CH.14 (The Employer Arc) Main Thread: Act 3, The Lords of Darkness

[Mamud]

***Back at the Technocracy***

"Waste not, want not,' Mamud says, uncorking the vial and pouring Kizmat's blood into the air--where it smokes and dissolves before reaching the ground.

"You're sending him through dreams to move against the Employer's minor powers, aren't you?" Obed asks, eying Mamud shrewdly.

"...'move against' is a bit too nuanced. Kizmat is like a horde of locusts; he eats what is in his path. I'm sending him to fight and kill, I don't think he'll be able to do much of anything else, do you?" Mamud answers.

Kizmat remains suspended, motionless... and dreams. First, he dreams of the cave he swam in, full of blood; he dreams of ripping apart warriors that fought with a life-time of honed skill and strength, but were ultimately only mortal. His dreams shifted; still he fought, but now was in a classroom for children? And now his opponents, drenched in blood, were reading stories from a book to small monsters. The stories told of a lord of Blood, of Appetite made flesh, of Kizmat and those that would seek to harm him...

*Alternate time line take 1*
Kizmat awakes in a lavish bedroom--a barely remembered dream of Righteousness and... a woman? a Female? Pale or glowing, rewriting who he was... clinging to his mind like cobwebs but just as easily shook off and impossible to recall give the waking world in front of him already contains a new diversion: something he's sure he can make bleed, can make eat, even as it protests that they're both "employed" and doing what is right. And Kizmat feeding IS right; hearing a gurgling and pleading as if it were an audible garnish to the quick amuse bouche of life... Are there more? Any more that can be killed? That one went too quickly, like a cheap firework--lit only to be immediately extinguished. Surely there are more? Please let there be more... and if not here, then let's find where this one came from...

*Alternate time line take 2*
Kizmat awakes in the arms of his beloved wife--a barely remembered dream of Righteousness and ... a lady? Or a harlot? No matter; there stands before him an intruder, an intruder into his hoooouusse!! A threat to his family! And who would reproach a husband for attacking an intruder with savagery? Who among the community could find fault with a sudden, brutal, vicious blood lust--what upstanding young man wouldn't respond with their natural desire to protect, red in tooth and claw, their beloved? Why no man would resist, and the mewlings of half-men are of no concern to the strong, to the righteous. And what's more righteous than hitting the protesting intruder, blabbering about their Employer, with a haymaker, pushing them partway through a window to quickly cut their artery on the shattered glass? What's more righteous than this feeling pulsing through him, as he stands watching them bleed out, only to be sure the wife is safe mind you, certainly a gentleman gets no enjoyment from watching gore, from focusing on the pumping of their rich, red blood, pumping slower and slower...But all is right with the world, as the intruder is neutralized and the family is safe. And should more come... better in fact to stalk the house and deal with any other intruders...

*Alternate time line take 3*
Mamud and Obed stand silently in the shadows, watching as Kizmat stalks a nightmare; the pair watch as Kizmat dreams of fighting a horror out of time, a monstrosity meant to shatter the mind. But Mamud senses someone else watching, something else observing.

"What's wrong, Employer? Finding it hard to rewrite my path, while I'm exercising my dominion over a dream?" Mamud asked, without disturbing Kizmat's actions--he remained unaware of her. "Kizmat's concession was my protection--I learned from your earlier victories. I thought to fight you as a goddess, but I didn't recognize your influence on me even as you won. I learned a goddess cannot beat you, I cannot win when you fight ME. But a dream of me? How can you fight a dream of me, unless you have dominion over that dreamer's dream? And here, I'm supreme, and since dreams are not stuck in time, they're not mired by the same plodding sequences as the waking world--and no matter how many victories against me you win, a part of me will always be here, in Kizmat's dreams. And I'll always be protecting him, resetting him back to his original nature, when it serves me best to do so. I don't have to beat you, Employer. I don't have to win; I just have to survive you, and I have. A part of me will always already will be outside of your influence. So I must ask: do you really care that much about me? I think you'll have bigger problems shortly--am I really worth it for you to keep fighting? Because I know your cost: you have to relive what you re-write, just as I do. The difference between you and I is this: I need to keep this up for the rest of my existence, because once I stop I cease--but I am a goddess of Dreams, and this is my nature--to hold dominion over dreams. You may as well curse a whale by putting it in the ocean. And you? Once you stop, you... have to deal with Kizmat on the loose, and me as a minor power. How long until this becomes too tedious for you? I'll let your boredom beat you."

*Alternate time line take 450*
Kizmat awakes with a memory of a brief touch of the Employer's exasperation--and ...frustration? Boredom? But Kizmat is aware he is exactly as Mamud and Obed left him, except for that new and very brief memory of the Employer--otherwise everything is the same. Here he is, suspended in air in the Technocracy--Mamud and Obed at his side, Charon off getting the Urn.

