Mog
It was the first day of the new dungeon. Rathiel was not happy to have been kicked out of the last one, but hey, what can you do when you simply are outmatched? He had floated around in ethereal form for a while, and ended up getting sucked through a portal into this little place. He had bonded instinctually with the dungeon heart, and now here he was. How nice of the dark gods to provide him immediately with free imps!
Soon, the imps had excavated an area for a room to be built. They were instructed by their dark master to build a lair. Rathiel was pleased; he expected the hired help to arrive shortly. Being defeated once was quite enough; this time, he would create a glorious dungeon and conquer his enemies.
Having built the lair, the imps set about reinforcing the walls to increase their protection against attack. Rathiel gazed out from his dungeon heart in search of the portal that had summoned him here. As luck would have it, he had amassed enough power to find it. He ordered the imps to tunnel a path to the portal. It was time, at last, to get to work.
***
The imps stood around idly after the work had been done. One of the imps started jumping about and running into walls. The others were slightly concerned.
"Hey, Raza, why are you doing that?"
"Yeah, we worked hard on those walls!"
"You KNOW Rathiel's gonna make us clean that up."
Raza, the hyperactive imp, stopped to respond. "Sorry! Mana surge! I get jumpy when these things happen!"
"What do you mean, mana surge?"
"I mean MANA SURGE! Do I have to spell it out for you!?"
Raza dashed off in the direction of the portal, and the other imps followed dumbly. When they arrived at the portal, they stood awestruck. Mana was literally streaming in ribbons before their eyes. A massive creature was coming through the portal. Its eyes gleamed with a hellish red and its black wings spread from wall to wall. The creature was covered in an aura of pure, mystical power.
It was a dark angel. Its name was Mog. A roar came forth from its larynx, and transformed to words they could all understand.
"I AM MOG. SLAVES OF THE KEEPER, BOW BEFORE ME!"
The imps were all pressed down by the outstretched, ethereal hand of Mog. Mog drifted through the air past them, moving towards the lair. As he passed the dungeon heart, he spat upon it and said, "KEEPER, YOU HAVE NOT DEVELOPED TO ACCOMODATE ME. I SUGGEST YOU DO SO QUICKLY."
Raza stood up and glanced in the distance. "I don't like him."
***
Rathiel was painfully aware of Mog's demands. He was not yet ready to force a dark angel into submission, so he had to submit himself. From his wealth of cosmic knowledge, he drew out the plans for creating a temple. It would not be a simple feat. Creating this temple required a constant flow of mana, which he would have to provide. In addition, it was too complex for the imps to design. He idly gave the order for them to excavate the temple under Mog's direction.
"YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS PUNY ROOM WILL HOUSE MY TEMPLE? YOU THERE, DIG THE LEFT OUT FURTHER. I WANT THIS TEMPLE TO BE CIRCULAR. YOU DO UNDERSTAND CIRCLES, DO YOU NOT?"
Raza wanted to jump in Mog's face and kick him, but his friends held him back. They placidly went about digging the circular base for the temple. Mog watched the imps work. Yes, he would have one of them sacrificed.
Rathiel watched all of these things happen. How dare this pompous outsider push HIS imps around? Rathiel swore to himself that he would force Mog out. No, he would not do that; he would kill Mog. Yes, exterminate the pest so he couldn't do this to any other new Keepers. But how? Hopefully, he would have enough power soon.
The imps listened to Mog's endless whims for how the temple should be built. "...AND THE STATUE OF ME GOES IN THE CENTER, WITH THE WATER FLOWING AROUND THE BASE, AND THE POOL OF WATER MUST BE A PERFECT CIRCLE, AND I WANT LITTLE FIRES KEPT BURNING ALL DAY AND NIGHT AROUND THE EDGE OF THE POOL, SET UP AT PRECISELY 30 DEGREE ANGLES FROM ONE ANOTHER, AND..."
Raza and his friends just started blankly, nodding in earnest from time to time. They didn't even know what a degree was, let alone how to measure one, or thirty. All they knew was, Mog wanted a pool of water with fire around it. They hoped Rathiel would give them a little help, because this job was over their heads.
Mog finally got tired of directing and went to set up his lair. He plopped all the materials down in the center of the room and designed a grandiose sleeping chamber, which cast its shadow all around the room and took up a full quarter of the total space. Then, he walked in and went to sleep.
***
4 hours later, the imps awoke refreshed. They ran around everywhere, doing their checkup rounds for the entire dungeon. Seeing all was satisfactory, they gathered around the dungeon heart and communed with their master.
"O great Keeper, creator of all imps, we come before you in prayer - "
Rathiel interrupted them. "Yes, yes, get on with it, I've been waiting for you to talk to me!"
Raza started. "Ah. Yes, um...how do we drive Mog out?"
"We don't."
"We...don't?"
"No. You see, eventually we have to kill him."
"How do we do that?"
"I have a plan. But first we must wait."
"Very well. We are but servants, O master."
"Go now and do my bidding. And, set up a hatchery will you?"
The imps broke the commune and hastily dug out a place for a hatchery. They used the plans that had been fed into their minds. The ground had to be designed properly in order to incubate the staples of the underworld.
They trampled and mulched the dirt, spreading their bags of magic seeds throughout. Once this had been done, they smoothed it all out, trampling and using their hands as well. Then, they dug a small hole in the center of the hatchery, in which they placed a single egg.
