A good story needs many small tales to add to its charm

Quoisan Keils, Director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sienin

In a town at the western border of Kieris, a man was drinking a good old beer at a tavern. But he was no common man: he was Epid Fens, ex-captain of the Order of Templars, turned slave only to be freed by a young black mage. One could only laugh at the absurdity of a story like that. He was tented to tell it to the first drunkard he found, but he would just be called a fool. The tavern where he was drinking wasn't exactly made to house nobles, but it was a decent place nonetheless, after all one gets used to brawls, the smell of vomit and occasional femmes fatales and thieves. He had been there for half an hour, just drinking calmly, so the bartender, who probably passed his time at trying to understand what kind of customers he had, approached him.

"So, what's a strong looking man like you doing in this small border town?"

"Uhm.... Oh, nothing really, just passing through"

"Really? Where are you going?"

"The Empire"

"The Empire? Well, i'll be damned, that's a pretty different place from Kieris isn't? So, why are you going there?"

"You could say..... a pilgrimage"

"Oh, you're going to the Main Church, uh? Too bad it's in those damn imperials' territory. Pompous assholes"

"They're not that bad"

"Don't joke with me, all the imperial clients i had till now just loved to slap in my face the fact that they're imperials"

"I married one, so, now who knows better?"

"Seriously? How is she?"

"Very, very authoritative. Even in bed"

"AHAHAHAHAH! As expected! Bet it must be hard!"

"Yes, it was hard...."

"What do you me-ooh, hum, i'm sorry, really"

"It doesn't matter..... Anyway, how much does a room for one night cost here?"

"Usually twenty bronze Kiers, but for you i'll make it ten"

"How kind, here"

Epid put on the counter some coins, smiling slightly.

"Perfect! Now, we don't serve breakfast here, so you'll have to wait till noon or go somewhere else in the morning to eat"

"I don't really care about that, but thanks.... Anyway, how's the situation in the Empire?"

The tavern's owner was cleaning a glass when he heard the question, which confused him, making him almost drop the glass, but he somehow managed to save it.

"Fiuuuu... what do you mean?"

"Well, you know.... Witches"

"Oh, that. It seems thing are getting pretty bad. Lots of Hunts recently, there's some people that are migrating here just to avoid them, though they aren't many"

"I see..... Any new addition to their dominion?"

"Not that i know off, though it seems they're trying to expand north"

"Oh, that's hilarious"

"Why?" He finished cleaning the glass and took another one.

"There's some really nasty dwarves there"

"Damn, why do they keep trying to conquer EVERYTHING"

"Their emperor is called the Conqueror and his wife the Iron Fist, what did you expect? Even the daughter is called the Knight Princess. Though i assure you, there are bigger empires out there"

"Wow, that sounds scary"

"Yes it does though i doubt we'll ever have to deal with those"

"Hope so.... Anyway mister did you hear about the capital?"

"About what? What happened?"

"You don't know? You must have avoided every single city before this one! Two days ago the royal palace was assaulted by a King Slayer, thing seem to have gotten real dangerous. The royals are said to be okay though"

"Really? That's not the kind of thing that happens every day...."

The bartender glared skeptically at him, even his mustache looked as if he found such impassiveness strange. He ignored it though, and just got another glass to drink.

"Well, there's not anything new apart from that"

"Ah, i see. No news is good news, or something like that"

"If you say so"

"Anyway, i'll go walk a while, i'll come back later for my room"

"Ok, have a nice day"

Epid got up from his seat and walked out of the tavern, avoiding two drunk adventurers who were fighting, while the owner screamed at them to stop it, unheard. He was met by a lively river of people, full of farmers bringing their vegetables around and caravans transporting goods to the market, which wasn't exactly big, but still well furnished. Epid decided to check around the town to see if there was anything interesting, though he kind of doubted it, since the most exciting thing he found were the tavern brawls, and even those weren't much for a veteran like him. The town wasn't big either, but it was still a very pleasant place, with all of its houses made in good, tough wood, and friendly city guards and population in general.

