Keitaro was relieved. His work was finally done. Well, for a
while, anyway. Steel doors, secret doors and magic doors filled the
entire Dungeon... well, the current, unexpanded Dungeon and he hadn't
gotten around to the orders for traps yet.
He decided to step out and get something to eat, plus maybe talk
with Naru or one of the other girls. He didn't know what Narusegawa
did around the Dungeon, other than fight.
"Myu, myu!" came a strange call from behind Keitaro as he neared
the hatchery.
He turned to see a small turtle flying toward him. It's legs
were similar to those of a sea turtle rather than the land-based
turtles.
"A FLYING turtle?" Keitaro asked, incredulously as it slowed and
turned slightly to land perfectly on his shoulder.
"Myu!" the turtle declared, raising a fin-leg as if it to say
"hi!".
"Um, hi." Keitaro answered.
"OY! KEITARO!" came a cry from Kaolla.
Keitaro turned just to get a body check from Kaolla. He sat up
and looked at Kaolla, "What was THAT all about?!"
"Sorry, I've got to work on my stops." Kaolla answered as the
turtle, who had managed to avoid falling with Keitaro, flew over to her
and "myu"ed a couple of times.
Kaolla nodded, then turned to Keitaro, "Tama-chan says she didn't
get to finish her introduction. Her name's Tamago, but we call her
Tama-chan. She's supposed to be a Hot Springs Turtle, but the Keeper
decided to make her a Firefly. I think it would be cooler to make her
a Giant!"
"You can understand her?" Keitaro asked.
Kaolla nodded, "Most of us can get a basic idea of what she's
saying. The Keeper and I seem to be the only one who can understand
her perfectly."
"Ah..." Keitaro answered, before nodding to the flying turtle.
"Tama-chan, this is Keitaro. He's the new Troll. I think it's
because he used to live under a bridge or something." Kaolla explained
to Tama-chan.
"I DID NOT! I lived in a normal village. It's just that I'm
only really good at blacksmithing." Keitaro stated as he got up.
"Oh? Can you regenerate lost limbs?" Kaolla asked.
"Huh?" Keitaro inquired.
"If you don't know, then probably not." Kaolla responded.
"Myu myu." Tama-chan agreed.
"You there." came a commanding voice from behind Keitaro.
The trio turned to see the female knight from the other day. The
scorch marks from Kitsune's firebomb, as well as the damage from the
impact, were still evident. She carried her helmet under her left arm.
"You're the blacksmith, aren't you?" the knight asked, directing
her gaze to Keitaro.
Keitaro nodded.
"My helmet and breastplate were damaged in that fight. I need
you to fix them." the knight told Keitaro.
Keitaro nodded, "All right. My name's Keitaro Urashima, how do
you do?"
Keitaro extended a hand out of friendship.
"...." The female knight began, as if mentally berating herself,
"I'm Motoko Aoyama, knight... former knight of the Legion of the
Shinmei Kingdom."
Kaolla whistled, "They're supposed to be some of the best
fighters in the world! Outside of the Royal Guards, Dark Angels and
Dark Knights."
Motoko's right eye twitched.
"Oh yeah, this is Kaolla Su, a Fairy; and Tama-chan the
Firefly." Keitaro said, introducing Kaolla and Tama-chan.
"Myu!" Tama-chan declared, raising a fin/leg.
"Quaint. Now, Urashima, about my armor..." Motoko began.
"Well, I'm kind of on my lunch break. You can either wait for a
little bit or leave it in my workshop. Either way, it'll probably take
about an hour, maybe more if the metal is magically protected." Keitaro
commented.
"Very well, I shall leave it in your workshop. But if it will
take longer, send a messenger." Motoko responded.
Keitaro nodded, then sighed as Motoko left, "And I just finished
with the doors too."
"Guess it sucks to be a troll." Kaolla commented, "Especially if
you live under bridges."
"I DON'T!" Keitaro replied.
Kitsune was bored. Kaolla could sometimes help her, but that was
usually only for about half an hour before she got bored and left to
explore. Kitsune, on the other hand, had to keep working. It was what
she got paid for.
