Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance.

[Sir Tawmis]

EDIT: Added another piece. I figured I'd build up some tension between some of the two teams; and once I came up with that - the dynamic between Tawmis and Sir Karin easily grew that these two would not be getting along...



Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

“Well, if we’re going to do this Herder thing… at least I can take comfort in the fact that there’s more of us,” Tawmis gripped his rusty short sword tightly. “Now, if you follow my lead…”

“Follow your lead?” Sir Karin tilted his head. “Excuse me, why would we follow your lead? Perhaps you don’t recognize my emblem?” Sir Karin parted his tattered robes. “I am a Knights of Malanian, of the Malanian Empire.”

“That’s great,” Tawmis said, looking back and Sir Karin, and paying no attention to his tarnished armor or it’s emblem. “My name is Tawmis Sanarius – I am the son of Contar Stoneskull and Yennica Whitefeather, the only two people ever to have known to escape the dangers of Grimrock.” He paused, “Until me, Taren,” he gestured to the minotaur, “Blaz’tik,” he gestured to the insectoid and then to Coy, “and Coy, managed to escape… with explosive results.”

“It’s –tic!- true,” Blaz’tik admitted. “He did –tic- lead us out of Grimrock.”

“I don’t think you understand,” Sir Karin emphasized, “I am a Knight of the Malanian Empire. Do you know of the Malanian Empire?”

“I know all about the Malanian Empire,” Tawmis retorted. “At one time, the Areonan Empire was the ruling Empire… but a deep seeded mistrust and growing hatred between the North and the South portions of the Empire boiled over and the Areonan Empire was sundered… forming your precious Malanian Empire and the Kingdom of Theraen. Your precious Malanian Empire was ruled by a King with the strength of demons – though little more is known about him. And that is probably how you,” Tawmis turned and pointed to Alissa, “were born with the magic powers that you have now. A result of your father’s destiny and pact with some kind of demon. There are stories of his cruelty.”

Sir Karin drew his blade and tried to put it to Tawmis’ throat, but expecting the Knight’s reaction, Tawmis deflected it.

“How dare you! Do you know who you accuse?” Sir Karin growled, gripping his blade.

“Alissa, or,” Tawmis paused, “Lady Alissa, if you’re from your precious Kingdom.”

“How dare you speak to Lady Alissa in such a manner! And your acquisitions are base lies!”

“So tell me,” Tawmis pressed the Knight. “When you introduced yourselves, you said you were not slavers and you were waylaid, and simply were paying for passage aboard that cursed ship we were all on. When you said you were waylaid – how did it happen?”

“I wanted to get away from my father’s coddling,” Lady Alissa admitted.

“Coddling is a fine way to put it,” Tawmis sneered. “I am all too familiar with mages who align themselves with demons – similar to the Mages of Dex. He was not coddling you – he was grooming you, so that when you peaked – he could siphon your magic and leave an empty corpse.”

Sir Karin growled, “I should run you through.”

“You can try,” Taren’s deep voice boomed. “You will need to go through me first.”

The Knights of Malanian were brave men; but even they knew a fight with a Minotaur was typically a losing battle without a small battalion of well-trained men beside them.

“Easy,” Tawmis placed his hand on Taren’s muscular arm. “The day I can’t take a Malanian Knight, I shouldn’t be on this world.”

Sir Karin turned towards Alissa who seemed to be pondering what Tawmis accused her father, King Saric, of. “My lady…” Sir Karin stammered.

“I’ve never met my grandfather,” Lady Alissa said. “No one on my father’s side,” she realized. “My father has scarcely aged since I was a child.”

“He lives on the life essence of those with magic,” Tawmis shrugged.

“My lady,” Sir Karin sheathed his sword and gripped her. “You can not believe this man’s lies about your father.”

Jorale had sat back and watched the exchange. She had heard similar rumors that Tawmis now accused King Saric of the Malanian empire. She looked at Stonebreaker who shrugged. He seemed eager to move forward – to face his destiny against this legendary Lindworm that lived somewhere on this island.

[AnnElfwind]

And the groups finally merged. Love the history lesson, but Karin's attitude needs an adjustment. Maybe Taren could smack him upside the head? Honestly, you don't go against your best option of survival. And Tawmis's group is that best option.

