=========================================================== Dungeon Keeper Ranma Chapter 07: Purest Heart By A-kun =========================================================== Ranma was looking through the book with interest. He'd never known that Horny's 'race' was called Reaper and that they had been the chosen favorites of the Dark Gods for many centuries, until a warrior known as the Avatar came into being. During a fierce campaign, many of the Reapers were summoned by desperate keepers and sent to fight the Avatar. The Avatar's powers, however, were granted to him by many of the other gods, allowing him to slaughter the Reapers as if they were wheat before a harvester. One keeper, Devan, managed to use an entire army and a Reaper to take down the mighty Avatar in a fierce battle that lead to the destruction of a place called Skybird Trill. However, Ranma knew that was not the end of the story. He found another book in Lundar's library that detailed the rest. Afterwards, the Dark Gods found very few Reapers had survived and were dismayed at the massive loss of such powerful servants. To ensure that they would have mighty servants by which they would still be worshipped, they created the Dark Angels, mockeries of Angels used by the other gods. The remaining Reapers took offense and wanted to prove that they were superior. Indeed, in combat, the Reapers were superior in every way, but the Dark Angels decided that it would be best if the Reapers lost. After all, they would fall out of favor with their creators otherwise. They aided humans in campaigns against the Reapers, eventually leading to the near-extinction of the entire race. Those Reapers that remained were too precious to let go, so they remained in the underworld with the Dark Gods, save for one. Horniculus did not want to return to the underworld, as it would mean an eternity of boredom, waiting for gods or humans like the Avatar to attack. He would be sincerely bored with that kind of life. However, he also did not to wish to be bound to whomever could manage to maintain his 'requirements', as such keepers would be boring and might lead to his demise. So, Horniculus decided that he would forge an amulet, by which he could be summoned and left it in a dungeon, through which only the most clever of Keepers would be allowed to have access to it. A Keeper did eventually manage to obtain the amulet. "The last Keeper of my Dungeon Heart." Ranma murmurred. Suddenly, Ranma felt a breach in his Dungeon. Then, another and another. Three separate groups were attacking him, no doubt trying to get the princesses. Ranma snarled at the audacity. He summoned Horny to the leftmost breach with some Elves and Dark Elves as back up, in case something managed to slip past him. He sent Zenobia and most of his other forces to the right breach. He then called up what skeletons he'd found in his exploits and headed for the center breach. Imps were given the order to haul back the unconscious, but stay out of battle. Someone was going to learn the hard way that one didn't mess with Keeper Ranma. Horny yawned as he felt the activation of his amulet. He'd been having a nice nap, but duty called. He summoned his scythe as he appeared at the destination. He turned and looked at the now halted advance of enemy goblins, dark knights, skeletons and Dark Angels. He grinned. It was time to have some fun. He raised his scythe and charged, shattering six skeletons who'd tried to meet his charge. Horny frowned. Hopefully the rest would be more entertaining than that. Meanwhile, Zenobia and company were having significantly less fun than Horny. The force they were facing was largely comprised of warlocks, dark elves, mistresses and vampires. It was lucky that they had some monks on hand to finish the vampires, but that still left the other forces to contend with. The enemy wasn't entirely stupid, like the ones Horny was facing. Whereas the opponents Horny was facing were largely hand-to-hand style fighters and thus limited in their tactics, enemies who used to long distance combat, such as the warlocks and dark elves, were significantly less limited in their attacks. So far, they'd managed to draw out the enemy by waiting, then opening fire with a hail of fireballs, quarrels, lightning bolts, paralyzing ice and hail spells just before their frontline fighters, the dark knights and monks, charged in and took out the enemies nearest to them and ducked behind cover in time for another assault. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was better than shooting randomly, hoping that they'd hit someone enough to draw them out where they could finish them off. Besides, the armor on the dark knights was more than enough to protect them from a few assaults with quarrels. "I think they're backing off." Corwin, a knight, told Zenobia. "Then, it's up to us to finish them off." Zenobia responded. The group assembled in a proper battle line before heading down the dark corridor that the enemy had made. Those that stood before Ranma were much less fortunate. When dealing with the standard list of Keeper creatures, there were expectations and tactics to utilize in cutting down the monsters. Even fighting Horny was better, because then one only had to worry about three things. Horny's strength, his scythe and his occassional fireball. Fighting Ranma, on the other hand, was a nightmare. Ranma had learned how to possess creatures fairly early into the campaign, at the behest of Lundar and his warlocks, who didn't want Ranma taking unneccessary risks. Ranma picked up various skills, spells and techniques in those bodies as he went about practicing. Ranma had jumped into just about every type of creature under his command. As such, he knew every spell, magical/physical technique and skill that his underlings did. And he could use them all in rapid succession. A Disruption attack seared a guard's eyes just as a Firebomb blasted him and three of his fellow guards off their feet. They were fortunate, because Ranma then unleashed a Super Firebomb, a Hail Storm, a Tornado and a torrent of fireballs and lightning bolts. Any enemy within thirty feet was down for the count. Ranma continued forward, summoning imps occassionally to haul the badly beaten, but not-quite-dead back to his prisons. He'd deal with them later. As he came to a four-way intersection, the chattering of his skeletons was heard. They'd noticed something, but didn't dare attack without Ranma's permission. "Go." Ranma commanded. Instantly, the forty skeletons split into two groups of twenty, let out a horrific battle cry and charged down the two side corridors. Ranma marched forward, where he sensed the Lord of the Land was. The torches glowed dimly, as though sensing the melancholy aura that seemed to permeate the air as Ranma entered a massive chamber to see Lord Pureheart facing the far wall. Ranma had not been clear-cutting through his opponents as thoroughly as he believed. A thief had managed to sneak back to Lord Pureheart and warned them of Ranma's advance, as well as the fact that neither he nor his skeletons were the least bit injured. While the news was distressing, it was no less than what Lord Pureheart expected. After all, Ranma WAS a Master Keeper. He doubted even the evil yet brilliant Nemesis would stand against Ranma for very long. Once he was certain that Ranma was not being followed by his skeletons, Lord Pureheart spoke to Ranma, "You must be Keeper Ranma. I do hope that you forgive my audacity, but I had to make an effort to rescue the Princesses. After all, they are practically family to me." "You sound like a beaten dog." Ranma answered, recognizing the tone Pureheart was using. "Indeed. Should I not? I sent the very best I could muster and you've already pounded them into the dungeon floor. While I do have an ego, I also have common sense as well." Lord Pureheart said, before sighing heavily, as he turned. The torches glowed hotter, illuminating the room better. Ranma could see that Pureheart was very old. His own father looked much younger than Pureheart and that was simply going by Pureheart's whitened hair. Pureheart's face made him seem at least seventy years of age. "I'm old, Ranma. I was the first squire of King Reginald, back when he was merely a starting knight. I'm probably five times your age and I knew that one way or another, this campaign would see the end of me. The heavens know I have lived too long on borrowed time, all for the sake of my friend." Lord Pureheart explained. "Then why even try to take me on? You should be at home with your family." Ranma demanded. "For pride, of course. You might not understand it, but I'm a warrior, through and through. And if I die in a bed, I'll never rest in peace. Thus, I want to face an opponent who I'll have no qualms about losing against. It has to be either the Reaper or you." Lord Pureheart explained. Ranma's hardened edge faltered. Here was an opponent who was not fighting to survive or fighting for a lord, but simply fighting for an end of fighting. Ranma had never faced an opponent so ready to lose. He considered it. Pureheart deserved the ending he had chosen. To do otherwise would break one of the more tightly guarded codes Ranma still held. That of protecting an opponent's honor, when they had any. Ranma spent long moments contemplating Pureheart's request. Horny found himself standing between Lord Pureheart and Ranma. He eyed Ranma, then turned to the Lord. "Horny, give him a fight. He deserves one." Ranma told the Reaper before teleporting away to take Horny's place. "Nothing personal." Horny said. "Much obliged." Lord Pureheart answered, raising his two-handed sword. Maidel watched each of the princesses closely. The