Monster Core 2

by Dante King

  Zagorath Enchanted the Gorengar Travel Stone!

  Consumed 1,200 Soul Essence

  I winced at the price of completing the stone before I sent another telepathic whisper through the pathway. A few seconds later, a response came with all the intensity of a shockwave. My whole core blazed with scarlet light, bright enough to make Abby yelp and stagger backward. Energy crackled through every fraction of my being as I tasted something different. Not Physical Essence. Not Storm Essence. Not Infernal Essence. Not Soul Essence.

  A new essence. A new element.

  Unless I was dead wrong, another realm was right at my fingertips.

  Now that the Gorengar Travel Stone was complete and enchanted, it was ready for a spin.

  “What shall you do now?” Abby asked.

  “I can’t go myself,” I said.

  “Will you send me?” Abby seemed a little afraid, and I immediately dismissed the notion. She was indispensable to my dungeon, and I feared what might happen if she ventured too far away from her core. I couldn’t lose her.

  “I will go,” Bertha said as she stood, her meditations over. She gazed up at the obelisk. “An impressive item, Master.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “But neither of you will be traveling through the obelisk. You are far too important to risk on an expedition.”

  I knew bringing them back from death was possible if their lives ended inside my dungeon, but the travel stone would take them to a far-off land where my powers were unlikely to help them. Even if I could somehow resurrect them from afar, they both would cost a good deal of essence to reconstruct.

  My mind turned to Puck. He was not only the most dispensable of my minions, but he would also be the perfect scout. There was also Ralph, the adventurer I had mind-controlled and sent on a mission to scout the lands around Shadow Crag. I doubted whether I’d ever see him again, so I decided I would wait for Puck to return before I tested the Gorengar Travel Stone.

  I spent the next seven hours refining the contours of my dungeon and giving it a little flair. I could have constructed new traps and items, or even carved out entire new rooms, but my mind was never far from the travel stone. I didn’t want to make any major—or even minor—changes to my floors until I could send Puck into the world that lay on the other side.

  I stopped my refinements when an unmistakable laugh drifted through Zagorath’s entrance. A cloud of shadows rippled through my dungeon like a colony of bats before Puck materialized in front of my core. His scarlet eyes gleamed with satisfaction, and a tiny metal effigy of an imp rested in his grasp.

  “I have completed your task, Master. With no small amount of effort, I might say.” He glanced over the obelisk and cocked his head. “I see you found what you were looking for.”

  “I did, indeed. Your toil is well appreciated, champion. Now, before I provide you with a mission, I’d like to see what these imps can do.”

  Chapter Three

  “Take the effigy to the soul forge, Puck,” I commanded.

  The Shade dissipated into shadows again and disturbed several of the sleeping Hellbats as he flew into the ceiling’s vent. He erupted into the soul forge’s hidden chamber like a black-winged specter of death.

  The small effigy glittered with a new light as Puck placed the figurine within the forge’s clawed grasp. The magical machine hummed with hellish power as the effigy was consumed in a flash of brimstone-scented power. The new organic blueprint of the Lesser Imp slid into sharp relief in my core’s consciousness.

  Zagorath gained spawnable minions!

  Lesser Imp

  Core: Infernal

  Rarity: Magic

  Essence Cost per minion: 28 (Infernal)

  Nostalgia colored my thoughts as I examined the metaphysical structure of the Lesser Imp. Puck had led an army of these creatures in a rather loose charge while rescuing Bertha and I from a family of trolls. They were small, fearsome, and possessed a bestial cunning that distinguished them from the other minions of Zagorath.

  “My champions,” I said, “gather on the dais of the First Floor. It’s time to break in the newest of our ranks.”

  Bertha sprang to her feet in an instant and raced down the stairs to the Pretzel. Abby materialized in a swirl of ozone-scented lightning, and Puck snickered as his cloud soared to the dais.

  When my champions had assembled themselves around the travel stone, I pushed Infernal Essence free of my core and into the soul forge. More hellish light sent shadows into a frenzy as I created my own personal army of Lesser Imps. Gleeful cackles bounced off the walls as the forge birthed my newest creatures.

