Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance.

[AnnElfwind]

I think we're forgetting one more - the tentacled thingy, that comes out of the floor (grate). I don't remember them encountering them, but of course, I could be mistaken. That too would be an interesting fight.
Still, the best fight will be the cube.
And as for the best fight so far - that was when they were fighting the ogre.

[Sir Tawmis]

I think we're forgetting one more - the tentacled thingy, that comes out of the floor (grate). I don't remember them encountering them, but of course, I could be mistaken. That too would be an interesting fight.
Still, the best fight will be the cube.
And as for the best fight so far - that was when they were fighting the ogre.

Oh! You're right! I have forgotten the tentacles! Oh! I can already see how Coy might have something to say about that, since he's mentioned that he's used the grates to travel around Grimrock - the very grates that the tentacles come from! Wonder what Coy will tell me... I am sure he will tell me something, he's quite talkative in my head!

And the Ogre fight was my favorite as well. I usually don't want to write too much about combat, because it's either going to be too short (because I don't want to bore anyone!), or I am going to get overly detailed and have an epic sized post!

[Sir Tawmis]

“So when you say you’ve been down here a long time,” Tawmis began. “Just how long is ‘a long time.’”

They continued moving through the darkened hallways of Grimrock. “By human years, I have been down here twenty years,” Coy replied.

“Twenty years?” Silvertan turned around. “You have managed to survive down here for that long?”

“Like I said,” Coy replied, “you’d be amazed where a rat can get to, when it needs to. Ratlings, like myself, are no different. We adapt to survive.”

“Let me guess,” Tawmis shrugged, “you were once a normal rat that the magic of Grimrock changed into what you are now?” He raised an eyebrow sarcastically.

“It’s funny you say that,” Coy began.

“No. No.” Tawmis shook his head. “If you’re about to tell me I’m right, I am going to stop believing anything else that comes from your mouth.”

“I was not changed by the magic of Grimrock,” Coy replied, “though, having been down here as long as I have, I do feel it in my veins. However, among my people it is said that we did indeed come from the magic of Grimrock. When the First Mages first imprisoned the Undying One at the bottom of Grimrock and cast the spell over the mountain that should have kept him there; it is said that several rats, trapped there, also changed, along with everything else. The first Ratlings, they say, came from Grimrock itself. They escaped by going through the grates, further down the mountain, because it eventually leads into the Great Lake just south of Grimrock.”

Coy continued his tale after everyone stopped to listen. “It is said that those who escaped through the grate; those that survived anyway, ended up surfacing in the middle of the Great Lake. Most, as you can imagine, drowned before ever reaching the surface.”

Coy was silent for a moment. “But even those that did survive to the surface, not many survived beyond that. The terror of the deep, as they are called, had also been changed by the magic of Grimrock, just through proximity. You see, the spell cast by the First Mages, as I said, is growing weaker, while the Undying One is growing stronger, the more mages they throw down there, accused of various crimes. The Undying One’s foul magic is corrupting everything around it. Soon he will need to wait for those thrown into Grimrock. He will be able to absorb the magic from those within close proximity.”

Coy continued, “Those that were able to make it to shore followed the river south to Nothampton. There they found people reacted in terror and fear, and sought to destroy them, so they quickly stowed away on a ship Ormond, up north. However, as the ship passed through the Sunken Strait, it struck rocks and was run around. Several of the Ratlings managed to survive, along with some of the magic of the First Mages by making it to the Isle of Nex. The home of my people now.”

“This terror of the deep you speak of,” Taren said. “What is it?”

“Squid,” Coy shrugged. “Or that’s what it used to be. The Great Lake was full of small squid at one time; many fisherman made their home around its shores long, long ago. But several of the squid made their way into the very grates that the Ratlings escaped from, and found themselves being changed, growing larger within the mountain prison. Eventually they became so large, that they could not escape back through the same grates they had come in. So now, they lay in waiting for unsuspecting prisoners to pass over the grates that they lurk beneath – then with lightning quick reflexes, enhanced by the horrid magic of the Undying One – they snap prisoners in half and pull them through the grates and devour them whole.”