Rathiel pumped mana into the ground, and it came to life. The egg dissolved into the ground, and small, mindless animals began appearing. Plants of strange types grew from the seeds in the soil, and soon, there was a menagerie of life in this room. It would sustain his creatures well, thought Rathiel.
No sooner did this miracle occur than a small mana spike caused Raza to jump. He yelled, "Mana spike!"
His friends were dismayed. "Not again!?"
"No, that was SURGE. This is spike. It's smaller. Let's see what came through!"
The imps waited patiently by the portal. As the small form took shape in the dungeon, they recognized it as a goblin. Raza stepped forward.
"Greetings, friendly goblin! I am Raza, an imp of Rathiel. What is your name?"
The goblin, feeling slightly bewildered, stepped off the portal dazed. "I am called Drabl - I guess."
Raza helped Drabl into the lair. As they approached, Mog stepped out of his sleeping chamber.
"WHO IS THIS INFIDEL WHO ENTERS MY REALM? SPEAK, FOOL, WHILE YOU HAVE A TONGUE!"
Drabl was confused again. "Um, I am Drabl. Who are you?"
"FOOL, I AM MOG! MY TEMPLE IS NOT YET COMPLETE, FOR THESE HALF-WIT SERVANTS OF RATHIEL DO NOT COMPREHEND MY INSTRUCTIONS!"
"Oh...ok. I salute you, then."
"IT IS A START! IN TIME, YOU WILL WORSHIP ME! BUT FOR NOW, I GO TO OVERSEE THE SITE OF MY TEMPLE!"
Mog strode off into the opposite end of the dungeon. Raza turned to Drabl.
"Don't mind him. He's a twit. Come, I will help you set up - "
Raza's mouth dropped at the sight of Mog's immense chamber. This was a space issue, but he couldn't exactly talk to Mog about it. So he just continued his message.
" - Your lair. I assume you don't mind a relatively small place?"
Drabl stared at Mog's chamber too. "Uh, no, I can handle small."
***
Raza was in the middle of his work when he felt a mana spike again. He jumped. Then another spike came, and another. Raza became very perky and kicked off walls, leapt high in the air, and ran around speedily. As more and more came, Raza sped up so much that he ran up the walls and zipped across the ceiling. He spun around in circles like a baby tornado, and finally ended up passing out near the center of the lair.
Raza had just gotten high.
A stream of goblins made their way into the dungeon. As Raza's best friend, Merca, dragged him from the lair, the other imps greeted the goblins and helped them set up camp in the lair. Unfortunately, one goblin didn't get space because of Mog's chamber. He was angry.
"I spend all my precious time coming here to settle, and I can't even settle! What kind of place is this?"
The imps frantically started digging out from the lair, trying to extend it. But they were unsuccessful in completing that task on time. The angry goblin began to leave. The imps hurriedly continued their task and began building more lair space. Fortunately, Raza woke up, though dazed, and he bumped into the goblin. "Hi...are you here to...set up camp?"
"No! What kind of screwed up place has a really huge building in the center of the lair? I am leaving!"
"No, no, please don't...See, my friends will have a lair for you soon..."
The goblin pushed past Raza and headed for the portal anyway. The imps got done with their task, but this goblin would not listen to reason. He was moving along at an incredible pace when he bumped into something. He tried to push against it, but it didn't move. He stared up at it.
"INFIDEL! YOU DARE PUSH MOG? I WILL BRING MY WRATH UPON YOU!"
The goblin felt himself being lifted off his feet. He batted against Mog's bulk, but had no effect on the dark angel. Mog threw the goblin into the lair and started moving towards him. Raza stood in the way.
"I've put up with your arrogance. I even stayed silent when you built your room in the center of the lair. But this is enough. Leave that goblin alone. Leave him alone or I will - "
Mog picked Raza up by his throat. The rest of the imps gathered around, trying to plead with Mog. Raza hung there like a limp rag doll.
"YOU WILL DO NOTHING, SLAVE OF RATHIEL. I AM MOG, AND I WILL AVENGE MYSELF ON THE INFIDEL."
He tossed Raza casually across the room. Raza flew over the dungeon heart and hit the wall, sliding to the cold, wormy earth. Mog was starting over towards the goblin in the lair again when he suddenly decided it wasn't worth the energy anymore. He walked away to look over his temple.
Raza's friends helped him up. They chided him.
"You really shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, now Mog will roast you for sure."
"Did you think you could help the goblin any?"
Raza just dusted himself off and went into the lair to help set up the goblin's sleeping quarters. Turning back, he said to his friends, "Help him? He's not dead, is he?"
***
Rathiel was incredibly proud of Raza. Such a small creature, with the guts to challenge Mog, was refreshing. Rathiel felt terrible that Raza had been roughed up like that, and he swore that it was time to strike out himself. After all, he was the dungeon keeper. He was all done with letting Mog walk on him.
The imps were next instructed through their telepathic link that an arcane library was needed. Rathiel intended to set the goblins to work on research. He knew, of course, that they would have to be trained for it; still, he needed them researching spells for him immediately.
Rathiel focused his osmotic learning upon the room where there was to be a library. He soaked up the spirit and presence in the air there. As the arcane books were pumped through the portal, Raza had to be chained down because of his hyperactive senses. The other imps were carrying all the books back to the library, and the goblins were helping to shelve them. As a result, many books wound up either backwards, upside down, or over-crammed. As the last book came through the portal, Raza could finally be unchained. He looked over the library and saw the disorder.