three sisters were strong-willed, but once one broke, the other two would quickly follow. It was difficult to tell who would break first, but Maidel figured it would be Honey. Warriors prided themselves on strength, but when their strength was of no use as it was in the torture chambers of a Keeper, especially a powerful Keeper like Ranma who would not face defeat anytime soon, their pride faded quickly. Maidel didn't feel any pride in guessing right as tears began streaming down Honey's face. She willed the coals to cool and healed all three sisters as they needed it. "Well, you three have had a very thorough taste of failure," Maidel announced, before sitting next to Honey and wiping her tears away, "But I think it's time to show you that being in Ranma's army isn't all bad." Honey blinked as Maidel leaned down and kissed her. The princess' eyes widened immensely as she felt Maidel's tongue invade her mouth. She blushed as she felt aroused by the cinnamon perfume in the air as well as by Maidel's body pressing against her. The will to fight back faded like smoke before a hurricane as Maidel broke their liplock and began kissing down Honey's neck. The eldest princess blushed hard as Maidel tore her undershirt open, revealing her bare breasts, but reveled in the sensations as Maidel descended on the soft mounds with fervor. Mina could only wonder what was going on as she saw Maidel leaning over her elder sister as Relena's body blocked her view of what was precisely going on. Mina could only imagine and the conclusion she came to was likely a correct one. Relena blushed as she watched her eldest sister writhe and gasp beneath Maidel's expert touch. Honey felt Maidel's hand slide down into her panties and gasped loudly as Maidel's fingers began stroking her. She could only whimper as she felt Maidel's index finger invade her. She didn't even notice as her arms reflexively cradled Maidel's head, free of their magical restraints. Lord Pureheart was having the time of his life, despite the fact that his life was certainly nearing it's final hour. Horny was as skilled with his scythe as Lord Pureheart was with his two-handed sword. The two warriors were nearly unparalleled in fighting, being as old as they were. Horny himself was even beginning to smile. Ordinarily, he only got excited at massive slaughter, but Pureheart was a CHALLENGE. A challenge that the Horned Reaper had desired for a long time. Ordinary opponents saw only the scythe Horny carried and did their best to block it, when it was Horny himself whom they should be paying attention to. Many would be heroes could block the blade of the scythe only to be caught off-guard by the heavy hilt, which smashed their heads backwards long enough for Horny to decapitate them. Pureheart was better than that. He dodged away from the hilt, and nearly stabbed Horny through the midsection with a thrust that forced Horny back. Horny, however, saw an opening. He slid around the sword and almost successfully shoulder-slammed Pureheart, if the wise fighter hadn't rolled out of the way. "Not bad." Horny commented. "Of course. I didn't live this long by being a shitty fighter." Pureheart answered. "It's a shame to simply kill such an excellent fighter." Horny told the fighter, knowing his own endurance was limitless because of the pact made with Ranma. Even when successfully injured, he'd heal instantly. However, Horny was suppressing that healing factor as a show of fairness. "Yes, but if this world were fair, we wouldn't be in it, now would we?" Pureheart asked. "Truer words were never spoken." Horny responded. Horny charged Pureheart as the old man hefted his sword to meet the Horned Reaper. Geld was hiding in his Dungeon Heart. He'd heard the screams and reports from his imps that the legendary Horned Reaper was on his way. There was no way in hell he could ever defeat the Horned Reaper. There was that legend of some hero named the Avatar being able to kill the Reapers, but he'd been divinely blessed by over twenty Gods and Goddesses. Geld knew the chances of him getting such a blessing were far beyond his capacity to count. Besides, THIS Reaper had slain even the Avatar. Suddenly he realized that there was only silence, followed by a weary cheer. An imp came to the edge of the Dungeon Heart and chittered. Geld's eyes widened, "The Reaper is gone?" The imp chittered further. "And now a teenage boy is standing where he is?" Geld asked. [A teenage boy isn't nearly as threatening.] Geld thought. Then, he heard the screams of his men begin again, this time louder and more urgent. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" Geld whimpered desperately, hoping the Reaper hadn't returned. "'That' would be me." Ranma declared, entering the Dungeon Heart's room. "And you are?" Geld demanded, no longer afraid now that he saw the boy. Ranma stood before Geld wearing red shoulder guards and a black cape with a red interior over his usual red silk chinese shirt and black pants with a cord for a belt. Geld, on the other hand, wore armor similar to a Dark Knight. A solid chest and back plate with short shoulder guards that wrapped around his shoulders. His arms were free of any armor to allow for maximum mobility. His waist and legs were clad in chain mail with plate mail over it. Geld hefted his sword and pointed it at Ranma, sneering contemptuously as he estimated the boy to be of no threat, "And who are you?" "I'm Ranma Saotome. You attacked my dungeon. Prepare to die." Ranma told Geld simply. Geld was about to snort in contempt when he realized the name he'd just heard, "Ranma? As in the Keeper who just crushed most of the continent?" "One in the same." Ranma answered. "I don't believe you for a second." Geld huffed. "Believe it or not, you're finished." Ranma responded. Geld blinked and Ranma was in front of him. Geld had time to panic and begin pulling away when Ranma began punching him mercilessly. Six thousand and eighty two punches later, Geld hit the floor and did not get up. Ranma kicked the supports around Geld's Dungeon Heart, shattering them and crushing the magical membrane below. Geld's battered form disappeared just as the Heart shattered. "One down. Now for the other idiot." Ranma commented, vanishing in a burst of light. Maidel sighed. Princess Honey had already climaxed. It'd been getting to the really good part too. At least she'd already made her decision. Maidel hefted the princess from the wheel and approached one of the lairs, which created a bed for the princess to sleep on. Maidel laid the unconscious girl down on the bed. "And I suppose you're planning to do the same to us? HA! We'll NEVER give in!" Mina declared defiantly. "I'd refrain from saying 'Never' until we're finished. There are always exceptions. Besides, I doubt you three have had much of a sex life, considering your royal upbringing." Maidel responded. Maidel approached Mina and smiled before tearing off the princess' panties. Mina snarled in defiance as Maidel laid between her spread legs and began licking her slit. Mina's snarl grew silent as she did her level best not cave into the wonderful feeling Maidel was introducing her to. Mina was almost ready to give in when Maidel pulled away, "You should be ready about now." "Ready for what?" Mina asked. Maidel smiled evilly as she turned and plucked a long smooth phallus-shaped stone from the wall behind her. She turned back to the princess and laid between her legs again. Mina yelped as she felt the cold stone press against her mound. Her face contorted into a mixture of pain and pleasure as Maidel eased the stone phallus into her. She then grabbed a leather holster and tied it around the princess's legs, holding the stone where it was, buried deep within Mina's body. As Maidel pulled away, Mina's biting retort renewed, "If you think some stone dildo is going to make me submit, you're sorely mistaken." "That was simply step two, my dear princess. The stone that I just placed inside you make look common, but it's very special. It's known as Sounding Stone." Maidel explained, before walking to the far end of the room and picking up a small jewel-like agate tied to a long metal necklace. She held it away from Mina she walked back to the middle sister's side. "And this is know as the Resonating Stone. When it comes near a Sounding Stone, the Sounding Stone begins to vibrate. The closer it gets, the more intense the vibration." Maidel continued, slowly bringing the small stone near Mina. Mina's eyes went wide as she felt gentle and arousing vibrations emitting from the stone dildo, "So, that's not much." "But it's still a good four feet away. Imagine what it will be like when it's less than a foot away." Maidel said, smiling as she gently continued moving the Resonator closer to Mina. Mina gulped heavily as the vibrations doubled in intensity and the stone wasn't even past the three and a half foot mark. Maidel smiled as she saw the princess had finally gotten a clear understanding of what was in store. However, that was not the end of it. Maidel placed the resonator on a nearby wheel, then tore off Mina's shirt. She went back over to the wall that the Sounding Stone had been at and grabbed another harness, this one having two bowl- shaped Sounding Stones attached by a thick leather strap. They had openings meant for the "victim"'s nipples. Maidel smiled again as she returned to Mina's side and placed the cups over the princess' breasts, making such to move Mina's nipples into the openings. She tied the harness into place firmly before fetching one final device. It appeared to be a mobile pulley system, but it looked far too small for any major work. Which was just fine, because it's job wasn't anything