"Uhm... what was the name of this place....? Oh, yeah, Gand... really nice town"

He walked in some kind of daze, not really looking at what was around him, until he reached the western wall, which, contrary to the eastern one, where he entered the town, was heavily fortified and full of guards.

"Seems like they're still looking out for the Empire, even if we're supposed to be in good relationships with them"

He thought it was funny, in a certain way, that the kingdom had to look out even from its "friends". He was about to go away, when he heard some kind of discussion right near the main gate. He looked to see what was happening and saw a group of men beating down a kid, who was protecting a dog. His face immediately turned from one of calm to one of anger, and it got worse when nobody even bothered to help the kid, though he had to admit to himself that there wasn't much they could do. He walked up to them and was stopped by two men that were supposed to take care of any annoyance.

"Hey, man, what are you doing, this is none of your business"

"Yeah, stroll away like a good boy"

Epid gave them a good look before responding. They were wearing golden bronze colored armor mixed with red straps of cloth and the insignia of a golden eagle on them: the symbol of the Empire.

*So they're soldiers, uh?*

Their armor was made of Visrum, much more resistant and malleable than iron, but also incredibly common in the Empire's territory. Another reason for their absurd military superiority, along with their cavalry. There were ten of them, all wearing the same armor, but he noticed that the one who was beating the kid wore a tougher-looking armor, along with a red cape and a helmet with a red plume.

*An officer..*

"So, are you going or do we have to make you go?"

They put their hands on their sword's hilt, looking at Epid as if he was an idiot.

"No need for that, but why are you beating the kid?"

"Are you stupid? Whatever, well, the little shit insulted our boss here so he's only getting what he deserves. Now scram, before we put your head on a spear"

"Try if you can"

Epid dashed in front of the couple of soldiers and smashed their heads together, knocking them out. The other soldiers immediately surrounded him, while the officer remained behind, looking at the ex-templar with contempt.

"You Kierikans are really barbaric, aren't you? Attacking two honest and hard-working soldiers for such a stupid kid. I just told him to give me the dog since it's a rare breed, it's the least i deserve. And he refused. Refused the request of an imperial officer! I don't understand why the Emperor hasn't conquered you idiots! Bah, it doesn't matter, kill him!"

The eight soldiers that were circling Epid paid a lot of attention to the man in front of them, they were smart enough to realize he was experienced in fighting. The supposed prey found it very amusing, since most people like them just overestimated themselves and attacked blindly. Though of course he wouldn't have given them the chance to do anything. He took his sword, still in its scabbard, and slashed so fast in front of him that the soldiers couldn't even see. The next second four of the imperials fell unconscious.

"WHAT?!?"

The officer gazed shockingly, though one could only see it from the slits in his helm. He knew he wasn't dealing with a defenseless citizen but still, defeating four of his soldiers so quickly, that was too much. His remaining men were trembling a little.

"Hey, bastard"

"UH?!?"

Epid began talking to the officer, walking slowly up to him.

"You think you can do whatever you want in someone else's country, uh?"

"Wai-"

"This is Kieris you little piece of scum, so i have no idea what you're doing here, but it doesn't matter. If you mess around in my country you're not going to get away unpunished, even if you're a fucking captain, you got that you piece of horseshit?"

"How do you know?!?"

The officer began backing up, ready to take out his sword, even if his body could barely resist the urge to run away.

"What, surprised that I know what ranks the armors correspond to, fuckboy? Though of course i bet you're one of those pussies that got it on a silver plate from his parents"

"How dare you?!?"

"I don't think it's daring if you got your ass on the floor"

"Uh?"

The office looked down: he had fell on his rear, he didn't even notice due to the amount of pressure the man in front of him released. He felt like he was about to be trampled over by a dragon or a giant. His henchmen thought of attacking from behind, but they weren't far from falling themselves.

"So, now, this is what is gonna happen: you get your dirty ass up from the poor land that has to deal with its stench, get your little cocksuckers with you, and get out of this town. And I swear, if I ever know of you making problems again, i'll turn you into this town's new banner"

"YO-YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS?!?"