Taking advantage of the residual energy boost, he ran around the room, switching and turning books, then replacing them. He managed to finish one whole shelf before this wore off and he dropped, dead tired. The other imps trained the goblins, and they finished for Raza.
Rathiel felt the power of the lore seeping into him. He relaxed in its arcane peace, and waded through the black pools to find the pearls of knowledge. "Soon," he thought, "it will be time to put away childish things..."
Mog had the imps working on completing his temple. It needed only a few more elements to be complete in his vision. One imp was chiseling the statue intricately. The rest were designing the pool and carrying in water buckets. There simply were not enough imps for Mog's taste, though; the work was not proceeding to his liking. Mog strode out and made demands to Rathiel in the dungeon heart.
"KEEPER, I DESIRE MORE IMPS FOR THE BUILDING OF MY TEMPLE. YOU WILL DO THIS NOW."
Rathiel was distracted from the lore, and he dropped what he was researching. This was very annoying and irritating to him. He wished Mog would just be content; the imps he had were doing their level best. Rathiel spent half of his power before Mog felt he had enough imps.
Now, the water was going back and forth like crazy. The pool had been fully dug, and the water level quickly reached the level Mog wanted. Now, Rathiel was required to pump all the mana he could into the temple, to kick-start the fires and keep them burning. Rathiel communicated with Raza. "Raza...Raza...I need your help, Raza..."
Raza got up, confused and groggy. "Wh-whaat?"
"You must keep the fires burning in Mog's temple. I need the focus to learn more spells. If you do this for me, I will soon be able to kill Mog."
When this clicked, Raza was instantly feeling perky. "All right! I'll do it!"
***
Raza headed straight for the temple of Mog. He looked it over. The holes had been dug and ash-coated, and fuel was added. However, the fires were not started yet.
Raza turned to Mog. "O great one! Most revered and holy! Were you but to display your power, I would be greatly awed! Prove your power to us! Light the eternal fires of your temple!"
Mog seemed pleased. "EXCELLENT, SLAVE OF THE KEEPER. YOU MAY YET BE A WORTHY SACRIFICE. I SHALL DISPLAY FOR YOU THE POWER OF MOG!"
At that, flames leapt from Mog's chest and spit outward, spreading across the entire pool. The flames were all set to burning at once. The fire clipped a few imps, and they jumped into the pool to put it out.
"INFIDELS! YOU PROFANE MY SACRED POOL WITH YOUR LOWLY SELVES? YOU SHALL BE SACRIFICED!"
Mog's hand of ethereal power struck out and created a whirlpool. The imps were dragged down with the current and drowned at the bottom. Raza watched in horror, and for all his compassion, he could only think, "I'm next." For in fact, he was. Mog didn't like him one bit.
"IT IS FINISHED! THE FIRES MUST REMAIN BURNING DAY AND NIGHT! GLORY TO MY TEMPLE! GLORY TO ME!"
The dead imps floated to the top of the pool, and Mog incinerated their corpses. The ash spread throughout the pool, and Mog felt the power. "AT LAST! MY TEMPLE IS GIVING ME POWER! ALL SLAVES OF THE KEEPER, ALL UNWORTHY ONES, GIVE YOUR PRAISE TO ME! MAKE ME STRONGER THAN GOD!"
Raza turned his eyes from the pool and cried. "He's mad, he's mad, he's mad..."
Rathiel moved through the lore to his fastest pace. He searched for something, anything, which could harm Mog. He passed many books, and searched through ancient tomes and scrolls. Only one thing came close, but it would require a huge investment of power. Rathiel did not have that power. He pondered the issue furiously, and finally hit upon something that might work. It was, however, a desperate attempt.
Rathiel rested and built up his power. The library was feeding him, though not as much as Mog gained from his temple. This would have to be done right, and he only had one shot. He would do it when he was certain of his power.
***
The next day, Mog decided he was going to eliminate all his opponents. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out who had to be killed, and who would serve him. He knew for a fact that Raza would never submit. But a bigger problem was Rathiel. A dungeon keeper, however weak, could be a problem. Mog was confident in his ability to defeat all of them, though.
Raza was helping the goblin who had been attacked by Mog. Somewhat less indignant, the goblin had told Raza his name. It was Klorin. Klorin was hoping to have his lair set up within the hour, so he could sleep decently.
Raza was in the middle of building the foundation when Mog came and grabbed him by the back of the throat. Raza struggled helplessly as the dark angel lifted him and began carrying him away. The goblins and imps all rushed at Mog, attacking with their small rapiers and fists, but Mog simply cast them all away with one blast of nova flames. Many were left unconscious, one even died. Raza couldn't even turn around to face Mog from his position.
"Put me down, you evil monster! You arrogant, slimy excuse for a creature of darkness! PUT ME DOWN!"
"YOU REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM YOUR GOD. YOU MUST BE SACRIFICED BEFORE MY VICTORY CAN BE COMPLETE."
"Rathiel will kill you if you do anything to me!"
Rathiel indeed saw this. He had been preparing his power, but the action he had planned would not be easy. He needed Mog to get closer. He watched in despair as Mog took Raza to the temple pool.
From the dark recesses of the stagnant pond, a large water snake rose.
