The Heart Grows

Sitting, with her palms pressed to the heart of the dungeon, Breath of Spring meditated. Things had been progressing so fast that she wanted—needed—to slow down and commune with her home. Unlike Travis, her home didn't talk directly. Instead, she got feelings and urges, and she had to interpret those.

Interpreting anything her home wanted had, before a new entrance had been opened, been hard. That was not much the case anymore, but she still enjoyed spending time with her home. Her thoughts reached out to the crystal and pushed words into it, but Breath of Spring only got feelings back. "You like him?" A little touch of confusion was her answer. "Travis. Dragon dungeon."

The excited wash of happiness was more positive than anything Breath of Spring had ever felt from her home before. It boiled up in a huge wave and wrapped around her so much she was giggling along with it.

She didn't want to be a killjoy, but there was more to discuss. "They take our bunnies." She expected her home to be upset. Instead, a feeling of acknowledgment was all she got. "They're killing them!"

For the first time since the dungeon had made its boss, it used its command voice to push a concept into her. It was something so core to the dungeon and the world itself that it was almost sorry it had to do so. When it was done showing Breath of Spring what nature meant, it wanted to cry along with her.

Tears rolled down Breath of Spring's cheeks. She leaned closer to the heart and pressed her cheek against it, letting her home's warmth suffuse her. After a few more minutes of sitting there, crying for all the death going on in the world of animals, Breath of Spring let out a sigh. "I don't have to like it."

So Breath of Spring sat and waited and let her mind work over this new knowledge of the world. From grass to bunnies to beings—everything was born to eat and be eaten. Except dungeon creatures weren't. Well, most dungeon creatures weren't, and her home's creatures didn't need to eat to survive, but they did still eat grass and such. "But they can think."

When her home didn't offer anything but warmth, Breath of Spring thought on it more. Everything needed food. Humans, elves, dwarves, and all the other species could think clearer than rabbits and spider-sheep. "They can think, but not as much as others. All the outsiders need food and a way to stay warm, don't they?"

Breath of Spring let out a sigh and stood up. "I think our deal with Travis is too good for us. He's being nice to help us get more food. I'm fine with that, though he probably wants more from us for less."

When her home made a noncommittal noise, like it was fine simply giving bunnies to Travis, Breath of Spring stomped her foot. "No. I've been talking with Luddy, and she told me to talk to Steph, and he said Travis should pay for each bunny."

Waiting to feel what her home's reply would be, Breath of Spring had the realization that the kobolds in Travis' dungeon were trying to help her and her home until they could figure things out for themselves. It was a bit of a surprise, but she liked that the first people she'd ever met were nice.

When her home finally gave her the equivalent of a shrug, Breath of Spring slumped back on the ground. "I need a friend! You need to make at least someone else who can talk in here. Please?"

The dungeon stirred around Breath of Spring. Her home trembled, then a voice called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Sitting up, Breath of Spring jumped to her feet and left the little chamber where the heart was and looked around. What she saw shocked her. A tall—huge compared to Breath of Spring—half horse half elven woman stood nearby. A black coat of hair all over the equine body blended with a similarly dark mane that cascaded down from her head. When their eyes met, the new creature trotted over to where she stood and lowered its forelegs and took a knee before her. "Um, hi. Who are you?" Breath of Spring asked.

"I don't know! Wait, I think I might be called Huntress. Does that sound right?" Huntress asked. Her mind, only being a minute old, was still exploring her body and surroundings. There were two things she was sure of, though, the little creature before her was important, and the huge crystal behind her was amazing. "What am I?"

"My name's Breath of Spring. I don't know what you are either, but I know someone who will! You'll like her, I promise." Pointing to the stairs leading upward, Breath of Spring led the way. She was bubbling with excitement by the time they reached the first floor. Huntress hadn't said anything, but Breath of Spring had noticed her ears looked like they were on swivels, and she was looking around at everything with an open-mouthed wonder.

Walking across the first floor of their home, Huntress was excited to see it so big. Each floor was a monstrous, open cavern filled with grass and shrubs that the many animals fed on. Her palms itched to draw her bow (she knew the word, but didn't know how she knew it) and chase them. When she spotted a group of metal beings, carrying long weapons that instilled fear in her, she drew her bow. "Run, Breath, I will protect you!"

When the arrow connected with Timothy Devin's armored back and deflected, he turned around while raising his rifle. He spotted the centaur immediately and was about to fire when a voice stopped him.

"No! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt him!" Breath of Spring had never shouted so hard in her life, which wasn't a long time, but it was still a big first for her. "Tim, please don't shoot her. Our home just made her and she doesn't know you're— Huntress! Put your bow away now!"

