Chapter 18
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Notes: There are several.
Subtitle for this chapter: In Which Ramasha Does Something Productive for Once
Some of you may be wondering at this point: "Why on earth did you torture Seiat, you cruel, heartless bastard? That was completely unnecessary!" The reason, I fear, is not a very good one. Almost from the beginning, I have always had an inordinate amount of trouble filling Seiat's section of the story. The lazy bugger just doesn't seem to want to *do* anything. ::sigh:: So while I do have his actions planned out for the rest of the story, I had two sections where I was completely at my wits end as to what to do with him. In short, I frankly ran out of ideas. Sad truth, but there it is.
Also, I'm very interested in what you guys think of Zannos. Be sure to let me know in your reviews!
Listen up. Bullfrog owns Dungeon Keeper. I own Dungeon Secrets. I also own the weirdy concepts in here like the Darknesses and whatnot. Don't steal, unless it's from Bullfrog, in which case steal, but be nice about it and don't make profit. If you like my fic and want to archive it just ask and I'll probably say yes.
This story contains slash (male/male relationships)! If this bothers you, just leave now, don't waste your time and mine flaming me about it.
For a glossary of terms and concepts, as well as a map of this Realm, go to this address: http://dragonnest.freeservers.com/fics/dungeonviewshelp.html (Note: This page has recently been added to, including several polls. Please go vote and let me know your opinion.)
As always, I'd like to thank my wonderful beta reader, Vagabond.
Pronunciation Key:
Kaelay: [KAY-lay]
Seiat: [SAY-aht]
Tarkasas: [Tar-KAH-sas]
Ramasha: [Ra-MAH-sha]
Mortagui: [Mor-tah-GUY]
Evain: [Eh-VAIN]
Tukash: [TOO-kash]
Kethian: [KEH-thee-un]
Zannos: [ZAHN-nos]
I think that's all, so on with the fic!
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Kaelay
I have decided. Zannos is obviously more dangerous, and needs to be confronted first. But perhaps it can be done without violence. (Not that I'm against violence of course, but the losses would be more than I could afford right now.) Zannos and I are old friends. Perhaps I can talk some sense into him.
I pick up an Imp, draining its body of the mana that sustains it. I briefly considered using Seiat for this task, but instinct tells me that he may still have a part to play. Holding the dead Imp before me in a universally accepted sign of peace, I approach Zannos's Dungeon.
Zannos and I met ages ago, back when I was still a rookie, and before I had become the Keeper of the Red Darkness. We had a truce for a time, and parted on amiable terms. Not my usual style, I know, but I respect Zannos. I've always believed that it is much better to have him with you than against you.
Zannos comes out to meet me before I reach his walls. I have resumed my astral projection, and notice that has done the same. I clutch the Imp for a moment in my claws, then throw it at his feet. ...If he had feet.
Zannos's astral projection suits both him and his color. He chooses the form of a Hippocampus - the half-fish, half-horse steed of ancient mer-people - but with a draconic head. It's a form that looks vaguely non-threatening at first. Until you see the speed and precision with which it moves. Until you know the fearsome power of the muscles in the forelegs. Until you experience the razor sharpness of the teeth and the poison in the barbs on his neck.
He looks down at the imp, then back up at me, a smile gracing his draconian lips.
Ah, Kaelay, he says, it has been far too long.
Greetings, Keeper Zannos, I reply formally, and may I congratulate you on your elevation to the status of Avatar for your Darkness.
He inclines his head, the smile turning into a knowing grin. You may. And there's no need to be so formal Kaelay. Trust me, I would no rather face you on opposite sides of the battlefield than you would face me. But I am indebted to Mortagui. He brought back the Blue Darkness.
Curse him for it, I say uncharitably. Not that I'm not happy for you, but this just complicates things so much. Are you sure that you can't just break your word? If you kill him he won't be able to protest, you know.
Zannos sighs and swishes his tail restlessly. It's not as though I haven't considered it. Mortagui is a toad, and I would much rather deal with him. But a debt is a debt. I do have an honor code you know. The Darkness made a promise to Mortagui to ally with him in exchange for being brought back. If I broke that, it would be more than my life is worth.
Damn. I smile weakly at him, sincerely troubled. I don't want to have to fight you, Zannos.
There may be a way you won't have to.
Startled, I peer at him closely to see if he is kidding. Honestly?
He nods. After all, if you were to kill Mortagui, I would have nothing holding me here, now would I?
A flash of insight strikes me. You never agreed not to stop him from getting killed regardless, did you? If I attacked him before he could call for help, you would have no obligation to save him! And then... then he would be dead, and you and I wouldn't have to fight at all.
Oh gee, he says coyly, did I imply that? I couldn't have. That would be helping the enemy after all, which would be a breach of my truce with Mortagui.