"Well, yes, unless you plan on informing your superiors that while you were beating the shit out of a child to get a dog one guy arrived from out of nowhere and destroyed you poor ass. Wonder how that'll look on your resume. I mean, I also heard that the Imperial army officers are pretty competitive, what would be their reaction to something like this?"

The officer lifted himself from the ground, shacking and looked at his men, that were panicking.

"Get their sorry asses and get out of here"

They took their unconscious friends and walked out the gate. The captain remained still for a while, looking around, then followed his men, like a dog with its tail between its legs. The people that were looking till that moment remained silent for a while, before shouting in elation and satisfaction.

"Yeeeeah!"

"Nice job!"

"They got what they deserved!"

Epid ignored them, as much happy as he was about their thankfulness, and went to check on the kid. He had lots of bruises but nothing too serious, though he was bleeding a little bit from his forehead. When he noticed that Epid crouched and put his hand over it.

"[Heal]"

All the bruises disappeared and the bleeding stopped. He looked at the dog to see if anything was wrong, but the little canine was ok. The kid smiled widely.

"THANK YOU SIR! YOU'RE SO COOL!"

"It wasn't much"

"But, sir, there's something i have to say...."

Epid looked at him curiously now.

"Really? What?"

"You swear too much!"

Epid silently confirmed what the kid said, lowering his head in awkwardness.

"Yeah.... Well, whatever. Have a good day kid and don't search for trouble"

"Yeah, sir! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

Epid walked away as the kid waved his hand and the dog joyfully barked. He returned to the tavern, ignoring whatever person recognized him from the fight. He entered the tavern, which was now a bit emptier, and went to the owner to ask him for his room's keys. He was still cleaning a glass.

"Hey, boss, can you give me the key?"

"Oh, you're back! Sure, take it"

He took the key from under the counter and threw it to him.

"So, anything interesting happened? Liking the town?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty good town. Though, why were there imperial soldiers?"

"Oh, so you stumbled in some of them.... Basically, it seems some really dangerous criminals have escaped from one of their prisons and surpassed the border, so the Empire and Kieris are "collaborating" to capture them"

"Damn, if the Empire has to come personally they must be really dangerous"

"Seems like it" He finally left the glass alone and passed to cleaning the counter.

"Anyway, i'm going to my room, wake me early"

"As you wish boss. Though it will be hard to find the room by yourself"

"Oh.... which is it?"

"Up the stairs, at the end of the corridor, the left one"

"Thanks"

He climbed the stairs, walked the short wooden corridor, and opened the door to his room. It wasn't big and there was only one small window, but it was clean and he still hadn't seen a rat so he deemed it as good. Looking at the right side of the bed, he actually saw there was a dusty, broken mirror besides, which he thought as odd, but let go almost instantly. He looked in the mirror and checked his face, after all he didn't gave a good look at it for a long time. His hair was brown-reddish, and so was his beard, which had began to become a bit tick.

*I'll have to cut it*

His face looked good, but that was by a middle-aged man standards. He was 42 after all. His brown eyes still looked as if they were a bear's, as his wife always used to say. She probably meant they looked authoritative and serious, but she probably just wanted to make fun of him. He decided to look at his body since he had the time. He took off his leather armor, which he took from one of Hasl's guards. About him, he surely satisfied many rats by now. When he took it off, he saw that he was still pretty muscular, full of scars, but he had to admit he was out of shape.

"I'll have to train"

Saying as such, he engulfed himself on the sheets of the little bed he paid for, thinking on what to do next. But before fallen asleep, one thought passed his mind:

*I wonder what is that black mage kid doing now*

"Uhm, i should really find some good detergent. Blood is more stubborn than what i thought"

In the middle of the dungeon now residing in what was once known as the town of Gorwyn, Nero, the giant black minotaur gentleman, stood in its centre, cleaning his trusty axe. It had been a while since his father, Andrew, left to new adventures and battles, and since then he had to manage the dungeon by himself, though it wasn't much of a task. The dungeon was labyrinthine, its traps deadly, plentiful and well-hidden thanks to his father's aide, and his minions were the epitome of efficiency. A model dungeon.

