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Note – This is the story of my party as they quest through the dungeon of “Dungeon Master”. I don’t really know much about the Theron aspect of the background story...I know he’s something to do with the Grey Lord or Lord Librasulus (was that his name before he got split into Lord Chaos and Lord Order?), but I’ve never read the original background story so I’ll be kind of improvising that bit.
Obviously, as it’s a story, it can’t be told exactly as how the game would be played out, considering that would be very boring and stuff. Also, it wouldn’t allow much for the actions and personalities of the individual characters to be properly portrayed. I’ve played this game several times now, and I can’t exactly remember what I did the first time I played it (back when I was about six). I also used to play with a different party. For the purpose of this story, please blame any really stupid actions on the characters themselves, seeing as obviously since I’ve been playing with them, I kind of know pretty much all the main details about every level and so on. The only thing in this story similar to how I played the game is the names of the characters.
And finally, before I begin, a little thanks to BloodFromStone for inspiring me to write a DM story by writing his own. If anything in my story is similar (or even identical) to yours, I apologise profusely in advance. It is never my intention to copy or steal another’s ideas in any way, but sometimes I come up with what I think is a good idea, without realising at the time that it’s pretty much the same as something I’ve recently read or seen. My brain works that way, you see
. Oh, actually, there is one little aspect of my DMing which I shamelessly pinched off another source, and that’s one of my character names.Oh, and one FINAL, final note...yes, I know I’ve given one of my characters a sex change from their original version, but I play with myself as the leader (ie, the character I rename “Ameena”), and I like that particular character’s picture. At least it’s one that could conceivably belong to either gender
.Beware spoilers if you’ve not played the game before! You have been warned!
Darkness. A complete lack of light, of knowledge, of any kind of sensitivity to the surroundings. Nothing at all.
Then something. Light? Perhaps. Something, like the edge of awareness creeping into view. Something swirling, changing, perhaps. Hinting, pulling, tugging. Something like being looked at, being reached toward, touched...
Then light. Too much light. Stone underfoot. Reaching out a scaled hand toward the cold, grey, bare wall. Feeling the hardness of the surface beneath a scaled, clawed hand. Putting another of those hands up, toward the head. Something like a headache, faintly pounding. Rub it. Shake head...
She blinked as things slowly seemed to coalesce around her, as her senses finished their awakening from what seemed like an endless sleep. The first thing she noticed was that which her sharp eyes had detected, having now become adjusted to the bright light. Not that it was particularly hard to miss – before her was a wall of solid stone blocks, a dreary grey in colour. This wall was bare apart from an object which appeared to be attached to it. It looked like a square, wooden frame around a plain sheet of glass. She peered at it intently for a few moments, but could not see through it. Nor could she see her reflection, which she thought rather odd.
What was even more odd, however, was how she could have come to be in this place...wherever it was. Looking around, she appeared to be standing in a corridor formed entirely from the same stone as the wall. She listened, but could hear nothing in particular. She flicked out her tongue, tasting the air, but could detect nothing which she could identify as belonging to anything.
Then she looked at herself, or as much of herself as she could see. She stood quite tall in the corridor, her head about halfway between the top of the wooden frame and the ceiling. For some reason she wore a rather plain-looking pack across the green, scaled hide of her back, a green which glinted strangely in the light. She looked around at this point, wondering exactly where the light was coming from, but it seemed to have no definable source that she could see. Rather, it simply seemed to be innately present in the air of this strange place.
She looked at her hands with their three small-clawed fingers and thumb, flexing them and knowing she bore the strength to carry things which might appear to be beyond her capacity. She licked her lips, running her forked tongue along her sharply pointed teeth. Perhaps she would have a chance to test that strength.
Suddenly, she realised something. She knew practically nothing about herself. It was as though she’d been someone, but then somehow managed to forget everything she’d ever learned. At least she knew her name. It must be her name. She had only one name floating around inside her head, and it sounded right. Ameena. Ameena Shadowscale.
But there was something else, she realised. A thought...a voice. Something like a voice, whispering inside her head.
