Keeper Nikolai
Chapter 2
A/N: I don't own Dungeon Keeper.
"Talking" 'Thinking' "Mind Touch" "Keeper 'System'"
DKDKDK
"Why do so many creatures choose to serve the Keepers? The answer is complicated, but at the heart of the matter is the fact that the Keepers offer a great deal in exchange for the service. Those who serve receive payment in gold, and the support of the magics in the land the dungeon dominates. There is a lot of prestige for successful warriors returning to their clans with trophies and stories, and wealth to spend. Depending on the Keeper, some of these creatures serve until death, while others remain far more mercenary in their servitude. Regardless, once a creature's loyalty has been given it takes great effort to break such bindings."
-Heart-Bound, Lady Nymuel, 144th of 3rd era
It did not take too long for the imps to finish digging out the gold-seam they had found. With the gold safely stored in the treasury now the imps had began reinforcing the walls of the tunnels they had dug out, sealing the small dungeon from the rest of the realm for the time being. While they were keeping themselves busy, the Keeper's focus had been on what to do next.
'I need to find some new patterns for additional rooms and I have very little to work with, at least for the time being. Some gold in the treasury, a goblin wandering through the otherwise empty hallwys, and a the basic necessities of a lair and a kitchen. I need to get ways to allow my minions to train, and even more importantly a way for my minions to start figuring out how to create new patterns for rooms, or how to create more spells for my disposal.'
After he had cast his Create Imp spell for the tenth time he had decided to stop using that spell any more. Ten imps was plenty to keep the dungeon running smoothly, and the drain on the mana he was receiving would probably start climbing steeply if he allowed himself to go too wild with the amount of imps he kept at hand.
Rashok, the goblin warrior that he had acquired as his first minion, had proven to be a curious fellow looking around what he had put together so far. The goblin's curiosity and quick wit had began to amuse the Keeper quickly. For a small and cowardly creature, the goblin was pretty cunning in some ways. Perhaps it was a necessity to help keep the goblins alive in the competitive struggle of the underworld.
It had not taken that long for two more goblins to arrive and join his forces, unlike Rashok their ritual offering of service only included drinking some of the waters around his heart and swearing to fight for gold. Though the Keeper said nothing of it, he did respect Rashok's vow a fair share more than the ones given by these two newcomers.
Regardless, his idle thoughts were brought to a halt when he felt the slight chill running through him that drew his attention back to his dungeon. He could feel a new presence in the depths, somewhere north of his heart's location. It was an innate warning, and he knew quickly enough what it meant. Heroes had entered his domain. Someone else had entered the depths, and while he only had a few goblins on his side he wasn't sure how much the enemy had.
"Sight of Darkness." As soon as he allowed himself to whisper the spell in his mind he saw the reason for that presence he felt before. A vision of an old, arched stone gate opening to reveal stairs leading up towards the world above. At the bottom of those stairs stood two figures, a man pushing the old stone door open with a lot of effort, and a woman holding a wooden staff with a jewel at its tip glowing light illuminating the chamber they had arrived into.
"Are you sure this is a wise idea? Maybe we should wait for the baron and his men to arrive." The young woman's voice was serious, but she looked around with curiosity showing in her eyes. Fiery red locks of hair shifted as she looked around the underground chamber they had arrived into, not seemingly paying attention to her companion's reply.
"I am telling you, we do this on our own and we'll be rewarded for sure. Besides, its most likely the stuffy old codgers being paranoid again." The young man wiped his brow of sweat while stepping in after the woman, a hand resting on the hilt of a sword at his side as he cast a look around blowing some of his dark brown hair away from his eyes with a tired breath.
"Those 'stuffy old codgers' are all respected practitioners of the arts, their age comes with experience after all." Her reply was annoyed but somewhat resigned, giving the impression they had already went through an argument like this several times in the past.
'While watching these two might amuse me for a little while I best start making preparations. If a baron is arriving with more men, three goblins won't be enough to take them down. This isn't exactly a good situation. Still, I can make some preparations at least, and taking these two should be possible with some cunning.'
Focusing his attention upon his imps again, he called for their attention before touching their minds and delivering his directions to them swiftly. "I need you to tunnel north from the dungeon heart, and to the half-way point between my dungeon and that entrance to my realm. There you shall build a barrier wall stretching from east to west to divide this land, and make a good choke-hold point they cannot cross except by the small entrance I shall have to leave there, allowing for a better chance to contain any threats in the future."