  They weren’t pretty to look at. Bloated bodies and bat-like wings brushed against each other as the hyperactive cretins stretched their new muscles and inhaled deep breaths of Zagorath’s air. Warts protruded from their gray flesh while long claws the size of daggers extended from their feet and hands.

  Their minds were different from the easily moulded minds of the Hellbats and hive-like mentality of the Storm Sprites. A cruel cunning permeated the minds of the Lesser Imps, and it took me a moment to pierce their intelligences and bring them under my control. It was tricky to wrestle with so many of the imp’s minds at once, but my telepathic abilities grew stronger every time I forced a monster’s will to bend to my own.

  The imps rocketed up into the ceiling tunnels and bounced off the tight walls. They fought and clawed each other as they desperately scrambled to be the leader out onto the First Floor. Some of the imps opted for a different route and tore through the open passages of the Pretzel rather than fight their fellows in an attempt to reach the dais first.

  Von Dominus slid out from the floor, and I possessed his body. My awareness of Zagorath receded as I adjusted to the sensation of his flesh.

  My champions, now assembled on the dais, turned their attention to the new winged cannon fodder as the imps screamed toward them in an unorganized horde.

  “It must be strange to see what you once were so clearly,” Bertha told Puck with a chuckle. “So small, angry, and irritating. Tell me; do you ever miss it?”

  “I have ascended,” Puck growled. “Much the same way you have, troll.”

  “In looks, sure. Just not in personality,” Abby laughed.

  “Enough,” the Shade snapped. “The Master approaches.”

  I took position in the middle of my champions, removed a dagger from my belt, and held the weapon in an underhanded grip.

  The new pack of minions blitzed toward us with a cacophony of unearthly howls.

  “Let’s see what they can do,” I said.

  I lunged into the middle of the flying onslaught, caught hold of a flapping wing, and pierced the creature’s plump body with a vicious stab. The imp squealed and turned into dead weight in my hand. I let it fall to the glossy floor and felt a flash of annoyance as another imp tore into my forearm. The second creature cackled as it ducked under a swipe from my dagger and went for my eyes. I smashed my skull into the imp before it could sink its claws into my flesh. My free hand closed around the minion’s skull, and I crushed its face like a candy bar wrapper. Bertha’s halberd slashed down another imp on my right in a flash of steel and muscle.

  The Lesser Imps whirled around us and attacked our flanks. I spun and kicked a winged monster out of the air on my left. My trollish strength sent it rocketing toward Abby, but she caught it with crackling fingertips and filled the air with the smell of roasted flesh.

  Puck took to the air with a rush of shadowed wings above my head. Black energy clung to him and obscured his form for a second as he launched a shadow-sphere at an imp.

  The ball of black magic exploded against the unfortunate monster, and Puck shot toward his prey with all the speed of a bullet. Puck’s bone-white claws ripped the imp’s intestines free and scattered viscera over the floor.

  An imp attacked my calf from behind with a sharp bite. I snarled, spun around, and shook it free. The imp cackled as it lifted itself higher and raced in for my throat. I ramme
d my dagger into one of its wings and socked it with a haymaker. Bones crunched around my fist as the imp howled and shot backward into my travel stone. An audible crack sounded as the hard surface of the obelisk snapped the imp’s spine.

  I leaped up onto the dais and took a moment to observe the carnage.

  My new minions didn’t fight with the swarm mentality of the other creatures of Zagorath. The fat little bastards attacked my champions from behind and aimed for legs and hands.

  Abby cried out as one of the imps grabbed her hair and yanked on it. She sent a blast of lightning through her scalp and fried the creature’s hands in a flash of blue energy. The imp spasmed in the air and gave the Storm Elemental time to turn around and hit it with an arc of electricity. Abby dodged past a pair of Lesser Imps and grabbed their wings. A huge surge of lightning raced into her hands and turned the monsters to ash.

