=========================================================== Dungeon Keeper Ranma
Chapter 04: Threeway
By A-kun
===========================================================
His name was Kaleb and he was among the elite when it came to
knights. Specifically, Black Knights.
His order of Black Knights, though admittedly small, was known
for it's evil deeds and wholesale slaughter of all that is good, as
well as being among the most powerful fighters one could ever find.
To see a young Keeper, of less than a year in experience with his
Dungeon Heart, having already conquered a third of King Reginald's
kingdom, was most intriguing. Thus, Kaleb decided to head into the
Keeper's land to seek out the dastardly man who'd already conquered a
third of the kingdom and continent.
The first thing Kaleb noticed was the large amount of greenery.
Most Keepers hated things peaceful and, as one of Kaleb's former
keepers had so eloquently put it, "Nature-like", this was indeed
unusual. Then, he noticed a lack of barricades and traps to prevent
spies from wandering in.
The truly distressing part was the severe lack of the fearful and
the dead in the keeper's conquered lands. The villages actually seemed
more orderly, the streets clean, and both the poor and crime was nigh-
nonexistant. There were cobblestone roads leading EVERYWHERE in the
keeper's towns and villages, not just on the roads that connected to
major buildings.
Imps could be seen scurrying hither and fro, helping the elderly
townsfolk and aiding the doctors in fetching items. The people were
healthy, fed, clothed and happy. Parents were actually smiling as
their children played with the imps.
Goblins, Guards, Dark Elves and normal Elves were dressed nicely
with a red horse emblem on their outfits, the obvious sign of who had
their loyalty, patrolled the cities together without protest. Knights
and Black Knights wearing the same red emblem alike stood guard near
banks and other important places, but they often aided imps in helping
the elderly cross the street or picked up groceries. Giants and
Salamanders cleared the roads of potential obstructions while Fireflies
and Fairies dug up the ground for trees near roads could be moved to.
At first, Kaleb thought that this was simply some sort of dark
magic that the Keeper had cast. Such spells were not unknown and could
be cast on fairly large areas. He decided to wait in town to see what
happened when the spell ended.
As the days passed and no sign of any fights breaking out, it
became obvious that either the Keeper was cautious and casting the
spell repeatedly or he was sincerely working to make sure that no one
was left unhappy.
Kaleb was absolutely thunderstruck when he realized that. A kind
and compassionate Keeper? It made some sort of sense, as he watched
Wizards and Warlocks work together in the above ground library; while
Trolls, Bile Demons and Dwarves forged steel together.
It was unheard of for such things to be happening, but yet, in
front of Kaleb's eyes, was living breathing proof that someone had
managed it without the use of mind-controlling magic.
It was enough to turn an evil man's stomach. Kaleb shook his
head in both awe and disgust.(1) In his ten years as a Black Knight of
the Unholy Order of AAAAHHHPLEASEDON'TKILLMAAAARRRGGGLLLEEE (AUGH for
short), he'd never seen such a horrific sight.
He mounted his horse and headed back to find another keeper, one
more worthy and to Kaleb's liking.
"Keeper, we've discovered a problem." Lundar began.
"What's that?" Ranma inquired.
"See for yourself." Lundar said, gesturing to an imp which was
held fast by four other imps.
Ranma looked at restrained imp and frowned instantly.
"This isn't one of mine." Ranma declared.
"Indeed. Few imps can last this far from their creators
unless..." Lundar began.
"Unless they're made by another Dungeon Heart?" Ranma hazarded a
guess.
"Indeed." Lundar responded.
Ranma probbed the unknown imp's mind briefly. There wouldn't be
much information, but it would be enough to find out who had made it.
Ranma spoke aloud, "A Keeper by the name of Dante. He's also
after Lord Titus' Portal Gem. That's all it really knows. Kill it."
One of Ranma's imps buried it's pickax into Dante's imp. It
piffled into nothing, leaving behind a brief shower of magical energy.
"Dante will know of it's demise." Lundar commented.
"Good. Maybe he'll know better than to take me on." Ranma
declared.
"Sir!" came the voice of the warlock Olan as he hurried into the
Dungeon Heart room, "We've made a discovery with the portal gems!"
Ranma's attention snapped to him, "What?"
"It's in the library!" Olan said, motioning his lord forward.
Ranma teleported himself and Olan to the library. Olan blinked.
He hadn't realized Ranma knew Teleport. Olan motioned Ranma over to a
table where a small triangular gem lay. It was about the size of two
of Ranma's fingernails.