Find the others. They number three. Then pursue your goal. Find the fabled staff. Do not let Chaos rule this world. Nor can Order rule unhindered. The perils are great, but so will be your strength.
Ameena blinked. Others? Staff? Chaos? What was this...?
And yet, somehow, as she briefly mused over the words which had come unbidden into her mind, it made sense. Yes. She had a goal, and she must fulfil it. She must somehow destroy this Chaos, and restore order...or something. And who, or what, were these “others”?
Realising that she hadn’t moved from her spot in all this time of thinking and looking around, she paused a moment more in order to decide which way to go. The corridor disappeared into the distance behind her, or just around a corner to both her left and right. She twitched the tip of her tail briefly, then turned right and began to walk, her claws clicking faintly on the stone floor. She turned another corner, and found another of the strange, mirror-like objects attached to the wall, identical to the one she had just left.. It seemed that the left-hand wall was simply a block with one of the strange mirror-frames at each end.
Peering close to this one, Ameena saw that it was identical to the one she had already seen. She wondered what the point was of there being something like that on a blank stone wall in an empty corridor, when she heard something. Quickly tasting the air, she scented that there was something else nearby, possibly even around the corner just ahead of her.
Taking a cautious step forward, she was about to slowly peer around the corner, when something stepped into view. Ameena took two quick steps back in case this new creature was a threat. It stood about a head shorter than her, and seemed to be composed entirely of black robes, though a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen peering out. There was a black cloak attached around its shoulders which did not appear to be part of its physical form. Like Ameena, however, this being also wore a leathery brown backpack, though such a thing appeared out of place on such a creature. It looked at her, and then spoke in a strange, deep, almost echoing voice.
“I am Shadow. Are you one of the three?”
It took Ameena a moment to realise what he (for there was no way this being could be female) meant.
“If I am,” she said, hearing her voice for the first time as she spoke, “then so must you be. You also heard the voice?”
“I did.”
“Then you know what we are supposed to do.”
“Yes. I think that we should find the others.”
Ameena nodded. For some reason, she felt as though she could trust this creature, this Shadow. Perhaps it was because he was the first being she had met since her...awakening. He must know how it felt.
“What is your name?”
Ameena realised she hadn’t told it.
“My name is Ameena Shadowscale.” she said. “Do you know anything of these others that we are supposed to find?”
“Only that two more now remain.”
Ameena tasted the air again, but could not detect any new scent. She stepped past Shadow and continued down the corridor. She heard a faint, whispery, rustling noise, and noticed Shadow moving to keep pace beside her. The two continued along the corridor for a short distance before finding themselves back at Ameena’s starting point. She tapped one corner of the frame with a claw.
“Do you know anything of these?” she asked.
“Only that there was nothing, and then something seemed to call, and I was standing before one.”
They walked down the corridor, and came upon another mirror-frame. This one, however, had a picture behind the glass. It showed the head and shoulders of a human (How did Ameena know what a “human” was? She wasn’t sure) wearing dark clothing and a brown cloak with the hood drawn up. He seemed to stare out of the mirror, eyes open yet seeing nothing. He almost looked real. Ameena reached out a claw and tapped on the glass, peering at the strange figure.
“Puzzling...” she muttered. “And yet...”
Something was taking shape here. She had “awoken” standing in front of one of these mirrors, as had Shadow. Those mirrors had been empty, yet this one held the image of a living being. Looking around, Ameena noticed another mirror nearby. This one held another human, an old one in a blue robe, with white hair on his head and around his mouth. Humans had a word for that, but Ameena couldn’t recall what it was.
“We should find the others, and then discuss what must be done.” commented Shadow as his glowing eyes moved over the two images on the walls.
“Aye.” agreed Ameena, choosing a direction at random and setting off again.
She constantly flicked her tongue in and out, tasting for any new scent. Suddenly, she caught something. What was it? Not reptilian, like her...no...she could, somehow, tell the difference, though she had no recollection of ever having met any other creatures before her awakening here. This being somehow smelt...warmer. Mammal, that was it! She stopped beside a mirror containing a female human with red hair, and looked about. There were a few other mirrors nearby, but something about the one across from her was a little odd.
