BOOK 3 | CHAPTER 2: BEYOND THE CRATER

Fig. 1

 The ears of Metis, the Halfling Wanderer, had shrunk and folded back. He sat up on The Stone Glyph at the bottom of The Giant Crater. He could "hear" psychic voices emanate from the jagged, metallic crystal next to him. The voices were arguing. Metis addressed The Crystal and "heard" the voice of Horgelon Thunderegg, the Wizard. Horgelon was confused. Metis recognized few words. 

Fig. 2

Metis took his short sword and attempted to cut the unconscious Despairer next to him. The blade could not find an opening in the exoskeleton of The Despairer. The Mount of The Despairer was a Giant Maggot and Metis cut it open. The Giant Maggot Mount screeched. Its insides spilled out onto The Stone Glyph.

Metis took the jagged crystal with him and climbed out of the giant crater. Metis caressed The Crystal. Thunderegg, within The Crystal, recognized Metis. Thunderegg said, I am trapped and there is constant psychic battle with Dufnarl and Selloc Dur.

Metis looked at his surroundings. There was The Wasteland around The Giant Crater. In one direction were rolling hills covered with grass. In the other direction was The Large Stone Structure. In another direction were The Five Mountains.

Metis walked toward The Five Mountains with The Crystal. It was near evening when Metis arrived at the Five Mountains. Four smaller mountains circled one larger mountain. Each mountain had eight sides and was identical to the others, but the largest mountain had a staircase. The staircase wound up the mountainside to the top.

Fig. 3

Metis heard a snarl. A Wingless Scalewolf approached. The head of The Scalewolf had a snout and was covered with fur. It's eyes were red. It had a long body covered with scales. There was a ball covered with spikes at the end of its tail. The Scalewolf told Metis to leave for he would disturb The Ritual. Metis asked about The Ritual. The Animal said The Order would resurrect The Conqueror, Chamast Marghast. Metis said he would join The Order. The Scalewolf presented Metis with a token and said to go to the top of the mountain. Metis walked up the staircase.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

On top of the mountain were Four Warriors kneeling around a hole. Metis presented the token and the warriors welcomed him into their order. The Ritual required The Four Warriors, and Metis, to give up their flesh so Chamast Marghast could use it on this plane. The four warriors, and Metis, would take the place of Chamast Marghast in the Ne'errealm. Metis told the four warriors he did not want to be in The Ritual. The Four Warriors armed themselves. Metis fled down the staircase.

The Scalewolf bit Metis at the bottom of the staircase. Metis struck at the The Scalewolf with his short sword. The Scalewolf bit Metis again and Metis fled across the wasteland.

Fig.6

Metis walked toward The Rolling Hills as the night descended. Then he was in darkness. Metis saw many strings of lights. The lights bounced in the darkness. Metis walked toward the lights and saw The Caravan. The Caravan was a series of buildings on wheels pulled by Medium Walkers. The buildings could be connected by gang planks.

Metis told A Caravan Guardsman he was a boy separated from his parents who were on The Caravan. The Caravan Guardsman brought Metis to The Healers of The Caravan who cared for Metis's wounds and they would find his parents in the morning.

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

A Woman came for Metis in the morning. She hugged him and said he was his Mother. Metis didn't know The Woman. The Woman took Metis by the hand and crossed The Caravan to a decrepit, four-story building. The Woman took Metis to a room on the second floor and locked the door. In the room was A Man in patched, brown clothes. The Woman was Esther and The Man was Edger. Esther and Edger told Metis, You will help us steal the gold from The Caravan Company. Metis threatened, I'll stab you and laser you with my crystal. Esther ignored him, We will sell you to the slavers. She told him they would steal the gold that night.

Metis sat on a stool by the window. Esther and Edger played cards at the table. Metis took the chamberpot, sat over it and made noises with his mouth as if he were evacuating his bowels. Then Metis opened the window. He threw The Crystal out the window and followed. Esther and Edger drew their weapons and came after Metis. Metis ran to the front of the building and got the attention of A Caravan Guard. The Caravan Guard took Metis to Daron Vega, the Caravan Leader.

