They had dug for many weeks to dig a path to the caverns and many months to dig out their lair. Over time the small collection of mages had used their magical arts to create their own little fortress within the volcano, which lay on the island off the coast on the string of Volcano islands (About 50, 16). Most of these caves were still uninhabited and they lived mostly in a single strip of small rooms, a bunkhouse, stores rooms and a library, while the rest of the caves were simply used for... experiments. Eventually, three of them had decided to perform the most complicated ritual they could imagine. To do this, they spent many weeks to dig their way to the Magma Chamber of the volcano... And now here they were, stood above a pit full of the liqud hot magma, tossing choking sulfer up at them.
There were four of them in total, three brothers and a woman, quite obviously held against her will judging by the way one of them had his hands clasped tightly around her arms like a vice. The Ring leader had slate grey eyes and black hair, short cut and kept neatly in line, with dark and forboding grin that revealed his white teeth. The middle of the three who held the girl, had the same grey eyes but brown hair instead, with a crooked nose and a scar down his cheek. The third was the youngest, and had a different rather to the other two. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and was barely into his teens, with rather large ears and a kind smile which did not fit the cruel act they were performing.
The ring leader nodded to the youngest of the three brothers, who returned the nod as he pushed the young girl towards him. She kicked and sqealed as he seized her by the throat, raising her off the floor with unnatural strength
They stood in a circle around the fiery depths, and cut her throat to form their alliegance... the blood hissed as it hit the flames. The life left her green eyes and she fell limp in his hands as she choked on her own blood. The leader rose from the girls lifeless corpse, tossing it onto the fire "Hear the words of Malakar, fires of the mountain! Summon forth the mistress of the flames and bind her essence to me, to Ari, to Andrew!" He yelled into the fires, and they joined with him in their yells
"Lend us your power, mistress of the flames!" They called... and the body raised from the fiery pit, a chared wreck as they had expected. They fell to their knee's in praise at the charred body.
"My lady, we have brought you forth from the void, bless us with a place at your side as you conquer this world and con..." But he was cut off by a laughter... a dark, grating laughter. And then the corpse hovered forwards, it's eyes coming to rest on him
"Oh, poor Malakar, summoned the wrong being, did we?" It said, in a masculine voice, and the three men raised and stumbled back, startled
"But... I performed every... No matter, you're bound to me, you must obey my command. Name thyself!" He shouted, taking a step forwards and reasserting his confidence... but the charred corpse gave another dark laugh
"Me, obey you? Who do you think you are little Malakar? But do not fear... for you gave me a beacon to this world that I might claim it. You three did me a great favour, and I shall repay it... I have a gift for each of you, one greater gift for one, and a lesser gift for the other two. Which do you each wish?" Malakars eyes lit up with greed and he stepped forwards
"I shall take the grand gift, your lord ship" He said, bowing to the floor. The corpse cracked a smile, a sickening crunch echoing from it's burnt lips as it floated forwards towards him
"Excellent... Look into my eyes, Malakar" The corpse said, and the man looked up towards the corpse and into the empty holes where it's eyes should be. Suddenly there was a flash within them, and he screamed and tried to pull away but the corpse stuck out both it's burnt arms, grabbing him with a grip of death and holding him in place. The other two backed away from their brother and looked to each other in fear. Suddenly the light stopped, and Malakar and the corpse fell to the floor, Malakar having turned into a mumified body. There was a bright flash and a new one being appeared. Having absorbed the energy from Malakar, he had been able to tear a hole large enough to force his way through from the void "I am Kalok the Heartless" He said, with a dull smile. Andrew looked towards Malakar in horror, and Kalok caught the look on his face before speaking "His soul is trapped inside that rotting shell, I needed his energy, I had grown weak from my wait in the void."
Ari glanced to the tunnel they had made to the entrance as if contemplating escape, but was a bit taken aback when he saw that in it's place lay a small, purple vortex. He had seen this when they had been summoning lesser creatures. He kept his eyes trained on it, awaiting whatever foul creature was about to step out, and at last they did. Or rather, flew out. Tweleve imps came through the portal, their wings flapping to keep their stocky bodies in the air as they landed at the entrance to the tunnel as the portal closed behind them. They all had a black mark stamped onto their forehead, the symbol of their master, except one who had the mark in Silver... Actual silver that appear to have been grafted into his forehead. He was a foreman, an overseer of the imps, controlling them when his master wasn't available or simply couldn't be bothered to.
