Horizons New
The Subduing of Delldreaming. It was a successful campaign, all told, and the Underground was secured for your Dungeon Keeper in fine style. The Graveyard was teeming with death, and the Prison and Torture Chamber so full that the Mistresses almost (almost) couldn’t keep up. The whole Minion Horde rejoiced in their success.
Then it all stopped.
Time passed, hours and hours without orders from Him. Prisoner after prisoner was dealt with, information spilling forth in a futile attempt to earn mercy, and yet nothing was done with it. The Mistresses grumbled about feeling useless, unwanted. The Bile Demons grumbled (more than usual) about being bored. The Salamanders began organising races and chases to keep themselves organised on the lava flows. The Imps, worryingly, began to smile.
Rumours began to spread of the Keeper’s lack of interest, of his distraction with other dungeons. Horned Reapers had been summoned elsewhere, it was said, and Kingdoms further North were being warred upon. Slowly, creepingly, the dungeon began to empty. A Troll here, a Maiden there, a couple of the more intelligent Goblins… The battle-primed or ambitious Minions went, seeking out a new dungeon, and a new Keeper. But here, beneath the Kingdom of Delldreaming, peace reigned uneasily.
Soon the remaining Minions were itching for new purpose. Without the guidance of a Keeper they attempted new expeditions, with Orcs whipping Imps into digging out the hardest of walls, trying to find new areas to explore and conquer. The Warlocks and Maidens threw themselves into the most obscure research, trying to find ways and ideas to spread their chaotic dungeon further, in search of gold and glory. It was there, one quiet hour, with exhausted Minions all about, that a measly little Warlock named Faxton discovered a great secret… How to Create a Dungeon Keeper.
A ritual, long and complex, requiring massive amounts of sacrifice and bloodshed to work, and the greatest Mana expenditure Faxton had ever heard of. Surely this much Mana could not exist – a dungeon would have to spread for untold miles to generate so much! In council with the other researchers, Faxton shared his discovery and his fears of failure. In long talks and longer arguments the researchers tried to piece together a plan. The prisoners, long dead, had shared much information with the Mistresses, who now were brought unwilling into the debate. They had mentioned a great Mana source, true, but on the surface. Rumours of a Fairy Queen, lady of the Land that had sorecently lost its Lord, hidden in the forests and hoarding a huge power… Rumours too that the Dungeon Keepers in surrounding lands were failing, that this Fairy Queen was aiding the defences and that Good just refused die up there.
Eventually, with only a few deaths, the newly formed Dungeon Council made a decision. The Kingdom of Delldreaming must be subdued, finally. If they refused to come into the underground to fight, the Dungeon must go above to hunt them. The Fairy Queen was be found, destroyed, and her power taken. Only then could the dungeon return to how it should be – led by a new Dungeon Keeper, to even greater destruction and glory!
Then it all stopped.
Time passed, hours and hours without orders from Him. Prisoner after prisoner was dealt with, information spilling forth in a futile attempt to earn mercy, and yet nothing was done with it. The Mistresses grumbled about feeling useless, unwanted. The Bile Demons grumbled (more than usual) about being bored. The Salamanders began organising races and chases to keep themselves organised on the lava flows. The Imps, worryingly, began to smile.
Rumours began to spread of the Keeper’s lack of interest, of his distraction with other dungeons. Horned Reapers had been summoned elsewhere, it was said, and Kingdoms further North were being warred upon. Slowly, creepingly, the dungeon began to empty. A Troll here, a Maiden there, a couple of the more intelligent Goblins… The battle-primed or ambitious Minions went, seeking out a new dungeon, and a new Keeper. But here, beneath the Kingdom of Delldreaming, peace reigned uneasily.
Soon the remaining Minions were itching for new purpose. Without the guidance of a Keeper they attempted new expeditions, with Orcs whipping Imps into digging out the hardest of walls, trying to find new areas to explore and conquer. The Warlocks and Maidens threw themselves into the most obscure research, trying to find ways and ideas to spread their chaotic dungeon further, in search of gold and glory. It was there, one quiet hour, with exhausted Minions all about, that a measly little Warlock named Faxton discovered a great secret… How to Create a Dungeon Keeper.
A ritual, long and complex, requiring massive amounts of sacrifice and bloodshed to work, and the greatest Mana expenditure Faxton had ever heard of. Surely this much Mana could not exist – a dungeon would have to spread for untold miles to generate so much! In council with the other researchers, Faxton shared his discovery and his fears of failure. In long talks and longer arguments the researchers tried to piece together a plan. The prisoners, long dead, had shared much information with the Mistresses, who now were brought unwilling into the debate. They had mentioned a great Mana source, true, but on the surface. Rumours of a Fairy Queen, lady of the Land that had sorecently lost its Lord, hidden in the forests and hoarding a huge power… Rumours too that the Dungeon Keepers in surrounding lands were failing, that this Fairy Queen was aiding the defences and that Good just refused die up there.
Eventually, with only a few deaths, the newly formed Dungeon Council made a decision. The Kingdom of Delldreaming must be subdued, finally. If they refused to come into the underground to fight, the Dungeon must go above to hunt them. The Fairy Queen was be found, destroyed, and her power taken. Only then could the dungeon return to how it should be – led by a new Dungeon Keeper, to even greater destruction and glory!