Fig. 1 "Metis, The Halfling," Benjamin Marra 

Fig. 2 "The Consciousness of Horgelon Thunderegg Trapped In The Psyche-scape Of The Crystal," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 3 "A Wingless Scalewolf," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 4 "Chamast Marghast, The Hated, Wielding The Bone Sword of Ep'curthulon, with Followers," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 5 "The Four Warriors from The Order of Marghast," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 6 "A Caravan Building Pulled By Medium Walkers," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 7 "Esther," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 8 "Edger," Benjamin Marra 
 

BOOK 3 | CHAPTER 1: HORGELON THUNDEREGG

Fig. 1

Horgelon Thunderegg was a retired wizard and built a Tower on a slight hill. The Tower contained the wealth and artifacts of Thunderegg. Thunderegg was benevolent and a town grew around The Tower. The Tower and the village were near an excavation site. The excavation site unearthed an ancient building. Thunderegg studied relics discovered at the excavation site.

Fig. 2

Thunderegg protected The People of the Town. In The Tower, Thunderegg taught The People of the Town about artifacts in his collection and relics from the excavation site. The People of the Town who learned from Thunderegg were The Students. The Excavator arrived with the Half-Human worker who carried a large satchel. Thunderegg was angry at the interruption. The Excavator spoke excited words. Thunderegg became excited.

The Students gathered around the table. The Half-Human worker emptied the satchel on the table before Thunderegg. The satchel contained a large wooden box reenforced with iron studs and bands. Thunderegg spoke strange words and moved his wing. The air in the room was difficult to breathe. There was the sound of metal twisting and a loud noise. The air became as normal. Thunderegg lifted the top off the box.

Fig. 3

Inside the box was another box. The box inside the box was made of unknown metal. Thunderegg spoke strange words and the air became hot. The Students could not breathe. There was the sound of metal tearing. The air returned to normal and The Students breathed. Thunderegg lifted the top off the box.

Fig. 4

Within the box were The Three Spheres. The Spheres sat on a bed of broken swords. The Spheres were made of gleaming black glass. They were opaque. The Students thought they could see faint light in the center of the spheres. Horgelon lifted the largest Sphere. The light inside the sphere glowed. A bolt of blue electricity sprung from The Sphere and struck the forehead of Horgelon. The bolt of electricity flowed between The Sphere and Horgelon. The Sphere hovered in the air next to Thunderegg. The Sphere possessed Thunderegg.

Fig. 5

When Possessed Thunderegg spoke his voice was different. He said he was imprisoned but now possessed a tool on this plane. He said he would dominate this plane. The Excavator tried to flee the room. The Sphere shot The Excavator with a ray of light in the shape of a screaming demon. The ray of light went through The Excavator's chest.

Fig. 6

Sithi, of The Students, spoke words of distraction to Possessed Thunderegg. Sithi said she would serve The Sphere Who Possessed Thunderegg. Metis, of The Students, stole the other two Spheres and put them in his pants. Metis was careful not to let the Spheres touch his flesh.

The Sphere Who Possessed Thunderegg spoke through him and said unknown words. A ball of light formed in the room. The ball of light grew and a tear in reality opened in its center. The Students could see beyond the tear's threshold a purple sky over ground of gray mist and gray dirt. A shape appeared in the mist. Through the tear came The Despairer.

Fig. 7

The head of The Despairer was covered in fur and had a long snout. From the mouth of The Despairer protruded two segmented antenna. Its body flesh was covered in a black exoskeleton. The Despairer was mounted on a large maggot. The Despairer stabbed The Students with its antenna and they died. Other students were afraid.

Sithi said again she would serve The Sphere. The Sphere determined she was lying. The Sphere swung itself at the head of Sithi and missed. Sithi and The Students ran out the door and down to the ground floor of The Tower. The Sphere Who Possessed Thunderegg and The Despairer pursued The Students. The Despairer spat liquid from its snout and the liquid cut a hole in the flesh of a Student. The Student bled to death.