His eyes might have started by being locked on the centaur, but Timothy drew his finger back from the trigger and aimed the rifle first to the side, then lowered it completely. "Stand down, everyone." The command worked its magic and the guards behind him likewise lowered their guns. "All of you go on ahead, I need to have a conversation with Breath of Spring."

Still with the centaur's bow trained on him, Tim slipped his rifle onto his back and the strap that held it, and he crouched down. "Sorry, Breath, I get a little startled when hit with an arrow."

Walking up to Timothy, Breath put herself firmly in front of him as she turned around and looked at Huntress. "Put your bow down. We are a peaceful dungeon and this man helps protect us."

Slowly lowering her bow and easing the string until she could remove her arrow, Huntress tilted her head a little. "I don't understand. Who are they?"

"This is Tim. Tim, this is Huntress. Our home made her only a little bit ago. Do you know what she is?" Breath of Spring asked.

Having dealt with Breath of Spring for a week now, Timothy was used to at least one woman disdaining clothes. Huntress, though, was another order of magnitude. It was far easier to not get distracted when you looked down. "Huntress, sorry if I caused alarm. You're a centaur."

"Centaur?" Relaxing more now she realized the human wasn't going to draw his weapon again, Huntress walked a little closer. "Do you come in here often?" She looked down at Breath of Spring. "Do you let adventurers in here often?"

"They're protecting us, really!" Breath of Spring was on the defensive. "You have to understand what's happening out there. They would have overrun the fort and taken over our home!"

"'They'?" Huntress asked.

"Right. You wouldn't know about the siege. Come on outside and I'll show you. You have my word you won't be harmed." Timothy stood up and turned, making his way toward the fort exit of the dungeon.

Looking down at Breath of Spring, Huntress wasn't sure what to do. Things were more complicated than she'd ever have dreamed. What staggered her more than her home's boss welcoming adventurers in was that there was no sense of danger from their home at all. When she stepped out of her home, however, even the presence of her home's boss couldn't erase the smell of horror in the air.

The scent of over a thousand soldiers who'd been eating, breathing, defecating, and dying around the entrance to the dungeon shocked Huntress. Her slit eyes narrowed to faint lines and she wanted nothing more than to run back into her home, lock the big door, and hide from it all. "What is that?"

"That's a siege. They have been trying to kill us and take control of your home for weeks now. Thanks to Breath of Spring and your home, we have regular reinforcements from the town to hold out. Oh, and it wouldn't have been possible without Luddy." Heading for the ramp up to the battlements, Timothy paused when he reached the bottom of it. "If you want to see what we're dealing with, you're welcome to look up here. Though you need to keep your head down since they've been concealing small ballistas among their numbers."

Walking mutely up the ramp behind the human, Huntress feared what she would see at the top. When she reached it, however, she realized the truth was worse than she could have imagined. They were surrounded. There were people everywhere. Hundreds of angry faces turning her way.

"Huntress," Breath of Spring said as she came up beside her newest companion, "we're safe in here. They have plenty of resources to hold out." She touched one of the centaur's legs with her hand, needing to make contact with her newest friend to reassure her.

"How? We're surrounded."

"Come back down and I'll show you." Breath of Spring reached up to take Huntress' hand before realizing she couldn't reach it. Sighing, with a little smile, she nodded toward the reinforced entrance of their dungeon. "It's why we let them enter and exit our home."

Wanting nothing more than to leave the horror of the siege behind, Huntress followed after Breath of Spring all the way back into their dungeon. The weight of oppression and dread slipped partly off her shoulders once inside. "How do they manage to stand on those walls and fight?"

Walking as she talked, Breath of Spring explained, "They do it because they know they have a city and two dungeons to stand at their backs. They are as much a wall against all that out there as the wall is. Here we are, the other entrance." Gesturing to another dungeon entrance, Breath of Spring walked toward it. "Don't draw your bow out here. No matter what you see, they are all friends."

Carefully lowering her bow in as non-threatening manner as she could, Huntress passed it to Breath of Spring. "You had better hold this. I don't want to get our home in trouble."

Taking the bow and trying her best not to laugh, Breath of Spring led the way. "This is Northridge. It is a city. That dungeon entrance there is Travis. He's a nice dungeon." Looking up at Huntress, Breath of Spring realized it was a good thing she had the bow. "It's okay, Huntress. Travis is a nice dungeon full of nice kobolds and— Hi, Pen!"

What terrified Huntress was that the dragon was taller than she was—and Huntress herself was the biggest thing she knew of. Claws, swords, armor, and a smile. It was the last thing she'd expected to see on the face of another dungeon boss. "P-P-Pen?"