The imps rushed to work, three of them digging a path ahead in a hurry while one rushed after them to claim the area as swiftly as he could. One more imp was at the kitchen mixing a stew together enriching it with mana, simple charms to create some sustenance for the goblins that were gathered there at the time. Good enough, he decided as his voice echoed in the room.
"Humans approach from the north, a pair of what might be a squire and a wizard by the looks of it. There is still time, but be ready to fight when they arrive." His words were met with some growling from two of the goblins that seemed annoyed at the thought of work, but Rashok was grinning gleefully and began wolfing down his share of the stew as soon as it was set down before him, seeming intent to rush off to make preparations as soon as that was done.
The stew hardly looked that appetizing, and the goblins slept upon piles of hay, but that was what the mana allowed him to materialize for them through the imps for now. He had a feeling later on more fancy or even luxurious beds or meals might be an option, but that would wait. Minions that did well would be rewarded, but only when he was able to make such rewards available, for now he had to focus on survival.
The imps were putting a lot of effort into their digging, and while the pair of humans were wandering somewhere in the north through old corridors once dug into the lands, they were still a fair distance away from his dungeon and the wall his minions were setting up. The swift strikes of pickaxes broke dirt and loose stone to make way for the imps, the full force of imps called to task finally. Three spreading the path to east and west from the mid-way point, and two imps chasing them, one in each direction claiming territory for him. The remaining two were starting to work on reinforcing the northern side of the tunnel, to create the wall with a combination of old magic and hard work.
As the imps focused on their work Keeper Nikolai considered observing the two humans a little more, focusing his attention on them and the still active spell once more. The spell seemed to rely a fair bit on intent, as it was not watching the area they had been in but following the two as they were exploring the old tunnels. It was draining his mana a little but at the time being the loss was not enough to be a concern.
"-find here. I mean all they were able to say was that they felt old magic at work. At their age I think they should be used to magic being old." The comment from the young man seemed to be at least partially responsible for the annoyed expression on the young woman's face. The Keeper chose to watch with amusement, these heroes did not seem like a good match and might not be that good at working together, although that would remain to be seen.
"You are not thinking old enough. Old magic has been around since the second era, and though there are texts about it only a few choices remain about who can use it to this day. One of them is the Avatar, and most of the others are, well." The look she gave him and the gesture around them had the young man blink and just stand there watching her. With an exhausted sigh she decided to continue as her companion clearly didn't know what she was hinting at.
"The Keepers. Seriously, did you pay any attention at all during your training at the academy, the old history and legends?" As she watched him a moment the guy scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. "It was just after duelling practice, most of the time I was just glad I had a boring class to sleep in."
The look of indignation on the woman's face had the Keeper let out a roaring laughter, something that could only be heard around his heart, but he had to admit he was starting to consider sparing the lives of these two. If nothing else they might make fine 'court jesters' for him when they were stripped of any dangerous objects and interrogated for anything useful they might be able to share. Then again, taking captives would require a proper jail most likely, and he wasn't entirely sure how he could go about taking the two of them alive when he wasn't sure if he could win this even if he sent his minions forth with orders to kill. A lot of things were in the air, and he'd have to watch how the dice fell on things before making some final decisions.
"Oh yeah, I think I recall a bit of that. The whole stuff about changing the lands once you claim total control, the reason why the avatars were the old High Kings and all that ? I don't really put a lot of faith into it though, the great war that ended the third era should have taught all the keepers to keep their heads buried. "
It seemed apparent the two would-be heroes could provide several answers to questions that had began to occur to the Keeper now watching over them. His awakening did not come with intuitive understanding of history and the world around him, but it seemed these two had been trained to know at least the basics. Capturing them alive became desirable, although it was still an optional objective for him. The safety of his heart came first.
'The imps have finished digging the dividing wall, and are now reinforcing the walls. That is good, it will make it a fair bit harder for the enemy to intrude upon my territories.' There was comfort in that thought, but he had to wonder just how far above and below he would have to eventually dig to make sure his wall truly did seal the area off from the northern half of the cavern. Yet for the moment it seemed sufficient, and expansion below and above should come in due time.