Though the one thing I look forward the most right now, apart of them meeting the Master and the Lindworm and so on, is them meeting one of the Medusas. Wonder who will get turned to stone.

And Jorale seems to be hiding something. Can't wait to see what it is.

[Sir Tawmis]

And the groups finally merged.

Indeed. It's been so long since I have played LOG2 (I can't even remember where I left off at this point, again) - so a lot of the story going forward, I am going to be winging it and obviously taking a lot of liberties with it.

Love the history lesson, but Karin's attitude needs an adjustment.

What's funny is when I originally wrote the other party (Sir Karin, Alissa, Jorele, and Bonebreaker) into the story - I looked at the LOG2 map, and saw the Malalian Empire on the map, and figured that's where Sir Karin and Alissa would be from. So when I wrote this latest segment, I did a google search on "Malanian Empire Grimrock" - the first site that came up was this one about a book that had been translated - and one of the pages translated read:
Page 2-2
age of ??
...the areonan empire ruled over
...of the northern r???ms the empire
was seemingly at peace but inside
there was an unresolved conflict the
increasing mistrust between the
people of the north and the south. cor-
ruption and the first great clot
blood plague gnawed at the empire. fi-
nally in the endless internal power
struggle, the empire divided into
malanian empire and kingdom of theraen.
the malanian empire was led by arefar fe
sancconjon, a powerful man raised far
away in the eastern lands, who was be
lieved to possess the strength of
demons but little more is known of him.
wild and terrifying stories of his
cruelties pread over the lands and
its believed that sancconjon him
self started the rumors to streng-
hten his rule.

So I knew right then - that's the canon fire I needed to create some tension between the two groups - and it was perfect that it was Sir Karin and Tawmis that I was able to play off of the most. Because I feel like Sir Karin and Alissa could use some more development (since I did "origin write ups" for them - I wanted to dive deeper into their characters). So this little gem was perfect for that.

Maybe Taren could smack him upside the head? Honestly, you don't go against your best option of survival. And Tawmis's group is that best option.

Indeed, having survived Grimrock. Sir Karin and Alissa got ambushed and taken down (mentioned in their origin piece).

Though the one thing I look forward the most right now, apart of them meeting the Master and the Lindworm and so on, is them meeting one of the Medusas. Wonder who will get turned to stone.

Well, we know the captain (Captain Bairon) of the ill fated ship has met a medusa. So the story already acknowledges they're on the island. So... the party is bound to run into one.

And Jorale seems to be hiding something. Can't wait to see what it is.

Jorale is fun. In my head, she's the ultimate opportunist, and willing to let anyone die, as long as she survives. She will tell you what you want to hear, while holding a knife behind her back, waiting for you to turn away from her, so she can stick in you and kill you, if that's what was needed. I've not had too much opportunity to show that in the story, but the character page on my site makes it very clear the type of woman she is!

[Sir Tawmis]

Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian



Jorale finally weighed in, “I’ve heard of your family – and even you, Tawmis – have a reputation of getting into – and out of – trouble.” She turned to Sir Karin, “For now, I say we follow Tawmis and see if he can keep his streak of reputable luck.”

“It’s not luck,” Tawmis muttered beneath his breath. “It’s all skill.”

“Normally, the strongest lead my people,” Stonebreaker eyed Taren, “but in this case – there appears to be magic involved with this island, so I concede to those who understand the foul works of magic.”

Blaz’tik made an audible clicking sound with his mandibles, eyeing the giant barbarian.

Giving Blaz’tik no attention, Stonebreaker turned to Tawmis. “You’re experienced in the ways of magic?” he looked Tawmis up and down, “You look like a warrior to me. This one,” he roughly patted Blaz’tik on the back, nearly knocking the air out of his lungs. “This one looks like he’s weak and feeble, and thus, a wielder of the dark arts.”

“Not all magic,” Blaz’tik ticked with mandibles again, “is ‘dark art.’ I am also, no leader. When Tawmis has needed advice on magic, I have lent -tic- him my knowledge.”

“As for me,” Tawmis learned against the cavern wall that led into the den of herders, “I’ve had more than my share of dealings of magic. Ever heard of the Mages of Des?”

