Holiday Dungeon Core: Novella 1-5, page 36
It was a like an orange traffic cone letting the Adventurers know that things were under construction.
He had learned the trick of moving entire rooms when he had previously shifted the Christmas and Valentine’s sections to yield space for his Easter section, and all it required was a hefty investment of his Dungeon Mana. As soon as he was done relocating the Christmas section to these new areas, Elmer did the same thing with the Valentine’s section, moving them where the Christmas section had previously been. It took some alteration to the size and shape of the rooms, which took a little bit longer, but he was finished within a few hours. Once that was accomplished, he did something he hadn’t done up to that point: He cut the last Valentine’s room, which held his Love Dragon sitting on top of a pile of chocolate coins, off from continuing through the rest of the dungeon.
First, though, he had to connect the entrance to the old Valentine’s section to the main tunnel, which took a few hours. Before he cut the new Valentine’s section off from the rest, there technically were 2 paths to get to the Easter section. He had to have these alternate paths because he literally couldn’t cut off access to his Core Room at any time; once there were two paths, though, he was able to cut off the new Valentine’s section without any problems.
After that, he started to move all of the Easter section to the old Valentine’s section, which was now connected to the main tunnel leading from the entrance. Again, it required some alteration in the size and shape of the rooms in order for them to fit, as the Easter rooms were a bit larger than the Valentine’s rooms, but after 12 hours of such work, he was finished. During that time, groups of Adventurers would periodically come into his dungeon, checking to see if he was ready, but they left when they saw that his deterrent, the partial wall, was still up.
Before he got started on his new Independence Day section, he double-checked to see if everything was set up correctly. Starting from the entrance, which his Reach allowed him to see all the way to the cave opening on the side of a mostly vertical cliff face, Adventurers would travel approximately 300 feet before they came to a junction in the tunnel. If they chose to head through the passageway leading off to the left, the walls of which he had decorated with alternating pictures of plain, green Christmas trees and vibrant, red hearts, they would come upon the Christmas section. The Adventurers who chose to delve in that direction could then just visit the Christmas section that was up first, or they could defeat Mall Santa in its last room and then proceed to the Valentine’s section. If they managed to defeat the Love Dragon, they would have then reached the end without anywhere else to go – because the exit leading to the rest of the dungeon was sealed off completely.
Theoretically, they could then move back out of those two sections and choose to venture down the main tunnel, which led another 50 feet further toward his Core room before leading off to the right. Here, the tunnel was decorated with pictures of decorated Easter eggs, with spots left clear for what he chose to use to indicate the new Independence Day section. He was fairly certain what he wanted it to be, but he sought to finish the section completely before adding anything to the tunnel, in case his ideas changed.
This tunnel, of course, led to the Easter section. But once Adventurers got through the final room where his Easter Bunny Boss was currently located – at least until Elmer finished his new section and created a new Dungeon Boss – they would then start their journey into the Independence Day holiday. While he couldn’t accurately predict how the Adventurers would react to the changes and the different areas, all that he had overheard from them over the last few months led him to believe that they would be pleased. Those who wanted to go through the “easier” Christmas and Valentine’s sections wouldn’t have to wait as long to enter, while those who wanted something more difficult didn’t have to spend so much time traveling through the first 9 rooms of reindeer and red roses to get to the good stuff.
“So, I know you mentioned it, but what exactly do you mean by having a ‘summer’ theme for the first few rooms of this new section?”
Elmer was pulled away from his inspection of everything to respond to Keebles. While they had talked about this new split-area implementation and his ideas for his new section, he hadn’t really gone into specifics.
“Well, the Independence Day holiday was always inexorably meshed with summer when I was growing up, so that the two were nearly synonymous in my mind. Even in our later years, the date of the celebration acted as a sort of mid-point to the year, where summer was in full swing and the cold of winter was seemingly a long time away.
As for what I mean about incorporating a summer theme, well, there are two main aspects of summer that I loved and still love: Water and BBQ.”
“BBQ? What is that?”
The question was almost shocking to Elmer, because it was something he didn’t ever think he’d have to explain. Everyone back home knew about BBQ, so to have to explain it was like someone asking what a “shoe” was.
“Well, BBQ is basically short for the word barbecue, and it could also be called a cookout or a get-together of some sort. Others likened it to a picnic, but that really doesn’t capture the essence of what a BBQ is. In the simplest terms, it’s a meal or a gathering in which food is cooked out-of-doors over some sort of fire, such as a grill. It’s not necessarily just the food that is consumed, or even the cooking itself, but the entire event that takes place around it.
“It's not just a great social event, where people can get together and socialize with friends and family; there are also, typically, a lot of activities and games that can be played with others. There are some classics, such as horseshoes, sack and egg-spoon races, or simply tossing around different types of sports balls; there are many others that involve specialized equipment, such as volleyball, badminton, or even baseball.