In a couple of strides she stood before it. It was empty.
A faint sound around the corner off to her left caused her to turn and investigate. Shadow appeared content to let her figure things out and was standing silently nearby, contemplating the surrounding mirrors. Ameena stood opposite an image of a being slightly shorter than a human, but with a huge mass of yellow hair attached to the bottom of his face. Peering around the corner, she caught sight of something.
Even as she saw it, it turned to face her. It was just over half her height, and covered in brown fur. It wore a backpack identical to that of herself and Shadow, as well as a leather jerkin. Strange on a furred creature, she thought, but perhaps extra physical protection is required by a creature with such a soft hide...particularly if coming into contact with fire.
The creature tensed as if ready to spring, but not in her direction. Its small black nose was twitching constantly, as if checking her scent in the mammalian fashion. It was probably trying to decide whether or not she constituted a threat. She spoke, but didn’t move any closer.
“I am Ameena.” she said. “If you awoke some moments ago and found yourself standing before an empty mirror, then I am one of those whom you were asked to find in this place.”
The mammal seemed to consider this information, then relaxed a little and took a few steps forward.
“So we all did hear the same message?” he asked. “It spoke to you something about a staff? Order and Chaos rule the world? I am not liking this world greatly. Stone is hard...and there might be...things...”
The creature shook his head, and seemed to come to a decision.
“So we must find them? I think perhaps that we should not take our time too long.”
“Come, then.” replied Ameena, and turned around, walking back around the corner toward Shadow.
“Something comes.” he said, pointing to the tunnel which they’d come up before.
“Perhaps it is the fourth.” said Ameena, stepping close to the tunnel in order to see what approached.
Soon he emerged into view. He didn’t look much taller than the furry mammal she had just met, perhaps slightly shorter. He was wearing a leather jerkin which was more or less identical to the one the furry one wore, as well as blue leg-coverings, and footwear made of some hardened black substance. He had a thin covering of white hair on his head, as well as some around the bottom of his face. He was probably old, then, as the hair was white, but did not appear physically inhibited by such a factor. While she didn’t know a great deal about mammalian expressions, she decided that this one had a cheerful face.
“Ah!” he cried as he spotted Ameena. “Greetings! I hope that you’re one of those ‘others’ I’m supposed to find. Otherwise, I suppose I’m not being too intelligent in speaking to you, now, am I?”
He’d been walking as he spoke to her, and now stood before her. She looked down at him as he looked up, not appearing at all intimidated by the fact that he was facing a reptilian being who stood at least double his height.
“We all are here now?” inquired a voice behind her. She turned her head to see the small furry one.
“Introductions are necessary.” announced Shadow. “I am Shadow.”
“Ameena Shadowscale.”
The furry one’s small black nose twitched.
“Fippy Darkpaw.”
“Stumpy Uberfeet. And don’t ask me where I got the name. It seems strange, even to me, but it feels right.”
Ameena shrugged, not bothered about what his name was, as long as she knew it. After all, she had a feeling they’d be travelling together for some time, and it wouldn’t do to travel with strangers.
“Where should we go?” asked Fippy tentatively.
“Did everyone else hear some kind of voice in their minds, saying something about finding a staff, and doing something with it to stop chaos and order?”
The rest of the group nodded.
“I think that we should first try to find this staff,” spoke Ameena, “though it seems none of us has any idea what it looks like, or where it may be found. At the moment, we seem to be surrounded by nothing but solid stone walls bedecked with these strange mirror-frames...”
”Yes, I had an idea about that.” commented Stumpy.
”As did I.” replied Ameena.
“We came from within.” said Shadow, his fiery eyes fixing on Fippy’s empty mirror.
A general murmur of assent went round the group. Then Fippy spoke up.
“Why us?” he asked. “There are many here. Many creatures. But we only have awoken. Maybe the voice they did not hear.”
“Perhaps only a certain number could be awoken, and that we are the lucky few who were chosen.” suggested Ameena. “Though how we came to be there in the first place, I do not know.”