Taren nodded his massive minotaur head. “Then the terror of the deep you speak of is similar to the ones my people know. My people are the best sailors of this world – and there is a beast that we call ‘Krakoun’ – giant squid, so large that their tentacles can wrap around the hull of a ship and snap it in half, and like the ones of Grimrock, they too, have the need to feast on flesh.”

“They, and the slime,” Coy nodded, “are the main reason traveling through the grates is unsafe.”

“What is the slime?” Tawmis asked.

“Everything in Grimrock gains life, eventually,” Coy shrugged. “So far as I have been able to discover, the very algae water in the grates, has also gain life. The slime that roams Grimrock is a slow moving, ball of green liquid and moss. It attempts to devour anything that it can – whether it be stone, steel or even flesh.”

“It’s alive?” Tawmis asked, appalled.

“Alive,” Coy nodded, “but not intelligent. It simply exists to consume, no other reason. It will attempt to devour anything and everything – and anything killed by the slime, will eventually become slime as well, as the flesh bubbles and burns. It’s not a pretty sight,” Coy added. “We should really begin moving if we hope to find your mage friend.”

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

[Sir Tawmis]

“Well, that was some good thinking,” Tawmis said looking behind him, the loud humming nearly deafening. It was suddenly silenced by clicking, then crackling. Tawmis peered around the corner again. “Okay, so what were those things?”

“Down here they’re called Shrakk Torr,” Coy explained. “They’re essentially flies that had mutated by the magic and become aggressive, and oversized.”

Tawmis looked around the corner again and watched as several Shrakk Torr struggled against the enormous webs that the giant spiders had weaved. He looked back at Coy, “It’s a good thing you knew about those giant spiders so that we could essentially lead them right into their webs.”

“Like I said,” Coy replied, his whiskers twitching, “I have been down here a long time. Many prisoners have fallen to those spiders. I survived by scavenging off the dead, using their weapons, gathering their food. The spiders in that room have been very beneficial to my survival.”

Coy heaved a deep breath and urged them on, “Come, we’re getting close.”

Silvertan trotted behind, keeping pace with Tawmis. “Have I mentioned,” Silvertan slithered the words from his reptilian lips, “that I don’t trust this Coy? He seems to know entirely too much about this dungeon. He survived down here for 20 years? Alone? Something’s strange with that one.”

Tawmis nodded, “I agree, something is strange. But we’re alive, and further than we would have probably ever got on our own. I trust him.”

Coy led them down another flight of stairs and into a large room, where there was one door caged. Magical writing was scribbling along the wall. Tawmis looked, “What does that say?”

“Thieves beware,” Coy replied. Silvertan looked at Tawmis, as if to silently question how the Ratling had been able to read the magic writing. As if to answer Silvertan’s unspoken words, Coy continued, “This is not my first time here. I was thrown down here with others. We got this far. We went inside this room and there’s a magical sword in there. One of the prisoners I was with tried to take it – it… did not end well.”

Coy pulled on the gate, and the metallic gate creaked open. Inside, as Coy had said was a blade that was humming with energy. “I would not recommend just trying to take the blade,” Coy warned. “Bad things happen.”

Tawmis stared at it for a moment. “The sign said thieves beware,” Tawmis pondered out loud. “But that blade is here for a reason.”

“To lure us to our doom,” Silvertan muttered.

Tawmis rolled his eyes at Silvertan. “No, like everything else in this crazy dungeon – it’s a puzzle. We just need to figure it out.”

“They key has to be in the warning,” Tawmis said. “And you’re sure you read that right? The magic writing?”

“I wasn’t the one that originally translated it,” Coy assured Tawmis. “One of the prisoners thrown down here was a mage, much like your friend. He had translated it.”

