I sat in my core room in front of the symbolic globe that represents the world, and the smaller globe next to it that represents Helheim.
[Ouroboros: So just passed by the Mimic Mansion in here, confirmed Hel's theory, what do we do now?]
[Dungeon Keeper: Now my friend we go do a speed run!]
[Ouroboros: I have no idea what that is]
I ignored Graves ignorance as I moved my consciousness into the meeting room. We will be changing our approach with the next four dungeons. Thanks to Graves and Hel we now have a rough idea of what those dungeons are, The Mimic Mystery Mansion under Loki, the Dragon's Hoard under Pluto, The Roper's Den under Asmodeus, and Limbo Under what's-his-name. We have individuals that have relationships with each of these guys.
"Who are you sending into the tentacle pit?" Merlin asked me looking quite questioningly in the direction of my points of awareness.
[You are being Raided by 'Concubine's Bejeweled Mirror']
Right on time, Archie lead Jewel's team into the tower. The last member of the raid team is coming in now. Hel I'm sending Saphee to act as your representative in the Mystery Mansion, and another friend of mine is going to launch a raid from the other side at the same time, Merlin you're going to talk to What's-his-name, and my own guy Leonaidas is going into the Dragon's Hoard with Grave's own Pluto floor boss.
"That leaves three more dungeons that need to be raided though." Merlin stated bluntly.
Right, the Dreamer's Lounge, Envy's Glare and the Ring of Blood. Two's vampire Mer-Sharks would probably make out like a bandit in the latter, which is one of many reasons why we're going to use brute force. As soon as the diplomats are dropped off the rest of you are going to enter the last three dungeons and do whatever is necessary to return them to reality. When in doubt, tie lots of knots. Other matter that I need to address. Hel...
"Yes, when the last of the dungeons are returned to the material plane you will be released." Hel stated as she breathed a sigh of exhaustion. Good. Cause I really have a lot on my plate and I need to address some of this madness now.
Archie led a succubus wearing a Card Dealer's uniform into the tower, not what I imagined a succubus would wear but whatever works for her I guess. They went with Graves on the multi-dungeon raid while I attended my own house.
I called a meeting of my floors, Apas, Treyni, Levi and Blossom who would fill in Leonaidas when he got back.
I am going to be incapacitated for a while in the near future, I think. Something has been done to my body, I don't understand the full details on what yet, I do know however that something may mean I'm not going to be in my right mind when the Frost Fire Fiend spawns again, so we need to be prepared for that to happen. Apas...
"Will have our cubs far away from you, the cusp of the issue here being how few of us we can actually trust." We can't exactly 'raid' one of our allies while Jewel is still here, I don't even know if we can send the cubs over via that method.
"If that's the case..." Levi rose one of her tentacle claw hands into the air to make a suggestion. "I can swim over to Ring of Fire and we can leave them there for a few days. In the worst case scenario we can say that he owes us a favour for having taken in his people into our own midst."
A super-volcano, I can think of a worst place to let a bunch of half fire monsters stay. I'm also going to have a marble box built around my spawn point. Our goal is to have me return to normal, in the worst case scenario we'll pick me off again, in the best we'll just release me after I've calmed down.
The worst case scenario is if I respawn at the same time that I'm released from Hel's services and I make some bad decisions based on that compromised judgement...
"Yes... somewhere safe to stay may be the optimal choice." Apas stated bluntly as her tail started to twitch, she was still clearly worried.
"Should we contact the guild again? Recruit the demolisher and his unit into the raid teams?"
Apas visibly tensed up at Blossom's suggestion. No. I don't trust him, and I don't know a method of keeping him from binding my core, other than sealing the entrance to the core room, which is something I'm explicitly not allowed to do. I could try to post a guardian I suppose. That's kind of what a floor boss is isn't it? Well hopefully everything is going to go well.
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Karzan and I went over to the Mystery Mansion once more. The last time we were here we had Keeper and his griffin to support us. The wide open space of Mimic's dome was one of the few places it made sense to have a flying griffin to attack people with, not that she was a griffin anymore. Conquerete basically treated this place as a field hospital forcing Mimic to put him back together again whenever Lithilas managed to do some actual damage. Well now the big block head has to go somewhere else to find someone to put him back together again, not that Lithilas doesn't mind. No the big problem here is that Conquerete left behind a broken and traumatised dungeon that he has to fix now if this region is going to get any safer. Lithilas never pegged Mimic has having enough points to breach another realm. Lithilas suspected he didn't do it right either, instead of reaching the triple digits and absorbing a huge amount of divine blessings he instead killed off so many monsters at once he breached to deal with the overload. Conquerete must have stuffed him so full of monsters and then they got killed off that breaching must've been the only way to deal with the overload. Well Conquerete isn't here now, so let's see how well the Keeper's 'diplomacy' works out.
