Duelling Dungeons

Nor’goth sighed as he stepped through the portal and back onto the Sanctum Apex, back into his personal domain.

That Arachne girl, Talia, had been far more trouble than he’d ever imagined. He’d of course heard the stories about how the Manor had outmaneuvered the Isles during their match; however, when he’d watched the recording, he hadn’t found himself all that impressed with the girl's skills. Sure, they had made some impressive plays, but it was far from the blowout he’d expected.

He’d completely underestimated her.

Thinking back now, it was clear why he’d thought she was no big deal. The match had developed exactly as the girl had planned, allowing her team to slowly gain an incremental advantage until they could make the final push. It was something that any amateur strategist should have been able to achieve.

Any unopposed strategist, anyway. The problem was the girl hadn’t been unopposed. The Manor had won so many exchanges that he’d completely forgotten that the Isles had their own strategist, the troll Kenaya. Talia had just been one step ahead in so many of their exchanges that it looked like Kenaya hadn’t even shown up.

Now, after facing the girl’s strategies himself, he finally understood. The early game had been a disaster; the Sanctum’s defences might have crumpled completely if it wasn’t for Rogu’s brute strength. Even after Jyssa managed to get her pets into the initial floors, allowing him to direct the Sanctum’s forces directly, the girl hadn’t left that many openings for him to take advantage of.

Thankfully, after all the frustration she’d put him through, the girl had not only left her floor but followed her foolish pet and exposed herself. It was just the opening he needed.

It might have been a slightly petty move at this point in the match; she’d ventured out because both sides had been heavily depleted and she was the only one still in good shape, not because she’d had some brilliant strategy in mind, but it had felt good to cripple the person who’d caused him so much trouble.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Nor’goth gathered his cloak around himself and began the long trek towards the summoning chamber.

Although the Apex wasn’t what he’d call a vibrant place, he wasn’t used to seeing the place looking so barren. Both the lich guard and the troglidites had been nearly wiped out during the various battles against the manor, leaving only the trolls at full strength.

The heavily armed brutes stood brooding in the deep shadows next to the dark basalt walls, standing just out of range of the nearby braziers and torches. Their actions struck him as slightly odd, but as long as they held the line if and when the Manor invaded, and stayed out of his way otherwise, they could do as they liked.

As he stepped into the summoning chamber, the very first thing he looked at was the oversized, ornate hourglass sitting on the dais right next to his throne. Normally he checked it almost obsessively, as letting it run out meant he could let his pet out to play, but during this match he’d barely even glanced at it.

Apparently, he’d either completely lost track of time, or he’d spent far longer dealing with that girl than he’d realized, because the sands in the hourglass had run extremely low.

His leathery lips pulled back, revealing a rictus grin. It wouldn’t be long now until the Manor’s time ran out.

With renewed vigour, Nor’goth rushed up the steps to the summoning area. The massive summoning circle and the runes carved into the surrounding stone were already lit, glowing with a faint red inner light.

As much as he liked to play it up, the entire process was almost entirely automated. It was bound to his being, so the summoning would fail if he were incapacitated, but the timing was bound to the hourglass, and the spell itself drew power directly from the dungeon; no ritual was actually required.

Nor’goth carefully stepped around the pulsing runes and made his way up to the throne before carefully running a withered hand down the side of the hourglass. With every second, more grains ran through the slender neck of the device. Ever so slowly, it ran out.

When the last grain of sand slipped into the lower half, the summoning array flared, pulsing with an eerie black-red light.

“Yes! Come, my friend, it’s time for you to play!” Nor’goth cackled as he collapsed onto his throne. “With you in play, this match is over!”

A thick oily darkness bellowed from the summoning circle, swirling upwards, creating an impenetrable veil in the middle of the room before slowly dispersing outwards. Ever so slowly, a hulking shadow pulled itself from the depths of the circle, rising until it filled the room, and then finally letting out an earth-shaking roar.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” a female voice said, her voice echoing through the room.

The massive, heavy black oak doors at the other side of the room slowly and smoothly swung open, as some unseen giants pulled them, and Talia and her pet spider strolled into the room.

“I think we should finally take a look at this unstoppable monster you’ve managed to convince to work with you, don’t you, George?” she asked.

“What have you done?” Nor’goth snarled as he shot to his feet. “How did you even get here? I trapped you in an illusion!”

“Did you now?” Talia replied with a mysterious smile. “Well, I’ll give you a minute to try and work it out while I check out this monster of yours.”

The girl took a deep breath, then leaned forward and exhaled like she was breathing fire. It shouldn’t have had any effect, but the magical darkness in the center of the room reacted like smoke caught in a hurricane. It tried to resist, but eventually the effect dispersed, revealing the creature hidden within.

“An Umbral Dragon,” Talia said, showing none of the fear and terror such a creature deserved as she waltzed closer. “I guess that explains why so many Draconids are willing to befriend your staff and hang around your dungeon.”

Nor’goth’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the girl. “I can only think of one explanation for this. As unlikely as it may seem, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“Oh? Do share?” Talia said, casually stepping around the frozen dragon and approaching the throne.

“I’m still in your mind, aren’t I?” Nor’goth growled.

“Bingo! Ever since I was a young child, my mother has insisted that my sisters and I learn to protect ourselves against psychic attacks. Although my sisters learned how to shield themselves, I did one better,” Talia said. “I learned to turn the psychic’s attack against them, trap them within my mind.”

“Impossible,” Nor’goth snarled.

“And yet here you are,” the girl replied confidently. “Revealing your dungeon’s greatest secret to me.”

Nor’goth just stared down at the girl, seething. “You will regret this, girl,” he growled.

“Possible, but it was worth crippling myself for a little while to take you out of the fight,” Talia replied.

“The fight? You think this is still about the fight? You not only let an enraged psychic into your head, but you trapped them inside! Do you honestly think you can walk away from this unscathed now that I know the truth?” Nor’goth spat.

Nor’goth reached out into the depths of the girl’s psyche, found one specific part of the illusion, and wrenched control away from the girl. Behind her ,the mighty Umbral Dragon shuddered, like it was breaking out of a stone shell, before finally turning on the girl.

Nor’goth smirked. “Your hubris will be your undoing.”