“So how do we take it, without taking it,” Tawmis wondered.

“What if we put something of equal weight upon the altar?” Taren asked. “That way, the altar never believes anything is taken.”

Tawmis was about to protest how silly of an idea that had been when he paused, gave it more consideration and finally said, “Taren, my friend, I believe you may have solved this riddle.”

Tawmis pulled out his sword and placed it just inches above the glowing sword, while using his other hand to wrap it around the magical blade, without lifting it off the altar. Tawmis took a deep breath and was about to do the swap, when he paused and looked at Coy, who was standing near the entrance, as if ready to bolt. “What happens if this goes wrong?” Tawmis asked.

“It’s just better that you don’t know,” Coy seemed to smile.

“That’s absolutely comforting,” Tawmis muttered. Tawmis took three deep breaths then swapped the blades. He kept his eyes closed for several seconds, waiting for death to come in some terrifying manner. After a few moments he opened one eye, then the other, and saw everyone standing around, also frozen in fear. Everyone was glancing around waiting for something to happen.

“You did it,” Coy finally said. “You really did it.”

Those words were exactly what Tawmis had needed to hear. He heaved a deep breath and collapsed to his knees, his entire body tingling with energy as the sword seemed to come alive in his hands. Tawmis stared at the blade, “There’s so much power in this sword.”

“From the mage that had perished in this room, he called it the Dismantler – a claymore supposedly forged deep in the underground magma furnaces. It is said to be the weapon that brought the Undying One to his knees, and that’s how they had captured him several thousand years ago.”

Coy peeked outside the room then turned to the others, “Now we’re ready to face the Undying One.”
___________________________________________________________________________
Tawmis Sanarius – Human (Son of Contar Stoneskull and Yennica Whitefeather) - Warrior
Taren Bloodhorn – Minotaur - Warrior
Blaz’tik – Insectoid - Mage
Silvertan – Lizardman - Rogue
Coy – Ratling from the Isle of Nex – Rogue

[AnnElfwind]

Lazy me... Well, on the other hand, I got to read two chapters at once.
Okay, so we got slime, spiders, tentacles, mosquitos and the vault!
The dismantlere... I love that sword. Some people say that the sword of nex is the strongest sword in the game... Well, I think the dismanteler is. And it is cooler looking.
So, it seems they will face the undying one soon... Can't wait for that.
Also, Silvertan makes me doubt Coy a bit. But he doesn't seem like a traitor... So, hopefully, Sivertan is wrong about him.
Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Sir Tawmis]

Lazy me... Well, on the other hand, I got to read two chapters at once.

Lazy? I just assumed you were playing Legend of Grimrock 2, which I would not fault you for!

Okay, so we got slime, spiders, tentacles, mosquitos and the vault!

Yes! See, I told you that Coy would tell me about it when the time was right - and he managed to tackle several monsters appearing (or at least being mentioned!) within two small story segments! That Coy certainly gets around!

The dismantlere... I love that sword. Some people say that the sword of nex is the strongest sword in the game... Well, I think the dismanteler is. And it is cooler looking.
So, it seems they will face the undying one soon... Can't wait for that.

Yes! With Legend of Grimrock 2 out officially and seeing how it starts - I think the battle with the Undying One in my story is just around the bend!

Also, Silvertan makes me doubt Coy a bit. But he doesn't seem like a traitor... So, hopefully, Sivertan is wrong about him.
Looking forward to the next chapter.

Coy does seem to know a lot. It's difficult to trust Silvertan also though, since he too is a rogue. But I guess it takes one to know one? Are his own motives questionable? Is that how he's able to sense something off with Coy? Or is he simply jealous of how good of a rogue Coy is?

I don't even know the answer! The characters tell me as the story progresses!