"Expand a tunnel north, and link it to the old tunnels there. I want you imps to be ready to run the moment the heroes get too close though. Preferably before they even see you. You are to build a small square room just beyond the wall, carved out into the dirt, but beyond that a simple tunnel to link up with the old tunnels is sufficient."
His orders given, Keeper Nikolai watched the approaching duo silently, their steps carrying them closer to his new construction. The imps finished digging out and claiming the room he had ordered them to create, and claiming the tunnel reaching the dirt-floored path further off, before turning and fleeing back towards his dungeon as ordered. They knew already just how far he would allow them to go, and did not try and hurry to claim the open ground beyond the limit he had set them.
It took a short moment longer for the two of them to reach his new tunnel, the young man pulling out a folded document from his pocket to look it over and speak up seriously. "This tunnel isn't on the map. There should be just the straight tunnel here to the old ruins." Scratching under his chin and frowning the squire looked on his map and then back and forth on the tunnel they had been following, before turning his attention towards the new tunnel.
"I think we should check the ruins first, but I am suspicious of this new passage." His voice was serious and determined, his fingers folding up the map and slipping it back to his pocket. "We should report it even if we find nothing of interest here." He began to walk towards the ruin, but the wizard had stopped to look down the newly created path, seeming to be thinking things over.
"Are you coming?" The man turned around to ask her a little louder, earning a frown from the woman who shook her head. "I don't think the ruins have changed. I get a distinctive feeling we should head south if we want to find out what is going on. There's no light here in the old tunnels beyond my staff's shine, but the tunnel southwards is lit, though somewhat dimly."
Her words seemed to force the squire to nod his head in agreement, but he spoke with the same determination as before. "I still think that investigating the ruins should be our first step. I have a sunrod to take with me if you aren't coming." The young man spoke seriously, pulling out a short metal torch with its tip perfectly white.
"Are you really suggesting we split up ? That's the worst mistake you can make in a dungeon like this one." She seemed to have a headache dealing with the man she was with, but finally sighed and shook her head. "I'll come with you, someone has to keep you from getting killed." Her tone made it clear that she wasn't happy to head into the ruin after discovering the new tunnel.
After the two of them had walked along some distance, the Keeper focused his mind on his imps once again, speaking an order to them. "I need you to return to the north and collapse the tunnel heading east from my new tunnel. That will cut off the escape route for those two adventurers." That would allow him some more time to prepare. He also kept his attention on his Sight of Darkness spell on occasions to watch how long it would take the heroes to reach the ruins, and to find out what might be found there. With any luck, he might just find a room he didn't have a pattern for, and add it to his dungeon in the south.
Still, as he was waiting things out, he could feel a brush against the border of his realm. Someone wanted to cross the border of his portal, and this felt different from the goblins he had already accepted in his service. Casting one last look at the adventurers that were still walking west towards whatever ruins lay there out of his sight, the Keeper focused his attention at the portal itself.
The gateway was open, the runes glowing in the arch brightly, the surface showing a rather clear image of what lay beyond. Standing there was a tall and slender figure wearing a hooded cloak. Dark grey skin, white hair, and dagger-tipped ears were enough signs for him to recognise a Dark Elf. The figure was holding its side, and from a brief look the Keeper could tell the dark elf was injured, albeit how badly was difficult for him to say.
"Enter." He commanded sternly, and the portal shifted slightly, allowing the dark elf to step through. Although the dark-dyed outfit was fairly form following, the Keeper wasn't sure if the elf was a man or a woman. Not that it mattered that much, but it was amusing to think someone was that androgynous.
"Thank you for your mercy. I come here to serve you, having heard of a new keeper arising in the area." The elf's voice didn't give him much of a hint about the puzzle of the elf's gender either, being soft enough to be a woman's voice and yet it could suit a feminine man as well. Deciding the matter wasn't worth worrying over or something he would bother to ask about, Keeper Nikolai chose to drop that thought for now.
"Walk the path from this portal chamber to my heart, and drink deeply from the waters around it. Once you have done this and sworn yourself to my service, you should find yourself a spot in the lair. Rest there and let yourself heal. You will be tested soon enough." His voice was calm and serious, his thoughts returning to the adventurers now wandering in the underground.