At least she was almost to the end of another pillar, meaning she
could take a break for a while. Just as she'd finished the final
symbol and double-checked it to be certain, she heard the sound of
another person entering the dungeon.
Kitsune hopped to her feet. Even if it was playing tour guide
again, ANYTHING was better than doing such boring work without someone
to talk to. She hurried out of the library and was soon at the Heart
again, looking for the newbie.
Kitsune nearly fainted when she saw the new member.
"Kitsune, long time no see." came the calm voice of Haruka
Urashima.
//I SEE YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER. THEN THERE WON'T BE ANY
PROBLEMS.// the Keeper commented.
"Haruka!" Kitsune cried, startling Haruka by hugging the older
woman, with tears running down her face, "THANK YOU, DARK GODS! THANK
YOU!"
"Got bored doing the work by yourself, didn't you?" Haruka
commented, smiling.
Kitsune broke the hug and nodded ferverently as she wiped the
tears away, "Kaolla's not much help and Naru specializes in a different
style of magic." Then, Kitsune remembered something, "Wait, we haven't
killed anyone lately."
"I'm an Elite. I come and go depending on specialized patterns.
The keeper just happened to find it." Haruka answered.
"Eh?!" Kitsune asked.
//I WAS GOING TO BUILD YOU A BIGGER LIBRARY, BUT I MIXED UP MY
SYMBOLS AND MADE PART OF IT A GRAVEYARD.// the Keeper explained.
Kitsune managed to resist the urge to facefault, "Anyway, I'll
show you around. It's going to be great working with you again,
Haruka."
\\HMMM, HARUKA SAID HER LAST NAME WAS URASHIMA... COULD SHE BE
RELATED TO HINA URASHIMA AND KEITARO? I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT
AND SEE.\\ the Keeper thought to himself.
Leaving the hatchery was always unusual, as the edge of the
hatchery essentially washed the person exiting of any filth they might
have accumulated from the chickens. One could liken it to walking
through a wall of water. It left you refreshed, but feeling different
(in the example, for instance, wet).
Keitaro began walking back to the workshop when he saw Kitsune
walking with someone he remembered, "Aunt Haruka?"
The duo stopped as Haruka responded, "Keitaro? I didn't know you
worked here. It's amazing that your mother would allow it, though."
"Well, she more or less got fed up with me around the house and
kicked me out. I decided to be a troll because I'm not too good at
fighting, but I'm good at blacksmithing." Keitaro answered, before
noting the end of Haruka's comment, "Why wouldn't mom want me to work
here?"
"She and your grandma had a falling out about ten years back.
Your mother said she didn't want you taking her place because Keepers
were nothing but parasites, gnawing at the base of society. Ever
since, they hadn't spoken a word to each other." Haruka replied.
"Then that's why I didn't hear about Grandma's death." Keitaro
commented.
"Probably. I'd sent a letter to your mother when it happened,
but she likely didn't even read it." Haruka explained.
"Hmmm, I think she might have. I remember her crying a lot
around the time that it happened." Keitaro responded.
Haruka hummed briefly, considering that fact, then nodded, "Well,
I guess nobody's completely heartless. Even if she didn't want you
taking up the same career, your mother and grandmother were still
close."
"But why didn't you take up her Dungeon Heart?" Keitaro asked.
"It's not there anymore. Grandma hid it when she died, saying
that only you could ever find it. You're more or less her designated
heir." Haruka explained, "And if you do decide to take it up, it's got
more than enough power to make you into one hell of a powerful Keeper."
Keitaro sighed, "I'll think about it. By the way, I thought you
were in the that monastery, working to be a monk, but you aren't
wearing the same robes Naru wears."
"That's... a tale best told in the Casino." Haruka told him
before addressing Kitsune, "Up for some gambling?"
"When am I not?" Kitsune asked.
Keitaro felt bad about not getting to work on Motoko's armor, but
he'd sent a letter of apology via the Liddo that it would take longer
than he'd anticipated. Nearby, Kitsune, Naru, Kaolla and Tama-chan
were gambling on the roulette tables.
