Jazzerman here, I do not own any of these characters, they are owned by their respected companies, as many as there are. You've heard this crap before. I only own my OCs.
New generation.
Part 4
The farmer's daughter woke to find herself laying on the cold floor in a large stone room, illuminated by a large windowless balcony just beyond a strange black pool. There was a throne on a stone dais not far from where she was laying and all around her were the same brown creatures that were with that armored man that had slew her family... the images of her murdered kin flooded back to her and she began to weep for her mother, father, brother and even all the animals that were surely slaughtered by now by that demon in the armor and his little monsters.
"Ah I see you're awake." Came a croak of a voice from behind.
The young woman looked up to see a creature not unlike the ones that had aided her family's killer. It was grayish brown and wore a heavy coat of rags making him look like a hunchback. In his left hand he held a knobby wooden staff that had a strange yellow glowing gourd attached to the top with twine. It's purpose was clearly magical and thus beyond the simple farm girl. "Who- who are you?"
"I am Gnarl, Minion master and devoted servant of darkness." Said the little creature with a slight bow.
She stared at Gnarl for a moment or two before asking; "Am I in hell?"
The ugly creature chuckled, its long ears cocking backwards as it smiled and shook its head. "No my dear, you are very much alive. You are a 'guest' of the new Overlord."
Before any of this information could sink in, the sound of armored footsteps resounded off the walls of the stairway leading upward into the tower. The young woman clearly recognized the armored man who descended the stone stairs and entered the room without his murderous monsters or the axe that had felled her family members.
"You! You're the one who killed my family you bastard!" She cried as she pounding on his chest plate, unable to find a decent place to strike him since his biceps were the only part of him that was unarmored.
In an instant she flung herself at him, futilely attempting to somehow punch him through his expertly crafted steel armor. The Overlord's only response was a quick backhanded slap that knocked her on her rear and left a coin sized bruise on her young face. Gauntlets have that effect when used properly on irritating or uncooperative 'servants'.
Keyon removed his helmet to stretch his neck and to have the pleasure of glaring at her without the added imposing sight of his glowing eyes and crowned helmet. It did not have the fully desired effect on Ziva, what she saw underneath the helmet was a handsome young man her age with short black hair that was ruffled heavily from wearing that heavy helmet. He was definitely not the ugly murdering demon that she had expected to see under that helmet. She stared at him in silence for a moment, having seen very few men her own age as her father kept most of her would be suitors far away from the farm.
"My lord, this young lady is ready for her tasks." Gnarl said, bowing bow at his waist and his ears in reverence.
"Good. Have her begin by cleaning the throne room. I would prefer to relax in a clean room." Keyon said, sounding a little like his mother at that moment. Turning to Gnarl Keyon said; "I want a report on everything that was stolen or destroyed."
"Well Sire, as I'm sure you're aware your father's old servants were taken. Obviously if they were here they would be helping to clean the tower. The beer kettle your father stole from the Dwarves is gone, meaning no more beverages for your Minions, the statue your father took as a trophy after killing the Succubus queen is also missing. From what I see you have only the four simplest spells, anger, shield, slow, and fireball left. Luckily the invaders did not take any of our Minion hives, the Tower Heart, or any of the smelters. I must regret that the invaders also have taken everything of value in the treasury Sire..."
The loss of the gold was a blow to Keyon, without the gold he could not pay for supplies, items to replace what was stolen, or buy anything that his Minions could use as armor or weapons. But there was one thing that truly bothered him is that if the villagers of Spree believed everyone in the Tower dead then Keyon would no longer be receiving gold from the villagers. Keyon shook his head and took to reclining in his father's throne. This was not how he expected to succeed his father as Overlord.
From the corner a Brown who was carrying debris down from the upper level set down a large hunk of rock and spouted. "Bad heroes stole Minion's beer!"
Keyon managed to keep his laughter in check but a smile crept through onto his face. The Minions may not be intelligent but they could make him laugh when he needed them to. He brushed old pleasant memories of playing with the Minions quickly out of his mind, there were things to attend to.
"While you were out we managed to recover the bodies of your father and mistress Rose. Do you have a preference to how they shall be laid to rest?" Gnarl asked.
After a long quiet hour of careful contemplation Keyon reached a sensible conclusion. "Take their armor and store it in the armory. I intend to wear my father's armor when I am strong enough. My mother's armor will be stored until I find someone worthy enough and trustworthy enough to wear it."
"And the bodies milord?" Gnarl asked pointedly.
"Dress them in the finest clothes that remain and prepare a funeral pyre. I intend to grant them a noble funeral." Keyon said with a tone of finality. Turning to look down at Gnarl he asked; "Now that the Bard has given us information on the location of my enemies, who would you recommend as my first target Gnarl?"
"I am afraid there is no easy opponent for you milord..." Gnarl warned. "But I believe that you should go to Heaven's Peak to be rid of the Cleric, Fern Dawnborn. The longer she is among your father's followers in the Silent Order the more damage she can do."
Keyon couldn't help but agree. Those monks may have been weak willed but they were influential for controlling that region. As long as Keyon's father had reigned the Silent Order had hailed him as if he was a god unto them and worshiped both him and his Minions.
"Prepare my forces, I expect to kill the Cleric and all who follow her." Keyon said coldly as he rose from his stone throne. "How many Red, Green, and Blue Minions are left?"
"Not many milord." Gnarl said dipped his head in apology. "The Reds suffered the worst casualties while the Blues hid with the Greens. It turned out to be a smart move on their part. Or just a lucky one. The Blues ended up dragging any injured Minions they found into the shadows and healing any wound they discovered. As a result you have a total of forty Blues and twenty five Greens."