"...This was your plan? Your demand against me was a protection?" Kizmat asked, looking at Mamud, half in and half out of a dreaming state while projecting.

"In part. The other part is my own survival; I've retreated into a dream of myself to avoid her rewriting me. I've pulled along Obed to protect him while I can, as I expect we'll have need of him. The other part is just what I asked--you will extend my influence once this is done. But I think you see why that helps you just as well; any you wish to rule over, or have dealings with, can fall under my dominion as well, and will be insulated from the Employer or similar enemies. And the more who I have dominion over, the more I can survive and continue even should some of you fall. But you--I hope you never fall, as your dreams are nightmares, your prayers blasphemies, your virtues are depravities. There aren't many like you, and the world would be smaller without your appetites in it," Mamud answers.

"We've learned more about the Employer than she might realize," Obed adds. "We've learned she's a she; we've learned she isn't timeless for all that she operates through time. We've learned she's new at this, relative to the rest of reality--she's either a new player or an old one that's finally making their move using a tool they haven't used before. And we've learned she thinks like a mortal, thankfully. She'll get distracted by a minor goal and waste too much of her interest when it would be easier accepting that just because most people cannot even see the game board doesn't mean there aren't rules; some things you can change and others you cannot, no matter how much power or influence you bring to bear."

"Kizmat, you must return to 'slumber,' until the Urn is obtained," Obed replies. "But if you are needed, I might be able to teach you dream walking--you might be able to inhabit the body of another. It is easier to try this with a mind whose inhibitions are weakened, who is already in a semiconscious state, a mind entombed in a nest of messy hair..."

"I don't want to keep talking about my hair!" Brandon slurred, tripping on his feet, sloshing liquid in a new flask and vomiting a bit of green ...something... onto his shoes.

[Richard Arcane]

Meanwhile... back in the catacombs underneath Death Family Manor.



Charon: The urn of The Undertaker [takes a step forward but Darkspade raises his right hand slightly-- all around the perimeter of the pedestal sprang forth a powerful magical barrier]






DS: I just cannot let you do this daughter. Not even for Julie's locket and not even for a rematch. Releasing the Lords of Darkness will forever change eve---





Then, from the darkness, surprising everyone, came forth Richard Arcane!! In his hand was a crimson-light gun, a weapon that could destroy most Creatures of the Night.









Richard Arcane: Surprise.


DS: But- how? Why?!






Richard Arcane: I have been tailgating you folks for some time since Charon won the CWE World Championship. Your past achievements have been remarkable, and I couldn't let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers. You already did most of the hard work—there is no way you will be backing out of that match, Spadey and Charon. You WILL compete on CreatureMania fifteen.



**Charon raises her right eyebrow**

Charon: It's HIM you need to convince- I don't even care about the match or its outcome...


Richard Arcane: Ho ho ho... oh, you will. If you want to see Kizmat ever again, you will. Guess what, kids? I am not joking. Today is CreatureMania... right now. Yes, you see, the entire Death Family estate has been outfitted with cameras, and we are feeding the results of this match worldwide.




DS: What makes no sense—well, lots of things don't make sense, but this is, after all, CWE. How did you get past all of the security and manage to get the hell down here!?!


Richard Arcane: I have powers beyond your imagination, Spadey. I can see and access time and space- a gift from My Employer. [Charon stares at him]. Yes. My Employer has been well aware of your mingling, Darkspade, with the urn- you haven't told Charon the whole truth, have you? [Spade remains silent but shoots a murderous glare]. Darkspade, you've used the urn for more than protection--


DS: SHUT THE HELL UP!!! [Spade moves forward but Richard shoots off the crimson-light gun at his feet]






Richard Arcane: This will happen- you, too, will be randomly teleported to some part of the manor. Your goal is to come back here and retrieve the urn. The first one to do it- wins the rights to the urn and becomes the CWE World Heavyweight champion--- really, this is your original agreement. I am just here to ensure I get a fucking main event going. When you retrieve the urn, you can decide whether to use it or not- up to you. Not only that, but The Employer is watching this show intently- throughout the entire mansion are obstacles- purely for The Employer's enjoyment- enjoyment that they didn't get when they fucking meddled with your precious Kizmat--- oh, fail to reach the urn within 20 minutes, and Kizmat's life is forfeit at the Technocracy.






Charon's eyes bulge...
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!!"




[But within seconds, Darkspade and Charon are teleported somewhere else independently in the manor.]



This leg of the story will now continue from the match on CM XV: https://creaturewrestling.com/megaverse ... .php?t=796