"THIS SLAVE OF THE KEEPER IS NOW BEFORE YOU, GUARDIAN OF MY TEMPLE. I THROW HIM TO YOU NOW, AS A SACRIFICE TO ME."
Raza braced himself as he felt the air move around him. He was going into the pool with the dark snake. Mog turned away and headed for the dungeon heart, to finish off Rathiel. Raza landed in the water with a large splash, and the snake began going after him!
Rathiel saw Mog coming. He prepared himself. As soon as Mog got into the room with the dungeon heart, Rathiel spent all his energy at once. He cast himself from the dungeon heart, into the portal. From there, he refracted his spirit through its magical energy and catapulted himself into Mog. As they collided, Mog's spirit was wrenched from his body and they both arrived together on the astral plane. Rathiel appeared in the physical form of a cloaked angel with a shining sword. Mog appeared as himself, though he was quite a bit larger than Rathiel in this plane. Rathiel wished he had gotten more energy, but with Raza's predicament, he had no choice. It was time to put away childish things.
"Mog, the would-be god? I am Rathiel, Dungeon Keeper of this realm. You can die forever here. As a matter of fact, you will."
Rathiel charged at Mog with his sword. It shone in the light, but also reflected darkness. Mog attempted to blast Rathiel with his magic, but no fire came. Mog was caught off guard, and he took the hit. It pierced his side, but was comparable to nothing more than a papercut.
"You amuse me, Rathiel. I would not have expected you to try this. If it's a physical confrontation you want, I must oblige you."
Mog swung his powerful arm down upon Rathiel, who dodged it quite easily. However, this was followed up by a swift kick, and this one sent Rathiel flying. He spiraled in the arc and used his sword to balance the landing. Then, Mog came at him, quickly.
Outside, Raza was swimming in the water. The snake was much bigger than him, and was quite fast. It had bitten him, drawing blood, which colored the water. Raza retaliated by hitting the snake on the head. He grabbed it by the teeth and wrenched it off of him, hanging on to his reeling senses by sheer determination.
The snake pulled back, trying to free itself. It lashed out with its tail, bringing it above the surface to do more damage to Raza's head. Raza dodged the blows and took in a deep breath. Then, he kicked backwards with all his might and turned over, dragging the serpent down into the murky depths.
Rathiel thrust his sword outward as Mog ran towards him. Mog threw himself backward into a roll in an attempt to dodge. When Mog did this, Rathiel was able to jump on him and push his sword into Mog's chest. Mog felt it go in, and he grabbed it, pulling on it. He got it out before it reached his heart, but some damage had been done. Mog bled from the open wound, and he knew he couldn't heal it.
Rathiel laughed and jumped forward, rolling on the ground and slicing a blow to Mog's legs. Mog jumped above it and started coming down on Rathiel. Rathiel let go his sword so he could roll out of the way, and Mog landed on the flat scimitar, crushing it in two under his heel.
Raza was fighting hard against the serpent, but his air was running out. He pulled the beast towards the underwater wall of the pool and searched for a weak spot. Still holding the serpent by the teeth, he found a dirt spot where the wall had cracked away. Raza grappled the wall with his legs, and in a burst of strength, he thrust the teeth into the dirt, getting the snake stuck.
Quickly he swam to the surface. He got half a lungful of water, and vomited on the surface of Mog's pool. He thrashed about, sick and nearly drowned. Cold panic set in, as he realized how much blood he had lost; the water was red. He climbed from the pool and lay on the ground, convulsing with pain.
Mog advanced toward Rathiel, who backed away. This was not a confrontation that he could win. Mog laughed and ran at Rathiel, overtaking him and pounding him thoroughly. He enjoyed the damage he was doing, because he knew he would soon rule the dungeon. After all the times he was defeated and banished, he would finally know god-hood.
Mog stood over Rathiel. "Now, Keeper, you can die forever here. In fact, I believe you will. Do you have anything you wish to make known?"
Raza stood up. The world was a haze, but he started moving toward what seemed to be a wall. He reached out and fell against it. Yes, it was a wall. Built by imps, of course. He edged along it; he knew exactly how all the walls in the dungeon were constructed, without thinking about it. This ability enabled him to quickly grope his way to the dungeon heart. As he began to break free of the haze, he saw Mog. Mog was just standing there, not moving.
Raza didn't know what Rathiel was doing, but this was his chance, anyway. He ran to one of the fallen goblins and took a rapier. He turned again and faced Mog.
Rathiel looked up at Mog. Mog was about to bring a crushing blow down upon his head. He rolled clumsily to dodge it, but this left him completely immobile after the beating he had received. He looked up at the grinning dark angel and realized he was dead forever. It had been a damn fine run.
Mog prepared to bring the final blow upon Rathiel, when suddenly he reared back. His neck flung itself rigid, and his head jerked with it. Mog seemed to be grasping at the air behind him. Rathiel, with renewed confidence, scrambled over to his broken sword. Carefully picking up the edged piece, he forced himself to his feet, and he jumped on Mog's shoulder. Swinging around, he shoved the blade into the wound Mog already had. This time, he drove it straight through, piercing the heart of the dark angel and bringing him down at last.
Rathiel dispersed himself from the astral plane. He would have to regain his power from scratch, but at least Mog was dead. He had yet to figure out what had really happened. In the physical world, a tiny creature lay dead before the heart of the dungeon. His blood was spilled to the point of no return, and the body of Mog lay over him.