  I jumped from the dais and snatched an imp out of the air like a pro basketballer. My hands closed around its ribs, and I crushed them effortlessly as I landed. The imp screamed as I hurled it into a cloud of minions harassing Bertha from above. I raced to assist the half-troll and landed behind her with a flourish.

  “Did it look like I needed your help?” Bertha asked.

  “Actually, it did,” I said as I ducked under yet another set of white claws and teeth.

  The half-troll cleaved the imp out of the air with a steady swipe and spilled its blood over the stairs of the dais. She smacked another imp out of the air with the handle of her halberd and stomped it into grease underfoot. Then, the spearpoint of her weapon punctured through another imp as it tried to flutter away from her. A third creature dived to attack her unarmored back, but a quick swipe from my dagger across its throat sliced it out of the air and rolled the creature into a pillar.

  A shadow-sphere exploded to my right and drew my attention to Puck.

  My Shade was a terror to his lesser brethren as he vanished into a blanket of darkness and reappeared seconds later to rip an unaware imp in half. Gore splattered over the Shade’s claws as he whirled toward a pair of two more minions, but he vanished again before they could strike.

  It took me a second to realize that he wasn’t teleporting, not quite. My champion drew the darkness around him into a cloak of invisibility that made him impossible to see in the eerie light of the First Floor.

  I heard an imp sweep in for my head from behind and ducked out of the way. I ran the monster through with my blade, wrapped my hand around one of its legs, and smashed it down on my knee. A sound like a gunshot echoed through the First Floor as I crushed its bones in one blow.

  I drew my dagger out of its corpse and saw Puck melt out from under his veil of shadows. He tore an imp out of the air and ran it through with his claws. An imp latched onto Puck’s neck from the side and screamed as it tried to rip out his throat. Puck spun and batted it away from his neck with a quick swipe from one of his wings. The imp looped around and went low, but the Shade lined up a stomp and crushed the bloated minion under a clawed foot.

  The last three imps sped toward Puck’s back, and I vaulted over his shoulder, latched onto one of them in mid-air, and slammed it against the floor with all of my trollish strength. It went limp under my grasp, and the last two minions swept in to take advantage of the opening I’d left for them. I reached out with my mind and latched my gaze onto their beady red eyes. It took me all of a second to take over the creature’s mind and Enthrall it.

  Charm test. . . Success!

  Lesser Imp Successfully Enthralled!

  “Kill your friend,” I said with a nod.

  The Enthralled Imp spun and tackled the last Lesser Imp in mid-air. The pair of minions hit the floor and scrambled over it as they desperately tried to kill each other. I watched the fight with a grin. My Tainted Elf powers were very effective against Infernal creatures.

  “Couldn’t you have done that at the start?” Abby complained.

  My Storm Elemental brushed something slimy off her shoulder as she stepped up beside me to watch the little imps rip each other to shreds. Black blood ran deep as they fought tooth and nail.

  “And let you get lazy?” I scoffed. “Not likely.”

  “I must say,” Puck said, “this is a rather entertaining spectacle. Are you considering an arena within Zagorath at a later time, Master? You could pit adventurers against each other for our amusement.”

  “That’s actually not a bad idea,” I said. “Maybe after we’ve conquered a few other realms.”

  My Enthralled Imp finally triumphed. The little creature tore open his brother’s face and howled a high-pitched victory cry. I took aim and hurled my dagger at the victor. The imp caught the knife straight in the chest and pitched sideways to the ground.

  “You fought well, champions,” I told them as I pulled my blade free of the imp’s corpse.

  “I hate those things,” Abby muttered.

  “Good. It means that the adventurers will detest them all the more.”

  I wiped my dagger clean and sheathed it. It was always a rush to watch my dungeon champions fight, even if it was against weaker enemies, such as the Lesser Imps. Puck’s new abilities were of particular interest. The Shade’s ability to change size and turn invisible in the dark were brilliant additions to the pool of talent that I’d spent so much time and energy to maintain.

  It made him an even better scout than I’d considered him before. Perfect for searching out a new realm without getting caught.