The Students ran into The Gardens. In The Gardens was shrubbery sculpted in the shapes of strange creatures. The creatures were likenesses of creatures Horgelon encountered on his adventures. Matis the Halfling Student, hid behind a sculpted Wrather. Sithi, the Human Student, hesitated. The Sphere Who Possessed Thunderegg and The Despairer killed her.

The Three Cubes exploded out of the side of The Tower above. The Largest Cube was The Cube of Dufnarl. The Cube of Dufnarl confronted The Sphere Who Possessed Horgelon which was The Sphere of Selloc Dur. The Sphere of Selloc Dur said to Dufnarl, You could never defeat me.

Fig. 8

For it was Dufnarl, an ancient hero of might, trapped the consciousness of Selloc Dur, The Seventh Dominator, in The Sphere to sleep for all time. The minions of Selloc Dur, Rumlocknov and Ness'r, were also cast in Spheres. Dufnarl and his comrades, Symkar and Allywave, volunteered to have their minds placed in The Cubes. Spells were woven so Dufnarl and his friends would awaken in their Cube Form should the mind of Selloc Dur ever emerge from its slumber.

The Spheres of Symkar and Allywave confronted Metis, who carried The Spheres of Rumlocknov and Ness'r in his pants. Metis presented The Spheres.

Fig. 9

The air around The Cubes and The Spheres bent. The Cube of Dufnarl collided with The Sphere of Selloc Dur. The Cubes of Symkar and Allywave collided with The Sphers of Rumlocnov and Ness'r. The area was enveloped in energy.

Metis, the Halfling Student, awoke on a stone glyph. On one side was a jagged piece of crystal. On the other was The Despairer, unconscious. The stone glyph was at the bottom of a giant crater of fossilized magma. The clouds above were purple and pink. Above the clouds were shadows of flying creatures. The flying creatures were like snakes.

Fig. 1 "A Young Horgelon Thunderegg Battles an Orc," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 2 "A Retired Horgelon Thunderegg," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 3 "The Spheres Revealed," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 4 "The Sphere Who Possessed Horgelon Thunderegg," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 5 "The Death of The Excavator," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 6 "Sithi Swears Service to The Sphere of Selloc Dur," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 7 "A Despairer, with Mount, Arriving from The Plane of Dysphoria," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 8 "Dufnarl Battles Selloc Dur, The Seventh Dominator, In The Penultimate War," Benjamin Marra 
Fig. 9 "The Final Confrontation of Cube and Sphere," Benjamin Marra 

BOOK 2 | CHAPTER 1: STEPPETREE

Fig. 1

The Lurkers arrived in Steppetree in groups of three. They wore collections of dark robes. They were strangers to The People of Steppetree. Some of The People of Steppetree heard The Lurkers were rebels from the West. Others thought they were assassins sent to kill Cuthway Hane.

Fig. 2

Cuthway Hane came from Landing, the capital city of Firstborn. The First Star was kept in Firstborn. The followers of the First Star took over the government recently. Cuthway Hane was a follower of the First Star but was unfavored by his superiors. Cuthway Hane was sent to Steppetree. Cuthway Hane wanted the favor of his superiors. Cuthway Hane taxed The People of Steppetree. The People of Steppetree could not pay the taxes.

Fig. 3

Steppetree was a town by the sea. The buildings of Steppetree were nestled in the roots of a giant tree. The tree was hundreds of thousands of spans tall. A thousand people holding arms might circle the giant tree trunk. The town roads wove under, over, and between the giant roots. The buildings were protected in the elbows of the roots or carved into the trunk of the giant tree. The upper branches of the giant tree blended into the blue sky. The land around the giant tree was unforested. The People of Steppetree were traders, farmers, fisherfolk, hunters, and craftspeople. The People of Steppetree didn't follow the First Star. They heard rumors the First Star was a stone from the night sky. They heard the stone bled.