It was the first day of the new dungeon. Rathiel was not happy to have been kicked out of the last one, but hey, what can you do when you simply are outmatched? He had floated around in ethereal form for a while, and ended up getting sucked through a portal into this little place. He had bonded instinctually with the dungeon heart, and now here he was. How nice of the dark gods to provide him immediately with free imps!
Soon, the imps had excavated an area for a room to be built. They were instructed by their dark master to build a lair. Rathiel was pleased; he expected the hired help to arrive shortly. Being defeated once was quite enough; this time, he would create a glorious dungeon and conquer his enemies.
Having built the lair, the imps set about reinforcing the walls to increase their protection against attack. Rathiel gazed out from his dungeon heart in search of the portal that had summoned him here. As luck would have it, he had amassed enough power to find it. He ordered the imps to tunnel a path to the portal. It was time, at last, to get to work.
***
The imps stood around idly after the work had been done. One of the imps started jumping about and running into walls. The others were slightly concerned.
"Hey, Raza, why are you doing that?"
"Yeah, we worked hard on those walls!"
"You KNOW Rathiel's gonna make us clean that up."
Raza, the hyperactive imp, stopped to respond. "Sorry! Mana surge! I get jumpy when these things happen!"
"What do you mean, mana surge?"
"I mean MANA SURGE! Do I have to spell it out for you!?"
Raza dashed off in the direction of the portal, and the other imps followed dumbly. When they arrived at the portal, they stood awestruck. Mana was literally streaming in ribbons before their eyes. A massive creature was coming through the portal. Its eyes gleamed with a hellish red and its black wings spread from wall to wall. The creature was covered in an aura of pure, mystical power.
It was a dark angel. Its name was Mog. A roar came forth from its larynx, and transformed to words they could all understand.
"I AM MOG. SLAVES OF THE KEEPER, BOW BEFORE ME!"
The imps were all pressed down by the outstretched, ethereal hand of Mog. Mog drifted through the air past them, moving towards the lair. As he passed the dungeon heart, he spat upon it and said, "KEEPER, YOU HAVE NOT DEVELOPED TO ACCOMODATE ME. I SUGGEST YOU DO SO QUICKLY."
Raza stood up and glanced in the distance. "I don't like him."
***
Rathiel was painfully aware of Mog's demands. He was not yet ready to force a dark angel into submission, so he had to submit himself. From his wealth of cosmic knowledge, he drew out the plans for creating a temple. It would not be a simple feat. Creating this temple required a constant flow of mana, which he would have to provide. In addition, it was too complex for the imps to design. He idly gave the order for them to excavate the temple under Mog's direction.
"YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS PUNY ROOM WILL HOUSE MY TEMPLE? YOU THERE, DIG THE LEFT OUT FURTHER. I WANT THIS TEMPLE TO BE CIRCULAR. YOU DO UNDERSTAND CIRCLES, DO YOU NOT?"
Raza wanted to jump in Mog's face and kick him, but his friends held him back. They placidly went about digging the circular base for the temple. Mog watched the imps work. Yes, he would have one of them sacrificed.
Rathiel watched all of these things happen. How dare this pompous outsider push HIS imps around? Rathiel swore to himself that he would force Mog out. No, he would not do that; he would kill Mog. Yes, exterminate the pest so he couldn't do this to any other new Keepers. But how? Hopefully, he would have enough power soon.
The imps listened to Mog's endless whims for how the temple should be built. "...AND THE STATUE OF ME GOES IN THE CENTER, WITH THE WATER FLOWING AROUND THE BASE, AND THE POOL OF WATER MUST BE A PERFECT CIRCLE, AND I WANT LITTLE FIRES KEPT BURNING ALL DAY AND NIGHT AROUND THE EDGE OF THE POOL, SET UP AT PRECISELY 30 DEGREE ANGLES FROM ONE ANOTHER, AND..."
Raza and his friends just started blankly, nodding in earnest from time to time. They didn't even know what a degree was, let alone how to measure one, or thirty. All they knew was, Mog wanted a pool of water with fire around it. They hoped Rathiel would give them a little help, because this job was over their heads.
Mog finally got tired of directing and went to set up his lair. He plopped all the materials down in the center of the room and designed a grandiose sleeping chamber, which cast its shadow all around the room and took up a full quarter of the total space. Then, he walked in and went to sleep.
***
4 hours later, the imps awoke refreshed. They ran around everywhere, doing their checkup rounds for the entire dungeon. Seeing all was satisfactory, they gathered around the dungeon heart and communed with their master.
"O great Keeper, creator of all imps, we come before you in prayer - "
Rathiel interrupted them. "Yes, yes, get on with it, I've been waiting for you to talk to me!"
Raza started. "Ah. Yes, um...how do we drive Mog out?"
"We don't."
"We...don't?"
"No. You see, eventually we have to kill him."
"How do we do that?"
"I have a plan. But first we must wait."
"Very well. We are but servants, O master."
"Go now and do my bidding. And, set up a hatchery will you?"
The imps broke the commune and hastily dug out a place for a hatchery. They used the plans that had been fed into their minds. The ground had to be designed properly in order to incubate the staples of the underworld.
They trampled and mulched the dirt, spreading their bags of magic seeds throughout. Once this had been done, they smoothed it all out, trampling and using their hands as well. Then, they dug a small hole in the center of the hatchery, in which they placed a single egg.