“Well, not that I’m claiming leadership over this little group, but I think that we’d better look to the task at hand and get ourselves moving before we starve to death.”
Ameena glanced at Stumpy, knowing that he spoke the truth.
“Aye. Has anyone seen any way to leave this place?”
”I think I may have.” said Stumpy. “Just down the corridor from my mirror, I found a door. There’s some kind of touch-stone in front of it., I think it may open the door, but I didn’t want to try it. Just in case.”
“Let us go there, then.” said Ameena.
Stumpy led the way along the corridor and around a corner. They passed a few more mirrors, one of which was Stumpy’s former abode, and stopped before the large and very obvious stone in the floor. It was rectangular, and the fact that it was placed directly in front of a portcullis implied that it was, indeed, the trigger for opening it.
“I had a little look around nearby, too, but I ended up hearing your voices as I came nearer, so I decided to investigate. Suffice to say, I didn’t find anything but more mirrors anyway.”
Ameena glanced at a mirror on the wall to their right, showing a male human with wild hair and huge muscles. She returned her attention to the touch-stone on the floor, and cautiously stepped toward it. She raised a clawed foot and placed it on the stone. It sunk into the floor under her weight with a click. Immediately and with a loud grating noise, the portcullis winched upward into the ceiling. Ameena removed her foot from the stone, in case it was only her weight which kept the gate open. However, the portcullis did not close, so she stepped forward again. However, she stopped almost immediately as the portcullis closed again. She sighed in irritation, and stepped off and back onto the stone. It opened again, and this time she stayed where she was. Suddenly, Fippy leapt lightly forward.
“I will stand here.” he said. “You all go through. Then I will come. I do not like the things which may be there.”
“What things?” asked Stumpy.
“I think not that I know,” replied Fippy, “but if there are things, I think perhaps that they will fight more a large creature. My small self and fur do not fight well.”
“We are wasting time.” said Shadow, stepping forward and passing beneath the portcullis.
“Hey, what’s that?” asked Stumpy as he also stepped through. He reached down and picked up something that was lying in the corner.
Ameena and Fippy both came forward. Stumpy held up his find. It was a small, roundish object, red in colour and with a smooth, almost shiny surface. Though she didn’t know how, Ameena realised she knew something about it.
“Fruit!” she exclaimed, half in surprise.
“Apple!” exclaimed Fippy excitedly. “Apple is food! There lies food in this place! That seems strange. But if work we are to carry out, food we will need.”
”I think it is best to keep it for later.” said Ameena. “We do not know how much more we will find, nor how long this...quest...will take.”
Stumpy nodded and began to feel around his clothes for a pocket big enough to hold the apple. Ameena pointed at his backpack.
“Put it in there.” she suggested.
“Oh!” exclaimed Stumpy. “I’d forgotten about that! I noticed it after I came out of the mirror, but forgot about it in favour of exploring my surroundings. Good thinking. And isn’t it strange that we all seem to be wearing one, and that they’re all the same!”
“That is strange. Maybe we may find things in here which may be for good use.” said Fippy, already digging around inside his pack. Then he gave a bark of excitement, and held up a glass flask.
“See! We have items! I think perhaps this is used for the making of magical drinks.”
“Potions.” supplied Stumpy as he reached into his own pack.
Ameena nosed around in hers, but could find nothing.
“Mine is empty.” she said, though she wondered what she had been expecting to find.
“As is mine.” said Shadow after a moment.
“And has Stumpy found anything?” asked Fippy.
“Ah...aha, yes...” muttered Stumpy, as he withdrew his hand from his pack. He held two small objects. They were like arrows, only smaller and crafted more for holding in the hand and throwing. They had pale blue flights.
“Darts.” said Ameena, as the name came to her.
Stumpy held one up, close to his eye, and inspected the point.
“Poison, I believe.” he said.
Ameena bent her head closer for a look, flicking her tongue in and out.
“Aye...it does smell a little strange.” she commented. “Though I am unsure as to whether I could ever ascertain such knowledge by simply looking at something.”
Stumpy gave an awkward kind of smile.