major. Maidel positioned the pulley so that the tiny hook hung over Mina's navel, then picked up the resonator again and placed the necklace into the hook. "This little device will lower the resonator stone one inch every minute, starting at three and a half feet." Maidel explained, motioning to the machine, "To be honest, I don't think anyone has resisted to one foot when fully harnessed like you are. So, I'll be very impressed if you last more than fifteen minutes. Of course, no one has resisted beyond twenty minutes." Mina wanted to responded, but the pulley system had already dropped the resonator an inch, sending waves of intense pleasure up and down her body. Seeing as the intensity seemed to double every inch, she could understand why no one had lasted past twenty minutes. Maidel turned to Relena, "And now for you. I'm unsure of what to do. You haven't really been a problem, so I don't want to be cruel. I suppose I could give you the same treatment I gave your eldest sister and see if that convinces you to join..." Relena blushed as Maidel approached her prone body, wondering what the skilled Mistress might do to her. Ventrius was cursing his luck. Although his forces were skilled and smart enough to duck behind the various defenses he'd created, Ranma's frontline kept advancing at the same rate, despite the lack of bridges; despite the numerous traps and doors; and most frustrating of all, despite all of the firepower his minions and traps kept tossing out. Then, bridges suddenly began appearing, followed by a torrent of spells that could have defeated a legion of Giants. Ventrius didn't like surprises and the sudden appearance of a cocky looking young man and a brigade of Dark Elves was a surprise. Within minutes, all of his carefully laid defenses were destroyed, his men had fallen and the young man responsible was kicking at the steel door that Ventrius had just locked. Ventrius was doing his damndest to load his trusty crossbow with a magical bolt meant to slay anything. He'd meant to keep it as a last ditch item, just in case the Horned Reaper ever came knocking on his door. But, from what he'd seen, the Reaper paled in comparison to this new fighter. The walking nightmare that was an angry Ranma Saotome smashed the gate with one strike, "WELCOME GATE IRON FINGERS!" Ranma marched in and dodged the Bolt of Slaying as it sank into the wall behind him. Now truly enraged, Ranma stomped forward, smacking the crossbow from Ventrius' hands before pummelling the bowman into a bloody pulp. A large vacuum blade later, the supports around Ventrius' Dungeon Heart collapsed, catapulting Ventrius out of the dimension in a very violent and abrupt manner. Ranma teleported back to his Dungeon Heart and activated the magical map to see if Horny was finished with Pureheart. He blinked in surprise when he saw that Pureheart and Horny had trashed the main room of Pureheart's fortress, but were still fighting, despite having apparently knocked each other through various walls. "Keeper, you're back..." Lundar began. "Just had some rivals to take care of." Ranma responded. "Well, we have some... interesting guests that have been waiting to meet you." Lundar told him. Ranma shut off the map, confident that Horny would win. "Who?" Ranma asked. "They are in the main hall of Lord Volstag's keep as we speak." Lundar responded. Ranma teleported himself and Lundar to the main hall of Volstag's keep. Then, he blinked. Ten Dark Angels stood before him in the hall. They turned in unison. Dark Angels for the most part looked like six foot tall musclar men with grey feathered wings on their back. They had blue skin, red glowing eyes, carried a broad sword and typically only wore black gloves, head cap, pants and boots. One of them, however, wore a steel chest plate and had a dagger in his belt on the right side. The unusual one approached him and spoke, "Keeper Ranma, I presume. I am Zachariach, Elite Dark Angel. The Dark Gods have declared you the most powerful keeper and thus have decided to side with you. We are under strict orders by all the Dark Gods to join you and do anything you ask of us, no matter what." "Um, nice to meet you. But, I was under the impression that you guys joined keepers out of sheer whim." Ranma responded. "Ordinarily, yes. However, the Dark Gods saw that times were changing quite fast, even before your domination of the entire continent becoming more and more decisive. In order to retain worship, they too had to change. If you'll allow your minions to freely pray at the temples to the Dark Gods, they'll give further support by giving you more mana. In addition, every temple that you build to the Dark Gods will allow two more of our brethren through to aid you in your conquest." Zachariach explained. Ranma considered it. He'd heard that the Dark Gods didn't truly ask for much, outside of temples