"Hey there, Breath of Spring. Your dungeon has a centaur? They're a floor boss for a verdant animal dungeon, right?" Penelope forced her smile to not expose her teeth. Unlike even a kobold's small fangs, she had a ferocious set of mouth cutlery. "Where are my manners? Hi, I'm Penelope, but please, call me Pen. Do you want to come in and have a drink?"

Being in another dungeon should, Huntress figured, be terrifying. It was strange compared to her own home, where there were big open spaces to gallop and lots of different kinds of animals around. There were kobolds, a dragon, and lizards. Lots and lots of lizards.

"How do you manage not to step on them?" Huntress asked.

"They get out of your way." Fife sat down at the table of the second floor tavern, landing on her favorite seat and making the metal of it whine a little as it took up her weight. "It's not so bad in here, but down in the bottom floor, or around Wild's boss room, they're pretty thick on the ground."

"A little like our rabbits when—" A human woman set a bowl of stew before Huntress that smelled wonderful. She looked at the metal spoon beside it and picked that up. "What's in this?"

"As near as I can tell, a lot of mushrooms," Fife said. "Right, Grace?"

"It all comes from Travis' food storage, and I believe that's all from mushrooms." Passing out a bowl to Fife and another one each for Breath of Spring and Ludmiller, she gave them all a nod and walked back to the kitchen.

Sniffing at the bowl, Huntress shrugged and started eating the meal. The food tasted great, but given her limited knowledge of food, she wasn't surprised it was so good. "I'm sorry for wanting to shoot everyone with my bow."

Fife snorted. "From what Luddy said, it's understandable. Hey, I mean, if you want some target practice though, I'm your gal."

Staring at Fife, Huntress tried to figure out the words she'd used in a way that didn't mean the kobold wanted to be shot—and failed. "You want me to shoot my bow at you?"

"Well, arrows, but yeah. We don't have anyone who uses a bow, just guns. Hey, do you want a gun? We have some steel ones or I could get someone to make you a mithril one." Tapping her chin (something that elicited metallic clinking sounds), Fife smirked. "Or I could get someone to make me an adamantine gun and you could have my old mithril one."

"What's a gun?"

Reaching behind her back, Fife pulled out one of the handful of steel rifles that was in storage at any point in time and set it on the table. "Now, it can't fire as fast as a bow, and you gotta keep it clean and dry, but there's a reason I'm fine with you firing your bow at me and not one of these."

Picking up the weapon, Huntress was surprised by the weight. "It's heavy." Not that weight was a problem for her, though. "Where do the arrows go?"

"Trav explained why it's worse than an arrow—or I read a book of him remembering learning about it." Fife pulled out a round iron bullet and put it on the table. "The shot is lighter than an arrow, and is a bit thicker around than the point of an arrow, but they go way faster than an arrow. Trav, how much faster was it again?" Pausing for the reply, Fife took a swig of her drink. "He said it's ten times faster. That means there's ten times the energy behind half the weight."

When Huntress looked at her with a confused expression, Fife clarified. "It hits harder with one shot than you could put behind five arrows."

"So how do I nock it? Do I nock it?" Looking over the weapon, Huntress drew on instinct and lifted it up to her shoulder, sighting down the barrel.

"You have to, yeah, and like I said it takes longer to prepare your shot." Pulling out a second rifle, Fife held it up and demonstrated loading it. "So you put a tiny amount of powder back here put the rest of the pre-measured amount from this little twist of paper. Then some paper goes in, and the shot after that." As she spoke, Fife demonstrated loading her rifle.

"And that's it?" Huntress asked.

Pulling out another measure of powder, Fife dusted it along the table and then pulled out her alchemical firemaker. The moment she touched the little fizzing fire to the powder, it burned a line rapidly across the table. "The trick with this stuff is that it burns like that, but if you set it off in a closed space, like the end of that barrel, it all goes off in one big bang." Standing up, Fife nodded toward the door. "Come on, let's go have some fun with these."

Watching the kobold move, with the barrel always pointed upward, Huntress held hers the same, figuring that if it can make the little ball come out ten times faster than an arrow, she'd have to be careful not to point it at anything she didn't want to have said ball in it.

Leaving the dungeon, she was once again aware of all the creatures in the town and, when Fife led her to the top of the wall, the multitude of angry bodies beyond the city's walls. It was then she realized what their targets would be. "Oh."

"Don't have any qualms shooting them. They are here to kill us and everyone here." Reaching the wall's crenelations, Fife leaned against the gap between merlons and settled her weight down on the rock. "Hey, Northridge, here to offer a little support."

Neither kobold nor centaur could feel it, but the city of Northridge had heard the words and appreciated them.