Cuthway Hane called The People of Steppetree to The Town Hall. The Town Hall was the biggest structure in Steppetree. The Town Hall had exposed wood beams supporting the high roof. The wood beams were painted black. The windows were made with iron frames. The windows kept out the wind. The iron chandeliers were crude and thick candles high above. The People of Steppetree murmured. There was a cage cart full of The Children of The People of Steppetree on the tall dais. Cuthway Hane was on the tall dais. Cuthway Hane said he took The Children because The People of Steppetree did not pay the taxes. Two Town Guardsmen pushed the cage cart full of The Children into the tunnel in back of the stage. The tunnel lead beneath the giant tree.

Fig. 4

The People of Steppetree were angry. The People of Steppetree shouted. Cuthway Hane ordered The Town Guard to control the crowd. Cuthway Hane went into the tunnel after the cage cart full of The Children. Town Guardsmen entered the hall on either side. The Town Guard were townsfolk who wanted to please Cuthway Hane. They used their polearms on The People of Steppetree. Some of The People of Steppetree died. In The Town Hall there was a slaughter. 

Fig .5

Some of The People of Steppetree broke away from the slaughter and charged the dais. The People of Steppetree wanted The Children. They slew the Town Guardsmen who stood in their way and went into the tunnel. They found the wheel tracks of the cage cart, which held The Children, and entered a corridor. The corridor was lit by torches on the walls. The floor was stone. Out of the shadows of the far end came Helox Gringe. Helox Gringe, worked for Cuthway Hane and collected the taxes. Helox Gringe had a sword. Helox Gringe used the sword on The People of Steppetree when they didn't pay the tax. The left arm of Helox Gringe did not work. It angered Helox Gringe. He was known as Helox the Cripple. Two Town Guardsmen were with Helox Gringe.

Fig. 6

The Town Guardsmen, charged the crowd with their polearms. The People of Steppetree slew the Town Guardsmen with blades. Helox Gringe brandished his sword to The People of Steppetree. The People of Steppetree hit Helox Gringe in his head with a club and slung rock and he died. The People of Steppetree continued down the corridor.

The corridor lead to a cavern under the giant tree. In the cavern was Cuthway Hane and a crater. Cuthway Hane's back faced The People of Steppetree and he was looking at the crater. In the crater was The Viscous Liquid. The Viscous Liquid was blue. There was a ramp which lead up to the lip of the crater. Two Town Guardsmen pushed the cage cart filled with The Children into The Viscous Liquid in the crater. The cage cart sank slowly into The Viscous Liquid. The Blue Viscous Liquid came over the top of the crater and went slowly down the sides of the crater. Cuthway Hane raised his fists over his head. Cuthway Hane called out, For the First Star.

Fig. 7

Two Women of Steppetree ran up the ramp. A Woman of Steppetree pushed a Town Guardsman into The Viscous Liquid. A Woman of Steppetree jumped into The Viscous Liquid to save The Children. She sank slowly. A Woman of Steppetree put a pitchfork into Cuthway Hane and he died. A Man and Woman of Steppetree went up the ramp and killed the Town Guard.

A Man of Steppetree had a grappling hook. A Man of Steppetree threw the grappling hook to A Woman of Steppetree in The Viscous Liquid and she secured it to the cage cart before she drowned. The People of Steppetree pulled the cage cart from The Viscous Liquid. The Children in the cage cart cried. Some of The Children were covered in The Viscous Liquid. They were The Children Covered In Viscous Liquid. The People of Steppetree broke the lock on the cage cart and removed The Children from it. A Woman of Steppetree was The Healer. The Healer examined A Child Covered In Viscous Liquid. A Child Covered In Viscous Liquid lay motionless. It's eyes were wide and unblinking. It's mouth, agape, the interior covered with The Viscous Liquid, like a lacquer. A Child Covered In Viscous Liquid rose and grabbed at her. The Healer moved away.

Fig. 8

The Children Covered In Viscous Liquid moved. Their arms moved quick and grabbed The People of Steppetree. The Children Covered In Viscous Liquid bit The People of Steppetree. Some of The People of Steppetree fled. Some of The People of Steppetree attempted to save The Children who were not covered in The Viscous Liquid.

The Three Lurkers prevented the escape of The People of Steppetree. There were always three Lurkers. The Lurkers wore collections of dark robes. The Lurkers shed their collection of dark robes. Underneath they wore human skins. The Lurkers pulled off the human skins. Some of The People of Steppetree were frightened. 