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I wasn't quite sure about what she was expecting when I took the back entrance into the Mimic Mystery Mansion, this wasn't it though.
"Father! I ask to be made an equal! A ruler of a realm of my own to share our wisdom with the mortals!"
I walked into a theatre, the feeling of Hel hovering over my shoulder as she used the fact that we were identical in appearance to her advantage. A play was in place, a wafting cold coming off of the stage as a being with angel wings pleaded with another sitting on a throne of clouds. I called them people, but they were far from it. Both figures bodies were completely dry, like a mummy, but they floated above the floor of the stage like ghosts. Was this some kind of play?
[C-Rank Monster Moon Wraith-There are many reasons that drive a return from death, here is depression, some do not find answers to their sorrow even in the afterlife, instead they return to the land of the living seeking the answers to their woes, a Moon Wraith exudes a overwhelming feeling of emptiness around them that produces a overwhelming chill that left unchecked will suck out your soul and turn it into another Moon Wraith]
A good sales pitch, but the people she saw on the stage were probably dungeon born. Saphee made note of seats to watch the play from and opted to sit down, as she did she saw a immaterial figure appear next to her, bags full of popped corn on a tray in their hands, one of which I took and left a jewel as payment. The play had started to get good too.
"You dare to rebel against me!? My own Son!?" The figure in the clouds deepened their voice and roared, an approximation of outrage by the looks of things. "I cut your wings and banish you to the depths of the underworld!"
The ghost on the stage dropped it's wings and flipped so that they were laid out on their back, hands flailing in the air as a screen behind them rapidly scrolled up as if simulating a long fall, going from a sunny scene on clouds to a dark one filled with ice before the Moon Wraith hit the floor. Saphee began clapping her hands together however someone seemed to disagree with her sentiment.
"No no no!" An intense heat radiated off from the side like I was smacked in the face with sunshine. I had no idea what sunshine felt like and I was getting hit with it, as if this was the very embodiment of sunshine itself was coming down on my face.
[C Rank Monster Noon Wraith-There are many reasons that drive a return from death, here is passion, some interests do not end with death, and on the contrary the blessing of unending existence leads many to hone their craft in their new state, thus a Noon Wraith has returned to the land of the living in pursuit of their craft, be careful of the flames, if you get burned you'll be brought back as another Noon Wraith]
I was greeted by the sight of another wraith, another case of being wrung dry of all fluids like a mummy but still floating through the air like a ghost. If there was a difference between the two in terms of appearance, the first one looked freeze dried while the other one looked simply dehydrated.
"It's all wrong! Take it from the top again!" The Noon Wraith wore a full body dress and a theatre mask. As I watched her converse with the other wraiths I saw her pausing to adjust her head several times, as if it was something that she had been balancing on her shoulders like a pot on her head, I also noticed a dullahan dressed in the same clothing as her serving drinks, both women also had a identical long pony tail coming off the backs of their heads, the latter being used to secure said head to her hip. So a ghost, and their body following behind them as a undead well that's not morbid, I suppose a necromancer would just say that they're utilising the resources available to them. Well as much as I am enjoying the popcorn I did come here for business.
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"Excuse me-"
"You're excused." The wraith didn't even turn around to look at me. "You know where the entrance is. Come back during the show."
I twitched with Seething rage, I probably shouldn't but the hot headed drama queen wasn't even paying attention, and really it was just second hand rage from Hel, she had a almost as bad a temper as Satan did and I was getting hit by it. As I debated preparing a frosty surprise for the annoying two fold combo I felt the entire dungeon shake. The Rude Wraith slumped over, catching her head as it was about to fall over in one hand.
"OOOHHHOOOWWWLLL!" A geyser of howling flame suddenly erupted out of the Headless wraith's torso and spread against the ceiling with howling force before the fire ended as abruptly as it had started, the wraith sticking it's head back on it's shoulders like it was putting it's hat back on. "I'm going to be a minute." The wraith abruptly about faced and left, the Dullahan putting the trey down as she followed. I could feel Hel prodding in the back of my mind to follow her.
"I am here on behalf of Hel on a diplomatic mission." Seeing as how that went last time I cut out the niceties this time around.
"Good for you." The wraith stated in front of the entrance to the dungeon. "I am Long Lockes, contracted by the Mimic Mystery Mansion, this is also Long Lockes, my body from when I still had one."