"Also, this gets me and Trav experience points. That's important for his kind of dungeon, or so he says. More experience points means he gets bigger, quicker; and I get more levels in Tank. That's a special thing that he did for me. Maybe your dungeon will get something like it too. Okay"—Fife lined up on an odd mound far in the distance—"I don't like the look of so many unarmored people hanging around like that. It usually means they're up to something. Let's see if we can't scare them away from whatever they're doing."

Mimicking Fife's stance, though she braced on top of the merlon and not beside it, Huntress focused her attention to what Fife was looking at. "They look like they've been digging. There's dirt all over them and one looks like they're covered in dust."

Letting her rifle rest, Fife lifted one hand up to shield her eyes and squinted into the distance. "Huh. Now that you mention it, they have picks and shovels. We might have to put the shooting lesson on hold, I think this is important."

Huntress followed Fife along the wall, then down a ramp to the ground and into a big building. The place was built a lot like the tavern in the dungeon she'd just left, but with a lot more space—and a lot of non-kobolds. The room had gone silent when they walked in and she felt like all eyes were on her. "Is something wrong?"

"They're not used to a gal who doesn't mind showing herself off, is all." Fife led the way to Brolly's table and wondered for a moment how to get his attention away from the topless centaur. Lifting her fist up, she brought it down on the table hard, the adamantine in her scales crashing hard into the wood and making the furniture creak. "They're digging."

"Huh?" Brolly had his attention drawn away from Huntress by the apparently belligerent Fife. "Who's digging?"

Climbing up onto a seat that was a tiny bit too big for her, Fife liked the way the wood complained at how heavy she and her armor were. "Our friends outside are digging. I was teaching Huntress here how to shoot, and she spotted a bunch of them carrying digging tools out of a hole."

Wincing at the picture that description built, Brolly let out a sigh. "We'll need to deal with that. They'll be trying to sap the wall."

Fife winced. "Let Trav know if there's anything we can do. I'm sure Luddy can help by slipping something nasty in there, or I could fly over the top and— The poison!"

It took a moment for Brolly to figure out what Fife was talking about. "That stuff you used at the gate?"

"Exactly. Robert says it is heavy and sinks, which is why they use it in dungeons. If I can drop one of those in the entrance, after they've gone in to dig, they probably won't make it back out." Using a claw tip to inscribe her plan on the table, Fife finished up with "=XP" at the end of it. "But first I need to find a wyvern that can carry me with my new upgrades."

Brolly, now taking more notice of Fife, widened his eyes. "That's not all armor, is it?"

Unbuckling a vambrace, Fife showed off her scales underneath and their dull, metallic sheen. "So I got this cool thing where I can take a suit of armor I'm wearing and make it reshape to be part of me. Then I put on another over the top. Oh, and did I tell you, we got an adamantine node now?"

Leaning back in his chair, Brolly stared into the middle-distance above Fife's head. "When we can reopen trade, we're all going to be rich."

"We're already rich. We need to use it to make this place the best city in the kingdom and so fortified that no one will ever think of doing this again." Fife pointed at the picture she'd drawn on the table.

"If we could steal Tannyr out of your dungeon for a while, I'm sure we could do something spectacularly overkill. Until then, though, let's hold out until these northerners get sick of dying and leave." Brolly pulled over a tablet and started scrawling notes on it. "Thanks, Fife, if you can take care of it yourselves, do so. Otherwise, could you show me on this map where you saw them coming out of?"

Marking the point without cutting the map up with her claws, Fife slipped off her seat and to the ground with a clank from her armor and a relieved squeak from the chair. "I'll come down and let you know how things go myself."

Once they were both outside the building, Huntress asked Fife, "Why were they all looking at me?"

"They're not exactly looking at you, Huntress. They were looking at your chest. It's a guy thing. Well, a guy and girls who like girls thing." Fife barked out a laugh. "We could go and get you a shirt to wear, if you want?"

Looking down at her chest for a moment, Huntress looked back up and around the town. There were men and women walking around (though some of the latter were looking at her), but she noticed none of the people had bare chests. "Oh."

"Come on, let's get this news to Trav and then we can do some shopping. A good leather shirt will help when you want to wear some armor, too." Fife gestured back toward the southern end of town, where their dungeons were.

The road wouldn't be safe. Forced to run the three horses through old game trails in the forests, the rider speeding away from the besieged city had planned to ride each horse near to exhaustion to reach the next city as early as possible.

Riding through forests blind wasn't safe either, but she was taking the most direct route of the three riders Brolly had sent, and she was determined to get through first. "Come on. Keep up the pace and I promise you can rest for a year when we get to Far Reach." One hand was clutching the reins tight while the other rubbed the neck of her horse—keeping track of its health so she wouldn't kill it before getting there.

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.