and occassional worship. They rewarded sacrifices, but ultimately, they asked for little else. "Very well, Zachariach. Lairs have been made available and if you have any questions on my dungeons, ask the imps. All I truly ask of you is that you not attack any of the other creatures I have in my command without good reason and even so, I'd like to be notified of the reasons before anyone is dead. If you have any quarrels with the other creatures of my dungeon, take it up with me and I'll deal with it. Agreeable?" Ranma asked. Zachariach nodded. "Well, then, welcome aboard. I'll notify you all of the next battle that we engage in." Ranma responded. Ranma watched as the Dark Angels headed for the nearest lairs, then turned to Lundar. "Very wise. The Dark Gods rarely anger anymore, out of fear of losing worship. I doubt Dark Angels that they personally sent will cause any trouble. Strangely enough, I think I recall the Dark Gods making a declaration to help only the keeper who could find their main temple, but that was a while ago. Perhaps no one has." Lundar commented. "Probably. By the way, Lundar, I've been meaning to ask you about the imps..." Ranma began. "Ranma?" came Maidel's voice. Ranma blinked and turned to see Maidel, followed by the three princesses, who were once again garbed in the outfits they had worn just prior to their capture. Each of the princesses were blushing and they seemed to be following Maidel rather closely. "Maidel? I thought... well, it's only been about a few hours." Ranma commented. "I can be persuasive when I want to be." Maidel answered, smiling widely, before gesturing to the three princesses, who knelt in unison. "Ranma, we recognize you as our master. We will do as you ask of us." Honey declared. "Well, I don't need anything right now, but I'd like your opinions on dealing with your father. Maidel will fill you in on the details, but for now, just get rest. I'm sure you need it." Ranma told them, before turning back to Lundar, "Anyway, as I was saying, about the imps-" "RANMA! We've just sighted Nemesis' forces! They're in the land just to the east of here!" Michael, captain of the Knights, declared. [Can't they wait until I ask Lundar this simple question?!] Ranma asked himself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Next time, on Dungeon Keeper Ranma! Nemesis, the eldest keeper in a family of keepers, will test his might versus Ranma. But what of his family? Can Ranma defeat three keepers who aren't trying to kill each other and are skilled strategists on their own? Dig out a 5x5 square. Fill the middle 3x3 with a hatchery, then fill the corners with lairs, making sure NOT to obstruct the entrance (s) to the room. This will make sure that no one will complain about not finding a lair when there's plenty of space. Of course, this reduces the number of available lairs to 12-14. That means you'll likely have to make another room if you have more than one portal or if you want to convert. This will also provide a food source for creatures right as they wake up. When making a workshop, if there's room, dig out a 4x5 section right NEXT to the workshop, do not make a separate room. Place a 3x5 hatchery directly next to the workshop and a 1x5 section of lairs. Pick up every troll and/or bile demon who enters and place them in those lairs. This will maximize their time in the workshop because they have both food AND their homes nearby. Workshops, Libraries, Torture Rooms and Training Rooms gain more areas for creatures to use for every 3 rows of reinforced walls (or if the walls are solid rock). A 3x3 torture room can have up to 4 work spaces IF the walls are reinforced. The necessary parts: All dungeons require lairs and hatcheries. Most require a treasury, but you can get more use from them if you grab the accumulated wealth from the treasuries you already have and place them around the sections in your heart. The amount of cash you have will lower, but your creatures can still get paid and if you use enough to drain the current amount of cash, the cash will seemingly 'restore' itself. Workshops are needed if you don't want to waste your time with Guard Rooms. Prisons are a requirement for skeletons or if you want to convert creatures. Torture chambers are only needed for attracting Mistresses (and Dark Knights) or for converting heroes. Combat Pits are a requirement if you're playing honest (in a game about evil? HA!) and need higher level minions. Don't place undead into the combat pit unless you're willing to hover over the pit and heal them. And NEVER place a Vampire in with a Monk. Temples are only a necessity to ease the whinings of some of your creatures later on or if you want two Dark Angels. Unless you've got a LOT of money, don't make more than one 5x5 temple. Next Time: Properly Applied Motivation and Keeping Those Whiny Creatures In Line!