Chapter 11
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Notes: There are several.
Yeah, Bullfrog owns it. You can tell, really, because if *I* owned it, there would be a romance factor in the game and a lot more pretty guys and... ::trails off drooling:: Anyway, don't sue me.
Slash. Yes folks, there *is* guy-on-guy action in the world of Dungeon Keeper. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Also, there is a serious lack of description in the story. -_-; I happen to be very bad at that particular point, so don't hate me for it. I will attempt to become a Description Monkey (TM) in later chapters, so hold on tight 'til then.
If you haven't yet, read the first chapter now.
Even though the game is not mine, the story is, and I would appreciate it if you did not use it without my permission. Ask and ye shall probably be allowed to archive.
Thanks to my beta reader Vagabond! ::huggles Vagabond:: Happy birthday! This chapter is dedicated to you!
Pronunciation Key:
Kaelay: [KAY-lay]
Seiat: [SAY-aht]
Tarkasas: [Tar-KAH-sas]
Ramasha: [Ra-MAH-sha]
Mortagui: [Mor-tah-GUY]
Evain: [Eh-VAIN]
Jensor: [ZHEN-sore] (Note: "zh" is pronounced like the "si" in lesion)
I think that's all, so on with the fic!
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Kaelay
I hold my shield in place and glare at Mortagui. I'll have none of this. I'm not positive what he was doing before I lowered the protective dome over those two, but it can't have been good.
Well then, I say coldly, I guess this means war.
I can feel him sneering. He doesn't speak, but fires a large lightning spell at my shield, hoping to weaken it enough to get through to the creatures. Focusing on keeping the shield up with part of my mind, I concentrate enough energy to manifest a hand and pick them up. Then I let the shield fall, and his lightning strikes the empty ground harmlessly.
He roars in frustration and retreats, obviously to get a strategy in order. The pitiful fool. Ah well. I can take whatever he has to throw at me, and there's always Evain on backup just in case.
I carry the creatures with me to the Temple and set them down as gently as possible. Tarkasas recovers quickly and runs to the Angel's side. He looks very distressed, which is understandable.
Tarkasas. He looks up at me, and I see that he looks even more worried than I first thought. This must be very hard on him. Do not worry. Talk to one of the Angels here. They will know how to heal him. In the meantime, we have declared war on Mortagui. Make sure that everyone you meet knows this. I have to go watch him and see if I can work out a decent strategy. I want you to care for the Angel, and when he wakes up you must see if he knows anything about Mortagui's plans.
Tarkasas nods his understanding and signals to one of the Angels in the Temple. It is not hard to get their attention, they all seem rather curious as to why an injured Angel of their own color whom they have never seen before has just been dropped into their midst.
I have more important things to do. I don't have time to get an ambassador to go to Evain, so I head there myself.
Standing by another Keeper's Heart, even if he shares your color, is always slightly painful. It's less so because Evain is red, but the slightly off-key beating is distressing. I attempt to tune it out and concentrate. This is important.
Evain!
Yes Kaelay? I didn't expect to see you here so soon.
Listen. I have no time to play games with him now. The truce with Mortagui has been broken and we are at war. Since your forte is strategy, I will let you help me with planning his destruction. Get ready Evain. This is your first field lesson.
Seiat
I hurry back to the Red Dungeon. The image of that burned husk that was my newest friend sticks in my mind, and I can't let it go. Every time I blink I see the black blood oozing from the severed neck, and the lifelessness of the eight eyes staring at me.
How could I have done this to her? She knew it was dangerous. She tried to warn me. It was because of me that she went. It was because of me that she's dead now.
She blinked her many eyes. "Seiat. What's wrong? You seem distressed."
"No." I press my hands to my head in an attempt to block out the invading images, but they linger, taunting me. She was so kind. So quick to accept me. What have I done?
