https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/762234305660735755/?autologin=true

Quest Objective

- Survive.

You’ll be playing Grey Steel, a minotaur with a burning desire for vengeance against the creatures that destroyed his life.

***

Thrust into background of his world, Grey watched as the Honor Blade went down on one knee beside his unconscious friend, and placed an arm upon his chest. The warrior's silver eyes snapped shut as the wounds slowly vanished. The only reminder that Sky had ever been hurt were the dried up blood stains that adorned his clothing and tears in the hooded cloak Sky wore for good luck.

Shivering at the display of magic, Grey tried to speak, tried to take in the fact he’d been saved by a Honor Blade, a warrior of myth and legend. A bedtime story told to him as a child when all of a sudden he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. Amaryllis slumping down beside him in stunned shock before the darkness took him in a wave of fatigue that dragged shut his eyelids...

***

(Restore + 30 Health Points.)

...Awakened by the sound of crackling flames, Grey found himself where he’d fallen with his arms bound in shackles. Amaryllis and Sky lying unconscious not too far from him, greatsword just out of his reach. The campfire Sky had tried to build roaring with bright hot orange flames that lit up the night sky.

Uncertain what had happened, he struggled to get into a seated position by the fire, the chains rattling together when something stirred beside him. The Honor Blade that had come to their rescue taking a seat directly opposite, Grey, his cuirass, and helm stripped off to rest beside him, his voice cold, dead, and devoid of all emotion. “You tread hallowed ground that has not been touched in years. Why?”

Confused by the question, Grey looked to his unconscious friends and felt anger flare inside of him. “First tell me why, you’ve bound me and my friends?”

But instead of answering Grey, a crossblade flashed into the minotaur's open palm. The deadly weapon aimed towards Amaryllis’ still form. The silver pools of ice that should have been his eyes showing not the slightest hint of emotion.

Certain that the Honor Blade would kill her if he did not speak, Grey blurted out, “my friends and I are travelling to the Citadel to join the Honor Blades.”

Shooting him a contemptuous snort of amusement, the warrior lowered the weapon. “And what do you know of the Honor Blades?”

“More than you it seems,”spat Grey angrily.

Releasing a harsh bark of laughter, the Honor Blade leaned back away from the fire and for a brief instant light washed across his chest to reveal hideous scars where the fur had been melted into the flesh and bone. “It's been a long while since I’ve seen a flame as bright as yours boy, but be careful it does not burn your friends. My name is Halmark and as you have guessed, I am an Honor Blade bound by the code to cleanse these lands of darkness. Only the darkness has taken to sending agents out in the guise of allies to lure us away from the light, it’s how I got the scar I see you now admiring.”

“And how did you know they were agents of darkness?”Asked Grey.

Halmark smiled darkly. “I could smell it on them, their stench is like a foul aroma of death. A smell very much like your own.”

Grey’s eyes flickered to the greatsword, but before he could even think to act, Halmark was inches away from his face, hot fetid breath blowing against him, silver eyes boreing into his skull. “I can no longer smell it on you now, so perhaps I was mistaken and it was the Ashen Lands I smelled. Or perhaps time will tell. Either way I am done with you.”

Pulling back away from him, Halmark returned to his seat by the fireside, bent over to gently strap the cuirass to his chest, and slotted the helm over his head. The warrior pausing to allow the quiet stillness of the night to engulf them both before speaking again softly, “An Honor Blade should live his or her life with honor, that is the creed we live by, but there is no more honor left in this world anymore. If you go to Citadel you will find no honor there. Go home farmer boy. Go home before you and your friends are killed. There are no Honor Blades left in this world. Not anymore.” And with that last remark Halmark disappeared off into the night. The shackles that bound Grey's arms vanished away, Sky stirring to look up at him worriedly. “What happened?”

***

Having explained his strange encounter with the Honor Blade, Grey had decided to leave out a few pieces of the story, a part of him still troubled over the warrior’s last words. ‘There are no Honor Blades left in this world. Not anymore.’ The meaning so clear, and yet Grey sensed there was more to those words. Either way he did not wish to trouble his friend with the possibility they could be walking into further danger, at least not without first learning more.

With dawn breaking across the horizon, Grey shook Amaryllis awake, her eyes snapping open with annoyance. “What to do you want farm bo-” when a sudden dawning realisation crept over her face.

With no time to explain it all again, Grey started off down towards the battlefield. “Sky will tell you what happened, but for now we’d best keep moving. We’ll need the daylight to keep the creatures of the night from attacking us.”

