At last, the picture was complete in the keeper's mind. Unholy fumes wafted up from the font of blood and coalesced into a creature. Shaige emerged from his heart. His piercing, amethyst eyes stared at the twisted figure before him. The Tormenter was a lifeless husk, gaunt and curled on the ground into a fetal position. It looked almost human-sized, though that was deceptive. If it stood straight and unfolded its bat-like wings, it would look grander than it did now.

Shaige examined its other features as well. Vicious claws on its hands and talons on its feet would make it dangerous enough. The construct was also venomous; any that had the misfortune of being wounded by it would die a rapid yet agonizing death. The Tormenter's head was large and elongated, with a disproportionately large jaw full of dagger-like fangs. Two huge, bulbous eyes would gift the thing with near perfect sight at night, though the daylight would be almost blinding. That was no matter though. This construct was primarily not for fighting or leading, but for spying. Its only truly impressive attribute would be the ability to possess dozens of creatures at the same time. Its coal-black skin and wings would allow it to fly unseen throughout the night, using its powers to enthrall any stray humans. Then it would find a cave or other suitable spot to hide, and control its thralls throughout the day.

The creature still laid limp on the tile floor, inanimate. [b]"Arise,"[/b] ordered Shaige. The keeper received nothing in response. Bah, he had neglected to imbue it with consciousness or even the most instinctive of minds! This could be fixed easily enough. With a wave of his hand, the shadow pulled several wailing souls of from the depths of the red waters. The magic of his dungeon heart trapped the souls of any sacrificial victims until they could be used. The keeper pointed a spindly finger of pure darkness towards the Tormenter. With no choice but to obey, the souls all poured into the lifeless body. Shaige used his dark magic to meld all the crusaders' souls together, creating one conscience that was more clever than all the smaller ones combined.

Yet even more magic had to be wrought in order to make the Tormenter unfailingly loyal and detach it from any emotions and memories of past lives. The construct would have many vivid memories of being slain by Shaige's followers, though it wouldn't care. Perhaps it would have been easier to simply erase all the memories of the slain crusaders, but doing so would have also erased most of their knowledge. [b]"Awaken,"[/b] Shaige commanded. This time, the creature's eyelids snapped open and it scrambled to its feet.

[b]"Your first orders are to seek out and find the newly blessed zealots. You have the collective knowledge and prowess of half a dozen Knights of the Flame; use it to train my warriors well. A task beneath you, to be sure, but you are the sole follower of mine competent enough to do it."[/b]

The Tormenter nodded. It threw open the doors and ran through the tunnels. There was not enough space to fly, but the construct still wasted no time in fulfilling its master's orders. It did not know what these 'zealots' were, but a fear of looking unintelligent to its master had prevented the construct from asking. Instinctively not wanting to be seen, it found an empty chamber in the caverns and began hanging from the ceiling, shrouded by darkness. From there, it began probing through the minds of anything nearby that it sensed. After some time, the first twnety five zealots (whose armor and weapons had been issued out by now) made their way to the empty chamber. 

Some strange desire had welled up inside each of the zealots, and they had found themselves walking before they even knew what they were doing. Now, for some reason they had begun sparring. Whenever one of them made a mistake, they instantly knew what they had done wrong, some strange voice whispering instructions in their minds. Their superior memories and minds meant that they seldom needed to be corrected twice. None of them told the others about it for fear of being labelled insane, but they were making great progress in a matter of minutes. After some time, the Tormenter found that its assistance was no longer needed. It continued to hang from the ceiling above, secretly watching the humans as they made progress.

Meanwhile, Shaige returned to where he had left Ifrit. Soon the ritual pentagram would have siphoned enough power to restore the scion's monstrous body, and when that happened the keeper needed to ensure that the thing did not destroy half of the dungeon. Upon arriving, the keeper noticed that the tribesmen had chosen this room to vent the forge's exhaust into. Already the place had been sealed off, and it was beginning to fill with soot and hot, choking smoke from burning coal. This would probably be a fine kennel to keep the fiery beast in. Ifrit would never be far, and never have the chance to rampage through the tunnels.

The shadow manifested in the dark room and channeled a small amount of magic into the pentagram to expedite its progress. The glyphs began to glow, pushing back some of the impenetrable darkness, and Ifrit finally had his physical form restored. [b]"I trust that a creature of your nature is capable of withstanding these conditions,"[/b] the wraith spoke, a shadowy appendage gesturing to the growing layer of smoke above.[b] "This would make an acceptable place for you to rest when not doing my bidding, would it not? But that is not the reason that I am here,"[/b] Shaige went on.

After a long pause, he continued, [b]"I take it you have a talent for violence. If that is indeed the case, then I have a task for you."[/b]

______________

Zadok's departure had changed nothing. The Carver was assaulting its adversary with renewed vigor now that its ally was not here to cast blasts of holy energy. The Ripper was continuing to deflect or counter nigh every move, occasionally performing an attack of its own. The former being had barely done any noticeable damage to its foe, while the latter being was still attempting to breach the Source's core to no avail, even now after all this time and battling. Both of the entities thought in terms of millennium rather than hours, but even they were beginning to grow frustrated with the stalemate.

Some time after the anti-keeper had left, the Carver sensed someone struggling to establish a mental connection. The Carver bridged the gap between their minds, creating a link. It was Zadok. That was good. The guardian telepathically communicated, [b]"You seem to have survived."[/b]

[hider=Compendium Entry]
[u]The Tormenter:[/u] Second construct. This monstrosity takes the form of a tall, gaunt humanoid. It has skin the color of midnight, huge bat-like wings, and bulbous eyes that give it perfect sight in the dark at the cost of near blindness in daylight. It has a disproportionately large jaw full of dagger-like teeth, as well as razor-sharp talons and claws. Any creature of flesh that is wounded by the Tormenter will soon succumb to its potent venom. This gives the construct the ability to defend itself, though it instinctively hides and attempts to avoid fighting. The Tormenter's greatest power is its ability to dig into their minds. It can probe for information, attempt to possess them to varying degrees, or torment them with whispers and hallucinations in an attempt to induce insanity. The devious monster was created with the collective knowledge and wit of six humans, making its intelligence not to be underestimated.[/hider]

[hider=Shaige's Stuff]
[u]Minions:[/u] Soran the imp construct, The Tormenter, Ifrit the Rogue Being, 9 imps, 150 pain elementals, Fangir the archdruid, 30 druids, ~300 Mutig Tribesmen
[u]Resources:[/u] Roughly one hundred corpses ready for sacrifice. Plenty of different tools and weapons, though they are generally of poor quality or materials. Enough food to last half a month on meager rations.
[u]Infrastructure:[/u] Shaige's dungeon is a sprawling, subterranean city. The entrance is in the side of a rocky hill, in the form of a narrow cave concealed with magic. Down below are many twisting corridors and chambers of varying size. Magical lighting is used, so as to not suffocate everyone inside the poorly ventilated cavern. The cave system is massive, and much of it is unused and unexplored. Shaige's dungeon heart is a fountain of blood in the sanctuary directly below his shrine room, deep beneath the surface and the rest of his dungeon. A foundry and smelter are have recently been built. Latrines, barracks, and civilian housing areas are currently being created, expanded, and improved.[/hider]