Rathiel pumped mana into the ground, and it came to life. The egg dissolved into the ground, and small, mindless animals began appearing. Plants of strange types grew from the seeds in the soil, and soon, there was a menagerie of life in this room. It would sustain his creatures well, thought Rathiel.
No sooner did this miracle occur than a small mana spike caused Raza to jump. He yelled, "Mana spike!"
His friends were dismayed. "Not again!?"
"No, that was SURGE. This is spike. It's smaller. Let's see what came through!"
The imps waited patiently by the portal. As the small form took shape in the dungeon, they recognized it as a goblin. Raza stepped forward.
"Greetings, friendly goblin! I am Raza, an imp of Rathiel. What is your name?"
The goblin, feeling slightly bewildered, stepped off the portal dazed. "I am called Drabl - I guess."
Raza helped Drabl into the lair. As they approached, Mog stepped out of his sleeping chamber.
"WHO IS THIS INFIDEL WHO ENTERS MY REALM? SPEAK, FOOL, WHILE YOU HAVE A TONGUE!"
Drabl was confused again. "Um, I am Drabl. Who are you?"
"FOOL, I AM MOG! MY TEMPLE IS NOT YET COMPLETE, FOR THESE HALF-WIT SERVANTS OF RATHIEL DO NOT COMPREHEND MY INSTRUCTIONS!"
"Oh...ok. I salute you, then."
"IT IS A START! IN TIME, YOU WILL WORSHIP ME! BUT FOR NOW, I GO TO OVERSEE THE SITE OF MY TEMPLE!"
Mog strode off into the opposite end of the dungeon. Raza turned to Drabl.
"Don't mind him. He's a twit. Come, I will help you set up - "
Raza's mouth dropped at the sight of Mog's immense chamber. This was a space issue, but he couldn't exactly talk to Mog about it. So he just continued his message.
" - Your lair. I assume you don't mind a relatively small place?"
Drabl stared at Mog's chamber too. "Uh, no, I can handle small."
***
Raza was in the middle of his work when he felt a mana spike again. He jumped. Then another spike came, and another. Raza became very perky and kicked off walls, leapt high in the air, and ran around speedily. As more and more came, Raza sped up so much that he ran up the walls and zipped across the ceiling. He spun around in circles like a baby tornado, and finally ended up passing out near the center of the lair.
Raza had just gotten high.
A stream of goblins made their way into the dungeon. As Raza's best friend, Merca, dragged him from the lair, the other imps greeted the goblins and helped them set up camp in the lair. Unfortunately, one goblin didn't get space because of Mog's chamber. He was angry.
"I spend all my precious time coming here to settle, and I can't even settle! What kind of place is this?"
The imps frantically started digging out from the lair, trying to extend it. But they were unsuccessful in completing that task on time. The angry goblin began to leave. The imps hurriedly continued their task and began building more lair space. Fortunately, Raza woke up, though dazed, and he bumped into the goblin. "Hi...are you here to...set up camp?"
"No! What kind of screwed up place has a really huge building in the center of the lair? I am leaving!"
"No, no, please don't...See, my friends will have a lair for you soon..."
The goblin pushed past Raza and headed for the portal anyway. The imps got done with their task, but this goblin would not listen to reason. He was moving along at an incredible pace when he bumped into something. He tried to push against it, but it didn't move. He stared up at it.
"INFIDEL! YOU DARE PUSH MOG? I WILL BRING MY WRATH UPON YOU!"
The goblin felt himself being lifted off his feet. He batted against Mog's bulk, but had no effect on the dark angel. Mog threw the goblin into the lair and started moving towards him. Raza stood in the way.
"I've put up with your arrogance. I even stayed silent when you built your room in the center of the lair. But this is enough. Leave that goblin alone. Leave him alone or I will - "
Mog picked Raza up by his throat. The rest of the imps gathered around, trying to plead with Mog. Raza hung there like a limp rag doll.
"YOU WILL DO NOTHING, SLAVE OF RATHIEL. I AM MOG, AND I WILL AVENGE MYSELF ON THE INFIDEL."
He tossed Raza casually across the room. Raza flew over the dungeon heart and hit the wall, sliding to the cold, wormy earth. Mog was starting over towards the goblin in the lair again when he suddenly decided it wasn't worth the energy anymore. He walked away to look over his temple.
Raza's friends helped him up. They chided him.
"You really shouldn't have done that."
"Yeah, now Mog will roast you for sure."
"Did you think you could help the goblin any?"
Raza just dusted himself off and went into the lair to help set up the goblin's sleeping quarters. Turning back, he said to his friends, "Help him? He's not dead, is he?"
***
Rathiel was incredibly proud of Raza. Such a small creature, with the guts to challenge Mog, was refreshing. Rathiel felt terrible that Raza had been roughed up like that, and he swore that it was time to strike out himself. After all, he was the dungeon keeper. He was all done with letting Mog walk on him.
The imps were next instructed through their telepathic link that an arcane library was needed. Rathiel intended to set the goblins to work on research. He knew, of course, that they would have to be trained for it; still, he needed them researching spells for him immediately.
Rathiel focused his osmotic learning upon the room where there was to be a library. He soaked up the spirit and presence in the air there. As the arcane books were pumped through the portal, Raza had to be chained down because of his hyperactive senses. The other imps were carrying all the books back to the library, and the goblins were helping to shelve them. As a result, many books wound up either backwards, upside down, or over-crammed. As the last book came through the portal, Raza could finally be unchained. He looked over the library and saw the disorder.
