrolls on it.
I moved into the room, Fara and Maya following me. The elf darted for the desk. "Maps, Lord Leo."
She held one map. It was a map of the continent. I could see the familiar sights like the mountains where my own dungeon was. Fuegin's lands to the west across a gulf. More. My eyes fell on Fara's lands and the Great Library of Lyrialiasa to the south, halflings to the southeast. There were notations that were in Russian written on it.
"What strange language is this?" asked Fara.
"Smerta can translate that when she's done," I said.
"He's marked things on here," said Fara. "Including one near your dungeon. Not quite where yours is, but it could just be a mistake on his part. And here. And here."
"He's formed a circle," I said, seeing the pattern of the places he had marked. "Twelve points that form a circle across most of the world."
"You're right." Fara's ears twitched as she stared at them. "Oh, my, what do you think this means, Lord Leo? Twelve is a very powerful number."
"Yeah," I said, staring down at the map. "Very powerful number. Sumerian number, right?"
Fara nodded. "Something Nina told me during our research. Why your Sumerians use Base 60 for their counting system and not Base 10. She said it's why there are sixty minutes in an hour even in your world after thousands of years."
"Oh?" I asked, thinking about what these markings were. They couldn't just be other dungeon builder locations. "What is it."
Fara held out both her hands. "It's a way of counting with your hand. You take your right thumb and you count by tapping each of the segments of your finger. There are three of them." She tapped her thumb on the three segments of her finger separated by her knuckles. "One, two, three." Then her middle finger. "Four, five, six." She did that until she got to her pinky finger. "Ten, eleven, twelve."
She folded the first of her fingers on her left hand and started again. When she got to twelve, she folded a second finger. Then a third, counting to twelve three times. Then four. Finally, on the fifth time, she folded in her thumb.
"You can count to twelve five times with this method just using your fingers as a tally," said Fara. "And that gets you sixty. That is why they used it for all their math. Very efficient, these Sumerians of yours. And sixty has its own advantages. It's a very divisible number. Easy for—"
"That's great and all," Maya said, "but there's a secret door here. Led made a second door in his office. Why would he do that?"
"He was paranoid and didn't trust his monster girls?" I asked. "He didn't let Smerta or Feya in here."
"Maybe it was Ziamili he didn't fully trust," said Maya. "Maybe he found something he wanted to keep secret from his brother, and so he kept it secret from everyone."
"Well, he's dead," I said. "No way to find out. Can you open it?"
"Yeah, it's like the secret doors you can create," Maya said. "Only he doesn't have the Darkness glyph to hide it in the dungeon so he used this shelf here to hide part of the seam." She pushed on a section of wall in the corner. It pivoted there, using the meeting of the two walls to hide it. Maya's body rippled as she shoved it open farther.
And found a set of stairs.
"This is interesting," Maya said and headed down it.
"We should have the wildhounds search it for traps," I called as Maya headed down it, her rump swaying.
"If a trap kills me, you'll know it's not safe," said Maya as she kept descending. "But I'm stepping on every step. I'll set it off."
"And if you get killed, you'll miss out on what's down there," I said. "They're great at finding traps."
"And yet I'm great at finding secret doors." Maya waved. "Just enjoy watching my liquid ass sloshing back and forth, big perv. It's no biggie if I die."
That made my stomach clench. "It's a big deal to me."
"You're sweet," she said. "Oh, my, it's a crystal room down here. And a light. You have to see this. She walked out of sight at a corridor at the base of the hallway.
I glanced at Fara then hurried down after. My elf followed. I thought about casting Granite Flesh or Static Aura to protect myself, but then I was at the bottom. Maya stood ten feet away at a widening room. It was made of crystal, the walls reflecting light.
"What the.." I muttered as I rushed to her. I stepped up beside her and stared at a sphere made of crystal, the walls a blue-purple gemstone, the facets reflecting the light. "God, is this a geode?"
Then I noticed the light itself. It came from a glyph in the middle of the room. It was seven arrows pointing towards the middle to form a circle. Like a sun shining bright. It was the Light Glyph. I swallowed as I felt that same mark burned into my chest.
On the wall beyond was a message written in cuneiform. It was carved into the wall. Not as much as we found in Meskalamdug's dungeon. Beneath the words was a small slot. It was hard to focus on the words, though, when I could feel the power coming from the glyph. The hairs on my arms stood up on end.
"You know what this is, Lord Leo?" Fara asked, grabbing my other arm. She pressed against me, trembling. "This is a glyph. I think if you didn't have Light already, you could get it from this. By touching it."
"Maybe," I said. "How are you certain, though? This could be something else."
"Logical deduction, my Lord. We know that Led gained his Light glyph in some way other than killing a Dungeon Builder. He must have found this expanding his dungeon. He stumbled across a secret, then he wanted to find more. Twelve points marked on a map that formed a circle across our world. Lord Leo, you said that's a significant number."
"Twelve elements," I groaned. "He figured out where these other points were?"
"Or was guessing," said Fara. She held out papers. "He has all twelve glyphs written on here. The script is so frustrating close to your script. Hagane and Nina have taught me some of it. I can see that it's similar and yet different."
"Yeah, that's the Cyrillic alphabet," I said. "I feel the same way sometimes."
"He was searching for these," Fara said. "There were other maps on the desk I noticed. Ones where he had crossed off markings. And I saw some math equations. They are like some of the stuff Hagane showed me. Your algebra and trigonometry."
"And one is by my dungeon?" I asked. "Damn, we have to find it. See what it is."
"We should have Siwang touch this," Maya suggested. "See if it truly gives him the Light glyph or not. Just to make sure. We can't make assumptions. Not about something this powerful."
"You would be giving him more power, Lord Leo," Fara said, her voice doubtful.
"You don't trust him," I said, glancing at Fara. "You think he'll become a threat if I give him too much power."
"Yes." The elf stared at me without flinching. "It has always been the nature of the world. Ambition and the drive for power has destroyed more friendships and alliances than anything. Right now, he knows he is in a position of weakness and thus curries favor with you. But if you give him access to more glyphs. If you let him find more mana veins..."
"I have thought about all that, and you know what I think?" I asked her. "That I need to trust someone that isn't bound to me. I need to work with those I can work with. I want to show Siwang that he is getting something out of this. And this way, he doesn't have to fight for it. Risk his life for one."
"You're right," said Maya. "Absolutely right. We have to trust him."
"I agree, Leo," a new voice said. I turned to find Lana Fulmine behind us.
"Did you get bored of Garnet?" I asked.
"She was busy playing with Morana and Smerta while I was curious what was down here." Her lightning wings quivered. "I think we should help him become an ally that can fight at your side, Lord Leo. I don't like it when you risk your life. If there was someone else even close to your power... Imagine if we had Siwang with us when Halia's father attacked us."
"Du," I thought, "I need you to deliver a message to Siwang."
"Ready when you are, Lord Leo," the wildhound yipped. She sounded so excited. "What's the message?"