“Well...no offence, but...most mammals I’ve met seem to have...ah...better vision than...than reptiles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” he added hastily, in case he angered Ameena. “I mean, your sense of smell is probably much better than ours. Well, maybe not Fippy’s...”
“I smell things always.” said Fippy, nodding. “Smell is important. Gain most information of places by smelling. But I can see things too.”
“No offence taken.” said Ameena to Stumpy. “My hide is also much harder than your soft flesh, and my teeth and claws are also stronger. You could not use yours in proper combat.”
“Somehow, I’m not sure you will be either, by the end of things.” said Stumpy.
Ameena nodded.
“I know what you mean. But we’ll not find anything if we simply stay here talking about insignificant things. I feel certain that there will be plenty of time for that during our journey through this place.”
The others agreed. Fippy suddenly turned to Stumpy.
“I think perhaps that Stumpy should have this.” he said, proffering the flask. “Stumpy can see poison. Perhaps he can make things to stop poison. Poison is bad. I think that I feel some other magic...not potions...”
“I know what you mean.” replied Stumpy, accepting the flask. “I feel it too, but as you said, I do feel like I know what to do with this flask. I hope we find some more, in case this one gets broken.”
He put the flask and apple into his pack, but kept hold of the darts in case it became necessary to use them.
Fippy had been sniffing around nearby, and now he called them.
“More food!” he exclaimed, producing a lump of something white and brown. It looked soft to the touch and Ameena wasn’t too familiar with it.
“Ahh...bread.” said Stumpy. “Somehow I suspect it’s a little stale, if it’s just been left lying on the ground like that. Still, food is food, and we don’t know when we’ll be able to find any more.”
Fippy nodded, and put the bread in his pack. They continued along the corridor a short distance, and found some more items on the floor, and an unlit torch in a sconce on the wall. A stone stairway led downwards into darkness.
“What’s this...” muttered Stumpy, as he reached down to pick up the things on the floor. There was a rolled-up scroll and something which Ameena hoped was a waterskin. Stumpy took the lid off the skin first, and held it out to Fippy.
“Is it water?” he asked. “It sloshes.”
Fippy sniffed delicately at the mouth of the container, then nodded.
“Yes.” he said. “It is water. It does not smell bad.”
Stumpy replaced the lid.
“Shall I keep hold of this for now, or would one of you prefer to?” he asked. “Water is precious, after all, and we don’t know how much more of this stuff we’re going to find. I don’t want to be accused of hoarding all our resources, is all.”
“I’ll not make such an accusation.” said Ameena. “We are all together. Were you to be so selfish, I doubt that you would stand much chance against us.”
Stumpy chuckled as he nodded in agreement, placing the waterskin in his pack. Fippy was about his height, but Shadow was easily double it, and Ameena a head higher than that.
“Here. You can read the scroll.” he said, handing it to her.
She unrolled it and stared at the markings.
“I do not understand any of these markings...”she said slowly, “...except this one. Something about it seems...familiar.”
“May I see?” asked Stumpy. She handed him the scroll.
After a moment of looking at it, he spoke.
“Ahh, yes, I understand this writing. It’s the common language.” he said.
“Perhaps my kind never used such things.” said Ameena with a shrug.
“Could I look, perhaps, and see if I know also such writing?” asked Fippy.
“Of course.” replied Stumpy, proffering the scroll. Fippy looked at it.
“I think that I know this...” he said, sounding a little uncertain. “I have read things before...they did look like this. What does Shadow think?”
He held up the scroll for Shadow to see. His glowing red eyes flickered over the scroll’s writing.
“I, too, can read it.” he said.
“I think that it says you must...cast...Ful...for...magic...light.” said Fippy slowly, as he carefully read the scroll again.
“Yes, that’s pretty much what it says.” agreed Stumpy, nodding. “It tells us that we invoke ‘Ful’ for a magic torch. Ful...now that’s a rune...”
At the mention of runes, something seemed to awaken in Ameena’s memory, but she couldn’t quite grasp what it was. Looking around, she could see that the others were having similar recollections.
