Now, everything was ready for the Rebinding. Risnila wore my
collar, one of the ones that had been enchanted with the Return from Death
ability, as I had given to the other ‘locals’ when I’d upgraded their collars. Once
per week, she could return from death without the aid of resurrection magic.
And her death would be needed, not only because it was the final aspect of my
quest that I needed in order to complete it, but because this death would break
the binding of her soul to the dungeon, and instead bind it to me, as a
worshipper of my church.
As I had been busy conquering Risnila’s body and taming her soul,
to say nothing of breaking her willful spirit into something more suitable for
my servant, the girls had not been idle. Under Kylana’s direction, they created
three great circles on the floor of the boss room. One contained the dungeon
core, of course, and it was linked to the one I was currently lying in, forcing
the weary monk to continue and ride me as she went delirious with pleasure. As
one who had taken Monk as both class and subclass, her stamina was at the
legendary level, truly. Even after her mind had quit the field, her body was still
capable and responding to the challenge placed upon it.
That third circle contained the being that would be the new Dungeon
Master. Of course, without the Dungeon Mistress, the dungeon would become
unstable, so if I was going to take her away from here as my slave and not
destroy the city (something that would win me no points with my Familiar, since
her parents lived there), then I would need to replace her with another
creature. That is why in the third circle a small elemental of fire and earth
was currently being contained by our spellcasters, who were careful not to let magma
creature with obsidian armor get loose. Sure, it was only three feet tall, but
it would grow in time, once the dungeon began working its influence on it, and it
began influencing the dungeon in turn.
As I emptied myself into Risnila, I nodded to Yukiko, who
was standing ready, and in a swift blow worthy of her class, she took the monk’s
head with her katana. It was a strike so clean that there was not a drop of
blood on the blade when it returned to her sheath. As Risnila’s head left her
shoulders, falling to the ground with an undignified thud, I saw with my
soulsight her soul leaving the body, and undergoing the final transformation.
The line of power connecting her to the Dungeon Core was severed, and the power
of the magic caused it to whip across to the third circle, where it ensnared the
elemental, burying itself in the creature’s soul.
And then the reformation began, as Risnila’s body
disappeared in light, the last changes I had placed into the circle now taking
hold. The Curse that had bound her was ripped free by her true death, but my
circle harnessed that power, and the energy of yin and yang we had been pouring
into it, and sparked a transformation in her body and soul as she was reborn. I
had enough time to stand, and turn to view the scene before the process was
complete. Reappearing from the light, her body looked much the same, except for
the lack of the curse mark.
Risnila Dragonsoul
Greater Hellion Female
Level 150 Holy Fist (Monk) / Dragonflame
Fist (Monk)
Titles: Gullible, Sadist, Reborn One,
Initiate of the Holy Fist, Initiate of the Dragonflame Fist, Musclebrained,
Battle Maniac, Exile, Slave, First Disciple of Darkmore
|
But it would seem that the ritual had marked her with a new
name. No longer a mere ‘Blazing Fist’, the flames she could coat her fists with
would now match those of dragons. Well, young dragons, but dragons all the
same. I nodded my approval as Risnila dropped to her knees in front of me, and
began to clean me with her mouth after our long session of ritual magic.
Our return to the city was met with some confusion by the Guards.
Each of them, from the day of her betrayal to this, had heard the story of
Risnila Lightfist, and how she had escaped her fate by becoming a Dungeon
creature. Many had personally taken the annual quest at one point or another to
subjugate and humiliate her for what she had done. So there were no small
number of the guardsmen who knew who it was we had with us, and yet there were
visible changes in her, not the least of which was her garments. Her old
clothes were gone, and now she wore garments fit for a member of Aria, made by
my own hand. (I had had plenty of time in the last couple years to work on my trade
skills, since I wasn’t allowed to go roaming too far.)
Dragonsilk Armor of Fallen Freedom
|
|||
Type
|
Armor Set
|
Rank
|
Unique
|
Made using the webbing of dragons’
wings and demonic silk magically fused together, this set of cloth armor conveys
far more protection than its looks imply. Made by a Master Tailor and infused
with magic by a Master Enchanter, the power inherent in this garment is
enough to rival many better known armor sets.
Requires: Aria of the Twilight member
Requires: Must be a slave.
Requires: Level 100
+1200 Defense
+300 DEX, +300 WIS
Immunity to Fear effects
+20% Resistance to Light
Enchanted:
Might of the Servant – +100% to all stats while carrying out their master’s
commands or fighting alongside their master.
|
|||
Needless to say, there was a little bit of ‘discussion’
about what I’d done at the Adventurer’s Guild, but when every member of the
party swore under enchantments to detect falsehoods that we had humbled and
killed her, I was able to claim payment for the two quests. The exact way I’d
done it had been overheard by the guards who had ‘escorted’ us to the Guild,
and I had no doubt that it would be all over the city before nightfall.