I smile. Oh Zannos, how clever you are. Of course not, I assure him. I came to the conclusion on my own. But... do I have your word that once Mortagui is dead, you will harbor no hostility towards me?
He bows his head. I wouldn't dream of hurting you without cause, Kaelay.
I resume my energy form in preparation for the journey back to my Heart. Thank you Zannos. I knew that I could count on you.
As he abandons his astral projection as well, I reach out with a tendril of energy and lightly transfer some of it to him. It is the Keeper equivalent of a gentle kiss.
You are welcome, he says genially. After all, what are old lovers for, right?
I leave him in a much better mood than when I arrived.
Seiat
Pain. Keeper has ordered me released, thinking me punished enough, but the pain lingers.
I am amazed that the Angel could make Keeper so angry. Normally Keeper is calmer than that. He must be really bad. I can't believe that I was stupid enough to bring him here.
This only confirms my suspicions though. The Angel truly is scum, and must die. It should be by my own hands, since it is my fault that he's here anyway. There is no other option.
I make my way painfully to the Lair. I do not have a lair myself, but the carpeting of every Lair is imbued with a special healing magic, and I do need the healing right now.
As I step onto the soft green floor, I feel the spell take hold, closing my wounds and repairing broken bones. I slump down to the ground and close my eyes, too tired to move anymore.
It is very early in the morning. I doubt any of the fighting creatures are awake yet. This is good, for I do not have the energy to speak to anyone, let alone defend myself.
I let the healing rhythm of my Mistress's heartbeat envelop me. Possibly I could have made it to Keeper's Heart, but I believe I no longer have the right to look to that energy for healing or solace.
This is all that Angel's fault. It is because of him that I am in this situation. It is because of him that Keeper was forced to discipline me. He must be destroyed, for the good of us all.
I shudder, feeling the cuts in my skin finally beginning to close. I gather enough energy to sit up and lean my back against the wall, instead of lying ungainly on the floor. The spell seems almost to take heart from this show, and the healing increases in speed.
I must be fit. I must make myself fit enough to destroy the Angel.
Tarkasas
I wake up to the encouraging sight of Ramasha, still in his bed. He is awake, but from the look of it he only just woke up. He blinks blearily over at me, then smiles a little sheepishly. "Good morning," he says softly.
I yawn and nod over at him. "Good morning yourself. Feeling better today?"
He looks down at his hands. "Yes, thank you. It's just... I..."
I get up and gently sit down on the bed next to him. "Ramasha," I say calmly, "you know you can tell me anything."
He nods. "It's... Kethian. You have to understand." He looks up into my eyes, and I see a deep guilt there. "When I killed him, I didn't know who he was. What he had meant to me. And I never knew, until just before, when the memory block disappeared. So even though it happened a while ago, to me it is as though he has just died. I've never... I've never had the chance to mourn him."
Ah. A lot of things make a bit more sense now. That hadn't really occurred to me, but it's very logical. Kethian may have died years ago, but Ramasha didn't realize it until Mortagui's spell was erased. I put an arm around his shoulder and he leans into me.
"You can mourn now," I tell him, resisting the urge to stroke his hair. That might be a little too forward at the moment. "I don't mind, really."
Ramasha looks up at me, as if to confirm that I speak the truth. Then his expression seems to break, and collapse in on itself. He turns his face to my shoulder and sobs. I can feel my heart ache in sympathy. I think he's needed this for a while.
We stay like this a long time. Finally his crying eases, and he looks away, embarrassed. I smile, hugging him a little closer to me.
He yawns, and I realize how early it still is. "We should go back to sleep," I say. "It's early yet, and no sane creature is up at this hour."
He nods, and I move to leave the bed. Before I can however, he grabs my wrist and pulls me back down.
"Please," he says hurriedly, "would you-" he hesitates, blushing, but finally manages to meet my eyes. "Would you stay with me? Please?"
I smile. "Of course."
We lie down, and I wrap an arm around his waist, holding him rather more possessively than is probably necessary. He doesn't object however. He simply makes himself comfortable and quickly drifts off, his breathing deepening to the regular rhythms of sleep.
After a moment, I follow suit.
Ramasha
Sitting in the Library, I pore over old volumes of spells, searching for the exact right vessel. I know it is in here somewhere; I recognize this book as one of the same tomes that Mortagui has in his Library.
Sitting back, I rub at my eyes in frustration. I have been at this for over an hour, and still no success. I reflect on the reason for my sudden mission.
It was early morning when Kaelay came to me, after I had woken up a second time, this time in Tarkasas's arms. She seemed rather excited, and without preamble, picked me up and dropped me in her Heart Chamber. Right in front of a dead body, no less.