"It started about five years ago. Naru and I were in the same
monastery. We'd heard some Keeper by the name of Malleus had begun
creating graveyards and was planning to build a massive force of
vampires to crush the entire continent. Naru was barely competent
enough to know the secret of killing vampires, but I was more
experienced. Not only that, but it took a while to get vampires. We
figured we'd probably be facing two, maybe six vampires. And they'd
probably be fairly weak too." Haruka began.
"What we didn't know was that Malleus had assaulted the nearby
villages and killed just about every living thing he could, stockpiling
his graveyards with corpses. We only discovered that fact when we
entered the town that Malleus had just ransacked." Haruka paused to
take a sip of a red liquid of which Keitaro decided he didn't want to
know the source, considering her story, "We weren't up against a few
vampires, we were up against a legion of vampires. Most were fresh
from the graveyard, but vampires are still very powerful."
"We managed to fight our way back to a stone bridge that covered
water. Naru wasn't looking too healthy and I wasn't going to be able
to cross the bridge fast enough carrying her. So, I threw her across
to the far shore and destroyed the bridge. They caught me and Malleus
had me transformed into a vampire as a means of covering up the cost
for my capture." Haruka continued.
"But I thought vampires could only be made by graveyards."
Keitaro commented.
"Normally, yes. But, Malleus had gotten an Elite Vampire by the
name of Diamond. He was pretty ugly, let me tell you. Being an Elite,
he could make me into a vampire as well. But I didn't become just any
vampire, I became an Elite." Haruka told him, before continuing her
story, "Naru'd made it back to the monastery and warned them all about
the vampires. With the threat of such a massive invasion, the
monastery alerted six other monasteries and they went down to destroy
Malleus and his vampires."
"I was under Diamond's spell during the battle, but I was also at
the back. He, on the other hand, was at the front, being the cocky
bastard that he was. The monks managed to kill him permanently,
freeing me from his spell. I decided that I couldn't go back to the
monastery and I didn't want to die for good. Besides, there was still
a chance I could be brought back to life. I fled into one of Malleus'
portals. The bastard had already taken off the instant he saw his most
powerful minion die, so he was still alive. I found my way to Grandma
Hina's domain and talked with her about restoring me to life. Then I
signed on with her." Haruka finished.
"There's a way to bring you back to life?" Keitaro asked.
Haruka nodded, "It requires some pretty awesome artifacts known
as the Portal Gems in order to get TO the artifacts that can restore me
to life. We have to get all twenty, though, otherwise there's a good
chance that whoever enters won't come back. It's just a dream, though.
We'd have to conquer all of the kingdoms on Earth in order for it to
come true, seeing as the portal gems are scattered all around the
globe."
The two sat in silence for a while. Haruka amused herself by
watching the other girls gamble while Keitaro contemplated the story.
Keitaro stood up, "Aunt Haruka, I'm sorry about what happened to
you. And it seems a bit rude, but I have to get back to work."
"Don't let me hold you back. We all have jobs to do here,
Keitaro." Haruka answered.
Keitaro nodded and exited the casino. Haruka watched him leave
and wondered if her story would be the catalyst. She didn't like
forcing it on him, but it was Grandma Hina's last request that Keitaro
take over her Dungeon Heart. It was the reason Grandma Hina had hidden
it where only he could find it.
Motoko was pleased. She'd gone to check on Keitaro to make sure
he wasn't simply goofing off and she'd found that her armor had been
repaired already. Not only that, but it looked as good as new.
"Not bad work, Urashima. You're much better at the forge than
you are at combat." Motoko commented.
"Ah... thanks..." Keitaro hesitantly responded, unsure if he
should take it as an insult to his fighting skills or a compliment to
his work.
"So, why did you join a Keeper? Your skills are good enough to
get you a job at the Royal Forge." Motoko inquired.
"I guess I didn't think about it too much. I was more focused on
getting a job than getting an excellent job." Keitaro responded.
"If you don't mind me asking, just how did someone with your
skill wind up without a job to begin with? Most apprenticeships lead
to jobs." Motoko asked.
"I had an apprenticeship with a master blacksmith, but I messed
up once and broke a client's sword, which was still being forged. The
client was an important one and wanted to see me visually punished, so
I got fired on the spot." Keitaro responded.