“Being not-so-active when I was younger – I never competed in any sports – most of my favorite activities and games had to do with throwing something, though not exactly in a sports ball sense. Instead, I always enjoyed two in particular, and I was actually quite good at them, if I do say so myself.”
“Which ones were those?”
“Lawn darts and cornhole.”
“I have no idea what you just said.”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
Of course, Elmer wouldn’t include just lawn darts and cornhole, but the entire BBQ experience in one of his rooms. He immediately started on it as soon as he was satisfied everything else in his dungeon was where he wanted it; within minutes, he was already expanding and shaping the first room of his Independence Day section to his needs. First, he sculpted the room using his Dungeon Mana so that it was 75 feet wide and 250 feet long, with 40-foot-tall ceilings. On the floor, the Dungeon Core added a lush field of grass along most of the area, with a level platform of stone near the exit leading further into the dungeon.
On the stone platform, which was shaped like a square with 50-foot-long sides, he placed 4 barbecue grills, which had shiny, steel exteriors that mimicked stainless steel, with the grills themselves being good ol’ iron. They were all spherical-shaped and held charcoal in their lower reservoirs, instead of the new-fangled propane that many of the grills used later in his life; there was something about the taste of meat off a charcoal grill that couldn’t be replicated by gas – so he knew he wasn’t going to allow such sacrilege in his dungeon. There weren’t many things he was passionate about other than holidays, but grilling was one of them.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to simply go out and start grilling some meats, not in the least because he didn’t have a body to flip some burgers or turn some hotdogs. What he could do, however, was have the meats grill themselves… with a little help, of course.
BBQ Tool Set
Mana Cost: 100
Minion Cost: 9
Potential Threat Deterrent: Medium
A shiny, steel spatula stood 7 feet tall, with its flat, slotted face stretching 3 feet in width. The lower half of the handle was made of a dark, hard wood with brass rivets connecting the spatula part with the handle, and along the top part of the flat portion, the edge was razor-sharp. The right side of the spatula was also serrated like a saw with wide teeth, whereas the left side was serrated with much smaller teeth, making it essentially a large, deadly weapon with different avenues to attack.
Accompanying the spatula, as a whole Minion, was a pair of tongs, also standing 7 feet tall, and made of the same shiny steel and wooden handle. The “grabby” part of the tongs had heads that were slightly scalloped so that they weren’t smooth and could hold on to something – such as an Adventurer – much easier than if they were simply flat.
There were two more tools that were a part of the BBQ Tool Set. The fork was a two-pronged instrument that was similar in size to the spatula and tongs, but the head of the fork had 3-foot-long prongs that were also razor sharp like a two-bladed pitchfork. The last tool was a grill brush, which had a spatula-shaped head with a similar razor-sharp upper edge, but the “face” of the brush was filled with thousands of sharp metal bristles, like a very large, very painful hairbrush.
The Tool Set would work together to attack the incoming Adventurers, and would present them with a formidable foe. First, they were primarily made of steel and would therefore be more durable than most of his Minions. Second, they essentially floated a foot off the floor and moved around the same way, floating through the air as they traveled at about the pace of a quick walk. Once they attacked someone, they were able to move even quicker, stabbing or cutting their opponents apart with – what he hoped was – ease.
Their downside was that their handles were also made of wood, which meant that the material could be ignited and torn apart much faster than their steel cores. An additional downside of this was that they would then become vulnerable to strikes at their internal tong, which was inserted into their wooden “bodies” and was like their spine. Disabling their spine would effectively kill them, so they needed to move fast to kill those coming to attack.
Theoretically, he could’ve made them stronger with complete steel bodies, but the Mana and Minion Cost was astronomical in comparison – at least 5 times as much, for some reason. Sure, it would’ve made the BBQ Tool Set harder to kill, but he’d rather utilize his Mana and Minion Cost someplace else than on a single Minion.
There was a lot more he needed to set up, after all.
The Set wasn’t just located near the barbecue grills, though. It was also accompanied by a few much smaller Minions, which were unique in the fact that these particular Minions could be altered due to a change in their environment.
Burger Lump
Mana Cost: 5
Minion Cost: 1
Potential Threat Deterrent: Low
Limp Wiener
Mana Cost: 5
Minion Cost: 1
Potential Threat Deterrent: Low
Elmer couldn’t help but chuckle mentally at their names, especially the latter one he created, but both were very apt descriptions. The Burger Lump was basically a 2-foot-wide clump of ground beef, looking like it would before it was shaped into a burger patty. In essence, it was a gob of raw meat, and while it could sort of roll along the ground and attack someone by trying to smother them, it wasn’t very effective.
The Limp Wiener was very similar, and though it was shaped like a hot dog, it was so limp and squishy that all it could do was inch along the ground like a worm. It basically had no real offense and could be hacked apart easily, even with a simple wooden stick.
