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 13
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The sands of the Ruborian Desert shifted as the winds blew, creating small cyclones of sand and wind from the dunes and rocks that littered the landscape. The hot sun beat down on all who lived here, making life harsh and the people just as brutal. But from where Keyon stood now all that mattered was finding the Monk's monastery, and by finding that he would find Clara Ironfist.
The heat would have had any other man in armor wishing for death, but as Keyon discovered that the magic that helped to forge his armor kept him from roasting like a chicken in his steel armor. Keyon had not come here straight from his tower though, he had to make a quick stop at the Skull Den to retrieve his spell totems.
"Master," Gnarl said, communicating from his favorite sitting spot next to the Tower gate. "are you sure it was a good idea to leave me here with Mistress Ziva in this state?"
Keyon admitted that it wasn't the wisest decision he had ever made but he had business here in the desert and business always came before pleasure. If one could call dealing with a woman who hated you pleasure, perhaps he could find something to give to the hysterical woman to improve her attitude. Regardless Keyon summoned his Minions, mostly Browns with Greens, Reds, and Blues to supplement his main fighting force.
As he left the oasis that the tower gate had transported him to Keyon knew that he had no solid information on where the monk's monastery was. Still, he could always go to the raider outpost not far from here and force a little information out of those shadow warriors. (1)
Crossing the rocky terrain Keyon approached the ocean of sand that lead to the raider's outpost, but before he could plant one armored boot on the shifting sands Gnarl's voice rang through Keyon's mind.
"Wait master, I remember this place quite well... do not stop moving once you get on the sands. Giant worms live within the loose sand and feast on anything that comes near them." Gnarl rasped, hoping that that blast female Ziva wasn't doing something foolish, "I suggest that you hurry and try to keep off the sand."
"Great..." Keyon snorted, placing his boot back on the rock just in time as a pillar of armored worm shot into the air and causing the young Overlord and his Minions to beat a hasty retreat that would have certainly earned him a harsh scolding from his mother if she still lived.
The beast writhed back and forth as it slobbered and gnashed its enormous teeth in irritation perhaps at missing its target. The stench was nearly unbearable as the monster thrashed its massive form about where Keyon and his Minions had previously been standing. If such a creature could be controlled it's master could easily conquer all the lands, but Keyon knew better. If he were to attempt to control these monsters and fail, they would spread throughout the lands and devour everyone of his followers. A very costly misfortune, as an Overlord with no one to rule over is a lord of nothing.
The worm, finding nothing in its blind thrashing but sand and stone, finally gave up and retreated beneath the sands. But Keyon knew better than to assume that the beast had gone off to look for something to eat elsewhere. Odds are it was waiting just below ready to eat the first thing that set foot on the loose sand.
Keyon looked out into the sand, there were small islands of rock creating a path to a thin strip of rock where the outpost was housed. It was little more than a few houses, a small heard of sheep, and a few of their less talented warriors. The difficult part would be not killing them all. Keyon's new axe was made of Durium and was quite thirsty for the necks of its master's enemies.
The way to cross this patch of sand came at at once to the young Overlord, selecting one of his less equiped Browns Keyon ordered it to charge at a sheep that stood on the far side side of the strip. Quite a ways from where Keyon intended on heading. As soon as the Minion set foot on the sand the beast took chase, the dust trail as the worm moved bear the surface gave Keyon the signal to move. While Keyon and his horde moved from rock to rock until they reached safety, the Brown did not have it so lucky. The worm reveled in its feast until the Minion died, falling apart into whisps of yellowish brown energy.
Keyon leaned on his axe as he tried to regain his breath, suddenly very glad that he did not pick to have his armor replaced with a newly crafted, yet much heavier Durium armor. His horde was still eager to proceed despite the loss of one of their own, not that they really cared. Straightening himself up he headed towards the raider outpost.
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Ziva was still distraught after the incident in the throne room, although she had been granted a powerful position in the Tower but she wanted little to do with Keyon. But if she did nothing to help improve Keyon's disposition then he may kill many more people. She had been forced into the role of the supporting friend to that maniac and she was not happy about it.
The private quarters were relatively quiet, few Minions came to this floor except to bring their master's meals to him. A few Minions skittered here and there, still trying to pick up all the tiny fragments from every window that had been shattered when the attack on the Tower occurred.
Casually, Ziva peeked into Keyon's room. She felt no shame for doing so, after all the door was left wide open so that anyone could enter if they so desired. Seeing that no one was inside she walked into the room and found it to be not what she expected. With all the repairs that the Minions had wrought, this room had yet to see any cleaning of any sort. The bed was still just a mattress, and there was a slight breeze coming from the broken windows. She didn't understand why Keyon hadn't had this room cleaned first...
Leaving her master's chamber she saw something, that something was a mountain of gold and jewels! Before Ziva knew it she had wandered down into the treasure trove and was now running her fingers through the multitude of gold coins. Having lived in poverty all her life she had often imagined what a mound of gold would look, it was truly a sight to behold for the farm girl. There was probably enough to found a small kingdom with this horde... The idea of using it to put herself in a position of royalty began to creep into Ziva's mind.