Taking advantage of the residual energy boost, he ran around the room, switching and turning books, then replacing them. He managed to finish one whole shelf before this wore off and he dropped, dead tired. The other imps trained the goblins, and they finished for Raza.
Rathiel felt the power of the lore seeping into him. He relaxed in its arcane peace, and waded through the black pools to find the pearls of knowledge. "Soon," he thought, "it will be time to put away childish things..."
Mog had the imps working on completing his temple. It needed only a few more elements to be complete in his vision. One imp was chiseling the statue intricately. The rest were designing the pool and carrying in water buckets. There simply were not enough imps for Mog's taste, though; the work was not proceeding to his liking. Mog strode out and made demands to Rathiel in the dungeon heart.
"KEEPER, I DESIRE MORE IMPS FOR THE BUILDING OF MY TEMPLE. YOU WILL DO THIS NOW."
Rathiel was distracted from the lore, and he dropped what he was researching. This was very annoying and irritating to him. He wished Mog would just be content; the imps he had were doing their level best. Rathiel spent half of his power before Mog felt he had enough imps.
Now, the water was going back and forth like crazy. The pool had been fully dug, and the water level quickly reached the level Mog wanted. Now, Rathiel was required to pump all the mana he could into the temple, to kick-start the fires and keep them burning. Rathiel communicated with Raza. "Raza...Raza...I need your help, Raza..."
Raza got up, confused and groggy. "Wh-whaat?"
"You must keep the fires burning in Mog's temple. I need the focus to learn more spells. If you do this for me, I will soon be able to kill Mog."
When this clicked, Raza was instantly feeling perky. "All right! I'll do it!"
***
Raza headed straight for the temple of Mog. He looked it over. The holes had been dug and ash-coated, and fuel was added. However, the fires were not started yet.
Raza turned to Mog. "O great one! Most revered and holy! Were you but to display your power, I would be greatly awed! Prove your power to us! Light the eternal fires of your temple!"
Mog seemed pleased. "EXCELLENT, SLAVE OF THE KEEPER. YOU MAY YET BE A WORTHY SACRIFICE. I SHALL DISPLAY FOR YOU THE POWER OF MOG!"
At that, flames leapt from Mog's chest and spit outward, spreading across the entire pool. The flames were all set to burning at once. The fire clipped a few imps, and they jumped into the pool to put it out.
"INFIDELS! YOU PROFANE MY SACRED POOL WITH YOUR LOWLY SELVES? YOU SHALL BE SACRIFICED!"
Mog's hand of ethereal power struck out and created a whirlpool. The imps were dragged down with the current and drowned at the bottom. Raza watched in horror, and for all his compassion, he could only think, "I'm next." For in fact, he was. Mog didn't like him one bit.
"IT IS FINISHED! THE FIRES MUST REMAIN BURNING DAY AND NIGHT! GLORY TO MY TEMPLE! GLORY TO ME!"
The dead imps floated to the top of the pool, and Mog incinerated their corpses. The ash spread throughout the pool, and Mog felt the power. "AT LAST! MY TEMPLE IS GIVING ME POWER! ALL SLAVES OF THE KEEPER, ALL UNWORTHY ONES, GIVE YOUR PRAISE TO ME! MAKE ME STRONGER THAN GOD!"
Raza turned his eyes from the pool and cried. "He's mad, he's mad, he's mad..."
Rathiel moved through the lore to his fastest pace. He searched for something, anything, which could harm Mog. He passed many books, and searched through ancient tomes and scrolls. Only one thing came close, but it would require a huge investment of power. Rathiel did not have that power. He pondered the issue furiously, and finally hit upon something that might work. It was, however, a desperate attempt.
Rathiel rested and built up his power. The library was feeding him, though not as much as Mog gained from his temple. This would have to be done right, and he only had one shot. He would do it when he was certain of his power.
***
The next day, Mog decided he was going to eliminate all his opponents. He thought for a moment, trying to figure out who had to be killed, and who would serve him. He knew for a fact that Raza would never submit. But a bigger problem was Rathiel. A dungeon keeper, however weak, could be a problem. Mog was confident in his ability to defeat all of them, though.
Raza was helping the goblin who had been attacked by Mog. Somewhat less indignant, the goblin had told Raza his name. It was Klorin. Klorin was hoping to have his lair set up within the hour, so he could sleep decently.
Raza was in the middle of building the foundation when Mog came and grabbed him by the back of the throat. Raza struggled helplessly as the dark angel lifted him and began carrying him away. The goblins and imps all rushed at Mog, attacking with their small rapiers and fists, but Mog simply cast them all away with one blast of nova flames. Many were left unconscious, one even died. Raza couldn't even turn around to face Mog from his position.
"Put me down, you evil monster! You arrogant, slimy excuse for a creature of darkness! PUT ME DOWN!"
"YOU REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM YOUR GOD. YOU MUST BE SACRIFICED BEFORE MY VICTORY CAN BE COMPLETE."
"Rathiel will kill you if you do anything to me!"
Rathiel indeed saw this. He had been preparing his power, but the action he had planned would not be easy. He needed Mog to get closer. He watched in despair as Mog took Raza to the temple pool.
From the dark recesses of the stagnant pond, a large water snake rose.
