Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance.

[Komag]

nice battles! and the party is fully restored, yay

[Sir Tawmis]

nice battles! and the party is fully restored, yay

Indeed. Clearly, I had to exaggerate portions of the story (especially in the form of combat), otherwise it's "He swung his sword, biting deep. He swung his sword again..."

But this was an emotional piece for me. A lot of Taren's emotions were my own, in a way. I recently lost my cat of 18 years to Death. While I knew it was time for her to go, she was a part of my life for a very long time.

[Komag]

Wow, 18 years is a good portion of a human lifetime, and I'm a cat person as well (though I currently don't have any), so I'm sorry for your loss.

[Sir Tawmis]

Wow, 18 years is a good portion of a human lifetime, and I'm a cat person as well (though I currently don't have any), so I'm sorry for your loss.

Ah, thank you. As I said, it was her time to go. And I knew it. But was nice to use Taren, to vent some emotion and deal with death of someone close to myself.

It was also great to see, despite the fact that the game's been out for a year (or so), that the forums are pretty active (though the creative forum section has gotten pretty quiet - but the rest of the forum still seems to be pumping life's blood!)

[AnnElfwind]

This is the best Legend of Grimrock story I've read so far and I think I've read most of them.
Most of the ones I've read are rubbish, but this one, it's brilliant! Love it!

[Sir Tawmis]

This is the best Legend of Grimrock story I've read so far and I think I've read most of them.
Most of the ones I've read are rubbish, but this one, it's brilliant! Love it!

I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful comment! I haven't been by here in awhile - and when I saw that my story had a new reply - I was quite surprised, and very pleased with what you had written! You honor me, by taking the time to even READ the story, let alone leave such a wonderful comment. I wear a smile today, a great thanks to you, AnnElfWind.

[Sir Tawmis]

With the announcement of Grimlock 2, and the reveal about the Ratlings - how could I not return and tie my story to it all?

Please enjoy! Comment! Good, bad, what you liked, disliked, whatever! I love comments!
==============================================================================================================


“The gods favor you,” Silvertan said, walking along side Tawmis Sanarius. “You were dead.”

“I am thankful, perhaps, that the gods, as you say, favored me,” Tawmis replied, casting a side glance at the humanoid lizard, whose silver scales reflected against the torchlight. “I am more thankful that my dearest, and only friend, refused to give up on me.”

“What did you see,” Silvertan asked, “when you were dead?”

“Darkness,” Tawmis shrugged. “I don’t remember seeing anything. I remember closing my eyes, seeing darkness – then feeling this sensation going through my body – and my eyes suddenly saw a light blue – that was all I could see. Light blue. Then,” Tawmis paused, “I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry at first. I couldn’t see anything. It looked like I was peering through a painted canvas that had had all of its colors smeared.”

“Comforting,” Silvertan sighed, “that there is nothing after death.”

“Or,” Blaz’tik’s insect like clicking interjected, “our mortal minds cannot –tic!- conceive what is there beyond death. We have no way –tic!- of comprehending what is beyond. Most believe –tic!- that our souls look just as we do, and –tic!- we ascend to some heaven. But what if that is not the case? What if –tic!- we are forms of energy that ascend?”

Taren shook his large minotaur head. “No. After death, we ascend to an arena, in which we fight, day in and day out, until we are worthy to be reborn, and returned to this world.”

“That’s all you minotaurs believe,” Silvertan sighed. “Everything is resolved by fighting.”

“Strength and honor,” the Minotaur corrected. “A warrior who kills dishonorably, should perish quickly for his actions. Your enemy deserves an equal chance at combat. If you disarm your enemy and they insist on combat still, you throw your weapons aside and fight them hand to hand.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Silvertan spat.

Tawmis saw Taren’s nostrils flare. “Listen, we all come from different walks of life, with different beliefs. Let’s not find out what happens when we die until we get out of this cursed dungeon?”

“I can help you,” hissed an unknown voice.

Tawmis reached for his sword that was not there. His eyes peered into the darkness, where he saw two, red eyes peering back at him from the shadows. Tawmis’ eyes adjusted to the darkness, and saw that there was a prison there, with a hunched over humanoid figure.

Tawmis gazed for a long moment, unsure of what he was seeing. “What are you?”

