Troubled Thoughts

"You seem troubled young Alex Maybell."

Alexander nearly leapt out of his throne, clutching at his chest as he stared at the morose visage of Death. The pale bastard stood silently beside the throne eying the young man with a slight hint of amusement. "Jesus H. Christ. We need to get you a bell or something." Alexander swore dropping back down into the throne as if the presence of the spectre of death was just any old day. Off to the side Jansea was giggling watching the pair, glancing her way he considered next upgrade changing the core rooms setting to Holy and see if she'd still laugh...

"I am rather surprised at you young Alex Maybell, you did not consummate with your childhood friend, rather you sent her out with all likelihood of never seeing her again. This is not your nature young Alex Maybell."

Alexander grit his teeth doing his best to neither curse nor lash out at Death, little wonder Thersea had had the urge to strip and offer her self up, Death had orchestrated the situation to test him again. Sighing instead he glanced aside, "I'm rather busy living Death, if you have a point to make get to it would you?"

Death smirked looking at Alex and extended a hand, the dungeon management screen lit up revealing the bottom of the page. The option for Redemption was no longer grayed out but rather shone with a golden luster. "If you wish to be with her, you need only use this young Alex Maybell, with your early start and good luck you should have enough to leave my path, should you choose."

Alexander looked at the golden option then to Death, "There's a catch isn't there?"

Death smiled mirthlessly, "Naturally young Alex Maybell. You will cease to be special, you will join the Path of the Peasant instead, you can have your childhood love with little worry of greater consequence. You will marry, have a child, and die in obscurity, and Anubis will not be waiting for you. Simple, as you may say no fuss, no muss."

Alexander frowned looking at the golden lettering, nothing so beautiful told him of personal damnation so completely. Give up his second life to live his days dirt kicking. To have a normal family and die in the dirt? Even his old self would spit in the eye of such an offer! As Jansea had stated, no Dungeon Lord tasting power would so casually toss it away, and certainly not this one! Was there some regret not claiming his first love? Perhaps, but he'd get over it. Maybe one of her descendants would be an even bigger catch...

Death watched rather impassively as Alexander dismissed the screen, "Such is the choice I knew you would make young Alex Maybell. Thus I offer you a chance since others seek to thwart my path holder."

Alexander turned to look upon Death with suspicion, "The cost?"

Death shook his head, "No cost young Alex Maybell. Powers seek to limit the dungeon so let there be a different door. Your dungeon grows well, so having a different entrance won't be unheard of." Opening the dungeon management screen Death tapped his pointed chin in thought, brushing his hand across the overlay of the dungeon the labrynth changed, the tunnels became more expansive now instead of two sectors there was now four creating a rough circle around the central chamber.

It was one of these new tunnels that saw an entrance appear, through the observation window snow drifted through the illusionary bone gates piling up slowly in the second entrance. Alexander sat back in thought, "Where is that?"

Death turned away walking across the moat of lava like it was solid ground. "I expect increased gains my path holder, do not disappoint." Death continued his walk, passing Jansea with a nod before walking into the rough wall and vanishing leaving the pair watching that spot. Alexander shook his head, once again summoning his base goblins to play scout for him, at this rate the Tier one goblins would likely evolve on their own for how often they were being used as scouts.

Settling into his seat he focused on what his scout was seeing, the other entrance exited into a snow choked staircase, the trembling near naked goblin was forced to climb through the freezing drift to get a look of the lay of the land. What he saw was rather surprising. Gone was the forest and mountain of his ancestral home, rather the second door exited not to a cave but the moldering basement of a crumbling keep. Through the decayed walls the goblin could see snow clad hills over looking a fairly large town.

The goblin climbed carefully upon a ruined tower and looked around. There was a fair amount of foot traffic going in and out of the place even in what appeared to be the depths of winter. Yet, the day of Ascension happened during the spring equinox, how was it winter? Frowning he sent the other three goblins through letting the four roam and spy on the area, as they branched out further however, Alexander truly did not recognize any landmarks. Was this a different continent? Or a different world?

Not that it mattered really, the fact the dungeons second entrance was placed in a set of ruins gave him some hope, not only for the unwary town that was not on guard against him but also for claiming Thersea after all. Quickly reorganizing his support minions he left some of the dark dwarves to mine the copper node, but rather than trying to further expand the labrynth he gave the task of restoring the keep to their fellows.