Kneeling down to inspect the corpse, I discovered an unfamiliar Rogue. The Sight given to me by the Gods tingled, and I closed my eyes briefly orienting myself to see auras. Opening them again, I noticed that the Rogue was surrounded by the auras of two spells. One is the lightning spell that obviously killed him. The other is much more subtle and has the aura of...
I recoiled in horror. Mortagui. One of Mortagui's spells. What was it doing here? Was I never to be free from him?
Kaelay noticed my reaction, and seemed pleased for some reason. I see you recognize the spell, she said. That is good, as I need you to analyze it.
I looked up at her. "Analyze it, Mistress?" I asked in confusion.
Yes. I need someone with research skills, and as you know Mortagui's spells the best, I decided it had better be you. I was surprised that she bothered to explain her reasoning to me. Mortagui would not have done so. I want you to find out exactly what he did, and how I can use it against him.
I nodded my understanding and acceptance, and knelt down once again by the body. After a moment's searching, I found the source of the green aura. A small scroll, mostly scorched by the lightning, still held the faint whisper of the spell that it had contained. I picked it up gingerly and headed off to the Library.
So now I sit here, wondering how on earth I'm supposed to find how it worked. But in spite of my worries, I know I'm making progress. At least, I think I know what exactly Mortagui did.
The spell is one of destruction, naturally, but unusual. It was created specifically to be thrown at a Keeper's Heart. Normal offense directed at a Heart simply inflicts damage, taking down the physical substance of the Heart faster than the energy can repair the damage. This spell however, seems to have been designed to suck out the energy itself, not only effectively destroying the Heart, but creating a dizzying disorientation for the Keeper as well. And I'm willing to bet that Mortagui added some sort of enhancing spell to make it more powerful, though I'll be damned if I know how he accomplished that.
So I know what he did. Now I only have to find out how he did it. Right. Only.
I dive back into the volume. Such a spell would need a vessel of some sort. Something to keep the energy in that wouldn't allow it to be accidentally absorbed back into the Heart. But what? The only thing that you could create such a barrier out of would be magical energy, and the only magical energy capable of holding the intense energy of a Heart would be mana from another Heart...
Oh. Oh! I flip quickly through the book, back to a section that I passed over earlier. There it is. I read quickly down the page.
"There are few ways to contain the energy of a Heart that is not your own. By virtue of its properties, the mana of a Heart can only be held by a Heart, and nothing else. However, this can be used to one's advantage. A vessel can be fashioned and then imbued with the mana of the Keeper planning to use it. Put another way, the vessel is, in effect, coated with a layer of the Keeper's own mana, in order to hold the mana of another Keeper. The major flaw in this lies not in the mana itself, but in the vessel. It must be fashioned from Heartstone, or from the skin of an Imp, for no other substance known can contain mana."
I pause. Is this possible? In the blink of an eye I have risen, and am on my way back to the Heart Chamber. When I reach it however, the body is nowhere to be found. I am at a loss. What happened?
Angel? My Keeper questions from above me.
"Ah, sorry," I say haltingly. She has caught me off guard. For some reason, I did not expect her to be here. That was foolish of me. "Please... what happened to the body of the Rogue that was here, Mistress?" I manage.
She seems surprised. The Imps have taken it to the Graveyard. Why? Is it necessary?
Oh no. If it has decomposed...
Mistress Kaelay seems to anticipate my need before I can voice it. Without a word she picks me up and deposits me seconds later in the Graveyard. There are few fresh corpses here, and it does not take me long to locate the one that I am looking for. I stumble towards it over the marshy ground.
Reaching it, I am relieved to find that it has not yet decomposed. In fact, most of the limbs are still completely intact. I am surprised. The soil of the Graveyard is designed to decompose things as quickly as possible, and it is very efficient.
I look over the body. There is where the scroll was in his belt, but there is no sign of the vessel. I check the belt, pockets, and all pouches on the body. Nothing. Impossible. I was so sure...
Then I see it. A small pouch, made of what must be Imp flesh, is clutched tightly in his fist, still clenched even in death. I pry open the stiff fingers and remove the pouch, startled to find it warm, and vibrating. It has a pulse too, though it seems very confused. It is almost as if there are... two pulses?
My eyes widen as I realize the implication. Hurriedly I open the pouch and turn it upside-down. A cascade of red light pours onto the ground and is absorbed immediately by the red fire within the pores of the room, returning to the essence of the Dungeon itself.
Kaelay's energy. Now that it has been returned, it should help the slow recovery of her Heart after the attack by Mortagui's spell. But now the bag is pulsing with Mortagui's heartbeat. I must take it to Kaelay to be cleansed. It looks like I may be having some success after all.
Oh God, that was hideous. Take me back.
or
Oh God, that was hideous. Let me complain to the author.