Dungeon Master (Karma System)

Captain Durna Ironwake looked at the Five Knots as if their return inconvenienced her personally.

”You again.” She said without much actual heat in her voice.

Tessa stood at attention. ”Yes, Captain.”

”You crashed my ship.”

”A dragon crashed your ship.”

”You were standing on it at the time.”

Orin opened his mouth. The other four stepped on his boots before he could speak.

Durna grunted and handed Tessa the crew assignment slate. ”Try to improve.”

They did.

Five Knots repeated the early route without attempting to repeat every action. The Razorwings changed where they attacked. The boarding vessel approached from starboard instead of port. Its saboteurs used smoke on the upper deck while two raiders climbed beneath the hull.

The party responded to the ship rather than their memory of it.

Belda kept the rigging teams connected. Min protected the engine and sent dwarves to the lower hatches without leaving her controls. Kesh secured the navigation case and plotted the valley route. Orin moved among injured crew members, replacing hands before a station became empty.

Tessa remained beside Durna until the captain ordered her elsewhere.

When the enemy vessel attempted to withdraw, nobody pursued it.

[Boarding attack repelled.]

[Stonewing condition: Excellent]

[Crew condition: Stable]

Durna studied the clear sky above them.

”Crash stations.” she ordered.

A deckhand looked confused. ”Captain?”

”Now!” She barked.

The crew secured lines, sealed compartments, and vented part of the mana reservoir before Veyrath appeared.

The dragon’s first strike still tore open the rear balloon. The Stonewing still fell. The difference appeared in everything that happened on the way down.

Prepared dwarves released the ruined balloon before it pulled the ship into a spin. Tessa and Durna angled toward a wider section of the valley. Min kept the engines alive long enough to clear a ridge. Belda moved people away from the section Veyrath struck on its second pass.

The Stonewing crossed the frozen stream and hit the ground. Its forward hull split open when they smashed into the ground. But nobody died in the impact.

[Crash outcome: Controlled]

[Crew condition: Excellent]

[Combat-capable survivors: 41]

Durna climbed from the wreckage, checked the status, and allowed herself a second satisfied grunt.

It was the highest praise she had ever given them.

Five Knots knew the dragon would attack the Elven refuge at dusk.

That did not mean they needed to wait inside it.

The recovered navigation map showed the valley path, the watchtower, and three elevated ridges. Kesh added the hoofprints they had seen during the previous attempt. They led east from the watchtower before disappearing beneath the dragon’s frozen territory.

”The Elven patrol was unable to engage.” Tessa repeated what the Dungeon menu had reported last time. ”Veyrath attacked their refuge and blocked their route. If we change where the fight happens, maybe we change that.”

Durna listened without interrupting.

Min marked the narrowest point between two ridges. ”We mount the recovered deck weapons here. The dragon cannot land directly on both positions.”

”It can fly.” Orin pointed out.

”That is what the harpoons are for.”

Durna examined the plan.

”We will need every useful part from the Stonewing.”

Tessa nodded. ”Then we should start cutting.”

The crash site became a workshop. Dwarven engineers dismantled what remained of the deck weapons. Five Knots carried ammunition, engine parts, sections of armor, and every intact length of chain toward the ridge. Injured crew members established a protected camp near the valley stream.

The work consumed hours. And it also changed the battlefield.

One weapon faced the open sky. The second waited beneath a camouflage of pine branches. Chains ran through stone anchors, allowing the dwarves to shift their firing angles without exposing the crews. Min connected a remaining mana cell to both launch mechanisms.

Belda placed reflective scraps from the balloon across the southern ridge.

”Those will not fool a dragon,” Orin said.

”They only need to annoy it.” Belda answered.

At dusk, Veyrath came looking for the Stonewing’s survivors.

The dragon landed on the false position first.

Reflective scraps scattered beneath its claws. Veyrath released a freezing breath across empty ground.

