Dungeon Master (Karma System)

The portal opened at the base of the new tower.

Max stepped through with Anna and Quin. By the time they arrived, several dozen adventurers had already crossed half the village on foot. More adventurers were pushing out of taverns, inns, and training grounds after they saw the commotion.

The tower stood nearly sixty meters tall. Dark stone formed its lower half, while brass supports and wooden platforms wrapped around the upper levels. A pair of open lifts waited beside the entrance. Thick chains rose through holes in their roofs and disappeared into the tower.

A broad sign had appeared above the doors.

{Dwarven Skyyard}

{Training, recreation, and scheduled races}

”This looks pretty nice. The way you described it I was expecting more...” Quin asked.

”More what?” Max asked with a teasing grin.

”Well, it sounded like you put it together last minute, but this looks professional.

Max scoffed and turned up his nose in mock annoyance. ”The one thing nobody does better than me is spend money. And spending money gets results.”

Anna sighed, but she was smiling when she entered the lift.

The platform carried them upward. Each floor passed an open training area. The first contained a section of airship deck mounted on enormous gears. It rolled from side to side to simulate shifting in the air currents while dwarves crossed it carrying barrels. The next level up held masts, ropes, hanging ladders, and narrow bridges. Strong wind blew through the open walls even though the air outside remained calm.

On the third level, several wooden platforms moved around one another at different heights. Anna watched a gnome stepped from one to the next, mistimed the distance, and fell towards the ground.

The gnome vanished before reaching the ground. A moment later, he reappeared on the starting platform and shook his fist at the moving section.

”Safe falling system.” Anna said approvingly.

”I am sure the adventures will prefer practicing on these trial platforms instead of having to preform high in the sky while on an airship.” Remarked Quin.

The lift reached the upper dock before Max could defend his decision. Six miniature airships floated beside the tower. Each had a narrow wooden deck suspended beneath an oval balloon. The vessels were around fifteen meters long and just wide enough for five people to move between the different stations.

A stocky dwarf with a braided black beard waited beside the nearest ship. He wore a leather flight coat and brass goggles on his forehead.

”Boss Clarkson!” The dwarf struck one fist against his chest. ”Captain Brakka Flintcloud, master of the Skyyard and future champion of every race held in it.”

”Future champion?” Quin asked.

Brakka pointed toward the nearest ship. A name had been painted along its side in bright red letters.

Unreasonable Confidence

”You named your ship that?” Anna asked.

”No.” Brakka looked offended. ”The ship earned the name.”

Two other dwarves standing on the deck nodded seriously.

Max liked him immediately.

Brakka led them aboard and explained the five stations required to fly an airship. The pilot controlled the rudder and major turns. The navigator tracked the course, wind, and checkpoints. The engineer maintained the small mana engine. The rigging controller managed the sails and altitude fins. The final crew member moved ballast, secured cargo, and helped wherever something went wrong.

”So one person cannot fly it alone?” Anna asked.

”One person can make it leave the dock,” Brakka replied. ”Where it goes after that is between the ship and gravity.”

Max opened the Skyyard menu. The airship needs five registered participants to start its engine. That restriction could be deactivated if he wished, but that would probably be a bad idea.

”We need two more.” Max said not bothering to ask if Anna or Quin wanted to try. It was obvious from the excitement on their faces that they were interested. He was interested in giving it a go. He had seen the dwarves practicing before but had never actually tried it himself.

Brakka slapped the shoulder of a red-bearded dwarf beside him. ”Deckmaster Doff.” He then pointed to a younger dwarf already adjusting one of the ropes. ”Rigging Master Pell.”

Max took the pilot’s position. Quin became navigator, Anna stood beside the engine controls, and the two dwarves handled the remaining stations.

Brakka stayed on the dock.

”Aren’t you coming?” Max asked.

”Only five people fit.”

”Then why did you introduce yourself as the captain?”

”Because every ship needs someone qualified to explain what the crew did wrong after it crashes.”

The dock clamps released and the mini-airship immediately drifted sideways.

”Turn left.” Quin said.

”I am turning left.”

”The other left.”

”There is only one left.”

The side of the ship bumped against a padded post. A bell rang above them, and the vessel was gently pushed away from the tower by an invisible force.

Pell pulled two ropes. Small sails unfolded along the sides of the balloon, catching the wind and carrying them forward.

The full practice course formed as they left the dock. Rings of pale light appeared around the outer edge of the Sanctuary. The first hovered above the forest. The second stood much higher over the hills. Another waited beyond the lake.

Quin pointed toward the first ring. ”Keep the red marker on our right when we pass through.”

”Why?”

”Because that is what the course map says.”

Max turned the wheel. The airship responded slowly at first, then much more quickly when Pell adjusted the sails. The deck tilted beneath them.

Anna caught the engine housing with one hand. ”A warning would have been helpful.”

”I did not know it would do that.” Max said, while trying to hide a smirk.