"MONSTER! FACE US!"

A party of adventurers suddenly bursted in the remains of the main plaza, which was now Nero's "room", where he slept, ate and fought any dungeon rider skilled enough to pass through the rest of his home. Needless to say, those weren't many. Having to end his cleaning the minotaur sighed, he hated leaving something half-done. It wasn't gentlemanly at all. More than anything he was surprised at the stupidity of the adventurers, that instead of ambushing him, though he would have noticed them, screamed like idiots. He wondered how someone like that got so far. He got up and turned towards the group, his clogs shaking the earth. There was a warrior, an archer, a healer, a mage, a shield-bearer and an assassin.

*Can't get more classic than that*

"Ah, welcome adventurers, to my lair. Let me compliment you for going this far, as vain as it is now that you stand before me. I'll gladly lead you to your demise"

He bowed, like any gentleman would. The party just stared at him in a mix of confusion and surprise.

"It talks?"

"It's not very uncommon in Dungeon Keepers, though he's quite.... odd"

"No way we'll lose to this flashy idiot"

*I CAN HEAR YOU, DAMN BUFFONS! FOOLISH HAIRLESS MONKEYS, I GREET YOU AND THIS IS WHAT I GET?!? AT LEAST ALL THE OTHERS HAD THE DECENCY TO NOT TALK IF THEY ONLY HAD OFFENSES TO SAY*

A vein popped on his head, never he had experienced such mistreatment in his life, as short as it was. The only forgiveness for such barbarians was death, nothing else would clean them of such a stain.

"Stop the chit-chat and fight!"

Nero jumped in the air and swung his axe down as he fell, creating a huge crack on the ground, but all the adventurers dodged at the last second. He quickly turned towards the healer, who he knew would do everything in her power to make his efforts in damaging them useless. As he tried to crush her with his clogs, the shield-bearer stormed in and parried it, somehow withstanding his weight.

*It seems he has been buffed. Not a problem for me though*

He decided to turn his defense against him, concentrating all his weight and strength on his leg. He was now slowly crushing him, and it was obvious that if nothing was done he would have been flattened. As such his companions began attacking the minotaur's legs with strong attacks, but that was part of Nero's plan. The warrior was the first to enter the fight and tried to cut his enormous clog off with his claymore. But just as he was about to do so, Nero tried to flatten him with the knob. He dodged, but he had to give up his arm, as he wasn't fast enough.

"AAAAAARGH!"

"Retreat, i'll heal you"

The warrior jumped back, near the healer, and while the archer and the mage tried to blind him with their projectile attacks, the assassin jumped on his head from behind. He tried to distract him by stabbing him, but Nero knew he couldn't do any real damage, so he lifted his cog, freeing momentarily the shield-bearer, before kicking directly into him and sending into a building, crushing the walls and making it fall onto him. Destroying the buildings wasn't a problem since any part of a dungeon gets reconstructed by the miasma after a certain amount of time.

"HIKE! FUCK!"

"DAMMIT, WE LOST HIM!"

Nero ignored their shouts and decided to take care of the healer, a very serious annoyance. He rushed to them and tried to crush them with his giant axe but a magic barrier stopped him just as he was about to hit the healer, who was closing the wound of the warrior. Nero realized it was an efficient barrier, one that physical attacks would have no effect on, so he though that taking care of the assassin was a better choice, since he was now legitimately trying to stab into his brain. If he just tried to grab him or slab his head into a wall he would have just jumped away, so he circled the barrier, forcing the mage to move it towards him, not before the archer shot some special arrows to slow the minotaur down. But just as he was about to be hit by a various mix of arrows, Nero lowered his head, and to the assassin surprise, he was met by a rain of poisonous and explosive projectiles. His scorched carcass fell down, riddled with the tips of poisonous arrows.