"When we brought two of the portal gems together, they
transformed into this. We conducted some research with the help of our
Wizard allies and we found that there's an old legend, which until now
was thought only a myth, of a Gate Gem which had the power to send
whole continents to any dimension the wielder desires. We figure that
the Gate Gem was probably broken up by someone a long time ago and the
fragments became what we know as the Portal Gems. The legend ALSO
states that there's a point on this continent where the Gate Gem can be
used most efficiently." Olan explained.
"So I can go home..." Ranma murmurred as he stared at the
translucent blue stone.
Home. He had high hopes starting out, but wondered if he could
really bring himself to head home now that he had found a niche in a
different world. He was happy being Dungeon Keeper Ranma. He was
doing good while using something that, as his wizards and knights had
explained, was primarily used for evil. Not one of his minions had
shown even a trace of disgust or revulsion at the knowledge of his
curse (surprise was, of course, almost a definite, but that was
something different).
Children looked up to him. There was no poverty or hunger. All
his minions were well fed and happy to work with those they normally
despised. In all, he was doing something that no other had managed.
And he enjoyed it.
But then there was that curious statement. A whole continent.
Wasn't there supposed to be a lost island of Atlantis somewhere on
Earth? Ranma paused as he puzzled that fuzzy bit of knowledge. It was
one of those things he learned long enough to pass a test. The Lost
Island of Atlantis. Could this continent be it? It was certainly
possible. No one knew what had become of it, only that there was
enough evidence to say it could have existed. If it went to a
different dimension, then that would explain why no one had found it.
That was all speculation, he reminded himself. And though he
felt a lot smarter now that he was teaching and leading, he did not
think of himself as intelligent as Lundar or his mages.
"Continue research on where that point of maximum efficiency is.
I'll take this and the other portal gems." Ranma declared, picking up
the gem.
"The other gems are in the corner, kept in separate containers."
Olan said, motioning to a corner with five metal boxes.
Ranma nodded and went to fuse the other portal gems into his Gate
Gem.
Indeed, Keeper Dante knew of the demise of one of his imps.
However, he took it as more of an insult than a warning.
He turned to a nearby imp, "Gather our forces. We've got to get
that Portal Gem!"
Dante fumed. The nerve of someone to kill one of his precious
imps! He would amass a mighty force to crush them... if he could only
find the money to entice them. Ever since that unknown keeper had
begun swallowing up land, more and more monsters were eager to join him
than others.
Only Keeper Nemesis and his family of other Keepers could still
regularly entice creatures to their side. And Dante planned to kill
them as well, once he got a large enough force.
Lord Titus was not pleased. He'd finally assembled a force to
take on that wretch, Keeper Dante, when word came to him that another
force was encroaching on his land. Only this one gave Lord Titus a
greater reason to worry, for it was the same force that had been
literally slaughtering the nearby lords.
Dante was a small fry, a keeper who'd recently come into being.
This other Keeper had yet to be named yet, meaning he was so fearsome
that no one had returned from engaging or spying on his troops.
Lord Titus considered his options well. He had no way of
combating two forces at the same time. His men needed rest between
battles and if he killed one of the keepers, surely the other would
capitalize on his momentary weakness. Defeat or surrender was not an
option. Both keepers needed to be driven from the land.
If only there were a way to fight both keepers at the same time.
That would require only a single battle, not to mention the two keepers
would likely turn on each other. Lord Titus paused and reflected on
that idea. Perhaps there was a way.
He might be able to turn the two keepers on each other by
formally challenging both to a fight in a massive sinkhole nearby. It
was roughly the size of a pond and likely would be flooded when rain
finally came. Not only that, but it would weaken both forces
considerably.
"Scribe! I have two messages to make!" Lord Titus called.
Ranma stared at the messanger, a knight no less and answered,
"Sure, we were going to kick both your sorry asses anyway. Might as
well have no doubts about who's the better man. We'll come. And to be
fair, we shall only use the same number of fighters as your lord does."
Goronis the Knight huffed angrily at Ranma's arrogant
declaration, but nodded, "Very well, Keeper Ranma. We shall see who
has the better warriors when we meet in combat."
Dante received the challenge via one of his imps, who'd found it
while expanding his territory. The letter said to leave the response
where the challenge was found.
Dante was all a-titter about the challenge, "Heh, heh, heh!
Those fools have given me the perfect opportunity to use my newest
acquistions in combat, right Harkon? Carrion?"
The two Dark Angels nodded.
"We'll crush them before either has the chance to stop us." Dante
chuckled.
The three forces gathered from different directions and stopped
at the sinkhole's edge. Titus' dwarves had made stone staircases to
the arena floor, but the sinkhole was a good ten feet deep and over two
hundred feet in diameter. The likelyhood of a trap was minimal.
