The amethyst eyes leered at Ifrit's claws and powerful muscles. Yes, this monster was terrifying. He would play his role nicely. [b]"I will show you,"[/b] were the words that emanated from the shadowy figure. The dull glow of the glyphs on the floor was choked out. Shaige's glowing eyes disappeared. The darkness itself oppressed and smothered the duo. At last, when it relented, Ifrit would no longer find himself inside the cave. The two were now some distance away, on a forested hill.

Shaige's mass of pure shadow shriveled in the sunlight, evaporating into smoke. The keeper swiftly floated backwards into the sanctuary offered by the shade of a pine. It was dusk; soon the last bloodied rays of sunlight would vanish. So preoccupied had the keeper been that he had not had time to reflect on the Source's change. It had transformed some days ago, when he was atop the walls of Paterdomus. The fools there had thought it a sign from Caldor. No, the sun was stained the dark crimson of blood, not the vibrant and lively color of flame. This was a good omen for him, and a herald of doom for the wretched Paterdomans.

The shadow turned his gaze from the reddened sky, back to Ifrit. [b]"We passed over these hills shortly after our escape from the spirit realm. You will recall that over there,"[/b] the wraith gestured towards the distance before continuing in his echoing rasp of a cadence, [b]"was a razed village, host to looters and all manner of other lowly parasites that would scavenge in my domain. Slay them. Spare only a few, that they may return to their hovels and spread terror of you and these lands. 

When that is done, patrol this region for the next few days. Warbands will soon venture into these lands from the east, scouring the land for any signs of their little army that my minions routed. They will not be pleased to learn of my existence, or discover that you survived after that attack on their city. So slay those patrols, that the rest of their forces will be blind and unprepared when the time comes to seize their outposts. Do as I have asked for the next few days. I will seek you out with new orders, when time comes."[/b]

With that, Shaige abruptly vanished into the shadows of the great trees, leaving Ifrit. In the dungeon, more tribesmen had been changed into zealots. After overseeing the production of equipment for the first twenty-five zealots, Soran's apprentice had caught the gist of it and was promoted to forgemaster. The humans were now capable of keeping up with the growing number of zealots, equipping them all without assistance from the imps. Shaige had examined the metalwork. It was of remarkably good quality. The iron ore was smelted with an inordinate amount of coal, freeing the metal from the rock and searing away any dirt, yet still leaving the resulting steel black and laden with carbon. During that process, trace amounts of other minerals such as vanadium were used to strengthen the metal. The steel would have been brittle and of inferior quality if used in this form, but that was not the case. 

Before even being hammered into shape, the metal ingots underwent several enchantments and rituals that the imps had taught to the smiths. Then, after being shaped into armor or weapons, the smiths engraved a variety of runes onto its surface before letting a single drop of their blood fall onto the metal. This demonic alloy, enchanted to hold its shape and not break, was imbued with a malevolent energy of its own. Wounds inflicted by these weapons would always fester and blacken, as the blades' thirst for blood was as toxic as any poison. The blacksteel, as the imps called it, was allegedly commonplace amongst the armies of demons. That only testified to its brutal effectiveness.

The Tormenter had taught several of the first zealots how to fight effectively, and now that skill would be spread to the newly augmented men as well through sparring sessions with the others. However, that did little to change that the zealots lacked discipline and knew nothing of formations or tactics. Soran was assigned the task of drilling the zealots in such things and creating a basic leadership hierarchy of officers. 

The Tormenter, meanwhile, was sent out to spy. By commanding Ifrit to dispose of any scouts or war parties in the Mutig lands, Shaige hoped to both discourage an attack on his dungeon and create fear. If the Paterdomans and other forest tribes were afraid, they would likely withdraw all their scattered people back to their fortifications, in the hopes of being safe in numbers. In reality, by gathering in one spot, they would only make it easier for Shaige to wipe them off the face of the earth and leave no scattered survivors. That was exactly what the keeper intended to do.

The keeper personally saw to the augmentation of yet more Mutig tribesmen into zealots. The zealots' numbers were fast growing, but that would unfortunately stop now. Shaige needed to keep some tribesmen as workers, and all most of the ones fit for battle had already been transformed anyways. The nine imps were commanded to invoke the necessary ritual to summon more pain elementals, as Shaige still was unsure if his forces were sufficient. The Mutig tribe had not long ago numbered over a thousand, yet even then they were the smallest. The Klug tribe was the second smallest, yet even they had over one and a half thousand. They had sent out the looters to the Mutig tribe, and were no doubt the most hostile and annoying of the four other tribes. This made them an ideal target. Shaige needed to attack them in order to secure more sacrificial victims, test his army, and do a show of power to force the other tribes to join him. Yet how could he possibly manage to take a fortified village that had hundreds of warriors?

As he wandered through the cave city musing over these things, Shaige once again found his way to room full of broken idols. Pah! This only proved that his only followers, the Mutig, were worthless fools. They had not long ago worshiped the spirits of slain wolves, bears, and other wild beasts. It was pointless. Their tribal spirits had offered neither wisdom nor protection of any form. In fact, Shaige had observed those spirits roaming the spirit realm, just as stupid and aggressive as they had been in life. An idea suddenly crept into the keeper's mind. The shadow now knew how he would strengthen his forces enough to defeat the Klug tribe. The wraith vanished, flying through the solid stone walls and floors, down to his dungeon heart as fast as possible. There was a creature to be made.

Further training of Zealots: 0/5
Third Creature: 0/8

[hider=Shaige's Stuff:]

[u]Minions:[/u] Soran the imp construct, The Tormenter, Ifrit the Rogue Being, 9 imps, 175 pain elementals, 100 Zealots, Fangir the archdruid, 30 druids, 200 Mutig Tribesmen
[u]Resources:[/u] Roughly eighty corpses ready for sacrifice. Plenty of coal and ores, and high quality metal tools, armor, and weapons. 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. The forge's exhaust is directed into a large, sealed chamber that Shaige uses as a pen for Ifrit.[/hider]