Dungeon Master (Karma System)

The mist surrounding the Sanctuary disappeared at sunrise.

People stopped in streets, on balconies, and beside breakfast stalls as the land beyond the familiar town came into view.

The Sanctuary had not ended at the old forest boundary for weeks. Max had expanded it several times and hidden the unfinished regions while gnomes, dungeon creatures, and system workers prepared the race route.

Now, an entire horizon unfolded.

Far to the east, a snow-capped mountain rose above dark green foothills. Sunlight turned its highest glaciers gold. Waterfalls descended from a canyon south of the mountain, forming a river that curved toward the Sanctuary’s lake.

The western land was darker. Black stone ridges surrounded an active volcano. Smoke drifted from its summit, and thin red lines glowed along one slope.

Between the extremes lay a field of enormous stone pillars, a marsh covered in silver reeds, and a forest whose trees grew in spirals around open shafts of air.

Anna stood on the Skyyard’s highest platform beside Max.

"You said you added more land."

"I did, isn’t it awesome.

"You did not mention the volcano."

Max checked the eruption controls. "It is perfectly safe."

The mountain released a low boom.

Anna looked at him.

"Mostly safe." Then he scotted closer to his wife while putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Besides the land, there is a nice private hot spring near the volcano, and I also built a cozy cabin for two on the snowy mountain."

***

Nine airships waited on the starting rails.

Eight crews had won qualifying races during the previous month. The ninth consisted of dwarves.

Brakka stood on the bow of a bronze racing craft with both hands raised while the crowd chanted his name. His four crew members wore matching leather flight coats. Their ship sat lower than the others, with smaller sails and a large engine housing that vibrated against the rail.

Tessa examined it from the neighboring platform.

"That engine violates at least two Skyyard design standards." Min said.

"Three." Belda corrected. "The exhaust is pointed at us."

Brakka grinned across the gap. "That is so you know what passed you."

Orin leaned over the rail. "Did you win a qualifier?"

"Dwarves built half this course. We received a direct invitation."

"So no."

Brakka’s grin disappeared.

The Five Knots climbed aboard their own ship. Less than a day had passed since Veyrath killed them. Their bodies were restored, but the memory remained. Compared with a dragon tearing apart the Stonewing, the Skyyard craft felt small enough to carry under one arm.

Tessa took the pilot’s position.

"We are not using this race to forget yesterday," she said.

Kesh unfolded the route map. "Good. Cause I already forgot the part where the dragon ate you."

"Use it to practice. Roles, signals, no chasing another ship because it annoys us."

All four looked toward Brakka.

"No chasing it." Tessa repeated.

The starting bell rang causing Nine ships to launch over the Sanctuary lake.

The first portion of the course looked familiar. Pilots crossed floating rings, passed beneath two stone bridges, and caught a rising current above the water. Ships crowded together while spectators filled the shore.

Brakka’s engine roared. The dwarven craft moved from ninth to third before the first bridge. Black exhaust covered the two ships behind it.

Five Knots remained fifth. They did not fight for the narrow openings. Kesh tracked the course. Belda adjusted the sail angle. Min kept the engine at a level that would leave power for the later regions. Orin shifted his weight and called out the position of every nearby ship.

The course turned east. A wall of water filled the horizon. The new river dropped through a canyon in three enormous waterfalls. Race gates hung inside the upward spray, requiring ships to climb against the falling water without striking the canyon walls.

Two crews accelerated too early. Their sails filled with water, and safety crystals transported them back to the Skyyard before they ships were swept away by the failing water.

Five Knots entered the spray in seventh place and left it in fourth.

Brakka emerged first.

The snow mountain punished engines and made them really work for it.

Cold air reduced mana flow through exposed lines. Ice formed on sails and control surfaces. The highest race gate waited above a glacier where the wind changed direction without warning.

Min rerouted heat from the engine housing. Belda crawled onto the outer rail and struck ice from the steering fins. Tessa allowed the ship to lose altitude rather than forcing it through a crosswind.

Another crew passed them. Orin started to call for more power. He stopped himself when he saw what happening up ahead.

The passing ship reached the crosswind first. It spun, missed the gate, and lost nearly a minute circling back.

Five Knots crossed cleanly.