The hidden harpoon struck the joint of its left wing.

Forty-one dwarves attacked together.

The first stage of the fight unfolded according to the plan. Tessa’s party moved between prepared cover while Durna directed the weapon crews. When Veyrath climbed, the chains connected to the harpoons still stuck in the beast limited its movement. When it landed, the dwarven formation protected the adventurers long enough for them to strike.

The dragon adapted.

It tore the first harpoon free and used the attached chain to pull an entire stone anchor down the ridge. Its breath turned the second weapon’s controls to ice. Scaled creatures entered the valley behind it, forcing part of the crew to defend the camp.

Five Knots did not try to do everything.

Orin remained with the dwarves fighting the smaller creatures who came to support the dragon. Min restored the frozen launch controls. Belda climbed the ridge to free a tangled chain. Kesh tracked Veyrath through the smoke and called every turn before the dragon completed it.

Tessa stayed where all four could hear her.

[Veyrath: 72%]

The dragon destroyed the exposed weapon.

[Veyrath: 64%]

It crushed the northern cover and scattered the dwarven front line.

[Veyrath: 57%]

Veyrath landed beside the second harpoon. Min stood at its controls.

Tessa ran toward her. The dragon raised one claw.

Belda released the chain from above. The weight of the broken stone anchor swung beneath the ridge and struck Veyrath’s wounded wing. Its balance shifted long enough for Min to fire.

The harpoon entered beneath the dragon’s shoulder.

Every surviving dwarf pulled the chain and demonstrated the simple fact that a dwarves strength should not be underestimated. Veyrath hit the ground, hard.

Five Knots attacked the injured joint together.

[Veyrath: 50%]

A horn sounded beyond the eastern ridge.

The first elf appeared on horseback above the valley.

She wore green-and-silver armor and carried a long spear beneath one arm. More riders rose behind her until the entire ridge filled with them. Their horses wore light barding, and pale runes shone along their reins.

Veyrath saw them. For the first time, the dragon tried to retreat.

The elven leader lowered her spear.

”For the Shattered Watch!”

The riders charged downhill.

[The Dawnhoof Patrol has entered the battle.]

[Assistance condition met: Reduce Veyrath to half health.]

[Allied units do not affect party clear eligibility.]

The elves did not ride directly beneath the dragon. Half spread through the valley and fired arrows from horseback. The others circled toward the eastern path, cutting off Veyrath’s escape.

Their arrival changed the battle without ending it.

Veyrath released a roar that shattered ice across the valley. The remaining scaled creatures surged toward the horses. Dwarves and elves met them between the ridges while the boss ripped the second harpoon from its body.

The dragon was wounded, surrounded, and more dangerous than before.

It struck the Dawnhoof leader from her saddle. Tessa caught the elf before Veyrath’s claws reached her again. Belda and Kesh pulled the rider behind a stone shelf while Min overloaded the broken harpoon’s mana cell.

Blue light spread through the chain still wrapped around Veyrath’s shoulder.

”Everyone down!” Min shouted.

The cell exploded. The blast did not kill the dragon. It tore open the scales surrounding the wound and forced Veyrath onto three legs.

[Veyrath: 21%]

Durna ordered the dwarves forward while the Dawnhoof leader remounted her horse.

Five Knots regrouped in front of the dragon.

Veyrath attempted one final flight.

Its damaged wings lifted it above the battlefield. The dragon climbed toward the clouds while frost gathered inside its jaws. If it reached enough height, nothing in the valley could stop its next attack.

Kesh saw the route first.

”Eastern ridge!”

The Elven riders turned without being told. They galloped up the slope in two lines, their runed reins leaving trails of light behind them.

Tessa understood.

”Belda, with me! Orin, get Min to Durna’s last launcher!”

The remaining launcher was not a weapon. It was a cargo line recovered from the Stonewing, designed to throw supplies between airships.

Min changed its angle while Orin loaded the only object large enough to hold two people: a section of the captain’s door.