“No,” Stonebreaker said flatly. “Should I have?”

“They’re also known as the Crimson Order,” Tawmis went on to say. “They kidnapped me at the age of thirteen – and for seven, very long years – tortured me, and ripped at my brain, trying to peel away layers of it, like it was an onion, to see if I had any knowledge of my parents usage of the Orb of Zhandul. For seven years, they ripped at my mind. From there, they shipped me off where I was a slave in Namaer. In the Xafi Desert, both Taren and I were captured by the Magnates of the Burning Wastes, and subjected to tournaments that involved Mages blasting at us from a safe distance – like stabbing fish in a barrel. Then there was the sprites in the Bacodar Forests…”

“Let’s not speak of the sprites,” Taren shook his head at the memory.

Tawmis looked over at Taren and nodded. He turned his gaze back towards Stonebreaker. “So, yes, you could say I have had my experience with dealing with magic.”

“Well then,” Stonebreaker smiled broadly and placed his make-shift axe on his shoulder. “Lead on.”

“Hold on,” Sir Karin stepped forward. “If knowledge of magic is the key to leadership on this cursed expedition, I would nominate Alissa. Not only is she royalty, but she’s an actual mage.”

Alissa’s expression bleached white. “I have never led anyone… I … do not want that responsibility.”

Sir Karin’s face went flat. Clearly he had wanted Alissa to take leadership so that the Malanian Empire would be the ones leading this, if not himself.

“Well, if Alissa will not take leadership,” Sir Karin finally said, after a moment. “I would still like to nominate myself. As a Knight of the Malanian Empire, not only have I led countless sieges, leading many men to victory, I have also had the distinct honor of marching into these battles with the Mages of Malanian – which,” Sir Karin’s voice seemed smug suddenly, “I am sure you are all aware, are some of the best mages throughout the land.”

“Simply because your king, trains them, to syphon their magic,” Tawmis smiled, bringing up the previous discussion.

Alissa placed her hand on Sir Karin’s shoulder. “I appreciate you trying to defend my father,” she said, seeing that Sir Karin was boiling with anger again, “but this is not a war. This is a matter of survival of a different kind. I, as your princess, command you to yield command to this Tawmis individual.”

Sir Karin turned on her, “Now? Now you use your title on me? When all throughout this, you have told me to treat you as a mage and not as royalty? Now you would take your title and use it against me?”

“Looks like the party’s spoken,” Tawmis smiled. “So…” he juggled a stone he had picked up, “… you in or you out?”

[Sir Tawmis]

Now with a new banner!



Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

Sir Karin looked at the others, and noticed all eyes were on him, waiting for him to make his choice. As a Knight of Malanian, it was difficult for Sir Karin to ceded to anyone on the battlefield – and make no mistake, in his own mind, this was a mental battle field. The tide of the battle had turned against him, even the one he was sworn to protect had turned on him.
“Fine,” he finally said, nearly spitting the words.

They began their descent into – what Jorale suspected was a Herder Den, based on the smell of the pollen that hung heavily in the air. Sir Karin put a cloth over his mouth as he lingered near the back and looked at Stonebreaker. “Why did you cede to this fighter? I thought you said among your people the strongest always led?”

Stonebreaker turned and faced the Knight but did not cover his mouth. “The strongest leaders are not always the strongest themselves; but a loyal companion or guard may be the wall between them and you. And,” he looked over the others just ahead of them, “that fighter you have your problems with has a minotaur who would die for him. Although Minotaurs are not common in the frozen tundra, their strength, honor and fighter skill has still reached our ears. Mortal enemies of the Ogres of the world, they live to kill Ogres… and having dealt with Frost Ogres and Snow Wargs, who serve those Frost Ogres… I’ve seen what those Ogres are capable of… and to think these minotaurs will blindly rush in to kill one – even at the cost of their own life? The strongest leader here is indeed that human that you insist on fighting with.”

“So you only follow him because the Minotaur is his guardian,” Sir Karin asked.

“Yes, and before you think of poisoning or doing something to the Minotaur to usurp that fighter’s position as the current leader of this merry band,” Stonebreaker smiled at Sir Karin, “keep in mind, if you try to assume rulership, it’d be my duty to prove that I am stronger than you. And rest assured, without the element of surprise like Jorale and her slaves had, I would crush you. Without even breaking a sweat. So right now, that Minotaur is also keeping you alive.”