Keyon's frown deepened at this news. The Browns may have been the mainstay of his forces but the other Minions were useful beyond all accurate measure. "And what of the Reds?"
"You have only ten Lord Keyon." Gnarl said solemnly. Remembering how he would occasionally be kicked by the former Overlord. He had never been fully forgiven for his betrayal or for not telling the second master of the Dark Tower his past attempts at being a hero.
Keyon did not strike his Minion Master, although he did indeed feel the urge to do so. Instead he replaced his helmet and returned to the stairway to the upper levels to retire to what was left of his mother's room. There was no sense going into battle against a powerful foe while there was affordable time to rest.
"Gnarl, have the girl begin her duties. I expect you to be on your best behavior. And get her something else to wear. That dress of hers is unsuitable for this sort of work." Keyon said, pausing only long enough to make sure that Gnarl heard every word.
Gnarl agreed and waited until his master was out of earshot before turning to whomp the girl on the head with his walking staff. She had remained sitting on the floor where she had fallen from Keyon's brutal slap.
"Be glad you got off so easily!" Gnarl snorted. "The former master of this Tower would have had you swinging from the rafters as a decoration for attacking him, albeit you could never harm my master without a weapon."
The young lady grumbled and stood, brushing the dirt and dust from what was her newly bought dark red sundress that her father had bought for her. A pity it was now covered in dirt and blood, now that it was all she had to her name.
With an echoing snap of his claw Gnarl summoned a Brown Minion to his side. "Go find a bucket of water and a brush. This young lady has volunteered to clean the throne room."
"Volunteer nothing!" The young lady shrieked.
The Brown bent its ears and scampered off only to hurriedly return with a metal pail filled with soapy water and a large brown brush the size of a man's hand. The Brown Minion then ran to aid the others in repairing the upper section of the Tower.
"I am not cleaning anything! I am not your slave!" She shouted, shaking loose a little dust from the ceiling.
"Servant dear. Servant." Gnarl said, loving how he was able to get a rise out of this young lady. "You are free to go anytime you wish. But tell me, without a family what would you do for money?"
"I.. I don't know... I could get work as a seamstress in Heaven's Peak." She said, honestly only have sure of herself. Her sewing skills were actually sub par, she simply had no talent in it.
"True, but you could equally end up being a working girl in the Halfway to heaven Inn. I hear that orphan girls tend to end up there." Gnarl turned from the young lady to hide the grin on his face, enjoying his little game immensely.
Keyon stood on the top step having heard every word of Gnarl's and did not like how he was treating his new servant. Keyon had quickly slipped out of his armor and put on a clean red silk robe that had belonged to his father and fit him as well as he liked. The arms were a little long and it was built for a man double his muscle mass but it served its purpose. In his arm he carried a pillow that he had intended to give to the girl, some comfort was needed to keep the work force happy after all. Keyon gritted his teeth as he heard the last of the conversation, he didn't like how Gnarl knew these things or how he using them to frighten the young lady. No matter how much he had been tempted to take advantage of the women his father kept to clean the Tower he had kept his mind focused on his studies as his mother had taught him. His mother had instilled in him strong views on the treatment of women and those views remained strong despite what had happened to him. He would have shut down the Halfway to Heaven's activity but he was and had never been in control of the city and it DID rake in a lot of gold that went straight to his father's coffers.
"That's enough Gnarl." Keyon said, coming down the stairs in his robe. "Make sure that I am alerted if anything unusual happens."
Gnarl bowed his head and turned, walking down into the Tower's lower levels. The old Minion's stomach was calling for the beetles that lived down there.
Keyon turned to the young lady and threw the pillow at her, which she caught only after it hit her in the chest. She looked at him questioningly, after all wasn't she supposed to be a slave?
"I suggest you keep that from the Minions, they've been known to eat anything. Or try anyway." Keyon could see his words didn't exactly inspire comfort in the girl. "They will not try to eat you. I was referring to the feathers in that pillow."
"There are currently no beds in this Tower. The heroes your family allowed to stay with them destroyed nearly everything. I hope you sleep well. If you have any questions you can talk to Gnarl." And with that Keyon turned to walk back up the stairs.
"Um, what's your name?"
Keyon turned to look that girl. No one had ever been so forward with him. Then again he had never been with anyone his own age, most of the people that came to the Tower were would be heroes and killed on the spot or representative from the nations that held allegiance to Keyon's father that bored him as a child. "I am Overlord Keyon. Third Overlord of the Dark Tower and master of Minions. ... What is your name?"
"Ziva, Ziva Harlow." The young lady said, doing her best to sound polite for the pillow regardless of her current situation.
"Well... Get some rest. After cleaning the Throne room." Keyon said firmly, indicating he wanted her to work. "When you need food or water ask one of the Minions. Just be sure to tell them what you'd like otherwise they'll bring you a live insect."
Keyon turned to continue up the stairs, but Ziva just stood there. Attempting to sort out everything that she had learned today. About what had happened to her family, about those 'Minion' creatures, about what had happened to this place because of her father's choice to let those heroes take lodging in their barn, and about that man in the armor that commanded these creatures... This was all very strange. With a shake of her head she picked up the brush and bucket and began to clean the Throne room.
To be continued.
Anon- Same goes for you dude. thanks for the review.
blackrogue123- Thanks for the praise. I need all I can get since not a lot of people veiw fics in misc games. I know it's kinda jaded to use what I would do but I used my favored path in Overlord (getting slaves and killing people if they get in my way but more or less going the 'good-evil' path) for Keyon's father. I see him as being a man who saved the female elves and returned the statue just so he could force the elves to swear unwavering loyalty to him.