[AnnElfwind]

No, I'm not playing LoG 2, because I just don't have the money to buy it and I don't want a pirated copy, because those don't work with steam. So I'm waiting for some super sale or something to buy it.
So in the meantime, I'm playing Komag's Master Quest in Toorum mode.
Also, I have a bit of a curious question. As to the sizes of the characters. I mean, I can imagine how big Taren is and Tawmis is a human. But I wonder how the other three races compare to that... So, could you tell me how they compare in your head?
Thanks.

[Sir Tawmis]

I have a bit of a curious question. As to the sizes of the characters. I mean, I can imagine how big Taren is and Tawmis is a human. But I wonder how the other three races compare to that... So, could you tell me how they compare in your head?
Thanks.

I will try to fit it into the next story segment! Give a better visualization!

[Sir Tawmis]

Taren Bloodhorn led the front of the party; his massive, hulking body seemed almost as wide as the very tunnels themselves. He towered over seven feet tall, his horns nearly scraping the roof of the halls, forcing Taren to bend over slightly as he walked. Behind him, Tawmis walked, the Dismantler blade in his hand, crackling with energy, forcing Tawmis’ hair to stand on end. Tawmis stood nearly six feet tall, but next to his only friend in the world, Tawmis felt like a small pebble, and Taren a mountain.

Behind Tawmis, Silvertan moved quickly, his skin sometimes allowing itself to try and blend, like a chameleon to the wall. Silvertan was nearly five feet tall, falling short behind Tawmis. Silvertan’s arms and legs were exceptionally thin, which allowed him to easily squeeze into small, and what would otherwise be, uncomfortable areas. His reptilian body, however, allowed his bends far more flexibility than a human or minotaur.

Bringing up the rear was Coy, whom Silvertan had often voiced a lack of trust. Coy stood nearly five feet tall as well, and though his arms and legs were thin, his gut seemed pudgy. But that was mostly fur, because when he needed to, Coy could almost seemingly collapse his rib cage to allow him to fit into what seemed to be, impossible places. Like at Ratlings, Coy had the ability, much like a ferret to seemingly become paper thin and squeeze into areas that one would not expect him to be able to fit into.

Together, the four of them marched in grim silence. There had been no sign of Blaz’tik lately; no foot prints, no charred remains that he might have incarnated with magic. Tawmis could not stop thinking about what Coy had said about Blaz’tik, that he Insectoid mage was somehow now ensnared by the Undying One.

Tawmis could not shake the memories that came back to him as they walked in silence through the halls. The days, weeks, months, he had spent a prisoner of the Mages, who ripped his mind apart, devoured his soul, all because they wanted to know the location of Zhandul's Orb. And if Coy was to be believed; and there was no reason not to trust the Ratling, since he had been truthful and helpful so far; the Orb was actually brought down into Grimrock by his own parents in an attempt to finally destroy the Undying One.

If Blaz’tik was a slave of the Undying One, with his last breath, Tawmis would kill Blaz’tik if it came to it. It was better to be free in death, than live enthralled, a slave to mad mages.

As if hearing Tawmis’ thoughts, Taren turned his head slightly and said, “We will find Blaz,” his voice was gruff. “We will free him one way or another.”

Taren and Tawmis had saved one another’s lives too many times to count. There had been an unbreakable bond between them. They shared blood. Their souls. Their hearts. And without question, their minds. It was no surprise to Tawmis that Taren knew exactly what he was thinking. Without saying a word, because no words were needed to be said, Tawmis simply nodded his head, a fire burning in his eyes.



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

[AnnElfwind]

Thanks for the sizes info. Though I have to admit, I thought that Coy was even smaller, like something between 3 and 4 feet. Well, guess he's full of surprises.
I just can't wait for the moment when they find him - one way or another.
Oh, and will they stumble across Toorum's bones or... Did they actually do that already? I can't seem to recall... But if not, it might be an interesting encounter...
Well, I look forward to the next part.

Oh, and one more thing... I was wondering if there will be something to do with the ranger class...
Because I just finished Master Quest in Toorum mode yesterday and was thinking about what he should play next.