"Good sir knight, we bring a mighty force worthy of challenging
you, but we be fair in combat. We shall match what you send to fight
and no more." Ranma called, speaking in the same formal manner that
Goronis had used. No need to insult the enemy when you knew you were
going to pound them into paste.
"We have seventy two warriors, ready to fight and die, and I
myself will join, making it seventy three. We also brought extra
archers and mages to make sure this contest is true." Titus answered.
"Very well. You may count our forces as we enter so you know it
to be fair." Ranma answered.
Dante was nervous. He had only had fifty eight fighters in all.
Unless he counted himself and his imps. He frowned. He didn't like
it, but he had to match their armies. He would just have to have his
imps claim lands so he could cast spells to aid his forces.
"And what say you, Keeper Dante?" Titus called.
"I send seventy three as well!" Dante responded.
Ranma turned to his amassed fighters, "Who's up for a brutal and
potentially-lethal three-way fight to the finish?"
All hands went up. Ranma hummed. He'd brought over a hundred
and fifty warriors, just in case, meaning over half would have to sit
it out. He also brought forty imps to haul his wounded away. Ranma
decided to select varying fighters from each species. It wouldn't be
fair to the others to simply bring in his best.
However, he had seen Dante had two Dark Angels, which were too
much for most of his fighters, save himself and Horny. So, he turned
to his large and red companion, "Wanna come?"
Horny grinned. He'd been wanting to pound some heads together
for some time. And those Dark Angels would be quite the workout. The
three forces (2) soon gathered at the edges of the sinkhole's bottom.
"What say you, wizards?" Titus asked his men still above the
sinkhole.
"Each matches yours, Lord Titus." Greylle the wizard responded.
"Very well." Lord Titus said, before pulling out of a large bag
the portal gem that both keepers sought, "Whomever wins this battle
will be the new owner of this here portal gem."
Both the keepers glanced at the other just Lord Titus sent it on
the ground and pushed it into the soil. He stood and called up to
Greylle, "Good wizard, yell to commence battle."
Greylle spoke aloud, "One for the money, two for the show, three
to get ready, four to-FIGHT!"
The battle was not turning out well for anyone, save Ranma's
forces, who had an ever-changing frontline. Whenever someone was
injured badly, they'd swapped fluidly with someone behind them and
bandage their wound.
Both Dante and Titus' forces basically fought until they dropped,
the frontlines pushing endlessly against each other. While that worked
fine in terms of combat ability, it didn't take advantage of the real
laws of war, which said, "Healthy fighters are good, wounded fighters
are average to poor, but dead or unconscious fighters are worthless
except maybe as a shield against arrows or spells."
Thus, the swirling offense of Ranma's battalion was steadily
tearing their two enemy forces to shreds. Worse, neither side could
really defend against the chaotic assault as Ranma would call "BREAK!",
his forces would leap back five feet and duck, allowing their archers
and spell casters to open a can of long distance whoop ass on the other
two groups, weakening them just as the frontline returned, a lot
healthier than the frontlines of the others.
Dante was beyond panicking. Even having withdrawn his Dark
Angels to cast Skeleton Army repeatedly to restrengthen his army, his
force had been all but decimated. Only ten skeletons, two warlocks, a
dark elf and a mistress were left of his force, and they weren't
looking too good. His imps were all dead and without claiming more
than a pittance of the battlefield. He could only keep what forces he
had healthy and occassionally stun someone in Ranma's frontline, who
would be dragged back out of battle by the backline and replaced, much
to Dante's annoyance.
Titus' forces were much larger, but less healthy. They had only
two fairies who were capable enough healers to be counted as a
'medical' team. All of the elves and dwarves were unconscious or dead
(strangely, most of the ones near Ranma's side seemed to be the former
rather than the latter), his giants were frozen by the spells of the
mistresses on Ranma's side, and his guards and knights were steadily
backing away, hoping the injured fairies and tired wizards would aid
them.
Ranma's forces were all injured, but still much healthier and in
larger number than both sides. His mistresses and warlocks knew a lot
about healing, as both had to make sure torture victims survived in
order to be converted to Ranma's cause.
Ranma's forces backed away once more and both of his enemies
winced and raised their guards in desperate hope that Ranma's
spellcasters were as tired as theirs were.
Ranma spoke, "Hold. There is no need to crush you both at this
point. My force is still standing and still numbering over sixty. You
two have barely over twenty between you. I propose a much more fair
method of ending this battle. Each of you choose two of your strongest
fighters, allow them some time to rest and heal. They will face me and
Horny in fair combat."