Sir Karin waited for Stonebreaker to laugh or smile or give a sign he had been joking; after all, during the short time on the island, they had come to rely on one another; rather than this stranger that they knew nothing about. But if Stonebreaker was joking or making a jest, he never gave any indication. Sir Karin thought back on when the barbarian had devoured the flesh of one of the dead men found and realized, this towering mass of flesh and muscle never did have much of a sense of humor.

A few moments later, there was chaos.

As Jorale had suspected, it was a Herder Den. The cavern was thick with spores being kicked up in the air, and for a moment Sir Karin thought about how Jorale had said the spores might be lethal is inhaled; because the people she had sent to fetch the spores and pieces of the Herders that could be used for poisons and potions, never came back with the entire party that left.

For a brief moment, because the visibility was barely a foot in front of his vision, he considered trying to locate Tawmis and running his blade through him, and make it look like one of the Herders took him down or that he was a casualty of the chaos; but he knew he would immediately be accused and the Minotaur would undoubtedly run him through.

Several large Herders were running around, screeching their unique sound, emitting pores everywhere, so that visibility was difficult.

“There’s a Herder Spore in here,” Jorale called out, swinging in the darkness with her makeshift dagger. “That’s what they’re trying to protect. Take it down and the rest will fall apart with no way to truly communicate with one another. Try not to damage the red spore on it – I could use that.”

“It’s difficult to be -tic- delicate,” Blaz’tik shouted as he launched a volley of bolts, “in this chaos.” Alissa was standing with her back to Blaz’tik launching spells in the opposite direction.

Taren was bull rushing the entire room, taking down Herders left and right, and on more than one occasion had clipped Sir Karin, which the Knight was beginning to think was intentional.

The sounds the Herders were making were suddenly different.

“Found the spore,” Coy called out, “and, took care of it.”

Now the Herders were more frantic. Their central line of communication was now severed. Some of the Herders were turning on each other, attacking anything that moved.

By the time the last Herder was taken down, Stonebreaker was clinging to life, Jorale had several cuts and gashes that were deep – but not like threatening, Coy’s one good eye was damaged by excessive spores when he had taken down the Herder Spore, and Taren had a large gash across his chest which was bleed profusely.

“I found something,” Blaz’tik commented, examining the wall. “Runes of some kind.”

Alissa approached Blaz’tik as Jorale tended to Stonebreaker’s wounds. She examined the runes, running her hands over them. “These were runes used to animate what were known as Stone Philosophers. Mages would imbue the stone with knowledge to be parted to those who discovered them – to offer a hint or clue. Often solely meant for the Mage to understand and mislead anyone else who did not understand the clues given. Mages did this to hide some of their secrets and magic.”

She walked over to Jorale and took her makeshift dagger and returned to the wall and began scraping against the years of grime built up by the spores that had come to rest on the wall, and soon revealed behind it all, were a pair of pale, glowing eyes.

“Demons of Dex!” Blaz’tik took a step back. “The wall?”

“It’s a Philosopher Stone,” Alissa answered as she began scraping away the rest of the grime until the stone face was fully revealed.
It suddenly showed an image of ten circles – four on the top, three in the next row, two in the next and finally a single circle on the bottom.

“It appears to be an arrow pointing down,” Alissa looked at it strangely, then looked at the ground.

“That can’t be -tic- right,” Blaz’tik said, stomping his insect foot on the floor. Aside from the gunk from the pores, the floor was rock solid.

“Wait,” Coy hobbled over and looked at it. He waved his hand in front of the Philosopher Stone’s eyes. “Move three to see what lies beyond me,” it said in a haunting voice.

“We need to move three of the circles,” Coy said, “in some pattern to see what this really means.”

“But the combination could be anything… if we move any three…” Alissa tried to move three random circles, and they all moved back after the third one was moved.

“Wait,” Coy said, “on the island – where the master dwells. There’s a pyramid. This looks like an upside down pyramid.”

Taren, still bleeding approached, he moved the bottom to the right, then the next one to the right, then the following to the right – until the three he moved appeared to make a pyramid. The Philosopher Stone suddenly opened and revealed a passage beyond.