I've reached the Lair. I don't know how, but I'm wandering through it. I turn through the left door and go down a short corridor to the Heart Chamber. I can feel my heartbeat strengthen to the pulse of my Mistress', calming and soothing it back into the semblance of a normal pace.
Slowly I climb one of the three staircases that leads to the Heart. In my minds eye I see Elseena doing the same thing as she prepares to call her keeper. I reach the top step and hesitate for a moment.
One doesn't normally do this without permission. Keeper doesn't mind, but it's impolite. It's almost as if we're sharing a piece of her soul. But I need this now, and Keeper did say to do this as we pleased, that she'd tell us if it was too much.
I step forward into the Heart.
As I hit the membrane, I lose my footing and slip. Rather than standing again, I just lay back and allow myself to float. I sink in a little bit, the membrane penetrating my skin and giving under my weight for a moment, then stabilizing and holding me up. I let it envelop my consciousness until all I hear is the beating of my own heart, eclipsing all other thought.
Nothing matters now. Keeper's Heart sustains me, fills me, supports me. It grounds and centers, provides life. I feel the mana from the Heart begin to replenish that which flows through my veins.
I am unaware of how long I have been lying like this, but it doesn't seem to matter. It could be a few moments or an eternity. When I finally stand again, and step out of the Heart, I feel new. The pain of Elseena's death is still fresh, but I can bear it now. Keeper demands no less of me.
I step out and back onto firm ground. I should tell Mistress Kaelay about this. She should know.
Tarkasas
The Dark Angel attending Ramasha is a seventh level who's been with us for a long time. His name is Jensor, and I've come to him for healing many times. I trust him.
I sit with Ramasha practically in my lap, holding him upright so that Jensor can pour some of the Temple water down his throat. I can see that he's being as gentle as he can, and when he is finished he relaxes the hold he had on Ramasha's side so that the Angel falls back against my chest. I stay like that for a moment, just appreciating the weight and warmth of his body on mind.
Jensor stands up. "You need to get him to the Lair. He needs rest."
I nod and pick the Angel up as carefully as I can manage, not knowing exactly what Mortagui's spell has done to him. I blink at the bright torchlight as I step out of the Temple, and start toward the Lair.
When we get there, I notice an immediate problem. Ramasha has not been here long enough to create a lair of his own. It's easily solved though. I take him over to my bed, a simple cot that's comfortable enough when one is tired, and lay him down.
I tuck him in, pulling the sheets up to his chin and making sure that he rests comfortably. After that I just stare down at him for a moment.
Dark Angels wear a skin-tight grey armor that covers their whole body, except for the wings. They also have a maching helm that fits like a grey mask and makes their eyes appear to glow red. I have never seen Ramasha wear his helm; underneath, the features of an Angel are remarkably human.
Almost on its own, my hand reaches down to smooth one lock of dirty-blond hair out of his eyes, and then continues down to stroke the silken strands fanned out over my pillow. I'm not wearing my gloves, and I marvel at how soft his hair is. It must be the softest thing I've ever felt.
As my eyes travel back to his face, I notice that he is no longer asleep. Azure eyes look up at me, blinking their confusion. I imagine he must be disoriented.
"Hey there," I say softly. "How are you feeling?"
I can practically see his brain trying to work out what happened through the expressions on his face.
"Tarkasas? What happened? What am I doing here? Where is here?"
"Mortagui hit you with some sort of spell. I'm not sure exactly what it was. Kaelay put up a shield to stop it, but most of it had already reached you by then. We healed you up in the Temple. The Angel who took care of you said you had to rest, so I brought you here, to the Lair. Since you don't have a lair of your own, you're currently lying in my bed."
He puts a hand to his forehead and squeezes his eyes shut. "To answer your question, I feel horrible. It's like someone hit me in the head with a Troll Hammer."
"Ramasha..." He looks at me, and I stumble a little bit. I don't want to put him through any traumatic memories right now, but Kaelay's orders... "I need you to tell me something."
He struggles a moment and manages to sit up, leaning heavily against the headboard. He nods, signalling that he is ready for any question that I might have.
