Chapter 1

The amber light of sunset shimmered off of the alabaster temple ruins, casting an eerie orange over the great doorway at the top of the ruined stairs. The doors seemed to be encased in ivy, as if the fertile forest around the earth was trying to keep something sealed in. An odd, and seemingly random, group of humanoids stood at the bottom. Three of them, humans of varying description and lineage, loomed over the single halfling, a small cherubic female, forebodingly. And in the forest to the east, a single elven female, watching cautiously.

All of them brought together by a single mysterious letter signed by an entity known only as Enoch. All of them watching the doors of the ruined temple intently. Impatiently. Wondering what it is they were summoned for. Where it was each one fit in.

As darkness consumed the once amber ruins, the waiting ended. The elegant stone doors opened, tearing away from the ivy that had held them shut for so long. From the door bled forth a warm light, that chased off the grip of night. And from this light emerged a hulking cloaked figure.

From beneath the mysterious stranger’s hood boomed a voice.

“Gather, travelers.”

The elven woman watching from the shadows crept forward. Silently making her way behind the others, avoiding detection. Perking her long pointed ears with intrigue.

“First, introductions. I am Enoch,” the figure stated plainly as he removed his hood, revealing his bald head, green skin and white tusks, “I am of the Gantjhuan tribe.”

Enoch descended the stairs gracefully, almost as if levitating. Slowly he approached the halfling. She stood a little under 5 hands high, as she looked up at Enoch. Enoch knelt beside the bantam female, her blond hair tied off and amber eyes filled with young curiosity.

“This is Misa. Her life has been a devotion to the clergy. She is well traveled, and combat ready,” Enoch stated with conviction before walking towards the first human.

The female human stood about seven hands tall and was well built. Her dark, curly shoulder length hair clashed against her olive skin and hid the scars on her cheeks, drawing attention to her deep violet eyes. Her tattooed hands quivering with anticipation.

“This is Dorae. Dorae has had to fend for herself for quiet a while, as she has always sought what is just and good in this world,” Enoch voiced as he placed his hand on her shoulder before moving to the human next to Dorae.

He approached a male that stood about seven and half hands high. The man’s greasy black hair hung in front of his scarred amber brown eyes nearly hiding the green speckles that seemed to be the only life left in them, with unkempt stubble that met his sideburns. As Enoch approached, he eyed the chains that hung from this man’s leather pants. They were spiked and worn. Rusted with the blood of many foes, and they had lost the shimmer of the roughish human’s breastplate.

“This is Tim. Final Champion of the Markvar tribe. A fine fighter,” Enoch stated quickly, as he quickly made his way to the next human, knowing that physical contact with Tim could cause some unwanted and time consuming physical conflict. And time was something Enoch did not have.

The final human stood silently. Strongly. His frame was frail, yet powerful. His hair long and dark, pulled back neatly. His body weighted down with many weapons. Enoch moved towards him confidently.

“This is Sheng,” bellowed Enoch as he placed his hand on Sheng’s shoulder. “A monk of the far east. Wise in the ways of religion and the gods. But silent in reverence to them. His vow is as sacred to him as the very beads around his neck.”

This left one person. And she did not want to be involved. If this green skinned bastard know this much about the others, what did her know about her. She did not want to find out. She reached for the crossbow oh her thigh as she began to creep away slowly.

“And that leaves our elvish friend,” haphazardly belched Enoch.

She froze in place. There was no way out of this. He was approaching her at rapid pace. She straighted her back, revealing her body’s height of roughly six and a half hands. Her deep brown hair contrasted with her fair pale skin, was easily visible in the moonlight, as the red lips and deep turquoise eyes that accented her remarkable features shimmered with brightness. Her long pointed ears perked.

“Come now. There’s no need for this Claudia. We have much to address and the night is waning, come forward and meet the individuals you will be with for quiet an extended period of time,” said Enoch coyly.

The thought of these people disgusted her. She didn’t know them. She didn’t want to know them. She just wanted to continue to live her life, with her skeletons and her secrets, in peace.

“Why have you brought us hear, snout?” Claudia inquired, tersely.

Enoch looked at her and smiled, “Follow me, points.”