“How did you know that?” Alissa looked up at the muscular Minotaur.

“My people are philosophers and we spend an inordinate amount of time studying the stars as well,” Taren walked back to help Stonebreaker stand and offered a shoulder to lean on despite his own wound bleeding. “Just because we are all muscle do not think that’s all we are.”

Each of them slowly entered the cavern which soon led upwards.

[Sir Tawmis]

Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

“We need to move three of the circles,” Coy said, “in some pattern to see what this really means.”

“But the combination could be anything… if we move any three…” Alissa tried to move three random circles, and they all moved back after the third one was moved.

“Wait,” Coy said, “on the island – where the master dwells. There’s a pyramid. This looks like an upside down pyramid.”

Taren, still bleeding approached, he moved the bottom to the right, then the next one to the right, then the following to the right – until the three he moved appeared to make a pyramid. The Philosopher Stone suddenly opened and revealed a passage beyond.

“How did you know that?” Alissa looked up at the muscular Minotaur.

“My people are philosophers and we spend an inordinate amount of time studying the stars as well,” Taren walked back to help Stonebreaker stand and offered a shoulder to lean on despite his own wound bleeding. “Just because we are all muscle do not think that’s all we are.”

Each of them slowly entered the cavern which soon led upwards.

The minutes passed, the hours passed, even the days.

“I can see why the riddle was a pyramid,” Tawmis growled, nibbling on a piece of rotten meat to quench his hunger. “Because we’ve walked into a tomb.”

“You may not be far off the mark, my friend,” Taren commented, looking at the etching on the walls. “There is ancient writing here.” His large, muscular hands brushed away the dust and webbing. “All along these walls.”

Blaz’tik was standing next to Taren, observing, “They -tic!- do not appear to be -tic!- magical in nature.”

Coy shook his head. “That’s because they’re not. That’s an old language… It’s Vacarian.”

“You know the language, Ratling?” Sir Karin asked.

“The name’s Coy,” he replied, “and I am familiar with the lettering, but was never taught to read it. Vacarian is the language originally spoken on this isle – back when it was called Vacaria. Before… it became the epicenter of all things … magical. Then it became the Isle of Nex… and that’s when everything began to change.”

Alissa nodded her head, “The Ratling knows his history.”

“As I said,” Coy repeated, “The name is Coy.”

Alissa ignored him. “When this isle was known as Vacaria, a wizard in black robes, hair white as snow, eyes like crescent moons appeared – claimed that there was magic on the isle. The King and Queen of Vacaria at the time, told the wizard they wanted nothing to do with him – but the wizard named Talistan refused to listen. Deep in the woods he forged a Wizard’s tower – and corrupted the woods around it to protect the tower. Animals were twisted by his magics – so normal wolves had become wargs, vicious, relentless in their hunger and need to kill.

“Talistan opened some portal to… another dimension… unleashed chaos on Vacaria – but in the process captured and channeled this magic into his own body,” Alissa continued the story, as she had been told. “As a matter of fact,” she turned to Coy, “it is said that…”

“Yes, it’s true, what you’re about to say,” Coy growled.

Alissa looked back to the others, “Talistan had used his powerful magics, obsessed with becoming as powerful as god, and morphed regular rats into Ratlings, to be his servants. They did all of his manual labor.”

“Just as Talistan was about to achieve godhood, they say,” Alissa recalled from her teachings, “his servants – the Ratlings, turned against him. They murdered him as he was channeling a spell to another plane of existence – realizing, too late the betrayal – he swore he would be reborn again.”

“The explosion,” Alissa’s voice lowered, “caused massive devastation and change to the island and its inhabitants. Changing people… animals… trees… the very core of life itself, as Talistan had always obsessed over. Cities… towns… were buried in the change.”

“So, you’re saying it’s possible that we’re in the tomb of an ancient Vacarian burial temple?” Jorale asked.

“I am not saying it’s possible,” Alissa replied. “I am saying that’s exactly where we are.”

“There is no need to fear the dead,” Stonebreaker growled.

“But there is reason to fear the undead,” Tawmis whispered.

Elsewhere, the Lindworm growled, "Someone knows my true name..."