They presented a threat as well as an opportunity. Their presence raised questions and their capture offered at least some answers. As for the dark elf, Nikolai had already chosen to allow the elf a chance to prove useful. While he was not certain of the elf's abilities, the short blade at the belt and the cloak and its hood suggested the dark elf might know how to fight and hide. While Nikolai knew little about this world, some facts at least about the underworld seemed like he had always known them. Inherited knowledge of some sort perhaps. The voice really had not given him much to go on, mostly just brief practical advice among those insults.
As the Keeper's attention returned to the two adventurers, he found them just entering a stone-floored chamber at the end of the tunnel they had been following. The half-rotten remnants of a square table lay on the floor nearby, as did some broken, rusty weapons as well. The dark stains scattered about might indicate a bloody fight took place there a long time ago, but that was secondary to something else.
Even through the spell, the Keeper could feel the remnants of a magical pattern worked into the room. 'Guardroom. Probably to help secure the ruin from intruders. Obviously it was not enough, but if there is a pattern in it that means there was someone else here that could use old magic. Its faded though, and eroded. I will have to seize control of that place, and see if there are other patterns that might have survived.'
"This place still looks like a dump." The young man spoke while tugging out the map he had in his pocket, unfolding it as the woman stepped closer to look at the map as well. "Its been abandoned for a long time anyway. See the cobwebs covering the doorway at the other side? If someone had been here then that doorway would be clear." Her voice was calm but also laced with a very definite edge. The cheshire cat grin she wore seemed to irritate the man noticeably. "Don't say it-" he pleaded, but she chuckled warmly and shook her head. "I told you so."
While their brief conversation was hardly impressive it brought some amusement to the Keeper, and their arrival had revealed to him the presence and importance of those ruins. He would lay claim to them, though if getting the patterns for those rooms there might be required destroying the place, then so be it. Yet their presence suggested there had been another Keeper here before him, or someone else that was able to use magic similar to his own. The two adventurers did mention it was a long time ago, but it did make him wonder why his predecessor had fallen then. Perhaps that too could be uncovered once he had dealt with those adventurers.
'You need a larger treasury to store gold.' He felt the warning as much as he heard it. The imps had been busy, and gathered most of the gold present in the south-west area of the dungeons. On one hand it was comforting to know he had a full treasury to help pay his minions, but at another it also left him wondering if he should build a larger treasury or simply tell his imps to stop mining any more gold until he needed it. They had dug up most of what he had discovered earlier, and he had not yet found more veins to mark down for his imps.
Deciding to simply let the imps know that the rest of the gold should not be touched for the moment, Nikolai's attention quickly returned to his wandering minions. Three goblins were sitting down at the kitchen around a table playing with bone dice it seemed, amusing themselves while waiting his orders. The dark elf in turn was laying on a bed of hay, resting to recover from the wound which had been apparent on the dark elf's arrival. The old magics were already at work, showing the benefits of working for a Keeper. The water binding the dark elf to his service and the soothing pattern within the lair worked together to allow even a grievous wound to seal and heal up with little more than time spent resting.
It would not be long until he would need to face not only those two intruders, but probably others that were going to come after him. That still left him in the dark about the other Keepers, and the general situation of the struggle above as well as below. The one thing that was already proven true was the fact that in order to survive he would need to vanquish his enemies, and build up his strength.
In order to create a reign that would last he might even need to crush all opposition. Somewhere deep within him an urge drove him towards that, but at the same time, his mind was not clouded by such urges, rather he thought on the long term, and planned to make sure he wouldn't rush ahead without planning. Patience was a virtue after all, and Keepers might well live forever, at least as far as the question of aging went.
DKDKDK
Alright, the second chapter is still helping to establish the world and the situation a little better, but a fair share of things will be in the dark, intensionally, for a fair while still. I hope it provides some amusement to the readers though, and I plan on continuing the tale little by little.
I wonder if the little 'quotes' at the start are a nice little 'random touch' or if they are more annoying little tidbit than amusement. I'll carry on trying to make up a few such quotes now and then, seeing if I can start each chapter with something like that.
The tale will likely mostly focus on a 'primary dungeon' and its region, but I do plan on 'expansion' dungeons further off, at least at this point I am planning on such. Yet the tale is rather 'open ended' as I have a rather 'wireframe plot' for up until maybe... 7th chapter. Beyond that, well I will see if there will be enough interest to carry the tale along or if this will be a 'short' tale.