A slur she had not heard since childhood. This big green oaf was not messing around. If he knew this much about these individuals, then hey knew that the term “points”, usually meant that someone had a death wish.

“The rest of you as well,” Enoch added before making his way up the alabaster stairs, into the open doorway.

The curious, and somewhat uncomfortable, travelers followed. Each with their own questions for Enoch. Two questions bothered all of them. How does he know all of this? Where is he leading us?

They followed him into a large open room, a room filled with many creatures of lore. All stuffed. Misa trembled at the sight of a stuffed beholder. It’s eyes and mouth opened widely. Tim eyed the kobold champion, which stood taller than Enoch. The group continued down a hallway, passing stuffed dragons of all colors, shapes and sizes. Wyverns of such magnificent size, that Sheng began to wonder whether the old myths were actually historical fact.

Enoch entered a hallway filled with various artifacts and holy objects. Claudia studied each one carefully as she walked by, eying them for authenticity. Dorae scoffed at the idea that any of these could have any link to the gods. As far as she was concerned there were no gods. She mumbled a rant about religious nuts under her breath as she followed Enoch. Finally she stopped.

“Why are we here? What is this place?” she demanded to know.

Enoch halted.

“This is Aryxian Temple. A hallowed ground in honor of all the gods and their creator. You are hear because each of you has been studied, watched and cultivated for this day. Your way of life, your skills, your pasts….well, that information is something we safe guard with out lives. We’ve brought you here…to kill The Creator,” Enoch stared at the ground, knowing that all eyes were on him. Angry stares pierced his back.

“You’ve been watching us our entire lives?” inquired Misa.

“Yes…and your bloodlines. Waiting for the five of you.”

“Kill The Creator…what’s in it for us?” shouted Tim.

“I don’t kill you.”

There wasn’t much choice in the matter it seemed. The great temple doors were once again sealed shut, and none of them could take Enoch.

“Listen…all of existence will end. This is inevitable. I am giving you all a chance to survive what’s coming. Offering you infinite power and wealth in the new world to come. Or a swift and horrific death. It’s your decision. You are all familiar with the legend of The Creator. I am a descendant of The Creator. The bastard son of a drunken love affair between an orcish woman and a being of unimaginable power. And instead of living a life of obscurity, like the others, I’m gonna make the difference. I’m going to stop this cycle of destruction and recreation. And you are my weapons. It is as simple as that.”

Silence came over the group. Never before had any of them been addressed with such ferocity. They stood, still processing what had just been fed to them.

“You’ve been chosen because of your skills, your histories, and your current lots in life. I promise you, this is fate….this is prophesy. I can’t prove it to you, just have faith.”

Enoch continued down the hall. Arriving at a set of wooden double doors, opening as he approached them. A bright light came from beyond the doorway leading into a marble room of many hooded figures, all toiling with alchemy, magicks, and planar studies. A large golden archway was placed up against the far wall.

“Enoch, finally! We haven’t much time. Word has come from the other side…..,” a hooded figure shouted across the room, then paused. He moved hastily towards Enoch.

“Are these, them?” the figure prompted.

“Yes, friend. What is the word?”

“They are all dead. Our brethren are all slain. We have our plant inside the gang, but he’s the only one left living. We need to get him out of there….”

“No! That is not an acceptable solution. Have our arcanists finished that scroll?”

“Yes they have. They question it’s stability though.”

“Go retrieve it, while I get our new …allies….. brought up to date.”

“Of Course.”

The figure scampered off as Enoch faced the group for the first time since entering the temple. The confusion and anger on each individual’s face was as present as he feared it to be. With a heavy sigh he opened his mouth.

“Through that archway is an underground tower, sprawling an estimated sixty-nine levels below the surface. On our physical plane each one is a basic room. The size of a small house. But within these rooms exist separate planes of existence. Each a sub plane of our own. At the bottom of this is a sanctum in which we believe The Creator dwells. We’ve sent several teams down none have returned. Our informant is the only one we’ve managed to keep word with…the only one to even make it past the other side of the gate.”

Claudia leaned against a marble wall, folding her arms.

“So, you wanna kill us instead…..”she shot back. “Your men aren’t good enough to survive. Bunch of cleyms, the lot of em. You too ya snout.”

