Muldrak sat upon a throne in his ancient chamber and sighed. He remembered the days old, a time when his race was mighty and noble. Once, this world had a sun, had plants, and once, long ago, even had water. But all that had changed.
Rumors told of a strange new man who had been seen wandering the world, nothing like what they have ever seen before. The sight of the man stirred old memories, memories of the olden days. There was something about him that seemed familiar, yet so foreign at the same time.
"Bring me this man," demanded King Muldrak. "I must speak with him."
With a bow, the general of his army marched out of the chamber, hope fighting against hope stirring within him. If there was even a chance that this stranger could bring things back to the way they once were, but no. Such thoughts are futile, our race has been trapped like this for centuries.
Avoiding the lava pools plentiful in the world, the soldiers managed to convince the man to come with them. The sand crunched beneath their feet as they trod onward, darting glances toward this stranger. Soon, the castle rose up in the distance, a mighty structure symbolizing power, and the refusal to give up and die against all odds.
"Once, our race, our world even was different," said King Muldrak when the stranger was brought to him. "We were free, and did not have to worry about the monsters and the lava. But all of that changed quickly.
"We wanted to find out what lay beyond, what was in the Void," a shudder rippled through the crowd as memories of the stories their parents had told them were recalled. But the stranger stood firm, watching, listening to the king. "We already had fortresses across the world, and so we used those to dig deeper. When we got to the bottom, we used a special tree, a dar'coak as it used to be called, to break through hardestone. Below the brave miners lay the Void, that vast openness of Hell itself. Foolishly, we decided to continue. As we crept onward, so far that we could not even see our own world, we discovered a new one. One that was the same as ours, a blue sky, green grass, and water, but it was home to many strange creatures. Giant white squids swam merrily around while dryads, with their many spinning, swirling limbs danced in the trees.
"In addition, new ores were discovered. We pillaged that world, taking their ore and enslaving its creatures. But the Void was not happy with that. She was angry, and more, she is powerful. We have come to know that she carries every world, stacked upon each other with only herself as the buffer.
"When she saw what we were doing to her people, she gave our world a sickness. Every ore and block there was became corrupted by the infection, turning to red ash, spreading from where we mined into the other world. When it took us, we became different, we changed into this hideous form you see before you now.
"And the creatures from the other world also changed, the squids no longer needed water, they flew through the air, blasting at us with fire. Meanwhile the dryads lit themselves on fire and invaded our fortresses, and the skeletons, the black skeletons are the worst. They tore through us so quickly, we didn't stand a chance.
"We have now attoned for our sins, the Void no longer is angry at us, but our world is still in ruins. Let us come with you, stranger, let us journey back to your world using your portal. Let us feel the sunshine again, let us drink water. These are the things that our race desperately needs. Will you help us?"
The stranger looked around at the people gathered before him, and said after a moment, "I will not help you. I have worries of my own, and a world of my own to take care of. Your entrance into it would upset the delicate balance I have worked so hard to maintain."
"Then we will take your portal by force," thundered King Muldrak.