”This is a terrible use of engineering.” Min said.

Durna shoved a release lever into her hands. ”Fire.”

The cargo line launched Tessa and Belda above the ridge.

For one breath, they flew through the air above the mounted elves.

The Dawnhoof leader threw her spear. It struck Veyrath’s injured shoulder but did not penetrate deeply enough to bring the dragon down.

Belda caught the trailing line. And Tessa caught Belda.

Their combined weight pulled the spear sideways through the damaged joint.

Veyrath’s left wing folded. The dragon plummeted.

Tessa released the line before impact. She struck the snow, rolled, and lost sight of Belda.

The dragon crashed into the valley floor below.

It tried to rise but Orin reached it first. Min came behind him carrying a broken section of harpoon. Kesh attacked from the other side. Belda slid down the snowy ridge, still holding the Elven spear.

Tessa joined them.

The Five Knots delivered the final strike together.

[Veyrath, Tyrant of the Shattered Sky, defeated.]

For several seconds, only snow moved.

Then every surviving dwarf began shouting and cheering.

A few minutes later, the Dawnhoof leader introduced herself as Captain Sylwen Aranor.

”Veyrath destroyed our watchtower and sealed the eastern pass.” She explained. ”We could not enter the valley while it held the sky. When you wounded it, the storm around the pass weakened enough for us to cross.”

Tessa looked at the system notice. ”So you only appear after the boss reaches half health.”

Sylwen considered the strange phrasing. ”We came when the way opened.”

”That is a better story.”

Durna stood on a piece of Stonewing wreckage while dwarves and elves gathered below her.

”The ship is gone.” She announced. ”The crew reached its destination. The valley road is open. I consider the delivery complete.”

The level accepted her judgment.

[Dwarven Airship completed.]

[First clear achieved.]

[Party: Five Knots]

[Tessa Venn, Orin Moss, Belda Crane, Kesh Arlow, Min Farrow]

[Completion grade: Exceptional]

[Optional allied force discovered: Dawnhoof Patrol]

[First-clear rewards awarded.]

A gold-and-blue chest appeared beside the remains of Veyrath.

Tessa sat down in the snow. Orin dropped beside her.

”Do you think Durna likes us now?” Tessa asked him.

Captain Durna walked past them.

”Acceptable work.” she said.

Orin smiled. ”Definitely.”

The Hall of Achievements changed before Five Knots left the hospital.

The record of their failed attempt remained. A new display rose above it, showing the Stonewing descending through clouds, the crash survivors crossing the valley, and mounted elves charging from the eastern ridge.

At its center were five ordinary adventurers who had not held a famous title before entering Max’s dungeon.

{FIRST CLEAR — DWARVEN AIRSHIP}

{FIVE KNOTS}

The Sanctuary crowd filled the Hall of Achievment, everyone was eager to take a closer look.

Rod’s party stood near the front.

Tessa saw them and hesitated. Rod had earned the first clears of Fey Nights and Orc Highlands. He had also revealed the boarding vessel that allowed later groups to prepare.

Rod held out one hand. ”Congratulations.”

Tessa shook it. ”You helped us get there.”

”That does not put our names on the wall.” He looked up at the display and smiled despite the disappointment in his voice. ”We will have to find another wall.”

Behind the achievement display, a sealed arch began to glow.

The symbols above it rearranged themselves.

Max received the notice in his office.

Anna read it on her clipboard at the same time. ”Do you already know what attraction you are going to add the first time someone enters the 4th level?”

Max looked through the Hall’s viewing screen. Five Knots had disappeared beneath adventurers, reporters, and Skyyard crews demanding to hear the story. Brakka stood on a bench holding the Grand Race trophy and insisting that his racing advice deserved partial credit.

”I have ideas.” Max said.

Beyond the Hall, the Level Four arch continued to brighten, letting adventures take their first look into the 4th level.