The Wraith grandly gestured to herself and to the headless corpse, before vanishing through the entrance to the dungeon. Is that how this is going to be? I felt Hel's temper flaring. Graves was gone, off to the next dungeon to deposit the next member of the diplomatic team, in his place though was something more familiar, a legion of half frozen traitors condemned to Cocoytus. I could feel Hel's power throbbing, calling forth all of the souls in her domain that hold grudge with these particular individuals, and soon they appeared from the mist in the form of dozens of Hel Walkers, together with the Wraith torching from afar and the Dullahan slashing with shadows quick work was made of them both. I was waiting in front of the entrance where the two figures reemerged from their business outside.
"Now than where-" Just in time for me to materialise a block of ice around them. "We're going to have a chat now you and I." I broached no room for compromise, if I am going to be treated rudely then I will treat people rudely.
"Excuse me!" The disembodied figure took little issue with the ice floating through it, yet it still annoyed them. "I am-"
"I am Saphee of the Dungeon Keeper, Kin to the Goddess of Helheim and the Betrayed Hel, and I have come here for diplomatic purposes. You will either meet those purposes or you will direct me to one who can."
The Wraith looked ready to verbally rip into me but stopped and visibly paled looking at something behind me.
"Go get the play ready Long Lockes." I felt the hand of a Gargoyle rest onto my shoulder. "I'll have a chat with my daughter." Imprisonment did Loki no favours, he was rail thin and disheveled, a blindfold over his face from where Jormangander's poison had been dripping into his eyes, and this was his gargoyle, this was in theory a statue barring a loose resemblance to him meant to flatter him. A three way meeting soon began inside of the Audience seats while Long Lockes worked on stage. Karzan sat in one chair, his bear waiting off in the corner while Lithilas looked through his sharp eyes, Loki's Gargole sat in another seat the Mansion's presence hovering in the area around them, and Saphee sat in another seat Hel hovering in and around her.
"Father, how have you been?" Hel started the meeting, genuine curiosity in her voice that I had to relay.
"I'm doing fine, though I wouldn't be opposed to your 'god-father' letting up on my punishment." Loki was the God of Liar's and Story telling, it is his nature that everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie, he's not physically capable of telling a flat out truth, though when he's talking to those he's close to he seeks to mislead instead of lie so that he can at least have a proper conversation. So that means that he wasn't doing well, at all.
"I'll do my best to convince Odin, but he still hasn't gotten over Balder." I sighed as I felt Hel's words drip from my mouth. "What a shame that is." Loki's face didn't think it was a shame. Even Hel had to admit some bitterness, being locked away in this frozen wasteland just because of what she looks like.
"Enough about Odin. Your brothers would like to know how you are doing?" Hel would be genuinely happy if Jormangander wanted to see her again but Hel suspected that Loki wasn't asking for him.
"I have a couple more contracted Dungeons, one calls himself a Dungeon Keeper. He has a mouth on him but he's good at looking after the Dungeons around him." Hel explained through my mouth and I felt some genuine pride on my master's behalf. "Ouroboros is a good kid too, but sometimes it feels like he is trying too hard."
"Enough. We need to discuss this Dungeon." Karzan stated pointing down with his spear. "Conquerete is not here anymore, Babel threw him into the ocean." The mana went tense, as if someone's face had gone stiff with shock.
"It's fine if you want to cower here but I do have other dungeons I need to look after, and I hope they don't have to deal with a hoard of undead marching through here to do it." Mimic Mystery Mansion, it was somewhat safe to say that the core material here was a Mimic, also known as 'nature's perfect cowards.' Mimic's form of safety is to hide, then he had to put up with Conquerete on top of that: no wonder he's traumatised.
"I have actually been working to get the little critter out of his shell, theatre has been one of the steps I've taken to do it." Loki directed our gazes towards the stage. "I even convinced him to contract that two for one package over there to give lessons." Loki stated indicating the headless ghost, probably claiming credit for what he didn't do. "I kid though. Ol Luci and I have similar interests don't get me wrong, but I'm siding with my daughter in their divorce." Which could be interpreted as 'I have nothing left to do with Lucifer so I'm recalling my dungeon.'
"Well either way Lucif-" I was going to say that Lucifer would probably get off on being betrayed but I felt Hel stop me.