Fig. 9

The forms of The Lurkers were dark gray, like some stones. Their bodies moved quick. Their bodies fell toward each other. Electricity grew in the point where their bodies joined. Blue electric bolts shot out and felled some of The People of Steppetree. The Lurkers' bodies formed The Lesser Voyager, Combined. The Lesser Voyager, Combined, had two legs. Each leg was twice the span of a human. The legs were covered with long hair. The legs were attached to a humped body. The human head of The Lesser Voyager,  Combined, was on a stalk. On the humped back of The Lesser Voyager, Combined, were three arms. The tail of the Lesser Voyager, Combined, was a long, thin appendage with many knuckles. The knuckles were covered with delicate skin. The Lesser Voyager, Combined, pulled a tube from a pouch. From the end of the tube unfolded The Crystal Blade. The Crystal Blade unfolded in sections. The Crystal Blade was three times the span of a human. The Lesser Voyager, Combined, struck The People of Steppetree with The Crystal Blade and The People of Steppetree disappeared.

Fig. 10

 

The People of Steppetree woke. They lay on a rock. The rock was a glyph. The sky above them was gray. Flecks of snow fell. They saw they were on an island of ice. Dark blue water surrounded the island. In the distance was another island made of stone. The island was a wide column. At the base of the column, at the shore, was a city. The column rose into the clouds. Among the clouds large rocks floated. The sky at the horizon was orange as flame.

Fig. 1 "The Lurkers Travel In Threes," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 2 "Cuthway Hane," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 4 "Town of Steppetree," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 4 "Massacre at The Town Hall," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 5 "Helox Gringe," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 6 "A Town Guard of Steppetree," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 7 "The Death of Cuthway Hane," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 8 "The Children Covered in Viscous Liquid," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 9 "The forming of the Lesser Voyager," Benjamin Marra 
Fig. 10 "A Lesser Voyager, Combined," Benjamin Marra 

INTERMEDIARY MUND | BOOK 1 MAP 1

Fig. B1M1

SOUNDTRACK

Here is the playlist on YouTube which comprises the soundtrack for our gaming sessions. DCC RPG is inspired by the same source material of the 1960s and 1970s which inspired the original D&D, known as Appendix N. I prefer to use music from the same era as the soundtrack for adventures.

BOOK 1 | CHAPTER 1: THE URTHLOTHGAR DESECRATION

Fig. 1

 Fig. 2

The Group were slaves. Before they were slaves The Group were villagers. Their village was a way station for caravans crossing The Plains Of Dust. They lived in peace. The Almighty Light And Glory conquered their nation, Desert Area 5. The Almighty Light And Glory took their village. The Almighty Light And Glory broke their lives as if smashing a clay pot.


The Group worked as slaves in the quarry beside the town. The Group was manacled together. They broke rocks searching for The Ore. The Ore was green. The Ore was strange to The Group. It was different from the orange and tan dust and stones of the countryside. They worked under the twin suns of Urthlothgar 1. When The Group worked slow, the Whipmaster would open their backs. There was a tunnel in the quarry. The Almighty Light And Glory lead The People From The Village inside the tunnel. The People From The Village were fellows and family of The Group working as slaves in the quarry. The Group watched their fellows and families go in the tunnel. None came out of the tunnel.

Fig. 3

The Riders In Black Armor approached their village. The Riders In Black Armor wore black capes. They were like shadows on horses. Their helms were frightful. Some held staffs with angry geometric shapes on top. Black clouds coalesced above the village.


The Whipmaster watched the riders enter the village. The Group attacked The Whipmaster. They put an axe in his neck. They took keys and unchained themselves. The Group was free. The Group went into the tunnel. The tunnel was dark, but there was a glow in the darkness. There was warmth and it was damp. Lichen and moss appeared deeper in the tunnel. A long shape moved in the darkness before The Group.