*Let's see if you can heal that*

"HE TRICKED US!"

"HE'S SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT!"

*Now you realize. You are the WORST group of adventurers that i ever faced*

Nero thought so, but all that poison and explosive gave him a really strong hitch. Now there were only an archer, a healer, a mage and a useless warrior. Victory was certain. The minotaur thought of passing time toying with them, but he gave it up, since it wouldn't have been gentlemanly. But they weren't worth his time anymore, after all, they attacked him with so little preparation. He was astonished by the fact that they even managed to get this far. As such he decided to ignore them and leave them to his minions, which he summoned thanks to his Miasma manipulating abilities. The adventurers lasted only a few seconds against that onslaught. Nero, once he cleaned up the mess he made, by reconstructing everything damaged and taking care of whatever corpse remain there was, sat down and resumed cleaning his axe.

"Good grief.... it's even worse now. I really hope i can make some cleaning monsters. Slimes would be fitting. Uuuuuhm, now that i think about it, maybe Golind has something good. Though i doubt it"

He called one of his bird monsters, some kind of overly grown hawk, and sent it to the village to call for Golind. It was the only way he could call him, since he had to remain in the dungeon. After thirty minutes or so, Golind arrived with some barrels.

"Hello Nero, how have you been?"

The goblin was smiling cheerfully, like someone that had met a friend he hadn't seen for a long time.

"Well, well. Everything's fine, but it's been a bit boring the last days. Not a decent adventurer. Or maybe they just think this is a low level dungeon"

"What level is it actually?"

"Middle. Though that is only thanks to the utmost efficiency that i demand from my minions. Anyway, how are you doing?"

"Very good. The village is flourishing again. We've recovered the population we had lost"

"How?"

"Let's just say that without the worry of the adventurers..... everyone wanted to "celebrate", if you understand what i mean"

"Oh. You really reproduce fast don't you?"

"They're still in the wombs you know? We're not that fast"

"Ok then. So, did you think of....?"

"Finding another wife? Impossible. Every female is either taken or too young. And then again, if i tried to touch any other woman, my wife would haunt me"

"Hahahahah.... yeah, i guess....."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, but it wasn't that bad. Almost relaxing really. They passed an entire minute enjoying the small breeze that managed to pass through the dungeon, while enjoying the light of the sun. Then Golind spoke.

"Still, i must thank you for taking the trouble of clearing up the Miasma when i arrive"

"That's not a problem at all. After all, you are doing me a favor. So what do you have?"

"I brought some barrels of a special mixture of fruits and leaves, not the grey ones, that cleans mostly everything. It's an ancient recipe"

Nero faked an expression of shock.

"UUUUUUH! NOT GREY LEAVES! WHAT HERESY!"

Golind was not amused, and limited himself to scratching his goatee.

"Veeeery funny..... Just try it"

"Well, with your permission"

Nero grabbed one of the barrels and poured its content down on the axe. It was a dark green goo, it looked more like it would dirt it rather than clean it. But after mere seconds of spreading it, the blood was completely gone. Nero's eyes widened a little.

"Wow, very good indeed"

"It is, but try to be economical about it. We can't give you barrels every day"

"Don't worry, i'll just find a way to make a slime with its properties"

"You can mix monsters with other things?"

"Indeed, but only slimes. Only high level Dungeon Keepers can do that with strong monsters"

"That's interesting"

"I suppose so"

Silence fell yet again, only interrupted by some bird ferals that arrived in the main plaza and began singing, though it sounded weird more than melodic. The duo almost laughed but they refrained, since the monsters seemed to be putting a lot of effort into it. One even looked like he was fainting.

"...So, you know where Lord Andrew is?"

"More or less. I can feel he's up north, but not much apart from that"

"What a shame. I hoped we could find him"

"How would we even suppose to do that? I'm a giant minotaur and you're a shaman goblin. Saying that we would attract attention is an euphemism"

".... No comment. Still, you think he's doing ok?"