“I am a Ratling,” the creature responded. A scar over its left eye, and sharp, pointy buckteeth in the front clearly looked like a rat. Its fur was tannish-brown, it’s ears had nicks in it, having seen plenty of combat.

“Ratling?” Tawmis asked. “Why have I never heard of such a thing? Is it the damn magic in this dungeon that shaped you to be large and intelligent? The way it has shaped those cursed snails we keep running into everywhere?”

“No,” the Ratling answered. “I come from the Northern Realms, the Isle of Nex.”

“The Isle of Nex,” Taren answered. “I have heard of it, and your people. You are raiders, for the most part. Scavengers, like your rat brethren.”

“Not all of us are like that,” the Ratling hissed. “Although we are quite skilled at scavenging.”

“How did you –tic!- end up in that cell, that far down in –tic!- the dungeon?” Blaz’tik asked.

“I stumbled upon beasts known as scavengers,” the Ratling began to explain.

“Well isn’t that ironic,” Silvertan muttered beneath his breath.

The Ratling heard, but continued on, as if he hadn’t. “Once harmless mites that came into this dungeon by dirt and dwelling in the hair of prisoners thrown down here – as you mentioned with the snails, being exposed to the mysticism of Grimrock transformed them into the ravenous swarm! Well, I was desperate for food and had snuck into their lair and stolen some of their larva, I was going to feast on when I was discovered. They chased me, and my only choice was to slam this gate behind me, since they were too large to fit between the bars. Little did I know, in my panic, that it would lock.”

“And you want us to let you out?” Tawmis asked. “And what? Stab us in the back?”

“No,” the Ratling explained. “I would be indebted to you. I know alone, I will not get out of here alive. With the rest of you, I have a chance.”

Tawmis looked at Taren, who shrugged, “We can’t let him starve in there.”

“You just said his people were raiders,” Tawmis countered, surprised by Taren’s response.

“What would you do if you found me in a prison and did not know me for who I am?” Taren asked.

“Really? You’re going to get all deep and philosophical with me?” Tawmis shook his head and turned to Silvertan. “Get the lock undone. And be quick. If he’s telling the truth and he encountered these scavenger things, I don’t want to be around if they come back.” Tawmis paused, and turned to the Ratling as Silvertan began working on the lock. “What’s your name?”

“Coy,” the Ratling answered. “My name is Coy.”

“Isn’t that ironic,” Silvertan muttered beneath his breath again, as he opened the chamber.

“Welcome to the party, Coy,” Tawmis smiled.


_____________________________________________________________________
Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Son of Contar Stoneskull and Yennica Whitefeather)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur
Blaz’tik – Insectoid
Silvertan – Lizardman
Coy – Ratling from the Isle of Nex

[AnnElfwind]

Oh? So they get fifth party member? Interesting. Is that somhow tied to Grimrock II? My guess would be yes, but I'm not following it's release...
Anyway! I'm so glad you updated! I love their debate about religion and cannot wait for them to move further into the dungeon and perhaps encounter a goromorg? That would be interestig for sure!
Great work, keep it up.

[Sir Tawmis]

Oh? So they get fifth party member? Interesting. Is that somhow tied to Grimrock II? My guess would be yes, but I'm not following it's release...
Anyway! I'm so glad you updated! I love their debate about religion and cannot wait for them to move further into the dungeon and perhaps encounter a goromorg? That would be interestig for sure!
Great work, keep it up.

Heh. I do not know if there will be more playable characters than 4 in Legend of Grimrock 2. (I would love if they go with the more "traditional" six characters, as seen in games like Wizardry, Realms of Arkania, etc). No, I simply including the Ratlings as a way for my story to "bridge the gap" between Legend of Grimrock 1 and Legend of Grimrock 2. I never have a clear idea where I am going with this story - I just write each segment "as it comes to me."

Thank you for reading, and hopefully, enjoying the adventures of this merry band! As for a goromorg appearing - I am sure I can make that happen!

[Sir Tawmis]

“I just don’t think we should trust him,” Silvertan hissed between his serpent lips.

“Trust him?” Tawmis chuckled. “Are you not the one that tried to steal from a guard and got all of us – with the exception of you, Blaz – into this mess?”