But if she did would she be any different than Keyon? After all, this gold came from plundering innocents. Reluctantly leaving the gold behind Ziva went back to her room, she had a lot on her mind.
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Below in the Spawning Pit Maya was toiling as she had been ordered by the new tower mistress. The pain of her defeat by that chestless farm girl was taking its toll on the Elf's mind. With every scrub of her brush on the floor Maya thought of another terrible punishment to enact on that wretched girl. While she wanted her to die, that wouldn't be enough to satisfy Maya. She wanted much much more.
Keyon was also on Maya's revenge list, he had to be utterly convoluted to pick Ziva over Maya. It was the only logical conclusion to her. This menial labor was beneath her, that human should be down licking her boots not lording her authority over her.
In an attempt to calm her nerves, Maya took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. The smell effectively knocked her on her back, leaving the elf calm but also with a serious headache and nearly without her lunch. Maya needed to rest before getting back to her work... she was feeling a little dizzy right now...
--
As far as Keyon could tell the outpost was guarded by only three of the raiders, but he had to guess that there would be more out of sight behind the small adobe shelter. The trio of raiders were now hunched over a fire, most likely cooking some sort of small desert game. Keyon could see no one on top of the sand blasted structure nor around the surrounding rock. While his Minions were ready to kill for their master, he needed one of them alive. He would have to recall his Minions at the last second to ensure that the last of them was wounded but not dead.
The raider's first realization that something was wrong was the loud, uncoordinated stampede of many creatures coming towards them. It was not the sound of their brown sheep stampeded, they could tell the difference between a sheep's cloven hoof and... whatever that was. They turned to see a large man with a cadre of small creatures running towards them. Drawing their swords they prepared for combat.
The first Minion was impaled on the curved katana, but the following three were not deterred as they smashed the closest raider's knees with well placed smacks from their maces, a Green's claws collided with his forehead as soon as he fell to the ground. The second threw a hidden knife at the armored figure, however its effect was minor as it was deflect by a quick movement of his axe. While unharmed, it did cause the armored man to stop advancing and strafe back in forth as if to make himself a more difficult target. This was unnecessary as three of the red creatures caused the second raider's tight black clothing to catch fire. In his panic to put out the flames he stumbled over the rock face and fell into the waiting maw of a sand worm which did not mind a well cooked meal.
The third raider threw down his sword and fell to his knees in surrender. Raising his hand and activating the magical gem in his gauntlet to summon the Minions back to his side Keyon strode over to the last raider with his axe ready, just in case this raider had something else in mind.
The sound of a Red Minion gasping and falling over dead from a dagger being lodged in his head sent the rest of the horde into defense mode as Keyon quickly scanned the area for the origin of the weapon. The answer was found when Keyon saw a hidden fourth member of the raiders that had been camped out on top of the adobe house. If it could be called that.
Normally Keyon would have sent his Minions up the stairs to deal with the ambusher, but this needed to be done quickly. Focusing his rage into his hands Keyon conjured enough will power to send a fireball flying from his armored hands into the raider whose clothes ignited instantly. Screaming in terror he too panicked until he fell off the rock and onto the loose sand to meet his end by means of a hungry worm.
The Red was in little danger, the dagger had already been pulled out and was now in the hands of a Blue who was now busy using his powers to heal it's fallen comrade.
Keyon kicked the last raider's sword away before putting his boot to the side of the desert dweller's head. The next that the raider knew a large axe was pointing at his head and a heavy armored foot was on his chest.
"Tell me thief, where is the monastery of Clara Ironfist?"
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To be continued.
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(1) You know come to think of it it didn't make a lot of sense to have the desert raiders dress and act like ninjas. I mean they'd not only stick out like sore thumbs in the desert but those black suits would be murder in that heat.
AN: I just heard that a spin off called 'dark legend' is coming out for the wii. Staring a new young Overlord. Sadly it doesn't sound like they took any pointers from me. Not that I expected them to. That I don't have a Wii.
And we've reached over five thousand hits! Thanks to all! :D
almostinsane - Reason? You guys picked her. Ain't that enough? XD
Feneris - Well you're half right.
Warrior of Virtue - I'll try, and congrats on being my 100th reviewer!
BrazeRancor - No, but there are plenty of other things that authors do that ruin their stories. As for me, I make it a rule never to resort to such tactics. I have standards.
spedclass - Will do.
anon - Yeap.
FTKnight - Ah. But Ziva's beginning to get the idea that if she doesn't do anything Keyon will kill other people.
blackrogue123 - If Maya had been chosen she would have begun to develop real feelings for Keyon and wouldn't have been such a bitch. While Ziva would have gone completely insane and wanted vengeance.
Narrator 45 - I could tell you but that would spoil it. But yeah, I admit I've done good work so far with New Gen. I can't understand why. I have yet to play Raising hell but I know what happens in it. Trust me, there will be some real twists. I just wish Raising hell would come to the freaking PC.
Make-War-Not-Love - Sorry for the wait, but reviews always help to motivate me.