"I'm sure of it. He can handle himself"

"That's for sure"

For the third time, they stood silent, looking at the sunny sky, completely devoid of clouds, as if that gentle breeze had took them all away. Even the giant purple plants that engulfed the dungeon seemed cheerful in such a day. They would have sit there for ages, as long as that sweet wind and the warm sun remained to cuddle them.

"Hey, Golind"

"What?"

"It's a very sunny day, isn't it?"

"Yep. A good day indeed"

"Lord Jupir, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you Giean"

"I'm thankful. Now, here's your food"

"Thank you"

Giean, the loyal assistant of Jupir, gave him a plate with many vegetables, some Shalps, carrots, salad. It wasn't a big meal, but still very tasty. The light colors of the food lightened up the mood in the dark room where Jupir resided in. Apart front he fact that the walls were dark blue, he had lowered the curtains on all the windows but one, from which came a small ray of light. Giean sit down besides the bed, waiting for Jupir to finish. It didn't take long and when he finished, Jupir immediately gave his plate back.

"How was it my lord?"

"It tasted fine"

"I'm thankful of it"

The attendant smiled slightly, which made him look a few years younger. Something that a middle aged man like him was very proud about. He put the plate on a small table besides the closet, which was close to the bed. He then returned to his chair. His master didn't seem to be thinking about anything.

"So, my lord, what will we do now?"

Suddenly, the apathetic face of the hero was tainted in wrathful red, and he punched the bed repeatedly.

"DAMMIT! WHY DID YOU REMIND ME OF THAT?!? FUCK! THAT GODDAMN IDIOT! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE THE CASTLE, SEND SOME WEAK SOLDIERS THAT I COULD USE AS AN EXCUSE FOR MY DELAY AND LOSE AGAINST ME! GODDAMMIT! INSTEAD, HE DESTROYS AN ENTIRE ROAD, SENDS ME SOME OF HIS BUSINESS RIVALS WHICH HE HIMSELF COULDN'T DEAL WITH, AND THEN HE GETS KILLED ANYWAY! BY THAT KID OF ALL PEOPLE!"

"My lord, please calm d-"

"SILENCE GIEAN! THIS WAS A FAILURE! A FAILURE! NOW HE'S A BARON! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY CHANCE TO TAKE CONTROL! HE WOULD HAVE KILLED EDRESIA, AND THEN THOSE OLD PIGS WOULD HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO FOLLOW ME! NOW EVERYTHING'S GONE TO HELL!"

"I still think it was a bit rec-"

"RECKLESS?!? IT WAS MY ONLY CHANCE, THAT'S WHAT IT WAS! AND NOW I LOST IT!"

"My lo-"

"SILENCE!"

Jupir took a vase from his bedside table and threw it on the wall, breaking it and almost hitting Giean. The servant lowered his head.

"I am sorry, my lord"

"...... Yeah... uhm.... you're forgiven.... i guess"

Giean was lifting his head, when a butler opened the door. Jupir knew why he was there.

"Young master, your father has called for you"

"I'm coming. Giean, go do your chores"

"Yes, my lord" He said so with a bit of sadness.

Jupir changed himself into his good clothes, which made him look like some sort of duke, all covered in white and decorations. The last touch was putting up his precious ponytail, and after that he went on his way. The butler, even though it wasn't necessary, guided him through the dark halls of the mansion, which had all its curtains down, under the order of his father. They walked for a couple of minutes, before reaching their destination. They stood before the door and the butler spoke:

"My lord, the young master has arrived"

"Let him enter" A deep and hoarse voice answered.

The butler opened the door, and Jupir entered. The room was very dark, only one small ray of light coming from the only curtain that barely didn't cover the windows. He barely could see anything, but it didn't matter, he knew that room well. In front of him there was an enormous bed, and in the middle of it, he could see the silhouette of a very thin man, almost skeletal. It was too dark to see anything else.

"Son" His voice sounded even deeper and hoarser than before.

"Father"

".... So how is it going regarding the matter of the assault on the royal castle?"