Titus and Dante hastily considered that. They would be dead if
Ranma attacked in full force again, but a two-on-two-on-two match would
allow them a minor chance at saving face or possibly even victory,
though that was less than likely. They responded in unison, "AGREED!"
Goronis approached Titus, "My lord, allow me to fight by your
side."
Titus glanced at the knight, who's face was covered in sweat, his
armor torn in numerous places, and his legs were shaking from exhuast.
"No, Goronis, you've fought valiantly, but you must rest. Kain
and I shall fight." Titus answered, motioning to the equally injured,
but less exhuasted royal guard.
Dante was busy casting his healing spell on his battered and
bruised Dark Angels. They were the best he had and the only ones he
had left that were willing to continue. He prayed their abilities were
great enough to defeat the champions of the others.
Horny turned to Ranma, "Allow me the Dark Angels. They shall be
no match for my might."
Ranma considered that. He'd seen the Dark Angels casting spells.
Meanwhile, Titus' guys probably wouldn't send spell casters.
"All right, but if they turn out to be too strong for you, don't
be too stubborn to ask for help. Even if you can't die, you can still
get your ass handed to you." Ranma warned.
Horny smiled. At last, he could pay back an old vendetta that he
had against the creatures. He'd faced Harkon before, back when his old
keeper was still alive. The Dark Angel had humiliated him back then.
Horny was definitely going to pay the ugly feathered monstrosity back.
"Kain, you take on those accursed Dark Angels. I'll try and
handle Ranma and his pet demon." Titus told his combat partner.
"Right." Kain answered, grinning evilly as he readied his lance.
He had yet to show off his true skill in this battle, being too worried
about hitting the wrong target. However, this sort of combat was what
he'd trained for.
"Carrion, you get rid of those knights. I'll take care of
Horny." Harkon said. Carrion nodded in reply.
"FIGHT!" Greylle commanded.
Ranma charged for Titus as Kain rushed Carrion and Horny and
Harkon clashed.
Carrion was not worried as the battered Royal Guard drew near.
He had plenty of spells that would get rid of the pest. Just as
Carrion was prepared to cast one of his spells, Kain leapt high into
the air, much higher than Carrion thought possible in a suit of armor,
and thrust his spear through the Dark Angel's body. Carrion screamed
in pain, briefly, then lashed out, smacking the guard away. Kain
arched an eyebrow as he landed and watched as the creature's wound
closed, but not by the healing magic of it's keeper.
"So it is true. Some Dark Angels are only shells." Kain taunted.
Carrion snarled and snapped off a firebomb spell. Kain leapt
over the attack and jumpkicked the Dark Angel to the ground, before
thrusting his lance in the grounded creature again. He pulled his
lance out again and stabbed it again and again until the creature
stopped healing from the puncture wounds.
Harkon was dancing nimbly around Horny's scythe, chortling as he
did, "Is this all you can do after a hundred years? The same old
attacks?"
Harkon summoned his firebomb spell and hurled it at Horny. Horny
watched the spell come at him with wide eyes. Harkon grinned in
amusement as the spell was about to strike the legendary Horned Reaper,
when Horny swung his scythe again, this time sending the firebomb back
at Harkon. Harkon was so surprised that he caught the spell full in
the chest.
"I see you've improved after all." Harkon commented.
"Far more than you." Horny answered, leaping at Harkon and spin-
kicking the arrogant angel to the ground. He stomped on Harkon's
wings, burning them and rendering the Dark Angel earthbound until he
could heal.
He picked up the pathetic waste of magical force and raised
Harkon to eye level. Horny then set his scythe aside and grinned
evilly. Harkon wondered what Horny had in mind as the reaper turned
him upside-down with Harkon's head pointed to the ground.
"PILE DRIVER!" Horny announced with a wide grin on his face as he
leapt up into the air, clasped his thighs around Harkon's head and let
gravity smash the Dark Angel's skull into the ground.
Horny laughed as he picked up both his scythe and the dazed Dark
Angel. Then his amusement faded and he glared at Harkon.
"This is for my humiliation." Horny said, before tossing Harkon
into the air and quartering the evil angel. Harkon's remains hit the
ground and did not heal.
Titus was astounded. He could tell when his opponents were using
magic and Ranma wasn't using magic as he danced around Titus' enchanted
sword, all while denting Titus' armor with retalitory punches and
kicks.
No wonder his creatures respected him so greatly as to form an
unbeatable force. If the keeper was the BEST warrior in his group,
then his warriors would aspire to the same, just like Titus' men.
Titus backed away before Ranma could knock him to the ground with a
roundhouse kick.
"I see...why...your....minions....were....so....powerful..."