Fig. 4

The Large Worm blocked their way. The Large Worm was pink and bloated with blood. The Large Worm was as long as six men. A man from The Group struck at the worm. The Large Worm vomited on the man. His face and skull melted into his chest. Some in The Group tried to jump over the worm, but failed. A Man from The Group put a pitchfork in the head of the worm. The Group went further down the tunnel.


On the ceiling was a tapered tube of flesh. Vyncent, the Caravan Guard, from The Group, cut it with a sword. Fluid filling the tube fell from the wound onto his face. The fluid was full of eggs. The eggs went into Vyncent's face pores. Vyncent was unaware of the eggs. The Group went further into the tunnel. The light in the darkness grew stronger.


The tunnel opened up into a space. The Group saw a fire in the space. Shadows passed in front of the fire. The space was as big as a large room. There were five people in the space. There were four men and one woman. The woman sat by the fire. The men stood. The people were covered with fine fur. Some fur was orange and some was purple. Other fur was blue. They were naked but for a single leather thong around their waists. On the thong hung a pouch. They carried long, slender tubes. Near the end of the tube was a pouch. The people had growths on their bodies. The growths looked like slack dog faces and were on the peoples' shoulders, hips and knees. They were The People With The Dog Faces. They were eating a baby.

Fig. 5

There were cages in the space. In the cages were some family of the group. Above the fire was a man hanging on bars. The bars hung from the ceiling on chains. The man was hanging in a squat position. There was a plate under him. When the man made feces, the plate caught the man's feces. The plate was over the fire. The fire dried the feces on the plate. The Woman With The Dog Faces put the dried feces in a stone bowl. The woman crushed the feces into powder in the bowl with a stone pestle.



Fig. 6

One of The Men With The Dog Faces blew into his tube toward a man in The Group. A cloud came from the end of the tube and went into the man's nose and mouth and he died. The Group slew The Men With The Dog Faces with their weapons. A man from The Group addressed The Woman With The Dog Faces. She upended the contents of her bowl onto the man from The Group. The contents went into the man's nose and mouth and he died. The Group slew The Woman With The Dog Faces with their weapons.

Fig. 7

Beyond the space, the tunnel continued and The Group followed the tunnel. The tunnel became another room. The room was made of stone blocks. There were cracked columns supporting the ceiling. In the middle of the room was a bath. In the bath was a white liquid and black liquid. The black liquid sparkled. The two liquids repelled each other. There were bodies of People With The Dog Faces on the floor of the room. Their limbs were tense. There was an alter at the far end of the room. A man from The Group attempted to put a body in the bath of liquid. The liquid lept from the bath and into the man's throat. The man's body pushed the liquid out. The Group went around the bath and to the alter. There was a scepter on the alter. The scepter was black and metal. On top of the scepter was an impossible geometric shape. Vyncent, The Caravan Guard, from The Group, took the scepter.



Fig. 8

There were stairs behind the alter. The Group went down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a stone platform. Beyond the stone platform was a vast cavern. The cavern stretched beyond the horizon. There was a single light source in the distance, high above. Some in The Group, could see through the darkness. They saw thousands of buildings. They saw the buildings were on the chest of a person lying on their back. The person's form stretched from the right horizon to the left horizon, filling the vast cavern. The platform The Group stood on broke and fell away from them. The Group fell into the darkness.


There was a field of blue and gray clouds beneath them. The Group fell through the clouds. Under the clouds was a large pink crystal face. The face blew air under them to cushion their fall. The Group landed on the side of the crystal face. The air did not cushion everyone. Some died from the impact. The Group was in a cavern. Blue and gray clouds were in the cavern high above. In the cavern was a bridge made out of pink crystal. The bridge crossed an underground lake to an island, like a camel's hump, far in the distance. The island was covered in grass. The grass glowed like an emerald. On the top of the island was a crowd of Riders In Black Armor. In the center of the crowd was a Rider In Black Armor twice the size of a man. The Tall Rider In Black Armor held a warhammer above his head. Over his shoulder was a sphere. The sphere hovered in the air. The sphere was made of interlocking pieces of stone. The pieces were strange shapes in constant motion. The sphere remained a sphere. Black light poured out from the center of the sphere between the stone pieces. The Group walked across the bridge to the island.