Feet sinking into the mud, he passed the bloated corpses of the dead and cut a path through the marshes. The thin veil of fog that covered the battlefield bringing with it a chill cold that seeped into his bones. The few patches of solid ground riddled with the skeletal remains of the fallen.Their dented shields, breastplates and broken swords scattered across the land. The now dormant siege weapons that lay half sunken in the lakes covered with green moss, their wheels sucked into the ground.

The floating pools of algae clinging to Grey's clothes as he sloshed through the muck and dirt. Amaryllis complaining bitterly all the while about the necessity of getting wet, while Sky tried to shut her out by singing a cheerful tune. The song sung during the village festivals.

Glory to the Light-bearer, defender of light.

Glory to the Champion, chosen by the gods.

Glory to the Temple Priests, guardians of all.

Glory to the Honor Bound who wield their blades for truth.

Glory to the Warriors who battles the dark.

Glory to the Farmers who give us life.

The pleasant song drawing forth memories of a time when he had been much younger and had seen his uncle drowning his sorrows by the fireplace, a bottle of finely brewed heart-knocker nestled beside him as he mumbled the ancient vows.

Since hearing of the latest attacks outside the village, Grey had sensed something change within his uncle. From sword training lessons to knowledge of the battle forms, all of it had intensified as though Cold knew Grey would leave one day.

Sitting down beside his uncle, Cold had looked down at Grey with bleak eyes that did not truly see him. “The world wasn’t always this dark. There was a time when warriors of honor would have leapt at the chance to protect their homes, but now it seems all we ever do, is sit, and cower in silence hoping the danger will pass us by.”

“Dorlan says the trolls are too many to fight,”said Grey.

“Dorlan is a coward and a fool who doesn’t know how to count! There were barely a dozen footprints!”snapped Cold before continuing, “our so called protector just wishes there to be more so he can cower in his cellar like a worm. That dumb oaf should never have been chosen to lead.”

Grey having met the town’s protector, found that hard to believe. The few times he’d met Dorlan, the sturdy warrior had seemed like a good man who cared a great deal about the village, but Grey knew better than to argue with his uncle.

Silent, sitting together by the warmth of the fire, Cold’s expression softened. “You must think I’m a old fool as well Grey, but I wasn’t always this way. I never told you this story, but I think now is as good a time as any to tell you. After all, it is how you got your name.”

Ears pricked up at that, Grey leaned in closer.

“I was perhaps a little younger than I was now when your father and I along with every othercHonor Blade in the realm was called to battle the troll scourge that had erupted over our lands. Our forces marching day and night in an effort to save the great City of Tarriel.

“But as the days turned to darkness, scouts brought the sad news that Lord Iron Heart the valiant had died defending his City, his army scattered to the winds of destiny. The City of Tarriel which had stood for a thousand generations had been destroyed and replaced by marshlands that continued to expand into our most sacred places.

“With the nobility focused on their internal squabbles, the Honor Blades had no allies to call upon and join us in battle, and so we marched alone to face the greatest troll army ever assembled in our time.

“In the days and weeks that followed, we filled the marshes with the blood of trolls, wetting every inch of ground, until one day we stood outside the remains of Tarriel and faced the Troll King himself. A beast so large it stood the size of a giant, with a maul made of pure iron. The skulls of our fallen brethren decorating it’s waist, taunting us with the decapitated heads of our brave warriors.”

“Incensed over this dishonor, we charged their lines time and time again, but again and again our lines were shattered asunder by the Troll King’s might. All hopes of slaying the beast dwindling as the war pulled further away from our clumsy grasp.

“Many lost hope and deserted in the night, while others believed the Lightbearer had forsaken us for failing to protect their people and so chose to battle the Troll King one on one in the hopes of regaining their lost honor. But as each one of our champions fell before the beast, our faith grew weak.

“One day, sick of fear, sick of the misery caused by the beast, I chose to face the beast alone. Your father of course tried to dissuade me, telling me I was too young, and reckless, but I would not heed him.

“In the dawn of morns early light, I stood upon the battlefield waiting for the beast to arrive, your father behind me cursing me in every tongue he knew how, when the ground shook with it’s footsteps.

“Even now I see the face of that ugly monster, it’s red glowing eyes mocking me with it’s stare, but before I could even think to attack, a warrior in grey appeared and slew the beast, then vanished from the field.

“Too foolish to realise I had been saved that day, I spent weeks in search of the grey warrior, thinking I would reclaim my honor. Only to realise days late as word came from Caldasher that the same grey warrior had been killed putting an end to blood storm that had almost destroyed the world.”