Enoch ignored the insult, as much as it pained him to think of his late brethren as “cleyms”. He had a job to get done. He turned towards the archway and traced the symbols around the edge with his finger. Chanting quietly in an ancient, socially dead, language.

The stone in the archway lit up. And begin to melt into a bright light. Enoch turned his back to the gate and flagged for the group to approach him. Cautiously they did.

Enoch walked over to his hooded cohort, who had taken quiet a while to return with the scroll, with his hand outstretched. The cohort waddled over and handed Enoch the scroll, as if handing him a fragile artifact. Enoch turned around and walked towards the group. Towards Claudia.

“Take this scroll to our informant,” he stated briefly. “Once you enter the gate it is of dire importance that you take the road to the right. He’s in the city found at the end of that road….you’ll have to work your way into the underground circles yourself. Which may be difficult, and require morally gray decisions and jobs. Something you are all very well acquainted with.”

Claudia snatched the scroll from Enoch and stuffed it in her bag as Tim walked past and into the portal. He was followed by Misa, who seemed excited about this journey. and Sheng, who remained stoic. Claudia then marched through the portal along side Dorae.

The portal closed behind them.

They now stood in the ruins of a small square shrine with pillars of ebony and floors of black marble. Ivy had overtaken the ruins, beginning the process of returning to Gaia what was rightfully hers. There were three staircases leading down from the shrine. All covered in the roots of tall trees that overtook the sky, leaving a small opening above the group before becoming thick forestry. As Tim, Dorae, Sheng and Claudia examined the ground around them, Misa’s eyes took to the air. Taking in the twilight as the two suns set on opposite horizons, crashing together in an explosion of red and orange colors as the two sunsets met. A large flying cube suspended in the sky caught Misa’s attention. It floated quietly, level with the ground as it pulsated with strange rhythmic lights of many colors.

“Well what now?!” demanded Claudia.

“Well, Claudia, we don’t have much of a choice. I say we do what we’ve been demanded to do and go home,” stated Dorae with very little tolerance.

“Okay, ya bawd- what do you suggest?”

“I don’t know. But we need to be more rational than this.”

Tim stepped forward. “Enoch told us to go right. We have no reason not to trust him.”

“He did threaten our lives,” interjected Misa, in her quiet and youthful tone.

“Point,” Tim added. “But why would he threaten our lives and then knowingly send us on a path to destruction? We are of more use to him alive than dead.”

They all sat in silence. None of them knew what to do.

Night fell. Arguments were had. And finally decisions were made.

The five weary and confused travelers stood and began walking down the staircase on their right, as Enoch had instructed.

Claudia’s ears twitched.

“Shhh….you hear that?” she whispered.

The party stopped and turned around, directing their collective attentions towards a bush behind them that was shuffling against the stone. They watched in curiosity.

SHINK!

Tim let out a howl, surprising the others, as he fell to his knees, grasping his shin as blood oozed between his fingers. A shrill cackle came from behind the group. Tim immediately swung his chain behind him swiping at the air. He turned and saw a miniature man, a small gnome gray and balding. In his hand was a dagger, that dripped the blood of Tim. Sheng lunged at the little man brushing his fist against the dirty old midget’s face.

More Laughter. It didn’t last long as Dorae collapsed, her screams of pain silencing the laughter of the small man watched her grasp her side and fall to the ground. He laughed. Misa ran over to Tim, and pressed her hand against his wound. Light came from around his wound and his skin mended itself. He nodded at Misa in appreciation. And quickly looked in the direction of Dorae. Tim saw Dorae clutching her side as glowing yellow eyes hovered behind her. Tim sprung off the ground in the direction of the eyes. Swinging his chain.

The man of very little stature laughed as his fist caught Sheng in the gut. Sheng caughed, as he was caught off guard, watching Tim’s chain fly over Dorae’s head and wrap around the glowing eyes behind her. Tim yanked the chain. The spikes cut away at the flesh of the mysterious attacker severing the head in a visceral red mist.

Misa darted over to Dorae and slapped her hand on the scratch wounds in Dorae’s side, as she lie writhing and unconscious. Sheng took his knee to the chin of the miniature attacker and knocked him on his back. Claudia saw a moment, and took advantage of it. Quickly drawing and loading her crossbow and fired at the crusty halfling, digging a bolt into the side of his thigh. He screamed out in agony.