Silvertan shrugged. “I didn’t ask for any of you to try and assist me,” he replied, his scales shimmering in Grimrock’s flickering torch light.

“Granted,” Tawmis amended, “that rotund guard, Boris lied about what he had caught us doing that night, to save face, since he wasn’t supposed to be in The Fallen Star – a place of… questionable reputation with the ladies of entertainment.” (1)

“I joined –tic!- the fray after you had –tic!- been knocked out from behind,” Blaz’tik reminded Tawmis.

“As I told you before,” Silvertan’s reptilian eyes focused on Tawmis, “I had every intention of being thrown down here alone. I could have survived down here alone. I live in the shadows.”

Taren shook his mighty, minotaur head. “You have seen the horrors that are down here, lizard. Do you truly believe that cowering in the shadows, waiting for these things to pass would have allowed you to survive alone? I have seen the horrors of the undead, who do not see with human eyes. Instead, they see with a hatred for the living. No amount of shadows could have hid you from them.”

“Perhaps,” Silvertan said, the ‘s’ making a slithering sound, “you are correct, brute. Perhaps I would not have survived alone down here, as I thought I might have. Perhaps I believed too much in my own skills, but this isn’t about me. This is about that rat, and how we should not trust him. His name is Coy, for crying out loud. He’s not even hiding the fact that his very name is a symbol of deception!”

“Then perhaps we should be thankful that he’s not hiding what his name means,” Tawmis shrugged as he held the torchlight in front of him. “Speaking of that Ratling, how far ahead did he go and search for us anyway?”

“He’s probably bringing back an army of some horrors to kill us,” Silvertan muttered. “Or there’s more of his kind down here, and he’s leading us into an ambush.”

“You’re not the trusting sort, I take it,” Tawmis finally said, feeling exasperated by Silvertain’s constant barrage and notions of why the Ratling was not to be trusted.

“I am not the foolish sort,” Silvertan corrected. He paused for a long moment, and finally amended, “And I may have some issues with trust as well.”

“Some?” Tawmis replied, sarcastically.

“I just don’t think it’s a wise idea to trust strangers down here,” Silvertan hammered on.

“Blaz,” Silvertan turned to the insectoid. “Isn’t there any kind of magic that you can do to see if the Ratling is lying to us? A Detect Lie or Detect Evil kind of spell?”

Blaz’tik looked at Silvertan. “Those sound –tic!- like rather silly spell names. There is one that’s similar to this ‘detect lie’ you mentioned, but it’s called Detellius.”

“That’s excellent,” Silvertan hissed. “Can you cast it on the filthy Ratling next time he shows up? I’d like to ask him a few things to see if he’s telling the truth.”

“I would love to cast such –tic!- a spell, however,” Blaz’tik explained, holding up his insect like arms, “I have none of the –tic!- spell components that are needed.”

“Naturally,” Silvertan sighed.

“What spell components do you need, insect?” came Coy’s voice, directly behind Silvertan who screeched out and slammed his own body against the wall.

“How did you get behind us?” Silvertan spat. “You were trying to backstab me, weren’t you?”

“With what,” Coy asked, with a wide smile. “My teeth? I have no weapon, if you haven’t noticed. However, much like my ‘brethren’ as you’re so fond of saying, I am a pack rat, and do have some components that might be useful to a mage. I have a pouch of sandalwood shavings, forioan mushrooms, two whistle leaves, and a small pouch of grounded herder spores.”

“Those –tic!- components,” Blaz’tik said, his insect eyes somehow wider with excitement, “could indeed –tic!- prove very useful!”

“They’re all yours,” Coy said, removing his belt and pouches and handing them over to Blaz’tik.

Tawmis looked at Silvertan and whispered, “Do you trust him now?”

“Even less,” Silvertan replied. “Even less.”

TO BE CONTINUED?

(1) See the very first post of the story! Boris, the guard Silvertan had tried to rob, did indeed like to the king and say that Tawmis, Taren and Silvertan had been caught trying to rob Houralus Survine, one of the Royal Men of Curvia (which was the rich side of town)


Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Son of Contar Stoneskull and Yennica Whitefeather)
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur
Blaz’tik – Insectoid
Silvertan – Lizardman
Coy – Ratling from the Isle of Nex