Brakka still led, but steam poured from the side of his engine housing.

"He spent too much power on the lake. He must have wanted the lead bad enough that he was willing to risk it." Min said.

Tessa smiled. "Do not chase him."

"I am not chasing. I am observing an approaching mechanical failure."

The mountain route descended through the spiral forest. Open shafts between the trees created columns of rising air. Crews could follow the marked turns or risk diving through the shafts.

Brakka chose the risk.

His ship dropped between the branches and vanished.

Five Knots followed.

For thirty seconds, their entire world became green wood and spinning sky. Tessa aligned the ship with Kesh’s shouted directions while Belda moved the sails faster than the mechanisms were meant to turn. They caught the third air shaft and shot above the canopy.

Brakka remained one ship-length ahead.

Only four crews were still in the race.

The volcano erupted when the leaders reached the western ridge.

The crowd in the Sanctuary heard the explosion several seconds after seeing it. Smoke expanded above the summit. Red fire climbed through the center, and glowing stones spread across the sky.

Anna slowly turned toward Max.

"Perfectly safe?"

"Every projectile is tracked."

One burning stone passed through a magical barrier and struck an empty section of the course. The stone split open, releasing a cluster of small fire elementals.

Max checked the controls. "That was supposed to happen."

The racers entered the ash cloud. Race gates appeared only as pale lights. Fire elementals clung to hulls and tried to tear away sails. The rules allowed crews to repel environmental creatures, but stopping cost time.

Brakka did not stop. His ship’s bronze hull ignored the smallest elementals. One reached the exposed engine and disappeared in a burst of flame.

The dwarven craft accelerated.

"He fed it to the engine." Min said in disbelief.

Brakka shouted something triumphant through the smoke. Five Knots could not copy him. Their wooden hull had already begun smoking.

Tessa banked close to a falling stream of lava. The heat of the falling lava attracted the fire elementals away from the ship. Belda smothered the remaining fire while Kesh located the final ridge gate.

They emerged from the ash beside the dwarves. The other two surviving crews were nowhere in sight.

The final route crossed the stone pillars and returned to the Skyyard. Brakka’s damaged engine produced more speed. Five Knots turned more cleanly. The lead changed at every pillar.

Brakka cut inside a narrow gate and scraped bronze across stone. Five Knots took the outside line and caught a current that placed them half a ship ahead. The dwarven engineer struck the engine housing with a hammer. It released one final burst.

Both ships entered the town above the same street. People filled every rooftop below them.

The finish gate hung between the two highest Skyyard towers. It was wide enough for both ships, but only barely.

Tessa saw Brakka’s crew pulling closer. If she turned into them, one ship would be forced away from the best line. The collision barriers would prevent deaths, but neither crew might finish.

She held her course.

Brakka looked across the narrowing space. He held his own line.

The ships crossed together. For several seconds, nobody knew who had won.

Then the Skyyard displayed the result above both towers.

{Monthly Grand Race}

{First Place: Brakka’s Forgeflight — 2:17:43.08}

{Second Place: Five Knots — 2:17:43.31}

Brakka had won by less than a quarter of a second. He climbed onto his rail and raised both arms. The engine exploded behind him causing his ship to drop.

Safety magic covered the ship in blue light while the Five Knots laughed hard enough to miss their docking rail.

Brakka found them in the celebration hall that evening.

He carried the Grand Race trophy beneath one arm. Soot still covered half his beard.

"You flew well." He said.

Tessa looked around. "Are you speaking to us?"

"Do not make me repeat it."

Min tapped the trophy. "Your engine exploded."

"All sorts of things happened after the race was over." The dwarf replied.

"It was still a mechanical failure."

"It was a precisely timed disassembly."

Brakka placed five small bronze tokens on the table. Each displayed a hammer on one side and an airship on the other.

"Forgeflight crew markers. You finished close enough to deserve them."

He walked away before they could answer.

Orin turned his token over. "He likes us."

Tessa watched the race replay above the hall. Five Knots had not won, but they had crossed every region without abandoning a role. When something failed, someone called it out. When another crew moved ahead, they did not destroy themselves trying to respond.

She closed the replay and then turned her mind towards the third level of the dungeon that they would be trying again tomorrow.