February 27, 2000
My name is Dailin. I was born in a remote village, many miles to the east of Medievia. My life was fairly simple; I worked on my parents' farm by day, and studied by night. I loved my books, and the range of possibilities that opened up through them. Eventually I learned a little of magic - Just a little, mind - and so my lust for knowledge came about. After many years of study the day of my seventeenth birthday came about. My father thrust a handful of robes into my arms, gave me a bag of gold, and ordered me to travel to the city of Medievia and seek out the New Adventurer's Guild.
... and so here I am in Medievia. Before I left, my father told me, "Seek out your place in the world" - I am not quite sure what he meant, but looking around it seems there aren't many 'places' left for me. Still, I know a little of magical self-defense, and I'm not too bad with a dagger even if I say so myself. I pray I will not need to use my skills, but if I am forced to I will be prepared. For now though, friend, I must seek lodging for the night.
I stand now on the steps of Castle Medievia. Colossal Dragons circle above me, while groups of adventurers with covered wagons hurry past me - The northern part of this city truly is something magnificent. I reported to the New Adventurer's Guild, where a friendly Elven Ranger informed me that I could ' purchase' a range of brochures catering for the new adventurer. My purse still aches even now. Nevertheless, I now know that I must head to the Mages Guild, on Guild Row, if I am to continue my quest for knowledge.
The issue of money is solved - at least for now, after a disagreement with a strange-looking scarred man, quite obviously a mercenary of some sort. He seemed to think that he could threaten me, possibly due to my young age and negligible build. Needless to say, I reinforced my magical shielding, and channeled a bolt of magical energy at my assailant, tearing away his life force. The man was carrying a significant sum of money, and I now own a mystical opal ring. Lodging will be no problem for another month at least.
It seems the spell I used is known as a 'magic missile', and is only of minor significance in the magical disciplines! I have much to learn. My guildmaster has informed me of the dangers of wandering the city, and she has instructed me in several new spells. I am now able to detect anybody who feels the need to travel the town while invisible. I am also able to create minor items, and create bolts of magical ice, amongst other things. My guildmaster may look old and weak, but she clearly possesses vast amounts of knowledge!
The creatures here are truly terrifying! Rotten flesh clings to the bones of what was once human; watery eyes beg me to take these poor creatures out of their misery. I have weaved a minor spell of invisibility over myself - let us hope none of these creatures have the ability to detect my presence.
I have joined up with a group of fellow adventurers - The meeting was of strange circumstance. I arrived at a gravestone only to see several people under attack by a robed creature. It appeared to have no form, except for the glimmer of its eyes, and the adventurers did not seem to be able to harm the creature. The creature looked surprised as my form materialized; I quickly channeled my magical energy into one of my newer spells, Chilling Touch. My hands sweltered as I absorbed the creature's body heat, freezing it's arm in place, and leaving him unable to save himself from the fatal blow dealt to him by my dagger.
As the agonizing screams of the creature died down, I introduced myself to my future companions. They seemed thankful for my assistance, and invited me to join their group.
The day's battling is over. My body aches all over, and I have a slash along the right side of my face. The priest in the group - a man going by the name of 'Talrian' - cured me as best he could, but informed me that a scar would remain. So this is the life of an adventurer; while not what I expected it to be, I do feel a slight sense of exhilaration.
My companions scoffed at me when I informed them that I was headed back to ' Hotel Medievia'. I was shown how to prepare a fire and camp. This newfound knowledge will allow me to stay in Medievia for months - perhaps years - without a permanent source of income.
The dragons which frequent the sky over the city certainly do look incredible - it seems as though I can see people riding on them sometimes. Surely a trick of the eyes.
I informed my companions of my doubts about the graveyard during our meal. To my surprise, most of my companions were in agreement. "What do you suggest then, Dailin? That we pay a visit to the Temple of Bloodstone?" laughed the rogue of our group. He was quickly silenced by the glares of my companions, however. There was a heated discussion on what the group should do - there were even suggestions of us disbanding, and going our own ways. Eventually an agreement was reached. Tommorow we journey to Labyrinth.
I cannot sleep due to fear of tommorow. The tales I heard of the Labyrinth as a boy were terrible; an old castle situated deep in the center of a desolate forest, filled vast systems of interconnected tunnels populated by terrifying creatures - I had even heard rumours of a strange castle situated within. I dread to think what we may find there.
My companions awoke a couple of hours after me. No sooner had we finished our breakfast, we were ordered to make preperations and disperse. I made as if to move, but paused and questioned my friends on what I should purchase. Talrian chuckled and told me he would show me around.
This city truly does hold some strange sights. Talrian took me to places which I never knew existed - just as I was beginning to think I knew the layout of this vast city! We headed to the bank first, where Talrian ordered me to deposit most of my money. We travelled to a number of other places, but truly the strangest place was a small store at the back of Castle Medievia. A wizened old man greeted us as we entered, and Talrian advised me to buy a number of magenta and orange potions. He waved his hand when I was about to ask why.
After purchasing the potions which Talrian recommended, the man behind the counter who I now know to be a wizard told me, "Make good use of your purchase, lad" before turning away. I attempted to focus my magical shields, but the room appeared to have a magical field surrounding it which absorbed my magical energy. Most strange indeed.
After arriving back at the meeting point in Castle Square, the leader of our group - a bulky warrior by the name of 'Tagar' - informed us that there was not enough time left to depart today. He advised us to return to the camp once our business was done.
We have finished discussing our plans for tommorow. I have been told that I am to ride a dragon to the Labyrinth since it is many miles away. A dragon! I never would have dreamed I would be riding a dragon a month ago, yet now it seems insignificant. I cannot write more for now, as I can feel sleep creeping up on me.