A take a deep breath. "Ramasha... do you know of any of Mortagui's plans or strategies? Is there anything important that he was planning to do in the event that the truce was broken?"
He frowns, and I sense his agitation. His reply is halting. "Yes... there was... something. Something I was going to tell you. It was important. When we were running, I thought to myself 'I have to tell him', but... I can't... remember..." He looks up at me once more, and his eyes are wide with fear. "I don't know! It's gone! I can't remember!"
"It's all right." I do my best to calm him. "You've just forgotten something. You took a hard knock; it's completely normal to be disoriented."
"No. No, that's not it." He shakes his head, becoming frantic. "It's just gone. I knew it, but there's a hole. A blank spot in my mind. I can't remember it!" His voice is rising to a hysterical pitch, and I kneel next to him and put my arms around him.
He clings to me like a lifeline, shaking violently. I rub gentle circles on his back and do my best to calm him, whispering that I don't need to know, I'm sorry I made him think about it, his memory will come back. Telling him that everything will be okay.
When he's sufficiently calmed down I let him go, laying him back on the sheets. I tuck him in again, urging him to get some sleep. I tell him that I'll be right back, and wait until he closes his eyes. Now it's time to make my report to Kaelay.
Ramasha
I drift in and out of sleep periodically. I should wake up, maybe, but anything is better than thinking about the gaping hole in my memory. It hurts, and not just emotionally. It feels like I'm trying to penetrate some sort of mist, but every time I try the thing I'm looking for begins to ache and it hurts more and more the closer I get.
In the end I wake suddenly and completely. I sit up, feeling more than a little bit sick. I shouldn't get out of bed, but this situation doesn't seem right somehow, and I have to fix it. I slide out onto the carpeted tiles of the Lair.
I look around, trying to spot the section of the Lair that houses the Angels. After a few moments, I realize the problem: there are no sections. The lairs are haphazard, mixed around with those belonging to other species of creatures. Everywhere I look there is diversity, a Fly's nest next to a Goblin's pallet. A Spider's Cave rests next to a Dragon's fount, and so on. There are several Angel lairs, but only two of them are next to each other. The rest are spread out amongst all the others.
I look down at my feet for a moment, afraid that I might cry again. I should have known that it would be this way, and yet somehow I never expected it. I hope I'm not jumping to conclusions, but does this mean that Kaelay doesn't mind interaction between different types of creatures? That means that Tarkasas and I... I think I'm blushing again; I can feel my face heating.
Well, if I can be anywhere, then why shouldn't I be next to Tarkasas? I take a few slightly unsteady steps and kneel down on a nearby space. I frown slightly. This action is an instinct in all creatures. It's almost a subconsious act. Closing my eyes, I focus my energy down and out...
My hand flares with light (red, I notice happily), and I quickly inscribe a circle on the floor with my palm. I step out of it quickly, and the light brightens and flashes, leaving a standard Angel lair (a chair made out of human bone) in the space. The lair still glows with a red tint, and I act quickly before the spell can harden. I place my hand on the lair and envision what I desire in my mind. Not a chair, but a bed...
When I open my eyes again, the chair has mutated into a large bed supported on a bone frame. The skulls on the bedposts unnerve me for a moment, but they seem to fit, so I leave them where they are. I take my hand away and let the glow die down. Of course it's exactly what I envisioned, but I have never altered a lair to suit my needs before, and it feels odd. Of course this is only the second lair I have ever made, but I don't like to dwell on that.
I slip under the soft quilt covering my bed and snuggle down into it. ...In a dignified way, of course. It feels slightly wrong, but that's only because I have become used to the feeling of Tarkasas' aura about me.
Again I can feel myself blushing. I've done what he asked. I've come to Kaelay, at the cost of some part of mind. And I know that if I was given the chance I'd do it all over again. I drift back into sleep.
Oh God, that was hideous. Take me back.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.