"THIS SLAVE OF THE KEEPER IS NOW BEFORE YOU, GUARDIAN OF MY TEMPLE. I THROW HIM TO YOU NOW, AS A SACRIFICE TO ME."
Raza braced himself as he felt the air move around him. He was going into the pool with the dark snake. Mog turned away and headed for the dungeon heart, to finish off Rathiel. Raza landed in the water with a large splash, and the snake began going after him!
Rathiel saw Mog coming. He prepared himself. As soon as Mog got into the room with the dungeon heart, Rathiel spent all his energy at once. He cast himself from the dungeon heart, into the portal. From there, he refracted his spirit through its magical energy and catapulted himself into Mog. As they collided, Mog's spirit was wrenched from his body and they both arrived together on the astral plane. Rathiel appeared in the physical form of a cloaked angel with a shining sword. Mog appeared as himself, though he was quite a bit larger than Rathiel in this plane. Rathiel wished he had gotten more energy, but with Raza's predicament, he had no choice. It was time to put away childish things.
"Mog, the would-be god? I am Rathiel, Dungeon Keeper of this realm. You can die forever here. As a matter of fact, you will."
Rathiel charged at Mog with his sword. It shone in the light, but also reflected darkness. Mog attempted to blast Rathiel with his magic, but no fire came. Mog was caught off guard, and he took the hit. It pierced his side, but was comparable to nothing more than a papercut.
"You amuse me, Rathiel. I would not have expected you to try this. If it's a physical confrontation you want, I must oblige you."
Mog swung his powerful arm down upon Rathiel, who dodged it quite easily. However, this was followed up by a swift kick, and this one sent Rathiel flying. He spiraled in the arc and used his sword to balance the landing. Then, Mog came at him, quickly.
Outside, Raza was swimming in the water. The snake was much bigger than him, and was quite fast. It had bitten him, drawing blood, which colored the water. Raza retaliated by hitting the snake on the head. He grabbed it by the teeth and wrenched it off of him, hanging on to his reeling senses by sheer determination.
The snake pulled back, trying to free itself. It lashed out with its tail, bringing it above the surface to do more damage to Raza's head. Raza dodged the blows and took in a deep breath. Then, he kicked backwards with all his might and turned over, dragging the serpent down into the murky depths.
Rathiel thrust his sword outward as Mog ran towards him. Mog threw himself backward into a roll in an attempt to dodge. When Mog did this, Rathiel was able to jump on him and push his sword into Mog's chest. Mog felt it go in, and he grabbed it, pulling on it. He got it out before it reached his heart, but some damage had been done. Mog bled from the open wound, and he knew he couldn't heal it.
Rathiel laughed and jumped forward, rolling on the ground and slicing a blow to Mog's legs. Mog jumped above it and started coming down on Rathiel. Rathiel let go his sword so he could roll out of the way, and Mog landed on the flat scimitar, crushing it in two under his heel.
Raza was fighting hard against the serpent, but his air was running out. He pulled the beast towards the underwater wall of the pool and searched for a weak spot. Still holding the serpent by the teeth, he found a dirt spot where the wall had cracked away. Raza grappled the wall with his legs, and in a burst of strength, he thrust the teeth into the dirt, getting the snake stuck.
Quickly he swam to the surface. He got half a lungful of water, and vomited on the surface of Mog's pool. He thrashed about, sick and nearly drowned. Cold panic set in, as he realized how much blood he had lost; the water was red. He climbed from the pool and lay on the ground, convulsing with pain.
Mog advanced toward Rathiel, who backed away. This was not a confrontation that he could win. Mog laughed and ran at Rathiel, overtaking him and pounding him thoroughly. He enjoyed the damage he was doing, because he knew he would soon rule the dungeon. After all the times he was defeated and banished, he would finally know god-hood.
Mog stood over Rathiel. "Now, Keeper, you can die forever here. In fact, I believe you will. Do you have anything you wish to make known?"
Raza stood up. The world was a haze, but he started moving toward what seemed to be a wall. He reached out and fell against it. Yes, it was a wall. Built by imps, of course. He edged along it; he knew exactly how all the walls in the dungeon were constructed, without thinking about it. This ability enabled him to quickly grope his way to the dungeon heart. As he began to break free of the haze, he saw Mog. Mog was just standing there, not moving.
Raza didn't know what Rathiel was doing, but this was his chance, anyway. He ran to one of the fallen goblins and took a rapier. He turned again and faced Mog.
Rathiel looked up at Mog. Mog was about to bring a crushing blow down upon his head. He rolled clumsily to dodge it, but this left him completely immobile after the beating he had received. He looked up at the grinning dark angel and realized he was dead forever. It had been a damn fine run.
Mog prepared to bring the final blow upon Rathiel, when suddenly he reared back. His neck flung itself rigid, and his head jerked with it. Mog seemed to be grasping at the air behind him. Rathiel, with renewed confidence, scrambled over to his broken sword. Carefully picking up the edged piece, he forced himself to his feet, and he jumped on Mog's shoulder. Swinging around, he shoved the blade into the wound Mog already had. This time, he drove it straight through, piercing the heart of the dark angel and bringing him down at last.
Rathiel dispersed himself from the astral plane. He would have to regain his power from scratch, but at least Mog was dead. He had yet to figure out what had really happened. In the physical world, a tiny creature lay dead before the heart of the dungeon. His blood was spilled to the point of no return, and the body of Mog lay over him.