Titus panted out, trying to muster the strength to raise his sword
again. Ranma decided to give his opponent time to recover his
strength. It wasn't like he was a real threat. Had he wielded two
blades, he might have been, but as it was, it was like Titus was using
a fly swatter to stop the wind.
Kain had wasted no time engaging Horny in combat once he'd seen
the Reaper quarter the Dark Angel Harkon. The Reaper was very skilled
in Kain's expert opinion. It would take many Royal Guards in order to
actually beat back the Reaper, Kain realized as he blocked Horny's
scythe for the ninth time and felt his arms starting to numb from the
sheer impact. Horny's defense was almost as good as his offense, as he
was able to dodge Kain's lightning spear thrusts and spinning slashes.
Horny raised his scythe high and Kain raised his spear to block
the impending downward strike, only to catch the metal-studded handle
in the faceplate. His helmet ringing from the force in the impact,
Kain toppled backwards and landed sprawled on the ground, his spear
rolling from his limp hand.
Horny considered finishing off the royal guard when Titus spoke
up, "Stop! Please..."
Horny lowered his scythe.
Titus addressed Ranma, "I must admit that you are superior in
power, Keeper Ranma. In numbers, magic, power and skill. We cannot
defeat you in equal combat. Indeed, I doubt that even a force five
times larger than yours could stand against you."
"You're wise to give up, considering I've yet to be nicked."
Ranma answered.
Titus nodded, then retrieved the portal gem, "A battle well
fought, Ranma. I shall not stand in your way of getting the portal
gem." Titus added mentally, [Because you would slaughter me like a
chicken in a prison full of the starving.]
Ranma took the portal gem, "Good, I don't like senseless
slaughter."
Titus arched an eyebrow at that, "But tell me, what are you
gathering the gems for?"
"I was banished here by an evil old man. The gems are the only
chance I have of getting home." Ranma answered.
"I see. So that is the reason you've chosen this path." Titus
replied, before sighing, "I realize now the predicament you are in. I
shall return to my king and see if perhaps there is another way to end
this needless conflict."
With that, Titus turned and motioned to his mages. Titus' men
teleported away. Ranma turned to see Dante had long since run away.
He sighed. There was still work to be done.
"Come on, Horny, we've got to destroy Dante before he can launch
a sneak attack." Ranma said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) So, basically, awesome disgust.
(2) Just in case you were wondering what the compositions were, here
they are:
Dante's Forces: Dante, 14 Imps, 15 Goblins, 13 Warlocks, 2
Mistresses, 8 Trolls, 4 Bile Demons, 8 Dark Elves, 1 Rogue, 2 Dark
Angels
Lord Titus' Forces: Titus, 16 Dwarves, 6 Giants, 16 Elves, 8
Knights, 10 Guards, 10 Wizards, 5 Fairies, 1 Royal Guard
Ranma's Forces: Ranma, Horny, 10 Goblins, 10 Dwarves, 5 Giants, 5
Bile Demons, 5 Dark Elves, 4 Elves, 4 Knights, 4 Black Knights, 4
Fairies, 1 Firefly, 4 Guards, 3 Trolls, 5 Mistresses, 2 Rogues
Yes, I know Keeper Dante died before the level started.
EMASCULATING WEASELS, GIVE ME MY FREEDOM! I also know that Harkon and
Carrion are two keepers that are trying to claim the Temple of the Dark
Angels that appear later in the game, not actually Dark Angels, but
I've replaced those keepers ^_^. Their defeats were also calculated
truth (a Royal Guard versus a Dark Angel results in victory for whoever
hits first. As for Horny? He's called the Reaper for a reason. ^_^).
And for those who've played it, the Gate Gem is indeed the gem that was
shown at the start of DK2. As for the Wizard, Greylle, I chose that
name because it sounds Wizardly.
Next time, Ranma continues his quest to claim the portal gems,
but it seems there are other keepers seeking the portal gems, just like
Dante. As they've already claimed a few portal gems from the weaker
lords, Ranma must wrest the portal gems from them and slay them dead.
Easy Cheat: Remove that annoying Fog of War by pressing
CTRL+ALT+C at the same time, then type in "therainhasgone". To find out if it worked, look at any area
that doesn't have a creature in it. It'll show the room just fine.
This is great if you're really getting annoyed at the dark parts of the
map.
Easy Cheat: Get 100,000 mana by pressing CTRL+ALT+C at the same
time, then type in "hahathisawayha
hathataway". To find out if it worked, just look
at your mana reserve. This is a great way to keep Horny active.
Next time: Finish the level, how to keep your creatures alive and
the levels to find the hidden lands!
(
geocities.com/tokyo/island) (
geocities.com/tokyo)