Motoko hummed to herself. She could recall an incident like that
occurring about a year back. The head of clan's third son had ordered
a special sword, but few craftsmen even dared to try making it. The
son had finally found a blacksmith willing to forge it, but about a
month later, he came back, cursing an incompetent apprentice for
breaking his sword. Another month passed and the son finally had the
sword he wanted, but wound up getting killed in the first battle he
fought in.
Motoko didn't like to think ill of fellow clan members, but the
head of clan's third son had been a really arrogant jerk. He assumed
he could do a lot of things and when he couldn't do them, he blamed
others or his equipment when he dared not blaim others. No doubt he
had little patience for a petty accident delaying the creation of his
sword.
Motoko snapped out of her reverie as she noticed Keitaro's faster
than normal pace.
"Is something wrong?" Motoko inquired.
"Not really." Keitaro responded.
Motoko wanted to inquire further, but it was not her business to
meddle in the affairs of others. If he didn't want to talk about it,
then she was going to respect his wishes.
"Say, Motoko... what would you do if a family member you hadn't
seen in a long time left you something really important, but to take it
would cost you your current job, which you liked a lot?" Keitaro
inquired.
"That's a very difficult question." Motoko answered honestly,
before considering her answer, "I would say that family is always more
important than one's master, unless you wouldn't be able to use the
inheritance at all. A wizard, for instance, would never need a two-
handed blade taller than he was. In cases like that, you would have to
hold onto it until someone could use it."
Keitaro looked like he wanted to press for another answer, but
stopped himself, "Thank you, Motoko."
"Whatever it is, the keeper may understand and allow you to keep
both it and your current job." Motoko told him.
Keitaro smiled at that. The idea of a keeper having a part-time
job as a troll for another keeper was silly.
"That's something to think about." Keitaro answered.
Motoko shrugged and left, wondering what she had said to make
Keitaro smile.
Kitsune sighed. She'd made some money at the casino, about
twelve gold, after having lost a good three hundred. At least she and
Haruka could work together on the pillars.
Just as they'd finished the second pillar together, Kitsune
flopped back onto her rump and sighed, "Man, no matter how many times I
do this, it's still hard on the back."
She felt Haruka's hands on her shoulders and Haruka's warm breath
on her ear, "Maybe we should just take a little breather..."
Kitsune blushed as she nodded. Tilting her head, she winced as
she felt the fangs dig into her neck. She sighed again, this time out
of pleasure. She understood why she enjoyed it so much. Blood loss
induced a state of system shock, which made the body flush in an
attempt to stave off the cold.
When Haruka had drained enough, she pulled her teeth out and
licked the bite marks, healing the injury instantly. Haruka smiled
sardonically. It was one of the few major advantages to being an elite
Vampire.
Kitsune had looked just like Naru when Haruka had first met the
young female warlock. The only differences at the time was that
Kitsune was two years older, had platinum hair and rarely opened her
eyes wide.
When Kitsune had met Naru, the former hadn't been very happy.
Kitsune had incorrectly assumed that Haruka had been having fantasies
about doing to Naru what she did to Kitsune. They'd resolved the whole
issue when Kitsune decided to cut her hair and Naru had taken to
letting her hair down.
Haruka snapped back to the present as Kitsune reached a hand up
and caressed her face, "It's been a pretty long time, hasn't it?"
Haruka nodded and stroked Kitsune's hand.
"Hard to believe that four and a half years have already passed.
You look exactly like you did back then." Kitsune commented.
"Vampires don't age and I was only twenty two when it happened."
Haruka answered.
"Will it ever change between us?" Kitsune inquired.
"Not ever." Haruka answered.
Kitsune turned over, leaned up and kissed Haruka.
"Even if Seta comes back?" Haruka asked.
"Not ever." Haruka repeated.
Kitsune smiled.
//...WELL, I CAN'T BLAME YOU FOR WANTING TO LEAVE. I THANK YOU
FOR FINISHING ALL THE TRAPS AND DOORS.// the Keeper replied as Naru
entered the Heart.