Alexander's mind whirled, if he stayed completely in the dungeon he would ever be out of time with the world, his only gains would be inside it. Yet if he took claim of the keep posing as an impoverish noble to reclaim his holdings and hiring mercenaries to rid his 'home' of the monstrous invasion he could certainly limit how out of time he was. While he set the support staff to rebuilding what they could he sent out his goblins and orcs to do the snow removal, if they could get the keep rebuilt before the icy grip of winter ended, none would be the wiser that he was in fact the dungeons master.

Settling back repressing a shudder from the chilly visuals he watched as his minions got to work. Jansea watched over his shoulder with a frown but said nothing, he could well guess that she was displeased. She knew his thoughts, he was completely transparent before her. The thought of him living outside the dungeon at risk grated on her instincts which were set to protect him, she could not do such if he was outside! Yet he seemed determined to put a foothold in the outside world, likely for that hero...

Alexander couldn't gauge the time, the translation between out there and in the dungeon was handled in real time by the observation system but still the more he watched, the more he felt the strain on his mind increase. Still there was something he needed to do and for that he called upon the fairies, well two of them, these would be sent out the original door to fetch Thersea. Just by the progress on the ruins he could tell it had likely been months since she stepped outside, to find her and return with her would take months more. She was already older than him as it was but now? Maybe he could lock her away in here while he spent some time on that side...

Dismissing the windows Alexander sat back resting his eyes. He needed sleep. It has not even truly been a day since this wild ride started, but out there almost two years had gone by. What scared him deep down was if he slept, just what would be outside? Nearly another year gone? The thought truly frustrated him, he was too powerless to do anything as it currently stood. He could update the dungeon, hire more minions, tempt the town into attacking it but to what end? To suffer a few days worth of attacks before they too restricted what would go in?

Shaking the weariness from his mind he stood up and turned to look at the core, all because of some stupid time difference he was being driven to his wits end. Though if he were honest, it was more his unwillingness to give up on anything. He wanted the dungeon, while it was not the power he originally sought in his rebirth, it was impressive for what it was. He wanted Thersea. His lust was probably second only to his greed, he did not want to give up on her, to conquer her descendants, were she to have them, did not interest him as much as claiming she herself did.

He also wanted Death off his ass. That smug spectre always was testing him, judging him. He wanted to succeed where he was expected to fail, yet to do so meant he'd have to stop being himself would it not? This thought in itself strained his mind with great urgency. Death would keep hounding him, throwing tests his way, hell the keep was most likely a test in itself! That pale ghost knew how greedy Alexander was, so why not tempt him with a plausible route to take all he desired?

Sighing heavily he turned for the bed chamber and glanced to Jansea, "If there's trouble recall the minions and defend the dungeon. If Thersea returns I expect to find her whole and untouched when I awaken, she is my guest. Understood?"

Jansea bowed low and purred, "Of course my darling Master, all will be as you desire..."

Alexander eyed the succubus, the very air around the demon was filled with temptation, he need only ask of her and... no! To lay with a succubus was madness! Master of her he may be but he was mortal through and through, to indulge base desire with her would see his very life drained from him. Gritting his teeth he turned away he would have to order his minions to way lay a peasant girl in the near future, this need coupled with his tiredness was too distracting.

Crossing the core room he slipped into the bed chamber and disrobed, gathering the sheet that had had so intimate contact with his Thersea he laid down drawing in her scent to relax his mind. His plan had to work. Existing out if time was driving him rather crazy. He was e experiencing one time line while the world spun around him like a race track, things of great desire sped by, mere blinks of the eye. Before he'd know it the race would be over and there'd be nothing further to enjoy.

Sleep came to him reluctantly. His body undoubtably needed it, he had gone over a day of being at the height of his youth, being betrayed by fate, hunted down, leading the massacre of scores of people, confronting his love and risking losing her only now to have a glimmer of hope of grabbing hold of all he wanted. Clutching the sheet his conciousness fled the waking world and he knew no more. Dreams assailed his sleeping mind, nightmares of failure, of Thersea returning a granny well into the twilight of her life, of the town rising to seal him away from the world, of Jansea laughing as Death claimed him for Anubis' whim.

Sitting upright with a gasp, sweat poured over his brow. He breathed hard, clutching the sheet in his fingers as his heart beat madly. The wisps of the nightmares, of crushing agonizing defeat on all fronts seized him. Gasping for air he clutched his hair and tried to fight through the first real bout of reality that smacked him in the face so readily. In the corner of his eye he saw a floating window, the dungeon management one. Redemption blazed like a torch on the screen, pulsing with an energy he had not witnessed before. That was right, he had an escape route! Just accept a regular life, be with Thersea, live out a life and be at peace...

Reaching a hand out Alexander's fingers hovered over those blazing letters...