[Sir Tawmis]

Every once in awhile (like once a year?) - I seem to come back to this when I feel a spurt of creativity and want to challenge myself to add to the story - limiting myself to 15 minutes to write something. It happened again.

Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

Moving cautiously through the Vacarian ruins, Tawmis looked back at the Ratling, Coy, who seemed to ne nervously looking and peering at every shadow. “How deep – or how far – do these ruins run?”

Coy looked up, a bit startled, “Well, it looks like we’re in the fallen castle of the former king and queen. So, it ran a large portion of the northwestern part of the island. The problem is, in the explosion that was caused by Talistan back then – naturally a lot of the halls and caverns have long since collapsed… especially since the island is susceptible to non-stop tremors from the magic rumbling around beneath the surface.”

“So how long do you think we could be down here,” Tawmis asked, coming to a pause, staring down three different passage ways.

“The honest answer?” Coy asked coming to stand next to him.

“That would be nice,” Tawmis answered, peering down at the Ratling.

“We could die down here,” Coy finally said with a shrug of his shoulders. “My people used to come down here and recover things… and as we did so we would map out the ruins… but those days have long since been over. We may have mapped maybe two percent of the ruins down here.”

“Do we want to know why your people stopped coming down here?” Taren’s deep minotaur voice seemed to echo in the silent, bleak halls.

“There are things that reside down here, that I would, if we could, avoid at all costs,” Coy once again answered matter-of-factly.

“I -tic!- sense great magic -tic!- down here,” Blaz’tik admitted. “It -tic!- tugs at me in every -tic!- direction.”

“I believe,” Coy said, “that whatever Talistan was doing – he was pulling magic from the island – and when my people ambushed him and interrupted his spell… I feel like it’s as if there’s a gaping hole somewhere deep beneath the island – a broken portal – that now devours the island slowly. That’s what I think is causing the tremors.”

“That might -tic!- explain the tugging -tic!- sensation I feel,” Blaz’tik nodded his insect head. “As if -tic!- the island is trying to -tic!- siphon the magic from my body.”

Sir Karin stepped up, wiping off the spider web he’d stepped into from his armor. “All the more reason we need to get off this island as soon as possible.”

“I agree,” Alissa admitted, “since we’ve been stuck down here, like the insect –“

“Blaz’tik,” Blaz’tik interjected his name.

“Sorry, yes, as Blaz’tik said, I too feel a strange sense of phantom tugging all around me – as if unseen spirits are pulling at me to go with them,” Alissa admitted.

Jorale stood need Stonebreaker. She was concerned about what they were saying, but her mind also wandered about what it would be like to be in the barbarian’s arms for one night. All this talk of doom and gloom made her long for companionship.

Coy looked at Sir Karin, “I’d love to get out of here as quickly as possible – but down here – you can just rush through here. You will get yourself killed. These caverns used to have several feet of water,” he looked around, “You can see where some sea life has died.”

Tawmis looked, and now he noticed plants, now dead that were unique to the ocean – as well as some dead sea life. “That’s what smells.”

“Yes,” Coy answered, “death is everywhere down here.”

“But where did the water go?” Taren asked, looking around.

“When the spell destroyed and sunk the castle, it flooded these chambers… we came down here, as I said, to get things – from treasure to food. Then one day, the water was gone. Fish were dead everywhere. We gathered the fish – but that’s when the horrors came.”

“What kind of horrors?” Tawmis asked.

“I can only describe them as some kind of octopus… but they have one large eye… and they shoot ink, like an octopus … but their ink causes temporary blindness… and sometimes…. Madness. We called them Eyctopus – because of their appearance.”

“Perhaps all the water vanished down the hole that you theorize exists,” Alissa said to Coy.

“Would make sense… could be these horrors broke through that shattered portal that lies somewhere beneath these ruins…” Coy added.

[Sir Tawmis]

Had a little time before my shift ended...



Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

Sir Karen hacked away at several rogue plants as they marched in darkness. “That Tawmis person is infuriating,” Sir Karin growled. “No respect for you or I or our heritage or kingdom.”