“I know!” yipped Fippy. “That is magic...I know! I know to use the magic...the Power Runes...the magic runes...all to make the spells...for using...for killing...”
“I can remember something, but...it is too vague.” spoke Ameena.
“I feel that I know of the Power Runes,” said Shadow, “but I do not remember their use in any spells, nor their overall purpose in magic.”
“Power Runes...Power Runes first...cast them and the magic comes...the magic comes of the strength of the Power...” explained Fippy, though he was clearly working it out as he went. “Then the power must be shaped...the magic...must make the spell, and then the magic does cast...can cast the spell any time...but only one spell. Only one spell...cast or destroy...then make another.” He cocked his head for a moment, as though checking it was right, then nodded slightly.
“Perhaps you should try to cast a spell.” suggested Ameena.
“Yes...cast...yes...”
Fippy raised a hand...well, they were very furry...more like fingered paws. He wore a look of intense concentration on his furry face as he drew a shape in the air with one finger, a shape that was like two points, both pointing sideways in the same direction. A faint image of the shape remained in the air, traced in pale blue lines which were a little hard to see. Then he drew another shape beside the first. This one, Ameena noticed, was identical to the one which she’d seen on the scroll.
The runes floated in the air, glowing faintly. Fippy reached out with both paws on each side of the runes. He slowly brought his paws together, and the runes coalesced into a small, ball of light which glowed whitish-yellow. It remained where it was until his paws touched it, and then split into two and disappeared into his fur, into the flesh beneath. He blinked.
“I have made the spell.” he said. “Now I try to cast it...”
He raised his paws, and Ameena thought she could see the light glowing faintly in the palms. Fippy made a gesture which at first she thought was a clap, but he stopped his paws just before they came together, and turned them upward. The glow emerged again, and Fippy quickly raised his paws. The glow moved upward, expanding into the air as it did so. Finally it had dispersed completely, leaving no sign of its presence.
“What happened?” asked Ameena after a moment. “Did the spell fail?”
Fippy also appeared confused. Then Shadow offered an answer.
“It is already light here.” he said. “More light would make no difference.”
A ripple of realisation seemed to go around the group, causing Stumpy to laugh.
“Well, if we find a dark place, maybe we can practice that one.” he said. “Unless, of course, it’s light all the way, in which case we won’t need it. Which I doubt, especially looking at that stairway.”
“What are those Power Runes?” Ameena asked the group. “I have been remembering things about magic as you have explained it, but it seems I cannot recall those things which have not been mentioned. Perhaps I was never an expert at magic.”
“We should all become proficient.” said Shadow.
“Yes. I shall perform much practice.” stated Fippy. “I think perhaps that Stumpy should tell of the runes. My speak is not good.”
“We understand you perfectly,” said Stumpy, “but I confess I do see what you mean.”
He turned to Ameena.
“Suppose I tell you the names of the Power Runes. Maybe you might remember more from that. They are Lo, Um...On...er...oh yes...Ee, Pal, and...uh...”
“Mon.” supplied Fippy.
“Of course!” exclaimed Stumpy. “Not sure how I could forget that one, being as it’s the most powerful.”
Now he’d told her their names, the Power Runes did sound familiar to Ameena. But she couldn’t recall any spells apart from the one Fippy had demonstrated.
“Cast the Power Rune first to set the strength of the spell...” she muttered, as though reciting some long-forgotten lesson, “...then the other runes. Store the spell until you need it. Then release the magic. Only forming the runes consumes mana. The casting itself does not, for it is a release of mana spent.” She stopped. “Mana?”
“The essence of magic.” spoke Shadow. “In order to cast a spell, you must first tap into your inner mana reserves.”
Suddenly he moved, one hand deftly tracing the shapes of three runes in the air. The first two were identical to those Fippy had used. The third was different, rounded, like...well, to Ameena it looked like a very crude depiction of a wing. And suddenly familiar. Shadow brought his hands in on each side of the runes once he’d created them, and this time the glow created was a fiery orange-red colour. Yet it did not appear to harm the dark creature as it was absorbed into his hands. He released it almost instantly, yet not in the way Fippy had done. For Shadow turned to face down the empty corridor, and released the spell as though forcing an object away from him.