"You seem to believe that Lucifer likes traitors?" Loki started laughing at my assumption. "Lucifer has personally created a realm where the people he drags down here experience the pain of being frozen and thawed over and over again for all eternity." This wasn't even Loki being misleading, he was stating facts both Hel and I were familiar with. "That play up there is all about him bitching and whining about his father stabbing him in the back after he over-reached." Which means... "And even after learning those facts you think Lucifer likes traitors?"
"He's the god of Treachery though?" Saphee asked sounding confused.
"If you keep spouting technically true but wholly wrong facts you're going to put me out of business!" Hel's thoughts filled my mind. Lucifer's problem is that he has no faith in others, if you put your trust into others then they will betray that faith. Hel tried to help him out of it but Lucifer never trusted her either. "Lucifer spreads treachery in the mortal realm because he spreads the idea that there is no point in putting your trust into others." Karzan spoke up this time.
"Ironically enough this creates more traitors and ends up fulfilling his own beliefs, resulting in the people that listened to him being dragged down here to get themselves put into the deep freeze for all of eternity."
Well, that's just how most prophecies really work.
"In any case you might wanna look into getting picked up by your own dungeon before we decide to redecorate." Karzan stated bluntly.
"My ride is already busy, I was supposed to off myself when everything was done." I would just respawn in the dungeon after all, but now there was information that I needed to share too, the master was labouring under a misunderstanding and it could cause him trouble down the line.
"Oh, allow me." And like that the Loki gargoyle hurled two spears of ice into my head and heart killing me instantly.
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[Saphee 6:23:57]
Huh. So Saphee will re-spawn in a week then. Hel you wanna tell me how our plan is doing...? No? Okay then. For now I'll assume that everything is going according to plan then. Hopefully Graves will have circled around and I can confirm whether the dungeon is no longer being a problem. If not Graves then Lithilas.
[Leonaidas 6:23:59]
Oh Leonaidas must've finished up over in Pluto's dungeon too. Well he's basically a one ring army, even without Pluto being on his side I can't imagine that there's much that would really hurt him.
I felt the tower tremble. Oh Four must've finished punching through to the other side! I drifted my consciousness down to the mass of doors where we prepared to have the different doors that would lead into different dungeons. For now I moved my points of awareness into the other dungeon, the floor was covered in ankle deep water. Were we on the coast? If we were under water then the hallway should be flooded instead of merely water logged. And if we're on the coast then that means that Four was likely one of the Dungeons that was eaten by Leviathan?
"Bellfast." A figure like a ghost appeared near me, this wasn't like the snake from before, a silhouette, like a memory half remembered, or a face half forgotten. "My name is Bellfast. I was born from the bell from the collapsed church inside of this town."
Nice to meet you Bellfast! I'm sorry that I can't go out and see what state the town is in right now. Where did the undead come from?
"There were..." Ghostly Avatar looked like she was having a hard time remembering. "...bodies in the basement where I was born? A crypt?"
And you learned how to make undead from there? What about the chicken?
"...the Village? I made food for the Village?"
Right. Leviathan managed to get all one hundred of his floors back almost in an instant, have you got that far as well?
"...no I wasn't a hundred floors deep..."
Another pause.
"...Something's missing. I can't grow back."
I thought about it for a moment. Right Leviathan had that mountain of rock that I threw at him to regrow into when he came back? Knowing that guy I don't think there'll be much left of the town after he was through with it. I'm going to go get one of my contracts and have a look around outside. My Maride body soon exited through Bellfast's entrance above a lake. Not a lake, but a bay, a pocket of water carved into the shore when some ass-hole tore out a chunk of the shore and ate it, then the gap was filled with water. Well for now, let's make the area good for Bellfast to get Hel's blessing. Cracking mana born fingers I sent a chill into the water, I could already control water, and I had plenty of practice screwing around with temperature with the Fire Frost Fiend body, so it was easy turning the lake into ice. Already I saw Bell boring holes through the ice like a ant colony, Helheilm's bone chilling cold should help to make the area nice and cold to be frozen, I felt the familiar blessing from my dungeon fill the corridors as well. Well I suppose it was the others blessing too in a way. Still we just can't leave a hunk of ice here and not do anything with it. For one thing only one floor is going to Hel, so only one floor is gonna stay frozen, so as for the rest... I went back to my own dungeon for now, my production abilities were higher after all. There were already lots of buildings around my own dungeon, so for now I set the dungeon to produce soil, or rather things that I would mix into the soil, what we need here is what you'd call a landfill. So for now I was mass producing dirt, having the werewolves dump it into Bell's dungeon with home made wheel-barrels, then I'll use the Maride to mix it all into Bell's dungeon. With luck we can fix what Leviathan broke.