“That warrior, showed me what it meant to be hero. And it is to honor their memory, and sacrifice that your father named you Grey. The last and only hero of our world...”

Breathe coming out harsh and fast at the vivid memory, Grey paused for a moment to suck in a few deep breaths, and saw the crumbling remains of the Tarriel, her shadow appearing off in the far distance like a faded scar that would never heal. Her walls smashed and buildings laid low.

Hands shaking badly, he sat down in the mud to watch the suns rise higher in the sky, trying to clear his mind when Amaryllis stopped beside him. “You okay Grey?”

He nodded his head, a part of him surprised at the concern in her voice before pointing his finger towards the distant skyline. “Shadow’s Bay should be just to the north west of here. If we move quickly we can be there in a day or two.”

Sky raised an eyebrow up in question. "So why are you sitting down then? You tired?”

Grey shook his head again, not really sure how to respond. There was simply something about this place that was almost spiritual. Perhaps it was simply that his father had once stood here looking out at the same place or perhaps it was walking in the footsteps of the grey hero. But either way, he somehow felt bonded to this land.

Sighing heavily at the thought of having to leave so soon, he stood up with the help of Sky. “Come on, let’s go then.”

They then continued on through the wet marshlands when to his surprise and shock the suns began to sink once more below the horizon.

No, no, no, that couldn’t be, he’d been so careful to keep to track of their journey, careful to take only short breaks so they would not be caught out here at night, but he must have become too distracted by his own thoughts.

Head flickering from side to side, he could see Sky and Amaryllis look at him in confusion, but there was no time to explain. No time.

Quickening his pace as his heart clenched inside of him, he splashed through the puddles of muck and waved at his friends urgently to follow him close behind, when a figure made of rotted flesh and bone rose up to swing it’s blade towards him.

(Continue reading below once you’ve dispatched the creature.)

Bones crunching beneath the weight of his greatsword, he retreated back from the writhing corpse. The undead warrior still attempting to rise to its feet despite its body being cleaved in two. The cries of Amaryllis and Sky alerting him to presence of more of the creatures. The dead rising up all around him.

Screaming, “Run!" Grey hurried westward where The Dessicated were fewer in number, his greatsword leaping forward to clear a path.

x 2

Weak and slow, he was able to drive them back to give his friends time to rush ahead, Amaryllis quivering sobs of fear cutting the still air, when an otherworldly shriek drained all the warmth from his body.

Confronted by a wraith with swarms of Dessicated closing in from all sides, he joined battle with the undead being. Greatsword meeting a sword that burned of ice, his fingers becoming numb with the cold as he drove his steel to pierce its frozen heart, the creature bursting apart to drop it’s still smoldering Blade onto the ground.

(Click here to stay and go for the weapon.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Having never come across such a Blade such as that, Grey quickly reached down to pick it up when two more Dessicated approached from either side.

x 2

(You’ve acquired Bitter Steel, a weapon imbued with magic to harness the cold. It has 2 Attack Dice. It also has the ability to protect you against fire attacks. + 5 Magical Resistance.)

Heart thundering inside of him, Grey saw the edges of the battlefield, his legs pounding across the mud and dirt when Amaryllis fell ahead of him.

(Click here to stop and help her up.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Grunting in annoyance, he slowed to help her back up when he sensed something come up from behind him.

Saved by his quick reflexes, he battled a creature he’d hoped never to face. Their souls bound into their armor, The Lost were beings of dark magic forced to relive their deaths again and again with their only pleasure in life coming from taking that life from others.

Using sheer force to batter her apart, he pushed Amaryllis forward who’d frozen in fear, cursed himself for thinking it was a good idea to bring her along and kept running. (+ 1 Honor.)

(Click here to pass her by.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Grey heard her desperate cry for help, but there was simply no time to stop for her. There was nothing he could do. But even as he had that thought, he saw Sky look at him in disbelief before rushing back to help her up. The damn fool risking his own life as he struggled to get away from the nightmarish creatures that seemed to pour out from every crevice, and hole. (- 2 Honor.)

Spurred on by the sound of their moans, they burst free of the battlefield. The Dessicated halting at the edges of the field to stare at them with hungry longing before slowly drifting away back off into the fog.

“I thought you said this route was safe,” puffed out an irate Sky.

“No, I said it was safer than the other option,” replied Grey as he sucked in deep gulps of fresh air. He’d hoped by moving quickly through the field in broad daylight there would fewer of those creatures about, but he supposed that was too much to hope for.

“What was the other option?"

“Travelling through Lord Colmar’s land.”

To be Continued...