Alissa, who was also from the Malanian Empire, like Sir Karin, shrugged her shoulders. “He has no couth, that is for certain,” she admitted, “but, his comrades all seem to trust him. And if half of what the Minotaur has said about Tawmis, and what he’s done, lived through, and endured, it’s no wonder he has no cares for structure. His entire life has been nothing but chaos. His parents are the infamous Contar Stoneskull and Yennica Whitefeather – the only known people – until Tawmis led the others out – to have ever escaped Grimrock. And that,” she added after a moment, “is impressive.”

Sir Karin halted in his steps. “You sound like you almost admire him.” In the darkness, Alissa could not see the fury – and perhaps – jealousy? – that now burned on Sir Karin’s facial expressions.

“I don’t know if I admire him,” she replied, her own cheeks flushing red with embarrassment – also thankfully hidden in the shadows of the ruins. “But I am certainly fascinated by him. His mother – Yennica – after all, is considered one of the most powerful Mages to have walked the world. Especially if the rumors are true that she found – and perhaps, still possesses the Orb of Zhandul.”

“No one knows if either of them are alive or if they ever really did escape Grimrock,” Sir Kiran argued.

“Someone knows,” her eyes drifted ahead to Tawmis. “I am sure if they escaped, they must have paid him a visit. He may even know where they are now – and where the Orb is.”

“Is that your sole interested in our ‘fearless leader’,” Sir Kiran asked, his words tainted with sarcasm.

She looked at him, trying to hide her surprise. “Are you accusing me of being attracted to such a … uncivilized person?” She wondered briefly if she had sounded convincing.

“The way you speak of him,” Sir Kiran whispered, and turned and continued to walk forward. “It’s more than just about his parents and the Orb.”

[Sir Tawmis]

Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

Alissa stared after Sir Karin as he walked ahead of her. They had known each other since they were young children, and often pretended – as children – to be in love, and discussed how they would change things, and how they would rule Malanian Empire. They people would love them, as they had loved each other, they told themselves.

But then, as a teenager, those emotions did not go away, but Karin was brought in as a squire for one of the most respected Knights of the Malanian Empire; a man named Braun Lightshope. Days of being a squire led to weeks, sometimes months, away from Alissa as Karin learned to become a Knight of the Malanian Empire. He had left a young boy, but when war came – and he returned to the Malanian Empire, with Braun having been killed during the war – Karin was changed. He had left a young boy but returned as a man who had seen the horrors of the world beyond the Malanian Empire, and the devastating results of war.

Alissa, in the meantime, as the princess, and eventual heir to the Malanian Empire’s throne, had taken up an interest in magic, despite her father’s protests. The Mages of the Malanian Empire were torn; because they did not want to defy their king; but Alissa was born with an incredible latent ability to hone, control, and weave magic. Even as a young teenager, Alissa was accomplishing things with magic that students, many times her elders, and far more experienced, were not capable of doing.

When Karin returned from the war, he was excited to see Alissa. What neither of them could prepare for was how life had changed both of them. The wonderful, open, caring heart that Karin had left with, had died on the battlefield. He was hardened, calloused, bruised. He had been sworn in as a Knight during the war, and now lived by the blade. Alissa on the other hand, while no longer the delicate princess Karin knew when he left to be a squire during the war – was far more honed into magic and the finesse of how to control it.

They had, over the years, become opposite sides of the same coin. One, brutal with cold steel. The other, kinder, softer, and despised war. Despite this, there was a memory of their love, and their dreams – frozen in time.

Sir Karin glanced over his shoulder, and Alissa realized she’d be standing there, thinking how much they had changed.

“Are you coming along?” Sir Karin asked, a bit of envy swirling in the tone of his voice. He mistakenly believed she had been thinking of Tawmis.

Her cheeks flushed red as she ran up beside Sir Karin. “I wasn’t thinking about him, just now,” she whispered in low tones, looking up at Tawmis who had been crouched down examining some runes on the floor. “I was actually thinking about you. About us. And how much we’ve changed from when we were children.”

Sir Karin paused and looked over at her. “We have changed.”

“Those were much simpler times,” she said, remorsefully.

“The world is a cruel place,” Sir Karin nodded. “And it did everything it could to change us.”

“It may have,” Alissa admitted, “but we are both stronger for it. We are not the naïve children we once were.”

“Nor are we in love, like we once were,” he added distantly, and continued to walk up until he stood next to Tawmis, to see what they had been looking at.