“YOU CROTCH INFESTED WENCH! Heheheheh, no more,” the short old man shouted, his words broken by laughter. “My name is Kuna Fawa.”

Misa perked up and ran over to Kuna.

“Hello, friend!! I’m Misa!” she exclaimed with youthful energy.

“Why hello there! I’m on my way to my favorite tavern! The Rusty Gnome. Where the drinks are rough and the whores are rougher! Order an ale, get a side of crabs for free!!” shouted Kuna, beside himself for what he thought was a clever joke, “Why don’t you join me?!”

“Okay!” agreed Misa, without a moment’s hesitation.

Dorae reached down and put her hand on the naive little halfing’s shoulder, shaking her head with disapproval.

“Let’s do it. This place sounds fun,” interjected Tim.

“You must be crazy!” shouted Claudia, “He nearly killed you, Tim! Am I the only sane one here?!”

“Look, Manjaw,” Kuna frankly addressed Claudia. “We only attacked you cuz we were bored! We meant no harm. My undead buddy over there and myself are going to head on you’re welcome to join us. But I’m behind on my drinkin’ and daddy needs his medicine!”

Kuna stormed over and picked up the bits of the zombie that attacked Dorae. Sheng noticed that both Kuna and his undead friend were laughing. And at closer inspection, the reanimated corpse shared all of the same facial and physical features of Kuna.

After gathering his friend Kuna marched west, taking the road opposite of the one Enoch instructed. The group continued the debate, as he marched along humming a jaunty drinking tune. After several minutes of debate, Dorae threw her hands up and started traveling east. Misa darted after her, the cold of night was beginning to embrace the travelers and she didn’t like it.

“We don’t have time for this, Tim. Let’s just do as we were instructed,” demanded Claudia before marching off to the east.

Sheng silently followed Claudia. Tim shrugged and followed the rest, pondering what they could of possibly learned from Kuna. Either way, he felt that it wouldn’t be the last time they met. And he wondered if all of the denizens of this plane acted similar.

The outlanders followed the road in silence. They pondered what they once believed to be the world they lived in. The very existence of this series of planes shook the very foundation of what they once knew….and they had no idea what waited ahead of them. As the forest grew thicker around them, they began to wonder if they would have been better off following Kuna.

Soon, their doubts faded as they approached what seemed to be a relatively large settlement. As they approached it they learned that they’d stumbled into a massive city.

“Well….what now? He could be anywhere!” Dorae expressed concern.

“I vote we get some rest before we begin anything,” Misa suggested.

“I agree,” spoke out a familiar voice from behind.

Tim looked over his shoulder to discover a familiar looking orc. It was Enoch, this time dressed in scalemail, a long red cloak and wearing a necklace made of orc tusks. He carried his favored great axe.

“We’ll hit the inn ahead, have some steaks, ale, and whores, on my coin purse,” Enoch stated, as he took point and led them to the inn.

“Got a question, Enoch. How long have you been watching us?” asked Dorae as they walked the dimly lit city streets.

“It’s rude to reveal a lady’s age,” tersely responded Enoch.

“That long huh?”

“You were chosen. The reason I came is that I have reliable information telling us that our informant is in need of our assistance. He could be anywhere in this city, so it’s not going to be an easy task,” stated Enoch, as he opened the door to the inn, holding it for everyone. “We start tomorrow. But tonight, we enjoy food, drink and whores!”

“Er, Enoch, I got a tip to avoid the whores…,” mumbled Tim.

“You encountered a halfling and his undead counterpart didn’t you…..well that explains the blood trail I followed here….I told him to stay away. Forget what he says, he’s crazy.”

“Friend of yours?”

“Not really. Now come on….let’s eat.”

]]> http://infernalgenesis.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/chapter-1-posted/feed/ 0 Alex http://infernalgenesis.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/lookie-here/ http://infernalgenesis.wordpress.com/2008/04/04/lookie-here/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:19:35 +0000 fotonurth http://infernalgenesis.wordpress.com/?p=3 ]]> Why Hello Thar! This blog is for a work in progress. A story based on the adventures of my online D&D group. All of the character interactions come from my players and they’re roleplaying. A phenomenal group.