Things had been going well in the new Keeper's dungeon. With a steady source of income, Seras would be able to expand her dungeon at a much faster pace than many other beginners. The Mentor had instructed her to build a treasury to house her new wealth, and as she watched the pile of gems grow, she as giddy as a little girl again.
"This is more money than I've ever seen in my life!" She was practically vibrating in place.
The Mentor was pleased as well, and eyed each incoming bag of precious stones longingly. "I'm not surprised. Keepers are among the wealthiest individuals in the world. A poor Keeper is a dead one. Come, there is more to do."
As they walked, informed her of the Keepers innate magical abilities. "You are already aware of a Keeper's power to move anything belonging to them across their territory. But there are many more spells available to you, waiting to be discovered. To access magical lore, you'll have to build a library."
"Oh! I remember Sir Integra had a HUGE library! Walter never let me into one of the isles though. Bet its full of romance novels." With a snap of her fingers, a pair of imps began opening up a new chamber that would become her new library.
"Well, yours shall be stocked with tomes and manuals on any form of knowledge you possess. Which begs the question; just what did you do for your master?" The perverted grin on his face immediately told her what he was really thinking.
"NOTHING LIKE THAT! Bloody hell." Damned ghost. "Before my master turned me, I was a police girl."
"A soldier?"
"Not really." As a member of Hellsing, fighting monsters was a big deal, but nothing like serving in the real army. "A police girl," she gestured to herself, "Or police man is expected to uphold and enforce the law."
"Hmm." He looked her over, his gaze lacking its previous perverseness. "The uniform makes more sense now. So you should know how to keep your minions disciplined. Anything else?"
"Well, I was my team's weapon's specialist."
As the library took shape, several shelves were loaded with books on police training, law, tactics and strategy, and weapons design & maintenance. Other's had books which displayed her knowledge of the history of England, and one short tome describing what Alucard had taught her about being a vampire. She felt embarrassed that she knew so little about what she was.
The shade floated in front of the few books and shook his head. "That won't do. If you do not have any magical skill yourself, you shall have to find minions that do. Their knowledge will add to yours, until this library rivals that of even the greatest sage or wizard." He still looked displeased.
"What's wrong?"
"Without a portal, it will be very difficult to expand your dungeon. This will leave you vulnerable while looking further abroad."
It was at this moment that Strix made his entrance, having overheard their discussion. "If I may?"
The Mentor nodded his head, willing to hear anything that might move things along.
"My former master possessed a number of inactive portals in case of emergencies. I believe that there my be one nearby."
The Mentor's brow raised a bit. "This makes things easier then. I'd thought we'd be forced to take one from another Keeper, an immensely difficult task in your position." He nodded to the giant spider. "Very well then, my arachnid friend. Lead on."
........
Seras, Strix and the Mentor were standing before a bubbling pool of water. Beneath it, the standing stones that made up a portal. Only one problem: according to the Mentor, vampires couldn't cross moving water.
"I'm not sure I've ever heard of that." Seras herself had her doubts, but she still remembered burning her hand on a silver fork during a dinner with Sir Integra at the Hellsing estate. "Besides, I've bathed before, and nothing happened."
"Still water is different. I assure you, it is very true. A good moat or river is one of the only reliable methods of keeping enemy vampires out of a dungeon." He motioned to the pool with one ethereal hand. "Or would you care to find out?"
She retreated several feet and the enthusiastic shaking of her head gave him her answer. "Good." He tapped his chin as he thought of a solution. "This makes things difficult. It will take some time to pull the stones out of the water."
"We may not have to" Strix added. The specter waited for the spider to elaborate. "There is a chasm a short distance.." Tapping on each of the walls with his legs, he studied the vibrations. "Here. Behind this wall."
A few imps waddled up to the wall and began knocking it down in short order. After several minutes, the wall suddenly opened into thin air. Seras looked over the edge, and saw that it fell a great distance downwards before ending.
"Ah! Excellent! This makes things so much simpler." The Mentor led Seras through the excavation project. The imps built a deep trench leading to the pool, while leaving a wall between them and the scalding water. The plan was to drain the fluid out of the chamber through the new opening, revealing the portal. An hour later, the imps had finished their work, and now only a thin wall stood between the water and escape. One nervous imp stood ready to make the final break that would release a deadly torrent of hot water straight onto it.
With Seras's curt nod, he took his pickaxe to the stone. A heartbeat later, and the wall gave way with a crash and the trench flooded like a giant bathtub. A quick grab on Seras part spared the imp the experience of being boiled, then tossed down a deep ravine. As the water escaped the pool, huge rectangular blocks were revealed. Soon, the inactive portal was completely exposed, and ready to be assembled.
"Let's get to work."
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(Posted Fri, 21 Nov 2014 04:55)
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