  I dispelled Von Dominus and returned to my core. “Puck, it’s time I informed you of your mission,” I said from within my gem.

  “It involves your new toy, doesn’t it?” Puck’s eyes flitted over the travel stone and regarded it with suspicion. “What do you require of me, Master?”

  “I need you to scout,” I told him. “Very briefly. If this works as it’s designed, you’ll be transported to another realm. This is simply a test to see if it’s possible to move a living creature over great distances without actively having to take the overland approach. You are not to venture far from where it takes you.”

  “I see. I am yet another test subject for your genius machinations.” Puck grimaced. “And what if your brand new toy disintegrates your favorite servant into a screaming mass of tiny particles that can never be regained?”

  “I’ll see it as a blessing of Ciryli,” Abby muttered.

  I laughed. “Puck, you’re one of my immortal champions. Your consciousness will return to my core, and I’ll spawn you back inside Zagorath. There’s no possible way that it’ll kill you.”

  I wasn’t entirely certain of that, and I almost felt like I was lying to my champion, but I had no other choice. At the end of the day, Puck was expendable. I hated to even think it, but it was the truth, and my role as evil overlord wouldn’t be complete without at least some willingness to endanger the lesser members of my dungeon. I had formed no romantic bond with Puck, and while he was strong, his sacrifice would be necessary to further my ends.

  “And even if it does kill you,” Abby said to Puck, “you’ll live on in our memories forever.”

  The Shade launched a shadow-sphere at her feet, and she yelped as she dove for cover. Shadows extended from Puck’s body like black serpents, and the tendrils tickled the edges of the obelisk.

  “I am not sure I like this, Master,” Puck said as he eyed the travel stone dubiously. He rolled his neck and shifted as his black wings slid against each other.

  Maybe it would be too great a sacrifice for Puck to be permanently killed for a dungeon experiment. Still, I had to reassure myself that this was a necessary sacrifice. I could wait a little longer for Ralph to return and send him instead, but I still wasn’t sure I could entirely trust him, or whether he would return at all. My mind control and memory manipulation might not have been permanent, and sending the adventurer-turned-slave into another realm could prove a recipe for disaster.

  “How does this absurd stone of yours work?” Puck asked, tearing me from my thought
s.

  “Are you forgetting something?” Bertha asked as she gripped her halberd.

  Puck coughed. “. . .Master.”

  “Touch it,” I replied. “And it should take you far beyond these lands.”

  I wasn’t entirely sure that touching the stone would transport him, but it was my best guess after hours of studying the stone with my dungeon senses.

  Puck gritted his fanged teeth, faded into shadows, and reappeared beside the obelisk. He held out a hand and pressed it against the black crystal. His claws sank into the stone, and I felt the new construct surge at his touch. Then, Puck’s hand submerged into the obelisk, followed by his arm, and suddenly, his whole body slipped into the object as easily as if the thing were made of water.

  Then, he vanished from sight.

  The feel of his consciousness instantly became distant, as though he was a tiny speck out in the ocean’s horizon, far beyond what my mind could contact.

  The First Floor was silent. I’d done it. The travel stone had worked. I didn’t know where it had taken my champion, but I was eager to find out.

  Abby peeked out from behind an obsidian pillar, her azure hood swept off her face. She tucked her blond hair behind her ears as she watched the travel stone with fascination. Bertha was still silent, seemingly undisturbed by Puck’s great adventure. I didn’t know how long he would be gone for, or whether he would even come back. I almost started to wonder whether it would be better to occupy myself with more dungeon building when the stone rippled once again.

  I held my metaphorical breath.

  In a matter of minutes, Puck exploded out of the device, eyes wide and breathing hard. He crouched over on his hands and knees while he dry-retched. He looked as if he’d just encountered the hordes of Lilith herself.

  “What did you see?” Abby asked, her eyes almost as wide as Puck’s were.

  “Trees! Leaves! Obscenely colorful flowers! And some large, hulking, four-limbed creature with horns? Sedate it may have looked, but sweet Lilith’s tits, it was a force to be reckoned with.”