Dying was a temporary affair for a keeper. The physical body was merely a vessel, and so long as a dungeon heart was still bound it was impossible to kill a dungeon keeper. Legend had it that the more powerful keepers were able to exist in spirit form exclusively, directing their forces without the inconvenience of a mortal body.
That said, dying still hurt like a bitch. Dying by the hands of a creature such as a Horned Reaper was probably one of the most painful experiences in the world. A Horned Reaper's strikes were damaging on something more than physical. Even the mighty keeper was unable to brush off a Horned Reaper's attack.
Keeper Sidarian snarled to himself as he thought of that fact. The other keepers would have gladly teamed up to take down that upstart keeper, if only for that one simple thing. Now instead of rallying together, they were hiding. All of them afraid that the new keeper would hunt them down and extract an even bloodier toll.
To be honest, Keeper Sidarian was of the same mind, or he would have been if he hadn't been consumed by the rage. The anger. He was the weakest of the keepers. And with that weakness came a frantic sort of cunning. He played off the other keeper's vanities and faults to survive, and he was good at it. All the while he bided his time, and worked in secret to summon something that might serve him better than the goblins and warlocks he had so far.
Now he was running out of time. Soon the other keepers would start eying each other to see who would look best as a sacrificial lamb, or to see who could be eaten to strengthen the whole.
Keeper Sidarian snarled again, lurching to his feet and walking quickly to his library. The goblins and imps scuttled away from his path as they sensed his blackened mood. Here he was king, and a petty one at that. The keeper never saw the trash and other refuse along his path, for him power was first, and everything else second. His imps knew that, and worked tirelessly to find new secrets and gold for his never ending research.
"Have you refined the spell yet?!" The Keeper barked out as he entered the library with a bang. Behind him the door slammed shut and locked. The library was always locked now, the few warlocks that he had enticed forced to work day and night to serve him.
"Ah, my lord keeper." The head warlock in the room backed away and bowed frantically. "I do believe that we have managed to work out the targeting bugs."
"Really?" Keeper Sidarian smiled darkly as approached the book containing the spell. "And you have specified the creature summoned properly this time?"
"Of course keeper." The warlock bowed again and backed away. "Powerful, without mercy, female, and attractive with large breasts. The dark gods have blessed us surely for all the requirements should be met for your spell."
"I suppose." Keeper Sidarian turned to the warlock and smiled even wider. "But it never hurts to be sure."
The Warlock had only a brief moment to back away before he disappeared along with the rest of the creatures in the library. Off in the distance a brief scream sounded out as he and the rest of the warlocks were sent to the dark gods prematurely. Keeper Sidarian laughed quietly as he felt his dungeon hearts mana reserves expand.
"Now to prove my greatness once and for all."
With that the keeper lifted up the massive book, turning the pages as he recited the long and unwieldy incantation. The torches seemed to flicker, then flare, then almost go dark as reality warped. Then the very air in the center of the library seemed to scream in pain, and a figure dropped to the ground in front of Keeper Sidarian.
He frowned. "Rather small.." Indeed the figure was almost petite. "How many times must I go through this?!" Keeper Sidarian growled as he shoved the book aside. "At least something actually appeared this time." He muttered finally as he went to the tiny figures side, kicking it. "Get up and say hi to your new master."
It was a human girl, a tiny thing with bright red hair and red-brown eyes. Eyes which looked at the keeper blankly as she stood up mechanically.
"At least they got the servitude spells correct." Keeper Sidarian sighed as he looked at the girl's chest. "Oh come on! Can they not get one thing right? It's female, but really, one out of five?! If I hadn't sacrificed them all to the dark gods I would put them in the torture chamber for this stunt!" The Keeper continued to rant, ignoring how the life slowly started to flood back into the girl's eyes. "It's like they summoned a boy instead of a woman! At least I could have gotten one with a generous bosom."
"Excuse me?" The girl asked, rubbing at her head as she shook off the magical compulsions.
"You heard me, you are as flat as a washing board." Keeper Sidarian rolled his eyes. "A mere waif of a girl barely fit to serve in a low class brothel, much less serve in my esteemed company. Even my minions would have trouble touching something as unattractive as you."
The girl clenched her hand and started to tremble.
"Aww, did I hurt the little girl's feelings?" Keeper Sidarian sneered and began to walk away. "There will be more things hurt soon, don't you worry, little girl."
"FIREBALLL!"
Off in the training room several of the goblins blinked as a muffled explosion sounded off in the distance. Several of them grabbed spears and began to cautiously exit the room. A few imps running past with half their bodies on fire made them seriously consider their employment. It wasn't until they saw the human girl stomping up to them that they seriously began to think something was wrong. By then though, it was far too late.
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(Posted Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:24)
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