"You call, we come, yes master! We loyal imps! We good imps!" The imp foreman said, bouncing up "We bring pickaxes too, master, so humans can serve!" One of the imps stepped forwards, dropping two pickaxes to the floor and bidding Ari and Andrew to come take them. Ari raised his voice in protest
"We're not slaves, we won't bend knee to yo..." But he was cut off as Kalok gave him a dark look
"Would you like to become like Malakar? I could do with some more energy, Ari" Kalok said with a dark grin, approaching him menacingly and Ari miserably backed down and took up the dull pickaxe. Kalok smelt the air, and whispered to himself under his breath. Slowly but surely, his body mutated into a different form. He paused for a moment, before raising his voice and announcing "This will be our dungeon heart... Andrew, are there more of you?" He asked, turning his head towards the young boy, who quivered for a moment
"Yes, my lord, eleven more..."
"Excellent. Imps, find them and bring them to me, they shall join us or die." Kalok commanded. The foreman gave a curt bow and him and his imps raised into the air and flew off through the tunnels once more, vanishing into the dark
They returned a short while later, with ten humans trailing nervously... Only Ten imps returned, and the foreman trudged forwards before bowing slightly before Kalok
"My lord, one of the humans put up a fight... We lost Ki and Ti, but Zi brought him down" He said fearfully, as if expecting to be tossed into the lava for losing two of his imps. Kalok nodded slowly and the foreman flinched, but Kalok looked upon the mages "Some serve 'willingly'... the others will not." The Foreman whimpered gestured to his imps, and they batted two of the mages forwards. They glared at Kalok and he returned the stare, having a sort of staring contest. That was how it remained for a few minutes, before Kalok simply shrugged and turned away
"Cast them into the fires." He ordered, and an imp grabbed each shoulder of the mages and raised into the air. The two mages let out terrible screams and attempted to use their magic, but the imps flew above the magma and dropped them down towards their fiery dooms. The lava hissed as it stripped away their skin and melted their bones. Kalok turned to the other mages
"Does anyone else wish to question their lord?" He said forbodingly, in a manner suggesting that he wouldn't be afraid to kill every last one of them if anyone tried anything. They all tenatively shook their heads, and Kalok smiled. "Excellent. You shall begin construction of my dungeon immediately... We shall call it Kasi'dur. "Leave me." He ordered, and the imps nodded, slipping out of the room with the new human slaves.
Kalok approached the fiery pit and drew a length of magma out of it with magic, placing it like a bridge across to a single pillar of rock within the center. Cooling it magically so that it hardened into black obsidian, Kalok crossed the bridge to the center of the chamber and raised a small pedestal of stone from the ground. He opened his clothing and revealed a single scar running down the left side of his chest. He moved his hand gently to it, before digging his fingers in. The warm blood trickled down from it as he grimaced in pain... and tore out his own, beating heart. Breathing heavily from the pain, he placed it within a lock box, turned the key in the lock and listened for the tumblers click, then placed it upon the pedestal. Turning, he crossed the obsidian bridge and and drew a roll of paper from Malakars corpse, laying it out over a small stone slab and setting up four gems, each a purple cystralline structure, around the slab, before setting to work.
First Creature: 0/3
Kasi'dur (50, 16): A fortress constructed within the caverns of a dormant volanco, Kasi'dur was home to a small group of mages before they accidently summoned forth Kalok, who enslaved them and bent them to his will. Along with the other volcanic islands, it is relatively isolated from the mainland and, given the general danger of scouting out active volcanos for ones foes, allows Kalok and his minions to hide while they build up their power to seige the world. The heart of this dungeon is Kaloks own heart, sealed within a lockbox in the heart of the volcano
Minions: Ten humans and Ten Imps
Kalok the Heartless: Kalok the Wizard was an unnaturally powerful mage born into a noble family. Both his parents died from apparently natural causes in quick succession to his 16th birthday. He fell madly in love with one of the servant girls and offered her riches and power in an attempt to win her affection. When she failed to return his love, he became enraged and murdered her. Vowing that he would never again be made a fool by his emotions, he tore his still beating heart from it's chest and locked it in a chest far below his mansion, declaring himself Kalok the Heartless. It was through this dark ritual that he was corrupted by the Devourer and transformed into a Keeper. Now he has arrived in Elysium to conquer the world for his own.
Heartless Imps: These Imps have red skin and glowing green eyes, with razorsharp teeth and dragon like wings sprouting from their back. With the small horns coming from their forehead and a forked tail, one might mistake them for the devil at first glance. They are weak but cunning, and are suprisingly resistant to heat and cold. They have Kaloks mark tattoed onto their forehead, while the higher ranked among them get it carved into their head and then filled with either bronze, silver or gold dependent on rank. There is a single scar on their chest, revealing where their hearts have been removed. They have large hands and feet, which are excellent for digging through the dirt and they often carry pickaxes and shovels strapped to them, though also carry small pitch forks which they use for combat to make them slightly less useless in a fight