But when the BBQ Tool Set worked in conjunction with the Burger and the Weiner, the practically worthless Minions came to life. Thrown onto the burning-hot grills by the spatula and tongs, respectively, they rapidly cooked and transformed into all-new Minions within 30 seconds, as long as they were flipped and/or turned by the Set.
Flying Burger Discus
Mana Cost: 5
Minion Cost: 1
Potential Threat Deterrent: Medium-Low
Plump Wiener of Flames
Mana Cost: 5
Minion Cost: 1
Potential Threat Deterrent: Medium-Low
The Burger Lump transformed like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, until it came out of the process as a Flying Burger Discus. The gob of raw meat was now a rapidly rotating burger patty that had a relatively sharp edge along its outer perimeter, and could fly through the air at Adventurers in an attempt to cut them in half. They were like flying saucers made out of meat, and they made him inwardly smile when he looked at them.
The Limp Wiener’s transformation was a bit different. Instead of a flying disk of ground meat, the cooked hot dog firmed and plumped up, expanding its size by around 50% of its original shape. It didn’t fly through the air like the Burger, but it could scurry quickly across the ground like a snake, before lifting its head to a height of 3 feet and bellowing flames in a cone-like shape out of an opening that acted like a mouth. The latter ability was what gave the Plump Wiener of Flames its name, breathing fire like a dragon, and it was sure to cook anyone who was unlucky enough to be caught by the fiery deluge.
Now, all of these different transformations didn’t cost any extra Dungeon Mana or Minion Cost, which was phenomenal, but there were some downsides. First, the BBQ Tool Set would have to be actively engaged in cooking these smaller Minions and would therefore be vulnerable to attack during the process, as well as being unable to attack. Second, the Lump and Weiner, in their weak state, were unable to effect the change by themselves, so if the Tool Set was killed before they could be cooked, they were essentially useless. Lastly, in between each Minion being cooked to effect their transformation, the grill brush tool that was part of the Set would have to clean the grill for a minimum of 20 seconds before another hunk of meat could be thrown on to cook.
In total, in addition to the singular BBQ Tool Set, there were 15 each of the Burger Lumps and Limp Wieners, meaning that there were a total of 31 Minions in the room for a total of 39 Minion Cost. This room qualified for the highest number of Minions in a single room of his, though there were other areas that had a much higher Minion Cost.
The entire barbecue setup was for the final part of the room, but in order to get there, the Adventurers would have to make their way through some aforementioned activities. In the grassy areas of the room were 5 Defensive Obstacles he placed for maximum effect. The first 3 were triggered by simple proximity, and were comprised of massive, 5-foot-long lawn darts with sharp, metal spikes on their tips, and a lightweight wood used for their fins. The Lawn Dart Obstacles would materialize near the edge of the room and be propelled across the grassy space, moving so quickly that anyone hit by them would be impaled; even if they were blocked, the darts would still inflict a hefty amount of damage.
There’s a reason these things were banned in the United States, after all – they were quite dangerous.
The darts would come in rapid succession, in a pattern that was easy to determine – but difficult to pass through without being hit, unless someone was especially fast. To navigate through them, Adventurers would either have to identify the pattern and move when they needed to, or they could have someone block the darts – which would be difficult, but not impossible.
The last 2 Defensive Obstacles were combined together for Cornhole – but on a much larger scale than the game he used to play in the backyard. Instead of Earth’s typical board, 2 feet wide and 4 feet long, with legs that lifted the top part off the ground a foot, and with a 6-inch hole that was horizontally centered 9 inches from the top, Elmer enlarged the wooden board and turned it. It now stretched from one side of the room to the other, all 75 feet, and was 150 feet in length; the board was angled with pillars on its back edge, raising it 15 feet into the air, and the wood was polished to a shine.
In its inert state, the board just looked like a simple, wooden ramp that was easily traversable; but as soon as someone stepped onto the Obstacle, things changed dramatically. The first thing that happened to the board was that a wooden wall would suddenly appear at the upper edge, blocking anyone from simply running over the edge to advance. The second change was a hole would suddenly appear in the board at random, 5 feet wide, which was the only way for the group of Adventurers to advance further – by dropping down the hole.
That was just the first Obstacle, however, as the second Obstacle started a rain of massive, 5-foot-wide bean bags weighing 250 pounds each all over the board. They fell with enough force to nearly crack the wooden board, but the enhanced nature of the Obstacle was more than up to the task of the withstanding the weight without issue.
To get through the Cornhole obstacle, the Adventurers would have to dodge or somehow deflect the falling beanbags in order to get to the hole, where they would fall down and finally have access to the Barbecue going on near the exit. All the time they were navigating through the Lawn Dart and the Cornhole Obstacles, they could smell the meat cooking on the grills; that meant that the faster they got through the fun and deadly “activities”, the faster they could stop the BBQ Tool Set from transforming all of the weaker Minions into their cooked forms.