I am riding a dragon. The creature flies with such speed and power, it is truly a sight to behold. I can see the scenery passing below me. I never thought the world was this vast! After several hours of flight, the dragon crashed into an ominous forest. I could make out the towers of an old castle situated in a series of outer stone walls.
The group dismounted and we headed for the entrance to the Labyrinth. Tagar informed us that we would need to camp, as the tunnels are dangerous at night. We made camp, and ate in silence. My companions did not seem to be in the mood for talking.
No sooner had we entered the tunnels, then we were set upon by giant, brown- furred rats. My friends dispatched them with relative ease, and we headed further into the structure.
This is truly a dreadful place. The endless tunnels seem to twist crazily, going off in all directions. An eerie silence exists throughout the area, broken only by the grunts and screams of some unknown creatures off in the distance. We have decided to stop for a moment above a strange-looking pit. Talrian says he can make out fangs in the darkness, off in the far end of the pit. The rest of the party ignore him, however - perhaps due to fear?
It seems the fangs did belong to a creature after all. We slipped through the pit, only to be confronted by a creature of some kind. While unidentifiable in the darkness, I noted the ferociousness with which it fought. Eventually we managed to knock the creature down. Many of us were unwilling to take the creatures' life while it was unable to fight back, so we simply took a strange twisted-metal rod which it seemed to have been trying to protect.
After several hours of thought, we worked out that the rod was the key to the trapdoor below us. A simple puzzle - I am surprised I did not realise this earlier. It would have saved the party some time.
Disaster! The party was set upon by a group of fearful, twisted creatures - The creatures from my dreams, in fact. These monsters fight with incredible speed and power, attacking in small groups from all sides. We were forced to flee, and Talrian was lost in the commotion of our retreat.
Tagar has informed us that the tunnels we came in through are cut off by the creatures. There is no choice except to go forward into the bowels of the castle. We can only fear the worst for Talrian. We have decided to assume the worst, and focus on our own safety.
Only Tagars' confidence drives us on now. We came across a disembodied leg at one point and, although it was unidentifiable, most agreed that it was probably Talrian. There is no time for us to mourn for him, though.
It seems the leg did not belong to Talrian after all! Noble Talrian used the last remnants of his strength in an attempt to save us... We were set upon by the creatures - now nameed Goblins, by Tagar - they were accompanied by a larger variant of the species who fought more viciously (if that is possible) than the regular creatures. Many of us were injured, when suddenly swirling pillars of flame appeared from out of the ground. The Goblins had been reduced to ashen bone, the ground to blackened carbon. In the center of the ring of destruction lay the body of Talrian. I sobbed, and we decided to bury what was left of his body in the gardens.
A day after Talrian's tragic death, we were moving along an apathetically decorated hallway, trying to find an exit. Tagar held up his left hand and ordered us to stop and draw our weapons. He explained that 'something was not right'. Indeed, many of us had the same feelings. The grunts had stopped, and the silence seemed worse than ever. Even the wails and screams of the Goblin slaves could not be heard. I reinforced my shields in preparation.
We paused for what seemed like hours, when suddenly hordes of Goblins appeared with deafening howls. They were accompanied by a grotesque creature; the Goblin King of my fathers' tales. He appeared to be human, yet he emanated a powerful aura of evil. Jumping quickly towards the first group, Tagar angled his blade and lunged forward, plunging his blade into the soft body of the first Goblin.
The other two spellcasters of our group strengthened their shields and leapt towards the King. Their shields met with the King's mystical weaponry, and I saw their eyes widen as the collision hit them. The last I saw of them was an explosion of mage light, throwing the King to the ground. Tagar was besought by hundreds of Goblins. I released the lightning bolt I had been preparing and the monsters were hurled bodily across the hall. There seemed to be no end to the creatures, and Tagar was swarmed again.
I had always considered myself a worldly man, but the sheer magnitude of the firefight I had witnessed was scaring me nearly witless. As the Goblins stormed through the hall from all sides, no sounds preceded them as their feet trampled across the ground. Brandishing a large battle axe, Tagar leapt to his feet. He swung it at a Goblins' midsection and with one powerful swipe in passing, loosing the axe, cut through the torso like butter. Six of the creatures surrounded our remaining fighters, hacking them to pieces and sustaining no losses. The Goblins turned their attentions to Tagar and, weaponless, he was toppled quickly by the largest of the creatures. I channeled the last of my power into a huge bolt of lightning. The creatures tried to move away, but too late; the blast caught them, tearing them apart. Our spirits were opposed, and I felt the power flood into my veins.
The King turned to me. I looked into the Goblin's large eyes and asked, "Why? ". He replied, "It is not of importance to you, human. It is, however, to your misfortune that you came across us.". We both stood for a moment, regarding each other. We were badly shaken, and on the verge of exhaustion.
Tagar stood, as if to fight, when the King turned to him. I watched as Tagar's body went flying by, striking the wall with a sickening crunch. I saw the creature smile with satisfaction, and I had a brief moment to experience hatred to a depth I never thought possible. I managed to loose my remaining mana, and I watched as the bolt sliced gracefully through the air, leaving an indelible trail. Before the King could recover from the massive arm swing required to throw Tagar into the wall, my energy bolt buried itself in the creatures' neck. Its eyes widened in shock, and the beast gurgled horridly as it hit the ground, trying vainly to regain its feet as blood spilled from the wound.
I remember nothing beyond this point. I awoke, leaning on this chest and barely able to move. It seems I am to be left to die. Regretfully, I could never become the master mage that I intended. I will leave this journal here in the hope that it will be found, and I will make my way back into the tunnels - most likely to my death. To whoever finds this journal: I wish you luck, and urge you to go back.