There was a brief flash of light as a tiny ball of flame shot away from Shadow, flying down the length of the corridor before hitting the distant wall with a faint “boom”.
“Fireball!” exclaimed Fippy, his voice coming out as more of an excited bark. He seemed to have a tendency toward getting over-excited.
“Impressive.” said Ameena. “What was that last rune?”
“Ir.” replied Shadow. “I was not aware I would remember how to cast such a spell. It appears to be instinctive. Interesting.”
“Indeed. Perhaps we have more to discover about ourselves than we realise.”
“I wonder what’s down these stairs...” pondered Stumpy as he tried to peer down into the darkness.
“Perhaps we should fully explore this upper area before we descend.” suggested Ameena as she, too, looked toward the stairs.
“What is that?” asked Fippy suddenly. He’d gone to explore the end of the corridor, apparently satisfied that there seemed to be no aggressive creatures in the area.
The others joined him. There was some kind of ornately-carved alcove set in the wall. It had two strange protrusions inside it, one on each side. Cautiously, Ameena reached out to touch one. It was coloured a strange yellow-green, and felt cold and hard to the touch, like stone, though it was made of a strange material she didn’t recognise. She noticed that, carved in the wall above the alcove, was a rune. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite recall what it was called.
“What rune is that?” she asked, pointing.
“Hmm? Oh, I hadn’t noticed that.” said Stumpy. He paused. “That rune, for some reason, seems very familiar to me...it’s a good rune. Good as in not offensive.”
Fippy looked up at the rune.
“I know the rune also.” he said. “Ah! Vi it is!” he suddenly exclaimed as he remembered.
“Vi...Vi is life.” said Stumpy. “So I was right. Now let’s see what this scroll says...”
He reached down to pick up something from the ground which Ameena hadn’t noticed. She found it almost amusing that because of the large difference between their heights, they each noticed things that the other did not. Stumpy unrolled the scroll and read.
“It says ‘New lives for old bones’. I wonder...”
“Life! Altar...Vi...bones...” Fippy muttered. “Yes. Bad creatures kill, so bring bones back to altar. Altar works, bones flash. Life again.”
“The power of rebirth?” asked Ameena, astounded. “That is phenomenal magic! Yet...I do feel as though I, too, recognise it. It seems almost as though I have done all this before, a long time ago, so long ago that I have since forgotten the details.”
“I think we all have that feeling.” commented Stumpy. No-one contradicted him.
“Let us continue.” said Ameena, eager to explore this place further.
“I’ll leave this scroll here.” said Stumpy. “We know what it says now, and I can’t see it being of any use. Fippy, did you leave behind that other scroll too?”
“No, I have the scroll.” he replied, showing it. “But we now know the rune. I do not think that any of us will forget.”
He put the rune scroll on the ground in front of the altar, beside the other scroll which Stumpy had already replaced. Then the two of them followed Ameena and Shadow around the corner. A few steps onward, Fippy darted into another corner and picked something up.
”More food!” he exclaimed, holding it up before stuffing it into his pack.
“What is this one called?” asked Ameena, who didn’t recognise it.
Fippy paused a moment, as though remembering.
“Corn.” he said.
Ameena nodded, and they continued down the corridor, finally coming to another door. This one had a small square button set into the wall beside it. After exchanging a glance with the others to see if they had any other ideas, Ameena reached out and pushed the button with a claw. There was a loud grinding noise as the door slowly winched upward into the ceiling.
However, there was little in the small room beyond but more food – some more bread, another apple, and some strange, soft food which was a strange, yellow-orange in colour, which Stumpy identified as “cheese”.
Finding nothing else of use in the room, the group backtracked to the stairs.
“It seems we have nowhere else to go now but here.” said Ameena.
“We’d better go down there then.” replied Stumpy. “Surely if there was anything bad down there, it might have come up here by now...?”
“Perhaps.” shrugged Ameena. “We have only one way to know.”
She lifted a clawed foot, and began to descend.