Fig. 9

The Cave Jelly fell on Arthund, The Trapper, from The Group. The Cave Jelly covered Arthund's head. The Cave Jelly conquered Arthund's mind and controlled his movements. The Cave Jelly made Arthund swing his club at Vyncent. Arthund hit Vyncent's head and slew him. Another man in The Group had a Cave Jelly on his head. His mind was not conquered by The Cave Jelly. He could not lift The Cave Jelly off his head. He slew The Cave Jelly with his pitchfork. The Cave Jelly fell from him. Symund, The Orphan, from The Group, slew The Cave Jelly on Arthund's head. Arthund's mind was permanently damaged by The Cave Jelly.



Fig. 10

Fig. 11

The Group continued across the bridge. When they arrived on the island the Riders In Black Armor said, You must join Urthlothgar. The Group declined. The Riders In Black Armor drew their blades. The Group attacked The Riders In Black Armor. The Riders In Black Armor raised their steel.


Fig. 12

The Tall Rider In Black Armor struck the sphere made of stone pieces with his warhammer. The sphere shattered. Urthlothgar rose from the lake in the cavern. Urthlothgar surrounded the island. Urthlothgar was endless acres of flesh. Urthlothgar was a rainbow of bruises and bubbling skin. Pustules grew on Urthlothgar and burst fluid. The fluid formed into human appendages and limbs. The appendages and limbs melted back into Urthlothgar. The ten thousand eyes of Urthlothgar opened. The hundred thousand tentacles of Urthlothgar raged high above. The tentacles were a forest. The tentacles were a storm. The mouth of Urthlothgar opened. Urthlothgar inhaled all the air in the cavern. Some men from The Group died. Some minds of men from The Group were permanently damaged.



Fig. 13

Urthlothgar exhaled poison air. Some men from The Group died. Some minds of men from The Group were permanently damaged. The mouth of Urthlothgar was a field of energy. The energy was blue and purple. The energy flashed. Bolts of electricity ran across the energy field. Urthlothgar inhaled again and sucked The Group and The Riders In Black Armor into the energy field.


Darkness mixed with unknown colors. The colors made tunnel. The tunnel went on for eternity.


The Group woke. They sat on a piece of stone. The stone rocked back and forth. The stone sat on a hill. The stone was surrounded by a circle of other stone shapes. The Group, who survived were Symund, The Orphan, Arthund, The Trapper, Masym, The Costermonger, and Ferthelm, The Trapper. Symunds skin turned white as bone. Arthund's eyes bulged unblinking. As did Masym's. Ferthelm's eyes turned blood red. They were The Four Who Survived. To the left was a forest of twisted black trees. To the right was a cliff. Beyond the cliff was a desert. In the desert were enormous geometric shapes, as if a graveyard of forgotten forms. In front of The Four Who Survived was gentle-sloping hill of pink and blue grass. The hill descended to a village. The structures in the village were made of gray clay. Beyond the village was an enormous city in the distance. The city was as tall as a mountain. The spires of the city were silhouettes against the deep red sky. The single setting sun was a plate of molten iron behind a curtain of smoke. Two silver-metal droplets flew high overhead. The two droplets made an angry sound.

Fig. 14

Fig. 1 - "Knight of Knowing," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 2 - "Wizard Commander," Benjamin Marra 
Fig. 3 - "The Whipmaster," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 4 - "The Large Worm vomited acid on the head of The Man From The Group," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 5 - "Captured man hung in squat position," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 6 - "A Man With Dead Dog Faces," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 7 - "Scepter of Pure Chaos," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 8 - "Underground City of the Fallen God," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 9 - "A man from The Group, controlled by a Cave Jelly, strikes and kills an ally," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 10 - "The Riders In Black Armor, Strike Soldier and Conqueror Cleric classes," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 11 - "A Rider In Black Armor, Strike Soldier with Squad Great Weapon," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 12 - "The Tall Rider In Black Armor with warhammer," Benjamin Marra
Fig. 13 - "Urthlothgar Rises," Benjamin Marra

Fig. 14 - "Survivors," Benjamin Marra