[Sir Tawmis]

Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Fighter)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur (Gladiator)
Blaz’tik – Insectoid Mage
Coy Twofang – Ratling Rogue
Sir Karin – Human Knight
Alissa – Human Mage
Jorale – Human Alchemist
Stonebreaker Bloodrage – Human Barbarian

“What is it?” Karin asked, looking over Tawmis’ shoulder.

Tawmis who was knelt, looking at the floor, noted not only a specific rune that seemed out of place on the floor – as if it were a warning – but footprints. By the looks of it, fresh footprints. “Someone’s been here,” Tawmis noted, “and recently. The dust is recently kicked up. And by the looks of it, it’s someone who lives down here.”

“Who would live in a cavern so deep into the ground?” Alissa asked.

“On an island as lethal as this one,” Stonebreaker replied, “I would say a wise person.”

“You don’t seem the kind to cower from a fight,” Coy retorted, peering over his shoulder.

“I’m not,” Stonebreaker assured him. “But I am also not the type that hides behind skin made of steel,” his eyes drifted to Sir Karin, who still wore some semblance of the Malaian Empire Knighthood. “But, I am also not keen in fighting the unseen – the unknown – which this entire island seems to radiate. Everything here seems to be an attempt to kill you, twisted by magics that should have never been tampered with.”

“You wouldn’t be far off,” Coy nodded. “Talistan’s magic destroyed the island… sunk the cities… so being in this ancient Vacarian tomb… I wouldn’t be surprised if someone… or something… has taken up residence down here.”

Tawmis turned, “You mentioned creatures before that lurked down here – Eyctopus – or something? I don’t suppose they walk on two feet.”

“No,” Coy replied. “As I said before – they look like octopus – but float in the air… have one eye that is full of untamed evil.”

“So do you know who it might be, leaving these footprints,” Tawmis stood as he pointed to the ground. “You mentioned you’d been down here before. Did you ever find anything that would give you a clue as to who it might be?”

“Well,” Coy said nervously. “Judging on where we are down here, my best guess would be Xorul Wormbound.”
“Ok,” Tawmis nodded, “that’s something… So if this place was flooded, like you were saying… you don’t really think it’s him do you?”

“Who is this Xorul Wormbound,” Taren asked, noticing that Coy looked unusually uncomfortable.

“Xorul Wormbound was one of the King’s most feared Knights,” Coy explained.

“But that was … what? Several hundred years ago?” Taren asked, his voice rumbling.

“Yes,” Coy nodded, “but … I was there… when all of this happened.”

“That means you’re several hundred years old,” Jorale finally spoke up from the back. “That’s impossible.”

“That magic that poured out of the sundered portal,” Coy explained, “changed everything. I suspect that’s why the undead still walk. The magic that poured out of there has extended the life span of everything on this island. And, that life energy is undoubtedly what powers the undead. And,” Coy took a deep breath, “if there’s someone who drowned down here and rose up again… it would be Xorul Wormbound. But there’s worse news…”

“Worse than some terrifying -click- undead?” Blaz’tik questioned, his insect fingers rubbing against each other nervously.

“He has a twin brother, just as ruthless, name Orul Wormbound,” Coy added. “With both of them, the King and Queen were sure to be safe… that is until Talistan came along… They had tried to stop Talistan… but the wizard was too powerful… and now… my guess is, those tracks are Xorul’s… and he’s pacing these halls, undead, cursed to try and protect the King and Queen… bound to his duty in death.”

“Is everything so dramatic with you?” Jorale said, exasperated.

“Live for as long as I have, on this cursed island,” Coy turned to Jorale, his eyes burning with fury. She took a step behind Stonebreaker and placed her hand gingerly on his arm. “It’s just as he said,” Coy pointed to Stonebreaker, his whiskers twitching irritably. “This entire island is out to kill you. It doesn’t care who or what you are. It doesn’t care where you came from,” his finger pointed to Alissa and Sir Karin, then to himself, “whether you’re royalty or some rat whose been alive for several hundred years, thanks to a mad wizard’s vision.”

“Easy friend,” Tawmis placed his hand on Coy’s shoulder. “We’re all a little tense here. We all want to come out of this alive. She meant nothing by it.”