The Eternal Dungeon: a Turn-of-the-Century Toughs omnibus Read online



  THE ETERNAL DUNGEON

  a Turn-of-the-Century Toughs omnibus

  Dusk Peterson

  Love in Dark Settings Press

  Greenbelt, Maryland

  Published in the United States of America. May 2016 edition. Publication history.

  Copyright (c) 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 Dusk Peterson. The author’s policies on sharing, derivative works, and fan works are available online (duskpeterson.com/copyright.htm). This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  CONTENTS

  === Front matter ===

  Maps.

  === Prequel novella ===

  The Unanswered Question. No weapons, no allies, and no guarantees that he will survive the test.

  The Unanswered Question: Author’s Note.

  === Rebirth ===

  Elsdon Taylor, a prisoner accused of committing a terrible murder. Layle Smith, a torturer with a terrible past. Their meeting in the Eternal Dungeon appears certain to bring out the worst in both men.

  Yet neither man is quite what he appears. As the prisoner and his torturer begin to be drawn toward each other, the ripple effects of their meeting will have a powerful impact on other inhabitants of the Eternal Dungeon: Layle’s faithful guard, struggling to contain his doubts. A younger guard determined to take any shortcuts necessary to ensure that his life follows the path he has already chosen. An old love from Layle’s past, still sorrowing. And most of all, a prisoner who has not yet arrived at the Eternal Dungeon, but whose fate will depend on how Layle handles Elsdon Taylor . . . and on how Elsdon handles Layle Smith.

  Rebirth 1: The Breaking. The prisoner knew that the Eternal Dungeon was a place where suspected criminals were broken by torture, and he was prepared to hold out against any methods used against him – except the method he could not anticipate.

  Rebirth 2: Love and Betrayal. As a torturer learns the art of questioning prisoners, he discovers that the word “love” can have a darker meaning than he had supposed.

  Rebirth 3: First Time. One man seeks to heal from abuse. The other man dreams of abusing. Now they’re in love.

  Rebirth 4: In Training. Unexpected danger reveals to a young torturer the dark mystery of his mentor’s past – as well as unpleasant revelations about himself.

  Rebirth 5: As a Seeker. If the High Seeker wants something, no power in life or death will hold him from taking it. What he wants now has brought danger to the Eternal Dungeon.

  Rebirth 6: Tops and Sops. The torturer was young, inexperienced, and lacking in knowledge of the world. The prisoner was tough, worldlywise, and had an infallible plan that would give him escape from this place. So why did the prisoner feel as though the torturer had the edge?

  Rebirth: Historical Note.

  === Transformation ===

  The Eternal Dungeon, a royal prison where criminals are transformed, has lost its leadership. The duty of returning the dungeon to normal falls on two Seekers (torturers) who are already burdened with their own problems. One Seeker is struggling to understand why an old love affair continues to gnaw at him. The other Seeker is faced with his greatest challenge: whether to risk that which is most precious to him in order to save his own abuser.

  Transformation 1: Deception. He thought she had come to change his workplace. He found she was there to change his life.

  Transformation 2: Twists and Turns. Only the loyal presence of one man has kept him alive. Now that man’s loyalty is about to be tested.

  Transformation 3: A Prisoner Has Need. A mysterious prisoner. A chance to begin again.

  Transformation 4: The Consultation. He has come from the Eternal Dungeon to offer his services to another prison’s head torturer. The only trouble is that the head torturer likes him too much.

  Transformation: Historical Note.

  === The Balance ===

  The workers in the Eternal Dungeon have always expressed contempt toward the Hidden Dungeon in the neighboring kingdom of Vovim, whose torturers abuse prisoners without restraint. But the balance between mercy and hell is not so clear as might be thought in either dungeon, and now that balance is about to tip. Only the strength of love and integrity will determine the paths of two Seekers whose fortunes are bound together.

  The Balance 1: Truth and Lies. When you’re a prisoner, having a torturer who’s mad can be an advantage. Or maybe not.

  The Balance 2: Barbarians. Vovim was renowned for its strong monarchy, for its love of the theater, and for its skill in the art of torture. In other words, it had all the qualities needed to become a civilized nation. But would anyone be willing to defy Vovim’s tyrannical king? And if they did, would they survive?

  The Balance 3: Hidden. He had been given the kindest, gentlest torturer in the dungeon. The prisoner was left with only one hope: that he could teach his torturer how to be cruel.

  The Balance 4: Death Watch. Death lurks everywhere in the Eternal Dungeon . . . even in a Seeker’s bedroom.

  The Balance 5: Balladeer. Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out the obvious.

  The Balance: Historical Note.

  === On Guard ===

  The ties forged between the noble-minded Eternal Dungeon and the abusive Hidden Dungeon have set off an unpredictable chain of horrific events, in which the love between two Seekers (torturers) will be tested to the straining point. Caught in the middle of the struggle are Barrett Boyd and Seward Sobel, two loyal guards who will find themselves questioning their most fundamental beliefs about the Eternal Dungeon’s ideals.

  On Guard: Prologue. “The junior Seeker stood in the entrance, awaiting death.”

  On Guard 1: Promotion. “‘Has it occurred to you to wonder what would happen to this dungeon if their stubbornness came into conflict?’”

  On Guard 2: Protection. “‘Do you recall the orders that you were given when you were first assigned to guard him?’”

  On Guard 3: Searching. “The prisoner was meek and gentle and very, very afraid.”

  On Guard 4: Appointment. “He was thinking to himself that diligence ought to be rewarded.”

  On Guard 5: Mediation. “‘Shall we allow criminals to roam the streets at will because we’re afraid to take the chance of harming an innocent prisoner?’”

  On Guard 6: Advice. “A great man and his faithful guard – that was the tale of which ballads were sung.”

  On Guard 7: Judgment. “He knew at once that something was wrong.”

  On Guard 8: Testing. “‘Nervous?’”

  On Guard 9: Decision. “His mind was focussed, his goal clear.”

  On Guard: Consequences. “‘He’s your friend, isn’t he?’”

  On Guard: Historical Note and Acknowledgments.

  === More Turn-of-the-Century Toughs fiction ==

  Sweet Blood (excerpt). A preview of the next Eternal Dungeon volume. The excerpt includes major spoilers for the end of On Guard.

  Lockup (excerpt). A preview of the first volume of a related series.

  === Back matter ===

  Appendix: Turn-of-the-Century Toughs calendar systems.

  Appendix: Turn-of-the-Century Toughs timeline. Includes links to all the current Toughs stories.

  Credits and more e-books by Dusk Peterson.

  MAPS

  A larger version of the first map is available at:

  duskpeterson.com/toughs

  o—o—o

  o—o—o

  o—o—o

  THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

  The year 338, the
tenth month. (The year 1874 Farlow by the Old Calendar.)