"Not much. The mercenaries escaped and their leader seemingly did the same after surviving a mortal wound"

"Ahahahahaha" He laughed, though it wasn't loud, just shot and silent.

"Father?"

"I'm surprised"

"By what?" He raised his eyebrows.

"That after such a mess you managed to get away without problems. Truly the luck of a rat"

"What?!?" His face distorted in surprise and rage.

The old man laughed a little bit again.

"You really think i wouldn't know what my pathetic son's doing? Me, the master of this house? You are more foolish than i thought"

"How dare you accuse me like that?!?" He walked towards the bed.

"Your impudent rage is proof of it. Can't you even learn to hide what you think?"

Jupir was now in front of the bed, grabbing the footboard tightly, as if he wanted to crush it. His rage was overflowing like an erupting volcano, trying to engulf everything in its flames.

"FATHER, Y-"

"Silence"

Jupir closed his mouth abruptly. He wanted to keep talking but he couldn't. His father demanded it.

"Let the footboard go, the last thing it needs is your filth over it"

He let the footboard go, as if he forgot his desire to crush it. His father demanded it.

"At least you listen. Now, little dog, what do you think of doing? I doubt your friends will be there to help you now. As much friends hyenas can be"

"..... None of your business"

"Answer"

"I.... still have to think about it" He didn't want to say anything but he talked. His father demanded it.

"So you had no backup plans? Just how idiotic can you be?"

"I...."

"No. Stop talking, i don't need to hear anything more. Truly how sad, i never expected that you would grow up so pathetic and incompetent. Tsk, i guess i should have expected it from the son of that woman. An idiot woman that thought I regarded her as important"

Jupir snapped. He dashed to his father's bedside and punched the wall behind him, destroying it slightly. His face was covered in rage, insulted in every way by his father's words. His eyes contained pure hatred and disdain from the man in front of him, and yet they seemed at the same time demanding.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT MOTHER LIKE THAT?!? I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO DISRESPECT HER YOU WALKING CORPSE! YES, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, A WALKING CORPSE! YOU CAN'T EVEN STAND OR SHIT BY YOURSELF, AND YET YOU ACT SO HIGH AND MIGHTY! YOU THINK YOU LIVE BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN WILL?!? NO, I'M KEEPING YOU ALIVE, YOU DYING REMAIN OF A MAN! I'M THE MASTER OF THIS HOUSE, NOT YOU! NOBODY WOULD SUSPECT ANYTHING IF SOMEONE AS ILL AS YOU DISAPPEARED! I CAN ERASE YOU WHENEVER I WANT!"

His father backed away slightly, but then returned to his original position. Jupir could see his white, thin and pallid face, staring at him coldly.

".... Then do it"

"What?"

"Do it. You think i fear death? No, i don't. I couldn't care less, simply because my life is not worth anything as it is now. So, do it, if you have the guts you little, little man"

Jupir couldn't say anything. He just stood there, staring at his father, not doing anything. He was sweating a little, and his hands seemed to be shaking. His father chuckled.

"That's what i thought. Now get out, you've put me in a bad mood"

Jupir took his fist out of the wall and walked slowly, almost without strength, towards the door. He opened it, and got out, but before closing it, he looked back. He only met a merciless and cruel gaze. He closed the door behind him.

Giean was expecting him in the hallway. He noticed that his master didn't look well, but he decided to not speak about it.

"My lord, we have guests awaiting us outside"

"... I see. Then, lead the way"

"Of course"

Jupir followed Giean through the dark hallways, in which one could lose themselves if not accustomed to the dark. The hallways' walls were decorated with many paintings, tapestries and armors. Jupir looked nostalgically at many of them. He had loved art since he was a child, so he couldn't help it. Sometimes he would just stand there, watching the image represented, ignoring everything else. Something he shared with his mother. And just as he though about it, he saw the one painting he hated with his very soul. It represented him and his parents together. He couldn't bear it, he found it utterly disgusting, he always did, even as a simple youngster. The reason was simple: he was smiling. That horrible, cruel, uncaring being that he knew as his father, was smiling, holding both him and his mother, like he thought of them as family. It felt so...... repulsing to him. And now, more than ever, he hated it, he detested it, he refused to accept it. His rage took over his reasoning, his hatred over his body. He grabbed the painting and ripped it apart, like a wild animal with its prey, but not nearly as natural. It was like watching a man being mauled, but somehow seemed so much more violent.