”That is not as reassuring as you think.”

They passed through the first ring sideways. A green light flashed across the deck, confirming the checkpoint.

The next stretch carried them above the forest. Wind struck the balloon from below and forced the ship upward. Quin called for Max to lower the bow while Pell changed the altitude fins. Doff rolled a heavy iron block across the deck to shift their balance.

Max pulled the wheel harder than necessary.

The ship dipped.

Anna’s hands moved across the engine controls. A burst of mana restored their forward speed before they sank into the treetops. Branches passed close beneath the hull.

”More power!” Max shouted.

”You already have more power.”

”Then why are we still falling?”

”Because you are pointing us down.” One of the dwarves yelled.

Max corrected the wheel. The airship rose sharply. Quin grabbed the navigation stand before he could slide across the deck.

They missed the second checkpoint by nearly thirty meters.

”Do we turn around?” Max asked.

”If we don’t go back for that ring the course will disqualify us.” Quin said

The return turn took long enough for another empty training ship to pass them. Nobody was controlling it. The Dungeon Core had apparently sent it around the course to demonstrate the proper path.

It completed the next three checkpoints before Max’s crew reached the second.

By the time Max and his group returned to the tower, one sail had wrapped around a support line, the engine was making a concerning clicking sound, and Max had stopped pretending they were doing well.

Their ship struck the padded dock hard enough to knock everyone off balance.

Brakka checked a brass timepiece. ”Twelve minutes and forty-one seconds.”

”Is that good?” Max asked.

”The automatic ship completed the course in four.”

Quin stepped onto the dock. ”We only missed one checkpoint twice.”

”Three times.” Anna corrected.

”I was trying to spare your husband.”

Max ignored them and opened the Dungeon menu. The training areas could remain available every day, but the racing system had several scheduling options preset already.

He selected one qualifying race every three days, but the first race would only happen a week from now That gave enough time for everyone who was interested to familiarize themselves with the operation of the airship. Entry required a registered party of five to complete their training ahead of time and a pay a small entry fee. Only the crew finishing in first place would qualify for the larger monthly race.

The five people who won together would hold the qualification. They could not replace their worst crew member with someone better before the main event.

”Good,” Brakka said when Max explained it. ”A victory belongs to a crew, not a ship full of replacements.”

The monthly course was considerably longer. It circled the Sanctuary several times at different heights and allowed the Dungeon Core to change wind patterns and checkpoints between sections. Its exact route would remain hidden until the race began.

The six vessels currently docked at the tower were only for practice. On race days, additional docks and identical ships would appear for every registered crew. The Dungeon Core would inspect each vessel before the start so no party could alter an engine, lighten a hull, or conceal an enchanted object aboard.

Personal skills could be used only when they affected the person using them. A navigator could rely on an awareness skill, and an engineer could benefit from improved coordination. Nobody could use wind magic to push a ship, teleport across the course, or interfere with another crew.

If vessels collided accidentally, the Skyyard would weaken the impact. Intentional ramming caused immediate disqualification and placed the offending ship in the recovery system.

Max briefly considered allowing more dangerous contact during the monthly event. Anna looked at him before he could say it aloud.

”It is still part of the Sanctuary.” She reminded him.

”I was only considering the possibilities.”

”Consider safer ones.”

Max set the entry fee low. The races would be more entertaining if ordinary parties could afford repeated attempts. Winning a qualifying race provided no large treasure. The real reward was the right to enter the monthly competition and have the crew’s name permanently recorded at the Skyyard.

Max added several dwarven crews to the monthly event.

”You are letting the dungeon dwarves race against the adventurers?” Anna asked.

”Of course. What is the point of having dwarven airships if the dwarves never get to prove they are better at flying them?”

Brakka nodded so hard his beard bounced against his chest.

The Dungeon Core displayed the completed schedule.

[Skyyard Qualifying Race]

[Frequency: Once every three days]

[Crew Size: Five]

[Monthly Grand Race qualification awarded to first-place crew. Qualification will remain active for 3 months.]

[First qualifying race begins in three days.]

The announcement appeared throughout the Sanctuary.

Below the tower, adventurers immediately began forming teams. Several pointed toward the different training floors. Others argued about who would pilot and who would be forced to carry the ballast.

Brakka leaned over the railing. ”Most of them are going to crash.”

”The recovery system works.” Max replied.

”That doesn’t make it less funny.” He said with a chuckle.

Max watched three parties rush toward the lifts at the same time and become stuck in the entrance.

Anna looked at him. ”You still need someone to resolve disputes. The Skyyard has rules but the Sanctuary does not.”

From below, a man shouted that his party had already chosen the name Storm Riders. Someone else yelled that they had registered it first.

Quin rested his arms on the railing and joked. ”Mayor Clarkson has a busy afternoon ahead of him.”

Max considered pushing him over the edge. The Sanctuary would only teleport Quin safely back to the platform, so there was little point.