Naru looked at Keitaro, who was wearing street clothes rather the
the loincloth of a troll.
"Where are you going?" Naru asked.
"My Grandmother left me her Dungeon Heart. I can't ignore her
last wish." Keitaro answered.
"But you just got here." Naru protested.
"I know, but I just can't stay. It's been nice meeting you,
though." Keitaro told her.
//ACTUALLY, KEITARO, I'D LIKE YOU TO TAKE EVERYONE WITH YOU.//
the Keeper announced.
"Eh?!" Keitaro inquired.
//YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS MORE INFLUENTIAL THAN YOU THINK, KEITARO.
SHE SAVED MY LIFE A FEW YEARS BACK AND TAUGHT ME THE TRUE BASICS OF
BEING A KEEPER. NOW THAT I HAVE ALL THESE DEFENSES, I CAN LIVE WITHOUT
A FEW CREATURES. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU WILL NEED ALLIES WHEN YOU
START YOUR OWN QUEST WITH YOUR OWN DUNGEON HEART. I'D RATHER HAVE YOU
AS AN ALLY THAN AN ENEMY, SEEING AS YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD WORKER.// the
Keeper explained.
"Kicking us out already, huh?" Haruka asked.
//IT MAY SEEM LIKE THAT AT FIRST, BUT I PREFER TO THINK OF IT AS
AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE. WHEN ALL OF MY SCHEMES ARE THROUGH, I
WOULD RATHER HAVE MORE FRIENDS THAN ENEMIES.// the Keeper answered.
"Actually, you're planning on moving your Dungeon Heart because
you're almost out of cash." Haruka pointed out.
//YES, WELL, TAMA-CHAN WON BIG AT THE CASINO AND THERE AREN'T ANY
GEM VEINS NEARBY TO REPLACE WHAT SHE WON.// the Keeper answered.
"Myu!" Tama-chan declared proudly.
//...stupid bankrupting flying turtle...// the Keeper grumbled.
"Well, I guess we're going with you, Urashima." Motoko declared.
"Sorry to do this to you all..." Keitaro apologized.
"It'll be fine once we get to your new Dungeon Heart." Haruka
responded.
"But, it's going to take a few days to get there... won't you die
in sunlight?" Keitaro asked.
"Do I have to keep reminding you? I'm an Elite. We don't die so
easily." Haruka admonished.
"Ah... right..." Keitaro apologized, "Well, let's be off..."
As the group left his dungeon, the Keeper could only wonder.
Grandmother Hina had changed him from the world's worst keeper to a
pretty good keeper. She'd seen that he had potential, but was never
properly taught.
\\IF GRANDMOTHER HINA CHOSE HIM TO TAKE UP HER DUNGEON HEART OVER
EVERYONE ELSE, HE MAY BE THE ONE... YES... HE MAY BE THE ONE...\\ the
Keeper thought.
Motoko spoke up as they all found themselves at the edge of a
nearby village, "So, where is this Dungeon Heart?"
"It should be in a maze about three days to the south. We should
probably make it there around noon on the third day." Keitaro replied
as he picked up his bags and began walking.
=======================================================================
Joke Spoilers
The Troll jokes - The regeneration of lost limbs is ala most
Forgotten Realms and/or Slayers worlds.
The living under bridge is from a folk tale about three rams. If
I remember correctly, the troll was tricked by the two younger rams
into waiting for the third ram, who was also the most powerful and
easily defeated the troll. I think the legend has many variations,
like three brothers instead of goats. The Animaniacs cartoon even did
a version of it.
Kaolla's energetic greetings, blurted questions and weird
contraptions aren't as easy to dictate by words.
The Tama-chan/Motoko running gag is dead. Motoko isn't afraid of
turtles in this world.
Current Cast
Liddo-kun and friends as Imps
Keitaro as a Troll
Kitsune as a Warlock
Motoko as a converted Knight
Kaolla as a Mercenary Fairy
Haruka as a Vampire
Naru as a Elite Monk
Mutsumi as a Mistress
Shinobu as an Elite Dark Knight
Tama-chan as a Firefly
(
geocities.com/tokyo/island) (
geocities.com/tokyo)