"AAAAAAAARRRGH!"

"MY LORD! PLEASE CALM DOWN!"

Giean grabbed his shoulders, stopping him.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO DESTROY IT! I HAVE TO! THIS THING HAS NO PLACE HERE! LET ME GO GIEAN! LET ME GO!"

"My lord, please! If your father knows of this-"

"TO HELL WITH HIM! TO HELL WITH HIS ROTTEN CARCASS! TO HELL WITH HIS COMMAND!"

He had stopped destroying the painting, as little of it was left, but he was now shaking Giean madly.

"My lord, calm down! You won't gain nothing from this!"

"Aaargh.... yes, you're right. I have to.... concentrate. I need a new plan. Now that..... we lost our chance"

"Indeed, my lord"

"...You forgot to tell me who they are"

"They're friends from noble families"

"... I understand. Please keep leading me"

"As you wish, my lord"

Jupir and Giean walked, the darkness of the mansion accompanying them, while the sounds of the outside barely managed to enter in that tomb that the Hero knew as his house. Giean stood closer to him this time, paying attention to another possible outburst, but when he turned around for a second, he saw his master touching a painting.

"My lord?"

Jupir looked at him only after a minute.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that this...... this is my favorite. But it's not time, keep moving now"

"My lord, the front door is right below the stairs to the end of this corridor"

"Oh.... yes, i didn't notice it. Then i'll go alone, you just.... make yourself useful"

"As you wish"

As Jupir disappeared at the corner of the corridor, Giean decided to look at the painting. There were so many in that old mansion, he couldn't even remember one of them. When he looked at the painting he saw the scene of a fight: an heroic knight clad in white was piercing the heart of a demon, which was holding the chains that restrained the knight itself. He didn't know who did it, or what was its significance, but he couldn't help but be mesmerized by it.

"I see. Quite a good choice my lord"

He left the the hero alone and came down the stairs, and saw that his master had already departed.

"Have a good day" He said, all alone in such a big house.

Hello guys, liked the chapter? Hope you did, because it's long as FUCK! I also released it late, but that's another matter. I know that some of you are wondering why i put these "side stories", which aren't side stories at all actually, instead of Andrew kicking ass, but i decided that after the Soprano, the poor guy needed a break. As such i did the only thing that's better than continuing the story: expanding the lore and exploring a character's background. The latter is a thing i'll try to do more, since the main complaint of this story is the character development, of which there wasn't much. I'll change that. Now regarding the story: the part about Epid was more about expanding the world than anything, since i thought that the "world map" was too small. After all the only thing you knew about were Kieris and more recently the Alliance to the east. I also put a bit of general lore, just to add details. The second story, was, well, more like a way to see how Nero and Golind were doing more than anything, it wasn't actually important, but i hope you liked it. The last one, about Jupir, i don't think you expected it. Mainly because he was a pretty shallow, stereotypical villain until now. Well, i've decided to flesh him out more than a demon in a Splatterhouse/Doom crossover, since as he was, he was just the easy to hate bitch. Now, i have no intention of redeeming him in some way, as some of you may think, i just want to give you some reasonable explanation to why he's like this and not just because he's the typical story douche. I really hoped you liked that part, since it's my first in-depth character development i did. I mean, i think you know much more about him now, don't you? Also, the relationship with his father is loosely based on something, let's see if somebody can guess it. The one who guesses it gets a prize! (By the way, it's not limited to anything, so just say what you think it is inspired on). Well, that was all i had to say, good read, good night (or day, it depends).

P.S: This is probably my biggest chapter yet, so please forgive any error i could have made and correct me as soon as possible.