Once that was done, however, I managed to get the local Guildmaster
alone for a chat with him and Risnila. There was one matter that I had not
wanted to bring up in front of a crowd, just in case the answer was something…
less than fortunate. Now, however, I looked at Risnila, and said, “Tell me
where you got that contract from, trying to trick people into aiding you in the
dungeon. That does not seem like your style.”
The guildmaster raised an eyebrow. “Contract? There’s never
been a contract in the dungeon before.”
I nodded. “Exactly as I was told. Which made me very curious
when we found that the ‘amenities’ of the dungeon’s rest area had been bound by
a contract, forcing all who partook of them to agree to one of three actions for
the benefit of the Dungeon Mistress. Given her… battle maniac attitude, I
thought it out of character for something like this to happen.”
Risnila was looking wide-eyed at me, and said, “I made an
oath not to tell! If I tell anyone by my own will…” She shuddered, and didn’t
say anything more.
I nodded, and said, “Very well.” And then I infused magic
into my voice, as I always did when commanding my slaves with the power of
their collars, “Since you are unwilling to tell me, I order you to tell me who
gave the contract to you and why.”
Risnila shuddered again, and nodded. “By your command. It
was a few days ago, when the pulse of chaotic energy came from the city. A
lesser devil appeared, falling through a portal into my chamber. He promised me
a way to gain power over those who tried to kill me in return for allowing his
weak self to return to the Hell that spawned him.”
Well, it figured that a resident of the Nine Hells would be
behind a twisted legal document like that. “Where did he learn the language the
contract was written in? And what did he get out of the contract if someone
signed it?”
“He claimed that he came through the portal suddenly knowing
the new language. He was rather upset about being ‘tainted’ by the Abyss in
that way. As for what he gained? The souls of those who signed the contract
would belong to the devil once the task was done, and they’d be drawn across
the planes to serve their new master.”
I sighed, and looked to the guild master, and said, “And
that is why you never sign contracts written in strange languages without
having at least three people who can read the language look it over with you.
Tricky things are always in the details.”
The hellion nodded to me. “Indeed, and it is good that you
brought this information to me. We already will need to send out a team to survey
the dungeon now that there is a new Dungeon Master, but I will quietly alert
them to be on the lookout for contracts, or anything written in this strange
language. No sense in creating a panic amongst the younger adventurers until we
know what is happening.”
I nodded with a smile on my face. “Glad to help. Situations
like this can get out of control in a hurry if someone doesn’t keep watch to
make sure they are properly managed. Now, I know there are a bunch of people
who would probably love to have the story of how we went through the dungeon
first hand, but I’m thinking it would be best all around if we made ourselves
scarce. After everything that has happened, we’re a little too visible, and the
information on the dungeon will be a nice distraction, don’t you think?”
“I was about to suggest something of the sort. Do you have
plans for where you’re going next?”
“Well, I’d like to send my two new members back to Lithaes,
and then I’ll be heading to Shendilavri for a quest. I hear the scenery is
lovely there this time of year.”
The guildmaster laughed at that, and said, “Well, since you’ve
been good about reporting potentially calamitous news without even asking for a
reward, like some of these younger types will, I can give you two things. The
first is an upgrade to your Dark Portal spell, that will allow you to access Dark
Shrines on other planes once per day. That should be very useful to you, no?”
I chuckled at the obvious benefits such a spell would have
for me, “Indeed, since I’ve already visited the shrine here. That would allow
me to pop back home for a bit, before coming back the next day if there was
trouble. Very useful indeed. And the second thing?”
“The second thing would be a letter of introduction. Once
you use the tome the Archmage gave you, there’s no telling where in Shendilavri
you’ll end up. This letter will get you reasonably safe passage to the
adventurer’s guild in Rivenheart.”
That sounded ominous. Usually it was just safe passage,
without a modifier. Cocking my head to the side, I asked, “Reasonably safe?”
The Guildmaster shrugged his shoulders. “It is the Abyss.
Nothing is guaranteed. Not everyone out there is entirely sane, and there are
those who are powerful enough on their own or through their connections that
they need not worry about the Guild if someone should annoy them and get
stepped on.”
I nodded solemnly. “True enough.” In other words, the whole
thing was at least more honest about people being the same everywhere. That was
a nice little benefit about working with chaotic types. They didn’t deny their
natures like the lawful good types did. Made them far easier to understand.
Now, I just had to gather the girls, and we’d be on to
Shendilavri, to see what trouble we could find.
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Be sure to read my published works!
Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT
Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37
Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):
Volume 1 - Tutorial
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rules-free-vrmmo-life-stuart-grosse/1128941349?ean=2940161995297
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rules-free-vrmmo-life-omnibus-i-stuart-grosse/1128953195?ean=2940162052081
Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y
City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1
Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF
Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FBPF6HR
The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T
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